YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIFE, TIMES,

ETC. of the

REV. ISAAC WATTS, D.D.

ISAAC

'AIM, B.B.

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THE

LIFE,
TIMES, AND CORRESPONDENCE

OF THE

R£V. ISAAC WATTS, D.D.

BY THE

REV. THOMAS MILNER, M.A.
AUTHOR OF " THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA."

'\Zv fxiaw eKKXrjoi'as v/ivrjau) <re, t
LONDON:
SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL;
, THOMAS RICHARDSON, DERBY.
1834.

MINISTERS, CHURCHES, AND CONGREGATIONS,

IN GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA,

IN WHOSE PUBLIC AND SOCIAL WORSHIP

THE PSALMS AND HYMNS OF DR. WATTS ARE USED,

THE FOLLOWING MEMOIRS OF THE CHRISTIAN

PSALMIST ARE INSCRIBED,

BY THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

The following pages are devoted to the
personal history, ministerial character, and
literary labours of Dr. ' Is"aac Watts. Few
names in the annals of English nonconformity,
are more widely known or more deservedly
honoured — the instructor of our early years,
the guide of our youth, and the sweet singer
of the modern Israel. " Of Watts," says the
Rev. Dr. Dibdin, " it is impossible to speak
without veneration and respect. His Hymns
are the charm of our early youth ; his Logic
the well-known theme of school-boy study ;
and his Sermons, Essays, and other theological,
compositions, are a source of never-failing
gratification in the advance, maturity, and
decline of life. The man at four-score may
remember with gratitude, the advantage of

Vlll PREFACE.
having committed the hymns of this pious
man to his infantile memory." A character
so admirable and holy, truly £» kottok wepiaaorepm^
for the good of mankind upwards of half a
century, ought not to be without a biographi
cal record. Yet it has long been a subject of
surprise and regret, not only with the dissent
ing churches, but with the pious and enlight
ened of every communion, that no lengthened
notice of the Christian Psalmist has been
compiled. The individual best qualified for such a
work, by personal knowledge and frequent
correspondence, was the incomparable Dodd
ridge ; and soon after the doctor's decease, he
engaged, at the joint request of Nathaniel
Neal, Esq., and Lady Abney, to write memoirs
of his friend. But either an unfounded ap
prehension that sufficient materials could not
be procured, or the appearance of that " pale
consumption" which soon brought him to the
tomb, prevented the execution of the design.
Mr. Neal observes to him in a private letter,
"This morning I was with Lady Abney on
the subject of your writing Dr. Watts's life;
and am now to acquaint you with her senti-

PREFACE. IX
ments in concurrence with my own, which
are, that very few materials are likely to be
found, and those that may be must not be
communicated to you immediately ; Dr. Jen
nings having declined writing the life, merely,
or principally, for want of materials, which he
has inquired for, particularly of Lady Abney.
The booksellers, therefore, must have patience,
or they will precipitate us into a crude and
imprudent conduct. In the meantime be
assured we shall not be unmindful of assisting
you ; and propose you should take, an oppor
tunity of letting Dr. Jennings know in a letter,
that being informed he and Mr. Price have
declined it, you have agreed to undertake it,
provided you can be furnished with any mate
rials proper for the purpose ; and the rather,
as you have been solicited on this head by
some of your friends in foreign countries."
Apart as Dr. Watts's life was from the busy
world, owing to a natural love of retirement,
and the frequency of affliction, and devoid as
it, therefore, might be of striking incident, yet
sufficient information might have been ob
tained from his large circle of friends and
extensive correspondence, to have formed an

X PREFACE.
interesting and instructive narrative. It may
be unjust, at this distance of time, to blame,
though it is difficult to exonerate from it, the
Doctor's immediate friends, that they allowed
a scantiness of material to hinder the contem
plated tribute to his memory from the pen of
one so eminently fitted for the task.
The .subsequent accounts of Dr. Watts that
have appeared, are desultory and brief. In
noticing these I prefer adopting the language
of my excellent friend, the Rev. John Black
burn, of Claremont Chapel, Pentonville, from
the "Congregational Magazine," Feb. 1832:
" The most considerable account of Dr.
Watts appeared in 1780, from the pen of his
friend, Dr. Thomas Gibbons, entitled ' Me
moirs of the Rev. Isaac Watts, D. D.' This
octavo volume contains information enough
to have secured a most interesting memorial ;
but biography was certainly not Dr. Gibbons's
forte, for he has thrown into his notes what
should have formed the text, and burdened his
narrative with long papers and dry criticisms,
which, if published at all, should have formed
an appendix, or appeared in the notes.
" The Life of Watts, by the great Dr, John-

PREFACE. XI
son, which, considering the prepossessions of
the author, is written with unusual candour,
and in his most beautiful and finished style, is
better adapted to his poetical than his ministerial
character. In 1791, the Rev. S. Palmer, of
Hackney, published Dr. Johnson's Life, 'with
notes containing animadversions and addi
tions, relating to Dr. Watts's character, wri
tings, and sentiments, particularly on the
trinity.' This also was an unhappy effort, as
the notes were occasionally extremely fastidi
ous, and were written in a style which caused
them to appear to great disadvantage beneath
the brilliant Johnsonian pages they were
penned to censure. At a later period Mr.
Palmer did the memory of Dr. Watts more
j ustice, by the publication of a pamphlet, en
titled ' Dr. Watts no Socinian; a refutation of
the testimony of Dr. Lardner, as brought for
ward in the Rev. T. Belsham's Memoirs of the
late Rev. T. Lindsey ;' and which for ever sets
at rest the question respecting Dr. Watts's
opinion on that momentous controversy.
"Perhaps it may be desirable to notice the
only other biographical sketches of Dr. Watts
of which we have any knowledge. About

XI 1 PREFACE.
1779 there appeared two octavo volumes,
entitled 'The Posthumous Works of the late
reverend and learned Isaac Watts, D. D. :
compiled from papers in possession of his im
mediate successors, and adjusted and published
by a gentleman of the University of Cam
bridge.' This work, Dr. Gibbons says, is
principally made up of pieces written by the
doctor's father, and here attributed to his more
gifted son, merely to answer the purposes of
trade ; and may be, therefore, regarded as ' a
shameful attempt to impose upon the public'
The ' Protestant Dissenters' Magazine/ for
February, 1795, contains a brief sketch ofthe
doctor's life, which does not> however, supply
much additional information to that previously
known." *An interesting relic of Dr. Watts was re
cently discovered, which throws some light
upon the early part of his useful career. This
is a MS. in his own hand-writing, entitled
" Memorable Affairs in my Life." It consists
often small pages, containing Memoranda con
cerning himself on the right page, and Coinci
dents relating to contemporaneous events on
the opposite page. This register is frequently

PREFACE. Xiii
cited in this work, and it is a subject of deep
regret that it is only brought down to the year
1710. I now come to notice the present perform
ance. Of the success which has attended my
endeavours to do justice to the character and
labours of one so universally esteemed, it be
comes not me to speak : freely and frankly do
I acknowledge that the best on my part has
been done ; and, with reference to the result,
sincerely do I say, "would that it were wor
thier." The works of my predecessors have of
course materially assisted me ; private sources
have also supplied me with information ; and
several literary friends have contributed im
portant hints. To Joshua Wilson, Esq., of
Highbury Place, and the Rev. John Black
burn, of Pentonville, London, I am particu
larly indebted for the loan of books : to
Professor Partington my obligations are
due for admission to the library of the
London Institution : to the late Sir Edmund
Cradock Hartopp, of Four-oaks Hall, War
wickshire, to Edward Smith, Esq., of Fins-
bury Square, and to the Trustees of the
Red-cross-street Library, my thanks are

xiv preface.
tendered. At the commencement of this
work the writer laboured under an impres
sion, sanctioned by all his friends, that but
few materials could be found for it : this
apprehension proved to be unfounded : but
it led him to dwell, perhaps, too largely upon
Dr. Watts's early career, which rendered it
necessary that some valuable letters and
papers should be omitted at the close, lest
the size of the volume should be increased.
Should a second edition be called for this
error will be corrected. It may also be
necessary to add, that the appearance of this
Memoir has been delayed by the frequent
recurrence of sickness, which at one period
rendered it probable that the present publi
cation would be posthumous : this statement
may be a sufficient apology for some trivial
errors that have escaped correction : the con
finement of a sick chamber is riot favourable
to literary exactness.
The portrait of Dr. Watts, prefixed to this
work, is engraved from an original painting
in the possession of Edward Smith, Esq., of
Finsbury Square, London. It was formerly
in the possession of Sir Thomas Abney, and

PREFACE. XV
has been pronounced by competent judges a
production of Sir Peter Lely's. Dr. Gibbons,
in the preface to his Life of Watts, refers to
an " original painting of him lately become
the possession of Mrs. Elizabeth Abney" —
"this painting," he remarks, "gave me the
best likeness of him 1 had ever before seen."
From Mrs. E. Abney it passed into the pos
session of the family of Dr. Gibbons, who
bequeathed it to the Rev. Josiah Lewis. He
left it by will to his wife during her life, and
at her death to Mr. B. Button, from whom it
was purchased by Mr. Smith, the present pro
prietor. To this gentleman I am obliged for
this information, as well as for the use of the
picture. The writer may be allowed to express a
hope, that the example of sanctified talent he
has endeavoured to depict will be of some little
l]se — to himself he trusts his labour has not
been in vain — nor will it to the reader, if
he is led to imitate the subject of these pages
in faith, in patience, and in devotion,
"Who bravely suffer'd, and who nobly dy'd."
Wigston Magna, near Leicester, July 12, 1834.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF DR. WATTS'S WORKS, WITH REFER
ENCES TO THE PAGES OF THIS VOLUME IN WHICH AN AC
COUNT OF THEM IS GIVEN.
1. 1705. Horae Lyricaa ; Poems chiefly ofthe Lyric kind, in three hooks 238 — 255
2. 1707. Essay against Uncharitableness, wherein the secret springs of that
Vice are traced, and the mischievous effects of it briefly surveyed
 212—214
3. 1707. A Sermon preached at Salter's Hall to the Societies for Reformation of
Manners in the cities of Loudon and Westminster  214 — 216
4. 1707. Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in three books  255 — 289
5. 1716. A Guide to Prayer; or, a free and rational Account ofthe gift, grace,
and spirit of Prayer; with plain Directions how every Christian may
attain them  314—318
6. 1718. The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language ofthe New Testa
ment, and applied to the Christian State and Worship . .334 — 359
7. 1720. Divine Songs attempted in easy language, for the use of Children
 372—377
8. 1720. The Art of Reading and Writing English  378
9. 1721. Sermons on Various Subjects, vol. 1  378 — 380
10. 1721. The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity; or, Father, Son, and Spirit,
Three Persons and one God asserted and proved ; with their divine
rights and honours vindicated by plain evidence of scripture, with
out the aid or incumbrance of human schemes  380, 583
11. 1722. Death and Heaven, or the last Enemy conquered, and separate
Spirits made perfect, attempted in two Funeral Discourses, in
Memory of Sir John Hartopp, Baronet, and his Lady . . . .382 — 385
B

xviii CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS.
12. 1723. Sermons, vol. 2  386, 387
13. 1724. The Arian invited to the Orthodox Faith : or, a plain and easy Method
to lead such as deny the proper Deity of Christ into the belief of
that great article. Three Dissertations  380, 586
14. 1724. Logic; or, the Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry after Truth; with a
variety of Rules to guard against Error in the Affairs of Religion and
Human Life, as well as in the Sciences  387 — 389
15. 1725. Four Dissertations relating to the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity, 589
16. 1725. The Knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth made easy; or, the First
Principles of Astronomy and Geography explained by the use of
Globes and Maps. Written for the use of Learners  398
17. 1725. A Discourse on the Education of Children and Youth  399
18. 1725. Prayers composed for the Use and Imitation of Children, suited to
their different ages and their various occasions; together with In
structions to Youth in the Duty of Prayer  »  399
19. 1726. A Defence against the Temptations to Self-murder, wherein the
criminal Nature and Guilt of it are displayed ; together with some
Reflections on Excess in strong Liquors, Duelling, and other Prac
tices akin to this heinous Sin  420 — 422
20. 1727. The Religious Improvement of Public Events, a Sermon preached at
Bury Street, on occasion ofthe death of George I., and the peaceful
succession of George II  419, 420
21. 1727. Sermons, vol. 3  426
22. 1728. An Essay towards the Encouragement of Charity-schools, particularly
those which are supported by Protestant Dissenters, for teaching the
children of the poor to Read and Work; together with some Apology
for those Schools which instruct them to write a Plain Hand and fit
them for Service, or for the meaner Trades and Labours of Life; to
which is prefixed an Address to the Supporters of those Schools
 429—432
23. 1728. A Book of Catechisms, complete: containing (1.) A Discourse of
Catechisms, how to write aud judge of them ; (2.) The First Set of
Catechisms and Prayers for young Children of Four or Five Years of
Age ; (3.) The Second Set of Catechisms and Prayers for Children
of Eight or Nine Years of Age; (4.) The Assembly 's Catechism, with

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS. xix
Notes for Children of Ten or Twelve Years of Age ; (5.) A Pre
servative from the Sins and Follies of Childhood and Youth,
written by Way of Question aud Answer; to which is added a
large Catalogue of Remarkable Scripture Names, collected for the
use of Children  433  435
24. 1729. A Caveat against Infidelity, or the Danger of Apostacy from the
Christian Faith ; with an Answer to some Queries concerning the
Salvation of the Heathens, and the Hope of the modern Deists
upon Pretences to Sincerity  436  438
25. 1729. The Doctrine of the Passions explained and improved ; or, a brief and
comprehensive Scheme of the natural Affections of Mankind, and
an Account of their Names, Nature, Appearances, Effects, and dif
ferent Uses in Human Life; to which are subjoined Moral and
Divine Rules for the regulation or government of them. . .439 — 441
26. 1729. Discourses on the Love of God, and the Use and Abuse of the Passions
in Religion ; with a devout Meditation annexed to each Discourse.
 440, 441
27. 1730. A Short View of the whole Scripture History, with a Continuation of
the Jewish Affairs, from the end of the Old Testament to the
coming of Christ ; illustrated with various Remarks on the Laws,
Government, Sects, Customs, and Writings of the Jews, and
adorned with figures  ,  441
28. 1731. An Humble Attempt towards the Revival of Practical Religion among
Christians, and particularly the Protestant Dissenters, by a serious
Address to Ministers and People, in some occasional Discourses.
 475, 476
?
28. 1731. The Strength and Weakness of Human Reason ; or, the important
Question about the Sufficiency of Reason to conduct Mankind to
Religion and Future Happiness, argued between an Inquiring
Deist and a Christian Divine, and the Debate compromised and
determined to the satisfaction of both  476 — 478
30. 1732. Philosophical Essays on Various Subjects: namely, Space, Substance,
Body, Spirit; the Operations of the Soul in Union with the Body ;
Innate Ideas; Perpetual Consciousness; Place and Motions of
Spirits; the Departing Soul; the Resurrection of the Body; the
Production and Operation of Plants and Animals; with some Re
marks on Mr. Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding. To
which is subjoined a Brief Scheme of Ontology, or the science of
Being in General, with its Affections  478 — 480

xx CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS.
31. 1733. Several Sermons in the Bury-street Collection of Discourses by eminent
ministers   482—486
32. 1734. Reliquise Juveniles, Miscellaneous Thoughts in prose and verse.. .487
33. 1735. The Redeemer and the Sanctifier; or, the Sacrifice of Christ and the
Operations of the Spirit vindicated ; with a free Debate about the
importance of those doctrines  488
34. 1737. Humility represented in the character of St. Paul, the chief springs of
it opened, and its various advantages displayed  527
35. 1738. The Holiness of Times, Places, and People, tinder the Jewish and
Christian dispensations, considered in several Discourses on the
Sabbath, the Temple, Churches, Meeting-Houses, &c  532
36. 1739. The World to Come ; or, Discourses on the Joys and Sorrows of de
parted souls at Death, and the Glory or Terror of the Resurrection ;
to which is prefixed an Essay towards the proof of a Separate State
of Souls after Death, vol.1  608
37. 1739. An Essay on Civil Power in Things Sacred; or, an Inquiry after an
established Religion consistent with the just Liberties of Mankind,
and practicable under every Form of Civil Government  610
38. 1739. Self-love and Virtue reconciled only by Religion ; or, an Essay to prove
that the only effectual obligation of mankind to practise Virtue
depends on the existence and will of God ; together with an occa
sional proof of the Necessity of Revelation  612
39. 1740. The Ruin and Recovery of Mankind ; or, an Attempt to vindicate the
Scriptural Account of these great Events upon the plain Principles
of Reason ; with an Answer to various Difficulties relating fo
Original Sin, the Universal Depravation of Nature, and the over
spreading Curse of Death; general Offers of Grace to all Men, and
the certain Salvation of some; the Case of the Heathen Nations,
and the State of Dying Infants. To which are subjoined three
short Essays  613
40. 1740. Questions proper for Students in Divinity, candidates of the
ministry  621
41. 1741. The Improvement of the Mind ; or, a Supplement to the Art of Logic:
containing a Variety of Remarks and Rules for the Attainment and
Communication of useful Knowledge in Religion, iu the Sciences,
and in Common Life  ,  622

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS. xxi
42. 1742. The Harmony of all the Religions which God ever prescribed, con
taining a Brief Survey of the several public Dispensations of God
towards Man, or his appointment of different Forms of Religion in
successive ages  624
43. 1745. The World to Come, 2nd vol  672
44. 1745. Orthodoxy and Charity united, in several reconciling Essays on the
Law and Gospel, Faith and Works  674
45. 1746. Useful aud Important Questions concerning Jesus the Son of God
freely proposed ; with an humble Attempt to answer them ac
cording to Scripture  593
46. 1746. The Glory of Christ as God-Man displayed in Three Discourses.
( I .) A Survey of the Visible Appearances of Christ as God before his
Incarnation, with some Observations on the Texts of the Old Testa
ment applied to Christ. (2.) An Inquiry into the extensive Pow
ers of the Human Nature of Christ in its present glorified State,
with several Testimonies annexed. (3.) An Argument tracing out
the early Existence of the Human Soul of Christ, even before the
Creation of the World. With an Appendix containing an Abridg
ment of Doctor Thomas Goodwin's Discourse of the " Glories and
Royalties of Christ," in his Works in folio, vol. ii. b. 3.  598
47. 1746. An Essay on the Freedom of the Will in God and in Creatures, and
on various Subjects connected therewith: namely, The Ideas of
Liberty and Necessity ; the Causes of the Determination of the
Will ; the Use of the Understanding to direct, not determine it ;
the Liberty of God as a, Creator, a Governor, and a Benefactor;
the Doctrine of Fatality; the Spring of Moral Good and Evil; the
Difference between Moral and Positive Laws ; the Siu and Fall of
Man, and the Free Grace of God ; the Rewardableness of Faith in
the Gospel, and the criminal Nature of Infidelity  681
48. 1747. Evangelical Discourses on Several Subjects; to which is added an
Essay on the Powers and Contests of Flesh and Spirit  681
49. 1747. The Rational Foundation of a Christian Church, and the terms of
Christian Communion; to which are added Three Discourses: (1.) A
Pattern for a Dissenting Preacher ; (2.) The Office of Deacons ;
(3.) Invitations to Church Fellowship  682

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE LETTERS IN THIS VOLUME.

1685, May 21. Mr. Isaac Watts, Sen. to his children.  36—44
1693, Feb. Epistola Fratri suo dilecto R. W. I. W. S. P. D. . .119— 122
1696, May 30. Mr. John Hughes to Mr. Isaac Watts  156—158
1697, Nov. 6. The Same to. Mr. Samuel Say  131
The Same to Mr. Isaac Watts  173—176
1698. To David Polhill, Esq  176
1699, Jan. 11. Mr. Samuel Say to Mr. John Hughes  132
1700, March. From Mr. Enoch Watts  176—179
1701, July. To Lady Abney  179—181
1702, Dec. 26. Mr. John Hughes to Mr. Samuel Say  133—136
No date. Dr. Owen to Lady Hartopp  153 ,
No date.  to Charles Fleetwood, Esq  154
1683, Aug. 22.  to the Same  155
No date. -to Sir John Hartopp  156
1702, Feb. 8. To the Church of Christ assembling in Mark Lane, London.
 181—187
Feb. 26. From the Rev. T. Rowe's church, to the Church of Christ, of
which the Rev. Dr. Chauncey was lately Pastor  187
No date. To the church at Mark Lane  187
No date. To Mr. Enoch Watts  189—198
1704, June 15. To Sarah and Mary Watts  225
1705, Aug. 24. To Henry Bendish, Esq  226
1707, Dec. 22. To the Rev. John Shower  227
1708, Dec. 23. To the Rev. Samuel Say  228
1709, March 12. To the Same  229
Nov. 1. To the Same  231
1711, Nov. 18. From Mr. Seeker, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury
  232—237
1712, Aug. 19. To the Spectator  325—327
No date. To the Church of Christ meeting iu Bury Street, of which the
Holy Ghost has made me Overseer  327—331
1718, Jan. 1 1. From Lord Barrington  332
1719, Jan. 9. To Sir Richard Blackmore, Knt  333
1721, May 26. From the Rev. Joseph Standen  399—401
July 8. From Lord Barrington  401—404
1722, March 10. From Lady Mary Levett  404
Aug. 4. To the Rev. Hubert Stogdon  405—411
April 7. To the Rev. Samuel Rosewell  411
May 24. To Mrs. Rosewell  412
1724, Jan. 23. From Lord Barrington  413
Aug. 18. From the Same  ,,.  414

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF LETTERS.

1725, June. From Lord Barrington  »  416 — 418
1726, Jan. 21. From Sir Gilbert Elliot  443
March 6. To Mrs. Rosewell  ,  444
Oct. 29. From Mr. Robert Porter  445—451
1727, Feb. 2. To the Rev. Samuel Say  451
Feb. 29. From the Rev. Daniel Mayo  452 — 454
March 4. From Sir Gilbert Elliot  434
Aug. 10. To the Rev. Samuel Say  455
Sept. 12. To the Same  456
Nov. 8. From Sir Gilbert Elliot  456
1728, April 11. To the Rev. Samuel Say  45f— 459
Sept. 12. From Professor Greenwood, A.M  459
1729, Feb. 23. From the Countess of Hertford  464
Nov. 8. From the Rev. Philip Doddridge, D.D  465 — 467
Nov. 22. From the Same  ,  468
1730, Jan. 8. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  469 — 471
1731, Feb. 4. From Lord Barrington  489
April 30. From the Bishop of London  490
May 17. From the Countess of Hertford  491
May From the Rev. P. Doddridge, D.D  492—494
Aug. 3. From the Countess of Hertford  495
1732, Feb. 23. From the Rev. Messrs. Hunt, Drake, and Doddridge  496
March 7. From the Bishop of London  498
Aug. 12. From Zabdiel Boylston, M.D  498—500
Oct. 20. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  500
1733, Dec. 28. From Samuel Holden, Esq  502
1734, Jan. 22. From the Bishop of London  502
Feb. 9. From the Countess of Hertford  503
April 8. From the Same  504
July 14. From the Bishop of London  505
Nov. I. To William Duncomhe, Esq  505—507
Dec. 16. From Edward Cave, Esq  507
Dec. 26. To Edward Cave, Esq  508—51 1
1735, Jan. 19. From the Bishop of London  511
Jan. 21. To a Friend  512
Feb. 22. From the second Lord Barrington  ¦.  514
March 11. From Edward Cave, Esq  515
April — From the Countess of Hertford  516
May 23. To William Duncomhe, Esq  517
Oct. 24. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  519
1736, Jan. 17. From the Rev. George Thompson  537
Jan. 28. To the Rev. Samuel Say  538
Feb. 12. From the Rev. Benjamin Colman, D.D  538 — 543
May 24. From Mr. Elisha Williams  543—548

xxiv CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF LETTERS.
1736, Nov. 29. . From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  548 — 550
Oct. 29. From the Rev. F. M. Ziegenhagen  550—552
Dec. 17. From the Rev. Benjamin Colman, D.D  552 — 559
1737, Feb. 8. From Dr. Watts to his Father  53
April 13. From the Countess of Hertford  559
April 23. From the Bishop of London  561
May 2. From the Countess of Hertford  561 — 563
July 13. From the Same  564
Aug. 1. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  566 — 569
Aug. 17. From the Countess of Hertford  569
Oct.27. FromtheSame  569
Nov. 30. From the Rev. F. M. Ziegenhagen  570—573
Dec. 9. From the Same  573—575
Dec. 10. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  576
1738, June 6. From the Countess of Hertford  577—579
Aug. 8. From the Same  579
1739, Jan. 17. From the Same  630—632
May 19. FromtheSame  633
June 7. From the Same  634
June 10. From the Same  635
July 30. FromtheSame  636
Aug. 15. To the Bishop of London  637—640
Aug. 20. From the Rev. Benjamin Colman, D.D  640—645
Aug. 21. From the Bishop of London  645
Sept. 10. From the Countess of Hertford  647
Oct. 16. From the Archbishop of York  648
Oct. 20. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher . . . . :  649
Nov. 28. From the Countess of Hertford  650
1740, Jan. 16. From the*ev. Benjamin Colman, D.D  651 — 655
April 23. From the Rev. P. Doddridge, D.D  656—661
1741, May 20. From the Hon. Jonathan Belcher  662
June 6. From fhe Bishop of London  664
June 19. From the Bishop of Oxford  ,.  664
1742,Julyl2. From the Bishop of London  665
1743, Sept. 14. From the Bishop of Oxford  666
Dec. 15. From the Archbishop of Tuam  667
1745,March2. From the Bishop of London  683
March 20. From the Bishop of Oxford  684
Nov. 8. From the Rev. John Sergeant  684—688
Nov. 29. From the Bishop of London  688
Dec. 14. To the Rev. Philip Doddridge, D.D  689
1747, Nov. 15. From the Countess of Hertford t  689—698
Dec. 3. FromtheSame  693
Dec. 10. From the Rev. James Hervey  694

CHAPTER I.
MR. ISAAC WATTS, SEN.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.— FAMILY OF WATTS.— MR. THOS. WATTS.—
MRS. M. WATTS:— ODE ON HER DEATH.— MR. ISAAC WATTS.— EJECTED
MINISTERS IN SOUTHAMPTON.— SAY FAMILY— PERSECUTED.— PLAGUE
AT SOUTHAMPTON.— LICENSE FOR PREACHING.— MR. I. WATTS PER
SECUTED, IMPRISONED, AND OBLIGED TO LEAVE HIS FAMILY:—
WRITES FROM LONDON TO HIS CHILDREN :— ZEAL AGAINST POPERY.
—WRITINGS OF THE NONCONFORMISTS AGAINST THE PAPISTS.—
RETURNS TO SOUTHAMPTON.— SINGULAR DREAM OF A STONEMASON.
—POETRY, "THE SOUL'S DESIRE OF REMOVE,"— "CEREMONIES,"—
"DIVINE WORSHIP,"— LINES WRITTEN IN HIS SEVENTY-FIRST YEAR.—
DEATH OF MR. WATTS.— LETTER FROM HIS SON.— FUNERAL SERMON.
" We carry wisdom," says one of the fathers, " not in the
external habit, but in the mind ; we do not utter great things,
but we live them."* This declaration, which its author ad
vanced to check the arrogant assumptions of a vain philoso
phy, and to describe the character and conduct of the early
Christians, is equally true with reference to their successors
in modern times. The majority of those who have ornamented
the faith, have been strangers to the " pomp and circumstance"
which captivates the observation of man ; the beauty of holi
ness has been generally unfolded in the privacies of domestic
life ; and the noblest struggles and the most impressive tri
umphs of Christian virtue, have transpired where no mortal
eye can penetrate, in the retirement of the human bosom.
There have, however, been those connected with the history
of the church, who have lived great things as well as uttered
them ; who have associated the influence of religion with the
highest intellectual excellence and mental grandeur; and
•Minucius Felix.
C

26 LIFE AND TIMES
whose names are deservedly honoured as well for the efforts
of genius, as for the more unobtrusive exercises of piety.
To the greatest minds it has been an object of ambition, to
live in the esteem and admiration of posterity ; to be spoken |
and thought of when the sepulchre shall have closed over
their remains ; and thus to travel down the stream of time, to
receive the homage of succeeding ages. " Nothing I confess,"
says Pliny to his friend Capito, " so strongly stimulates my
breast, as the desire of acquiring a lasting name — a passion
highly worthy of the human heart, especially of his, who,
not being conscious of any ill, is not afraid of being known to
posterity . It is the continued subject, therefore, of my thoughts,
By what fair deed I too a name may raise."*
But in estimating the characters of individuals, and in
apportioning the honours of immortality, the world is too
often guided by maxims directly opposed to those which
the " wisdom from above" sanctions. The admiration of
mankind is in general attracted by outward show and pom
pous ceremonial; and he who has contrived to surround
himself with the elements of earthly grandeur, however
unworthy his actions, and disastrous his existence may have
been to others, is often distinguished by a memorial and an
eulogy. The pen of the historian, the song of the poet, and
the chiselrdf the sculptor, hence, have been employed to
preserve the memory of those, who have alone surpassed their
fellows by a career of splendid crime and desolating power.
The distinctions, however, conferred mpon such candidates for
fame, are but short-lived ; for though the record of their names
may exist, yet posterity consigns them to merited neglect, or
only refers to their story to illustrate the scorn and execration
which an ill-spent life deserves^
A far stronger claim upon the notice of a future age, have
they who attempt to secure it by literary eminence; who
* Lib. v. Epist. viii.

OF DR. TSAAC WATTS. 27
distinguish themselves by the productions of genius — who
explore the secrets of nature to decorate the temple of science
— or, gifted with a sublime capacity for thought, seek to
enrich others from their own intellectual stores. The names
of such are not allowed to perish ; being "dead" they yet
" speak" with an immortal voice ; they are placed by posterity
among the benefactors of their race ; and their example is held
up to excite the emulation and stimulate the energies of
kindred spirits. The distinction thus conferred by mental
superiority, is in general far more permanent than that which
is obtained by wealth or station, the inroads of war, or the
imposing attitude of victory. Empires wide in extent and
eminent for power and civilization, have been blotted from
the map of nations ; cities which gathered the commerce of
the earth to their gates have gone to decay, and are no longer
to be distinguished from the surrounding deserts ; monuments
which were erected to guard the ashes and register the deeds
of monarchs, have crumbled into dust, or remain only in ruins
to tell a tale of baffled pride to the passing visiter : but the
thoughts, aspirations, and communings of lofty minds, em
balmed in song or embodied in philosophy, have triumphed
over the sweep of ages, and survived the vicissitudes which
in their lapse have been witnessed. The rhapsodies of
Homer and the imaginings of Plato, have outlived the con
quests of Alexander and the riches of Crcesus.
But intellectual endowments must give place in the order
of true greatness to moral worth ; and the attempt to expand
and cultivate the mind, commendable as it is, can bear no
comparison, in point of importance, with the effort to
improve and renovate the heart. Mental greatness seeks the
improvement of man in time, but moral greatness aims at his
preparation for eternity ; the one has the sphere of its influ
ence confined to the present state, but the other enters in
behind the " vail," and penetrates into the " holiest place."
The object which it contemplates is, to inspire our fallen

28 LIFE AND TIMES
nature with the love of virtue and religion ; to restrain the
passions, purify the thoughts, and regulate the conduct ; and
thus direct the footsteps of mankind from the paths of vice
and error, to the highway of holiness and truth. It is in the
prosecution of a design so magnificent, that the noblest kind
of renown is won, the highest grade of honour attained;
and to such distinction it is the peculiar province of Christir
anity to lead. It excites in every bosom which it visits the
ambition of doing good ; it teaches man to become the friend
and brother of his species ; to address himself to the mighty
task of elevating the character and improving the condition
of his race; to espouse as his own, the interests of human
nature ; and to be ever " ready to be offered up" on the altar
of sacrifice, for the well-being of the erring family to which
he belongs. Characters of this description, marked with this
moral greatness, may not attract, during their brief day, the
gaze and wonder of a dazzled world; but after-ages bring
them from their obscurity, reverence their memory, and raise
them in the scale of worth, far above the heroes of historic
page and poetic song. The influence which they exert does
not cease with their dissolution ; while they pass from us to a
brighter world, the impression of their example descends a
silent blessing to posterity ; and the seeds of warning and
instruction, which their lives have scattered, and the record
of their story preserves, spring up to benefit a future age.
"They rule our spirits from their urns;" they restrain and
check the tide of human degeneracy; excite others to the
attainment of similar excellence; awaken in far-distant
bosoms a desire of emulation ; and kindle in the mind fami
liar with their career, the sparks of kindred eminence.
To this latter class the subject of the following memoirs
belongs; conspicuous for greatness of mind, purity of heart,
benevolence towards man, and devotion towards God; occu
pying a station in public as well as in private life to which
but few have attained. In perusing the present detail of his

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 29
history, the lover of extraordinary incident and strange adven
ture, will be disappointed; but he who delights to gaze upon
a picture of piety and wisdom, to trace the operations of a
mind devoting its energies to the best interests of the human
race, to behold an individual abstracted from earthly concerns,
pursuing in the silent retirement of his closet designs of a
purely spiritual and intellectual character, will, perhaps, meet
with something by which he may be instructed, gratified,
and improved.
Of the ancestry of Dr. Isaac Watts we have but few memo
rials. From the scanty information afforded us, it appears
that the family possessed some paternal property, which
would have been considerable but for the intolerance of the
times. His father was a nonconformist, and unhappily on
that account he suffered from the persecuting court of
Charles II. ; and it is probable that the legal proceedings in
which he was involved, materially injured his private fortune,
and deprived him of the fruits of an industrious life. This
was indeed a common case with the dissenters in that age of
bigotry and oppression ; as dissident from the national estab
lishment they were obnoxious to fines, proscription, and
contumely ; and often had they to suffer " the spoiling of
their goods," to meet the expensive suits instituted against
them in the civil and ecclesiastical courts.
From a note appended to one of the Doctor's poems, we
learn that his grandfather, Mr. Thos. Watts, was engaged in
the naval service, as commander of a ship-of-war in the year
1656. Among his contemporaries he was much esteemed,
and celebrated for many of those accomplishments, which
gave such a lustre to his name in the person of his gifted
grandson. Not only was he well acquainted with the ma
thematics, but also skilled in the lighter arts of music,
painting, and poetry. His personal courage was remarkable.
A descendant of the family relates, that when closely pursued

30 LIFE AND TIMES
by a tiger, while in the East Indies, who had followed him
into a river in which he had taken refuge, Mr. Watts turned
to grapple with the monster, and, by singular coolness and
dexterity, succeeded in ridding himself of his formidable
enemy. In the Dutch war the vessel he commanded unfor
tunately exploded; and by this accident he perished in the
prime of life. The following stanza, relating to the gallant
and ill-fated seaman, written by his poetical relative, is ho
nourable to the " manly spirit" it professes to describe :
"The painter-muse with glancing eye
Observ'd a manly spirit nigh,
That death had long disjoin'd :
' In the fair tablet they shall stand
' United by a happier band,'
She said ; aud fix'd her sight, and drew the manly mind.
Recount the years, my song, (a mournful round) !
Since he was seen on earth no more :
He fought on lower seas and drown'd ;
But victory and peace he found
On the superior shore."
The poem from which the above lines are extracted is
inscribed, " On the death of an aged and honoured relative,
Mrs. M. W." the widow of Mr. T. Watts, and the grandmo
ther of the poet. She long survived her unfortunate husband,
and lived nearly to witness her grandson finish his preparatory
studies for the ministry* The composition shows how much
he esteemed her worth when living, and revered her memory
when dead. In his early education she took a prominent
part; and as her counsels and instructions would doubtless
be directed towards bringing his mind under a religious
influence, to them he was in no slight degree indebted for
the preference which Hfe gave to piety in his youth. In his
ode he follows his revered preceptress to her celestial dwell
ing, and in the character which he assumes, that of a " painter-
muse," thus pictures the disfranchised spirit :
* " 1 693, July 13, Grandmo. Watts died." Memoranda.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 31
1. " I know the kindred mind. 'Tis she, 'tis she ;
Among the heavenly forms I see,
The kindred mind from fleshly bondage free ;
O how unlike the thing was lately seen
Groaning and panting on the bed,
With ghastly air, and languish'd head,
Life on this side, there the dead,
While the delaying flesh lay shivering between !

3. " Gaze on, my soul, and let a perfect view
Paint her idea all anew :
Rase out those melancholy shapes of woe,
That hang around thy memory, and becloud it so.
Come, Fancy, come, with essences refin'd,
With youthful green and spotless white ;
Deep be the tincture, and the colours bright,
T' express the beauties of a naked mind.
Provide no glooms to form a shade ;
All things above of varied light are made,
Nor can the heavenly piece require a mortal aid ;
But if the features too divine
Beyond the power of fancy shine,
Conceal th' inimitable strokes behind a graceful shrine.
4. " Describe the saint from head to feet,
Make all the lines in just proportion meet ;
But let her posture be
Filling a chair of high degree ;
Observe how near it stands to the Almighty seat.

6. " 'Tis done. What beams of glory fall
(Rich varnish of immortal art)
To gild the bright Original !
'Tis done. The muse has now perform'd her part.
Bring down the piece, Urania, from above,
And let my honour and my love
Dress it with chains of gold, to hang upon my heart."
Of Mr. Isaac Watts, the doctor's father, some interesting
particulars have been preserved. He was the master of a
very flourishing boarding-school at Southampton, which was

32 LIFE AND TIMES
in such repute, that pupils from America and the West Indies
were committed to his care. Dr. Johnson, indeed, mentions
a report of his being a shoemaker ; but his strong prejudices
against the dissenters, led him in this instance to give a
rumour access to his pages, which he must have learnt from
Dr. Gibbons was wholly groundless* Mr. Watts being a
decided nonconformist, and a man of unquestioned piety,
sustained the office of deacon in a church of protestant dis
senters in his native town. At the passing of the Act of
Uniformity, in 1662, two ministers of Southampton were
deprived of their livings : Mr. Nathaniel Robinson, ejected
from All Saints', and Mr. Giles Say, from St. Michael's.!
The latter, after having been imprisoned for his secession
from the persecuting hierarchy, removed from the scene of
his toils and sorrows into the county of Norfolk ; J but the
former continued preaching to a congregation in the town,
to the period of his death, in which it is probable Mr. Watts
was a deacon. §
The intimate connexion of Mr. Watts's family with the
dissenting history of Southampton, and the friendship which
not only subsisted between them and the Says, but between
Dr. Watts and Mr. Samuel Say, the successor of Dr. Calamy
at Westminster, which will hereafter be noticed, render the
following particulars interesting. — Mr. Giles Say, the ejected
minister, was born at Southampton in the year 1632 ; the
* See Lives by Johnson and Gibbons.
f Palmer's Nonconformist's Memorial, ii. 279.
\ He settled at Guestwick in Norfolk, with the church of which Mr. Worts had
been pastor, where he continued until his death in 1692. The son of this worthy
man, Mr. Samuel Say, succeeded Dr. Calamy at Westminster. In the church-book
it is said, that " the dissenting church in and about Guestwick, sat down in gospel
order in the end of 1652, and chose Mr. Richard Worts for their pastor, who with
fidelity and success laboured among them till his death, about May 6, 1686; he
was succeeded by Mr. Giles Say (father of Mr. Samuel Say of Westminster), who
died April 8, 1692."
§ Mr. Robinson was imprisoned for his nonconformity, soon after his ejectment,
along with Mr. Say.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 33
family originally belonged to Dorsetshire, but removed in
consequence of the father's marriage. On the blank leaf of
a bible given to Giles by his brother Francis, in November,
1640, a few days before his death, he writes — "My mother,
who was born in 1588, departed this life in February, 1669.
She was of the French seed. Her ancestors were protestants.
Her father and mother, with several other of her relations,
fled for religion out of France, upon a great persecution there,
in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's time, and came and
dwelt at Southampton." The name of these exiles was Catell,
and a considerable estate at Rouen in Normandy belonged to
the family. The Says appear to have been eminently talented
and pious : the family register, kept by Giles, has the following
record, " March 4, 1659, my brother Thomas Say began his
sabbath in heaven, being of age about twenty-five years." In
the year 1660, Mr. Giles Say was ordained to the ministry by
the presbytery at Bishop's-stoke, a village in the neighbour
hood of Southampton, where he had frequently preached ;
but the black Bartholomew day, two years afterwards, drove
him from the pulpits of the establishment, and ranked his
name with the two thousand confessors who preferred
poverty and exile to the guilt of a sinful compliance*
At a time when persecution raged so bitterly against those
who maintained the rights of conscience against the encroach
ments of secular power; when a preference given to the
authority of the laws of Christ over the mandates of an earthly
sovereign, was branded with the odium of sedition; the
families of Watts and Say were called to suffer severely for
their attachment to the principles which they had espoused.
Colonel Norton of Southwick, a village where Mr. Say was
accustomed to preach, though a churchman, proved a friend
to him in his distress ; and offered him the living of Wellow,
worth about £.80 a year, if he would conform. Sir T. Barrow
also, of. Plate-ford in Wiltshire, afforded him an asylum ; and
* Palmer. Noncon. Mem. ii. 279. Say Papers. Mon. Repos. 1809.

34 LIFE AND TIMES
in his house his eldest daughter was born, in September, 1666,
when the plague was ravaging in Southampton. The family
register before cited, contains this memorandum : " A plague
began in Southampton, the latter end of May or beginning of
June, 1665, and continued till November, 1666, before it fully
ceased. It is concluded by the common vote, that there died
in it one thousand and somewhat over ; but there are that do
affirm, that there died betwixt fifteen and sixteen hundred.
It began in the buildings below Bull Hall, being in the lower
end of the Back-street, by the Walnut Tree. The last that
was reputed to die of the plague, was a youth that died over
St. Michael's prison." Upon the declaration of Indulgence,
in 1672, the dissenters in Southampton met for worship in
Mr. Say's house, which was licensed at Whitehall on the 2nd
of May. The original license is among the Say Papers,
printed in imitation of writing, on a half sheet of paper, small
folio, with the blanks filled up in writing, which are here
expressed by italics :
"Charles R.
" Charles by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland,
France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all
Mayors, Bayliffs, Constables, and other our officers and
ministers, civil and military, whom it may concern,
Greeting — In pursuance of our Declaration of the 15th
of March, 167J — We do hereby permit and license
Gyles Say x>f the congregationall persuasion, to be a
teacher of the congregation allowed by us in a Roome or
Roomes, in his House, in Southampton, for the use of
such as do not conform to the Church of England, who
are of the persuasion commonly called Congregationall.
With further license and permission to him, the said
Gyles Say, to teach in any place licensed and allowed by
us according to our said Declaration.  Given at

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 35
our Court at Whitehall, the second day of May, in the
24th year of our Reign, 1672.
" Say, a Teacher. " (Signed) Arlington."
Upon the king's revoking his indulgence, owing to the
clamours of the bishops and clergy, the holding of conventi
cles again became obnoxious to penal statutes ; and Mr. Say
and Mr. Watts were doomed to the hardships of imprison
ment. This was during the infancy of Isaac; and family
tradition has recorded the fact, that in the course of his father's
confinement, his sorrowing mother has been known to seat
herself on a stone near the prison door, to suckle the child of
promise. Mr. Watts was again imprisoned in the year 1683,
and driven afterwards into exile from his family. His son in
his memoranda states : " My father persecuted and imprison
ed for nonconformity six months ; after that forced to leave
his family, and live privately in London for two years." The
trials of the parents made, as may be conceived, a deep im
pression upon the mind of the son ; the adversities of his early
years were remembered by him in after life ; and doubtless
here originated that ardent attachment to civil and religious
liberty which marked his character, and which led his muse
to hail its establishment with exultation, when the dynasty of
the tyrannical Stuarts was driven from the throne* At what
* The Psalms, Hymns, and Lyrics of Dr. Watts, as well as his prose writings,
abundantly show his zealous concern for the cause of liberty, his gratitude for the
Revolution, and his devotion to the house of Hanover when threatened by the Pre
tender. To these topics, Psalm 75, Hymn 1, lib. ii. Lyrics I, lib. ii. 1, lib. iii. are
expressly devoted : 2. " Britain was doom'd to be a slave,
Her frame dissolv'd, her fears were great ;
When God a new supporter gave
To bear the pillars of the state.
3. " He from thy hand received his crown,
And swore to rule by wholesome laws ;
His foot shall tread the oppressor down,
His arm defend the righteous cause."

36 LIFE AND TIMES
time Mr. Say quitted Southampton, it is impossible to ascer
tain ; but the following note in the family register, shows that
Mrs. Say was there at the period of Mr. Watts's exile :
((jci, 1 Martha Say, Junior, was born the
. , . , , ' V eighth of December, 1684, in Lord's
in the parish ol >° . ,,. . .
„,,.,, I Lane, next to the Blue Anchor, on
St. Michael. \ , ' . , „
J the east side.
There is a document extant, which Mr. Watts wrote to his
children, when prudential motives led him to retire to London
from the storm that assailed the nonconforming churches.
It contains directions with reference to their behaviour in the
absence of their earthly protector ; exhorts them to practices
of piety and virtue ; and expresses a perfect resignation on
his part to the will of heaven under its painful and mysterious
dispensations. The letter is worthy of a primitive confessor ;
and affords a pleasing exhibition of the amiable character,
paternal tenderness, and eminent spirituality of the writer :
" My dear children,
" Though it hath pleased the only wise God to
suffer the malice of ungodly men, the enemies of Jesus Christ
(and my enemies for his sake), to break out so far against me,
as to remove me from you in my personal habitation, thereby
at once bereaving me of that comfort, which I might have
hoped for in the enjoyment of my family in peace, and you
of that education, which my love as a father and duty as a
parent required me to give ; yet such are the longings of my
soul for your good and prosperity, especially in spiritual con
cernments, that I remember you always with myself in my
daily addresses to the throne of grace. Though I cannot
speak to you, yet I pray for you ; and do hope that my God
will hear me, and in due time bring me to live again amongst
you, if he shall see such a mercy fit to be bestowed on me or

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 37
you. However, we must endeavour by patient waiting to
submit to his will without murmuring; and not to think
amiss of his chastising us, knowing that all his works are the
products of infinite wisdom ; his designs are the advancement
of his own glory ; and his ends towards his people their sanc
tification and salvation, which certainly shall be accomplished
at last, however his great providences may seem contrary to
it, as to our apprehensions.
" My dear children, since in this my absence from you, it
is the desire of one of you (that is, my eldest son*), to have a
line of counsel from his father, I hope he has but mentioned
it as the mouth for himself, and tbe rest of you that are in
anywise capable of understanding, and that it will be accep
table to you all, and regarded by you : and, therefore, I shall
write in general terms to you all that can understand it at
present ; and to the rest as they grow up to understand it, if
you will keep it, or copy it for them ; for though I am not
altogether without hopes of seeing you again, yet I am no
wise certain of it,t all our time being in God's hands ; but I
would have you know, that you have yet a father that loves
you. I am glad to hear such a desire from any of you ; and
willing heartily to comply with it, so far as my time, and the
many disadvantageous circumstances that attend me, will
permit ; which take as followeth :
" 1st. I charge you frequently to read the holy scriptures ;
and that not as a task or burden laid on you, but get your
hearts to delight in them : there are the only pleasant histo
ries which are certainly true, and greatly profitable ; there are
abundance of*precious promises made to sinners, such as you
are by nature ; there are sweet invitations and counsels of
God and Christ, to come in and lay hold of them ; there are
the choice heavenly sayings and sermons of the Son of God,
* Afterwards Dr. Watts.
f Anticipating a lengthened exile from his home, which was the fate of many of
the nonconformists.

38 LIFE AND TIMES
the blessed prophets and apostles. Above all books and
writings account the bible the best, read it most, and lay up
the truths of it in your hearts : therein is revealed the whole
will of God, for the rule of man's faith and obedience, which
he must believe and do to be holy here and happy hereafter.
Let all the knowledge and learning you attain by other books,
both at school aud at home, be improved as servants to help
you the better to understand God's word, in all the several
tongues wherein you read it. I am the larger upon this head,
because therein you may come to know your duty to God and
man ; and indeed the sum of all the counsel I can give you,
necessary for the regulating of your behaviour .towards God
and man, in every station, place, and condition of your lives,
is contained in that blessed word of God, which pronounceth
a blessing to those that read and hear it, and keep the things
that are therein written.*
" 2dly. Consider seriously and often of the sinful and
miserable estate you are in by nature, from the guilt of origi
nal sin, which came in by the fall of our first parents ; also
of the increasing of that guilt by your own transgressions,
and that you are liable to eternal wrath thereupon; also
think of the way of fallen man's recovery by grace, according
to the foundation-principles of the true Christian religion,
which you have learned in your catechism ; and beg of God
by prayer to give you understanding in them, and faith to
believe iu Jesus Christ, and an heart willing to yield obe
dience to his gospel commands in all things.
" Though you cannot tell how to pray as you should do,
nor in any order, yet be not afraid nor ashamed to try. Go
aside, my dear children, and think in your minds, what it is
that you want to make you holy and happy. Tell God that
you want pardon of sin, a soft, tender, and sanctified heart, a
portion of the spirit, &c. ; and then beg God to help you to
pray for those things, and to teach you to pray, and to pardon
* Rev. i. 3.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 89
the iniquities of your prayers. My children, though it may
want a form of words, yet if the heart be in it, this is prayer,
and such a prayer too as God will hear and accept ; for he
despises not the day of small things, nor little ones, but loves
to see them come and tell him what they would have. Tell
him you would pray better, but you cannot, till he pleases to
help you. My children, if you do but use this way, you shall
find that in time you will come to have praying gifts and
praying graces too ; ' for to them that ask it shall be given ;'*
it will be your excellency, your honour, and your great profit,
to begin betimes to be praying Christians. Prayer is the
character of a child of God, the best remedy for soul diseases,
and the best weapon for a saint's defence ! ' God will pour
out his wrath upon them that call not on his name.'f
" 3dly. Learn to know God according to the discoveries he
hath made of himself in and by his word, in all his glorious
attributes and infinite perfections ; especially learn to know
him in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be ac
quainted with this blessed Redeemer of God's elect, who hath
paid so great a price as his own blood for the ransom of your
souls; thereby satisfying Divine Justice, purchasing peace
and reconciliation for sinners. Labour to believe that this
was done for your souls; and look upon yourselves bound,
as the Lord's redeemed, to walk in all holy conversation
and godliness. Know, that if Jesus Christ had not come and
suffered in the flesh, thereby undertaking and accomplishing
the work of redemption, there had been no remedy; but you
must have perished for ever !'
" 4th. Remember that God is your Creator, from whom
you received life and being; and as such you are bound to
worship him ; much more when you consider that he is your
Benefactor, from the fountain of whose goodness all your
mercies come. Now, upon both these accounts, the best of
your time and abilities are required in his service ; and the
•Matt. vii. 7. f Jer. x. 25.

40 LIFE AND TIMES
earlier you begin to devote yourselves to his service, the abler
you will be to perform it acceptably, the greater will be your
honour here, and your glory hereafter ; though you must not
expect to merit aught at his hands, by way of merit for what
you can do, yet certain it is, that Jesus Christ will reward
every one according to his works ; and we are bidden to look
to the recompense of reward, in that sense after Moses's ex
ample ;* and it is ho small commendation and honour to be
an old disciple of Christ.
" 5th. Know this, that as you must worship God, so it
must be in his own ways, with true worship and in a right
manner ; that is, according to the rules of the gospel, and not
according to the inventions or traditions of men. Consider
that idolatry and superstition are both abominable to God.
Now idolatry is the worshipping of idols,f images, pictures,
or any creatures or representations, as the heathens do, or
crucifixes and consecrated bread, as the papists do. Either
to worship these as God, or to worship God by and under
them, as the children of Israel did the golden calf, or to
worship God in a false manner — is idolatry ; and no idola
ters must enter into heaven. Superstition is to make addi-
* Heb. ii.
+ Idolatry, eiSio\o\a7piea, eiSos, image, \aTpeveiv, to serve, of which pro
testant writers justly regard the papists as guilty. The worship of images was
legitimatised by the council of Nice, A.D. 787; and though modern popish
polemics, Drs. Milner, Lingard, Delahogue, and Mr. Butler, pretend to dispute its
authority, yet Bellarmine, amore competent judge, remarks, "Si ergo ilium est
Concilium generate legitimum, certe hoc est." In the same page, in his Treatise
on Images, he further states ; " Quod Synodus Nicana decreveret, imagines
adorandas cultu Lathis" (which was the highest worship), "certissimum est."
lib. ii. p. 806. The council pf Trent, indeed, in its twenty-fifth session, explained,
" not that any divinity or virtue is believed to be in thein, far which they should
be worshipped ; because the honour that is paid to them is referred to the original
which they represent." To explain away the idolatry of the service, other popish
writers have introduced a. refinement, distinguishing subordinate from supreme
worship ; the latter degree of worship is to be paid to God alone, but the former,
ituTntiK-n irpoaKvwnois, may be rendered to images. The shallow sophistry of
the distinction is, however, obvious ; and image-worship deserves no milder name
than idolatry, and papal practices in this instance must rank in the same class
with pagan.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 41
tions of ordinances or ceremonies to God's worship, more
than he hath appointed, though they have ever so fair pre
tences for them* Take heed, my children, of these things.
It is not enough to say, that such things are not forbidden in
scripture; but you must see whether they are commanded
there, or else obey them not.
" 6. Entertain not in your hearts any of the popish doc
trines, of having more mediators than one, namely, the Lord
Jesus ; of praying to the Virgin Mary, or any other saints or
angels, for saints and angels, though in heaven, yet they are
creatures,f and prayer is a divine worship, due to none but
God the Father, Son, and Spirit : also avoid their doctrine of
* " Religentem esse oportet ; religiosum nefas." Aulus Gellius, lib. iv. c. 9.
AChristian's notions of superstition, will not, however, coincide with those ofthe
ancient heathen. It is not an error of degree but of kind : a substitution of the
vain inventions of men for the ordinances of God. In this light the nonconform
ists regarded the rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer,
to which the Act of Uniformity required the subscription of their unfeigned assent
and consent. The jus divinum prelatists of the present day, may treat their scru
ples as needless, fastidious, and uncalled-for ; but to do them justice we ought to
place ourselves in the same circumstances. " Suppose," says the biographer of
Baxter, "that the rulers of the church of England were now to determine, 'That on
or before the 24th of August (in such a year) the present occupants of livings, cu
racies, &c. shall subscribe a declaration, engaging themselves to baptise no child
without the employment of salt, oil, and spittle, as part of the ordinance of baptism ;
to administer the Lord's supper to those only who should previously bow to the
sacred chalice, and submit to a bread wafer being put upon their tongues.' What
would the serious clergy of the church think of such a demand ? Would they
submit to it as a just exercise of ecclesiastical authority ? Would they not to a
man abandon their livings, rather than allow their consciences to be lorded over and
defiled ?" Orme's Life, i. 289.
f Melancthon in his Consilia, drawn up in opposition to the famous Interim of
the emperor Charles, remarks : " It is certain that the invocation of saints, and
flying to images, is one of the greatest abuses and idolatries of these later ages.
Prayer to an invisible and absent being, attributes to that being the power of know
ing the heart, a power exclusively divine. Therefore, prayers to saints are idola
trous." Consil. 2. 26. 31, 32, 33. 38. Zwingle also in a similar manner observes :
" He who first placed the statue of a holy man in a temple, had certainly no other
intention than to offer him as an object of imitation to the faithful : but men did
not stop there. The saints were soon surrounded with a pomp which impressed
the imagination ofthe people ; they were transformed into divinities, and honoured
as the pagans honoured their gods. Their names arc given to temples and altars,
and chapels are consecrated to them iu woods, in fields, and upon mountains.
How many men in the hour of trouble, or at the approach of danger, instead of
D

42 LIFE AND TIMES
meriting by works of obedience, for there is some sin that
pollutes our best duties, and we can deserve nothing at God's
hand but wrath : all the good we receive comes of his free
grace.* Their doctrine also of purgatory is abominable ; for
there is no middle place for souls to go to — there is only hea
ven and hell :f also their doctrine, that the pope can forgive
sins, is a lie, for he is a wicked man himself, and must go to
hell unless God forgive him : also their turning the breadj

invoking the Omnipotent, call upon men who have been dead for ages, whose vir
tues have certainly placed them in the mansions of the blessed, but who can neither
hear nor succour us!" Hess. 171 — 173.
* We cannot but admire the clear and scriptural views which this good man
entertained of the gospel plan of salvation. Such were the sentiments of the
reformers, as Melancthon beautifully expresses them : "All our virtues in this life
are weak and imperfect, and much evil and corruption remains in our hearts.. We
must needs, therefore, fly to the Mediator, lay hold on bim, and seek grace and
mercy through him. We are filled with horror at the view of the greatness of our
own sins and miseries ; and, therefore, are compelled, when we would find peace
of mind, to fly to the one only Propitiator, whom God in infinite wisdom and
mercy hath proposed to us, and then, as the apostle testifies, 'being justified by
faith we have peace with God.' " Consil. 2. 39, 40.
f The doctrine of purgatory seems to have been too delicate a subject for the
fathers at the council of Trent, to enter upon its discussion. It was, therefore,
summarily dismissed, as having been previously settled when the sacrifice of the
mass was declared to be propitiatory, in the twenty-second session ; " not only for
the sins of the living, but also for those who are deceased in Christ, and are not
yet fully purged :" " quare non solum pro fidelium vivorum peccatis, pcenis, &c.
sed pro defunctis in Christo, noudum ad plenum pnrgatis, rite juxta Apostolorum
traditionem." Sess. 22. It was politic surely upon such a point to prefer
apostolic tradition to scripture.
£ Paschasius Radbert, a monk, and afterwards abbot of Corhey in Picardy,
according to catholic writers, was the first who explained the genuine sense of the
Romish church upon this point. He held, that after the consecration of the bread
and wine in the Lord's supper, nothing remained of these symbols but the out
ward form or figure, under which the body and blood of Christ were really and
locally present; and, that this body so present was the identical body that had
been born of the Virgin Mary, had suffered on the cross, and had been raised from
the dead. The council of Trent declares, that " the whole substance of the bread
is changed into the substance of Christ's body, and the whole substance of the
wine into the substance of his blood :" totius substantia? panis in substantiate
corporis Christi, D. N. ; et totius substantia; vini in substantiam sanguinis ejus.''
Sess. 13. The anathema ofthe church is inflicted upon them who deny, that the
body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of Christ, are actually (" vere
realiter, et substantialiter"^ present in the eucharist.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 43
into the very body of Jesus Christ by a priest's words — this
is a falsehood and notorious idolatry. Many other erroneous
and damnable doctrines they own, which I cannot enlarge
upon ; but you must receive no doctrine, but such as is rightly
built upon the holy scriptures. My children, pray to God to
give you the knowledge of the truth, and to keep you from
error ; for it is a very dangerous time you are like to live in*
" 7th. Do not entertain any hard thoughts of God, or of his
ways, because his people are persecuted for them ; for Jesus
Christ himself was persecuted to death by wicked men, for
preaching the truth and doing good, and the holy apostles
and prophets were cruelly used for serving God in his own
way.f The wicked ones of the world are the seed of the ser
pent ; and they will always hate the people of God, torment
and seek to destroy them ; and God suffers them to do so, not
for want of love to his people, but to purge their sins by chas
tisement, to try their graces, and fit them for heaven, till the
wicked have filled up the measure of their iniquities, and
many other holy reasons : therefore, if you should come to
live very poor, for the gospel's sake, be contented with it, and
bless God for every mercy you receive, and know this, that
poor ones are heirs of glory as well as rich ones. J
"Lastly, I charge you to be dutiful and obedient to all
your superiors : to your grandfather and both grandmothers,
and all other relations and friends that are over you, but in
an especial manner to your mother, to whose care and govern
ment God hath wholly committed you in my absence ; who,
as I am sure, dearly loves you, so she will command and direct
you to her utmost ability in all ways, for your good of soul
and body. Consider, she is left alone to bear all the burden
of bringing you up ; and is, as it were, a widow ; her time is
* This letter was written a few months after James II. ascended the throne, and
a few days previous to Baxter's iniquitous trial.
f Heb. xi.
I James, ii. 5.

44 LIFE AND TIMES
filled up with many cares, and, therefore, do not grieve her
by any rebellious or disobedient ways ; but be willing to
learn of her and be ruled by her, that she may have some
comfort in seeing your obedient carriage ; and it will rejoice
me to hear it. Avoid bad company of wicked children ; abhor
swearing, lying, and playing on the sabbath-day, and all
other wicked courses ; so shall you grow in favour with God
and man. Love one another. You that are eldest, help to
teach the younger ; and you that are younger, do not scorn
the teachings of the elder. These things I charge and com
mand you with the authority and love of a father. Now
commending you to God, and what I have written to his
blessing upon your hearts, through Jesus Christ, with my
dear love to your mother, my duty to your grandfather and
grandmothers, and love to all other friends, being indifferent
in health, I rest your very loving father.
" Isaac Watts.
"London, the 21st of May, 1685."
This affecting epistle abundantly discovers the writer's
attachment to the gieat principles of protestantism ; and at
once refutes the calumny which has been propagated, that
the nonconformists were passive spectators when its interests
were in jeopardy. Amid the sufferings in which he was
involved, personal considerations were lost sight of by Mr.
Watts, in the danger to which he saw his country exposed;
and in the minds of his children he sedulously sought to
instil similar sentiments. The times presented alarming
indications, that the ecclesiastical subjection of the nation to
the see of Rome, was contemplated by an influential party;
the emissaries of the Vatican were actively intriguing about
the court for the accomplishment of this object; and the
well-known indifference of Charles to all religion, and the
avowed adherence of James to popery, had long seemed to
render the scheme feasible. The spirit of the papal system

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 45
was so favourable to the darling vice of the Stuart family —
the exercise of arbitrary power ; the alliances of the reigning
monarch, were chiefly with the catholic princes of the conti
nent ; and these considerations, during the reign of Charles,
aided by the weakness and wanton impiety of the king, had
excited a just alarm for the safety of the reformation. It was
no secret that measures had been in active preparation to
effect its overthrow ; the Jesuits openly avowed the design ;
and the sovereign pontiff, as if sure of his prize, was calcula
ting upon a favourable opportunity, to receive the Anglican
church again into his fold. These signs of the times led to
various controversies on the principles of the catholic faith ;
and the nonconformists, harassed as they were by the exist
ing establishment, ranged themselves with its dignitaries as
champions in one common cause. It has indeed been stated,
that their animosity to churchmen led them to be inactive in
the struggle, and indifferent as to its issue ; but no insinua
tion can be more ungenerous, no statement in point of fact
more incorrect.* Deprived as they were of their livings,
* Baxter's prayer gives us a curious illustration of his zeal against popery :
"From such a worldly and fleshly-sacred generation, as take gain for godliness,
make their worldly carnal interest the standard of their religion, and their proud
domination to pass for the kingdom of Christ ; from an usurping vice-Christ, whose
ambition is so boundless as to extend to the prophetical, priestly, and kingly
headship, over all the earth, even to the antipodes, aud to that which is proper to
God himself aud our Redeemer; from a leprous sect, which condemneth the far
greatest part of all Christ's church on earth, and scparateth from them, calling
itself the whole and only church ; from that church, which decreeth destruction to
all that renounce not all hnman sense, by believing that bread is not bread, nor
that wine is wine, but Christ's very flesh and blood, who now hath properly no flesh
and blood, but a spiritual body ; that decreeth the excommunication, deposition,
and damnation of all princes, who will not exterminate all such, and absolveth
their subjects from their oaths of allegiance ; from that beast whose mark is per,
perjury, perfidiousness, and persecution, and that thinketh it doeth God accepta
ble service, by killing his servants or tormenting them ; from that religion which
feedeth on Christ's flesh, by sacrificing those that he calleth his flesh and bones ;
from the infernal dragon, the father of lies, malice, and murder, and all his mi
nisters, and kingdom of darkness — Good Lord, make haste to deliver thy flock;
confirm their faith, hope, patience, and their joyful desire of the great, true,
final, glorious deliverance. Amen, Amen, Amen !"
The Protestant Religion truly Stated and Justified.

46 LIFE AND TIMES
banished as it was the lot of many from their homes and
families, and having no access to their books,* the same exer
tions could not reasonably be expected from them, as from
the prelates of a wealthy hierarchy in the enjoyment of every
literary facility ; but notwithstanding these disadvantages,
most of their eminent ministers stood forwards foremost in the
contest. The harsh treatment which they had received from
the prelatists, was afterwards regretted as a question of policy
by many of their persecutors ; its natural tendency was to
sour the minds and embitter the spirit of those who came
under its infliction ; and though in some instances such effects
might be produced, yet the preceding letter exhibits the sen
timents and feelings of the great majority, when the vital
truths of religion were threatened by the mistresses of a profli
gate monarch and the priestly myrmidons of antichrist.f
Mr. Watts was upwards of two years an exile from his
family; and probably returned to Southampton in the year
1687, when James sought to bring the dissenters over to his
views, by publishing his first declaration for liberty of con-
* In a touching letter to Lord Lauderdale, Baxter remarks : " I would request
that I might be allowed to live quietly, to follow my private studies, and might
once again have the use of my books, which I have not seen these ten years. 1
pay for a room for their standing in at Kidderminster, where they are eaten by
worms and rats ; having no security for my quiet abode in any place, to encourage
me to send for them. I would also ask, that I might have the liberty every beggar
hath, to travel from town to town." Orme's Life, i. 357.
fTong's Defence of Henry's Notion of Schism, contains a full answer to this
calumny, p. 154, 155. Mr. Neal observes, upon the authority of Dr. Calamy,
Baxter, and others, that some of the dissenters' tracts against popery being thought
too warm, were refused to he licensed. Mr. Jonathau Hanmer, ejected from
Bishop's Tawton in Devonshire, was refused a license for one of his discourses.
Mr. Henry Pendlebury met with alike denial. Dr. Jane, the Bishop of Loudon's
chaplain, denied his sanction to one of Baxter's pieces. Dr. Grey, however, cites
four letters from Dr. Isham, Dr. Alston, Dr. Batteley, and Mr. Needham, licensers
of the press, in which they positively declare, that they never refused to license a
book, on account of its being written by a dissenter. With reference to Baxter,
Dr. Isham remarks, that "if he had prepared anything against the common enemy,
without striking obliquely at our church, I would certainly have forwarded them
from the press." The books referred to, to which licenses were refused, were pro
bably laid before Dr. Jane and other licensers.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 47
science. His prudence and integrity secured to him the
esteem of his townsmen ; and many persons were accustomed
to consult him in cases of emergency. Mr. Parker, who was
Dr. Watts's amanuensis, has related the following anecdote :
— A person in Southampton, who was a stonemason, and who
had purchased an old building for its materials, previous to
his pulling it down came to Mr. Watts, under some uneasi
ness, in consequence of a dream, viz. that a large stone in the
centre of an arch fell upon him, and killed him. Upon asking-
Mr. Watts his opinion, he answered, " I am not for paying
any great regard to dreams, nor yet for utterly slighting them.
If there is such a stone in the building as you saw in your
dream" (which he told him there really was), " my advice to
you is, that you take great care in taking down the building
to keep far enough off from it." The mason resolved to act
upon bis opinion; but in an unfortunate moment he forgot
his dream, went under the arch, and the stone fell upon him,
and crushed him to death.
Of this good and singularly devoted man, it may truly be
said, that his " latter end" was " blessed more than the be
ginning ;" for he lived long enough to witness the triumph
of religious liberty under the princes of the house of Hanover,
and to enjoy the exquisite gratification of beholding the son
who had been nursed at his prison-door, in the full career of
his usefulness and fame. He partook of his taste for poetry,
and in the decline of life, at the advanced age of eighty -five,
penned the following simple and pious effusions :
"THE SOUL'S DESIRE OF REMOVE.
I.
"Long have I sojourn'd in this weary land,
Where sins and sorrows everywhere abound ;
Soul-threatening dangers, see how thick they stand !
Snares and temptations compass me around.

48 -LIFE AND TIMES
" 'Tis an unhealthy clime, where vapours rise,
Whose pestilential influences shed
Malignant fumes beneath the gloomy skies,
Which wonnd the heart and stupify the head.
"When shall my soul obtain a kind remove,
These fleshly shackles broke, and I set free
From this dark dungeon? Soon I'd mount above
To see my God, the Man who died for me.
"My guardian angel, come and lead the way,
Assist my footsteps in the sacred road ;
I'll follow on through realms of endless day
Up to the palace of my Father God;
" Where solac'd' with the beatific sight,
No evil shall my perfect peace molest,
But with those holy ones array'd in white,
Shall enter into everlasting rest.

" Worn with the toils of fourscore years and five,
A weary pilgrim, Lord, to thee I come ;
To beg supporting grace, till I arrive
At heaven, thy promis'd rest, my wish'd-for home.
" Here's nothing to invite my longer stay,
Among the darksome melancholy cells ;
When shall I leave this tenement of clay ?
Fain would I be where my Redeemer dwells.
" Oh ! had I hut some generous seraph's wing,
There's nothing should prevail to keep me here ;
But with the morning lark I'd mount and sing,
Till I had left earth's gloomy atmosphere.
" My soul directly rising upward still,
Till I should reach the glorious courts above,
Where endless pleasure my desires shall fill,
And solac'd be with my dear Jesu's love.
With sweet refreshment, on such things as these
My serious thoughts have often been employ'd ;
But how much more will happiness increase
When more than can be thought will be enjoy'd."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 49
The first of these poems was given to Dr. Gibbons, by Mrs.
Jane Rolleston, a lady of Southampton, and a member of the
dissenting congregation there. In the surreptitious publica
tion referred to in the preface, entitled the " Posthumous
Works of Dr. Watts," the careless compiler has twice inserted
it ; at the commencement of the volume as the composition of
the father, and at the close as the production of the son* It
must undoubtedly be assigned to Mr. Watts, senior. From
the compilation in question, which we have good reason to
believe contains the father's manuscript poems, which the
doctor entrusted to the care j-of his sister, Mrs. Sarah Brack-
stone, a few more extracts may be made, as the work is little
known, illustrative of the piety and talent of the writer. In
the following, though destitute of poetical merit, the princi
ples of the nonconformist are prominently developed :

I.
"ON CEREMONIES.
" Why do our churchmen with such zeal contend
For what the scriptures nowhere recommend ?
Those ceremonies, which they doat upon,
Were unto Christians heretofore unknown.
In ancient times God's worship did accord,
Not with traditions, but the written word ;
Himself has told us how he'll be ador'd.
" 'Tis true, that, in the legal dispensation,
Which only did concern the Jewish nation,
Religious rites were constantly maintain'd,
But such, and only such, as Heaven ordain'd ;
By special warrant and command exprest,
The mitre aud the ephod, with the rest
Of all those robes wherewith the priest was drest.
*See p. p. 28, 167. In this collection there are several poems inserted as
sonnets; one consisting of eight verses of four lines each, and none of the others
possess the requisite quantity.

50 LIFE AND TIMES
" The altar that was built for sacrifice,
Must bear such fashion and be such a size ;
The tabernacle and its furniture,
Its tacks and loops so many and no more;
Exact according to the pattern shown
By God to Moses iu the mount alone ;
And so for form must every thing be done.
" Nothing was left to man's invention free ;
No; not the least addition must there be:
The worship and the mode were still the same,
And so continued till Messiah came,
God's Son and Heir, whose government took place,
When clearly he reveal'd the truth and grace,
Which, cloth'd in types, lay hid in former days.
" And here commene'd the gospel dispensation,
Cent'ring in Christ, the author of salvation ;
. Perfect in wisdom, he the system drew
Of his own worship ; who shall add thereto ?
Can foolish man Heaven's workmanship refine ?
Or puddle- water meliorate the wine ?
'Tis treason to corrupt the prince's coin.
" When Paul was first converted, 'tis not said,
He read a, prayer, but we read, he prayed ;
Nor do I find he did a surplice wear,
Either in time of preaching or of prayer ;
Or bow'd to altars, heathen superstition ;
At Athens he reprov'd that vain tradition,
And yet 'tis sure he acted by commission.
" Nor can it be in sacred records found,
That e'en that house was built on holy ground,
Where Peter went upou the roof to prayer,
And yet with God he held communion there,
While dinner was prepar'd ; nor is't related,
Cornelius's house was ever consecrated ;
Yet gospel-worship there was celebrated.
" When Paul and Silas were in prison cast,
And by the gaoler in the stocks set fast,
They never question'd aught about the place,
Being quickened by the Spirit of grace,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 51
Betook themselves to prayer and praises high,
Which pleas'd th' Almighty's ear: blest melody !
Although there surely were no organs by.
" Our Saviour did th' apostles authorize,
To go and preach the gospel and baptise
Throughout each kingdom, and in every coast,
In name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
But not a word I read in his command,
Of signing with the cross in face or hand,
Nor thus did they his mandate understand.
" Rome did these ceremonies first invent,
Confirm'd them by a council held at Trent ;
Sent and impos'd them on the nations thence,
Made decency and order their pretence :
I dare not with such superstition join ;
Give me pure doctrine, gospel discipline,
Where God is serv'd — that service is divine.

II.
'DIVINE WORSHIP MUST BE ACCORDING TO DIVINE RULE.
" 'Tis not religion in an outside dress
Of forms aud modes, that can acceptance win
With Him who weighs our duties more or less,
According to the principle within.
" We see the actions, but Heaven's eyes behold,
The secret springs from whence they do proceed ;
Not all that glistens must be counted gold ;
'Tis pure intention consecrates the deed.
" The daily flames that from the altar rise,
Must still be kindled with celestial fire;
This only makes a pleasing sacrifice,
When sacred love breaks out in pure desire.
" The rules of worship all appointed were ;
The victim beast must not be lame or blind,
And must be offer'd with an heart sincere ;
The life of true devotion is the mind.

52 LIFE AND TIMES
" Who in God's service his prescription shuns,
And dares another form to introduce,
On the thick bosses of his buckler runs,
Aud calls down vengeance to repay th' abuse.
" This Nadab and Abihu knew too well,
When, with strange fire, they brought their offspring nigh,
A sudden flame from heaven upon them fell,
And in th' attempt they at the altar die.

III.
Written in the seventy-first year of his age.
" When I can call the blessed Jesus mine,
By strong embraces of a faith divine,
My soul's transported to a strange degree,
And nothing can my joyful thoughts remove
From the dear object of my sovereign love ;
My inward powers dissolve in sacred ecstasy.
" He the fix'd centre of my soul's delight,
On whom I feast by day, and rest by night;
In him alone are all my wants supplied ;
When I can clasp him thus within my arms,
In vain the world with her deceitful charms,
Shall offer from his love to draw my heart aside.
" 'Tis true there's nothing to depend upon,
That I have either suffer'd, wrought, or done ;
Yet hope, my confidence, shall never fall,
While Jesus Christ is mine and I am his,
I cannot fail of everlasting bliss ;
Though I myself am nothing, He's my all.
" Keep up, my soul, a constant cheerful frame,
At the remembrance of thy Saviour's name ;
Survey the records of time past, and see
When Jesus laid aside his heavenly dress,
Aud cloth'd himself in robes of human flesh ;
What sorrows, griefs and pains, he underwent for thee.
" To make atonement with his precious blood,
He gave himself a sacrifice to God ;
And now, as intercessor in thy stead,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 53
Appears for thee before his Father's face,
To sue for pardon and supply of grace,
Where all his sufferings for thy miseries plead.
" See next the promises, which stand enroll'd
In Heaven's great charter, whence the saints of old,
As from a living spring, their comforts drew ;
Assur'd by faith that what th' Almighty spake,
No powers of earth or hell could ever break,
For all his promises are faithful, just aud true.
" Now let all three be added into one,
What hath been, is, or further shall be done,
In the transactions of thy Saviour's love;
A matchless work it will appear to be,
In union of the eternal Three,
Accomplish'd here below, but first contriv'd above.
" 'Twas Wisdom's self that did project the scheme,
How God's own Son should criminals redeem,
That Justice should appear in mercy drest. —
Here stop, my soul, and join the heavenly choir,
And when thy feeble strains can reach no higher,
In humble silence meditate the rest."

The death of Mr. Watts took place in February, 1736 or 7;
arid but two days before this event, his son Dr. Watts address
ed to him the following letter :
" Newington, Feb. 8, 1736-7.
" Honoured and dear Sir,
" 'Tis now ten days since I heard from you, and
learned by my nephews that you had been recovered from a
very threatening illness. When you are in danger of life, I
believe my sister is afraid to let me know the worst, for fear of
affecting me too much. But as I feel old age daily advanc
ing on myself,* I am endeavouring to be ready for my remo
val hence ; and though it gives a shock to nature, when what
has been long dear to one is taken away, yet reason and reli-
* Dr. Watts was now in his sixty-third year.

54 LIFE AND TIMES
gion should teach us to expect it in these scenes of mortality
and a dying world. Blessed be God for our immortal hopes
through the blood of Jesus, who has taken away the sting of
death! What could such dying creatures do without the
comforts of the gospel ? I hope you feel those satisfactions of
soul on the borders of life, which nothing can give but this
gospel, which you taught us all in our younger years. May
these divine consolations support your spirits, under all your
growing infirmities ; and may our blessed Saviour form your
soul to such a holy heavenly frame, that you may wait with
patience amidst the languors of life, for a joyful passage into
the land of immortality ! May no cares nor pains ruffle nor
afflict your spirit ! May you maintain a constant serenity at
heart, and sacred calmness of mind, as one who has long past
midnight, and is in view of the dawning day ! The night is
far spent, the day is at hand ! Let the garments of light be
found upon us, and let us lift up our heads, for our redemp
tion draws nigh. Amen. " I am, dear Sir,
"Your most affectionate obedient son,
" Isaac Watts."
The decease of his father was improved by Dr. Watts in a
sermon to his own people, on Zech. i. 5 : " Your fathers,
where are they ? And the prophets, do they live for ever ?"

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 55

CHAPTER IL
EARLY YEARS OF WATTS.
1674—1690.
BIRTH OF WATTS.— EARLY GENIUS.— COUPLET FOR HIS MOTHER.—
WRITES AN ACROSTIC ON HIS OWN NAME. — COMET OF 1680.—
FRANKLIN, COWLEY, AND REYNOLDS.— LINES.— CLASSICAL STUDIES.
—FREE-SCHOOL. — EXTRACTS FROM MEMORANDA. — REV. JOHN
I'INHORN. — LATIN PINDARIC ODE. — TRANSLATION. — IMITATION OF
HORACE.— THE BRITISH FISHERMAN.— LANDING OF THE PRINCE OF
ORANGE. — BRADBURY.— DE FOE.— PIETY.— MEMORANDA.— DR. JOHN
SPEED.— OFFER FOR HIS EDUCATION AT COLLEGE REJECTED.— GOES
TO LONDON.
Isaac Watts, D.D., to whose life the following pages
are devoted, was born at Southampton, July 17, 1674.* He
was the eldest of a numerous family, consisting of four sons
and five daughters, f and was named after his father, Isaac.
Though his natural disposition was marked with great
sprightliness and vivacity, yet he was indifferent to the follies
and vanities which usually captivate in years of childhood.
From his youthful companions he was often observed to retire,
to devote those hours to gratify a thirst for information, which
they spent in amusement. As soon as he could articulate he
was ambitious of learning to read, and the gift of a book was
the most gratifying present he could receive.
*" I was horn  July 17, 1674." Watts's MS.
•(-Richard, the second son, became a physician, and practised in London.
Enoch was the third ; and Sarah, afterwards married to Mr. Brackstone, a draper
in Southampton, was the fifth child in succession. In the " Posthumous Works"
there is a poem on the death of Elizabeth Watts, "who deceased Nov. 11, 1691,
aged two years." These lines are in the simple homely style of Mr. W. sen.

56 LIFE AND TIMES
In surveying the lives of those who have outstripped their
fellow mortals in the march of mind, we are led to look with
peculiar interest and curiosity upon their early years ; enter
taining a not-unnatural supposition, that those who are
great in mature age, must necessarily have exhibited some
thing extraordinary in their boyhood. This, though true
with reference to many of the gifted ones of the human race,
cannot be received as an invariable rule ; for instances are by
no means infrequent, in which the morning has been dark
and lowering, when the noonday has been brilliant with the
light of intellect. Pascal when a mere child, without the
assistance of a tutor, mastered the elementary propositions of
geometry, drawing the figures with a bit of coal on the floor
of his room ; whilst Sheridan, the delight and admiration of
crowded senates in his prime, was given up when a boy by
both parents and preceptors, as most incorrigibly dull. The
mind in its manifestations, is in no slight degree influenced
by external circumstances; and the development and im
provement of the intellectual faculty, will be affected in
different individuals, by their several peculiarities, their modes
of education, opportunities, and bodily temperament. As
there are original differences in the soil which the husband
man cultivates, it is obvious to an attentive observer of mental
phenomena, that there are, perhaps less prominent, but well-
defined differences in the constitution of the human mind ;
and the want of the proper consideration of these, the mis
application of educational formula, the expenditure of the
mental vigour upon studies directly opposed to its natural
aptitude, will stunt the growth and retard the manifestations
of intelligence. If it is necessary in agriculture, that the
properties of the land to be cultivated should be investigated,
and the grain adapted to its peculiar quality, in order that a
successful tillage may ensue ; so in intellectual education,
it is equally important, that the mental susceptibilities and
tastes should be consulted, as when properly directed, they

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 57
form most powerful auxiliaries to the discipline of instruction.
But even where all this has been done, we have many in
stances of parental tenderness hopelessly despairing over an
apparent dulness and stupefaction in youth ; when in after
years, by some accidental occurrence, the long dormant
powers have been awakened, and have speedily outstripped
in their progress to maturity the more early advancements of
others. It has been said of Watts, that " when a child he began to
act the part of maturer years ;" and was noticed by his rela
tives and immediate associates for his anxiety for mental
improvement. The money that was occasionally given to
him, was expended to gratify this favourite propensity ; and
on obtaining any such present, he was accustomed to run to
his parents, crying, "a book, a book — buy a book." This
feeling of the want of knowledge, and the strong desire to
obtain it which it engendered, were fortunately regulated and
controlled by the benignant influence of paternal government.
The youthful mind is in general influenced by a love of disco
very, an appetite for novelty ; the first .dawn of intelligence
deve lopsa principle of curiosity, an anxiety after the aliquid
novum ; and hence it is a matter of no small moment, that
the attention should be early directed by a controlling agent
to subjects that will improve and benefit. The desire of in
formation is to the mind, what hunger is to the body ; and as
care is requisite to supply the wants of the one with whole
some food, it is equally necessary that the powers of the mind
should be employed upon materials which will increase its
vigour, expand its capacity, and be an aliment to its cravings.
If left to rove from one object to another without a guide ; if
not subject to the counsel and care of experience ; the conse
quence will almost invariably be, that unhealthy and destruc
tive ingredients will be administered, or the habit contracted
of preferring an acquaintance with those subjects which lead
to new and varied sensation, rather than to moral and intel-

58 LIFE AND TIMES
lectual benefit. It was a happy circumstance for Watts, that
his mental faculties in their vigorous spring-time, were directed
by a judicious parent in the search of genuine wisdom; that
those truths were presented to his awakening attention, which
exert a moral and hallowing influence upon the mind ; that a
course of instruction was adopted, which led to the communi
cation of good and fixed principles : for by the corrective
agency of early discipline, he was preserved from those spe
cious errors, which grow iu wild luxuriance and attractive
colouring in the fields of literature, and taught to estimate the
value of objects, not as they gratify a passion for novelty, but
as they enlarge the understanding and regulate the life.
At an early age Watts's poetical genius developed itself;
and along with Milton, Cowley, and Pope, he may be said to
have " lisp'd in numbers." It was a custom with his mother,
to employ her husband's pupils after school-hours, in writing
her some verses, for which she used to reward them with a
farthing. When young Watts's turn came to exercise his
gift, he furnished the following couplet :
" I write not for a farthing, but to try
How I your farthing writers can outvie."
About the same time he composed a copy of verses, which
falling into the hands of his mother, she, upon reading them,
expressed her suspicion whether he was really the author of
them. To remove her doubts as to his ability to compose in
this manner, he penned the following acrostic upon his name :
"I am a vile polluted lump of earth,
S o I've continu'd ever since my birth ;
A lthough Jehovah grace does daily give me,
A s sure this monster Satan will deceive me,
C ome, therefore, Lord, from Satan's claws relieve me.
" W ash me in thy blood, O Christ,
A nd grace divine impart,
T hen search and try the corners of my heart,
T hat I in all things may be fit to do
S ervice to thee, and sing thy praises too."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 59
These lines are evidently juvenile ; but they afford a pleas
ing proof, that his first as well as his latest attempts in verse,
were devoted to the cause of piety and virtue ; so that what
Lord Lyttleton said of Thompson, may truly be applied to
him: he wrote, "No line, which, dying, he could wish to blot."
Upon attaining his sixth year, the great comet of 1680 was
the marvel and wonder of the day ; and Watts frequently
spoke in after-life of the deep impression which the brilliant
wanderer made upon his mind. It is curious to trace the
accidents, which seem by some mysterious influence to have
often determined genius in the exercise of its powers, though
we have not sufficient insight into the mental economy, to
discover the intermediate links between the cause and the
effect. It was the sight of a flash of lightning, from a tree
into which he had climbed, to see where the fire came from,
that first awakened in Franklin's mind a longing desire to in
vestigate the origin, and ascertain the laws, which govern the
power of electrical phenomena. A copy of Spenser's Fairy
Queen, lying in the window of his mother's apartment, enlisted
Cowley's genius in the cause of verse ; and Richardson's
Treatise is said to have added the name of Reynolds to the
number of illustrious painters. In most minds, where the
imagination is the predominant faculty, the influence of
external nature is strongly felt; and the impression made
upon Watts by the " stranger of heaven," vivid and long
remembered, seems to have given a tone and colouring to
some of his poetry. At a subsequent era of his life, he thus
altered Dr. Young's description of the comet, looking back
to the marvellous splendour, which had surprised and excited
his youthful fancy :
" Who streteh'd the comet to prodigious size,
And pour'd his flaming train o'er half the skies ?

60 LIFE AND TIMES
Is't at thy wrath the heav'nly monster glares
O'er the pale nations, to denounce thy wars ?"*
The classical studies of young Watts commenced in his
fourth year, when he began to learn Latin of his father ; and
soon afterwards he was sent to prosecute his further education
in the grammar school at Southampton. The master of this
seminary was the Rev. John Pinhorne, a clergyman of consi
derable talent and respectability, whose attention and kind
ness, procured him the esteem and gratitude of his pupil.
The events of this part of his life are thus recorded by him in
his memoranda :
" Coincidents. Memoranda.
Began to learn Latin
of my father, . . 1678.
To Latin school and
writing, .... 1680.
1683. My father perse- Began to learn Greek, 1683,orbefore.
cuted and imprison- I had ye small pox, 1683.
ed for nonconformity Learnt French, . . 1684,1685.
six months. After Learnt Hebrew, . . 1687 or 8.-"t
that forced to leave
his family, and live
privately in London
for two years.
In the year of Mr. Watts's imprisonment, the persecution
of the protestant dissenters was at its height ; and the most
Dr. Young's lines are as follow :
" Who drew the comet out to such a size
And pour'd his flaming train o'er half the skies ?
Did thy resentment hang him out ? Does he
Glare on the nations, and denounce from thee?"
f Watts's MS. The private paper from which this extract is taken, and to which
reference has been made, is arranged in two columns as above. In future extracts,
for the sake of convenience, I shall depart from this tabular arrangement, and
blend the " Coincidents" with the " Memoranda."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 61
cruel and tyrannical measures against them were adopted by
the court, and eagerly abetted by the bishops, the universities,
and the magistracy. Charles II. had been allowed by an
infatuated country and a servile parliament, to usurp all that
power which his father sought at the expense of his life ; and
with the liberties of the people prostrate before the royal pre
rogative, and completely in the hands of a vindictive clergy,
he lent himself to the iniquitous acts which they devised.
Some there were who had the courage to condemn, and
nobly to oppose, the arbitrary proceedings of the government;
but these obnoxious individuals were soon informed against
by the perfidious underlings of the ministry, and lost their
lives for plots that never existed, and designs which their
accusers alone conceived. During the year 1683, one ofthe
most fatal in the reign of terror, Russel and Sydney* were
consigned to the scaffold ; and the prisons of the metropolis
and the provincial towns, were crowded with those who
dared to insinuate, that a king could do wrong, the prelacy
be fallible, and a state-church be antichristian.
It is impossible to form anything like a correct estimate of
the sufferings of the nonconformists at this time ; much lite
rary ingenuity and artful interpretation have been employed
to soften and extenuate ; but the record is too well authenti
cated to admit a suspicion of any considerable exaggeration.
It is only necessary to read over the acts of parliament, which
* Upon the death of Sidney the following lines were written :
" Algernon Sidney fills this tomb,
Au atheist for disclaiming Rome ;
A rebel bold for striving still
To keep the laws above the will ;
Crimes damn'd by church aud government —
Alas .' where must his ghost be sent?
Of heaven it cannot but despair,
Ifholypopebe turnkey there ;
And hell it ne'er must entertain,
For there is all tyrannic reign :
Where goes it then? Where't ought to go,
Where pope nor devil have to do." BenneVs Memorial, p. 359.

62 LIFE AND TIMES
Clarendon* and his successors either originated or revived, to
be assured tha£ the amount of suffering must have been great
indeed. The guilt of the numerous injuries and oppressions
that were heaped upon the dissenters, must fall principally
upon the clergy, who declaimed against them from the pulpit,
enforced the law from the magisterial bench, and intrigued
around the throne. The universities also by their decrees in
full convocation, encouraged the prelates in their sanguinary
crusade, and the monarch in his career of crime and despotism.
This year Dr. Whitby, precentor of Sarum, published a book,
entitled the "Protestant Reconciler," "humbly pleading for
condescension to dissenting brethren, in things indifferent
amd unnecessary, for the sake of peace, and showing how
unreasonable it is to make £uch things the necessary condi- "
tions of communion." Such high offence did this publication

* For a fair and candid estimate of the character of this idol of the establishment,
the reader is referred to the "Historical Inquiries" of the Hon. Mr. Agar Ellis.
The disabilities under which the nonconformists laboured, for which they were
principally indebted to the chancellor, the willing tool of the clergy, will appear
from the following recapitulation. 1st, As to the dissenting laity, by the statutes
1 Eliz. c. 2—23 Eliz. c. 1—29 Eliz. u. 6—35 Eliz. c. 1, aud 3 James, c. 4, those
who neglected to attend at church on Sunday, were liable to the censures of the
church, and finable Is. for each offence, £20. per month for continual personal
absence, and £10. per month for the nouattendance of their servants. These fines
were recoverable by veiy summary proceedings : the lands of the person offending,
were seizable by the crown ; and persons who neglected to conform might be com
mitted to prison, or must abjure the realm, and, on their refusal or return, incur
red the guilt of felony without benefit of clergy, and the punishment of death : by
the Conventicle Act, 22 Charles II. cap. 1, additional and most severe restrictions
were imposed. — 2d. As to theministers of the protestant dissenters (besides being
liable to all the statutes we have enumerated), they were by the Act of Uniformity
(13 and 14 Charles II. c. 4) subject to a penalty of £100. for administering the
Lord's supper; by the Five-mile Act (17 Charles II. c. 2), they were prohibited
under a penalty of £40. from coming within five miles of any city, town corporate,
or borough; and by the Conventicle Act they forfeited £20. for the first offence,
and for the second offence £40., if they preached in any place "at which there
should be five or more besides those of the household." — And 3rd. Under the ope
ration of these laws from the Restoration to the Revolution, during the short pe
riod of twenty-six years, informers acquired opulence by prosecutions; sixty thou
sand persons suffered for dissent ; several thousand persons expired in prisons ; and
during three years property was extorted from the dissenters exceeding two mil
lions sterling.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 63
give, that the university of Oxford ordered it to be burnt, in
one of the quadrangles, by the hands of the marshal. The
author, who was chaplain to Dr. Seth Ward, was obliged by
him to make a public recantation ; and to seal his peace with
the higher powers, he added a second part to his work,
"earnestly persuading the dissenting laity to join in full com
munion with the church of England,"
" 168|. Feb. K. Ch. II. dyed, and K. Ja. II. procl." Mem.
The last days of Charles, as they are described by Evelyn,
an eye-witness, present an awful scene : " I can never forget,"
says he, " the inexpressible luxury and profaneness, gaming
and all dissoluteness, and, as it were, total forgetfulness of
God (it being Sunday evening), which this day se-night I was
witness to : the king sitting and toying with his concubines
Portsmouth, Cleveland, and Mazarine, &c. ; a French boy
singing love-songs in that glorious gallery, whilst about
twenty of the great courtiers and other dissolute persons, were
at basset, round a large table, a bank of at least £2,000. in
gold before them, upon which two gentlemen who were with
me made a reflection with astonishment ; six days after, all
was in the dust." The king died in the faith of the church
of Rome ; father Huddlestone administered to him in articulo
mortis the usual rites ; and little doubt remains, but that the
unprincipled* profligate had long been reconciled to the papal
* The duplicity aud hollow-dealing of Charles ought to consign his name to uni
versal execration. When a deputation of ministers went to the Hague to congratu
late him upon his restoration, Oldmixon tells us, that his majesty contrived it so,
that the ministers should be placed in a chamber as by accident, which joined to a
closet where the king was to be at prayers, and he thanked God for being a "cove
nanted king." Before the Scotch commissioners he uttered the following oath :
" I Charles, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, do assure and declare, by
my solemn oath, in the presence of the Almighty God, the searcher of hearts, my
allowance and approbation, of the National Covenant, and of the solemn League
and Covenant, above- written; and faithfully oblige myself to prosecute the ends
thereof, in my station and calling ; and that [ shall observe them in my own practice
and family, and shall never make opposition to any of these, or endeavour any
change thereof." Then followed the declaration from Uuniferling, Aug. 16, 1650,
in which his majesty " doth desire to be deeply humbled before God, because of his

64 LIFE AND TIMES
see. Bishop Ken zealously sought to bring him into com
munion with the English church, but though he received
absolution from him, he rejected the sacrament at his hands.
It is to the disgrace of the clergy, that they flattered the vices
of their "supreme head;" added to the titles of the royal
libertine, after the Savoy conference, the epithet " our most
religious king;" and taught for golden stalls the "right di
vine of kings to govern wrong."* The history of this prince
shows, how much popular manners and showy qualities, may
impose upon the minds of the vulgar ; for stained as he was
with almost every vice, the mean pensioner of France, the
conspirer against the religion and liberties of his people, he
has yet remained a favourite rather than otherwise with the
country at large.f
father's hearkening to and following evil counsels, and his opposition to the work
of reformation, and to the solemn League and Covenant, aud for the idolatry of
his mother, the toleration of which in the king's house could not but be a high
provocation to him who is a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upou
the children." Well might the satirist exclaim,
"  He'll a presbyterian brother be,
And vow to ratify their hierarchy ;
The sins of his father's house he will bewail,
Mourn aud lament under a Scottish veil j
But this religious mask we all shall see,
Will soon the downfall of their Babel be."
* " We still believe and maintain," says an address from the university of Cam
bridge, presented by Dr. Gower, master of St. John's, " that our kings derive not
their power from the people, but from God ; that to him only they are accountable ;
that it belongs not to subjects either to create or censure, but to honour and obey
their sovereign, who comes to be so by a fundamental hereditary right of succes
sion, which no religion, no law, no fault or forfeiture cau alter or diminish." The
monarch might well chuckle at such a sentiment, and remark, that "no other
church in the world taught and practised loyalty so conscientiously as they did."
f The pen of Horace Walpole, Lord Orford, has truly characterised Charles II,
whom Archbishop Sheldon and his ecclesiastical junto introduced into the liturgy
under the denomination of "most religious :"
" Fortune, or fair or frowning, on his soul
Could stamp no virtue, and no vice control.
Honour or morals, gratitude or truth,
Nor learn'd his ripen'd age, nor knew his youth ;
The cares of nations left to w  s or chance ;
Plunderer of Britain, pensioner of France ;
Free to bulfoons, to ministers deny'd ;
He liv'd an atheist, and a bigot died."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 65
The proclamation of James II., says Burnet, was a " heavy
solemnity — a dead silence followed it through the streets ;
few tears were shed for the former, nor were there any shouts
of joy for the present king."* The bishop, however, being
at this time abroad, was doubtless misinformed ; for Calamy
observes, " I was present upon the spot, at the proclaiming
king James IL, at the upper end of Wood Street, in Cheap-
side, and my heart ached within me at the acclamations made
upon that occasion, which, as far as I could observe, were
very general."! The new monarch won over the clergy to his
interests, by declaring to his privy council that he " would
preserve the government as by law established in church and
state ;" and protestant pulpits resounded with thanksgivings
for the accession of a popish king. So highly delighted were
they, that they promised in their addresses the most un
qualified submission to his authority; and the university of
Oxford, in the excess of their loyalty, even went so far as to
declare, that " their religion indispensably binds them to bear
faith and true obedience to their sovereign, without any
limitation or restriction." The mad attempt of James to
render popery the dominant religion of the country, put their
sincerity to the test; and the doctrines of passive obedience
and divine right, which the clergy had so often and so loudly
preached to the nonconformists, were soon discarded when
the emoluments of their church were endangered by the bold
aggressions of Rome.
But to return to Watts : at the grammar school, under Mr.
Pinhorne, he was celebrated for his unwearied diligence and
rapid improvement. His master soon discovered his avidity
for learning, and carefully stimulating and directing his ge
nius, he was accustomed to foretell the future eminence of the
boy. To look back upon the restraint and discipline of our
school-hours with gratitude and pleasure, is no inexpressive
tribute to the kindness and care of our instructors. In a
* Own Time, i. 620. f Calamy, i. 116.

66

LIFE AND TIMES

Latin Pindaric ode, which Watts inscribed in his twentieth
year to his tutor, he honourably acknowledges his obligations
to him for his instructions ; and indulges in a pleasing retro
spect of his early studies. The poem evinces the attainments
of the scholar, and the merits of the master. Mr. Pinhorne
was the rector of All Saints' in Southampton, prebendary of
Leckford, and vicar of Eling in the New Forest, Hants. He
died in the year 1714, and a monument erected in the church
of Eling, where he was buried, bears an inscription to his
memory.* At the period of his death, the anticipations he
had indulged of his pupil's future celebrity had been fully
verified ; by the public at large he was then known as an
eminent poet and an esteemed pastor, though his bright
career as a theological writer and Christian psalmist had not
commenced.

"TO THE REV. MR. JOHN PINHORNE, THE FAITHFUL PRECEPTOR
OF MY YOUNGER YEARS.f
Translated from the Latin by Dr. Gibbons.

"Pinhorne, permit the muse t'aspire
To thee, and vent th' impatient fire
That in her bosom glows;
Fain would she tune an equal lay,
And to her honour'd tutor pay
The debt of thanks she owes.

"Through Plato's walks, a flow'ry road,
And Latiu m's fields with pleasure strow'd,
She owns thy guiding hand:
Thou too didst her young steps convey
Through-many a rough and craggy way
In Palestina's land.

* Here lies the body of the Rev. Mr. John Pinhorne, prebendary of Leckford and
vicar of Eling, who died June 8, 1714, aged 62."
+ "AD REVERENDUM VIRUM DOMINUM JOHANNEM PINHORNE, FIDUM
ADOLESCENTIvE PR^CEPTOREM. " TINDARICI CARMINtS SPECIMEN. 1694.
1.
" Et te, Pinorni, musa Trisantica
Salatat, ardens discipulam tuam
Grate fateri : nunc Athenas,
Nunc Latias per amcenitates
Tutu pererrans te recolit ducem,
Te quondam teneros et Ebraia per aspera gressus

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS.

67

"'Twas thine irradiating light
Open'd the Thespian vales to sight,
And taught the muse to climb
The mountains, where the muses' choir
Now tune their breath, now touch the lyre
To ecstasy sublime.
"Of high Parnassus* top possest,
See Homer tow'ring o'er the rest —
What a stupendous strain !
In battle gods and men contend,
The heavens outrageous uproars rend,
And slaughters drench the plain.
"My ear imbibes th* immense delight,
When Virgil's past'ral lays recite
The country's humble charms,

Or when his muse exalts her voice,
And, like the warlike clarion's noise,
Sounds the loud charge to arms.
"The Theban bard my soul admires,
His tow'ring flights, his mounting fires,
The raptures of his rage.
Hail, great triumvirate! your lays,
The world consenting in your praise,
Resound from age to age.
"When from my labours in the mine
Of heav'nly truth and grace divine
To leisure I retire,
I'll seize your works with both my arms,
Take a sweet range among their charms,
And catch th' immortal fire.

Non dura duxisse raanu.
Tuo patescunt lumi ne Thespii
Campi atque ad arcem Pieridon iter.
£n alms assurgens Homerus
Arma deosque virosque miscens,
Occupat aethereum Parnassi culmen : Humeri
Immensos stupeo manes 
Te, Maro, dulce canens sylvas, te bella sonantem
Ardua, da veniam tenui venerare camcena. ;
Tuseque accipias, Thebane Vates,
Debita tbura Iyrae.
Vobis, magna Trias .' clarissima uomina, semper
Scrinia nostra patent, et pectora nostra patebunt,
Quum mihi cunque levem concesserit otia et horam
Divina Mosis pagina.
II.
' Flaccus ad hanc Triadem ponatur, at ipse pudendas
Deponat veneres. Venias sed purus et insons
Ut te collaudem, dum , sordes et mala lustra
Ablutus, Venusine, canis ridesve. Recisae
Hac lege accedant Satyrae Juvenalis, amari
Terrores vitiorum. At longe caecus ahesset
Persius, obscurus vates, nisi lumina circum-
-fusa forent, Sphingisque aenigmata, Bonde, scidissesj
Grande sonans Senecae fulmen, grandisque cothurni
Pompa Sophoclgei celso ponantur eodem
Ordine, et ambabus simul hos amplectar in ulnis.
Tuto, poetse, tuto habitabitis
Pictos abacos : improha tinea
Obiit, nee audet sseva castas
Attingere blatta camoenas.
At tu renidens fee da epi grammatum
Farrago inertum, stercoris impii
Sentina fee tens, Martialis,
In barathrum relegandus imum
Aufuge, et hinc tecum rapias Catullum
Insulse mollem, naribus, auribus
I n grata castis carmina, et improbi
Spurcos Nasonis araores.

68

LIFE AND TIMES

"Horace shall with the choir be join'd,
When virtue has his verse refin'd,
And purg'd his tainted page :
Pleas'd I'll attend his lyric strain.
Hear him indulge his laughing vein,
And satirize the age.
"Next cleans'd from his unhallow'd scum
The mighty Juvenal shall come,
And high his vengeance wield :
His satires sound the loud alarm
To Vice, she sees his lifted arm,
And cow'ring quits the field.
"In vain should I expect delight
From Persius wrapt in tenfold night,
Unless, O Bond, thy ray
Had pierc'd the shades that veil him round
And set his sense obscure, profound
Amidst the blaze of day.
"Now Seneca with tragic lays
Demands my wonder and my praise :
What thunder arms his tongue !

Now Sophocles lets loose his rage :
With what a pomp he treads the stage,
And how sublime his song !
"In long and regular array
My shelves your volumes shall display,
Ye fav'rites of the nine !
No moth's, no worm's insidious rage
Shall dare to riot on your page,
Or mar one modest line.
"Meantime let Martial's hlushless muse,
Whose wit is poison'd by the stews,
Catullus' wanton fire,
With Ovid's verse, that as it rolls
With luscious poison taints our souls,
In bogs obscene expire.
"See from the Caledonian shore,
With blooming laurels cover'd o'er,
Buchanan march along !
Hail, honour'd heir of David's lyre,
Thou full-grown image of thy sire,
And hail thy matchless song !

III.
" Nobilis extrema gradiens Caledonis ah ara
En Buchananus adest I Divini psaltis imago
Jessiadse sal veto.' potens seu Numinis iras
I''ulminibus miscere, sacro vel I limine mentis
Fugare noctes, vel citharse sono
Sedare fluctus pectoris:
Tu mihi hserebis comes ambulanti,
Tu domi astabis socius perennis,
Seu levi mensre simul assidere
Dignabere seu lecticee :
Mox recumbentis vigilans ad aurem
Aureos suadebis inire somnos
Saera sopitis superinferens ob-
livia curis.
Stet juxta Casimirus, huic nee parcius ignem
Natura indulsit, nee musa armavit alumnum
Sarbivium rudiore lyra.
Quanta Polonum levat aura cygnum
Humana linquens, en sibi devii
Montes recedunt, luxuriantibus
Spatiatur in aere pennis.
Seu tu forte virum tollis ad aHhera
Cognatosve thronos, et patrium Polum
Visurus consurgis ovans,
Visum fatigas, aciemque fallis
Dum tuum a longe stupeo volatum,
O non imitabilis ales

OF DE. ISAAC WATTS.

69

"What terror sounds thro* all thy strings
When in his wrath th* Almighty flings
His thunder through the skies !
Anon, wlien heav'n's wide-op'niug ray
Shines all our gloomy doubts away,
How soft the notes arise !
"When billows upon billows roll,
And night o'erwhelms the tossing soul,
How potent is thy lyre
To hush the raging storm to rest,
Restore the sunshine of the breast,
And joy divine inspire !
"Thou sacred bard, whene'er I rove
The smiling mead, or shady grove,
Shall entertain my way :

My humble mansion thou shalt grace,
Shalt at my table find a place,
And tune th1 ecstatic lay :
"When the returning shades of night
My eyes to balmy sleep invite,
Thy sweet angelic airs
Shall warble to my ear, till sleep's
Soft influence o'er my senses creeps,
And buries all my cares.
"Next comes the charming Casimire !*
Exulting in seraphic Are
The bard divinely sings :
The heav'nly muse inspired his tongue,
The heav'nly muse his viol strung,
And tun'd th' harmonious strings.

IV.
" Sarbivii ad nomen gelida incalet
Musa, simul totus fervescere
Sentio, stellatas Ievis induor
Alas et tollor in alium.
Jam juga Zionis radens pede
Elato inter sidera vertice
Longe despecto mortalia.
Quam juvat altisonis volitare per asthera pennis,
Et ridere procul fallacia gaudia secli
Terrellae grandia inania
Qua? mortal e genus, lieu male, deperit.
O curas hominum miseras ! Cano,
Et miseras nugas diadem at a !
Ventosse sortis Iudibrium !
En mihi snbsidnnt terrena? a pectore faeces,
Gestit et effraenis divinum efiundere carmen
Mens afflata Deo 

 at vos heroes et arma
Et procul este dii, ludicra numina.
Quid mihi cum vestrse pondere lanceae
Pallas! aut vestris, Dionyse, Thyrsis?
Et clava, et anguis, et leo, et Hercules,
Et brutum tonitru fictitii patris
Abstate a carmine nost.ro. V.
" Te Deus omnipotens ! Te nostra sonabit Jesu
Musa, nee assneto coelestes barbiton ausu
Tentabit numeros. Vasti sine limite Numeri, et
Immensum sine lege Deum numeri sine lege sonabunt.
" Sed musam magna pollicentem destituit vigor : divino jubare perstringitur oculorum acies.
En labascit pennis, tremit artubus, ruit deorsum per inane cetheris, jacet victa, obstupescit,
silet. " Ignoscas, Reverende vir, vano conamini : fragmen hoc rude licet et impolitum eequi boni
consulas,- et gratitudinis jamdiu debitse in partem reponas."
* M. Casimirus Sarbiewski, Poeta insiguis Polonus. Of tins poet, whose productions "Watts
greatly admired, some particulars will hereafter be introduced.

70

LIFE AND TIMES

"See on what full, what rapid gales
The Polish swan triumphant sails 1
He spurns the globe behind,
And, mountains less'ning to the eye,
Through the unbounded fields on high
Expatiates nnconfin'd.
"Whether 'tis his divine delight
To bear in his exalted flight
Some hero to the skies,
Or to explore the seats above,
His kindred seats of peace and love,
His peerless pinions rise,
"With what a wing ! To what an height
He tow'rs and mocks the gazing sight,
Lost in the tracts of day !
I from afar behold his course
Amaz'd with what a sov'reign force
He mounts his arduous way.
"Methinks enkindl'd by the name
Of Casimire, a sudden flame
Now shoots through all my soul .
I feel, I feel the raptures rise,
On starry plumes I cut the skies,
And range from pole to pole ;
"Touching on Zion's sacred brow,
My wand'ring eyes I cast below,
And our vain race survey :
O how they stretch their eager arms
T' embrace imaginary charms,
And throw their souls away !
"In grov'ling cares, and stormy strife,
They waste the golden hours of life,
And murder ev'ry joy.

What is a diadem that's tost
From hand to hand, now won, now lost,
But a delusive toy ?
"From all terrestrial dregs rcfiu'd
And sensual fogs, that choke the miud,
Full of th' inspiring God
My soul shall her sublimest lay
To her Creator, Father, pay,
And sound his praise abroad.
"Ye heroes, with your blood-stain'd arms,
Avaunt ! The muse beholds no charms
In the devouring sword.
Avaunt ! ye despicable train
Of gods, the phantoms ofthe bruin,
By Greece and Rome ador'd.
"Say what is Wisdom's queen to me,
Or her fictitious panoply,
Or what the God of wine ?
I never will profane this hand
Around his tall imperial* wand
The sacred boughs to twine.
" 'Tis all romance beneath a thought
How Hercules with lions fought,
And crush'd the dragon's spires :
Alike their Thunderer I despise,
The fabled ruler of the skies,
And his pretended fires.
" Thy name, Almighty Sire, and thine,
Jesus, where his full glories shine,
Shall consecrate my lays ;
In numbers, by no vulgar bounds con-
troll'd,
In numbers, most divinely strong and
bold,
I'll sound through all the world th' im
measurable praise.

"But in the moment the muse is promising great things her vigour fails, her
eyes arc dazzled with the divine glories, her pinions flutter, her limbs tremble;

* The thyrsus.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 71
she rashes headlong from the skies, falls to the earth, and there lies vanquished,
overwhelmed in confusion and silence.
"Forgive, Rev. Sir, the vain attempt, and kindly accept this poetical fragment
though rude and unpolished, as an expression of that gratitude which has been so
long due to your merit."
The opinion which Watts expresses in this poem respecting
the heathen classics, is one which his maturer judgment sanc
tioned; for in his " Improvement of the Mind," he advocates
the use of selections only from the pages of Horace, Ovid,
Juvenal, and Martial, &c. in the public seminaries. It is to
be regretted that his hints, with those of others, have not
been attended to ; and that the writings of the ancients, with
all their corrupting ideas and offensive imagery, should still
retain their place in Christian schools. The taste of the
youthful student may be improved by their perusal ; but, in
their present state, they can hardly fail to corrupt the morals,
pollute the imagination, and debase the mind. The idea
which he throws out of purifying Horace, and purging his
" tainted page," he attempted to follow up himself, in an ex
periment on the close of his twenty -ninth ode :
" Non meum est si mugiat Africis
Malus procellis, ad miseras preces
Decurrere, et votio pacisci,
Ne Cypriae Syriaeque merces
Addant avaro divitias mari.
Dum me biremis prsesidio scaphae
Nudum per JEgeos tumultus
Aura ferat, geminusque Pollux."
TRANSLATION.
" Though the mast howl beneath the wind
I make no mercenary prayers,
Nor with the gods a bargain bind
With future vows and streaming tears,
To save my wealth from adding more
To boundless Ocean's avaricious store.

72 LIFE AND TIMES
" Then in my little barge I'll ride
Secure amidst the foaming wave ;
Calm will I stem the threat'ning tide,
And fearless all its tumults brave;
E'en then perhaps some kinder gale,
While the twin-stars appear, shall fill my joyful sail." FRANCIS.
IMPROVEMENT BY WATTS.
"THE BRITISH FISHERMAN.
I.
" Let Spain's proud traders, when the mast
Bends groaning to the stormy blast,
Run to their beads with wretched plaints,
Aud vow and bargain with their saints,
Lest Turkish silks, or Tyrian wares,
Sink in the drowning ship ;
Or the rich dust Peru prepares,
Defraud their long projecting cares,
And add new treasures to the greedy deep :
II.
" My little skiff that skims the shores,
With half a sail and two short oars,
Provides me food in gentler waves ;
But if they gape in watery graves,
I trust th' Eternal Power, whose hand
Has swell'd the storm so high,
To waft my boat and me to land,
Or give some angel swift command,
To bear the drowning sailor to the sky."
" 1688, Nov. 5. Prince of Orange landed in Engl."*
To no class of persons was the revolution a subject of
greater gratulation than to the protestant dissenters : it ter
minated the oppressions they had endured from the Stuart
family ; preserved the nation from the domination of popery;
•Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 73
and, hence, many of their churches and congregations ob
served with religious services the anniversary of the prince's
landing, as a season for especial gratitude and devotion. The
celebrated Thomas Bradbury had his meeting-house open on
that day, and during the reign of queen Anne he employed
his great powers of mind, on the periodical festival, in com
bating the measures of the tory ministers, who evidently
intended to set aside the Hanoverian succession, in favour of
popery and the pretender. De Foe likewise annually com
memorated the same day ; " a day," says he in his Review,
"famous on various accounts, and every one of them dear to
Britons who love their country, value the protestant interest,
or have an aversion to tyranny and oppression. On this day
he was born ; on this day he married the daughter of England ;
and on this day he rescued the nation from a bondage worse
than that of Egypt, a bondage of soul as well as bodily servi
tude, a slavery to the ambition and raging lust of a generation
set on fire by pride, avarice, cruelty, and blood."*
Much as Watts was distinguished in his youth for intellec
tual acquirements, he was equally admired for his attainments
in religion. He appears to have been in a measure sanctified
from his birth, and from the first dawn of reason he devoted
himself to the service of God. By means of catechetical ex
ercises, he had early become acquainted with the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity ; and the frequent perusal of the
scriptures, under the blessing of heaven, led to an experimen
tal knowledge of their truths. In his father's house he was
favoured with religious instruction and examples of piety ; the
prayers and precepts of his relatives had in view his early con
version to God; and When at the age of fifteen, he seems to
have obtained peace and joy through believing. It is, there-
*The dissenting ministers in a body waited npon the prince on his arrival at
St. James's palace, and were introduced by the Lords Devonshire, Wharton, and
Wiltshire. Mr. Howe read an address, in which he apologised for the absence of
some of his brethren, whom age and infirmities prevented appearing, alluding to
Baxter and Dr. Bates. Calamy's Life of Howe, 142, 143.
F

74 LIFE AND TIMES
fore, a mistake to say with one of his biographers,* that " the
date of his spiritual life cannot be ascertained," for he dis
tinctly refers it in his memoranda to the year 1689:
" Fell under considerable convictions of sin, 1688.
And was taught to trust in Christ I hope, 1689.
Had a great and dangerous sickness,. . . 1689."f
The beautiful language of his friend, Mrs. Rowe, he might
truly have adopted : " My infant hands were early lifted up
to Thee, and I soon learned to know and acknowledge the
God of my fathers."
At what time the attention of our young student was turned
to theological subjects, we are ignorant; but an offer was
made him by Dr. John Speed, a physician of Southampton,
with reference to his education for the ministry. Having
observed his talents and piety, this benevolent man, in con
nexion with several others, liberally offered to defray the ex
penses of his education in an English university. Firmly
attached, however, to the prmciples which his father professed,
and for which he had suffered, this proposal he respectfully
declined, saying, " He was determined to take his lot among
the dissenters." During the time he remained under Mr.
Pinhorne' s tuition, which was upwards of ten years, he made
himself master of the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French
languages ; while his leisure hours at home were employed,
under the parental eye, in the pursuit of biblical knowledge.
A deep reverence for the scriptures formed a prominent fea
ture of his religious character ; he had been taught in all his
studies to take their unerring pages with him ; smd with this
pilot he safely adventured in the frail bark of reason, able to
discover upon the most stormy ocean the dangers of his course
and the mistakes of his reckoning. Gifted with a lively fancy
* Sketch prefixed to the Leeds edition of his Works.
*f Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 75
and a vigorous imagination, it was an advantage that his
mind was thus early employed upon theological subjects ; they
tend to repress its excursive speculations, and to guard
against the presumption of intellectual vanity; while the
humbling truths and the every-day duties which they incul
cate, contribute to render the course of our inquiries fixed
and practical.
It argues a sincere attachment to the principles of the non
conformists, and a determination to be actuated solely by
conscientious views and feelings, that Watts rejected the ge
nerous offers of his Southampton friends ; offers flattering to
a child of genius, and peculiarly tempting when the party to
which his family belonged, and in whose favour he himself
decided, was exposed to so much obloquy and suffering. The
nation had indeed been delivered from the oppressive Stuarts,
and the situation of the dissenters, so long beclouded, was
beginning, by the passing of the toleration act, to assume a
brighter aspect ; but they were still regarded by a large majo
rity as schismatics, and the charter of their religious liberties
was rather conceded owing to the political circumstances of
the times, than the offspring of a cordial and friendly feeling.
The events of the succeeding reign plainly proved, that an
cient jealousies continued to rankle ; and that a fair opportu
nity was alone wanting to abridge the privileges and arrest
the labours of those without the pale of the establishment.
Amid such forbidding circumstances, an individual inclined
only to consult temporal interests, personal ease, or the grati
fication of literary ambition, would have unhesitatingly acce
ded to the proposal made to Watts ; but his mind had been
better disciplined — he had learnt to refer the important affairs
of life to the decisions of conscience — and, hence, the friendly
patronage tendered unto him was declined.
Determined to take his lot among the dissenters, and con
sequently to forfeit the advantages of a university education,
Watts removed to London, for the purpose of prosecuting his

76 LIFE AND TIMES
studies for the ministry. This event is thus noticed by him
in Ms memoranda: V{ 1690. Left the grammar-school, and
came to Londo. to Mr. Rowe's, to study phii." &c. He was
now in his sixteenth year ; " sitch he was," Dr. Johnson ob
serves, "as every Christian church would rejoice to have
adopted."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 77

CHAPTER III.
1690.
DISSENTING ACADEMIES.
INSTITUTION OF ACADEMIES:— OPPOSED BY THE CLERGY.-DR. SHARP.
— TILLOTSON'S POLICY.— OXFORD OATH.— NEWINGTON GREEN.-MR.
CHARLES MORTON'S ACADEMY.— WICKENS, LOBB, AND GLASSCOCK.—
SAMUEL WESLEY ATTACKS THE ACADEMIES.— NOTICED BY DE FOE
AND MR. PALMER.— MR. SOUTHEY.— CALVES-HEAD CLUB.— EXECUTION
OF CHARLES I.— LORD BARRINGTON DEFENDS THE DISSENTERS.—
THOMAS BRADBURY.— MR. WESLEY'S CONDUCT.— THEOPHILUS GALE.
—LORD WHARTON.— JOHN ROWE.— THOMAS ROWE.— DR. DODDRIDGE.
—REMARK OF WATTS.-POEM.— MR. T. ROWE'S STUDENTS.
The importance of academies to perpetuate the efficient
ministry of the truth, was recognised under the Jewish dis
pensation ; and the prophetic colleges which were established
upon the " hill of God,"* give a precedent and sanction to the
initiatory seminaries of Christian times. The institution of
academies among the nonconformists, was partly forced upon
them by the straitened circumstances to which their ministers
were reduced, as well as by the necessity which continually
occurred of supplying the places of deceased pastors. Ejected
from their livings by the edicts of intolerance, and that at a
period when the yearly revenue of their vicarages and recto
ries was nearly due, they were obliged to have recourse to
private tutorship and scholastic labours to obtain support. The
learning of the Bartholomew divines, panegyrized by Locke,
qualified them in an eminent degree for the task of instruct-
* 1 Sam. a. 5.

78 LIFE AND TIMES
ing youth, and a considerable number of seminaries were
soon established, which contributed no little to the advance
ment of theological science. Among scholars and critics, the
names of Theophilus Gale, who wrote "the Court of the
Gentiles" — Hill, the editor of " Schrevelius's Lexicon" —
Poole, the author of the " Synopsis Criticorum," with several
others, will ever be distinguished ; and many of these, as their
only resource for subsistence,* and the employment most
congruous with their habits, became tutors in private families,
opened schools, and read lectures on the different branches of
science and theology to divinity students.
The efforts of these learned men were, however, viewed
with jealousy by the high-church party ; and the basest mo
tives of conspiracy and sedition, were imputed to their blame
less characters. At the instigation of the clergy, vexatious
suits were frequently commenced against them in the spiritual
courts; and measures were adopted to prevent the increase
and check the usefulness of the institutions over which they
presided. During the reign of William III. these proceedings
were discountenanced by the liberality of the monarch, and
owing to his interposition they were often suspended ;f but
the demon of intolerance was called forth by the court of his
successor, and the government was disgraced by repeated and
violent attempts to invade the retreat of the dissenting student.
* Some betook themselves to the practice of physic. In the " Art of Thriving,
by Thomas Powell," a curious anecdote is related of au ejected minister, in " the
happy raigne of our good Queen Elizabeth.'' When adjudged to lose his benefice,
he impatiently exclaimed, that it would cost many a man his life. Upon which
being brought again before the commissioners, and charged with having spoken
treasonable words, he thus explained his meaning : " Ye have taken from me my
living and profession of the ministrie. Scholarship is all my portion ; and. I have
no other means now left for my maintenance but to turn physitian, and before I
shall be absolute master of that mystery, God he knows how many men's lives it
will cost. For few physitians use to try experiments upon their own bodies."
Scott's Somers's Tracts, 7. 200.
f When Richard Franklin, M. A. was excommunicated for nonappearance in the
Bishop's court, where he had been cited for keeping an academy, K. William, at
the intercession of Lord Wharton and Sir T. Rookby, ordered his absolution to be
publicly read iu the parish church of Giggleswick.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 79
In the dedication of Lord Clarendon's history to the queen,
written by one of the author's sons, probably the Earl of Ro
chester, the writer observes, " What can be the meaning of
the several seminaries and, as it were, universities set up in
divers parts of the kingdom, by more than ordinary industry,
contrary to law, supported by large contributions, where the
youth is bred up in principles directly contrary to monar
chical and episcopal government." The subject was formally
introduced into the house of lords by Dr. Sharp, archbishop of
York, who said, " he apprehended danger from the increase
of dissenters, and particularly from the many academies set
up by them, and moved, that the judges might be consulted
what laws were in force against such seminaries, and by what
means they might be suppressed."*
An ingenious stratagem was recommended by Tillotson, as
affording a fair pretence for proceeding against those dissent
ing tutors who had received a diploma from an English uni
versity. The clergy of Craven having petitioned Dr. Sharpt
to suppress a seminary kept by the excellent Richard Frank
lin, M.A. Tillotson advised him, " as the fairest and softest
way of getting rid of the business,"! to proceed against him
on the ground of the oath which he had taken on receiving
* Upon this occasion Lord Wharton moved, "that the judges might be consulted
about the means of suppressing schools and seminaries held by nonjurors, in one
of which a noble lord had both his sons educated.
"The Archbishop of York supposed he was the person meant. His two sons
were taught by a sober virtuous man, and a man of letters, who had qualified him
self according to law. But when he refused the abjuration oath he took his sons
from him." Proceedings of the Lords, ii. 1 58.
f Sharp, according to Burnet, was " one of the most popular preachers of the
age," but one who changed with the times, and abandoned the doctrine of " divine
right" when it suited his purpose. When preaching in St. Lawrence Jewry, soon
after the accession of James, he observed, "As to our religion, we have the word
of the king, which, with reverence be it spoken, is as sacred as my text." He soon,
however, found himself mistaken ; for preaching against popery, in his own church
of St. Giles, the king ordered his diocesan, the warlike bishop, Dr. Compton, to
suspend him. After expressing his sorrow he was dismissed with a gentle repri
mand. t Birch's Life of Tillotson.

80 LIFE AND TIMES
his degree. The oaths administered at Oxford and Cambridge,
originated in the dark ages of popery ; and were framed owing
to the careful policy of the court of.Rome, to prevent the for
mation of rival universities in the kingdom. To entangle the
consciences of the dissenting tutors who had graduated, and
to fix upon them the stigma of perjury, it was attempted to
interpret these oaths, as binding^ them not to communicate
any instruction whatever out of the two universities ; whereas
their original intention and evident meaning, refer not to
private but to public teaching upon other foundations, and
even in this sense, in the opinion of the nonconformists, as
well as many of the liberal clergy, they were " antiquated,
null, and void." It had been common with many of the dig
nitaries in the establishment, privately to instruct the sons of
the nobility and gentry; and the expedient was mean to
calumniate the character of the dissenting teachers, for a
practice in which they themselves had been engaged.*
The academy under the care of Mr. Rowe, to which Watts
was sent, was situated at Clapham in Surrey, in Little Britain
in the city, and at Newington Green, the latter place celebra
ted in the history of dissent, as a seat of learning and the
residence of many esteemed ministers. The first seminary that
was established at Nevvington, was formed by Mr. Charles
Morton, M. A. soon after his ejectment from the rectory of
Blisland in Cornwall.t This gentleman, during his residence
* The oath administered at Oxford was as follows : " Jurabis etiam, quod in
ista facultate alibi in Anglia quam hic et Cantabrigiae, lectiones tuas solemniter,
tanquam in universitatc non resumes ; nee in aliqua facultate, sicut in universi-
tate, solemniter inCipies ; nee cbnsenties ut aliquis alibi in Anglia incipiens hic
pro magistro habeatur. Item jurabis, quod non leges aut audies Stamfordias tan
quam in universitate, studio vel collegio generali." The Cambridge oath was :
" Jurabis quod nusquam praiterquam Oxoniae lectiones tuas solemniter resumes,
nee cousenties ut aliquis alibi in Anglia incipiens hic pro magistro vel doctore in
ilia facultate habeatur." Oxford was at one time deserted by a number of factious
students, who settled at Northampton and Stamford : hence, the reference to Stam
ford in the Oxford oath. Calamy' s Contin. vol. i. p. 181, 1 82. Toulmin, 219, 220,221.
fMr. Nicholas Morton his father, was ejected from the same rectory for noncon
formity in Charles the First's time. Morton in Nottinghamshire was the ancient

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 81
in Wadham College Oxford, had been celebrated for his ma
thematical acquirements ; and the progress which his pupils
made under his tuition, reflects honour upon his character and
endowments* The rules which he drew up for the observ
ance of his students, have been preserved by Dr. Calamy, as
well as a vindication of himself and brethren from the charge
of perjury, on account of teaching university learning, f After
an engagement of nearly twenty years in the work of educa
tion, spies, informers, and prosecutions in the bishop's court,
drove him over to New England, where he became pastor of
a church in Charlestown, and vice-president of Harvard
college.! Upon the removal of Mr. Morton to America, the
students he left placed themselves under the care of Mr.
William Wickens, Mr. Stephen Lobb, and Mr. Francis
Glasscock. The former ejected from St. Andrew Hubbard,
afterwards preached to a small congregation at Newington
Green ; and was celebrated for an extensive acquaintance
seat of the family : here T. Morton, secretary to Edward III., resided. Cardinal
Morton, Dr. Thos. Morton, Bishop of Durham, and Dr. Richard Morton, a physi
cian, were of this family.
* List of Mr. Morton's pupils, Appendix A.
fin the Philosophical Transactions ofthe Royal Society, April 170.5, there is a
treatise by Air. Morton, on improving the county of Cornwall, and using sea-sand
for manure.
| In the Collection of Papers relative to the Massachusets-bay Colony, there is
a " Copy of a letter from Mr. Edward Randolph to the Right Hon. the Lords of the
Committee for Trade and foreign Plantations," in which Mr. Morton's arrival in
America is thus noticed : " About two months agoe Mr. Morton, an excommunicated
minister, came hither from Nuington Green ; he was welcomed by our president,
and desigued to be master-head of our colledge, but not daring to proceed at first
by such large steps, he is called to be minister at Charlestown, a very good liveing,
and is ready at hand to be president of the colledge." July 28, 1686. Again to
his Grace of Canterbury Randolph writes, "They are all at present more taken up
in putting in one Morton of Neuenton Green, a rank independent, to be their pre
sident, than to shew any respect which is due to your gracious present" (a copy of
Hammond's works) 1686. Eliot's American Biog. Diet. art. Morton. Palmer's
Noncon. Mem. i. p. 347, 348. Palmer's Defence of Diss. Acad.Tp. 10. Vindication
in answer to Wesley, p. 52. Toulmin's Hist, of Dissenters, p. 232 — 235. Histo
rical Collections of Massachusets, 2, 2nd Series, 115. Original Papers of the
Hist, of Massachusets-bay Colony, iii. p. 545. 551.

82 LIFE AND TIMES
with biblical and rabbinical literature.* Mr. Lobb was pastor
of a church still flourishing in Fetter Lane, and was favoured
with a very liberal education, his father, Richard Lobb, Esq.
having been high-sheriff of Cornwall, and member of parlia
ment for St. Michael in that county, in 1659.f The third
assistant, Mr. Glasscock, was a graduate from one of the
northern colleges, and became the predecessor of Dr. Earle
in a congregation meeting in Drury Lane, and afterwards in
Hanover Street, Long Acre.J These individuals were well
qualified to succeed Mr. Morton in the important office of
tutor; but upon their decease the academy was broken up,
and the students dispersed to other seminaries.
It was with immediate reference to Mr. Morton's academy,
that the Rev. Samuel Wesley, the father of the well-known
founder of Methodism, in the third year of Watts's studies,
wrote a pamphlet, entitled " A Letter from a country Divine
to his friend in London, concerning the Education of the
Dissenters in their private academies, in several parts of the
Nation."§ In this publication he strongly animadverts upon
the political opinions of the tutors; and characterises the
academies as nurseries of sedition, and schools of vice and
irreligion, a representation, which, at the expense of the wri
ter's reputation, was soon proved to be a calumny. This tract
is said to have lain in manuscript upwards of ten years, and
at last issued from the press without the author's name, and,
as some of his biographers assert, without his knowledge. At
the period when it appeared, the civil power was preparing to
invade the liberties of the dissenters; and totally to neutralise
the toleration act, a bill was projected by some bigots to the
establishment, for disabling all such ministers from preaching
in England, as should not receive their education in one of
the two universities. At such a time it is difficult to shield
* Palmer's Noncon. Mem. i. 90. ,+ Toulmin, 249. J Toulmin, 249.
§ London : Printed by R. Clarel, at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-yard,
1703, 4to.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 83
Mr. Wesley from the charge of seeking to further the designs
of tyranny by private slander ; and endeavouring to enlarge a
scanty income* by gratifying the heads of the church in vili
fying the seceders from its communion. De Foe unhesita
tingly denounces him as "a mercinary renegade, hired to
expose the private academies of the dissenters as nurseries of
rebellious principles ;" and there is too much reason to fear,
that hopes of preferment led him to join the party of Sache-
verell in the work of abuse and defamation.
This attack upon the academies gave rise to a variety of
pamphlets ;f and Mr. Wesley's character for veracity, it must
be confessed, does not appear to much advantage. He had
been treated by the dissenters with great kindness while a
member of their body; and though his conformity to the
establishment might be the result of conscientious conviction,
yet it was ungenerous to reflect upon his former benefactors,
and descend to downright calumny. " He might," says one
of his opponents, "argue against our principles, and endea
vour to convince us in order to our amendment ; yet he might
not betray our private converse : he might not by artful and
false insinuations endeavour to expose us to contempt. A
sense of gratitude ought to have been expressed by a tender
regard to our reputation and honour. He ought not to have
called us in gross, a sort of people who are none of the best
natured in the world, seeing that we fed him with but too
kind a hand." As to the assertion, that Mr. Morton and the
* Mr. Southey intimates, that a " farther and better reward" than the rectory of
Epworth given him by Queen Mary, and the chaplainship of a regiment by the
Duke of Marlborough, " was held out to his expectations." He was invited, says
he, " to London by a nobleman, who promised to procure him a prebend."
f ' A Defence of the Dissenters' Education in their private Academies : In An
swer to Mr. W  y's Disingenuous and Unchristrian Reflections upon them.
In a Letter to a Noble Lord. London : and are to be Sold by A. Baldwin, at the
Oxford Arms, Warwick Lane, 1703," 4to. The Rev. Samuel Palmer of Southwark
was the author of this letter.
" A Defence of a Letter concerning the Education of Dissenters in their Private
Academies ; with a more full and satisfactory Account of the same, and of their
Morals and Behaviour towards the Church of England : being an Answer to the

84 LIFE AND TIMES
dissenting tutors taught principles, opposed to monarchy,
De Foe, who had been educated in the same academy, re
marks, in his " More Short Ways with the Dissenters," i( The
author of these sheets happens to be one that had what little
education he can pretend to, under the same master that gen
tleman (Samuel Wesley) was taught by, viz. Mr. Charles
Morton of Newington Green; and I have now by me the
manuscripts of science which were the exercises of his school,
and amongst the rest those of politics in particular; and I
must do that learned gentleman's memory the justice to
affirm, that neither in his system of politics, government, and
discipline, nor in any other the exercises of that school, was
there any thing taught or encouraged that was anti-monar
chical, or destructive to the constitution of England; and
particularly among the performances of that school, I find a
declamation relating to the benefit of a single person in a
commonwealth, wherein it is proved from history and reason,
that monarchy is best suited to the nature of government and
the defence of property."* A distinction might douhtless be
Defence of the Dissenters' Education. By Samuel Wesley. Noli irritare era-
bones ! 1 The Kirk's a Vixen ; don't auger her.'
London, 1704," 4to.
" A Vindication of the Learning, Loyalty, Morals, and most Christian Behaviour
of the Dissenters toward the Church of England. In Answer to Mr. Wesley'.?
Defence of his Letter concerning the Dissenters' Education in their Private Acade
mies; and to Mr. Sacheverell's injurious Reflections upon them. By Samuel
Palmer. London : printed by J. Lawrence, 1705."
"A Reply to Mr. Palmer's Vindication ofthe Learning, Loyalty, Morals, and
most Christian Behaviour ofthe Dissenters towards the Church of England. By
Samuel Wesley. London, 1707, 4to.
' How long must their false prophets, and dreamers of dreams, abuse us, and we obliged
to hold our peace.' nE foe."
* De Foe entered Mr. Morton's academy in the year 1675, and continued there
tp near 1680. Wesley entered Exeter college 1684, as the following extract from
the register shows : "Deposit of cautiou money.
Sept. 26,
1684. Mro. Hutchius pro

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 85
drawn between an absolute and a limited monarchy ; princi
ples would be inculcated directly opposed to the former,
which Mr. Wesley and the high-church divines of his day
would interpret as anti-monarchical.*
The reasons which induced Mr. Wesley to leave the dissen
ters, are referred, by the late biographer of his son, with his
characteristic want of fidelity and candour, to his " happening
to fall in with bigotted and ferocious men, where he saw the
worst part of the dissenting character. Their defence of the
execution of king Charles offended him, and he was at onoe
shocked and disgusted by their calves-head club."f The only
authority cited for this extraordinary assertion is, the evidence
of Samuel Wesley the younger, a violent Jacobite ; land Mr.
Sduthey introduces the statement into his pages, as if no sus
picion was to be entertained of the truth of the facts it ex
presses. It would only have been fair, on the part of the bi
ographer, to have appended a note to his page, to the effect,
that so far from the dissenters as a body approving the king's
death, they strongly condemned it;} and that instead of par-
Samuele Westley, paup.
schol. de Dorchester, 3£.
Ric. Hutchins.
Guil. Crabb."
Now, allowing two or three years to elapse, from the time Mr. Wesley left Mr.
Morton, to his entering himself at Exeter college, during which period he became
a conformist, 'if will be highly probable that he and De Foe were contemporaries
in the academy.
*The politics ofthe Wesley family were of the ultra-tory school. Though the
father took the oath to William, yet he was a bigoted episcopalian, and during the
reign of Queen Anne, a flaming zealot for high monarchical principles. The de
fence of Sacheverell, usually attributed to Atterbury, was reported to have been
composed by him. The mother never recognised the Prince of Orange as king,
and the sons seem to have imbibed her predilections against the house of Nassau
"arid the Hanoverian succession, in favour of theexiled family. Samuel, the disci
ple of Atterbury, was a violent Jacobite, and severely attacked the Walpole
administration. John seems to have held the same political opinions ; for Charles,
writing'to Samuel from Oxford, in the year 1734, "remarks, "My brother has been
much mauled, and threatened more, for his Jacobite sermon on the 11th of June."
f Southey's Life of Wesley, i. 6.
X The guilt of the king's death has been generally laid upon the presbyterians

86 LIFE AND TIMES
ticipating in the orgies of the 30th of January, the society by
whom they were celebrated, if it existed at all, of which some
doubts have been entertained, consisted only of a few profli
gate desperadoes, as much connected with the church of Eng
land, as with any other religious party. The calves-head
club was a political association, in which only a few indivir
duals were concerned, who met on the anniversary of the
king's death, to celebrate the triumph of republican princi
ples and the overthrow of arbitrary power.* The high
churchmen, who eagerly embraced every opportunity of
exciting public obloquy against the dissenters, immediately
attributed the formation of this club to them, and magnified
the evil, by representing it as incorporating the great majo
rity of that class. This calumny was publicly and indignantly
denied by Mr. John Shute, afterwards Lord Barrington,!
Bradbury,| De Foe,§ and several others ; and obtained credit
only among the determined enemies of the sectaries. His
lordship aptly throws out the hint, that if it should appear
that any of the members are dissenters, an assumption which
no circumstance ever corroborated, this could no more argue
the body to approve of the king's execution, " than it could
be concluded that all churchmen were Jacobites, if it should
be proved that some of that body have, with the like barbarity,
and independents, but contrary to the most explicit evidence. Even Warburton
admits that " no party of men," as " a religious body," were the " actors in this
tragedy." Burnett declares that the presbyterians were "every day fasting and
praying for the king's preservation." The independents of Oxford and Northamp
ton sent a memorial to general Fairfax, protesting against all proceedings against
his majesty's crown and life. The truth is, that the ofiicers of the army are alone
chargeable with the catastrophe, which they hurried on from the conviction that
Charles would never forgive those who had overcome him in the field.
*"The Secret History ofthe Calves-head Club compleat; or, the Republican
Unmasked : wherein is fully shown the Religion of the Calves-head Heroes, in
their Anniversary Thanksgiving Songs, on 30th January, by them called Anthems,
for the years 1693—1699, &c; fifth edition, with large additions, 1705."
Appendix, B.
f " Rights of Prot. Diss, dedicated to the Queen."
} Lawfulness of Resisting Tyrants. Pref. § Review, 6, 261.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 87
drunk healths, and paid honours to a couple of animals, for
occasioning the death of one of the best of princes."* It may
be true then, that Mr. Wesley was a member of the calves-
head club ; it may be true, that he frequented " the blind
alley near Moorfields" on the 30th of January ; but it is not
true that any other cause besides his own imprudence intro
duced him into such society ; it is not true that the scenes he
there witnessed led to his secession from the dissenters, for
they had no more to do with such disgraceful proceedings
than their accusers ; so that the only inference we can derive
from the representation of Mr. Southey, if any credit is to be
attached to it, is, that the elder Wesley associated with a band
of profligates in his youth, and as extremes in politics, as well
as in other matters, often meet, the furious republican became
at last a blind worshipper of the royal prerogative.
The academy under the superintendance of Mr. Rowe, in
which it was the privilege of Watts to be placed, was founded
soon after Mr. Morton's by the learned Theophilus Gale, M.A.f
This distinguished divine commenced his career as a tutor
soon after the Restoration, on account of being then deprived
of considerable church preferments. Two sons of Lord Whar-
tonj were first committed to his charge, and with his pupils
he went upon the continent, where he formed an intimacy
* Rights of Prot. Diss. Ded. xx. xxi.
f Palmer Noncon. Mem. 1. 143, 244. Toulmin's Hist. 243, 244. Bogue aud
Bennett, 2. 48, 49t Wilson. Diss. Chur. 3. 161—169.
% The name of Philip Lord Wharton, ought to be dear to every dissenter, as the
firm friend of the persecuted nonconformists, affording their ministers an asylum
in his house, and frequently paying the fines levied upon them. At Woburn, in
Buckinghamshire, he was accustomed frequently to entertain Dr. Owen, Dr. Man-
ton, Mr. Howe, and Mr. Rosewell. Dr. Manton's preaching-room in White-hart-
yard was once fined forty pounds, and the minister twenty, which his lordship
paid. "This year," 1694, says Calamy, "died the pious Philip Lord Wharton,
who left large sums in his will to religious and charitable uses, some of which
were generally said to have been afterwards applied by his trustees to serve the
purposes of elections of members to serve in parliament. He left also some thou
sands of pounds to be laid out in bibles, and other religious books, and distributed
among the poor, the management whereof was reckoned much more unexception
able." i. 351. He was a, zealous parliamentarian, but when the times changed,

88 LIFE AND TIMES
with the celebrated Bochart, a professor and pastor at Caen.
Soon after his return to England, in 1665, he was alarmed on
approaching the metropolis, by the sight of the terrible con
flagration which nearly laid it in ashes ; but he had the satis
faction of finding, that the manuscripts of his* works, which
he had left in tbe house of a friend, had been preserved when
the building was destroyed. Possessing a cultivated mind
enriched with the stores of ancient literature, and critically
acquainted with the learned languages, his friends solicited
him to settle as a professor of theology, which he accordingly
did at Newington, where he'remained until his death, in
1678, at the early age of forty-nine. His will evinced his
zeal for the cause of learning ; for he left all his real and
personal estate for the education of young men for the minis
try, and bequeathed his library, with the exception of his
philosophical books, to Harvard College in New England.*
Mr. Gale was succeeded in the academy by Mr. Thomas
Rowe, son of Mr. John Rowe, M. A. ejected from Westmin
ster abbey, and grandson of the excellent Mr. John Rowe of
Crediton in Devonshire.f In the time of the commonwealth
Mr. John Rowe, M. A. was much respected by the leading
he was imprisoned in the tower for calling in question the legality of the long
parliament of Charles II.
" Thursday last," says Burton in his diary, " Sir Thomas Wharton, was here,
and told me that the Tuesday morning before, my Lord Wharton's lady was deli
vered of a son, which he expressed with great joy." i. 367.
This child was Thomas, under Mr. Gale's care, who became Earl aud afterwards
Duke of Wharton. He was a firm friend of the Revolution, and was rewarded with
the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland in 1708.
His son Philip was the eccentric Duke of Wharton, author ofthe " Tme Briton,"
who died in 1731, when the title became extinct. Of him Pope says, he died
" Sad outcast of each church and state."
*Even the prejudiced Oxonian Wood describes Mr. Gale as "a man of great
reading ; well conversant with the writings of the fathers and old philosophers ; a
learned and industrious person ; an exact philologist and philosopher ; and a good
metaphysician and school divine." Wood's Athena, vol. ii. p. 608.
f Life of Mr. John Rowe of Crediton, by his Son, with a Preface by Theophilus
Gale, 1673.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 89
political characters ;* and on the occasion of the defeat of the
Spanish fleet, Oct. 8, 1656, he was called to preach a thanks
giving sermon before the parliament^ The act of uniformity
deprived him of his station in the church ; but he continued to
preach to his people in private meetings, as often as he could
with safety, till the time of his death in the year 1677. His
eldest son, Thomas, was born about the year 1657, and, in
conjunction with his younger brother, Benoni, he was proba
bly educated Under the care of Mr. Gale at Newington. He
entered upon the work of the ministry at the early age of
twenty-one, being placed over the congregation of which his
father had been pastor, which had their place of meeting in
Girdler's Hall, Basinghall Street. The fame of the pupil
gives an interest to the character of the master ; and to the
honour of training up for the church such an ornament as
Watts, the name of Rowe is indebted for its principal celebrity.
Between Watts and his tutor an intimate friendship was
soon formed, which existed until the death of the latter, soon
after the settlement of his pupil as a pastor. "Augt. 1705.
Mr. Tho. Rowe, my tutor, dyed." Mem. This event was
awfully sudden : riding through the city he was seized with
a fit near the monument, fell from his horse, and immediately
expired. To extensive acquirements, Mr. Rowe united a kind
disposition and attractive manners, which secured him the
esteem and affection of those committed to his care. " As a
* The Lord President Bradshaw was a member of his church, at whose funeral he
preached a sermon on Isa. Ivii. 1, in which the Oxford historian charges him with
"speaking much to the honour and praise of that monster of men."
In the Mercurius Politicus there is the following article of intelligence :
"Westminster, February 22. This day, being the Lord's Day, the persons called
Quakers, which were brought from Bristol with James Nayler, — viz. John Stranger
and Hannah his wife, Martha Simmons and Dorfcas Erbu-ry, remaining yet undis
charged, under the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, but now somewhat altered in
their carriage, went to the abbey, morning and afternoon, where they gave ear, ci
villy and attentively, to the sermons of Mr. John Rowe, an eminent preacher,
whose spiritual doctrine so far wrought upon them, that they intend to hear him
again, which gives hopes that they may be rectified in their judgment." No. 350.
f This he afterwards printed, entitled " Man's Duty in Magnifying God's Work."
G

90 LIFE AND TIMES
preacher his discourses were solid, judicious, and evangelical ;
his labours were generally acceptable; and he had a good
congregation to the time of his death." Mr. Rowe was never
married ; and Watts in after-life seems to have thought a state
of matrimony ineligible for a tutor. When the scheme of Mr.
Jennings's academy at Kibworth in Leicestershire, drawn up
by Dr. Doddridge, as a model for the one he himself contem
plated, was placed before him, he returned the manuscript to
Mr. Some, with some observations appended to it, among
which the following occurs : " Whether a person who gives
himself up to the office of a tutor, may not as well continue
single, if he so think fit ; and for himself and his pupils to
board together in some house fit for that purpose ? Then the
tutor would not be encumbered with family cares, nor would
he appear interested in the domestic matters, so that he could
decide any little contests of that nature with more universal
approbation. This was my tutor's practice ; and, after all, if
it be possible to find a tutor so admirably qualified as the au
thor describes, it \sfive hundred to one, if he meet with the one
only pious, prudent, and invaluable partner."* In the fol
lowing lines Watts expresses his obligations to the friend and
guide of his youth :

"TO THE MUCH HONOURED MR. THOMAS ROWE, THE DIRECTOR
OF MY YOUTHFUL STUDIES.
"free philosophic

" Custom, that tyranness of fools,
That leads the learned round the schools
In magic chains of forms and rules !
My Genius storms her throne :
* Upon this remark of Dr. Watts's, Doddridge inserts the following annotation :
"In answer to this terrible query I must observe, that I know but one family in
which a tutor and his pupils could conveniently board, while I know half a dozen
of tbe fair sex, who do in the main answer the necessary character. I shall proba-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 91
No more, ye slaves, with awe profound,
Beat the dull track, nor dance the round;
Loose hands and quit th' enchanted ground :
Knowledge invites us each alone.

II.

"I hate these shackles ofthe mind,
Forg'd by the haughty wise ;
Souls were not born to be coufin'd,
And led, like Sampson, blind and bound ;
But when his native strength he found
He well aveng'd his eyes.
I love thy gentle influence, Rowe ;
Thy gentle influence, like the sun,
Only dissolves the frozen snow,
Then bids our thoughts like rivers flow,
And choose the channels where they run."
That Watts applied himself to his studies with no common
assiduity, during his residence in the academy, might be in
ferred from his early predilection for literature ; but the works
which he soon afterwards sent forth, abundantly testify the
diligence he employed, and the extent of his acquirements.
His amiable character and exemplary conduct, won the es
teem of his fellow-students ;* and his tutor was accustomed
bly remain single while I reside here ; but should providence remove me, I shall
prefer the example of my own tutor, whose wisdom and happiness I knew, to that of
the Doctor's, to whom I am a perfect stranger."
* Among Mr. Rowe's students, some of them Watts's contemporaries, may be
enumerated, Daniel Neal, M. A. the distinguished historian of " New England" and of the
" Puritans." He entered the academy in 1696 or 1697; and, after continuing three
years, finished his studies at Utrecht and Leyden.
John Evans, D. D. the author of discourses on the " Christian Temper." Besides
Mr. Rowe, he studied under Mr. Richard Frankland and Mr. Timothy Jallie in their
respective seminaries.
Jeremiah Hunt, D. D. pastor of Pinner's Hall. He afterwards studied at Edin
burgh and Leyden in Holland under the learned Spanheim.
Samuel Say of Westminster, the successor of Dr. Calamy.
John Wilson, the founder of the dissenting interest at Warwick.

92 LIFE AND TIMES
to refer to his proficiency, to lead them to emulate his example.
"I have been credibly informed," says Dr. Jennings, "that
while he resided in this college of learning, his behaviour was
not only so inoffensive, that his tutor declared he never gave
him any occasion of reproof, but so exemplary that he often
proposed him as a pattern to his other pupils for imitation."
Josiah Hort, a fellow-student of Watts's, who afterwards conformed, and became
Archbishop of Tuam in 1742.
John Hughes, the poet, author of the "Seige of Damascus," and several papers
in the Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 93

CHAPTER IV.
1690—1693.
ACADEMICAL EXERCISES.

MS. VOLUME OF ESSAYS. — COLLEGE DISQUISITIONS.— "AN DEUS SIT
VERAX? AFFIRMATUR." — "AN MENS HUMANA SIT IMMATER1ALIS ?
AFFIRMATUR."— ABRIDGMENT OF BOOKS. — "QUESTIONES LOGIC*."—
METHOD OF INTERLEAVING.— ENGLISH DISSERTATIONS.—" WHETHER
THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE TENDS TO
LICENTIOUSNESS?"— "WHETHER SELF-DENIAL IN THINGS IN THEM
SELVES INDIFFERENT BE NOT IN SOME CASES NECESSARY?"— POETI
CAL EPISTLE TO HIS BROTHER ENOCH-VISIT TO SOUTHAMPTON.—
EARTHQUAKE. — LETTER TO MR. RICHARD WATTS. — CLIFFORD'S
"TREATISE OF HUMANE REASON" ILLUSTRATED AND CORRECTED.—
WATTS'S FELLOW-STTJDENTS:-JOHN HUGHES, ESQ.— JOSIAH HORT,
ARCHBISHOP OFTUAM.— REV. SAM. SAY, OF WESTMINSTER.— LETTERS.

Of all the employments in which men engage, there is
none so important and responsible as that of the sacred minis
try. Besides the regular exhibitions of Christian truth which
the sabbatic services demand, there is the "defence of the
gospel" against the cavillings of the sceptic and the attacks
of the infidel ; and occasions frequently occur, which require
a departure from the ordinary routine of ministerial engage
ment, to contend with the subtile casuistries of unsanctified
intellect. It is obvious, that a certain fitness and preparation
for such services is necessary ; that they who would guard the
ark of the Lord, must bring to their task, if not polished, at
least well-furnished minds ; and be ready and able to expose
the sophistical perversions, and repel the rude invasions of the

94 life and times
enemies of truth. It is a vulgar error to suppose, that an un
learned ministry is that which God particularly honours;
that he always chooses ignorance and illiteracy, to work the
purposes of his will ; and employs the foolish things of this
world, to confound the things that are mighty. Such was in
deed the case in that age when the teachers of divine truth
were endowed with miraculous gifts; but such aids for the
increase of the church are now withheld, and the propagation
of the gospel is left, under the blessing of heaven, to the ope
ration of ordinary means. But divine inspiration could never
be pleaded as an excuse for human indolence. The directions
given by the apostles, with reference to the formation of mi
nisterial character, plainly inculcate the necessity of vigorous
mental application ; and among those employed by the foun
der of Christianity, to overturn the boasted philosophy of
Gentilism, there was an Apollos who was an eloquent man,
and a Paul learned in all the literature of his country. In an
enlightened age it is especially important, that the ministers
of religion should not be behind the intellect of the times in
which they live ; for useful and expedient it undoubtedly may
be, to appreciate and improve discoveries of physical truth, to
unfold the consistency of the new lights that are breaking
upon us from the natural world with the disclosures of the re
vealed word, and to elevate the progress of human science
into illustrations and arguments for the divinity of its contents.
We have now to notice the manner in which Watts prepa
red for the ministry. A manuscript volume was presented
after his decease to Dr. Gibbons, by his brother Enoch, con
taining a collection of dissertations, which are evidently his
academical exercises. These are in his own handwriting,
and consist of twenty-two Latin essays, upon physical, meta
physical, ethical, and theological subjects. The theses, Dr.
Johnson remarks, "show a degree of knowledge both philo
sophical and theological, such as very few attain by a much
longer course of study." A few specimens of his college com-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 95
positions will evince the diligence and improvement of the
student. I.
"AN DEUS SIT VERAX? AFFIRMATUR.
"Rarae sane proterviae est iste vir qui veracitatem Deo
eripere ausit, et omnem rationis lucem ejerasse oporteat, et
ipsum ejerasse Deum qui fidelem negat : face ergo potius
quam fuste est opus in hac thesi tractanda quae penilius ex-
plicari magis quam laboriose probari quaerit. Ita vero ex-
plicanda est, et tali lumine circumfundenda, ut cum aliquo
Dei actu aut attributo ne quidem videatur pugnare. Ut pa-
teat Dei veracitas retegenda est Veritas in genere, quae hanc
ut speciem sibi inferiorem vendicat. Notio veritatis in con
gruent^ sita est, et concordia inter unam rem et aliam. Sic
Physica Veritas est conformitas corporis cum principiis ex
quibus ortum est. Veritas apud Logicos dicitur cohaerentia
quae ideae mentis cum objecto intercedit. Veritas Ethica est
cum dicta factis, et facta dictis conformia sunt. Huic analo-
gica est Dei veracitas, ad earn enim attributorum classem
redigitur quae moralis dicitur, quia virtutes illis analogicae
lege morali hominibus praecipiuntur ; quapropter conformita-
tem sermonis divini cum rebus praeteritis, praesentibus, et fu-
turis Dei veracitatem ausim appellare, rebus, inquam, praete
ritis, nunc temporis, et futuris, sive eae sunt res gestae, sive
propria decreta, sive sint naturae rerum et essentiae, sive futu-
ra sibi efficienda, seu permittenda tantum. Deum ergo ve-
racem esse significat ipsum nullam unquam decretorum
enunciationem, nullam narrationem, nullam doctrinam, suis
decretis, rebus gestis, aut naturae rerum contrariam protulisse;
neque aliquid unquam pollicitum esse, aut minatum, aut
prsedixissequod non suo tempore vel dedit effectum, veldabit.
" Ut vero recte intelligatur quod proposuimus, nee sinistre
acceptum sit par aut trias limitationum adhibenda est.

96 LIFE AND TIMES
" I . Si quando sacer spiritus sancti amanuensis ccelestes
tabulas floribus intersperserit rhetoricis tales prophetias sensu
literali adimplendas sperare ridiculum esset et absurdum.
" 2. Si quando se hoc aut illud velle asserit Deus quod non
tamen peragit ista volitio aequivoce intelligenda est et de
voluntate legislative tantum.
" 3. Si Deus aut polliceatur quid se daturum, aut se puni-
turum minetur tacitis conditionibus annexis facile ipse a. fal-
sitatis suspicione purgatur, licet promissa non peregerit, si
conditiones appensae desunt. Quod ipse Dominus de se tes-
tatur, Jerem. xviii. 7, 8, 9, 10. cujus verba, quia multum ad
rem faciunt, contracte recitabo. ' Quo momento eloquar
contra gentem, me illam demoliturum esse, si convertatur
gens ilia a. malo suo pcenitebit quoque me ejus mali quod
cogitavi. Quo autem momento loquar de gente, &c. me
aedificaturum, si malum feeerit, vicissim pcenitebit me illius
boni quod dixero, &c.'
" 4. Excipias iteram Dei minas si quando ad plenum non
perficiuntur. Adeo summe enim benignum est. Numen,
adeo mite et creaturae amans, ut vix possit manus ultrices in
ejus cladem armare. Nee tamen vis infertur veracitati, minse
enim, quibus lex sancitur, non tarn demonstrant necessarium
vindicis justi tiae egressum quatenus omnes pcenae circumstan-
tias, quam meritum pcenae in peccante, et in legislatore puni-
endi jus. Ut demus nebulam hominis lapsi inscitia esse
indutam quo minus egregiam dictorum Dei cum factis conso-
nantiam perspicue cernamus inde tamen Deo quicquid dece-
dere minim e aequum est. Stat ac stabit aeternum sacrum
volumen veracitate Dei utraque pagina, inscriptam praeferens ;
ac, ut nullum detur verbum, ratio humana abunde id suadet.
Primus vero loquatur ipse Deus, et se veracem pronunciet ;
imo audiatis (revereamini !) jurantem Deum, Psal. lxxxix. 35.
' Semel juravi per sanctitatem Davidi, non mentiar.' Quid
magis sacrum, quid magis tremendum quam Numinis jus-
jurandum? Huic textui astipulatur Paulus et confirmat.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 97
Heb, vi. 17. ' Fidejussit jurejurando ut per res immutabiles
in quibus fieri non potest ut mentitus sit Deus.'
Sed ad artificialia argumenta divertamus.
1. Divinae veracitatis locuples testis est tot et tantarum
urbium subversio, tot ruina populorum, tot denique privatae
res gestae, quarum prasdictio mille ante annos extitit. Hinc
Dei verba autoritas conciliatur et demonstratur verax Deus.
" 2. Nisi fidelis Deus sit perit religio. Fallaces flammis
committantur scripturae et erubescat longus interpretum grex.
Impostor Moses et David, falsus Esaias et quotquot minores
prophetae. Redeat oculis captus Mseonides, et commentitiam
deorum turbam adorabimus. Absit ! absit ! Deus sane
noster et unicus verax est, aut Deus nullus.
" 3. Si non effectum dat quicquid praedixit Deus, aut novit
se non facturum, aut nescivit dum praedixit. Si novit non
est summe bonus qui creaturas vellet fallere ; si nescivit, non
omniscius est, nee quidem immutabilis. Est vero omniscius,
et immutabilis, et summa benignitate omnes suae actiones
perfusae sunt. Nee possit fallere, nee falli. Agnoscamus
. ergo summe veracem, et celebremus Deum."

"WHETHER GOD IS FAITHFUL? AFFIRMED.
" That man must be arrived at a very unusual pitch of
boldness indeed, who dares to rob God of his veracity, since
before this he must abjure all the light of reason, and even
the Deity himself.
" In discoursing upon our thesis, there is a greater call for
definition than argument, as the subject is of such a nature
as to require rather an accurate explanation than a laborious
proof. Our business is so to open and represent the divine
veracity, and diffuse such a light over it, that it may not seem
to clash with any act or attribute of Deity.
" That we may have a clear conception of the veracity of

98 LIFE AND TIMES
God, let us consider truth in general, under which the divine
veracity as a particular species is to be comprehended. The
notion of truth lies in congruity or agreement between one
thing and another. Thus, physical truth, is the conformity of
a body with the principles whence it originated ; logical truth,
is the agreement of the idea in the mind with the object; and
ethical truth, is the harmony of our words with our actions,
and of our actions with our words ; analogous to which is the
truth of God, for it belongs to that division of the divine attri
butes which is styled moral, because virtues analogous to these
attributes are by the moral law required of mankind. Upon
which account I may be bold to say, that the conformity of
the word of God with things past, present, and to come, con
stitutes the idea of divine truth ; I say, with things past,
present, and to come, whether they are things actually per
formed, whether they are particular decrees, whether they are
the natures and essences of things, or whether they are future
things to be effected, or only permitted. That God is true,
therefore, signifies that he never issued any declaration of his
decrees, any history, any doctrine contrary to his decrees, to
what was done by him, or to the nature of things ; and that
he never at any time promised any thing, or threatened any
thing, or predicted any thing, which in its appointed season
he did not perform, or which shall not be performed by him.
" But that what we propose may be rightly understood, and
that there may be no mistake of our meaning, we shall lay
down two or three limitations.
" 1. If at any time the inspired penmen of scripture have
inserted into their writings any flowers of rhetoric, it would
be both ridiculous and absurd to expect, that prophecies deli
vered in this form should be literally accomplished.
" 2. If at any time God declares that he wills this or that,
which in the result of all he does not perform, this volition is
to be understood with latitude, and only expressing his will
as a legislator.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 99

(i •

: 3. If God should promise that he will confer any bless
ing, or should threaten that he would inflict any punishment,
in cases where secret conditions are implied, he would be still
clear of all imputation of falsehood, though he should neither
perform the promise, nor execute the punishment, even though
the conditions are not expressed. This God testifies concern
ing himself, Jer. xviii. 7 — 10, which passage, as it is so much
to our point, I will briefly recite : ' At what instant I shall
speak concerning a nation to pluck it up, if that nation turn
from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do
unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a
nation to build it, if it do evil in my sight, then will I repent
of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.'
" 4. If God should not fulfil his threatenings to the utmost
extent of their meaning, he is not for that reason to be thought
unfaithful. So superlatively kind is the Deity, so merciful
and full of love to his creatures, that scarce can he call forth
his vengeance for their destruction, but still his veracity is
preserved inviolable ; because the threatenings with which
his laws are armed, do not so much demonstrate the necessary
egress of his avenging justice as to all the circumstances of
punishment, as the desert of punishment in the offender, and
the right of punishment in the lawgiver.
" Should we grant, that so great a cloud of ignorance
darkens the mind of man in his fallen state, as to prevent in
some cases our clear discovery of the perfect harmony of the
word with the actions of the Deity, yet by no means are we to
detract from the honours of the divine veracity. The sacred
volume remains, and shall for ever remain inscribed in both
its parts with the truth of God ; and even upon the supposi
tion that he had not given us his word, we might be fully
satisfied of his veracity from human reason only.
" We may observe upon the subject, that God himself
speaks to us, and asserts his own faithfulness ; nay, we shall
hear him (and let it be with all becoming reverence) swearing

100 LIFE AND TIMES
by himself: Psal. lxxxix. 36. ( Once have I sworn by my
holiness, that I will not lie unto David.' What can be more
tremendous than the oath of God himself? .The apostle Paul
agrees with this text, and ratifies what it declares: Heb. vi. 17.
'Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the
heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it
by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consola
tion,' &c.
" But let us now attend to some other arguments, which
are rather deductions than express declarations^ As,
" 1. The overthrow of so many and so great cities, of the
destruction of so many people, and, finally, of so many private
events which have taken place, the predictions of which pre
ceded them a thousand years before they happened, are proofs
of the divine veracity. By these the authority of the word of
God is established, and they are so many monuments of his
truth. " 2. If God were not faithful farewell to all religion. Then
let the scriptures over-run with falsehoods be thrown into the
flames, and let the long train of interpreters be confounded
with shame. Moses and David, Isaiah and all the minor
prophets have deceived us. Let the blind Homer rise from
his grave, and we will adore his romantic rabble of gods. 
Perish, perish the thought ! Either our God is the only true
God, or there is no God at all.
" 3. If God does not perform what he has predicted, he
either knew that he would not do what he had foretold, or he
did not. If he knew that he would not do it, he is not su
premely good in thus deceiving his creatures ; if he did not
know that he would do it, he is neither immutable nor omni
scient. But God is omniscient and immutable, and all his
actions are expressive of the greatest goodness. He can nei
ther deceive nor be deceived. Let us, therefore, acknowledge

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 101
that he is faithful in the highest degree, and praise him ac
cordingly." II.
"AN MENS HUMANA SIT IMMATERIALIS ? AFFIRMATUR.
"Miranda sunt nee minus pemiciosa eorum nescio an
dixerim philosophorum deliria, qui spiritum humanum ma-
terialem esse volunt, cum tanta et menti et sensibus vel rap-
tim abeuntis exinde absurda occurrent, et incommoda quorum
pauca infra ostendamus ; at nominum definitiones prius pro-
ponenda sunt, ne, sicut hostibus in gratiam redactis eorum
arma in se invicem vibrata clangant, ita rebus ipsis consen-
tientibus pugnam committant dictiones.
" Per mentem humanem intelligo cogitationem illam,
quam quisque in se experitur, vel clarius sic, principium
illud internum omnium nostrarum cogitationum, nostrorum
appetituum, et nostrarum voluptatum, cujus ope producimus
omnes functiones, quae aliquam cogitationem includunt, in
quo, tanquam in primo suo subjecto, omnes cogitationes
continentur. "Thesews nostrse praedicatum, viz. vox immaterialis secun-
do se offert explicandum. Omne illud immuteriale esse dieo,
quod non est extensum, quod non habet partes extra partes,
quoniam omne extensum in longum, latum, et profundum
materiae nomen apud optimos obtinuit.
" Patefacto jam itinere in arenam descendimus. Sed O
quod et quanti me in limine aggrediuntur ! Primo, occurrit
Epicurus, instat Tertuttianus, urgent Hobbes et ejusdem sec-
tatores, Grasci et Barbari, Ethnici, et veTae religionis, at pauci
professores. Bli nollent animos immateriales esse ne forte
fiant immortales, et quo liberius peccent immaterialitatis
ideam ex intellectu obliterant ; alii ad firmanda erraticae suae
religionis dogmata, alii autem ob ignorantiam, prsejudicia, et

102 LIFE AND TIMES
inconsiderantiam inter animam et corpus non satis accurate
distinguunt. " Quod ad argumentationem attinet spectemus. Sequen-
tia ratiocinia haec e multis pauca selegi.
"1. Si corpus possit cogitare cogitatio est modus corporis,
et a, partium positione aut motu pendat. Quaenam jam est
ista positio quae cogitet ? Quae figura ? An e tribus an
quatuor angulis constat ? Si autem in motu constare dieis,
quisnam quaeso ille motus ? Nullum ego praeter localem ag-
nosco, et si hic est cogitatio tum quumcunque corpus movet
cogitat, Merae sunt hae nugae et afflatCi rationis in nihilum
reducendae. " 2. Corpus seu materia est, ut volunt philosophi, princi-
pium passivum; at cogitationem actionem esse quis negat,
illam praesertim cogitationis speciem quae voluntas dicitur?
Regeras forsan materiem quidem inertem esse, at extensionem
dari spiritualem quae activa est. Respondeo, tecum alias
disputationem ineundam esse ut error hic tuus inter exten
sionem et materiam distinguens revincatur.
" 3. Si corpus possit cogitare cogitatio est modus corporis
essentialis, aut accidentalis. Non essentialis quia tunc inse-
parabilis esset et omne corpus cogitaret. Nee accidentalis
quia accidens nee concipi potest sine subjecto, ne praecisiva
quidem abstractione, nam sic accidens conciperetur sine
essentia sua cujus esse est inesse. At conare jam, Ad-
versarie, nonne possis cogitare de voluntate tua, et potentia
teipsum determinandi, de gaudio, amore, et affectibus tuis,
sine ulla perceptione rei externa ? Possis certe, ergo nee
cogitatio est accidens corporis.
" 4. Illud est essentiale rei attributum primarium et earn
constituit quod possit concipi aliis proprietatibus non concep
ts, aliae vero non sine illo. Cogitatio et extensio tali modo
conveniunt spvritui et corpori, nee unum eorum aliquid aliud
praesupponit in quo fundetur. Sunt ergo essentialia, et spe-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 103
cierum propriarum maxime diversarum constitutiva. Quando
ergo binae essentiae ad unum aliquod simplex constituendum
concurrent, tunc materiam posse cogitare credam.
" 5. Postremum et grande argumentum cui succumbet et
assentiet omnis intellectus cpikaXnens hoc modo proponitur.
Axioma est in omni ubique philosophia essentiam ab opera-
tionibus cognosci. Quales sunt operationes, tale est subjec
tum. Mentis nostra? operationes sunt cognitio, dubitatio,
affectio, et his similes. Nunc quaenam extensio cognitioni
adjungitur ? Nee longitudo certe, nee latitudo, nee crassities.
Si ergo cognitio, seu volitio est immaterialis, idem est subjec
tum cognitionis. Corpus nescit tales actus exerere, nam sic
ultra sphaeram suas activitatis ageret, itemque effectus esset
nobilior causa.
" Sufficiant haec, et ut mihi videntur sufficiunt cuivis non
pertinaciter opinioni alicui contra rationem inhaerenti. Quod
siquis post haec omnia propriam mentem materiam esse asse-
ret, per me licet inter ista degat animalia quae gramine ves-
cuntur, philosophorum, imo hominum societate prorsus
indignus." "WHETHER THE MIND OF MAN IS IMMATERIAL?
AFFIRMED.
" Very surprising, and no less pernicious are, I know not
whether I should not call them, those dreams of some philo
sophers who maintain that the mind of man is material, as
the flagrant absurdities and mischiefs of such a notion must
strike even the most hasty observer, some of which we may
point out before we close our discourse.
" Previous to our entrance upon our subject it is proper we
should settle our terms, lest, like as enemies brought over to
our side may fall out with one another, our words should
clash, at the same time there is an agreement among the
things themselves.
" By the mind of man I understand that cogitation which

104 LIFE AND TIMES
every one feels within himself, or, to express myself more
clearly, that internal principle of all our thoughts, of our de
sires, and of our volitions, to which we owe all those opera
tions in which any degree of thought is concerned, or that
principle which as in its prime subject includes all our
thoughts. " We shall next attend to our predicate. I call all that
immaterial which is not extended, that which has not parts
annexed to parts ; for whatever has the dimension of length,
breadth, and thickness, is properly denominated matter in the
opinion of the best philosophers..
" Having opened our way, we now enter into the field.
But what a numerous and formidable host immediately ap
pears in array against us ! First, Epicurus, then Tertullian,*
next Hobbes and his followers oppose me, Greeks, Barbarians,
Pagans, and some, though but a few, professors of the true
religion. Some will not admit that the mind of man is im
material, lest the consequence should press them that it is
immortal ; and, that they may have no check upon them in
their course of sin, they exclude from the human soul the idea
of immateriality. Others adopt the error, that they may by
it support their mistaken notions in religion. And a third
sort, through ignorance, prejudices, and inconsideration, do
not with sufficient accuracy draw the line between mind and
matter. "We shall now consider, what arguments may be alleged
in proof of our proposition, that the mind of man is immate
rial. I have selected the following reasons out of many that
might be adduced :
"1. If the body is capable of thinking, thought is a mode
* Tertullian's views were exceedingly confused upou this suhject, and it is hard
to determine whether he was a materialist or not. In his treatise "on the Soul,"
he maintains that the soul is not material, and that nevertheless it is body or
substance — he endeavours to refute the opinion of Plato, who maintained its in-
corporeity ; and yet he goes on gravely to relate a silly story of a fanatical sister,
who gulled him with a tale that she had seeu a soul. p. 311.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 105
of body, and depends either upon the position of its parts, or
upon motion. But what is that position of parts which thinks ?
What is its figure? Does it consist of three or four angles ?
Or if thinking depends upon motion, let me ask what is that
motion ? I know of no motion but what is local ; and if this
is thinking, then, whenever a body moves it thinks. But
these are mere bubbles, which instantly dissolve before the
breath of reason.
" 2. Body or matter, according to philosophers, is a passive
principle; but who is there can deny but thinking is an
action, and more especially that kind of it which is called
volition f You may perhaps reply, that matter is inert, but
that there is a spiritual extension which is active. To which
I answer, that it must be in a manner different from that of
reasoning, by which your error should be combated, that of
distinguishing between extension and matter.
" 3. If body can think, thinking must be either an essential
or an accidental mode. It cannot be an essential mode ; for
if it were it would be inseparable, and all bodies would think.
It cannot be an accidental mode; because we can have no
conception of an accident, no, not even upon the most refined
abstraction without a subject, otherwise an accident would be
conceived of without its essence, when its very being is an
in-being in that essence. Now try, my adversary, I address
myself to you, whether you cannot think of your will, of the
power of determining yourself, of joy, of love, and your other
affections, without any idea of any thing extended ? You
can undoubtedly : conclude, then, that thought is not an
accident of body.
"4. That is an essential primary attribute of a thing, and
which indeed constitutes it, which may be conceived of with
out other properties, at the same time that other properties
cannot be conceived of without an idea of that attribute.
Thinking and extension considered in this manner, agree tbe
one to spirit, the other to body, nor does either the one or the

1Q6 LIFE AND TIMES
other presuppose any thing besides in which it should be
founded ; thinking and extension, therefore, are essential attri
butes of two particular kinds of beings, which are at the
greatest remove from each other. Not, then, till these two
essences constitute one simple being, shall I believe that
thinking belongs to matter.
" 5. The last and grand argument, to which all lovers of
truth will yield their assent, may be thus represented. It is
an axiom that universally prevails in philosophy, that an
essence may be known by its operations, or in other words, as
are the operations such are the subjects. Now the operations
of our minds are knowledge, doubting, affection, and the like.
But what connexion has extension with knowledge ? Know
ledge unquestionably has neither length, breadth, nor thick
ness. If, therefore, judgment or volition is immaterial, its
subject is immaterial too. The body is incapable of exerting
such acts ; for it would then go beyond the sphere of its power,
and the effect would be more excellent than its cause.
" Let these arguments suffice, and to me they appear suf
ficient to satisfy any mind that will not obstinately adhere to
its opinion against the force of reason. If any person, after
all that has been alleged, should still insist upon it, that his
own mind is material, I shall have no objection to his turning
out among the animals which graze the fields, as he is utterly
unworthy the society of philosophers, and indeed of mankind."
One of the methods which Watts adopted when a student
for his own improvement, was to abridge the writers upon the
various sciences he read, in order more effectually to impress
their contents upon his memory. The adoption of such a plan,
though laborious, is attended with many advantages : when
the attention is fixed upon a subject, the memory retains a
firmer hold upon it ; and, generally speaking, one volume thus
dissected and epitomised, will yield more real information than
twenty others hastily perused. " Shall I be so free," says he,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 107
.' as to assure my younger friends, from my own experience,
that these methods of reading will cost some pains in the first
years of your study, and especially in the first authors you
peruse in any science, or on any particular subject. But the
profit will richly compensate the pains ; and, in the following
years of life, after you have read a few valuable books on any
special subject in this manner, it will be very easy to read
others of the same kind, because you will not find very much
new matter in them which you have not already examined."*
Among the volumes which he treated in this way, were Mr.
Gale's " Court ofthe Gentiles," " Questiones Logicae ut plu-
rimum desumptae ex Burgersdicii Institutionibus, et Heere-
boordii Commentariis, 1691, 1692; Logical Questions, col
lected for the greatest part from Burgersdicius's Institutions
and Heereboord's Commentaries," and " Sententiola? quaedam
e Tractatu Lud. de la Forge de mente humana collectae, aut
patius Epitome ejusdem tractatas, 1691 ; Some brief Opinions
collected from the Treatise of Lewis de la Forge concerning
the Human Mind, or rather an Epitome of the work." The
manuscript volumes containing these abridgments, were in
the possession of Mr. Enoch Watts, who parted with them to
Dr. Gibbons.f
There was another plan practised by Watts in after-life,
which it is highly probable he commenced in the years of his
studies — interleaving the books he read, and copying on the
blank pages extracts from other writers upon the same topics.
A curious instance of his diligence in this particular he left
behind him in his Westminster Greek grammar, with supple
mental leaves, containing collections from the grammars of
Mr. Leeds and Dr. Busby. To the title of the Westminster
Greek Grammar, that of "Institutio Graecae Grammatices
compendiaria in Usum Regiae Scholae Westmonasteriensis"
is added, " cum notis mutins a. grammaticis Busbeii et Leedsii ;"
in the blank leaf at the beginning he observes, "Usque ad
* Improvement of the Mind, part i. c. 4. § 7. f Gibhons, p. 59.

108 LIFE AND TIMES
paginam 75 grammatices errores correxi, et quae desuerant
supplevi. 1 709. I. W. ;" and in the afore-cited page, where
he broke off his work, he adds, " Hue usque vulgarem gram-
maticam correxi secundum majorcm atcpiheiav grammaticarum
Busbeii et LeedsiL"* These plans for mental improvement,
which Watts adopted at an early period, and to which he
steadily adhered through life, testify his anxious search after
knowledge; and well deserve the imitation of all students,
not only fox the ministry, but every branch of philosophy and
science. The following golden rules embody his own methods :
" Where the author is ohseure, enlighten him : where he is
imperfect, supply his deficiencies : where he is too brief and
concise, amplify a little, and set his notions in a fairer view :
where he is redundant} mark those paragraphs to be retrench
ed : when he trifles, and grows impertinent, abandon those
passages or pages ; where he argues, observe whether his rea
sons, be conclusive; if the conclusion be true, and yet the
arguments weak, eodeayouy to confirm it by better proofs :
where he derives or infers any propositions darkly or doubt
fully, make the justice of the, inference appear*, and add
further inferences or corollaries, if such occur to yous mind! :
where you suppose he is in a mistake, propose your objections
and correct, his sentiments : what be writes so well, as to
approve; itself tq your judgment, both as just and useful,
treasure it up in your memory, ami count it a. part of your
intellect".?,! gatpa."+
In the manuscript volume from which the Latin: theses have
been, extracted, there are. two English ^jssertations, which he
read at th«: meetings of hfe fellow-students.. The, first, was
prepared according to a note prefixed to it, for w our meeting"
on Saturday, July 1693, mife founded upon the; question,
* GibboiQ%, p. 61. f Improvement of the, Mwi».]?art i. c- 4.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 109

" WHETHER THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION B^ FAITH
ALONE TENDS TO LICENTIOUSNESS ?
"Man, by wilful sinning against an express command,
sullied the glory of his innocence, and lost that inherent
righteousness which) according to the tenor of the first cove
nant, entitled him to the favour of God and felicity. Justice
requires satisfaction for the injuries done to its law, and a per
fect obedience is necessary to procure a new title to happiness.
Fallen man is altogether unable either to pay the debt, or to
work for life ; for the loss of his original righteousness left him
wholly destitute of any power to regain it. If ever, therefore,
he be freed from the curse of this law, it is requisite that its
penalty be suffered ; and if ever he be admitted again into
divine favour, it must be by the imputation of the righteous
ness of another. Jesus Christ has undertaken the cause.
The eternal Son of God became flesh, and tabernacled among
us ; he bore the punishment which guilty man had incurred,
and fulfilled the law to which the promise of life was annexed.
Now, that both his sufferings and his obedience are imputed
to us, in order to acceptance with God, I shall at present only
offer these two scriptures :
" Gal. iii, 13: ' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us.' What words can be
more emphatical ? We, who must otherwise have been
accursed to eternity, are redeemed therefrom by his being j
made a curse for us, the sentence of cursing being executed
upon him.
" The second scripture is Rom. v. 19 : * As by the disobe
dience of one many were made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous.' The words in the original
are, shall be constituted righteous, according to a law, or cove-

110 LIFE AND TIMES
nant, as I heard the Rev. Mr. Alsop* explain them, who said
that he could not tell any other consistent sense of these words.
"Thus briefly ofthe imputation of Christ's righteousness.
But how comes it to be imputed to us, or made ours ? It is
answered, By faith alone. So the assembly of divines express
it in their catechism. The perfect obedience and full satisfac
tion of Christ are imputed to us by God, and received by faith
alone. It is faith alone receives this righteousness. Good
works have nothing to do in the receiving of it, or in justify
ing us. Infinite justice will be satisfied with no less than
complete righteousness ; and, therefore, our own broken and
imperfect righteousness is insufficient. Consult that text,
Rom. iv. 5, 'To him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous
ness.' Now it cannot be meant that faith itself is imputed as
the matter of our righteousness, because faith, considered in
itself, is a good work ; but what is intended, is the object of
faith, namely, Christ's righteousness. The apostle, to avoid
all mistakes, declares, 1st, negatively, that works are to be
excluded ; and, 2dly, positively, that we receive a righteous
ness by faith.
" I shall not insist further on the proof of the point, because
it seems to be granted in the question; yet so much was
necessary to be premised, in order to a regular procedure.
This doctrine is the truth of the gospel as it is in Jesus, and
the only mean whereby every one of us may be made holy
and happy. The devil, therefore, has used many artifices to
subvert it, among which this is a principal one, namely, filling
men's minds with wrong opinions concerning it, by repre
senting it as an unholy doctrine ; and this is the common
prejudice against justification by the imputed righteousness of
Christ received by faith alone, that it gives liberty to men to
•Vincent Alsop, M.A., ejected from Wilby in Northamptonshire, in 1662.
He was one of the predecessors of Dr. Calamy at Westminster. His Anti-Sozzo,
written against Sherlock, procured him the esteem and approbation of Dr. South.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. Ill
live loosely and sinfully, as though there were no room for
good works in our religion, if they be not brought into our
justification. But constant experience shows that this is a
mistake ; for they who embrace this doctrine are for good
works as much as any, and dare not oppose the authority of
that Spirit, who, by the apostle James, pronounces that faith
which is without good works to be dead. What we contend
for is the right place, use, and end of good works in the mat
ters of religion, that they may not be substituted in the stead
of Christ, and the glory of our salvation to be attributed to
ourselves, against which the scripture so often cautions us.
" I shall, in a few words, give the true place and use of
holiness. " 1. It is a part of our salvation purchased by Christ. He
redeemed us not only from wrath but from sin too: Tit. ii. 14,
where it is said, ' He gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity.' Grace is glory begun : now
that glory is tbe purchase of Christ none will deny.
" 2. Holiness is the end of our redemption and justification,
as appears in the forementioned text; 'Who gave himself for
us, that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people zea
lous of good works.'
" 3. The law of creation obliges us to good works. As we
are creatures, we are to worship and honour our Maker by
obedience. " 4. As we are bought from the prison of hell, we become
his servants who paid a price for us ; and, therefore, we are
obliged to serve him: 1 Cor. vi. 20, 'Ye are bought with a
price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit,
which are God's.'
" 5. We are to perform obedience to the commands of
Christ, in gratitude to him who is our greatest Benefactor.
" 6. Holiness is the mean to prepare us for glory, though
not to procure glory for us.

112 LIFE AND TIMES
" 7. Holiness is the way to evidence our justification, and
give us the assurance and comfort of it.
" We now proceed to give some reasons to demonstrate, that
justification by faith alone is so far from being an impediment
to a holy life, that it is the only true way to promote it.
" 1. Good works after justification by faith, is the order in
which God himself has placed them. Eph. ii. 8, 9, 10 : ' By
grace are ye saved through faith ;' that is, you are made par
takers of salvation in both parts of it, the favour of God and
his image, by God's free gift or grace as the principal cause,
and by faith as the instrument receiving it : ' not of works,'
as it follows, ' lest any man should boast ; for we are his work
manship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.' We are
not united to Christ Jesus by having good works created in
us, but being in Christ, we are created to good works. In
like manner, Tit. iii. 8, it is said, ' that they which have
believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.'
The Holy Spirit prefaces it with two notes of attention and
observation : ' This is a faithful saying, and these things I will
that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in
God might be careful to maintain good works.'
"2. That faith which justifies, is the necessary and imme
diate spring and origin of good works. The first act of faith
is, acceptance of Christ to be our way to salvation, to recon
cile us to God by his righteousness, and make us fit for his
enjoyment by his sanctifying grace. Faith trusts Christ for
holiness and glory, and immediately upon this act we are
justified, though, as Dr. Goodwin says, ' Faith justifies pecu
liarly as it depends on Christ for his perfect righteousness to
bring us into the favour of God.' (Goodwin's Triumph of
Faith, § 2, c. 1.) But before this act we could not perform
any good work; for we receive strength to do good works by
this trusting. Dependence on our part derives the supply of
graces and influences from the Spirit of God, without whom
we can do nothing. But St. Paul tells the Philippians, chap.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 113
iv. 13, that he could do all things through Christ strengthen
ing him. Now, that faith is the mean to partake of this
communicated power, consult Mark, xi. 24 ; John, xiv. 13, 14 ;
John, xv. 16 ; John, xvi. 23, 24 ; James, i. 5, 6. Christ will
so far honour our dependence on him, that he condescends (to
speak with reverence) to the will of believers, as appears by
these texts.
"3. The love of Christ, manifested in free justification
without works, more effectually and sweetly binds the soul to
obedience, than any rigid measures which the fear of punish
ment can use. The natures of believers are, as it were,
refined; they are heaven-born, ingenuous, and easily wrought
upon by love. It is a common truth, that nothing is done by
hatred and fear, which might not effectually and pleasantly be
performed by love. The effects of pure love are exceedingly
great. We seldom, if ever, read of any who, out of a mere
fear of hell, would endure the greatest miseries of life. But
how many thousands, being fortified with love to their Re
deemer, have joyfully undergone severe torments rather than
part with their obedience and holiness, notwithstanding they
hoped not to be saved by them ! Now the greater the love
which is expressed towards us, the stronger are our engage
ments to love again. Consider, then, how incomparably
greater is that love which appears in Christ's giving us him
self and his righteousness freely, and completing by himself
the work of our redemption, than if he had only entreated the
Father to relax the first covenant, and put us into a possibi
lity of acquiring heaven by our own obedience. 2 Cor. v. 14 :
' The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge,
that if one died for all, then were all dead.' That love is a far
more efficacious principle than fear, appears also from the first
epistle of John. The whole letter of that beloved disciple
breathes nothing but love and holiness. The first is the prin
ciple of the latter. He had learned and felt the power of love
in the bosom of his Jesus, and recommended that sovereign

114 LIFE AND TIMES
antidote against sin, that cordial to revive dying holiness, to
all the followers of his loving Saviour. Heaven is a state of
most perfect holiness, and the immediate created principle of
it is perfect love, as seems to be implied in 1 John, iv. 18, and
1 Cor. xiii. 8—13.
" 4. The doctrine of perseverance and assurance, for I shall
join them both together at present, are supported only by this
doctrine of justification by faith alone. But these doctrines
are most effectual to promote holiness ; therefore, the doctrine
of justification by faith alone promotes holiness. That assu
rance and perseverance depend only on justification by faith
alone is sufficiently proved ; because, if our obedience this
moment be sincere enough to justify us, our disobedience the
next moment may damn us, whereas faith once acted on
Christ aright, so justifies us that we can never fall from justi
fication, as might be proved from many scriptures. ' I know
whom 1 have believed,' saith the apostle, 2 Tim. i. 12. But
our opponents themselves grant this by contending against
perseverance, and, consequently, assurance, while they hold
that works concur with faith to our justification. It remains,
therefore, only to be proved, that assurance is the most effec
tual mean to promote holiness ; and this appears —
" (1.) As an assurance of salvation keeps us from tempta
tions, and the victorious power of sin. How shall we able to
comply with Satan, and obey that wretched spirit, when we
know that we are Christ's, and he has purchased us ? How
can a man willingly defile that soul with sin, which the blood
of Christ has washed into purity and whiteness ? This would
be to trample the blood of Christ under foot, the least thought
of which startles a saint. In Phil. iv. 7, it is said, ' The peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds.' Dr. Owen, in his Treatise of Temptations,
renders it, ' shall keep as a garrison.' Now when our minds
are preserved from being blinded by temptations, and our
hearts defended from their prevailing assaults, surely we can-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 115
not fall; and this is done by this peace of God, the peace
which God speaks to the conscience, and assurance of his
love. "(2.) Assurance preserves repentance in continual exercise,
and so promotes the divine life. An assured person mourns
over and stabs his sins, because he knows it is his Jesus whom
they have pierced. He revenges himself upon the crucifiers
of his Lord ; and his hatred against sin is as keen as his love
to that God-man, who bore the punishment of it in his stead :
Zech. xii. 10.
" (3.) Assurance of salvation will damp and deaden our af
fections to the things of this world. Col. iii. 2, 3 : ' Set your
affections on things above, not on things on the earth ; for ye
are dead,' that is, to sin, ' and your life is hid with Christ in
God.' Honour and esteem among men, disgrace and private
reproaches, riches and pleasures, will have less influence upon,
and less room in our minds, when a sense and certainty of the
enjoyment of heavenly objects have already possessed them.
It is by reason of the interest which these earthly things have
in our affections, that we are so often captivated to sin ; but,
when our affections are dead to external objects, how much
easier is a strict and religious life !
"Now of all these cords which bind the willing soul to
holiness and good works, the doctrine of justification by
obedience is destitute.
" 5. The last reason which I shall mention is, the testimony
and example of saints who have tried and practised according
to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and led most
holy lives ; whereas they who hoped to be saved by good
works, have lived in the practice of the greatest sins. I shall
at present instance only in the Pharisees, who trusted not to
the righteousness of Christ, as St. Paul tells us, Rom. x. 3;
but, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, they went
about to establish their own righteousness. Now of what
gross sins does Christ accuse the Pharisees ! How black and

116 LIFE AND TIMES
deformed would their lives appear, if compared with the lives
of the apostles, especially of St. Paul, who asserted the doc
trine of justification by faith alone ! The Pharisees found it
impossible to yield obedience to the divine law in its spiritu
ality, yet rather than forego their presumption of being saved
by it, they confined it only to outward acts ; yet here they
wretchedly failed too, as appears by our Saviour's frequent
reproofs, and awful denunciations against them."
The other dissertation is stated to have been prepared for
the meeting on Sept. 9, 1693: it considers the question,
" Whether self-denial in things in themselves indifferent, be
not in some cases necessary ?"*
During his residence in the academy, Watts was accustom
ed to seek relief from his graver studies in poetical composi
tion ; having amused himself with verse, as he hints in his
Miscellanies, from fifteen years old to fifty. This practice he
recommends to the student who has any taste for it, in his
treatise upon the "Improvement ofthe Mind," when fatigued
with pursuits of a more laborious nature ; the mind " may be,
as it were, unbent, and repose itself on the flowery meadows
where the muses dwell." The date of the following epistle to
his brother Enoch, shows it to have been written in the year
after he came to Mr. Rowe, when at the age of seventeen.
The poem is in the glyconick measure, and is praised by Dr.
Johnson for its ease and elegance. /
" FRATRIS E. W. OL1M NAVIGATURO. Sept. 30, 1691.
•* I felix, pede prdspero
I Frater, trabe piuea
Sulces sequora cosrula
Pandas cavbasa flal ibus
Quae tut& reditura sint.
Non te monstra natantia
Ponti carnivorae incotae
Prsedentur rate naufraga.
» Appendix C.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 117
Navis, tu tibi creditum
I'ratrem dimidium mei
Salvum fer per inhospita
Ponti regna, per avios
Tractus, et liquidum chaos.
Nee te sorbeat horrida
Syrtis, nee scopulus minax
Rumpat rohoreum latus.
Captent mitia flamina
Antennae; et Zephyri leves
Dent portum placidum tibi.
Tu, qui numiua, qui vagos
Fluctus oceani regis,
Et saevum Boream domas.
Da fratri faciles vias,
Et fratrem reducem suis."

" TO MY BROTHER ENOCH WATTS, GOING A VOYAGE.
" Brother, may Heaven vouchsafe to bless,
And crown your voyage with success!
Go, in the planks of pine immur'd,.
And from surrounding harm secur'd ;
Go, and with sails expanding wide,,
With pleasure plough the placid tide ;
In, safety wafted o'er the main,.
in safety wafted home again.
O may no, monster of the floods
That roams for prey and thirsts for blood,
Seize you in his tremendous pow'r,
And with remorseless jaws devour,
While the bark, shivered by the blast,
Stows with, its wreck the w.at'ry waste !
" My brother, trusted to thy care,
Half of myself O vessel, bear
Secure through Ocean's wide <to.main,
At best a desert trackless plain;
And oft, when hurricanes arise,
In billows thund'ring; to 1jb» sktes-,
"Safe from the sand's devouring heap,
May'st thou thy wary- passage keep ;

118 LIFE AND TIMES
Safe too from each tremendous rock,
Where ships are shatter'd by the shock :
May only favourable gales
Attend thy course and fill thy sails ;
And may the zephyr's softest wing
Thee to thy port serenely bring !
" Thou, who dost o'er the seas preside,
Rouse them to rage, or smooth their tide,
Thou, who dost in thy fetters keep
The boisterous tyrants of the deep,
' To foreign climes secure convey
My brother through the wat'ry way,
And back conduct him o'er the main
To his dear shores and friends again !"
DR. GIBBONS.
In the year 1692, the second of his academical life, young
Watts visited his family and friends in his native town.
" Paid a six-weeks visit to Southa. 1692."*
The first letter which he wrote home, after his return,
contained a poetical apology for its delay:
PREFACE OF A LETTER, WRITTEN AUGUST, 1692.
" E'er since the morning of that day
Which bid my dearest friends adieu,
And rolling wheels bore me away
Far from my native town and you ;
E'er since I lost through distant place
The pleasures of a parent's face,
This is the first whose language sues
For your release from waxen bands ;
Laden with humble love, it hows
To kiss a welcome from your hands :
Accept the duty which it brings,
And pardon its delaying wings."
" 1 692, Sept. 8th. At noon an earthquake all over Eng
land, and in other nations."t * Watts's MS. f Ibio-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 119
This event is thus noticed by Calamy : " On Sept. 8, this
year, there was an earthquake in and about the city of London,
at mid-day, which was sensibly perceived by most people. I
was at that time at Sir Richard Levet's, and all in the room
felt it, though I was not sensible of it to the same degree as
some others. It was generally thought that had it continued
much longer, it would have done a great deal of damage to
the city. King William was then in his camp in Flanders,
at dinner, in an old decayed house, which shaking very much,
and every one apprehending it ready to fall, his majesty with
much ado was prevailed with to rise from the table, and go
out of the house, but the surprise was soon over."* This
earthquake did not last above a minute, and was attended
with no serious accident ; but another which occurred about
the same period in Jamaica, nearly destroyed the town of
Port Royal, and killed upwards of fifteen hundred persons.f
In the commencement of the following year, the annexed
letter to his brother Richard was written, who was then
studying for the practice of medicine. It contains a poem,
devoted to the sufferings of the Saviour, as the sacrifice for the
sins of men, of which only a few lines have been retained.
The subject is not treated with much judgment, of which the
writer seems to have been aware, as he apologises for an ap
parent " trespass on divinity :" the Deity is represented as if
actuated with the vindictive passions of a demon ; and the
whole scene better accords with the heathen fable of the
Thunderer and Prometheus, than with the mystery of our
redemption. "EPISTOLA FRATRI SUO DILECTO R. W. I. W. S. P. D.
"Rursum tuas, amande frater, accepi literas, eodem for-
tasse momento, quo meae ad te pervenerunt; idemque qui te
* Calamy's Life and Times, i. 326.
f Shower's Practical Reflections on the late Earthquakes in Jamaica, England,
Sicily, Malta, with a particular Historical Account of those and other Earthquakes.
12mo. 1693.

120 LIFE AND TIMES
scribentem vidit dies, meum ad epistolare munus excitavit
calamum ; non inane est inter nos Fraternum nomen, unicus
enim spiritus nos intus animat, agitque, et Concordes in
ambobus efficit motus. O utinam crescat indies, et vigescat
mutua charitas ! Faxit Deus, ut amor sui nostra incendat et
defaecet pectora. Tunc etenim et alternis purse amicitia?
flammis erga nos invicem divinum in modum ardebimus.
Contemplemur Jesum nostrum, cceleste illud et adorandum
exemplar charitatis. Hie est,
" Qui quondam ffiterno delapsus ab asthere vultus
Induit humanos, ut posset corpore nostras
(Heu miseras !) sufiferre vices ; spoil son's obivit
Munia et in sese tabulae maledicta Minacis
Transtulit, et sceleiis pumas hominisque reatum.
Ecce jacet desertus humi, diffusus in herbam
Integer, innocuas versus sua sidera palmas
Et placidum attollens vultum, nee ad oscula Patris-,
Amplexus solitosve ; artus nudatus amietu
Sidereos, et sponte sinum patefactus ad iras
Numinis armati.

" At suhsidat phantasia, vanescant imagines ; nescio quo
me proripuit amens Musa. Volui quatuor lineas pedibus
astringere, et ecce ! numeri crescunt in immensum ; dumque
concitato Genio laxavi frsena, vereor ne juvenilis impetus
theologiam lseseril, et audax nimis imaginatio. Heri allata
est ad me epistola indicans matrem meliuscule se habere,
licet ignis febrilis non prorsus deseruit mortale ejus domicilium.
Plura volui, sed turgidi et crescentes versus nolue're plura, et
coarctarunt scriptionis limites. Vale, amice frater, et in
studio pietatis et artis medicse strenuus decurre.
" Datum a, musaao meo Loudini, xvto Kalend. Febr. Anno
Salutis 1693."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 121
"A LETTER FROM ISAAC WATTS TO HIS BROTHER
RICHARD WATTS, WISHING HIM SAFETY AND PEACE
IN GOD.
" Dear Brother,
" I had a second receipt of a letter from yon perhaps in the
very moment in which mine came to hand ; and the very day
in which you was writing to me, was the same which awa
kened my pen to the discharge of its epistolary duty to you.
We bear not the fraternal name in vain, for the same spirit
possesses, inspires, and produces the most harmonious move
ments in us. May our mutual affection every day increase
and flourish ! God grant his love may purify and kindle our
souls ! Thus shall we in a divine manner burn with recipro
cal flames of friendship. Let us contemplate our Saviour,
that celestial and adorable example of love :
" The Son of God, descending from the skies,
Assum'd an human form, that in our flesh
He might endure the agonizing pains
Due to our crimes : our surety he became,
Transferring to himself each baleful curse
Of Heaven's vindictive, death-denouncing law,
And made our guilt and punishment his own.
"See him, deserted on the naked ground,
And kneeling on the sod, extend his hands,
And lift his placid count'nance to the skies
With conscious innocence, but not t'enjoy,
As he was wont, his heav'nly Father's smiles,
And kind embraces. See his god-like form
Expos'd to night's cold blast, and see his breast
By his own hands expanded to the stroke
Of Deity in arms.
*******
" But let fancy, with all its images, subside and vanish. I
know not whither the impetuous muse has hurried me. I de
signed only four lines in verse, and behold what a number !

122 LIFE AND TIMES
While I have indulged my rapture, I fear my juvenile heat
and too bold an imagination, may have made some trespass on
divinity. " I received a letter yesterday, acquainting me that our mo
ther was somewhat better, though the fever has not quite left
her. I intended to have written more particularly, but the
swelling and growing verses have prevented me, and contract
ed the limits of my letter. Farewell, dear brother, and may
you make ^strenuous advances in the study of religion and
medicine ! Given from my study in London on the sixteenth
of the Kalends of February, 1693."
Another specimen of Watts's method of illustrating and
correcting the authors he read, has been preserved by the
Rev. Samuel Palmer, which, though dated considerably
posterior, may here be inserted, as the pamphlet containing
it is rare, and every relic is interesting. The volume in
question is entitled, " A Treatise of Humane Reason," printed
1675 in small 12mo. ; in the title he has inserted the author's
name, M. Clifford, Esq. ; and in the blank leaf at the begin
ning he has put his own name, with the following observa
tions :
" This book when first published, did perhaps mollify the
spirits of some men, that were set upon persecution of the
dissenters. It has many useful notions in it : but it exalts
reason as the rule of religion as well as the guide, to a degree
very dangerous; which occasioned some writings pro and
con at that time.
"A book, called ' Plain Dealing,' by a scholar at Cambridge,
was published in opposition to it, whose design seems tend
ing towards persecution.
"An answer thereto came out by one Albertus Warren,
called ' An Apology for the Discourse of Humane Reason,'
&c. 12mo. p. 144. This apologizer is a perfect Hobbist, his
style pretty smooth, but his sense exceeding thin-set, his

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 123
thoughts trivial and common, chiefly against persecution ;
nor is there any thing in it worth the reading so much as the
character of Mr. Clifford.*
" Another book, called ' Observations upon,'&c. 12mo. p. 73,
wherein our author is charged with confusion, and some in
consistencies are proved upon him. But what was truly va
luable in the controversy was not much : I have (here) all
that was worth notice by way of marginal remarks with an *."
The text of the author in the succeeding passages is printed
in italics ; and appended are the remarks of Watts.
" ' Uiere being so many mists cast before me by the errors and
deceits of others, that one had great need of a better eye-sight
than is left us by the fall of our first forefather? p. 2.
"*** This sentence, forced from the author's pen by the
mere power of truth, overthrows many things in his following
discourse, and should have at least taught him to mention
fervent prayer to God, for safe direction as a companion to
this great guide reason in quest of religion.
" ' I cannot see how any but God himself, can certainly
know that any man is an heretic? p. 34.
" %* Obj. But surely heresy must be knowable by men,
else how can heretics be rejected ? Tit. iii. 10. But then this
rejection is not with fire and sword, but only a casting them
out of such an ecclesiastical society.
" ' He who gave rules which admit of so many interpreta-
* This character is as follows :
" As to his person 'twas little, his face rather flat than oval, his eye serious,
countenance leonine, his constitution cholerick, sanguine, tinctured with melan
choly : of a facetious conversation, yet a, great humorist : of quick parts, so of
quick passions, and venereal, thence lazy ; he was learned, very critical, positive,
and proud, and scoraed to be rich ; he had a will to be just ; would drink to
excess sometimes. His religion was that of his country ; he was always loyal to
his king, and a veiy good poet. He died 'twixt fifty and sixty, at Sutton's hospi
tal, whose master he then was ; not much lamented by the pensioners. Few knew
him well. He was a man strongly composed; 'tis questioned whether his virtues
or his vices were most. I incline to the last ; yet he departed peaceably and pi
ously."

124 LIFE AND TIMES
tions, is well contented that they shall be interpreted severally?
p. 38.
" *^* God, who left his word obscure in some circumstan
tials of religion, foreknew and designed to permit various
interpretations therein ; not that all can be true, but to try,
whether, under all this doubtfulness in lesser matters, they
would all hold the essentials, and under this difference of
opinions practise charity.
" ' He bids you search; there is, therefore, in man a natural
ability of searching spiritual truths, and that can be nothing
else but his understanding? p. 66.
" *#* It is granted that man has a power of searching
spiritual truths necessary to salvation, if he use all the helps
God has proposed, viz. advice of the learned and pious, scrip
ture, and earnest prayer, &c. But then it is not reason that
discovers all these spiritual truths to him, but only shows
where they may be found, and reads and receives them there.
" ' We lay the blasphemous accusation of injustice upon God,
if he punish us for an error which we could not avoid? p. 67.
" *#* No man shall be condemned but for the sins of the
will : either heathens acting contrary to the light of nature,
or those who are born in Christian countries, for neglecting
the helps to knowledge, or bribing their understandings, &c.
" ' In this case '{error in judgment) we cannot know our
fault; and, therefore, have no means of repenting of it? p. 69.
« *^* Therefore we grant, the condemning sentence shall
not be pronounced on any for mere invincible ignorance.
"'Reason is to be accounted that rule and guide we look
for, Sfc? p. 87.
" %* If this author would be content to exalt reason only
as a guide to us in the search after the rule of religion, per
haps he might be defended ; but to make it the rule and guide
too, attributes more to it than a Christian dares assent to."
The following quotation, explanatory of the views which
Watts entertained upon this point, then occurs :

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 125
" In this matter reason is the eye, true religion is the object :
all other helps, divine and human, are as the light, as specta
cles, &c. Now it is impossible to see with any thing but our
own eyes, i. e. our reason. Yet a clear light is also necessary,
without which our eye cannot see the object, nor our reason
find out the true religion."
At the close of the volume the following remarks are made
upon the whole :
" This discourse of human reason, contains many valuable
and bold truths of the necessity and usefulness of searching for
happiness by its conduct ; which if referred to our search after
a rule or superior guide, viz. revelation, may be safely admit
ted ; (especially if he had joined earnest prayer to God there
with.) But the bent and strain of his discourse, seems to bid
us depend on human reason alone in the search of happiness
itself, or heaven and salvation ; and his methods of reasoning
are such as would lead the ignorant and unwary into a com
plete and sole dependance on reason. My sense on this sub
ject is contained in these remarks, which especially refer to the
last part of this book, from p. 80 to the end.
" It must be granted, that men of sense and learning and
inquiry, are led by reason to the acknowledgment of the divi
nity of scripture ; deducing this conclusion from a hundred
moral arguments and probabilities, which united amount to a
certainty and demonstration. Thus by reason we find out the
rule of religion which is infallible ; but then our reason must
subject itself to be guided by that rule which is divine and
infallible, " ' Obj. But this rule so found must be interpreted by rea
son? p. 86.
" Ans. In things which are plainly and expressly asserted
by this rule of scripture, and that in a sense which contradicts
not other parts of scripture, or natural light, our reason must
submit, and believe the thing, though it cannot find the modus
or manner of its being. So in the doctrines of the trinity and

126 LIFE AND TIMES
incarnation, which are above the reach of our reason in this
present state. But we cannot, nor must we be led to, take the
words of scripture in such a sense as expressly and evidently
contradicts all sense and reason ; as transubstantiation : for
the two great lights of God, reason and revelation, never con
tradict each other, though one be superior to the other.
"Therefore, reason has a great deal to do in religion, viz.
to find out the rule, to compare the parts of this rule with one
another, to explain the one by the other, to give the gramma
tical and logical sense of the expressions, and to exclude
self-contradictory interpretations, as well as interpretations
contrary to reason. But it is not to set itself up as a judge of
those truths expressed therein which are asserted by a supe
rior and infallible dictator, God himself; but reason requires
and commands even the subjection of all its own powers to a
truth thus divinely attested ; for it is as possible and as pro
per, that God should propose doctrines to our understanding
which it cannot comprehend, as duties to our practice which
we cannot see the reason of; for he is equally superior to our
understanding and will, and he puts the obedience of both to
a trial. " Yet after all it must be acknowledged, that the greater
part of mankind, as well as of Christians, have their reason so
exceedingly weak, their prejudices so strangely strong, their
incapacity to search and to distinguish truth so great, that
there seems to be a necessity of the spirit of God, by power-
erful and secret influence, to lead those whom he designs to
save, both to the belief of the scriptures as the rule, and to
the interpretation of those parts of the rule which are abso
lutely necessary to salvation. And we find, that the best
account which most Christians can give, why they believe
scripture to be the word of God, and why they believe this or
that to be the sense of scripture, is, because they have found
such influences proceeding from it on their hearts, to change
their wills from sinful to holy, and turn their souls from sin

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 127
and the creature, and this present world of vanity, to God,
and religion, and eternal things. And this is most properly
called the testimony of the spirit, which the protestants op
pose to the popish testimony of the church ; this last being
external and rational only, and built upon a hundred proba
ble circumstances, which are knowable only to the learned,
but the first being inward and common to all true Christians,
and by which all must be saved.
" And it may be remarked here, that the reason why ra
tional and learned men exalt reason so high, and make it to
be their sole guide and judge in things of religion, is, because
they find their own reason able to prove the truth and divini
ty of scripture and the Christian religion, and to secure them
from the follies and absurdities of Atheism, Judaism, Pagan
ism, and Mahometanism. But they cannot condescend to
sympathise with the vulgar, and think how exceeding feeble
and variable and deceivable are the minds and reasoning
powers of the generality of mankind, who all have souls to
save; towards whose direction into the truth, and security
and establishment therein unto salvation, it is very evident
something more is needful than the infirm and unsteady fa
culties of nature ; and as this author himself, by the very force
of truth, thoughtlessly asserts, p. 2, ' One had great need of a
better eye-sight than is left us by the fall of our first forefa
ther.'"* With some of his fellow-students in the academy, Watts
formed an intimate acquaintance ; and some notices of those
with whom he afterwards corresponded, may not here be un
interesting. Mr. John Hughes, Mr. Samuel Say, and Mr.
Josiah Hort, the companions of his studies, were among the
number of his bosom friends; and these individuals afterwards
attained to considerable eminence in tbe literary and religious
world. Mr. Hughes was born of respectable parentage at
Marlborough in Wiltshire, Jan. 9, 1677; and received his
* Palmer's Notes upon Johnson. Appendix No. I.

128 LIFE AND TIMES
education in private schools in the metropolis, and under
Mr. Rowe. His grandfather, the Rev. William Hughes,
M. A. of New-Inn Hall, Oxford, was among the number of
ejected ministers ; and suffered confinement to his own house
for several years on account of nonconformity. The grandson,
though educated for the dissenting ministry, it is probable
never preached in public ; and even when under Mr. Rowe's
care, he was induced to abandon his severer studies, to culti
vate music, poetry, and drawing. Conforming to the estab
lishment, the Lord Chancellor Cowper, in 1717, appointed
him secretary to the commissions of the peace ; and upon his
resigning the great seal, he was continued in the same office,
owing to the recommendation of his patron. To the Tatler,
Spectator, and Guardian,* he was a frequent contributor; and
distinguished himself by several poetical pieces, the principal
of which, the " Seige of Damascus," was much admired at
the time of its publication. His character is thus depicted by
Dr. Campbell : " His religion was sincere without severity,
his morals strict butmot austere, his conversation equally in
structive and pleasant. To say all of him he deserved would
be a hard task. Let it suffice then — the man whom the
Bishop of Winchester! honoured as a friend, the man whom
Mr. Addison admired as a poet, the man whose goodness and
integrity Mr. PopeJ had in veneration, could be no ordinary
man."§ Letters to and from Mr. Hughes will be found in
the following pages; but it is probable, that after his con
formity the correspondence closed, though he ever highly
esteemed the companion of his academical studies. || After a
* In the Tatler he wrote Nos. 64, 73, 113.
In the Spectator Nos. 33, 53, 66, 91, 104, 141, 210, 220, 230, 231, 237, 252,
302, 311, 375, 525, 537, 541, 554.
In the Guardian No. 37.
f Dr. Hoadley.
+ Hughes's Letters, vol. i. pp. 102. 186.
§ Biographia Brit. vol. iv.
|| Mr. Hughes proved himself a friend to religious toleration in " A Review of the

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 129
life of almost constant indisposition, he died from consumption,
Feb. 17, 1719, at the early age of forty-two.
Mr. Josiah Hort, " the first genius in the academy," in
Watts's estimation, entered the establishment soon after his
removal from Mr. Rowe's ; though the period when he con
formed is uncertain. As early as the year 1708 he preached
at the archdeacon's visitation at Aylesbury ; and the discourse
appeals in both the Dublin and London collection of his ser
mons.* After being for a short time chaplain to John
Hampden, Esq. the member for Buckinghamshire, he was
invited to accompany the Lord Lieutenant to Ireland in the
same capacity. The fifth sermon in Mr. Hort's collection, is
said to have been preached before his Grace the Duke of
Bolton, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, after the suppression of
the Preston rebellion ; and it is not unlikely, from this notice,
that the duke was his patron. He was ultimately advanced
to the bishopric of Kilmore and Ardagh, and in January,
1742, he succeeded Dr. Synge in the archbishopric of Tuam
and the united bishopric of Enaghdoen, with liberty to retain
his former see of Ardagh. An epigram inscribed to Mr. Hort,
among the Lyrics, seems to intimate that he participated in
the poetic inspiration of his fellow-collegians.
"AN EPIGRAM OF MARTIAL TO CIRINUS.
" Sic tua, Cirini, promas epigrammata vulgo
Ut mecum possis, &c.
"INSCRIBED TO MR. JOSIAH HORT. 1694.
"now lord bishop of kilmore in ike land.
" So smooth your numbers, friend, your verse so sweet,
So sharp the jest, and yet the turn so neat,
Case of Ephraim and Judah, and its Application to the Church of England and
Dissenters." This was occasioned by a thanksgiving sermon, preached before the
queen at St. Paul's, in August 1705, by Dr. Willis, dean of Lincoln.
"¦"Sermons on Practical Subjects, by the Right Rev. Josiah Hort, D. D. late Lord
Archbishop of Tuam, Primate and Metropolitan of Connaught. London," 1757.

130 LIFE AND TIMES
That with her Martial, Rome would place Cirine,
Rome would prefer your sense and thought to mine.
Yet modest you decline the public stage,
To fix your friend alone amidst th' applauding age." &c.
Mr. Samuel Say, of whose father some particulars have
already been introduced, was probably a fellow-townsman of
Watts, as well as companion at the academy. He was emi
nent while a student for his amiable disposition and intellec
tual attainments, and was particularly endeared to the subject
of these pages. Upon finishing his studies, he became chap
lain to Thomas Scott, Esq. of Lyminge in Kent ; he afterwards
laboured at Andover, Yarmouth, Lovvestoff, and Ipswich;
and finally succeeded Dr. Calamy at Westminster, where he
continued till his death. Mr. Say, like his friends, Watts,
Hughes, and Hort, was fond of music and poetry ; and some
of his poems, written in the academy, were published after
his decease, in connexion with two critical essays, which
display considerable acumen.* The leisure hours enjoyed
by these gifted young men, were spent in each other's society,
in the task of mutual improvement ; and many of Watts's
imitations of the classics, versions of the psalms, and miscel
laneous productions, were suggested, conceived, or executed
at this period. The annexed correspondence may here pro
perly be introduced, as they not only illustrate the literary
character of Watts's friends, but throw light upon studies in
which he participated, and tastes which he contributed to
excite and cherish. In the correspondence he himself appears
to have taken an active part, though his own letters I have
not been able to discover.
* " Poems on Several Occasions ; and Two Critical Essays, viz. The first On
the Harmony, Variety, and Power of Numbers, whether in prose or verse. The
second, On the Numbers of Paradise Lost. By Samuel Say. London. 1745. 4to."
The editor was William Duncombe, Esq., the brother-in-law of Mr. John Hughes.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 131
"TO MR. SAMUEL SAY.*
" London, Nov. 6, 1697.
" Dear Mr. Say,
" I must confess that I took it somewhat unkindly,
to be so long neglected by an intimate friend, and one for
whom I always had a more than ordinary esteem ; but it is
not so enormous a crime but I can pardon you, on condi
tion that you will stand bound to your good behaviour for the
future. And now perhaps, by the date of mine, you will think
that I design to be even with you ; I hope that conjecture
will vanish when I tell you, that I came last week out of tbe
country. But, ceremony apart, I give you my hearty thanks
for your ingenious paraphrase, in which you have so gene
rously rescued the noble Psalmist out of the butcherly hands
of Hopkins and Sternhold. Yet at the same time you have
drawn a bill upon me, which I fear I must be forced to pay
as they do exchequer notes, that is, at so much discount.
However, I hope I have to do with a merciful creditor, who
will be willing to compound the debt; and for the coin, I as
sure you it is the very choicest of my bags. To leave this
metaphorical strain, you have here something in imitation of
an author with whom I am endeavouring daily to grow more
acquainted ; and I cannot without ingratitude omit this occa
sion of owning, that if I have yet attained any true taste of
him, it is in a great measure owing to your judicious conver
sation, of which I am now so unhappily deprived. Such as
it is, the ode is yours, for I translated it purposely for your
sake ; and I have had such a respect to your judgment, that I
have omitted no care to make it as perfect as I am able, and
I am sure you cannot in reason expect more from me. I
should be very glad if in your next you will tell me the
faults I have committed ; for it is the first time I have attempt-
* Mr. Say was now residing at Lyminge.

132 LIFE AND TIMES
ed the Pindarical way. Mistake not this for a compliment;
for as you are one on whose judgment I can rely, so I declare
to you that you cannot do me a more friendly office. Ama-
lasont* is not yet upon the stage, but I suppose will be this
winter; I am glad you continue to think so favourably of it,
I mean with respect to its morals; for I am clearly of Mons.
Rapin's opinion, that ' the reputation of being an honest man
is to be preferred to that of a good poet.' I am,
" Sir, your real friend,
" and humble servant,
" J. HUGHES."

"Jan. 11, 1699.
" Dear Sir,
" I am pleased to find that you always make choice
of worthy objects for your muse,f and take it as an omen of
something greater to follow. Virgil in his Bucolics preluded
to his JEneid, and first sung the praises of Augustus in
eclogues, or copies of verses,* before he attempted an heroic
poem. I am satisfied by this specimen, that you will never
descend into the rank of those little souls, who make it their
business only to please, and have no other way to do that, but
by flattering men in their vices and immoralities. Virtue, I
am sure, is most for the interest of mankind; and those poets
have ever obtained the most honour in the world, who have
made that the end and design of their works. A wanton
Sappho or Anacreon among the ancients, never had the same
applause as a Pindar or Alcaeus ; nor in the judgment of Ho-
* The Queen of the Goths, written when Mr. Hughes was nineteen. It was
neither printed nor brought upon the stage ; but still exists in manuscript.
f Alluding to Mr. Hughes's " Court of Neptune."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 133
race did they deserve it. In the opinion of all posterity, a lewd
and debauched Ovid, did justly submit to the worth of a Vir
gil ; and in future ages a Dryden will never be compared to a
Milton. In all times and in all places of the world, the moral
poets have been ever the greatest, and as much superior to
others in wit as in virtue. Nor does this seem difficult to be
accounted for, since the dignity of their subjects naturally
raised their ideas, and gave a grandeur to their sentiments.
" s. SAY."
" TO MR. SAY. " December 26, 1702.
"Sir, " I have inclosed what I mentioned to you when I
saw you last. That incomparable ode which Horace has ad
dressed to his friend Grosphus,* I have chosen to present to one
of the best of my friends, in as good an English dress as I am
capable of giving it. The original is one of those pieces, in
which Horace has shown himself so great a master of human
life, and given us at once a view of his good sense and good
humour. And this address is usual to him ; for in the gravest
of his odes he does not seem to make his remarks on life like
a pedant, to give you a distaste to it, or to fright you from
pleasure, but to invite you to the true enjoyment of it ; and
thus far he was certainly right, though in the choice of his
pleasures he was often irregular. In this, as well as in all
other respects, his moral odes are greatly superior to the cho-
russes in Seneca's tragedies; for in the first you have tbe free
and unaffected morality of a gentleman, but in the latter the
splenetic air of a severe Stoic. This ode has been translated

* Horace, lib. ii. od. 1 6.

' Otium divos rogat in patent!
Prensus iEgseo." 

The translation may be seen in Hughes's poems, vol. i. p. 116.

134 LIFE AND TIMES
before more than once; but whether well or ill let others
judge ; I shall only say, that I have seen very few translations
of Horace that please me, for most have copied only his
thoughts, without any of his diction, which is his principal
beauty ; 'tis that vivacity in his style, and particularly in his
epithets, which Petronius Arbiter calls a curiosa felicitas, and
in which no man ever (in my opinion) resembled him so much
as Petronius himself, whose prose is as inimitable as Horace's
poetry. Indeed, in the time of Pope Urban VIII. (who was
a poet himself) Casimire, a Polander and a Jesuit, wrote
several odes in imitation of Horace, in which there appears a
good genius ; but his Latin is not pure ; and besides the dis
advantages of a dead language, he is defective in judgment,
and his fancy is not well governed. Those who have succeeded
best in their attempts on Horace in English, have chosen the
way of paraphrase as the most proper ; for his sense is close
wrought, and would appear stiff and obscure in a literal tran
slation (if such a one could be made) and there are many good
hints in him worth the pursuing. None have pretended to
copy his numbers ; for the Pindaric, which seems the fittest
for us, and gives us a greater liberty and variety, does not
answer the Latin measures. Yet I remember I once saw an
attempt to write English sapphics (but it was never printed),
and Sir Philip Sidney has composed hexameters and other
verses after the Latin measure; but they are unnatural to
our language, for this reason chiefly, because they abound so
much in monosyllables. The sapphic measure is indeed very
musical, and what Horace seems best to have practised, but
it seems too soft, and fit only to be employed on love and
pleasant easy subjects ; it is too much confined, like the usual
measure of our songs ; and the lofty sense of some of his odes
soars above it. Our English Pindaric is undoubtedly more
majestic, and the various length and shortness of the lines,
as well as the mixture and returns of the rhyme, well chosen ;
and, therefore, as I said before, it is the most proper for such

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 135
odes as have anything of the sublime in them. I wonder
Horace did not introduce something like it into his language,
being so great an admirer of Pindar, and having in other re
spects imitated him so finely, notwithstanding his declaration
(Pindarum quisquis, fyc) that Pindar was inimitable, in which
ode he commends him in these words ;
'Laurea donandus Apollinari
Seu per audaces nova dithyrambos
Verba devolvit, numerisque fertur
Lege solutis.' Lib. iv. od. 2.
" Thus translated by Mr. Cowley :
' So Pindar does new words and figures roll,
Down his impetuous dithyrambic tide,
Which in no channel deigns t'abide,
Which neither banks nor dykes control.'
" But this does not answer to the numeris lege solutis, by
which Horace means only, that Pindar's numbers were unli
mited, and not confined to any set measure, in those odes that
were called dithyrambic, which had the most heat and fury,
being first invented in honour of Bacchus. And methinks
Horace might sometimes have attempted this dithyrambic
measure, especially in that ode, ' Quo me Bacche rapis? 8fc.
" But to return to the ode which I have here endeavoured
to imitate : I have taken a liberty in the paraphrase ; the first
stanza is added, and a simile or two ; but nothing more than
what is agreeable to his sense, and what I thought would
make him appear to the best advantage. Such as it is, Sir,
I submit it entirely to your judgment, since it was first at
tempted for your pleasure. 'Tis upon an agreeable subject,
' tranquillity ;' and if it fails giving you any entertainment, I
will readily acknowledge it to be my own fault ; for I know
you to be master of so much sense, so good a taste, and such
just notions of human life, that I am sure Horace must please

136 LIFE AND TIMES
you, if he be not murdered in an ill translation. You may
perceive, Sir, that as I cannot think the time long which I
spend in your company, so neither can I think a letter long
which I am writing to you ; but I may be tempted to trespass
upon you4n one as well as the other; therefore, I will do as
persons should after a tedious visit, use a short ceremony and
withdraw. " I am, Sir, your very humble servant,
"J. HUGHES."
From the preceding correspondence, a striking congeniality
in literary taste is evident between Watts and his fellow-stu
dents. In the academy they blended the cultivation of polite
literature with theological and scientific research; and the
composition of Latin verses seems to have been a frequent
recreation. But Watts did not suffer the study of profane
antiquity to usurp the place of the oracles of God ; his poem
" Exercitatio Cordis Coelum versus,"* " the Excitation of the
Heart towards Heaven," written about this period, sufficiently
proves that the spirit of devotion was not neglected for the
genius of poetry. He seems to have watched with a holy
jealousy over himself, lest in the gratification of a literary
taste, he should lose sight of the all-important truths of reli
gion, and not connect the improvement of the heart with the
cultivation ofthe mind. In this respect Mr. Say imitated the
example of his friend, and with reference to both, in public
and in private life, the graces of the Christian were seen
united to the attainments of the scholar.f
* See Appendix D. t Appendix E.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 137

CHAPTER V.
THE HARTOPP FAMILY.
1693—1697.

JOINS MR. ROWE'S CHURCH.— LEAVES THE ACADEMY.-AT HIS FATHER'S
HOUSE. — POEM.— INVITED TO STOKE NEWINGTON AS A TUTOR.—
' '' HARTOPP FAMILY.— EARLY HISTORY.— RALPH HARTOPP.— SIR EDWARD
HARTOPP, THE FIRST BARONET. — EDWARD HARTOPP KNIGHTED AT
BELVOIR CASTLE.— SIR JOHN BORN.-CIVIL WARS.-RAVAGES OF THE
KING'S TROOPS. — RETIRES TO STOKE NEWINGTON.— FRIENDSHIP
WITH DR. OWEN.— CHARACTER.— LADY HARTOl'P, GRAND-DAUGHTER
• Of CRpMWELL. — SIR NATHANIEL GOULD. — POE M. — MRS. GOULD.—
'lord '^ENERAL FLEETWOOD.— RESIDENCE IN STOKE newington. —
: CONNEXION WITH SIR JOHN HARTOPP.— SMITH FLEETWOOD AND
_.WATTp— YOUNG HARTOPP.— POEM.— CHARACTER.— LETTERS.
-Li g i ¦ ;^ . '
I Xfyfy subject. of this memoir was never connected, with the
church a^ Southampton, in which his father was a deacon ;
and it was yot until some time after his departure from home,
that he; entered a religious society. This took place in the year
169J3* the third year of his residence in the academy, when, he
joined himself to the people of whom his tutor was the pastor.
" I was admitted to Mr. T. Rowe's church  Dec. 1693."*
This church, one of the most ancient in the metropolis, was
removeito Girdler's Hall, Basinghall Street, during the pas
torship of Mr. Rowe, and afterwards to Haberdashers' Hall,
in the time of the Rev. Robert Wright. Its formation is at
tributed to the Rev. Willisim Strong, M. A.,f about the year
1650 ; a gentleman whom the pitiful spite of the royalists has
* Watts's MS. ,a~ . ¦, ,
f Hall's Funeral Sermon for Rev^Roberi Wright, p. 2S&, note.
K

138 LIFE AND TIMES
rendered famous. Educated in the university of Cambridge,
he became fellow of Katherine-hall, and rector of More Crichel
in Dorsetshire, but was obliged by the cavaliers to abandon
his living, and seek refuge in the metropolis.* Here he ga
thered a congregation, which met for worship in Westminster
Abbey, and occasionally held its church meetings in the
House of Lords.f Upon the death of Mr. Strong, in 1654, he
was interred in the abbey church, but at the Restoration his
remains were exhumed, an indignity which was likewise of
fered to the bodies of Cromwell, Blake, and Pym.J Major-
general Goffe, one of the king's judges, and several other
celebrated political characters, were members of this church ;
but its association with the name of Watts has conferred upon
it a far higher honour.
We have now arrived at an important period in the life of
Watts ; and it is to be regretted, that he has left us no record
of his views and feelings at this critical era. The terjnof his
academical life terminated at the beginning of the year 1694 ;
and as his attention had been so long directed to the ministry,
it might have been expected that he would at once liave en
tered upon its duties. In point of intellectual attainment and
religious experience he was fully qualified for his work ; but
it is a singular fact, that upwards of two years elaps^rf before he
ventured to appear in public. He was now twenty years of age,
sixteen of which had been occupied with classical pursuits and

* Neal's Hist. iv. 127.
+ Dr. Gibbons, one of the pastors of the church, relates meeting with an aged
woman in the almhouses near St. Clement's in the Strand, who informed him that
her husband was baptised in the house of peers. Wilson's Diss. Chur. iii. 149.
+ The regular government was, it seems, no admirer ofthe sentiment, "that
British vengeance wars not with the dead." The dean and chapter had his ma
jesty's warrant for this degrading procedure. Among those whose bodies they took
up were, Eliz. Cromwell, the mother of Oliver ; Eliz. Claypple, his daughter ;
Admiral Blake ; John Pym, M. P. ; Sir W. Constable ; Dr. Dorislaus ; Admiral
Popham ; W. Stroud, M. P. ; Colonel Boscawen ; Colonel Mackworth ; T. May,
Esq. the 'historian ; Colonel Meldrum ; Dr. W. Twisse ; Rev. S. Marshall ', and
Rev. W. Strong. Neat's Hist. iv. pp. 363, 364.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 139
the studies connected with a theological education. In natu
ral philosophy, the higher branches of the mathematics, and
the learning of ecclesiastical antiquity he was well versed ;
among the dissenting communities he was already known as
a youth of gieat promise ; and his settlement with a church
would doubtless have been speedily effected, had he been dis
posed to have acceded to it. He observes in his memoranda,
upon leaving Mr. Rowe's, "Dwelt at my father's house 2
years and J."* It is difficult to assign any other reasons for
this long period of silence, than the timidity and diffidence
which strongly marked his character through life, his com
parative youth, and a deep impression of the importance of the
task before him. Dr. Gibbons remarks, " He returned to his
father's house at Southampton, where he spent two years in
reading, meditation, and prayer : in reading, to possess him
self of ampler knowledge ; in meditation, by which he might
take a full survey of useful and sacred subjects, and make
what he had acquired by reading his own ; and prayer, to
engage the divine influences to prepare him for that work to
which he was determined to devote his life, and upon the
importance of which he had a deep sense upon his spirit."!
A devout admiration of the works of God, was a prominent
characteristic of the mind of Watts ; it might with propriety
be Said of him, that he was never alone ; and at this period
of his life he was a diligent student of natural phenomena.
The universe presented to his eye a varied manifestation of
the Deity ; in the great and in the minute he loved to trace
the wonder-working hand of the Omnipotent ; and " day
unto day" and " night unto night," spake in his ear of su
preme intelligence and power. During his residence in his
father's house, his sister, Mrs. Brackstone, has related bis
endeavours to inspire the younger members of the family with
a taste for similar pursuits, and to lead them to "look through .
nature" to the gieat Original. It is probable, that some of
* Watts's MS. f Life, p. 92.

140 LIFE AND TIMES
the pieces afterwards published under the title of " Miscella
nies," were the fruits of the leisure enjoyed at Southampton.
The following excellent lines, from the first number in the
collection, contain the Christian poet's tribute to the Author
of Nature : " My God, I love, and I adore ;
But saints who love, would know thee more :
Wilt thou for ever hide, and stand
Behind the labours of thine hand ?
Thy hand unseen sustains the poles,
On which this huge creation rolls :
The starry arch proclaims thy power,
Thy pencil glows in every flower ;
In thousand shapes and colours rise
Thy painted wonders to our eyes ;
While beasts and birds with labouring throats,
Teachrus a God in thousand notes.
The meanest pin in nature's frame
Marks out some letters of thy name :
Where sense can reach or fancy rove,
From hill to hill, from field to grove,
Across the waves, around the sky,
There's not a spot or deep or high,
Where the Creator has not trod.
And left the footsteps of a God."*
From the residence 6f his father Watts, was invited by Sir
John Hartopp, Bart, to reside in his family at Stoke Newing-
ton near London, in the capacity of tutor to his son. This
offer he accepted, and accordingly came to Newington in the
autumn of 1696. " Came to Sir John Hartopp's, to be a
tutor to his son, at Newington  Oct. 15, 1696."t In
this situation he continued upwards of five years, procuring
by his pious and courteous behaviour the esteem of the baro
net's household, and the friendship of his pupil, which he
enjoyed'during the remainder of his life. Sir John and his
lady were members of a dissenting church, and it is probable,
* Miscellaneous Thoughts, No. 1. f Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 141
that in their family Watts was called upon to perform the
duties of chaplain. His intimate connexion with these dis
tinguished individuals, to which we are indebted for his trea
tise on "Logic," and their firm adherence to the cause of
nonconformity when persecuted in high places, demand a
biographical notice in these pages. Should the following
detail appear too minute, the reader will perhaps excuse the
desire to pay some respect to an ancient dissenting family,
under whose roof the persecuted fathers of the modem church
were often sheltered, who boldly struggled against a corrupt
and tyrannical court in the full plenitude of its power, and
who patronised the early life of Watts, honoured him with
their friendship for more than half a century, and erected a
monument to his memory, which still rests upon his grave.
The Hartopp family, or Hartrupt, as it is written in the
" owld regestre-booke" of Dalby Parva,* in Leicestershire,
was anciently of considerable consequence in that county,
having had the manors of Buckminster, Freeby, Burton
Lazars, Little Dalby, Welby and Braunston in the possession
of its various branches. The first of this name upon record
is Ralph Hartopp, living in the reign of Richard II., who
married a daughter of Alexander Mayne. It is probable,
that the family was afterwards seated at Braunston, or
Braunston juxta Belvoir, as tradition points out the site of an
ancient mansion, said to have belonged to it.f The manor of
Braunston, in the time of Richard III., was held by Walter
Devereux ; but he being slain with his master in the battle
of Bosworth Field, the estate was forfeited to the crown in the
* " The regestre-booke of Little Dalbye begynneth in the yeare of oure Salvation,
one thousand five hundred fifty nine, and in the fyrste year ofthe reigne of oure
most gratious queue Elizabeth." In the register of baptisms 1 fiud,
"Thomas Hartrupte, baptised the 28th day of December, 1600.
"Edwarde Hartraupe, the 8th of August, 1601.
"Elynor Hartrupte, the daughter of Valintyne H. the 15th of December, 1604.
"Rycharde Hartrupte, the Sonne of Valintyne, the 18th of September, 1606."
After this period the common orthography occurs.
f Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. ii. part I.

142 LIFE AND TIMES
first year of Henry VII.,* and perhaps then granted to the
Hartopps. A branch of the family, under Valentine Hartopp,
appears to have settled at Burton Lazars, a small village in
the neighbourhood of Melton Mowbray, the manorial property
of which was purchased by his grandson, Sir Thos. Hartopp,
in I660.f Another branch, at the close of the sixteenth cen
tury, was seated at Little Dalby under William Hartopp, and
a handsome house, built in the reign of Elizabeth, still re
mains. One of the descendants of this gentleman went over
to the continent, and settled at Antwerp.J
The ninth in descent from Ralph Hartopp, was Edward of
Buckminster and Freeby, created a baronet by James I.
Dec. 3, 1619, soon after the institution of that order. His
eldest son, Edward, was knighted at Belvoir Castle, July 25,
1634, during the lifetime of his father, upon the occasion of

* Lord Bacon's Life of Henry VII.
f In 1626 Sir Thos. Hartopp was high-sheriffof the county, and Sir Henry Hast
ings petitioned against him for contemptuous conduct at the late election. The
sheriffbeing called in, and upon his knees acknowledging his ofifence, and craving
pardon of the house, he was discharged upon paying all expenses. Sir W . Hartopp,
his son, was member for Leicester in 1667. A satirical pamphlet published that
year states, that he had a pension of £200. a year ; was promised the office of
clerk of the kitchen ; and that he threatened to sue the town for his wages, because
he knew they wished tb choose him no more.
X It is related of Thomas Hartopp, who resided in this city, that being " a gen
tleman of remarkable strength and courage, upon witnessing a prize fight in which.
the combatants did not acquit themselves to the satisfaction of the spectators, he
was so offended thereat, that he got upon the stage, and challenging them, encoun
tered no less than five, one after another, whom he entirely disabled, whereby he
gained very great applause ; and being of a comely personage and stature, a lady
of quality and fortune fell so much in love with him, that she sent him word, she
was at his service, if he was disposed to marry ; and he embracing the offer settled
there, served the king of Spain in his armies, and his son was afterwards a colonel
in the emperor's service, and governor of Liege in Brabant, where he is buried in
the chapel of Ter Cluyse under a monument with the following inscription : " Cygist
messire Thomas Hartopp, d'ancienne et noble famille d'Engletene; en son vivant
colonel d'un regiment d'infanterie au service de S. M. Imperiale et Catholique,
gouverneur de la ville et dependences de Liege. II y dececla le 20 Juin, 1723, et
laissa deux fitz de noble dame Marie-Constance Van Hove sa compagne, laquelle
fit dresser-ce memoire. PiiezDieu pour le repos eternel de son ame." Le Grand
Theatre de Brabant, torn. ii. p. 176.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 143
Charles the First's visit to George the seventh earl of Rutland.*
Sir John was the third son of this gentleman, and succeeded
him in the baronetage owing to the death of his two brothers
in their infancy. He was born at Buckminster in the year
1637, while his grandfather the first baronet was living, and
was baptised, according to the register, Oct. 31, in the same
year.f His mother was a daughter of Sir John Coke, of Mel
bourne, in Derbyshire, one of the principal secretaries of state
to Charles I., in whose house Baxter planned his "Saints'
Everlasting Rest." Notwithstanding the honour conferred
upon the Hartopps by this unfortunate monarch, it is proba
ble that they adhered to the cause of the parliament, in con
nexion with the noble house of Rutland.! The civil wars

* In the Buckminster Register there is the following entry relating to this Sir
Edward :
"I, William Lloyd, vicar of Buckminster, in the county of Leicester, having
power, by virtue of a statute in that case made, to license sick persons within my
parish, to eat flesh upon such days as are prohibited by such statute ; do, by these
presents, license aud authorise the right worshipful the Lady Frances Earle, w ife to
Sir Richard Earle, Bart., and Mrs. Anne White, wife to Thomas White, Esq., being
both in the house of Sir Edward Hartopp, their father, at Buckminster, in the
county of Leicester, Baronet; and being both sick and weak, (the one miscarrying
of a child, the other lying in childbed) ; and also Thomas Pacie, and Margaret
Thorpe (servants to the right worshipful Sir Edward Hartopp, Bart.) being both of
them sick of agues, to eat flesh during the time of their sickness, for the better and
more speedy recovery of their healths. Dated at Buckminster, the 27th day of
April, 1631. "WILLIAM LLOYD."
Sir Nathaniel Powell obtained a license of Archbishop Juxon for himself, his
sons and daughters, and six guests whom he should at any time invite, to eat flesh
in Lent, provided it was done soberly and frugally, with due grace said, and pri
vately, to avoid scandal : thirteen shillings and four-pence being paid to the poor
of tbe parish. Lyson's Environs of London, iii. 119.
f John, son of Sir Edward Hartopp, Bart., and dame Mary, his wife, baptised
Oct. 31, 1637.
jThe Mercurius Aulicus contains the following article of intelligence, in which
Sir E. Hartopp's name occurs: "Colonel Gervase Lucas (governor of Belvoir
castle for the king) understanding that the committee of Leicester was gone to
Melton Mowbray in that county, to assesse the countrye, and gather up the rents
of all such as are not as perfect rebels as themselves, sent intelligence to Sir
Richard Byron, governor of Newark, desiring him to assist him with some horse and
dragoones, and he made no doubt but to give him a very faire account of the ser-

144 LIFE AND TIMES
commenced soon after the birth of Sir John ; and the neigh
bouring country was the scene of some severe skirmishes. The
steeple ofthe church at Buckminster, which commands a view
of the adjacent counties, and, as the inhabitants report, can be
seen from the German ocean, was used as a watch-tower in the
war time ; and the remains of a chimney, with shutters to the
bell windows, indicate that a guard was stationed here to
give notice of an approaching enemy.* The king's garrisons
at Newark, Belvoir Castle, and Burleigh House, frequently
ravaged this part of the country ; and the family estates most
likely suffered from the incursions of the cavaliers. Sir
Edward Hartopp, the first baronet, died at the commence
ment of Cromwell's protectorate, and was buried at Buck
minster; his son, the father of Sir John, died a short time
previous to the Restoration ; and afterwards the family seem
to have been located at Stoke Newington near London.
Sir John Hartopp, into whose household Watts entered as
a tutor, was one of the most eminent of the lay nonconform
ists; and steadily adhered to the dissenting interest when
the throne, the church, and the nobility, were most hostile to
it. At an early period of his life he cast in his lot among the
independents ; and enjoyed the friendship and correspondence
of some of their most distinguished leaders. With Dr. Owen

vice ; which Sir Richard very chearfully assented to (knowing colonel Lucas both
vigilant and faithful) and, therefore, furnished him with as many horse and dra-
goones as made him a body of three hundred in all. With these he marched away
on Sunday last in the evening, Nov. 27, and was gotten to Melton Mowbray next
morning by breake of day; whither he no sooner came, but presently he entered
the town, and surprised the rebels, who were more in number than himself; not a
man escaping but one who was coronet to Sir Edward Hartopp, nor any killed
save one lieutenant, who was stubborne, and refused to submit himselfe to the
conqueror." p. 690.
* This church contains four large bells, which are thus inscribed :
I. "Ex de-no Ricbardi Hartopp, armigeri, 1657."
2. " God save his church, 1691."
3. " 1649."
4. "Jhesus.be oure spede,, 1596."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 145
he maintained an intimate correspondence ; and continued a
regular attendant upon his ministry and a member of his
church till death divided them. Many of Owen's manu
scripts came into his possession at his decease; and were
contributed by him to the complete collection of his sermons,
published in 1721. He was three times chosen representa
tive in parliament for Leicestershire, his native county; he
was also high -sheriff in 1671; and distinguished himself by
his warm advocacy of the bill of exclusion, to prevent the
Duke of York's accession to the throne. Sir John was much
harassed by informers previous to the Revolution, and suffered
on account of his religious principles, as the fines that were
imposed upon him and a few others, amounted at one time to
upwards of £7,000.*fln the Lyrics there is a Latin ode inscri
bed to him, entitled " Votum, seu vita in tenis beata :" " Ad
virum dignissimum Johannem Hartoppium, Baronettum,"
1702.t His character is thus depicted by Watts, who preached
his funeral sermon, and who was well qualified to bear testimo
ny to it, on account of his long residence in his house : " When I
name Sir John Hartopp," he observes towards the close of his
discourse, " all that knew him will agree that I name a gentle
man, a scholar, and a Christian. He shone witheminence among
persons of birth and title on earth ; while his obliging deport
ment and affable temper rendered him easy of access to all his
inferiors, and made him the delight of all his friends. He had
a taste for universal learning, and ingenious arts were his de
lights from his youth. He pursued knowledge in various forms,
and was acquainted with many parts of human science.
Mathematical speculations and practices were a favourite
study with him in younger years, and even to his old age he
maintained his acquaintance with the heavenly bodies, and
light and shade whereby time is measured. But the book of
God was his chief study, and his divinest delight. His bible
*NobIe's Mem. ii. 333—348. f Horae Lyr. lib. ii.

146 LIFE AND TIMES
lay before him night and day, and he was well acquainted
with the writers who explained it best. He was desirous of
seeing what the Spirit of God said to men in the original
languages; for this end he commenced some acquaintance
with the Hebrew when he was more than fifty years old;
and, that he might be capable of judging of any text in the
New Testament, he kept his youthful knowledge of the Greek
language in some measure to the latest period of life. Among
the various themes of Christian contemplation he took peculiar
pleasure in the doctrines of grace, in the display of the glories
of the person of Christ, God in our nature, and the wondrous
work of redemption by his cross. He adored him as his Lord
and his God ; and, while he trusted in his righteousness as
the great Mediator, and beheld him as his crucified Saviour,
he was ever zealous to maintain the honours due to his divine
nature and majesty.
"His conversation was pious and learned, ingenious and
instructive. He was inquisitive into the affairs of the learned
world, the progress of arts and sciences, the concerns of the
nation, and the interests of the church of Christ, and upon
all occasions was as ready to communicate as he was to
inquire. There are many of his friends who will join with
me to confess, how often we have departed from his com
pany refreshed and advanced in useful knowledge; and I
cannot but reckon it among the blessings of heaven, when I
review those five years of pleasure and improvement which I
spent in his family in my younger part of life, and I found
much instruction myself where I was called to be an instruc
tor. His zeal for the welfare of his country, and of the church
of Christ in it, carried him out to the most extensive and toil
some services in his younger and middle age. He employed
his time, his spirits, his interest, and his riches for the defence
of this poor nation, when forty years ago it was in the utmost
danger of popery and ruin. His doors were ever open, and
his carriage always friendly and courteous, to the ministers of

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 147
the gospel, though they were distinguished among themselves
by names of different parties, for he loved all who loved Jesus
Christ in sincerity. He chose indeed to bear a part in con
stant public worship with the protestant dissenters, for he
thought their practices more agreeable to the rules of the gos
pel. He joined himself in communion with one of their
churches, which was under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr.
John Owen, where he continued an honourable member
under successive pastors to the day of his death. Nor was
he ashamed to own and support that despised interest, nor to
frequent those assemblies, when the spirit of persecution raged
highest in the days of King Charles and King James the
Second. He was a present refuge for the oppressed, and the
special providence of God secured him and his friends from
the fury of the oppressor. He was always a devout and dili
gent attender on public ordinances till the last years of his
life, when the infirmities of age coming upon him confined
him to his private retirements. But if age confined him,
death gave him a release. He is exalted now to the church
in heaven, and has taken his place in that glorious assembly,
where he worships among them before the throne. There he
has no need to relieve his memory by the swiftness of his pen,
which was his perpetual practice in the church on earth, and
by which means he often entertained his family in the even
ing worship on the Lord's day with excellent discourses,
some of which he copied from the lips of some of the greatest
preachers of the last age. There his unbodied spirit is able
to sustain the sublimest raptures of devotion, which run
through the worshippers in that heavenly state, though here
on earth I have seen the pious pleasure too strong for him,
and, while he has been reading the things of God to his
household, the devotion of his heart has broken through his
eyes, has interrupted his voice, and commanded a sacred
pause and silence."* ?Watts's Death and Heaven.

148 LIFE AND TIMES
Sir John Hartopp married Elizabeth, one of the daughters
of the Lord General Fleetwood ; and by this lady he became
connected with the family of Cromwell. Besides Watts's pupil
they had several daughters, and respecting the death of one
in infancy, we have a letter written by Dr. Owen to the
bereaved mothers Their daughter, Frances, married Sir Na
thaniel Gould, Knt., who resided at Stoke Newington, with
whom Watts was upon terms of intimacy. This gentleman
who was a Turkey merchant; and some time governor of the
bank, is thus apostrophised in the Lyrics :
" When Gould commands his ships to ran,
And search the traffic ofthe sea,
His fleet o'ertakes the falling day,
And bears the western mines away,
Or richer spices from the rising sun :
While the glad tenants of the shore
Shout, aud pronounce him senator,*
Yet still the mau's the same :
For well the happy merchant knows,
The soul with treasure never grows,
Nor swells with airy fame.
" But trust me, Gould, 'tis lawful pride
To rise above the mean control
Of flesh and sense, to which we're ty'd ;
This is ambition that becomes a soul.
We steer our course up thro' the skies :
Farewell, this barren land :
We ken the heav'nly shore with longing eyes,
There the dear wealth of spirits lies,
And beck'ning angels stand."f
Lady Hartopp and her daughter, Mrs. Gould, died within
a few days of each other in the year 1711. In his funeral
sermon on the occasion, Watts pays the following tribute to
their humble and unobtrusive virtues : " May I be permitted
* Member of parliament for a port in Sussex.
f Horse. Lyr. lib. ii.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 149
here, " says he," to make a short reflection on that mournful
providence that has joined two lovely relatives in death, and
given occasion for the sad solemnities of this day. The
pious mother led the way to heaven a few days before the
pious daughter followed, each of them the parent of a re
putable family,* and the decendants from a progenitor whose
name is in honour among the churches. As mutual affection
joined their habitations in life, so the care of surviving
friends has laid them to rest in their beds of earth together.
I would copy a line from that most beautiful elegy of David,
and apply it here with more justice than the psalmist could
to Saul and Jonathan : ' Lovely and pleasant were they in
their lives, and in death they were not divided? Silent were
they and retired from the world, and unknown except to
their intimate friends. Humble they were, and averse to
public show and noise ; nor will I disturb their graves by
making them the subject of public praise."t
The families of Hartopp and Fleetwood, were connected
by a double marriage ; for whilst Sir John married a daughter
of the old general, his sister Mary was united to a son. A
commodious building, in Stoke Newington, probably erected
in the early part of the 17th century, now divided into two
dwellings, was the general's property and residence ; and
here he retired after the Restoration, and spent the remainder
of his days in tranquil privacy. The parish register contains
several entries respecting this family; and from this it
appears, that his wife, the widow of Ireton, and the eldest
daughter of Cromwell, was interred in the church in 1681.$
* Mrs. Gould left two daughters: 1. Mary, wife of Sir Francis St. John of
Longthorpe,Nocthamptonshire, Bart., who had issue, Frances, unmarried, and Mary,
married to Sir John Barnard, of Brampton, in Huntingdonshire. 2. Elizabeth,
wife of Thomas Cooker Esq. of Stoke Newington, who died without issue. To
Mrs. Cooke reference will hereafter be made.
f Watts's Death and Heaven.
X "Bridget Fleetwood was interred in the church of Newington, Sept. 5, 1681."
Par. Reg.

150 LIFE AND TIMES
To Fleetwood Dr. Owen and Sir John Hartopp appear to
have been strongly attached ; and though the royalists accuse
him of cowardice and fanaticism, yet cowardice, as Mr. Orme
remarks, was not a common vice in the leaders of the com
monwealth,* and fanaticism was in that day always charged
upon those, who recognised the aid of providence in the success
of their exertions. His latter days were pious and exemplary,
and though he suffered severely in declining life from spies
and fines, owing to his nonconformity, yet he remained stead
fast to the principles he had so long professed. Neal remarks,
soon after the accession of James II. "great were the oppres
sions of those who frequented the separate meetings in
several counties; the informers broke in upon Sir John
Hartopp, and Mr. Fleetwood, and others at Stoke Newington,
to levy distresses for conventicles : the like at Enfield, Hack
ney, and all the neighbouring villages near London."t Fleet
wood died whilst Watts was in the academy, but with the
family of his son, Smith Fleetwood, Esq., he appears to have
maintained a friendly intercourse. The poem inscribed "To
Mr. C. and S. Fleetwood,"! undoubtedly refers to the sons of
this gentleman, the great grandchildren of the Protector.
From his connexion with the Hartopp family, Watts reap
ed many important advantages. His situation amply supplied
all his wants; he was introduced to a respectable circle of
acquaintance ; and in the conversation and society of the ba
ronet, he was furnished with an example of piety and virtue.
To his pupil he was ever warmly attached ; and his diligent
attention to his improvement, is evident from the scholastic
works he published, which were originally prepared for the
use of his young charge. In the dedication of his " Logic"
to him, he observes, " It is fit the public should receive through
your hands what was written originally for the assistance of
your younger studies, and was then presented to you. It was
* Orme's Life of Owen, p. 364. f Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, v. 12.
X Horaa Lyr. lib. ii.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 151
by the repeated importunities of our learned friend, Mr. John
Eames, that I was persuaded to revise the Rudiments of
Logic. I will not presume that this little book is improved
since its first composure in proportion to the improvements of
your manly age ; but when you shall please to review it in
your retired hours, perhaps you may refresh your own me
mory in some of the early parts of learning." In a stanza of
one of the lyric poems he thus mentions his pupil :
"TO JOHN HARTOPP, ESQ.
" THE DISDAIN.
'.' 1700.
" Hartopp, I love the soul that dares
Tread the temptations of his years
Beneath his youthful feet.
Fleetwood, and all thy heavenly line,
Look through the stars, and smile divine,
Upon au heir so great.
Young Hartopp knows this noble theme,
That the wild scenes of busy life,
The noise, th' amusements, and the strife,
Are but the visions of the night,
Gay phantoms of delusive light,
Or a vexatious dream."*
Mr. Hartopp married a daughter of Sir Joseph Wolfe of
Hackney, knight and alderman of London. He appears to
have been treading in the steps of his revered parents at the
time of their decease, though there is reason to suppose, that
his intercourse with the dissenters afterwards was not so
frequent and intimate. But, both as to his religious charac
ter and dissenting principles, I am unable to speak positively
after the year 1722, the time of his father's decease. At this
period, in the dedication of Watts's " Death and Heaven," he
* Horae Lyr. lib. ii.

152 LIFE AND TIMES
thus refers to him : " Forgive me, if I take the liberty to say,
it is with a sort of fond pleasure that I have beheld your vic
tories over the most dangerous scenes and temptations of
youth ; and every step in your progress towards perfect tri
umph is an addition to my joy. The world and the church
hold their eyes fixed upon you ; and, perhaps, the souls of
your sacred ancestors look down from on high to observe your
conduct. You know I pretend to no authority to pronounce
effectual blessings upon you ; but you will accept the sincere
good wishes of a man who loves you, and is zealous for your
felicity in the upper and lower worlds. May the best of mer
cies descend daily on yourself, your lady, and your little off
spring. May the closet, the parlour, and public assemblies,
be constant witnesses of your piety ; and the house where a
Sir John Hartopp dwells, be a house of prayer and of praise
in every generation. Such a lovely scene, with such a long
and joyful prospect, will advance the satisfactions of my life,
and give pleasure, even in a dying hour, to him who had
once the honour -to be your affectionate monitor." No infor
mation further can be gleaned respecting him, except that he
lived in comparative retirement, and died at Bath in the year
1762, being the last of the elder branch of the Hartopps in the
male line.* CORRESPONDENCE.
Tbe four following letteis are here introduced on account
of their connexion with the individuals noticed in this chap
ter. The two first are from the Appendix to Asty's Me
moirs of Doctor Owen, 1721. Mr. Asty was assisted in the
compilation by Sir John Hartopp, and the letters were pro
bably furnished by him.
*He left two daughters: the eldest,, Sarah, married Joseph Hurlock, Esq. of
Fort Marlborough in Behcoolen, whose only child, Anne, married Edmund Ci'adock
Bunny, Esq., of Four-Oaks Hall, Warwickshire, who assumed the name and arms
of Hartopp in 1796. ¦<

OF DE. ISAAC WATTS. ]53

"DR. OWEN TO LADY HARTOPF.
" Dear Madam,
" Every work of God is good ; the Holy One in the
midst of us will do no iniquity; and all things shall work
together for good unto them that love him, even those things
which at present are not joyous, but grievous ; only his time
is to be waited for, and his way submitted unto, that we seem
not to be displeased in our hearts, that he is Lord over us.
Your dear infant is in the eternal enjoyment of the fruits of
all our prayers ; for the covenant of God is ordered in all
things, and sure : we shall go to her, she shall not return to
us. Happy she was in this above us, that she had so speedy
an issue of sin and misery, being born only to exercise your
faith and patience, and to glorify God's grace in her eternal
blessedness. My trouble would be great, on the account of
my absence at this time from you both, but that this also is
the Lord's doing ; and I know my own uselessness wherever
I am. But this I will beg of God for you both : that you may
not faint in this day of trial ; that you may have a clear view
of those spiritual and temporal mercies wherewith you are yet
entrusted, all undeserved ; that sorrow of the world may not
so overtake your hearts, as to disenable to any duties, to grieve
the Spirit, to prejudice your lives, for it tends to death. God
in Christ will be better to you than ten children, and will so
preserve your remnant, and so add to them, as shall be for his
glory and your comfort; only consider, that sorrow in this
case is no duty, it is an effect of sin, whose cure by grace we
should endeavour. Shall I say, be cheerful ? I know I may.
God help you to honour grace and mercy in a compliance
therewith. My heart is with you, my prayers shall be for you,
and am, &c. " J. OWEN."

154 LIFE AND TIMES
" TO CHARLES FLEETWOOD, ESQ.
"Dear Sir,
"The bearer has stayed long enough with us, to
save you the trouble of reading an account of me in my own
scribbling; a longer stay I could not prevail with him for,
though his company was a great refreshment to me. Both
you and your whole family, in all their occasions and circum
stances, are daily in my thoughts ; and when I am able to
pray, I make mention of you all without ceasing. I find you
and I are much in complaining : for my part I must say, and
is there not a cause ? so much deadness, so much unspiritua-
lity, so much weakness in faith, coldness in love, instability in
holy meditations, as I find in myself, is cause sufficient of
complaints ; but is there not cause also of thanksgiving and
joy in the Lord ? Are there not reasons for them ? When I
begin to think of them I am overwhelmed ; they are great,
they are glorious, they are inexpressible. Shall I now invite
you to this great duty of rejoicing more in the Lord ? Pray
for me that I may do so ; for the near approach of my disso
lution calls for it earnestly: my heart has done with this
world, even in the best and most desirable of its refreshments :
if the joy of the Lord be not now strength unto it, it will fail.
But I must have done. Unless God be pleased to affect some
person or persons, with a deep sense of our declining condi
tion, of the temptations and dangers of the day, filling them
with compassion for the souls of men, making them fervent
in spirit in their work, it will go but ill with us. It may be
these thoughts spring from causeless fears ; it may be none
amongst us has an evil a barren heart but myself: but bear
with me in this my folly; I cannot lay down these thoughts
until I die; nor do I mention them at present, as though I
should not esteem it a great mercy to have so able a supply as

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 155
Mr. C*, but I am groaning after deliverance ; and being near
the centre, do hope I feel the drawing of the love of Christ
with more earnestness than formerly : but my naughty heart
is backward in these compliances. My affectionate service to
Sir John Hartopp and his lady, and to the rest of your family
when God shall return them unto you. I am, &c.
" J. OWEN."

" TO CHARLES FLEETWOOD, ESQ.
" Dear Sir,
" Although I am not able to write one word myself,
yet I am very desirous to speak one word more to you in this
world, and do it by the hand of my wife. The continuance of
your entire kindness, knowing what it'is accompanied withal,
is not only greatly valued by me, but will be a refreshment to
me, as it is even in my dying hour. I am going to him whom
my soul has loved, or rather, who has loved me with an ever
lasting love ; which is the whole ground of all my consolation.
The passage is very irksome and wearisome, through strong
pains of various sorts, which are all issued in an intermitting
fever. All things were provided to carry me to London to-day,
according to the advice of my physician ; but while the great
Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be inconsidera
ble. Live and pray, and hope and wait patiently, and do not
despond; the promise stands invincible, that he will never
leave us nor forsake us. I am greatly afflicted at the distem
per of your dear lady. The good Lord stand by her, and
support and deliver her. My affectionate respects to her and
the rest of your relations, who are so dear to me in the Lord.
* David Clarkson, B. D., chosen co-pastor with Dr. Owen, in July, 1682. He
was a fellow of Clare-Hall, Cambridge; tutor to Archbishop Tillotson ; and one of
the ejected ministers. He was the author of several learned works against
diocesan episcopacy, against liturgies, with some minor productions.

156 LIFE AND TIMES
Remember your dying friend with all fervency. I rest upon
it that you do so, and am yours entirely.
"August 22, 1683* "j. owen."

"TO SIR JOHN HARTOPP.
¦ My duty, my obligations, and my inclinations,

do all concur in the esteem I have for you both ; and I do
make mention of you daily in my poor supplications, and that
with particular respect to the present condition of your lady.
That God who hath revealed himself unto us, as the God who
heareth prayer, will yet glorify his name, and be a present
help unto her in the time of trouble. In the meantime, let
her, and you, and me, strive to love Christ more, to abide
more with him, and to be less in ourselves. He is our best
friend. I pray God with all my heart, that I may be weary
of every thing else but converse and communion with him ;
yea of the best of my mercies, so far as at any time they may
be hindrances thereof. My wife presents her humble service
unto your lady and yourself, as doth also, Sir, &c.
"J. OWEN."
" T» MR. ISAAC WATTS.
"London, May 30, 1696.
" Dear Sir,
" Though nothing could be more acceptable to me
than your last letter, yet I wish you had employed the former
part of it on a better subject, and not in loading me with com
pliments as unexpected as undeserved. The poison is the
more dangerous, because the less suspected; for you have
shown such an extreme address, that seeming to say little you
have said all. I thought, after that free confession I have
* Owen died two days after the date of this letter, Aug. 24, 16S3.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 157
made, your friendship would have restrained you from tempt
ing my vanity with such unnecessary praises on a trifle I
owned myself too much inclined to be fond of; nay, to deal
freely, I found my infirmity at that time so prevailing, that I
could hardly persuade myself at first that you complimented.
But I will leave this subject, since to be over-obstinate in re
fusing praise, is not always an argument of modesty, any more
than a man's declaiming against himself in company, only
because he would be contradicted. I give you many thanks
for that testimony of your gratitude, as you are pleased to call
it ; and though I must own it a little incorrect, yet you may
believe me, if I think it has some beauties which deserve a
particular admiration. As for your request, that I would
criticise on it, I hope you will excuse me when I have decla
red to you, that I have neither judgment nor ill-nature enough
for such an undertaking. Perhaps, too, there is a grain of
policy in the case, and I am unwilling to destroy the good
opinion you seem to have of my abilities, by putting me on
such an attempt. In hopes that you will not on your part
neglect this paper correspondence between us, nor fail to make
me an expected return, I here send you some verses, that were
written some time ago, and given, together with a drawing,
to a lady who is a great admirer of those two sister-arts. I
should, perhaps, discover too much of my vanity, if I should
tell you, that in some of the lines I have imitated the incom
parable Waller ; but a little ambition you know is necessary
to poets, and though I have reason enough to expect the
same success, that Horace prophesies of the imitators of
Pindar, yet I have sometimes been inclined to fancy the de
sign and some of the verses, particularly the six last, not
altogether unlike him.
"'verses presented to a lady with a drawing (bt the author) or CUPID.
'"When generous Dido in disguise caress'd
This god, and fondly clasp'd him to her breast,

158 LIFE AND TIMES

(c «

Soon the sly urchin storm'd her tender heart,
And amorous flames dispers'd through every part ;
In vain she strove to check the new-born fire,
It scorn'd her weak essays, and rose the higher ;
In vain from feasts and balls relief she sought,
The Trojan youth alone employ'd her thought;
Yet fate oppos'd her unrewarded care,
Forsaken, scorn'd, she perish'd in despair.
No such event, fair nymph, you need to fear,
Smiles, without darts, alone attend him here ;
Weak, and unarm'd, not able to surprise,
He waits for influence from your conqu'ring eyes.
Heaven change the omen, then, and may this prove
A happy prelude to successful love !'
"JOHN HUGHES."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 159

CHAPTER VI.
1697—1703.
ASSISTANT TO DR. CHAUNCEY.

BEGINS TO PREACH.— ASSISTANT TO DR. CHAUNCEY— NOTICES OF THE
CHAUNCEY FAMILY. — PERSECUTED BY LAUD. — WATTS'S LOVE OF
RETIREMENT. — "HAPPY SOLITUDE." — SATIRE UPON WILLIAM III. —
DAVID POLHILL, ESQ.— KENTISH WORTHIES. — PETITION THE COM-
MONS.— POETICAL EPISTLE TO MR. POLHILL. — ILLNESS OF WATTS.—
DEATH OF MR. GUNSTON. — POEM TO HIS "DEAR MEMORY." — VISITS
TUNBRIDGE AND SOUTHAMPTON. — RETIREMENT OF DR. CHAUNCEY
FROM MARK LANE. — PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHURCH.— INVITE MR.
BRADBURY AND MR. BEREMAN.— NOTICE OF EDWARD TERRY.— WATTS
CALLED TO THE CHARGE. — ORDINATION.— DEATH OF WILLIAM III. —
CORRESPONDENCE.

It was upon his birth-day, July 17th, 1698, when twenty-
four years of age, that Watts preached his first sermon,
while residing in the family of Sir John Hartopp. Upon a
visit soon afterwards to his friends at Southampton, he
preached to the congregation there; and so highly were his
public labours appreciated, that, during the same year, he
was invited to assist Dr. Chauncey at Mark Lane. As Sir
John Hartopp was a member of this church, it is probable
that his influence was exerted upon this occasion. It seems
likely, however, that Watts still continued his connexion with
tbe baronet's household, associating his ministerial exercises
with the instruction of his young charge.

160 LIFE AND TIMES
"Began to preach after I had pursued university studies
above eight years,  July 17, 1698.
" Went to Southampton, and preached there several times,
in a visit to my friends,  Aug. 1698.
"Preacht as Dr. Chauncey's assistant, in ye church at
Mark Lane,  Feb. 1698-9.
" 1698-9, Cousin John Chapma. of Portsm. died."*
Mr. Watts was the morning preacher at Mark Lane, Dr.
Chauncey occupying the pulpit himself in the afternoon.
Dr. Isaac Chauncey, whose pulpit Watts was called par
tially to occupy, though a divine of respectable learning, was
a very unpopular preacher, so much so as to have occasioned
a considerable decline in the congregation over which he
presided. An assistant was, therefore, wanted to counteract
the lethargic ministry of the pastor; and one of such pro
mising talents was calculated to revive the drooping interests
of the church. The Chaunceys were descended from a
Norman family which came over to England with the
Conqueror; they were seated at Yardley-Bury, in Hertford- -
shire, in the reign of Elizabeth ; and subsequently became of
great note among tbe puritans and nonconformists. The
father of Dr. Isaac, Charles Chauncey, B. D.f was appointed
to the Greek chair in the university of Cambridge; in 1627
he became vicar of Ware in his native county,! an<l was
the author of the iwUpieis, prefixed to Leigh's Critica Sacra
upon the New Testament. Upon the publication of the book
of Sports, he was ordered to desist from preaching on the Sun
day afternoon, in order to afford his people an opportunity for
pursuing their profane amusements; but opposition to these
* Watts's MS.
f He was fifth and youngest son of George Chauncey, Esq., and great-uncle to
Sir Henry Chauncey, Knight, author of "The Historical Antiquities of Hertford
shire." Biographia Brit. iii. 482.
+ Afterwards minister also at Marston Lawrence in Northamptonshire. Prynne's
Canterburies Doome, p. 94. 1646.

o

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 161
innovations exposed him to the vengeance of the haughty
Laud; and the puritan was twice summoned by the prelate
before the court of high commission* An ignominious
recantation was there wrung from him by his cruel oppressors ;
but so deeply affected was he at his sinful compliance, that
he withdrew to New England, bewailing to the last hour of
his life his weakness in the hour of trial.f Isaac Chauncey,
one of the sons of this good man,J appears in the list of
ejected ministers, being deprived, by the act of uniformity, of
the living of Woodborough in Wiltshire. After his ejectment
he became pastor of a congregational church at Andover;
but subsequently removed to London with the intention of
•Mather's Hist, of New England, b. iii. p. 134, 135; Prynne. Cant. Doome,
p. 362; Rushworth's Collections, vol. ii. p. 34. The charge alleged against him
the first time, was, that he had declared in a sermon, that there was a great increase
ot popery, &c. in the church : the second time he was prosecuted for opposing the
railing-in of the communion table at Ware. In Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson's
History of Massachuset's Bay, there is a letter of Mr. Chauncey's to Mr. Cotton,
referring to his troubles, vol. i. 259.
f This recantation was as follows : " Whereas I, Charles Chauncey, clerk, late
vicar of Ware, in the county of Hertford, stand convicted * * * *
I do now before this honourable court, acknowledge my great offence, and protest
I am ready to declare upon oath, that I am now persuaded in my conscience, that
kneeling at the communion is a lawful and commendable gesture; that the railis
a decent and convenient ornament, aud that I was much to blame for opposing it;
and do promise from henceforth, never by word or deed to oppose that, or any other
laudable rites and ceremonies used in the church of England. "CHARLES CHAUNCEY."
In opposition to this recantation, his last will and testament contained the fol
lowing declaration : " I do acknowledge myself to be a child of wrath, and sold
under sin, and one who hath been polluted with innumerable transgressions and
mighty sins * * * an(j especially my so many sinful compliances
with, and conformity unto, vile human inventions, and will worship, and hell-bred
superstitions, and other evil things patched to the service" of God, with which the
English mass book, I mean the Book of Common Prayer, is so fully fraught."
Prynne. Cant. Doome, p. 95. 97. 100; Rushworth, vol. ii. part ii. p. 301. 316;
Mather. Hist, of New Eng. b. iii. p. 135.
Mr. Chauncey was president of Harvard College from 1654 to 1671.
X There were six children ; Isaac, Ichabod, Barnabas, Nathaniel, Elnathan, and
Israel, all ministers; the four last in New England, the two first ejected in the
mother country. Near the town of Westborough (Mass.) there was a swamp which
went by the name of Chauncey Pond, from a report that one of the Chaunceys lost
his life in it.

162 LIFE AND TIMES
practising as a physician. Here, however, he was called by
the church in Mark Lane from his retirement, to succeed
their deceased pastor, Mr.Clarkson; and, in the eleventh year
of his ministry among them, Watts was chosen to be his
assistant. The conduct of Watts in the important station he now
occupied, did not disappoint the sanguine expectations of his
friends. If the attachment of the people to him is any
criterion to guide us, we have abundant proof, that, in the
discharge of his ministerial duties, he was laborious and
exemplary. With some it was a matter of regret, that he
confined himself so closely to his study, and did not mingle
with society so much as seemed desirable. But a natural
timidity of disposition, and an eager search after knowledge,
contributed to foster a love of retirement, and, in connexion
with his severe personal afflictions, sufficiently account for the
seclusion which in after-life he sought. His habits, health,
and natural temperament, unfitted him for much intercourse
with the bustling world. In large promiscuous parties he
was generally silent; when the eyes of strangers were upon
him he shrunk from the task of putting himself forward, and
willingly surrendered to others the honour of leading the
evening's conversation.* He had no words to waste upon
the idle groups who haunted the circles of fashion ; a kind of
intellectual avarice prevented him from casting his pearls
away with a careless hand ; he was a servant of the altar, not
the high-priest of the drawing-room. An acute writer has
remarked, that it is the province of mediocrity to talk, but of
genius to observe ; and it is singular how many of those with
"the pale cast of thought upon their brow," have been
defective in conversation. Virgil, Isocrates, Descartes,
Chaucer, Addison, and Goldsmith, had no talent for collo
quial discourse; the intellectual wealth they had amassed,
lay in solid bars, not in current coin. In the circle of his
* Private information.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 163
own immediate friends, however, Watts's social qualities
appeared; the atmosphere of home, and the presence of those
by whom he was beloved, seemed to remove his embarrass
ment, excite the powers of his mind, and awaken the sensi
bilities of his heart ; and by the household hearth he was the
sprightly companion, the imaginative poet, and the devout
Christian. In a poem, entitled "Happy Solitude," inscribed
to Thomas Gunston, Esq. written soon after he became
assistant to Dr. Chauncey, he seems to refer to the complaints
of his friends; and vindicates the secluded life he adopted:
"CASIMIRE, BOOK IV. ODE 12, IMITATED.
" Quid me latentem, fyc.
"The noisy world complains of me,
That I should shun their sight, and flee
Visits aud crowds and company.
Gunston, the lark dwells in her nest
Till she ascends the skies ;
And iu my closet I could rest
Till to the heavens I rise!"
At this period the nation was torn by contending political
factions; and though Watts's habits and feelings kept him
aloof from the broils of the times, yet, when the hero of the
Revolution was defamed by an anonymous libeller, he took up
his pen to rebut his aspersions. An infamous satire, written
by a nameless author, against William III. entitled, " Advice
to a Painter," being put into his hands by David Polhill, Esq.
he returned him a poem* in answer to it. It must be
confessed, that Watts indulges in exaggerated praise of the
monarch; the personal virtues and private character of
William, will, by no means, warrant his eulogistic verse : yet
a sufficient apology may be found for the writer, in the
public advantages which accrued to the dissenters from his
* Lyrics, lib. ii.

164 LIFE AND TIMES
reign. The oppressions they had endured from the Stuart
family, and the toleration they enjoyed under their] suc
cessors, might lead them to look with a too'' partial eye
upon their deliverer, and, perhaps, in some instances, to
palliate his errors and excuse his failings.
Mr. Polhill, one ofthe celebrated " Kentish Worthies," was
connected with'the family of Lord Deputy Ireton; and Watts
was probably^introduced to his acquaintance through the me
dium of Sir John Hartopp. His grandfather appears to have
been a royalist; for, in 1643, he was imprisoned by the parlia
ment. The father, Thomas Polhill, married the eldest daugh
ter of Ireton, and this connexion, most likely, changed the
politics of the family, as their eldest son was distinguished
for his zeal against the exiled Stuarts, and firm adherence to
the cause of William. He was born in the year 1673, and,
after travelling on the continent, accompanied by Dr. Mead,
the celebrated physician, he took possession of the ^family
estate at Ottford, in the county of Kent, where he lived
beloved by a numerous tenantry, and respected as an
upright and active magistrate. The disposition shown by
the parliament to thwart the measures of William against
the designs j)f France, drew Mr. Polhill from his retirement;
and, in connexion with some others, he was sent by the
Kentish freeholders, with a petition to the commons, to assist
the king with the necessary supplies* So highly was the
house exasperated by the exercise of this constitutional right,
that Mr. Polhill and his companions were taken into custody
*The petition originated at the Maidstone quarter-sessions, April 29, 1701, and
was signed by the chairman, the grand jury unanimously, and twenty-three justices
of the peace. The deputation consisted of William Colepeper the chairman,
Thomas Colepeper, David Polhill, Justinian Champneys, and William Hamilton,
Esquires. On the members for the county hesitating to present the petition, on
account of the violence of the commons, the deputies declared their intention
themselves of knocking at the door of the house ; and Mr. Colepeper added in
language similar to Luther's well-known resolve, that if every tile upon the chapel
of St. Stephen was a devil, he would present the petition. Mr. Meredith, one of
the members, at last undertook the task.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 165
by the sergeant-at-arms ; the warrant of the speaker trans
ferred them to the prison at the Gate-house; and in the
course of a furious debate, the confiscation of their estates,
and the infliction of a double tax upon the county, was
advocated. These violent and ill-judged measures only
rendered the deputation popular, so that their release at the
termination of the session was hailed by the acclamations of
assembled thousands, and Mr. Polhill's return to his mansion
at Ottford was most enthusiastically welcomed by the sturdy
yeomanry. In several parliaments he was afterwards member
for the city of Rochester ; and, on the decease of Mr. Topham,
in 1730, he was appointed Keeper of the Records in the tower.
The spirited conduct of Mr. Polhill upon this occasion, drew
from Watts's pen another epistle, when, upon the accession
of Queen Anne, the liberties of the country were again
threatened : "TO DAVID POLHILL, ESQ.
"an epistle. "December, 1702.
I.
" Let useless souls to woods retreat,
Polhill should leave a country seat
When Virtue bids him dare be great.
II.
"Nor Kent,* nor Sussex* should have charms,
While Liberty, with loud alarms,
Calls you to councils and to arms.
III.
" Louis, by fawning slaves ador'd,
Bids you receive a haseborn lord ;f
Awake your cares ! Awake your sword !
* The counties where he had country-seats.
f The poet is here guilty of injustice ; for the question ofthe legitimacy of James's
son, the old Pretender, has been long set at rest. A book was, however, reprinted
at Cologne, in 1701, referring to Louis XIV., entitled "The Great Bastard Protec-

166 LIFE AND TIMES
IV.
" Factions amongst the Britons* rise,
And warring tongues, and wild Surmise,
And burning Zeal without her eyes.
V.
"A vote decides the blind debate;
Resolv'd, ' 'Tis of diviner weight
To save tbe steeple than the state.'
VI.
"The bold machinef is form'd and join'd,
To stretch the conscience, and to bind
The native freedom of the mind.
VJI.
" Your grandsires' shades, with jealous eye,
Frown down to see their offspring lie
Careless, and let their country die.
VIII.
" If TreviaJ fear to let you stand
Against the Gaul with spear in hand,
At least petition§ for the land."
tor of the Little, One." Various medals were also struck in England to counte
nance this calumny, viz.
1. William III. habited as a Roman emperor, trampling upon a serpent, and
supporting Mary wearing the crowns of her triple kingdom ; her shield is suspend
ed from an orange tree, entwined with roses and thistles. In the distance appears
James II., and Father Petre bearing away tbe young prince, who is playing with a
windmill, (alluding to the report that the young prince was the son of a miller).
P. A. F. the initials of the artist's name. Leg. Deo Vindice Justitia Comite.
Rev. Boats landing troops near a castle. Leg. Contra Jnfantem Perditionis.
Ex. Expeditio Navalis Pro Libertate Anglia. MDCLXXXV11I. Diam. If.
Cab. Hunter.
2. A French ship; Father Petre upon a lobster holds the young prince playing
with a windmill. Leg. Allons Mon Prince, Nous Sommes En Bon Chemin. Ex.
Jac. Edvard Supposee 20 Juin. 16S8. Rev. The Pretender's arms ; a shield,
bearing a windmill; above, ajesuit's cap, whence depends a double rosary, inclo
sing the motto Hani Soit Qvi Bon y Pense : a lobster is suspended instead of a
George. Leg. Les Armes et I'Ordre Du Pretendu Prince Des Galles. Diam. 1%.
Cab. Royal.
* The contentions in parliament.
f The bill against occasional conformity, 1702.
. X Mrs- Polwll °f the family of the Lord Trevor.
§ Alluding to the former Kentish petition.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 167
A threatening illness of five months, interrupted Watts's
public labours, soon after his connexion with Dr. Chauncey,
at the close of which he visited his family at Southampton,
to try his native air for the recovery of his health. The an
nexed extract from his MS. mentions several domestic inci
dents ; his visits to his friends ; the only record we have of
this interesting period of his life. Referring to his settlement
with Dr. Chauncey, he observes : —
" And a little while after my fever and weakness began,
" Paid another visit to Southampton of five weeks,
 July 1, 1699.
"Another  June, 1700.
" 1699—1700. Feb. Mr. Wm. Adams dyed.
" 1700, March 30, Grandmo. Tanto.
" May 22, Mr. John Poole.
"Nov. 11, Mr. Thos. Gunston."
Mr. Gunston, whose death is here recorded, was the much-
beloved friend of Watts, in whose company he spent some of
his happiest hours, and whose early decease was a source of
the most poignant grief. This gentleman was the brother of
Lady Abney, and owned the manorial property of Stoke
Newington. His father, John Gunston, Esq. was attached to
the cause of nonconformity, and befriended many of the
persecuted ministers when exposed to the aggressions of arbi
trary power. When Dr. Manton was imprisoned in the Gate
house, for refusing tbe Oxford oath, the Lady Broughton, his
keeper, placing the keys at his disposal, allowed him an oppor
tunity of visiting his friend Mr. Gunston at Newington. The
mantle of the father descended upon the son ; and owing to
his sincere piety and conscientious principles, he became the
bosom friend and confident of Watts. A row of " reverend
elms" in the neighbourhood of the family mansion was con
secrated to their friendship. The ancient manor-house, asso
ciated with the names of Elizabeth and her favourite Leicester,

168 LIFE AND TIMES
had been just taken down ; and a modern erection in its place
was nearly finished, when Mr. Gunston was taken away by
death. A funeral poem to his "dear memory" is inserted
among the Lyrics, evidently a hasty and irregular composition,
which, if it adds no reputation to the poet, evinces the sincerity
of his friendship, and does honour to the virtues of the deceased.
He says,* " Oft have I laid the awful Calvin by,
And the sweet Cowley, with impatient eye,
To see those walls, pay the sad visit there,
And drop the tribute of an hourly tear :
Still I behold some melancholy scene,
With many a pensive thought, and many a sigh between.
Two days ago we took the evening air,
I, and my Grief," &c.
This poem was presented to Lady Abney, then the Lady
Mayoress, with an introductory letter.
The illness of Watts returned in the summer of 1701, and
from June to November he was wholly incapable of preaching.
"Went to ye Bath by ye advice of Physicians, June 9, 1701.
"From ye Bath to Southto  July, 1701.
"Thence to Tunbridge,  Sept. 3, 1701.
" Returned to Newington Nov. 3, and to preaching at Mark
Lane,  Nov. 1701.
" So yt I was detained from study and preaching 5 mo. by
my weakness. Except one very short discourse at Southto. in
extreme necessity. Dr. Chauncey, having left his people,
Aprill, 1701, and I being returned to preach among em, they
called me to ye pastoral office, .... Jan. 15, 170£."f
The resignation of Dr. Chauncey was occasioned by his
unpopularity as a preacher ; the introduction of controverted
topics in theology into the pulpit, dissatisfied his hearers ; and
the decrease of his congregation, determined him to quit the
* Lyrics, lib. iii. t Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 169
ministry. In the fiery dispute which ensued upon reprinting
the works of Dr. Crisp, he had taken a prominent part ; at
tacking Dr. Williams, and the adherents of what was called
the Neonomian doctrine, with great asperity. The frequent
references which he made in his sermons to this unhappy con
troversy, the importance attached to certainly minor points
of the Christian faith, and the acrimony which could stig
matize the impugner of Crisp with Socinianism, contributed
to render his public exercises, naturally dry and scholastic,
still more unprofitable to his people. Another defect in Dr.
Chauncey's preaching was, his frequent dwelling on the dis
cipline of the church, to the neglect of the doctrines of the
gospel ; the cheering truths of the Christian system were aban
doned for the dry discussion of points of order ; and thus while
the external arrangements of the tabernacle were minutely
examined, a vail seemed to be cast over the glory and myste
ries within. A ministry of such a character, even when
seconded by a graceful diction, and attractive eloquence, is
sure to disappoint the spiritual worshipper ; it has no power to
warm and to refresh the heart, to excite and quicken the pul
sations of devotional feeling ; the Sun of Righteousness is de
serted, for those cold and wandering lights, which are too feeble
to illuminate, too sickly to cheer, and too vagrant to direct.*
Upon relinquishing his charge of the church in Mark Lane,
Dr. Chauncey was appointed to the tutorship of an academy
which still exists at Homerton. This situation he filled with
credit to himself, and benefit to the church ; and continued
in it till his death in the year 1712. His successors in the
institution were Dr. Thos. Ridgley and Mr. John Eames,
F. R. S., of the latter of whom Watts is reported to have said,
that he was the most learned man he ever knew. The vacancy
* Dr. Chauncey died Feb. 28, 1712. Some notices of him, in connexion with
the family, were drawn up by his grandson, entitled, " Life of the Rev. President
Chauncey, written at the request of Dr. Stiles, hy the Rev. Dr. Chauncey of Boston,
May 23, 1768." It is printed in the Collections of the Massachusets Historical
Society, vol. x. 171. M

170 LIFE AND TIMES
occasioned by the retirement of Dr. Chauncey, was not sup
plied until the succeeding year, and during the greater part
of that period Watts was unable through illness to discharge
any public duty. A church meeting appears to have been
held April 15, 1701, at which the Rev. William Bereman, a
former assistant of Mr. Caryl, and a member of the church,
was called upon to preside. This gentleman was requested
to preach during the church's vacancy ; and a call was given
unto him to the pastoral office, but he declined the invitation,
probably owing to the infirmities of age.* In the following
month an invitation to Mr. Watts was contemplated ; but the
alarming indisposition with which he was seized in June, de
prived his friends for some time of the hope of seeing him set
tled in Mark Lane. In September the church invited the
Rev, Thos. Bradbury, then of Newcastle, to the charge ; but
after the interchange of a few letters, the negotiation dropped.
Mr. Watts returned in November with recruited health to his
work, and the choice of the church ultimately falling upon
him, the call of a united and affectionate people, he was in
duced to accept in the following year.
" Accepted it March 8, and was ordained March 18, 1702"f
This step was not, however, taken without considerable hesi
tation and reluctance : the frequent indisposition to which he
was subject, rendered him apprehensive of being unequal to
the proper discharge of the pastoral duty ; and he appears to
have submitted various plans to the church for their speedy
settlement without him. In the letter which contains his
final adhesion to their wish, he mentions three "reverend
divines," members of the church, whom he had recommended
to their notice as qualified for the vacant pastorship.
It is probable, that two of the ministers, to whom Watts re
fers, were the Rev. Thos. Bereman, and Edward Terry, M.A.:
* Church book. t Watt's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 171
it is certain that they were members of the church at the time
of Dr. Chauncey's secession; but who the third individual
was does not appear. Mr. Bereman, of whom but little is
known, was ejected by the Act of Uniformity from the lecture
ship of St. Thomas's, Southwark : his farewell sermon to his
flock, from Acts, xx. 17, is in the London collection. After his
ejectment, he became one of the first members of the church
which Mr. Caryl gathered ; and being possessed of consider
able property he declined taking a pastoral charge, but assisted
occasionally the neighbouring ministers. Dr. Calamy describes
him as " a very pious and sober person, and a good preach
er."* He continued a member at Mark Lane until his death,
October 7, 1703, when his fortune, which was considerable,
was bequeathed for charitable purposes.f Mr. Terry was the
son of the Rev. Edward Terry, who accompanied Sir Thomas
Roe in his embassy to the Great Mogul ; and was ejected from
the living of Greenford Magna, in the county of Middlesex,
which his father had occupied. He studied in University
College, Oxford, where he proceeded M.A.; and distinguished
himself by a funeral oration which he pronounced at the in
terment of the master of his college, Dr. Joshua Hoyle,
Regius Professor of Divinity, and a member of the Assembly
of Divines. Mr. Terry after the Revolution assisted Dr.
Chauncey, and continued in the church until his death,
which took place suddenly, March 8, 1716. He was blind for
some years previous to his decease, but was accustomed to
employ persons to read to him, in which he took great plea
sure.;): Dr. Calamy describes him as " of a very mild dispo-
* Calamy's Account, p. 25; Palmer's Noncon. Mem. i. 191.
f "This alms-house, situate in Alms-house Yard, in Hoxton, was built about the
year 1701, by Mr. Baremere (Bereman) a presbyterian minister, for eight poor
women, who have only a yearly allowance of half a chaldron of coals each.8' Mait
land. Hist, of London. Palmer states this to be incorrect, that the stipend was
larger, and paid quarterly. Noncon. Mem. i. 192. Mr. Bereman left various
other charitable bequests.
X Palmer. Noncon. Mem. ii. 447, 448.

172 LIFE AND TIMES
sition, of a blameless life, and very charitable; much honoured
for his work's sake, and a lover of peace and truth."* These
two valuable ministers were among Dr. Chauncey's people
at the period of his retirement; and when Watts speaks of
having proposed to the church three reverend divines, who
were members, for their acceptance, it is not improbable that
his attention was directed to them.
The views and feelings with which Mr. Watts entered upon
the pastoral office, will best appear, from the public declara
tion of his accepting the call of the church, which he made at
his ordination, inserted at the close of this chapter. This
service was conducted by the following ministers : Matthew
Clarke,t John Collins,! Thomas Ridgley,§ Benoni Rowe,
and Thomas Rowe, his tutor. Mr. T. Rowe preached upon
the occasion to the people, from Jer. iii. 15 : " And I will
give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you
with knowledge and understanding." Mr. William Pickard,
a deacon of the church, inquired of them respecting their
agreement to the call, which they unanimously affirmed. It
is a striking and singular coincidence, that the day on which
Watts accepted the pastoral office, the dissenting churches
lost their tried friend and protector in the person of Wil
liam III.
" 1702, March 8, Morning, K. Wm. died."[|
The health of the king had been long declining, but an ac
cidental fall from his horse, which stumbled, owing to some
earth which had been loosened by a mole, accelerated his
death. The advocates of intolerance embraced the opportu-
* Wilson. Diss. Chur. i. 292.
f Pastor of the church in Miles Lane.
X Co-pastor with the Rev. Robert Bragge in Lime Street, Paved Alley.
§ Pastor of an independant church now extinct in Thames Street, and one of the
successors of Dr. Chauncey in his academical duties.
II Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 173
nity to defame the character of the departed monarch ; and
his decease was celebrated in various parties, with the same
convivial rites with which the republicans are charged with
reference to the execution of Charles. Such infamous and
indecent proceedings are only calculated to rouse an indig
nant feeling in the minds of the good and virtuous ; and to
these ribald jests, the highly-coloured panegyrics upon the
king, in which his friends indulged, may probably be attribu
ted. Upon this oocasion the pen of Watts- was not idle, and
an " Epitaph on King William III. of glorious memory,"*
celebrates his worth, and the writer's gratitude for that happy
event which drove a baffled tyrant from our shores.
CORRESPONDENCE.
"TO MR. ISAAC WATTS. " London, 1697.
" Dear Sir,
" I cannot easily signify to you, with what eager r
ness I snatch this occasion of making the most unfeigned
acknowledgments for the many obligations you have been
pleased to lay upon me ; a duty which your modesty would
never permit me to do in your presence, and which my gra
titude, the best quality I can boast, will not let me omit, now
I have you at this advantage.
" I know you are in pain, for fear I am preparing for you a
banquet of your own praises, a food which most other people
can devour very heartily, and be in no danger of a surfeit;
and had I any quarrel against you, I would not desire a better
revenge, and yet would say nothing that would look the least
like flattery ; so that you are now wholly at my mercy, and in
no capacity of defending yourself, or putting by my passes ;
* Lyrics, lib. iii.

174 LIFE AND TIMES
but since you cannot think me ignorant of what is so well
known to all your friends, and since too you may gather by
what I have said, with reference to one perfection, your mo
desty, how well I am acquainted with all the rest, I will take
pity on you, and forbear so agreeable a subject. See here,
Sir, what a command you have over me, when I dare not so
much as offer you your own, lest I displease you ; but am
forced to make even this an instance of the esteem I have for
you, that I will not tell you how great it is. I give you many
thanks for your witty and diverting letter; you need not
have used arguments to persuade me, that the characters you
have drawn in it are true copies of nature, for in requital I
could send you some of another hue, that have fallen within
the circle of my observation, monsters so hideous and deform
ed, that, drawn by a poet, they would be thought no less
extravagant, than the thunder-defying hero* of Statius before
the walls of Thebes. Fools indeed (of whom you complain)
are a very troublesome sort of insects, but they only buzz
about your ears, and never bite deep ; the villain is the beast
of prey, that leaps upon you from his den, and tears you in
pieces. These are the proper objects of rage, the others of
contempt; and this, perhaps, makes the difference between
the satires of Horace and Juvenal, for the first of them only
rallies, and the latter declaims. Do you think you could
possess your soul in patience, if you had to do with a fellow,
who, under the veil of a most unsuspected affection, should be
carrying on a plot for your ruin ; who should make use of all
the most endearing acts of friendship, only to cast a blind be
fore your eyes, and procure all opportunities to make you a
sacrifice to his interest or revenge ? The footpad, like an.
honest rogue, bluntly bids you ' stand and deliver ;' but some
there are who will caress and embrace you, whilst their
thoughts are employed to swallow down your estate, if not
cut your throat; and if they do it but cleverly and with some
* Capaneus.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 175
address, so as not to fall within the letter of the law, they wipe
their mouths, and pronounce themselves harmless; — 'O vil
lain ! villain ! smiling villain !' Think not that I am writing
at random, for I assure you I have an original in my eye, after
which I make this picture; innumerable others there are of
the same black list, but with different degrees of deformity :
to be particular, there is the physician, who purges you into
a skeleton with his poisonous doses, and calculates the time
of your cure by the number of his fees ; the man of statutes
and reports, who practises on your estate as the other does on
your health : ' Sir, quoth the lawyer, not to flatter ye,
You have as good and fair a battery,
As heart cau wish, and need not shame
The proudest mau alive to claim ;
For if it be so, as you say,
Marry, quoth I, you've got the day.' HUDIBRAS.
And yet, perhaps, as soon as you are gone, he takes gold of
your adversary to betray your cause. There are your states
men, too, who live like fleas by sucking the blood of the body
politic : and here, indeed, the streams of corruption, that run
through all our public offices, were a large field for satire ; for,
if all be true that an honest bold fellow tells us in a late
pamphlet, I do not believe Rome was worse when Jugurtha
said, that ' the city itself would be set to sale, could they hear
of a purchaser.' It were endless to enumerate all the particu
lar species of rogues : both court and camp are filled with
them, and at the exchange every day at two you may meet
them in swarms. In short, to say no more, 'tis a foolish and
villanous world, and so let us rub through it as well as we
can, remembering only, that some degrees of compliance are
requisite to carry us on smoothly. There is an honest sort of
hypocrisy that is the allowed language of all mankind, and
this is no other than a general courtesy of behaviour, which

176 LIFE AND TIMES
will not suffer us to speak truth at all times and'in all places.
Therefore, we must not be more honest than wise, unless we
are willing to be kicked about the world like footballs, that
are suffered to stay with nobody. In the meantime I think
myself happy in one whom I dare call my friend, as I hope
you will believe, on the other hand, that I am
" Yours sincerely, and without reserve,
"JOHN HUGHES."
"TO DAVID POLHILL, ESQ. " 1698.
" An answer to an infamous satire, called 'Advice to a Painter ;' written by a
nameless author against King William 111. of glorious memory.
" Sir, " When you put this satire into my hand, you gave
me the occasion of employing my pen to answer so detestable
a writing; which might be done much more effectually by
your known zeal for the interest of his majesty, your counsels
and your courage, employed in the defence of your king and
country : and since you provoked me to write, you will accept
of these efforts of my loyalty to the best of kings, addressed to
one of the most zealous of his subjects, by
"Sir, " Your most obedient servant,
" I. WATTS."
" TO MR. ISAAC WATTS.
" Southampton, March, 1700.
" Dear Brother,
" In your last you discovered an inclination to oblige
the world by showing it your hymns in print; and I heartily

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. J 77
wish as well for the satisfaction of the public as myself, that
you were something more than inclinable thereunto. I have
frequently importuned you to it before now, and your inven
tion has often furnished you with some modest reply to the
contrary, as if what I urged was only the effect of a rash and
inconsiderate fondness to a brother ; but you will have other
thoughts of the matter when I first assure you, that that affec
tion, which is inseparable frpm our near relationship, would
have had in me a very different operation, for instead of press
ing you to publish, I should with my last efforts have endea
voured the concealment of them, if my best judgment did not
direct me to believe it highly conducing to a general benefit,
without the least particular disadvantage to yourself. This
latter I need not have mentioned, for I am very confident
whoever has the happiness of reading your hymns (unless he
be either sot or atheist), will have a very favourable opinion
of their author ; so that, at the same time you contribute to
the universal advantage, you will procure the esteem of men
the most judicious and sensible.
" In the second place you may please to consider, how very
mean the performers in this kind of poetry appear in the pieces
already extant. Some ancient ones I have seen in my time,
who flourished in Hopkins and Sternhold's reign ; but Mason
now reduces this kind of writing to a sort of yawning indiffe-
rency, and honest Barton chimes us asleep. There is, there
fore, great need of a piece, vigorous and lively as yours, to
quicken and revive the dying devotion of the age, to which
nothing can afford such assistance as poetry, contrived on
purpose to elevate us even above ourselves. To what may we
impute the prevalency of the songs, filled with the fabulous
divinity of the ancient fathers, on our passions ? Is it, think
you, only owing to a natural propensity in us to be in love with
fable, and averse to truth in her native plainness ? I presume
it may partly be ascribed to this ; that as romance has really
more need of artifice than truth, to set it off, so it generally

178 LIFE AND TIMES
has such an abundance more, that it seldom fails of affecting
us by making new and agreeable impressions. Yours now is
the old truth, stripped of its ragged ornaments, and ^appears,
if we may say so, younger by ages, in a new and fashionable
dress, which is commonly tempting.
" And as for those modern gentlemen, who have lately ex
hibited their version of the Psalms; all of them I have' not
seen I confess, and, perhaps, it would not be worth while to
do it, unless I had a mind to play the critic, which you know
is not my talent ; but those I have read, confess to me a vast
deference to yours, though they are done by persons of no
mean credit. Dr. Patrick most certainly has the report of a
very learned man, and, they say, understands the Hebrew
extremely well, which indeed capacitates him for a translator,
but he is thereby never the more enabled to versify. Tate and
Brady still keep near the same pace. I know not what sober
beast they ride (one that will be content to carry double), but
I am sure it is no Pegasus : there is in them a mighty defi
ciency of that life and soul, which is necessary to raise our
fancies and kindle and fire our passions, and something or
other they have to allege against the rest of adventurers ; but
I have been persuaded a great while since, that were David
to speak English, he would choose to make use of your style.
If what I have said seems to have no weight with you, yet
you cannot be ignorant what a load of scandal lies on the
dissenters, only for their imagined aversion to poetry. You
remember what Dr. Speed says :
'So far hath schism prevail'd, they hate to see
Our lines and words in couplings to agree,
It looks too like abhorr'd conformity :
A hymn, so soft, so smooth, so neatly drest,
Savours of human learning and the beast.'
And, perhaps, it has been thought there were some grounds
for his aspersion from the admired poems of Ben. Keach, John
Bunyan, &c. all flat and dull as they are ; nay, I am much out

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 179
if the latter has not formerly made much more ravishing mu
sic with his hammer and brass kettle.
" Now when yours are exposed to the public view, these
calumnies will immediately vanish, which methinks should
be a motive not the least considerable. And now we are
talking of music, I have a crotchet in my brain, which makes
me imagine, that as chords and discords equally please heavy-
eared people, so the best divine poems will no more inspire the
rude and illiterate than the meanest rhymes, which may in
some measure give you satisfaction, in that fear you discover,
ne in rude vulgus cadant, and you must allow them to be
tasteless to many people, tolerable to some, but to those few
who know their beauties, to be very pleasant and desirable ;
and, lastly, if I do not speak reason, I will at present take my
leave of you, and only desire you to hear what your ingenious
acquaintance at London say to the point, for I doubt not you
have many solicitors there, whose judgments are much more
solid than mine. I pray God Almighty have you in his good
keeping, and desire you to believe me,
" My dear brother,
" Your most affectionate kinsman and friend,
"ENOCH WATTS."
"TO LADY ABNEY. "July, 1701.
" Madam, " Had I been a common mourner at the funeral of
the dear gentleman deceased,* I should have laboured after
more of art in the following composition, to supply the defect
of nature, and to feign a sorrow ; but the uncommon conde
scension of his friendship to me, the inward esteem I pay his
• Her brother Mr. Gunston.

180 LIFE AND TIMES
memory, and the vast and tender sense I have of the loss,
make all the methods of art needless, whilst natural grief
supplies more than all.
"I had resolved, indeed, to lament in sighs and silence,
and frequently checked the too-forward muse : but the impor
tunity was not to be resisted ; long lines of sorrow flowed in
upon me ere I was aware, whilst I took many a solitary walk
in the garden adjoining to his seat at Newington ; nor could
I free myself from the crowd of melancholy ideas. Your lady
ship will find, throughout the poem, that the fair and unfinish
ed building, which he had just raised for himself, gave almost
all the turns of mourning to my thoughts ; for I pursue no
other topics of elegy than what my passion and my senses led
me to.
" The poem roves, as my eyes and grief did, from one part
of the fabric to the other : it rises from the foundation, salutes
the walls, the doors, and the windows, drops a tear upon the
roof, and climbs the turret, that pleasing retreat, where I pro
mised myself many sweet hours of his conversation ; there my
song wanders amongst the delightful subjects, divine and
moral, which used to entertain our happy leisure ; and thence
descends to the fields and the shady walks, where I so often
enjoyed his pleasing discourse ; my sorrows diffuse themselves
there without a limit : I had quite forgotten all scheme and
method of writing, till I correct myself, and rise to the turret
again to lament that desolate seat. Now, if the critics laugh
at the folly of the muse, for taking too much notice of the
golden ball, let them consider, that the meanest thing that
belonged to so valuable a person, still gave some fresh and
doleful reflections : and I transcribe Nature without rule, and
represent friendship in a mourning dress, abandoned to deep
est sorrow, and with a negligence becoming woe unfeigned.
"Had I designed a complete elegy, Madam, on your dear
est brother, and intended it for public view, I should have
followed the usual forms of poetry, so far, at least, as to spend

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 181
some pages in the character and praises of the deceased, and
thence have taken occasion to call mankind to complain aloud
of the universal and unspeakable loss : but I wrote merely for
myself, as a friend of the dead, and to ease my full soul, by
breathing out my own complaints ; I knew his character and
virtues so well, that there was no need to mention them while
I talked only with myself ; for the image of them was ever
present with me, which kept the pain at the heart intense and
lively, and my tears flowing with my verse.
" Perhaps your ladyship will expect some divine thoughts,
and sacred meditations, mingled with a subject so solemn as
this is. Had I formed a design of offering it to your hands, I
had composed a more Christian poem ; but it was grief purely
natural for a death so surprising that drew all the strokes of it,
and, therefore, my reflections are chiefly of a moral strain.
Such as it is your ladyship requires a copy of it ; but let it not
touch your soul too tenderly, nor renew your own mournings.
Receive it, Madam, as an offering of love and tears at the tomb
of a departed friend, and let it abide with you as a witness of
that affectionate respect and honour that I bore him ; all
which, as your ladyship's most rightful due, both by merit
and by succession, is now humbly offered by,
" Madam,
" Your ladyship's most hearty
" and obedient servant, "I. WATTS."
"Feb. 8, 1702.
"TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ASSEMBLING IN
MARK LANE, LONDON*
"Beloved in our Lord,
" When you first called me to minister the word of
God among you, I took the freedom, to acquaint you, that in
?Extracted from the Church Book.

182 LIFE AND TIMES
the chief doctrines of Christianity I was of the same mind
with your former reverend pastor, Dr. John Owen, who being
dead yet speaketh ; and I have been glad to find, by three
years' experience, that you retain the same principles that he
preached among you. Now, since, through your great affec
tion and undeserved respect to me, you have thought fit to
call me to the great and solemn office of a pastor, I cannot
but take the same freedom to hope, that you are of one mind
with him in the chief points of church discipline. Though I
call no man master upon earth, nor confine my belief to
the judgment of another, yet I cannot but own, that, in the
study of gospel order, I have found much light and assistance
from his works, and from those of your late reverend pastor,
Dr. Isaac Chauncey : but being desired by you to give some
hints of my principles in writing, in order to future satisfac
tion, and continuance of peace and love (if the Lord shall fix
me with you), I have here briefly written a few things,
whereby you may discover something of my knowledge in the
mind and will of Christ concerning his churches.
" 1. I believe that Jesus Christ, the king of saints, has
given command and power to his saints, to form themselves
into spiritual societies and corporations, for his public glory,
and their own edification.
" 2. That every society of saints, covenanting to walk with
God and one another in all the rules and institutions of the
gospel, is a church of Christ.
" 3. That every such church has power to increase its own
number by the addition of members, or to purge itself of cor
rupt members, before it be organized, and made complete, by
having fixed officers among them.
" 4. That this society of saints ought to look on themselves
more nearly united, and related to one another, than to other
Christians ; and, consequently, to pray with and for each other,
te visit one another, to exhort, comfort, and assist one another,
and to maintain such a lqve and communion to and with each

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 183
other, as that they may look like fellow-members of the same
body. " 5. The members of such an incomplete church, before any
pastor is settled among them, may pray together, and exhort
one another ; yet this church has not power in itself to admi
nister all ordinances among them. But when they have cho
sen a proper officer to be over them in the Lord, and when he
is ordained by their public call, his public acceptance, and by
solemn separation of him to the work by fasting and prayer,
then unto the officer is this power committed.
" 6. It follows thence, that though the pastor be named or
chosen to this office by the people, yet his commission and
power to administer all divine ordinances is not derived from
the people, for they had not this power in themselves ; but it
proceeds from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only King of
his church, and the principle of all power ; and he has ap
pointed in his word, that the call of his church, and solemn
ordination, should be the means whereby his ministers are
invested with this authority.
" 7. That in the ordination of a pastor to a particular church,
our Lord Christ, as the supreme Governor and Head of his
church, sets him in an office of spiritual rule over a willing
people, who freely commit themselves to his care ; even as
Christ also, in and by his word and his providence, now com
mits them unto his care and charge, of which he must give
an account.
" 8. Hence it follows, that pastoral acts, such as teaching,
feeding, guiding, and overseeing the flock ; exhorting, re
proving, comforting them ; are not performed in the name of
the people, but in the name, stead, and place of Christ, by the
pastor, as his representative in that church, and as his am
bassador to it ; as a shepherd, in ruling, leading, and feeding
his flock, acts not in the name of the sheep, but in the name
and place of him that owns them, and that has committed
them unto his care; and, therefore, these pastoral acts are to

184 LIFE AND TIMES
be received by the people, as clothed with the authority of our
Lord Jesus Christ, so far as they agree with his mind and
will according to these scriptures: 2 Cor. v. 20. 'Now, then,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God.' John, xiii. 20. 'He that receiveth whomsoever I
send, receiveth me.' And this regard is also due to such acts
of the pastor from every member, because they have given
themselves up to him in the Lord.
" 9. Yet I believe, that even with regard to these pastoral
acts, Christ has given to his churches so far a judgment of
discretion, that they are not bound to submit blindly to the
government of the pastor, unless he approve himself therein
to act according to the mind and will of Christ in his word :
and it is the neglect of this consideration that has brought in
that unbounded authority, and usurped dominion of the
priests, and that implicit faith and blind obedience of the peo
ple, in the antichristian church.
"10. I believe also, that in all those other exercises of
church order, which are not merely acts of the pastor, but also
acts of the church ; such as receiving and casting out members,
appointing places of stated or occasional worship, setting apart
days of prayer, and times for church meetings ; a pastor ought
to do nothing without the consent of the people : and though
the whole office of a pastor herein lies not merely in declaring
the mind and consent of the church, yet this is part of that
business and service that he oweth to the church.
" 11. That in the admission of members into the church, it
is necessary that the people be well satisfied with the person
they receive into their fellowship, as well as the pastor to re
ceive him into his care ; and that the church has liberty to
make objections, if they are dissatisfied with his fitness for
church communion : nor can the pastor receive in any mem
ber, or cast out any one, contrary to the mind of the people,
or without their actual free consent.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 185
" 12. I believe, that when the pastor admits a member,
upon the profession of his faith and hope, and the satisfaction
of the church, he doth, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by the consent of the church, receive him into fellowship
with Christ, and with that church, in all gospel privileges and
ordinances. " 13. The duties of a pastor are chiefly such as these :
preaching and labouring in the word and doctrine ; praying
earnestly for his flock in public and private ; administering
the seals of the covenant of grace, baptism, and the Lord's
supper; being instant in season and out of season, teaching
and exhorting, comforting and rebuking with all long-suffer
ing and doctrine ; contending for and preserving the truth ;
approving himself an example to the flock; visiting the sick
and the poor ; praying with them and taking care of them ;
making inquiries into the state of his flock, especially as to
spiritual affairs ; endeavouring to stir up and promote religion
in their households and families ; and labouring, by all means
and methods of Christ's appointment, to further their faith and
holiness, their comfort and increase : and it is the duty of the
people to attend upon his ministrations, to pray for him, to
encourage and support him ; and, whereinsoever he acts
according to the will of Christ, to receive him with all due
regard. " 14. That it is the proper business of the pastor also, to
present persons and cases to the church, and to ask the votes
or consent of the church, as one that is set to go before the
flock ; except when he is necessitated to be absent ; or, through
any indisposition, incapable when present; or where the pas
tor himself is so far concerned in the case to be proposed, as
may render it improper for him to propose it.
" 15. For the better performance of all these things, and by
reason of the various necessities of a church, other officers are
also appointed by Christ, of several names in scripture, espe
cially for churches where the members grow numerous ; all
N

186 LIFE AND TIMES
whose business is to assist the pastor in those affairs which
cannot so fully be managed by himself alone, each of them
according to their place, office, and business, which the Lord
has appointed them unto in his word.
" Lastly, That in the management of every affair in the
church there ought to be a spirit of gentleness, meekness,
lowliness of mind, love, affection, and tenderness ; both in the
pastor and people, toward each other; for Jesus, the great
Shepherd of his church, was most humble and compassionate,
most gentle and meek ; and his saints are called his sheep
from their, like dispositions; and that, the edification of the
church being one great end for which Christ has given this
office to his ministers, all lesser concerns and differences ought
to be managed with a continual regard to this great end, and
for the public honour of Christ in his churches.
"Thus I have given a short account of some of the chief
principles of gospel order. If I am so unhappy in any of my
expressions to be obscure, and to want explaining, I am ready
at any time to declare my meaning, and also to give the rea
sons of my judgment on any of the foregoing articles, showing
that they not only agree with the judgment of your reverend
pastors aforenamed, but, which is more considerable, that
they are all, in my apprehension, suitable to the will of Christ,
concerning churches and pastors revealed in his word.
" Christian friends, dearly beloved, I cannot but tell you,
that while I have been writing these articles, especially the
7th, 8th, and 13th, I shrink at the very thoughts of your call
of me to so weighty an office in the church of Christ, and I
find such discouragements from the awfulness and greatness of
the work, that it makes me cry out feelingly, ' Who is suffi
cient for these things ?' And this inclines me still to suspend
my answer, and to renew my request to you (though often in
vain renewed) of quitting all thoughts of me, and choosing
one, whose gifts, graces, and abilities, may be more capable

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 187
of discharging so vast a trust, and filling up the duties of so
sacred an office. " Yours in the service of the gospel,
" ISAAC WATTS."
"FROM THE REV. T. ROWE'S CHURCH, TO THE CHURCH
OF CHRIST, OF WHICH THE REV. DR. CHAUNCEY
WAS LATELY PASTOR.
" Forasmuch as our dear brother, Mr. Isaac Watts, who
was with great satisfaction admitted a member amongst us,
and hath since walked as becomes the gospel, to the glory of
God, and to the honour of his holy profession, doth now de
sire his dismission from us, we do, in compliance therewith,
discharge him from his membership among us, in order to his
being received by you, praying that his ministerial labours,
and those gifts and graces wherewith the Lord Jesus Christ,
the great head of the church, hath been pleased so richly to
furnish him, may be abundantly blessed, to the conversion of
souls, and your edification, to whose grace and blessing we
do from our hearts commend both him and you.
«C 1- v J -.1. i _( THOMAS ROWE, PASTOR,
" subscribed with the consent of 1
, , -< NATHANIEL PEACOCK,
the church by I
l^JOHN ANTRIM.
"Feb. 26, 1702."

"MR. WATTS TO THE CHURCH AT MARK LANE.
" Brethren, " You know what a constant aversion I have had to
any proposals of a pastoral office for these three years, ever
since the providence of God called me first among you. You

188 LIFE AND TIMES
know also that, since you have given me a unanimous and
solemn call thereto, I have heartily proposed several methods
for your settlement without me, but your choice and your
affections seemed still to be settled and unmoved. I have
objected warmly and often, my own indispositions of body,
which incapacitate me for much service, and I have pointed
often to three reverend divines that are members of this
church, whose gifts might render them more proper for in
struction, and whose age for government. These things I
have urged till I have provoked you to sorrow and tears, and
till I myself have been almost ashamed. But your perseve
rance in your choice and love, your constant profession of
edification by my ministry, the great probability you show of
building up this famous and decayed church of Christ, if I
accept the call, and your prevailing fears of its dissolution if I
refuse, have given me ground to believe that the voice of this
church is the voice of Christ by you : and to answer this call
I have not consulted with flesh and blood : I have laid aside
the thoughts of myself to serve the interest of our Lord. I give
up my own ease for your spiritual profit and your increase. I
submit my inclinations to my duty, and in hopes of being
made an instrument in the hands of Christ to build up this
ancient church, I return this solemn answer to your call, that,
with a great sense of my own inability in mind and body to
discharge the duties of so sacred an office, I do, in the strength
of Christ, venture upon it, and in the name of our Lord Jesus
I accept your call, promising in the presence of God and his
saints, my utmost diligence in all the duties of a pastor, so far
as God shall enlighten and strengthen me ; and I leave this
promise in the hands of Christ our Mediator, to see it performed
by me unto you through the assistance of his grace and Spirit."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 189
"TO MR. ENOCH WATTS.
" My dear brother,
" I send you the following definitions, or perhaps
rather descriptions, according to your request, being the
shortest and most comprehensive that I can form upon the
subjects. " Yours affectionately, " ISAAC WATTS.
" The several opinions about religion, that are this day in
England, are as follow : First, in respect of doctrine ; Atheists,
Deists, Arians, Socinians, Quakers, Papists, Arminians, Sab
batarians, Anabaptists, Calvinists, Baxterians, and Antino-
mians. "I. ATHEISTS.
" First, Deny the being of God. 2d, Say that the world is
eternal, that it had no beginning, and shall have no end ; and
that as men are continually born, and afterwards die, so suc
cessive generations shall last to eternity. Others indeed there
are, who say the world was formed some thousands of years
ago by atoms, or little particles of matter jumping together by
chance, and that these atoms shall after some time fall to
pieces again; and afterwards, it may be, jump into new
worlds — a very pretty conceit! So that they believe these
atoms to be from eternity to eternity. 3d, Hence it follows,
that there is nothing in man distinct from his body, and that
the soul is nothing but fine spirits, drawn from the blood, and
playing about in the brain. 4th, Hence it follows, that they
own no after state, but as the brute dies so dies the man, and
the soul dies with the body. 5th, As a consequence of all this,
they think they may indulge themselves in all manner of
pleasures.

190 LIFE AND TIMES

II. DEISTS.

" First, They own there is a God. 2d, That this God is to
be worshipped, i. e. by loving him, honouring, and having
awful thoughts of him. 3d, They deny the scriptures to be
the word of God, and so are called Antiscripturists. 4th, They
deny the Trinity and Christ, and all the methods of the Chris
tian religion that are particularly revealed in scripture, and
oblige themselves only to perform the duties of natural reli
gion, i. e. loving and honouring God in general, and sometimes
praying to him and giving him thanks, and being honest
among men. 5th, Hereby they suppose they so please God,
that they shall be in an happy state hereafter, if there be any
such thing, for some of them doubt whether there be or no.
"III. ARIANS.
" Arians are old heretics, the disciples of one Arius, above
one thousand years ago, and in our times some men are apt
to believe his errors, which are, First, That Christ is not real
and true God, equal with the Father, but only a creature cre
ated before all things else, and God made use of him before
he made the world. This notion they build upon the false
interpretation of 1 John, i. 2, 3, and Colos. i. 15, 16. 2d,
That Christ is called God only in respect of his office; that is,
his doing miracles, his instructing the world, and such like.
3d, They deny the Holy Spirit to be a person in the Godhead,
and so overthrow the Trinity, and hence they are called Anti-
trinitarians. " IV. SOCINIANS.
"There was one Socinus, in Calvin's time, who revived the
heresy of Arius, but explained it after another manner. First,
the Socinians deny Christ to be real God, and yet they own
the scripture to be the word of God as well as the Arians.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 191
2d, They say Christ did not die to satisfy divine justice for our
sins, but only to confirm the truth of his doctrine, and to give
us a good example. They deny a Trinity of persons in the
Deity ; they deny original sin, and say that children sin by
imitation, not from corrupt nature. The foundation of their
errors is, that they make reason the interpreter of scripture,
and generally believe the soul sleeps with the body till the
resurrection. U V. QUAKERS.
" First, They did generally shake and quake at their first com
ing up, which was about fifty years ago, and thence had their
name. 2d, They deny all ordinances, and say, they are above
them. 3d, They affirm perfection in this life, and deny that
Jesus Christ, who died at Jerusalem, to be true God,/ They
own a light within, which they call Christ and God, and say
it is in every man if he would attend to it, and they follow
tbe motions of this light within in all their actions. This
gives them the name of Enthusiasts. Though they do not
utterly deny scripture, yet speak meanly of it, say it is a dead
letter, and that they do not need it, because they have the
Holy Spirit in them, &c. they deny honour, and therefore they
salute none. In their first rise they had a great many mad
frantic fits, and strange. They are lately divided into two
sects, one of them follow Penn, of the notions aforementioned,
the other George Keith and Mead ; and it is said, they own
Christ the Son of God, satisfaction by him, aud justification
through him, and are by little and little leaving the old Qua
kers' principles. "VI. PAPISTS.
"They deny original sin in that extent as Calvinists own
it: also justification by faith alone, perseverance, assurance,
&c. They own the doctrine of meritorious works, tradition of

192 LIFE AND TIMES
equal authority to scripture, the worship of God by images
and transubstantiation, the constant sacrifice of the mass, per
fection in this life, and works of supererogation, invocation of
saints, prayer for the dead, implicit faith, or believing whatever
the pope says, purgatory, the pope's supremacy over the church,
seven sacraments, and other things contrary to the reformed
churches. "VII. ARMENIANS.
" There was one Pelagius of old, that invented several opin
ions about free-will, and against free-grace ; those that follow
ed him strictly were called Pelagians ; those that allowed more
to free-grace were called Semi- Pelagians, almost the same with
modem Arminians, called also Remonstrants, and by the com
mon people Free-willers. Their notions are ; that God elects
none to salvation but on the account of that faith he foresees in
them. 2d, That faith and sincere obedience are made the
conditions of justification and salvation, just as Adam's perfect
obedience would have entitled him to eternal life, and so God
reputes this imperfect obedience for perfect, having released
the rigour of the law upon the account of Christ's satisfaction,
that God sent him to die without any particular design to save
any particular person by it, but only to redeem all men in ge
neral, and now he applies salvation to all that believe and re
pent. That Christ so far redeemed a}l men, that none shall
be condemned for original sin ; nay, they are ready to say,
there is no original sin, or at least nothing in that extent, as
Calvinists make it, that a natural man may use common grace,
so as to attain saving grace and at last salvation. That all the
grace that God gives towards the conversion of a sinner, is
nothing but persuading him and enlightening his understand
ing ; but some go farther and say, that God gives some little
touches to the will of man, to move him to believe andjepent,
but all of them say, that after all a man is left indifferent.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 193
They say God gives a believer grace enough to persevere, but
he may uot use it, and so fall. That there is no certainty of
perseverance in this life, and consequently no certainty of
salvation without particular revelation.

"VIII. SABBATARIANS.
" There are those who go by the name of Seventh-day-men,
because they suppose the Jewish sabbath is not abolished,
and therefore they observe our Saturday for their sabbath.
They are against baptizing infants. Many of them now only
assert a happy state of the church to be expected.

"IX. ANABAPTISTS.
" They differ not from Calvinists in their doctrine, unless in
the article of infant baptism. They generally deny any chil
dren to be in the covenant of grace, and so deny the seal of the
covenant to them. They deny baptism by sprinkling to be
real and true baptism. In church government generally In
dependents. "X. CALVINISTS.
" So called from John Calvin, a great reformer ; his doc
trine the same with the Assembly's Confession of Faith.

" XI. BAXTERIANS.
" From Mr. Richard Baxter, whose design was to reconcile
Calvin and Arminius ; his Body of Divinity is part of the one
and part of the other. The one God has elected some which

194 LIFE AND TIMES
shall certainly be saved, and others to whom the gospel is
preached have sufficient grace given them ; that is, they have
common grace, which if they improve well they shall have
saving grace according to Arminius. They own, according to
Calvin, the merits of Christ's death to be applied to believers
only ; but also that all men are in a state capable of salvation.
Mr. Baxter says, there may be a certainty of perseverance here,
and yet he cannot tell whether a man may not have so weak a
degree of saving grace as to lose it again : a-kin to Arminius.
" But so long as Mr. Baxter owns no salvation, but by the
salvation and merits -of Christ, and no application of these
without believing, and no true faith but what is the gift of
God : hence there is sufficient ground to believe that his
opinions, and his followers, who are generally not so wide as
himself, are not so exceeding dangerous as some men think
them, and we may believe them true Christians, though they
may differ in many things from the confession of faith, and the
general opinions of the reformers and reformed churches.

"XII. ANTINOM1ANS.
" Those called Antinomians now-a-days take not so much
care in expressing the Calvinistic doctrine, which most of them
pretend to own, and so vent dangerous errors under such dan
gerous expressions as these : 1st, That God sees no sin in his
people, and therefore saints need not ask pardon. 2d, Christ
was a murderer, a blasphemer, &c. because he had those sins
imputed to him. Christ believed and repented for us as well
as died for us. We must not try our assurance or the good
ness of our estate by our graces or sanctification ; there is no
use of the law in driving a man to Christ, and therefore not
to be preached. God loves a man never the better for holiness,
nor an elect person the worse for unholi ness : Christ is a be
liever's sanctification, so far that he need not seek it in himself

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 195
to evidence justification : faith is not so properly an acceptance
of Christ as an assurance that he is ours.
" The several opinions about religion are, secondly, in re
spect of discipline and order. The three chief in England at
present are called by the names of Episcopacy, Presbytery,
and Independency. "I. EPISCOPACY.
"These are those called Conformists, or the Church of
England. 1st, They own that a bishop is an officer appointed
by Christ to oversee churches and their pastors, and in their
hands are placed the keys of admission and excommunication
of every particular church. 2d, All ordination of ministers
ought to be by bishops. 3d, That the church, or these heads
of it, have power to impose ceremonies. 4th, Hence they
worship God in a ceremonious way ; as the cross in baptism,
bowing at the high altar, kneeling at the sacrament, the sur
plice, and many other things testify. 5th, They not only allow
but impose forms of prayer, and use little else. 6th, Though
their great pretensions and chief subjects of their sermons be
peace, and love, and unity ; though they own these ceremo
nies to be indifferent in their nature, and believe the dissenters
worship God aright ; yet have they almost persecuted them to
death for not conforming. But it is hoped this persecuting
tenet does not belong to their church, but only was authorised
and encouraged by men of power.
"II. PRESBYTERY.
" The true and original notion of Presbytery is, that God
hath appointed a synod, or class, or assembly of ministers, or
elders, to be superior in power and government to any parti
cular church or officers thereof. 2d, That these synods, or

196 LIFE AND TIMES
councils, have power ministerially to determine controversies
in faith and discipline, and that any person in a church may
appeal to them for any injury received from any church ; but
this opinion is almost worn off in England. The tenets of the
Presbyterians of our times and day are: 1st, That a minister
ought to be ordained by the laying of the hands of other elders
or ministers after examination, fasting, and prayer. 2d, That
a minister may be ordained so as to have power given him to
administer ordinances in general, even before he takes the
charge of the church upon him. 3d, That there is no need of
any new ordination when they are called to a particular con
gregation. 4th, That it is the office of a minister to rule in the
church, and the people's duty to consent, though generally the
minister will not do any thing in the church without their
consent. 5th, If all the church are willing any church act
should be done, yet it must not be done without consent of the
minister. This is called the minister's having a negative
voice, but this is contrary to rigid Independents. 6th, Their
doctrine is generally Calvinistical, but many of those who are
called Presbyterians have of late years inclined more to Mr.
Baxter. 7th, They preach, that good knowledge and a sober
conversation are not sufficient evidences of a good state ; and
yet usually inquire no farther than of the knowledge and con
versation of those they admit into their churches ; hence it
follows, they are larger in church discipline than Independents.
8th, Most of them own the office of deacons in a church, but
generally deny any ruling elders distinct from ministers, and
yet many of them think it convenient to choose two or three
men of their church to inspect the conversations of others.
"III. INDEPENDENTS.
"There were some of the Independents heretofore called
Brownists, some of whom were very irregular in the manage
ment of church affairs, but they are not to be found now : the

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 197
tenets of rigid Independents are ; 1st, That every church hath
all the power of governing itself in itself, and that every thing
done in a church must be by the majority of the votes of the
brethren. 2d, That every church has its minister ordained to
itself, and that he cannot administer the ordinances to any
other people, and if he preaches among others it is but as a
gifted brother. But the generality of Independents follow
rather Dr. Owen's notions; their tenets are such as these:
1st, That the power of church government resides in the pas
tors and elders of every particular church, and that it is the
duty of the people tp consent ; and, nevertheless, because every
act in a church is a church act, they never do any thing with
out the consent of the people, though they receive no new
authority by the people's consenting. 3d, They generally
think a minister not to be ordained but to a particular church,
though many of them now think that, by virtue of commu
nion of churches, he may preach authoritatively, and admi
nister the ordinances to other churches upon extraordinary
occasions. 4th, That it is not absolutely necessary that a
minister be ordained by the imposition of hands of other mi
nisters, but only requisite that other ministers should be there
present as advisers and assistants when he is ordained by the
church; that is, set apart by their choice, his acceptance,
mutual fasting and prayer. 5th, They generally hold more to
the doctrine of Calvin than Presbyterians do. 6th, They think
it not sufficient ground to be admitted a member, if the person
be only examined as to his doctrinal knowledge and sobriety
of conversation; but they require with all some hints, or
means, or evidences of the work of grace on their souls, to be
professed by them, and that not only to the minister but to the
elders also, who are joint rulers in the church. Though this
profession of some of their experience is generally made first
to the minister, either by word or writing, but the elders al
ways hear it, and are satisfied before the person is admitted a
member. 7th, These relations, which the Independents re-

198 LIFE AND TIMES
quire, are not (as some think) of the word or scripture, or time,
or place, or sermon, by which they were converted ; for very
few can tell this ; but only they discourse and examine them
a little of the way of their conviction of sin, of their being
brought to know Christ; or at least ask them what evidences
they can give why they hope they are true believers, and try
to search whether there be sincerity in the heart, as much as
may be found by outward profession, that they may, as much
as in them lies, exclude hypocrites."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 199

CHAPTER VII.
1703—1712.
FIRST YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY.

CHURCH IN MARK LANE.— MR. CARYL.— DR. OWEN. — ILLNESS OF WATTS-
STATE OF THE MINISTRY IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND AMONG THE
DISSENTERS.— REMOVES TO MR. HOLLIS'S.-MRS. OWEN'S DEATH.— MR.
PRICE CHOSEN ASSISTANT— DREADFUL STORM.— COMMEMORATIVE SER
MONS.— CONGREGATION REMOVES TO PINNER'S HALL.— ILLNESS AND
DEATH OF LOCKE.— UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.— MR. SHUTE
AND DE FOE.— ESSAY AGAINST UNCHARITABLENESS PUBLISHED.— ANEC
DOTE OF TILLOTSON.— PRINTED A REFORMATION SERMON.-ACCOUNT
OF THE SOCIETIES FOR REFORMATION OF MANNERS.— DELUSIONS OF
THE FRENCH PROPHETS.— THE CAMISARS.— NICHOLAS FATIO, MAXIMIL.
IAN MISSON, AND ELIAS MARION.— MR. LACY AND SIR RICHARD BULKE-
LEY JOIN THE PROPHETS.— DISAPPOINTED IN THE RESURRECTION OF
DR. EMMS.— MEETING-HOUSE IN BURY STREET BUILT.— SACHEVEREL
RIOTS.— .MEMORANDA CONCLUDES.— MR. SHALLOT.— MRS. PICKARD.— IN
SCRIPTION IN CHESHUNT CHURCH.— CORRESPONDENCE.

The church with which Watts was now settled, is remark
able for the number of ejected ministers who have presided
over it,* and the distinguished characters who have been en
rolled among its members. It was founded by the celebrated
Joseph Caryl, the author of the voluminous commentary on
the book of Job; and consisted of some of his former hearers
at St. Magnus, of which living the act of uniformity deprived
him.f He preached to them as often as the rigour of the times
would allow, sometimes probably at his own residence in Bury
Street, but afterwards he had a meeting-house in Leadenhall
Street. After the death of Mr. Caryl, which took place Fe-
* See Appendix F. f Wilson's Hist, of the Diss. Churches, vol. 1. p. 252.

200 LIFE AND TIMES
bruary 5, 1673, the church invited his friend, Dr. John Owen,
to become their pastor, who having a small congregation in
the neighbourhood, both interests agreed to unite.* The first
time they assembled together was on the 5th of June, in the
same year, when Dr. Owen preached to them from Colossians,
iii. 14 : " And above all these things put on charity, which is the
bond of perfectness?' Mr. Caryl left behind him one hundred
and thirty-six communicants; Dr. Owen brought with him
thirty-five ; so that the united church consisted of one hun
dred and seventy-one members. The union of religion with
rank and station, was not then of such rare occurrence as at
the present. In the list of members of this church, we find
the names of Lord Charles Fleetwood, Sir John Hartopp,
Colonel Desborough, brother-in-law to the Protector, Colonel
James Berry, Lady Abney, Lady Hartopp, Lady Vere Wil
kinson, Lady Thompson, and the eccentric Mrs. Bendish.
Nineteen years elapsed from the time of Dr. Owen's death
to Watts's accession to the pastorship ; and during the close of
that period, the church and congregation gradually declined.
The settlement of Watts with them, whose character, piety,
and talents were now widely known and appreciated, was
regarded by them as an auspicious event. His immediate
friends anticipated beneficial results to the cause of religion ;
and the people among whom he was called to labour, indulged
sanguine hopes of largely profiting by his instructions. But
Providence frequently sees fit to mar our expectations, to cloud
our prospects, and to deprive us of the objects of our affection
ate solicitude. It is by this painful yet salutary discipline,
that the Christian is most effectually taught to withdraw his
dependance from man, and to place it beyond the influence of
human vicissitudes. By fresh inroads of sickness, the newly-
appointed pastor was disabled from the discharge of ministerial
duty ; and the painful necessity was speedily imposed upon
the church, of providing him an assistant in his labours.
* Orme's Life of Owen, p. 362.

OF DE. ISAAC WATTS. 201
"Visited my friends at Southto. July, 1702.
" Seized with violent Gaundise and cholic 3 weeks after my
return to London. And had a very slow recovery — 8 or 9
weeks' illness. From Sept. 8 or thereabout, to Nov. 27 or 8.
" This year (viz.) 1702, by slow degrees removed from
Newington to Mr. Thos. Hollis's in the Minories."*
The commencement of Watts's public labours at Bury
Street, leads me to advert to the state of the different religious
parties in the nation at that era. Perhaps there has been no
period since the Reformation, when the ministry of religion
in the establishment exercised so little beneficial influence
upon the people, as at the accession of Queen Anne. The
zeal which had animated the- puritans and the first noncon
formists, was contemptuously denounced by the clergy as
fanaticism; and nearly half a century elapsed before the
awakening voice of Whitfield and Wesley roused any of them
from their dream. The church, in the language of Arch
bishop Leighton, was "a fair carcase without a spirit;" the
clergy, according to Burnet, were " the most remiss in their
labours, and the least severe in their lives of any in Europe."
Nor is this strong language any violation of the bounds of
truth. The establishment was denuded of its most illustrious
worthies, when the Bartholomew divines, in an evil day, were
cast forth ; and the spirit of piety, with very few exceptions,
alike deserted the altar and theupulpit. The doctrines taught
in the liturgy, homilies, and articles of the church were
neglected, perverted, or their meaning explained away ; the
sermon on the sabbath was an ethical discourse or metaphysic
disquisition, bought of the cheapest vender, or pilfered from
the nearest shelf; and the majority of those who came to pray
remained to sleep. Aversion to Calvinistic theology, hateful
because the prevailing divinity of the commonwealth, became
a test of orthodoxy with the episcopal divines ; and many in
?Watts's MS.
O

202 LIFE AND TIMES
consequence not only plunged direct into Arminianism, but
some into Arianism, and almost all became disciples of the
Pelagian school. Dr. Southey indeed tells us, that "from the
Restoration to the accession of the house of Hanover the En
glish church could boast of its brightest ornaments and ablest
defenders, men who have never been surpassed in erudition,
in eloquence, or in strength and subtilty of mind." This
may be true : but the very powers with which they were gifted,
being perverted, occasioned the mischief which we lament;
for, instead of being employed in advocating the " truth as it
is in Jesus," they were engaged in reducing Christianity to a
philosophical system, and converting religion into a moral
scheme. With all their Ciceronian eloquence and Attic
purity, they knew not " the first principles of the doctrine of
Christ" — they were the merest novices in theology — apos
tles of natural religion, rather than preachers of the revealed
word — more familiar with Plato than Paul, with the ethics
of Seneca than with the glories of the cross.
The state of religion among the dissenters, would appear to
a superficial observer to have been still flourishing, though a
closer inspection would bring to light in some instances symp
toms of decline and decay ; they were hastening onwards to
that trying passage in their history, when the Scylla of Anti-
nomianism threatened them on the one hand, and the Cha-
rybdis of Socianian error on the other. A few churches were
infected with the prurient theology of Crisp', while the seeds
of speculative latitudinarianism were already sown. The
Independents were chiefly in danger from the former evil, the
Presbyterians from the latter ; an evil of far greater magnitude
and more deadly character. But neither errors had at present
any extensive operation, though they were silently insinuating
their poison, and corrupting the pure and healthy streams
that had in so many quarters fertilised the land. It is an
unhappy circumstance, but one which the history of religion
too plainly proves, that external prosperity has generally had

OF DE. ISAAC WATTS. 203
an unhappy influence upon it : its tone has been debased, its
vigour has deteriorated, its. purity become alloyed, when bask
ing in the sunshine of a royal smile : in ease and security
those energies have slumbered in the lap of effeminationi
which have been active at the post of duty in times of danger
and of dread. I doubt not but the annals of nonconformity
can furnish an illustration of the truth of these remarks,
without giving an unqualified assent to the popular paradox,
that persecution only nourishes that which it is intended to
destroy. The change effected by the reign of William in the
civil condition of the dissenters ; the countenance given to
them by the patriotic monarch and his far more noble-minded
consort, had its evil as well as its good — that laxity and
supineness which became so palpable and strongly marked
under the second George, had its commencement, if I mistake
not, beneath the sceptre of Nassau. The evil day was put off
by the tumultuous reign of Anne ; the signs of the times por
tended the return of Stuart principles with the return of Stuart
blood to the throne ; and the plague of Laodicean apathy,
which afterwards seized upon the churches, was delayed by
the threatening aspect of the political horizon. Why should
it not be the case in the moral as well as in the natural world,
that beneficial effects are produced by the instrumentality of
agencies in themselves apparently unkindly and destructive —
that storms should infuse a purer air, generate a healthier
atmosphere, and disperse the fatal miasms that collect in the
stillness and tranquillity of the heavens? It is certain, that
the self-devotion of Baxter, the zeal and labours of Owen,
the winning sweetness and polished diction of Bates, the al
most more than mortal piety and eloquence of Howe, belong
to the era df persecution ; and the cold philosophy of Lardner,
the moral lections of Kippis, the stiff and starched critical
essays of Benson, and the dry effusions of a Socinianised
ministry, to the period when " the churches had rest."
At the opening of the eighteenth century, many of the me-

204 LIFE AND TIMES
tropolitan dissenting ministers were worthy successors of the
illustrious names, "the chiefs of mighty men" of a former
age ; they were eminent not only for their literary character,
but evangelical piety and orthodox sentiments. The principal
divines among the Presbyterians were, Dr. William Harris of
Jewry Street — Mr. Thos. Reynolds, at the Weigh -house, who
greatly distinguished himself in the trinitarian controversy on
the orthodox side — Dr. Grosvenor of Crosby Square — Mr.
B. Robinson at Little St. Helen's, one of the four authors of
the tract written against the Arian scheme — Mr. N. Taylor
of Salter's Hall, who is eulogised by Doddridge as the " dis
senting South" — Dr. Dan. Williams at New Broad Street,
the founder of the Red-cross Street library — Mr. John Shower
at the Old Jewry— Dr. E. Calamy of Prince's Street* West
minster — and Mr. W. Tong of Salter's Hall, one of the most
attractive preachers of his day : among the Independents may
be named Mr. J. Collins and R. Bragge, copastors at Lime
Street, probably the most numerous and opulent congregation
in the metropolis — Mr. Mat. Clarke of Miles' s Lane, one of
Watts's most intimate friends — Dr. Ridgley of the Three
Cranes, Thames Street— Mr. Dan. Neal of Silver Street, the
well-known historian — Mr. J. Nesbit of Hare Court — Mr.
Dan. Burgess of New Court, a divine of the old puritan
school — and Mr. T. Bradbury, at this time an assistant at
Stepney. Their prevailing mode of sermonising speaks well
for the intelligence and zeal of their congregations ; for assu
redly discourses of half the length or half the diffuseness,
would shake the allegiance of a modern audience. The prin
cipal fault of the nonconformist divines was, a disposition to
expand their subjects to their widest extent; not merely to
illustrate the general sentiment of the text, but to eke out a
meaning from its minutest parts, and if possible extract a
lesson from the most obstinate word and barren particle.
Hence their sermons partook largely of the prolixity and ver-
boseness of the early puritans, though the want of condensa-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 205
tion was amply compensated by enlarged views of divine
truth, an extensive acquaintance with theology, and a peculiar
richness of biblical illustration. But an unhappy change was
at hand in the history of some of the dissenting churches;
when ministers and people abandoned the faith of their fathers,
and deserted the ark of the covenant to seek after vanity and
lies. A metaphysical and philosophic divinity struck its ten
drils round the hitherto luxuriant vine of nonconformity ; the
high and glorious spiritualities of religion were stripped of
their distinctive and emphatic character ; the devotion of the
heart evaporated into an intellectual principle ; and the con
version of the soul was frittered down into a mere natural
process of mental enlightenment and cultivation.
It is probable that up to this period Watts had resided in
the house of Sir John Hartopp, at Stoke Newington ; but
finding the distance inconvenient, he removed into the city,
to be near the scene of his labours. The term of his residence
in the baronet's family was upwards of six years, including
his frequent visits to Southampton and Tunbridge. The
gentleman with whom he lodged in the Minories, was the
father of Mr. Thos. Hollis, the munificent benefactor to Har
vard College, Massachusets, who resided in that part of the
city. The important services rendered by this family to the
church, demand for them an honourable notice in this place.
Mr. Hollis was born in Sheffield, and brought up under the
ministry of Mr. Fisher, one of the ejected ministers of that
town. Removing to London, where he spent the remainder
of his life, he amassed considerable property by mercantile
pursuits* which he liberally expended in supporting the inte
rests of religion. He built at his own expense meeting-houses
at Rotheram and Doncaster, with permanent benefactions for
the support of schools attached to them ; and in Sheffield, his
native town, the erection of alms-houses for the residence of
sixteen poor persons, attested his generosity. Though a Bap
tist in sentiment, he was upwards of sixty years a member of

206 LIFE AND TIMES
the Independent church at Pinner's Hall, and died during
the pastorate of Dr. Jeremiah Hunt, at an advanced age, in
the year 1718.* Mr. Thos. Hollis, jun., a member of the same
church as his father, was equally eminent for piety and libe
rality ; and Harvard college is indebted to him for valuable
donations of books, philosophical apparatus, and the founda
tion of two of its professorships.!
," Mrs. Owen, Dr. Owen's widow, died, Jany. 18, 1703.4"$
This lady was the widow of Thomas D'Oyley, Esq. brother
to Sir John D'Oyley of Chiselhampton, near Stadham in Ox
fordshire; and was united to Dr. Owen in June, 1677.§ She
was descended from a family of distinction, at Kingston-Russel
in Dorsetshire, of the name of Michel. The biographers of
Owen describe her as eminent for good sense, piety, and an
affectionate temper. She brought the doctor considerable
property, which, in addition to his own fortune, enabled him
to keep his carriage and country-house at Ealing, near Acton,
in Middlesex, which he made his principal residence. After
his death she continued a member ofthe church in Mark Lane
under his successors Clarkson, Chauncey, and Watts, the last
of whom preached her funeral sermon, on the 30th of Janu
ary, 1703. To this lady Mr. Gilbert devotes the following
lines in one of his epitaphs upon the doctor :
'.' Dorothea vioe, non ortu, opitms, officiusve, secunda
Laboribus, Morbis, senioque ipso elanguenti
Indulgentissiraam etiam se nutricem praestitit."
" June — Mr, Samll. Price was chosen by ye church to as
sist me, 1703."||
This gentleman was indeed a kindred spirit, and in him
* Dr. Jeremiah Hunt's funeral sermon for T. Hollis.
f Crosby's Hist, of the Baptists, vol, iv. p. 229. Dr. Colman's sermon on his
death, entitled, " The Friend of Christ and his People." Boston, April 1, 1731.
+ Watts's MS. § Owen's Will. || Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 207
Watts found an effective colleague and an affectionate friend.
The connexion thus formed between them subsisted upwards
of forty years, and was regarded by both parties as a peculiarly
happy event. Mr. Price was a native of the principality, and
received his academical education under Mr. Timothy Jollie,
at Attercliffe near Sheffield. When chosen assistant at Mark
Lane, his public services were so acceptable to the congrega
tion, that during Watts's alarming illness, in 1713, he was
elected joint-pastor. Some further notices of this excellent
man we shall then have occasion to introduce. The whole of
the year 1703 appears to have been one of suffering to Watts ;
in August he was again at Tunbridge for the benefit of his
health ; and some time probably elapsed before he was ade
quate to resume his pulpit labours.
" Augt. I went to Tunbridge, and stayd there 7 weeks,
with scarce any benefilt. For the waters, thro' some defect of
my stomach, did not digest well.
"Dec. After having intermitted, in a great measure, a
method of study and pursuit of learning 4 years, by reason of
my great indisposition of body and weakness of head (except
what was of absolute necessity for my constant preaching), and
being not satisfied to live so any longer, after due considera
tion and prayer, I took a boy to read to me and to write for
me, whereby my studies are much assisted. Dec. 1703.
" 1 703, Nov. 26. Ffriday night and Saturday morning,
the great and dreadful storm."*
The tempest here referred to filled the whole kingdom with
terror, and was the cause of immense commercial loss, and
many melancholy accidents. It commenced between eleven
and twelve at night, and covered the country with ruin be
tween the Loire in Fiance and the Trent in England. The
historians of the times, give an affecting account of the dismal
appearance of the district which was subject to its ravages : —
* Watts's MS.

208 LIFE AND TIMES
houses unroofed — steeples blown down — stacks of com scat
tered abroad — vessels dismasted or wrecked — and upwards of
eight thousand persons drowned. " The wind," says Old-
mixon, "blew west, south-west, and grumbled like thunder,
accompanied with flashes of lightning. It threw down seve
ral battlements and slacks of chimneys at St. James's palace;
tore to pieces tall trees in the park ; and killed a servant in
the house. The guard-house at Whitehall was much dama
ged, as was the banquetting-house. A great deal of lead was
blown off Westminster abbey; and most of the lead on
churches and houses either rolled up in sheets or loosened.
The pious and learned prelate, Dr. Richard Kidder, bishop of
Bath and Wells, and his lady, were killed by the fall of part
of the old episcopal palace at Wells. The bishop of London's
sister, Lady Penelope Nicholas, was killed in a like manner
at Hor eley, in Sussex, and Sir John Nicholas, her husband,
grievously hurt."* The queen appointed a national fast, on
account of this awful visitation, stating in her proclamation,
that " we most humbly acknowledge it to be a token of the
divine displeasure, and that it was the infinite mercy of God
that we and our people were not thereby wholly destroyed."f
The dissenting congregations appear to have generally ob
served the day ; and for some years afterwards commemora
tive sermons were preached at the meeting-house, Little Wild
Street, Londpn.J The event seems to have had a beneficial
* Oldmixon's England, iii. 319.
f Upwards of 800 houses, 400 windmills, and 250,000 timber-trees were thrown
down ; 100 churches unroofed ; 300 sail lost upon the coast ; 90A wherries, barges,
&c. destroyed on the Thames; the Eddystone lighthouse, built by Winstauley,
was overthrown ; aud 15,000 sheep, besides other cattle, perished by the overflow
ing ofthe Severn.
X See "An Exact Relation ofthe late Dreadful Tempest, &c. faithfully collected
by an Ingenious Hand, to preserve the Memory of so Terrible a Judgment. Nos
fatis agimur Variis: Contenditur fatis," p. 24. "The Storm, or a Collection of
the most Remarkable Casualties and Disasters which happened in tbe late Dread
ful Tempest, both by Sea and Land," 8vo, p. 272. This was written by De Foe.
The most singular production relating to this event is entitled, " A Warning from
the Winds. A Sermon preached upon Wednesday, January xix. 1703-4." This

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 209
effect upon the nation ; attention was awakened to the state of
public morals ; the strife of party was hushed for a season ;
and both in and out of the establishment a laudable desire
was evinced, to make the calamity subserve to promote the
interests of practical piety.
" Visited my friends at Southto  May, 1704.
"Removed our meeting-place to Pinner's Hall, and began
expositions of Scripture  Jun. 1704.
"August 31, 1704. Bro. Richard marryd.
" Joseph Brandley, my first servt, went away, Dec. 1704,
and Edwd. Hitchen came."*
The dilapidated state of the building in Mark Lane, where
Watts's congregation had hitherto assembled, was the occa
sion of its removal to Pinner's Hall. This place for more than
a century was one of the most celebrated meeting-houses
among the dissenters ; here the Tuesday morning lecture was
commenced at the Indulgence in 1672 ; and here the first
names in the annals of nonconformity, Baxter, Owen, Bates,
Manton, and Howe, preached to crowded audiences. The
lease of Pinner's Hall was held by an Independent church
under Mr. Wavel ; but as it was only occupied in the forenoon,
it was let to various congregations for the afternoon service.
Dr. Singleton's people, who worshipped here a considerable
time, removed in 1704 to Lorimer's Hall, and Mr. Watts's
congregation appears to have been the next occupant. The
meeting-house, though small, had six galleries, and was,
therefore, capable of accommodating a considerable number.
was written by Joseph Hussey, a minister at Cambridge. He regards the event as
a punishment inflicted on account of that " general contempt in England, under
Gospel Light, cast upon the Work of the Holy Ghost, as to his Divine Breathings
upon the Souls of Men." He connects with it a "Laborious Exercitation upon
Eph. ii. 2. about the Airy Oracles, Sybils, Prophetesses, Idolatry, and Sacrifices of
the Elder Pagan Times ; to defend this Text against the common mistake, that the
Winds are raised by Satan, under the Divine Permission." It is a most curious,
learned, yet fanciful performance. * Watts's MS.

210 LIFE AND TIMES
It was occupied by Mr, Watts's people until the close of the
year 1708, when they removed to a new chapel in Bury Street,
St, Mary Axe. The lease of Pinner's Hall expired in the
year 1778; the church became then extinct; and the build
ing has since been appropriated to commercial purposes.
The illness and death of Locke, during the course of this
year, were noticed by Watts's pen. Perhaps no individual did
more in his day, to advance the cause of religious liberty, and
to promote an enlightened toleration, than this distinguished
philosopher. The recent memorials of his life, from the pen
of his noble descendant, Lord King, show him to have been in
principle a firmer dissenter than is generally supposed ; and
the bold stand he made against the bigotry of the times, might
well cause his death to be lamented. There are three poems in
the Lyrics, entitled "To John Locke retired from Business;"
" On Mr. Locke's dangerous illness some time after he had
retired to study the Scriptures ;" and " On Mr. Locke's An
notations upon several parts of the New Testament left behind
him at his death." To this latter production there is the fol
lowing note appended : " Mr. Locke's annotations on Rom.
iii. 25, and paraphrase on Rom. ix. 5, have inclined some
readers to doubt whether he believed the deity and satisfaction
of Christ. Therefore, in the fourth stanza, I invoke Charity,
that by her help I may find him out in heaven, since his
notes on 2 Cor. v. ult. and some other places, give me reason
to believe he was no Socinian, though he has darkened the
glory of the gospel and debased Christianity."* The lines,
for which these words seem apologetical, commence
" Sister of Faith, fair Charity,
Show me the wondrous man on high,
Tell how he sees the Godhead, 'Three in One.' "
The latitudinarian tendency of Locke's creed is evident from
the paper entitled " Adversaria Theologica ;" a decided lean
ing to the Arian school appears in some of his other works ;
* Hor. Lyr. lib. ii.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 211
but the above notices of him are interesting, as they plainly
show, that the writer's own theological sentiments betrayed
as yet no tinge of the latitudinarianism of him he panegyrised.
"Visited Southton  July, 1705.
" Published my poems,*  Dec. 1705.
"Augt. 1705, Mr. Tho. Rowe, my Tutor dyed.
"Went to Southton. May 18, 1706; returned again with
butt small recruit of health, July 5. Went to Tunbridge
Aug. 8.
" Returned much stronger, Aug. 30.
"Mr.Benoni Rowe, my intimate friend, dyed, April, 1706.f
*See chap. viii.
f Mr. Benoni Rowe was the younger brother of Mr. Watts's tutor, and pastor of
the independent church in Fetter- Lane. He is described as possessing "an accu
rate judgment, and a. considerable stock of useful learning, to which he joined
excellent talents for preaching, and a most lively and engaging conversation."
Life of Mrs. Rowe, p. 7. He was the father of the husband of the justly cele
brated Mrs. Eliz. Rowe. Mr. Watts is wrong as to the date of his death, which
took place on the 30th of March, 1706. The family vault of the Rowe's in Bun-
hill fields, has the following inscription :
" Here lyeth the body of
JOHN ROWE,
Sometime Preacher in the Abbey of Westminster,
Who died, October, xii.
in the 52nd year of his age,
Anno, 1677.
Near this tomb
Lies the body of the late learned and pious
MR. THEOPHILUS GALE.
Under this stone is the body of
MR. THOMAS ROWE,
The eldest son of Mr. John Rowe,
Late Minister of the Gospel in London.
He departed this life the xviii. day of August,
In the year of our Lord 1705,
In the 49th year of his age.
Here also lies the body of
MR. BENONI ROWE,
Minister of the Gospel in London,
Who departed this life the 30th day of March,
In the year of our Lord 1706,
In the 49th year of his age."

212 LIFE AND TIMES
" Bro. Thomas marry'd, May 9th, 1706.
"Union of Eng. and Scot. May 1, 1707."*
The union of the two kingdoms here referred to, was an
event in which the dissenters were deeply interested : they
regarded it as necessary to secure to the crown the protestant
succession, and to the country in general the reformed inte
rest. Their services were frequently employed by the ministry,
in carrying this much-opposed project; aud Mr. Shute, after
wards Lord Viscount Barrington, a name which will frequent
ly occur in the following pages, was sent as the representative
of the English dissenters into Scotland to negociale. De Foe,
another nonconformist, was also employed in furthering the
scheme ;t, and a slight acquaintance With the, history of the
union is sufficient to show, that but for the efficient support of
the body, the measures of the government would have sus
tained a temporary defeat. The ministers of the three deno
minations went up with a congratulatory address to the queen,
and the event was celebrated by a public and general thanks
giving. Early in the year 1707, Mr. Watts printed an " Essay
against Uncharitableness, wherein the secret springs of that
Vice are traced, and the Mischievous Effects of it briefly
surveyed; written to expose that most Unchristian Iniquity
of Censures, Church-Anathemas, on the account of smaller
disputables in Christianity."]; " Publisht Essay against
Uncharitableness, April, 1707."§ But one edition of this
piece was published, though a reprint was often called for:
it was soon after incorporated in a larger work, entitled,
* Watts's MS.
f De Foe was the author of many appeals to the nation upon this suhject, and
illustrated the advantages of a union in a tract founded upon the well-known
northern proverb : "If Skiddaw hath a cap,
Scruffel wotts full well of that."
J Works, vol. ii. pp. 506— 529. Leeds edit. 8vo. § Watts's MS.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 213
" Orthodoxy and Charity united." The benevolent mind
of the writer witnessed with pain the dissentions that occurred
among those who held the cardinal truths of Christianity;
dissentions about the external ritual of devotion, vestures,
ceremonies, forms of prayer, and the various points which
separated the dissenters from the hierarchy ; and he ardently
wished to see them again united, if not within the pale of an
establishment, at least in charitable sentiments and practices
towards each other. It would have been well for the cause
of religion, had all nonconformists and churchmen partook of
this kindly feeling, overlooked their little differences and
petty jealousies, and been as united in effort as they were
zealous in exertion ; but, unhappily, the spirit of party was
allowed to predominate, and the momentous interests of the
truth were too often sacrificed to sectarian bigotry on the one
hand, and priestly intolerance on the other.
Tantaene animis coElestibus irae ?
By orthodoxy the author understands all those doctrines
which were generally received and professed by protestants at
the Reformation ; and he advocates the extension of a
fraternal love towards all those who agree here, however
widely in other respects they may differ. The page of
ecclesiastical history exhibits a dark record of the evils of
intolerance; the eastern and western churches alternately
anathematised each other; awful delinquencies in practice
were venial, when compared with circumstantial differences
in opinion; and the sword, the argument which bigotry
always employs when practicable, was drenched in blood, to
enforce a uniformity in every punctilio of faith and observance.
The same spirit, though in a modified degree, degrades the
annals of protestant Christendom ; a rail in the sanctuary, a
robe over the priest, or a table position at the communion,
has frequently engendered irreconcileable animosity; and he
who could not interpret the word "church" with the episco
palian as a diocese, or with the independent as a company of

214 LIFE AND TIMES
faithful men, or with the presbyterian as a consistory of elders,
has been cast off as a novice in theology, and a heretic in
religion. Cicero notices and brands this wretched excliision-
ism, "vestra solum legitis, vestra amatis, cseteros causa
incognita condemnatis."* In the reign of Queen Anne,
when Mr. Watts published his essay, this spirit especially
characterised the high-church party ; and the object of their
greatest ambition seemed to be, to cripple the energies and
destroy the usefulness of the dissenters. It was a significant
reproof which Tillotson gave to Beveridge, who scrupled to
read the brief for the relief of the French protestants, as
contrary to the rubric : " Doctor, doctor, charity is above
rubrics."t "Went to Southton. July; returned July. Went to
Tunbridge, Aug.; returned Sept. 3.
"All this year my health has been increasing.
" Published my Hymns and Spll. Songs, July, 1707.$
" Overturned in a coach without hurt, Oct. 5, 1707."§
In the autumn of this year, Mr. Watts printed a sermon
preached at Salter's Hall, before the societies for the reforma
tion of manners in the cities of London and Westminster.
"Preached a Reformation Sermo. and printed it, Oct. 6,
1707."|| These societies were established in the year 1692,
under the patronage of William III., and were conducted
by both dissenters and churchmen. They were intended to
check the dissolute morals of the people ; to abolish the
houses of ill fame that swarmed in the metropolis ; to provide
for the instruction of ignorant and vagrant children ; and to
procure a more decorous observance of the sabbath. The taste
of the a°-e is thus described by a keen and accurate observer
of the times : " One man reads Milton, forty Rochester."
* " De Nat. Deorum." f Birch's Life of Tillotson, p. 131. "J See chap. viii.
5 Watts's MS. || Watts's MS. Woiks, vol. i. pp.625— 641. Leeds edit. 8vo.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 215
The publication of the Book of Sports, by James I., and
the patronage extended to it by his unfortunate son, opened
the flood-gates of vice and irreligion ; and, after the Restora
tion, the licentiousness in which the court of Charles II.
indulged, to show their contempt of fanatical strictness and
puritanical precision, lowered the national character, and led
the people, influenced by the example of their superiors, into
the grossest sensuality and crime. It was not until after the
Revolution that any attempt was made by the religious
public to stem the torrent of profligacy ; for the nonconform
ists, insecure and oppressed in the exercise of their own
religion, could only mourn in secret over the evils of the
times. The example and influence of Queen Mary gave rise
to the first attempts to reform the nation ; in consequence of
an address from the commons in 1698, a proclamation was
issued for preventing and punishing immorality and profane
ness, and an act of parliament was passed to the same effect.*
Mr. Watts bears his testimony respecting the vicious lives of
his countrymen; and represents it as become a common pro
verb abroad, " he swears like a Briton ; he is as drunk as an
Englishman; as lewd and profane as a Londoner." The
reformation societies were certainly, from the testimony of
contemporary historians, instrumental in effecting much good ;
many of the asylums of vice, by their means, were broken up ;
and a striking improvement in the public morals was soon
visible. "England," says a writer in the year 1706, " bad as
she is, is yet a reforming nation. Let any man look back to
the days of King Charles II., when rampant vice overran the
court, when all sort of lewdness spread over the face of
authority. Let him view the example of the late royal pair;
let him look into the examples now reigning, and tell me.
Is it nothing to dethrone the devil and depose his agents?
To disarm the factors of hell, and banish rampant vice?"f
•Tindal, iii. 374.
f De Foe, Review, iii. 613, 614. This imprudent man, but acute observer,

216 LIFE AND TIMES
The sermon by Mr. Watts is founded upon an historical
passage : Aaron and Hur holding up the hands of Moses
when interceding in behalf of Israel against Amalek; from
which he infers the duty of the ministry and the community
at large, to assist and support the magistracy in a righteous
administration of the laws .*
An extravagant delusion agitated the nation, and especially
the religious world, about this period, introduced by some
French emigrants, who pretended to possess the miraculous
gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to be the founders of a new dis
pensation of religion. The power of working miracles, and
the gift of prophecy, they advanced as the credentials of their
divine mission. " This fancy," says Calamy,f " had been at
work in France, in 1703, and many fell in with it. An at
tempt was made to relieve and recruit, assist and supply,
those that were in this way of thinking, when our English
fleet went into the Mediterranean, under the command of
Sir Cloudesley Shovel, in 1704. These people in France were
remarks: " I must note, and I am sure I do it with a great deal of justice, that, in
the first two years of her majesty's reign (Anne), when the high-flying party had
the ascendant over our councils, the kingdom of crime began, and May-poles and
play-houses grew up like churches at the Reformation. This gives ground to the
story of an old woman, who, having seen the music and dancing about one of their
new May-poles on a Sunday, and remembering the blessed time when the sabbath
used to be kept in that manner by authority, broke out into this most pious ejacu
lation about it : ' Good Lord, here's the old religion come again ." "
* " An account of the Societies, &c. with a Persuasive to persons of all ranks to
be diligent and zealous in promoting the execution of the Laws against profaneness
and debauchery, &c. 1699, 8vo."
" An Account of the progress Of the Reformation of Manners in England, Scot
land and Ireland, and other parts of Europe and America, 1 704, 4to."
The dissenters took a lively interest in the welfare of these societies, as the
following imperfect list of published sermons, preached in their behalf by their
ministers will show: 1697, John Howe, John Shower; 1698, Dr. Williams, Mr.
Spademan; 1699, Dr. Calamy, Thos. Reynolds, Dr. Oldfield, Robert Fleming;
* 1700, Danl. Mayo, Timothy Rogers; 1701, Mr. Silvester; 1702, Dr. Harris;
1703, Mr. Tong; 1705, Dr. Grosvenor; 1706, Mr. Billingsley; 1707, Dr. Evans,
Mr. Watts; 1708, Mr. Bradbury ; 1709, Mr. John Newman; 1711, Mr. Matthew
Clarke; 1713, Mr. Jer. Smith; 1715, Dr. Wright; 1716, Dr. Jer. Hunt; 1719,
Mr. S. Rosewell.
fCal. Life, ii.- 71, 72, 73.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 217
called Camisars, and strange and incredible stories were spread
abroad concerning them. They were very fond of prophetical
impulses, and abounded among the new converts in the Ce-
vennes, and about Nismes and Usez, and in all those parts.
It was reported they were there guilty of gieat irregularities.
They were vehemently opposed and run down, and at length
suppressed by the Mareschals Montrevel and Villars. Some
of them coming into England in 1706, with great vigour and
earnestness endeavoured to spread their notions here, where
they were but too well entertained. Their common cry
among us was, that this new prophetic dispensation was to
be proclaimed in every nation under heaven, beginning in
England, and to be manifest over the whole earth within the
short term of three years." One of the principal leaders of
these enthusiasts was Mons. Nicholas Fatio Duilier, a Swiss,
spoken of by Burnet as an incomparable philosopher and
mathematician.* This learned fanatic had been professor of
mathematics at Geneva ; he was honoured with the friendship
and correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton ; but upon his arrival
in England, he associated with his scientific pursuits the
office of secretary to the Gallic school of prophecy. The other
abettors of the novel faith, were Maximilian Misson, Elias
Marion, and John D'Ande, all of whom were prosecuted by
the government, for disturbing the public tranquillity. Fatio
was sentenced to pay a fine of fifty marks, to stand in the
pillory at Charing-cross, with the following inscription affixed
to his hat : " Nicholas Fatio convicted for abetting and fa
vouring Elias Marion, in his wicked and counterfeit prophe-

* Mons. Fatio was born in 1662; he resided at Utrecht as a tutor to two young
gentlemen, Mr. Ellys and Thornton, during Dr. Calamy's residence there as a
student. He was generally reputed a Spinozist; and Bishop Burnet says of him,
" at twenty-two he was one of the greatest men of his age, and seemed to be born
to carry learning some sizes beyond what it had yet attained." After his prose
cution he retired to Worcester, where he died in 1753, upwards of ninety years old,
to the last believing in the inspiration of the prophets.
P

218 LIFE AND TIMES
cies, and causing them to be printed and published to terrify
the queen's people."*
" This year ye French prophetts made a great noise in our
nation, and drew in Mr. Lacy, Sir R. Bulkley, &c. 200 or
more had ye agitations, 40 had ye inspiration. Proved a
delusion of Satan at Birmingham, Feb. 3 or 4, 1707 — 8."f
Sir Richard Bulkeley, here mentioned, was a gentleman of
considerable wealth and learning, which he employed in dis
seminating the notions of the Gallic prophets. Being de
formed in person, he fully expected under the new dispensa
tion to be made straight in a miraculous way ; an event which,
to his no small mortification and disappointment, did not occur
before his death. He wrote in vindication of his party, and
was answered by Calamy and Hoadley.J Mr. Lacy was a
member of Dr. Calamy's own congregation at Westminster ;
his alliance with the enthusiasts led him to the most guilty
excesses, and he terminated his career of infatuation a grace
less debauchee. After abandoning a faithful wife and a nu
merous family, he connected himself with one of the inspired
sisters, a woman in low life, which he blasphemously repre
sented as quitting Hagar, and betaking himself to Sarah, by
order of the Spirit.§ The whole imposture soon afterwards
sunk into desuetude ; for, the prophets having declared that
* Annals of Queen Anne's Reign, vol. vi. 371. f Watts's MS.
X Calamy's "Caveat against the New Prophets, with a single sheet in answer to
Sir Richard Bulkley's Remarks on the same. 1708."
Hoadley's " Brief Vindication of the Ancient Prophets, from the imputations and
misrepresentations, &c. in a Letter to Sir Richard Bulkley, Bart. 1709."
§ Dr. Calamy gives us a curious account of the pretended "inspirations" and
"agitations" of this licentious knave: "I went into the room where he sat, and
walked up to him, and asked how he did, and took him by the hand and lifted it
up, and it fell down flat upon his knees as it lay before. He took no notice of me,
nor made me any answer; but I observed the humming noise grew louder by
degrees, and the heaving in his breast increased, till it came up to his throat, as if
it would have suffocated him. Then he at last proceeded to speak, or as he would
have it taken, the Spirit spake iu him. The speech was syllabical, and there was

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 219
one of their followers would rise from the dead on a specified
day, to confirm the truth of their pretensions, the non-fulfil
ment of the prediction convinced the most credulous of the
jugglery of which they had been the dupes. " May 25, 1708.
The Prophetts disappointed by Mr. Emms not rising fro. the
dead."* As the day fixed upon for the resuscitation of Dr.
Emms approached, so much excitement prevailed that guards
were stationed near the place of his burial, to suppress tumult
and to prevent imposture ; but the doctor slept soundly
enough in his grave, and another instance was thus added to
the tens of thousands already inscribed on the records of hu
man folly, how liable man is to err, how powerful Satan is to
deceive. " Sister Sarah marryed, Feb. 1707 — 8.
" Pretender's invasion disappointed, March, 1708.f
" Went to Southto. and afterwards to Tunb. Aug. 2, 1708.
"Removed our meeting-place to Bury-Street, Sept. 29,
1708."J
a distinct heave and breathe between each syllable ; but it required attention to
distinguish the words. I shall here add it, as far as my memory serves :
"'Thou — hast — been — my — faith-ful — ser-vant; — and — I — have — hon-our-ed
thee: — But — I — do — not — take — it — well — that — thou — slightest — and —
op-pos-est — my — ser-vants — and — mes-sen-gers. — If — thou — wil t — fall — in
— with — these — my — ser-vants, — thou — shalt — do — great — things — in —
this — dis-pen-sa-tion; — and — I — will — use — thee — as — a — glo-ri ous — in
strument — to — my — praise ; — and — I — will — take — care — of — thee — and
thine : — but — if — thou — go-est — on — to — op-pose — my — ser-vants, — thou
— wilt — fall — un-der — my — severe — dis-plea-sure.'
"When the speech was overvthe humming and heaving gradually abated. I
again asked him how he did. After some time he rose up, shook himself, and
rubbed his eyes, like one just awaked out of sleep." Life, ii. 98.
* Watts's MS.
f Admiral Fonrbin appeared off the Firth of Forth, at the head of a French
fleet and army ; but finding an English squadron ready to receive him, he steered
northward in order to effect a landing. His attempt was defeated by a violent
tempest, which scattered the fleet ; so that he returned to Dunkirk from whence he
embarked, with the loss of several ships, and upwards of four thousand men. The
unfortunate and unjustly-suspected Lord Belhaven was arrested upon this occasion
by the government, and died soon after his liberation on bail.
J Watts's MS.

220 LIFE AND TIMES
Duke's Place, Bury Street, St. Mary Axe, the site of Mr.
Watts's meeting-house, was occupied previous to the Reforma
tion by the Priory of the Holy Trinity, one of the most cele
brated of the metropolitan ecclesiastical establishments* Its
founder was Matilda, queen of Henry I, who at the instiga
tion of Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, and Beaumeis,
bishop of London, conferred upon it many important privi
leges. The prior was always alderman of Portsoken-Ward,
but generally appointed a substitute for the transaction of
temporal matters. At the dissolution of the monasteries, this
priory was among the first that were seized by Henry, on
account of its riches, who gave it to Sir Thomas Audley, the
then speaker of the house of commons, and afterwards lord
chancellor. He erected a noble mansion on its site, and resi
ded in it until his death, when it descended to the Howard
family, by the marriage of his daughter with the Duke of
Norfolk, which gave to the locality the name of Duke's
Place. Sir Francis Walsingham, Sir Thomas Wyat, and the
Earl of Northumberland, had also houses in this neighbour
hood, as well as the abbots of Bury, from whom Bury Street
derived its name. In the time of Oliver Cromwell, the Jews,
who now form its principal inhabitants, first settled in the
district. The meeting-house built here for Mr. Watts's con
gregation, which still exists, is a substantial square building,
with three galleries of considerable dimensions. Like most
of the old dissenting chapels, the situation it occupies is cer
tainly an ineligible one; but the difficulty of finding a favour
able site in a crowded metropolis, and the necessity of retreat
ing as much as possible from the inquisitorial eye of prowling
informers, may account for the obscure recesses in which the
fathers of nonconformity erected their homely sanctuaries.
The expense of the building was not quite £.650 ; a trifling
sum when compared with the cost of the large and elegant
?Wilson's Dissenting Churches, i. 251, quoting Strype's, Maitland's and Pen
nant's Histories of London.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 221
structures of more recent date. The original contract was
with a Mr. Charles Great, who leased a part of his garden,
viz. forty feet front, and fifty feet in depth, for a term of fifty
years, at. a ground rent of twenty pounds per annum. The
chapel was opened by Mr. Bradbury, Oct. 3rd, and Mr.
Watts's people were succeeded in the afternoon at Pinner's
Hall, by a Baptist congregation under the care of Mr. J.
Maisters. "Terrible long snowy winter, 1708 — 9.
" Went to Southton. June — Tunbridg. Aug. 1709.
"Bro. R. came to settle in Londo. Oct. 7, 1709.
" Edward Hitchin, my servant, went away Dec. 31.
"March 1, 1709 — 10. The mob rose and pulled down
the pews and galleries of 6 meeting-houses, viz. Mr. Burgess,
Mr. Bradbury, Mr. Earle, Mr. Wright, Mr. Hamilton, and
Mr. Ch. Taylor, but were dispersed by the guards under
Capt. Horsey at 1 or 2 in ye morning."*
These riots were occasioned by the impeachment of that
politico-religious incendiary Dr. Sacheverel, and occurred on
the second evening of his trial. The toleration of the dissen
ters was a continual source of vexation to this high churchman
and his party ; and in the pulpit of St. Paul's he gave vent to
his displeasure against the government in a seditious sermon,
for which he was prosecuted. But this ill-judged proceeding
only brought him into public notice, and invested a contempt
ible zealot with a martyr's sanctity. So excited were the po
pulace in his favour, that they accompanied him from the
Temple to Westminster Hall and back on each day of his
trial, extolling his zeal for the church, and vociferating their
hatred to dissent. The evening in question was illuminated
with bon-fires, made of the pews and pulpits of demolished
meeting-houses, the mob shouting " High Church and Dr.
Sacheverel for ever !" Mr. Daniel Burgess and Mr. Bradbury
* Watts's MS.

222 LIFE AND TIMES
were special objects of enmity, and had their persons and
dwelling-houses threatened. The populace in several parts of
the country sympathised with the metropolitan mobs in these
violent proceedings ; and at Wrexham Dr. Daniel Williams,
Mr. Burgess, and the celebrated Hoadley, were buried, burnt,
and drowned in effigy.*
" I bought a horse for my health, Apll, 1710.
" I rode down to Southton. and back again, June ; and,
according to ye account I kept, I rode above 800 miles from
April 10 to Sept. 28.
" I removed from Mr. Hollis's, and wept to live with Mr.
Bowes, Dec. 30 ; and John Merchant, my servt. came to me.
"Mr. Arthur Shallot sen. dyed, 4th Feb. 1710-11; and
Mr. Tho. Hunt, merchant, and his wife dyed about the same
time. "Mrs. Ann Pickard dyed Apll. 7, 1711.
" Went to Southto. in June — returned July.
" Went to Tunbridge, Aug. returned, being under a disor
der of my stomach and freqt. pains of the head. Found some
relief at Tunbr. waters.
* Mr. Hughes, Watts's fellow-student, draws a lively picture of the metropolis at
this time, in a poem entitled, "Hudibras imitated. Written in the year 1710."
" O blessed time of reformation,
That's now beginning through the nation,
Black tinkers bawl aloud ' to settle
Church-privilege1 for 'mending kettle;'
The oyster-wenches lock their fish up,
And cry, ' No presbyterian bishop ;'
Some cry for ' penal laws,' instead
Of pudding, pies and ginger-bread;'
And some for ' brooms, old boots and shoes,'
Roar out, ' God bless our commons house ;'
Instead of ' kitchen stuff,' some cry,
' Confound the late whig ministry ;'
Rogues, that, like Falstaff, scarce know whether
A church's inside's stone or leather j
Vet join the parsons and the people,
To cry, ( the church,' but mean ' the steeple.'
"If, holy mother, such you'll own
for vour true sons, and such alone,
Then heaven have mercy upon you,
But the deil take your beastly crew."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 223
"My Lady Hartopp dyed, Nov. 9; and Mrs. Gould, Nov.
15, 1711."*
With this extract the private memoranda of Mr. Watts
closes ; and it must ever remain a subject of deep regret, that
he has left us nothing further from his own pen, relative to his
personal history and public labours. Of Lady Hartopp and
Mrs. Gould we have already spoken : the other individuals
whose decease is here noticed, were among Mr. Watts's reli
gious associates and friends. Mr. Arthur Shallot had the
honour to be one of the founders of the first English charity
school in the year 1687 ; he was a member of the presbyterian
church in St. Thomas's Southwark, under the care of Mr.
Nathaniel Vincent, and was much beloved for his zeal and
liberality. In connexion with Messrs. Samuel Warburton
and Ferdinand Holland, members of the same church with
himself, he erected a meeting-house in Zoar Street, which
was occupied by a presbyterian congregation from the year
1687 to 1740. This place, which usually went by the name
of Shallot's Meeting, was afterwards let to a seceder from
Mr. Wesley's connexion,t and since his death, in 1756, it has
been converted into a warehouse. To Mr. Shallot Watts
inscribed an elegy to the memory of Mr. Thos. Gouge,! the
minister of the Three Cranes' meeting, whom he highly
esteemed and reverenced. It may not be out of place to
introduce here an observation relative to this distinguished
man, made in conversation with Dr. Gibbons: — "The great
est preachers," he remarked, "in my younger time, were Mr.
John Howe,§ and Mr. Thomas Gouge,|| whose strength lay
? Watts's MS. f Wesley's Journals, ii. p. 30. + Hora? Lyr. lib. iii.
§ Mr. Howe has a niche in the Lyric temple:
" Great man, permit the mnse to climb,
And seat her at thy feet," &c. Lib. ii.
|| This Mr. Gouge must not be confounded with the ejected minister of St.
Sepulchres of the same name. He was first pastor at Amsterdam; then at the
Three Cranes, from about the Revolution to the year 1700, when he died.

224 LIFE AND TIMES
in the illustration of scripture; Mr. Stennet* was, in his
preaching, like a silver stream, which runs along without bush
or stones to interrupt it." Mrs. Pickard was the wife of
Mr. Thos. Pickard, a member and probably a deacon of the
church in Bury Street. It was for this gentleman that the
funeral sermon was preached, which is inserted at the close
of this volume. The following inscription in Cheshunt
church, against the south wall, relative to his son, was com
posed by Mr. Watts : " In memory of
THOMAS PICKARD,
citizen of London, who dy'd suddenly,
Jan. 29, A.D. 1719-20,
setat. 50.
" A soul prepar'd needs no delays,
The summons come, the saint obeys :
Swift was his flight and short the road,
He clos'd his eyes, and saw his God.
The flesh rests here till Jesus come,
And claims the treasure from the tomb."
Underneath this has been added at a subsequent period :
" In memory also of
Sarah Pickard, of Theobalds,
widow and relict of the above-mentioned
Thomas Pickard, and daughter of
Sir Robert Jocelyn, of Hyde Hall,
in this county, Bart. ;
She dyed the 23 of June, 1759, aged 86,
full of piety as well as days."
* Mr. Stennet was minister of a Sabbatarian congregation in Devonshire Square ;
he was the grandfather of Dr. Samuel Stennet.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 225

"TO SARAH AND MARY WATTS*
" Dear Sisters,
" Read the love of my heart in the first line of my
letter and believe it. I am much concerned to hear of my
mother's continued weakness. We take our share in these
painful disorders of nature, which afflict her whom we honour
and love. I know also that your hurries of business must be
more than doubled thereby ; but we are daily leaving care
and sin behind us. The past temptations shall vex us no
more : the months which are gone return not, and the sor
rows which we hourly feel lessen the decreed number. Every
pulse beats a moment of pain away, and thus by degrees we
arrive nearer to the sweet period of life and bliss.
"Bear up, my dear ones, through the ruffling storms
Of a vain vexing world, tread down the cares,
Those ragged thorns which lie across the road,
Nor spend a tear upon them. Trust me, Sisters,
The dew of eyes will make the briers grow ;
Nor let the distant phantom of delight
Too Ioug allure your gaze, or swell yom- hope
To dangerous size. If it approach your feet,
And court your band, forbid th' intruding joy
To sit too near your heart. Still may our souls
Claim kindred with the skies, nor mix with dust
Our better-born affections, leave the globe
A nest for worms, aud hasten to our home.
" O, there are gardens of th' immortal kind,
Which crown the heavenly Eden's rising hills
With beauty and with sweets. No lurking mischief
Dwells in the fruit, nor serpent twines the boughs;
The branches bend laden with life and bliss
Ripe for the taste, but 'tis a steep ascent;
Hold fast the golden chainf let down from heav'n,
* This letter, greatly enlarged, is inserted in the Lyrics. It is addressed to Sarissa,
his sister Sarah, probably after the death of his sister Mary.
t The gospel.

226 LIFE AND TIMES
'Twill help your feet and wings. 1 feel its force
Draw upward : fastened to the heavenly gate,
It guides the way unerring. Happy clue
Through this dark wild! 'Twas wisdom's noblest work,
All join'd by pow'r divine, and every link is love.
" Sisters, "Accept the sudden rapture kindly. The muse is
not awake every day. If she has a moment's release from the
lethargy, see, 'tis devoted to serve and please you.  &c.
"June 15, 1704."
"TO HENRY BENDISH, ESQ.
" With some verses upon his marriage.
"Aug. 24, 1705.
" Dear Sir,
" The following song was yours when first composed ;*
the muse then described the general fate of mankind, that is,
lo be ill matched ; and now she rejoices that you have escaped
the common mischief, and that your soul has found its own
mate. Let this ode, then, congratulate you both. Grow
mutually in more complete likeness and love ; persevere and
be happy.
"I persuade myself you will accept from the press what
the pen more privately inscribed to you long ago ; and I am
in no pain lest you should take offence at the fabulous dress
of this poem ; nor would weaker minds be scandalised at it, if
they would give themselves leave to reflect how many divine
truths are spoken by the holy writers in visions and images,
parables and dreams; nor are my wiser friends ashamed to
defend it, since the narrative is grave, and the moral so just
and obvious. "ISAAC WATTS."
*The Indian Philosopher, Lyrics, lib. ii.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 227

" TO THE REV. JOHN SHOWER*
" With an elegy upon the death of his daughter, Mrs. Anne Warner, who died of
the small-pox, Dec. 18, 1707, at one of the clock in the morning, a few days
after the birth and death of her first child.
" Reverend and dear Sir,
" How great soever was my sense of your loss, yet I
did not think myself fit to offer any lines of comfort : your own
meditations can furnish you with many a delightful truth in
the midst of so heavy a sorrow ; for the covenant of grace has
brightness enough in it to gild the most gloomy providence;
and to that sweet covenant your soul is no stranger. My
own thoughts were much impressed with the tidings of
your daughter's death ; and though I made many a reflection
on the vanity of mankind in its best estate, yet I must ac
knowledge that my temper leads me most to the pleasant scenes
of heaven, and that future world of blessedness. When I
recollect the memory of my friends that are dead, I frequently
rove into the world of spirits, and search them out there : thus
I endeavoured to trace Mrs. Warner; and these thoughts
crowding fast upon me, I set them down for my own enter
tainment. The verse breaks off abruptly, because I had no
design to write a finished elegy ; and, besides, when I was
fallen upon the dark side of death, I had no mind to tarry
there. If the lines I have written be so happy as to entertain
you a little, and divert your grief, the time spent in composing
* First pastor ofthe church in the Old Jewry, now lapsed into Socinianism. He
was born at Exeter, and educated at Newington Green under Mr. Morton. His first
sermon was preached in Mr. Vincent's meeting-house in Hand-alley, from Psalm,
cxix. 30 : "I have chosen tbe way o f truth." He travelled abroad with Sir Samuel
Bamardiston, and at Geneva contracted an intimacy with the learned Turretin the
younger. Mr. Shower afterwards resided at Utrecht and Rotterdam, owing to the
persecution of the dissenters, with Mr. Howe, Mr. N. Taylor, Sir Patience Ward,
and M. Papillon. He settled in England soon after the Revolution, and died be
loved and respected, June 28, 1715.

228 LIFE AND TIMES
them shall not be reckoned among my lost hours, and the re
view will be more pleasing to,
" Sir,
" Your affectionate humble Servant, " I. WATTS.
" Decern. 22, 1707."
" TO THE REV. SAMUEL SAY* "Dec. 23, 1708.
" My dear friend,
" Whether I have written to you since I received
youis at Tunbridge I know not; for that I now thank you,
yet I imagine that I have already thanked you, and that you
are in my debt. I believe with you, that Mr. H.'s insisting so
much on the duties of morality, and pressing them upon the
motive of Christ's example above and beyond all other mo
tives, has been a reason why some persons have suspected him
of Socinianizing, though he has several times, in the pulpit
and in converse, exprest his sentiments very plainly opposite to
Socinus in the great points of controversy. I wish he had
always done it, and talked with caution in all places on those
subjects. He has raised many scruples among many persons ;
but I quash them wherever I find them. Now, my dear friend,
I would lay aside all thought of Mr. H. in what follows. Let
me inquire of you, whether you imagine the great and glorious
doctrines of the gospel were all contrived, and the affairs them
selves transacted, merely to subserve a little morality ; whe
ther our great Lord Jesus Christ was incarnate and died, rose
and lives, and gave such a gospel, chiefly that we might be
just and kind to our neighbours (for those two thingsinclude
all moral duties), or rather, whether the honour of the wisdom,
grace, and justice of God, the glory of his Son Jesus Christ,
* Mr. Say was now at Lowestoft near Yarmouth.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 229
and the eternal enjoyment of his own love, which his chosen
ones obtain thereby, be not far the greater ends of God's con
triving the gospel, and sending it among men ; and, conse
quently, whether these ought not to be insisted on in our
preaching at least as much as morality. You know me and
my way, therefore I talk to you with freedom, and would
have the very sense of your soul on this subject. I could
quote St. Paul largely for this purpose, but you know his
spirit ; morality was not the chief ornament of it.
" My bookseller urges me to reprint my Hymns, and talks
of another edition of the Poems. I earnestly beg you to point
me those lines in either which are offensive to the weak and
pious, and shocking and disgustful to the polite, or obscure to
the vulgar capacity, or, in short, whatever you think should
be mended, and if you please with your amendment ; but I
entreat it especially for the Hymns in a fortnight's time.
Farewell, and love " Your affectionate Brother
" in the gospel, " I. WATTS."
TO THE SAME. "March 12, 1709.
" My dear friend,
" Your two letters require a larger answer than I
can now give, but I am ashamed of so long delay. I send
you my thanks for those few remarks you were pleased to
make on my Hymns. I easily believe a longer review of
them would have afforded more numerous and more obvious
grounds of friendly censure. The method I took was, to col
lect all the remarks together, that several friends had made by
word or letter, and got a friend or two together, and spent a
whole day in perusing and considering the remarks ; I agreed

230 LIFE AND TIMES
to their judgments I think in all things ; in the whole, there
are near half a hundred lines altered, I hope always for the
better. Some that were less offensive were let pass ; for the
bookseller "desired I would not change too much; besides
that lesser faults would not be spied by the vulgar, nor much
offend the polite. But I have added above a hundred, and
most of them to the First Book. I hope all now more ap-
provable, for their chief design, than the foregoing edition.
The printer, by the cold weather, and by working off a sup
plement of the New Hymns apart, has been made so dilatory,
that he has not yet printed all the First Book. If, therefore,
you see lines that are very unfit for Christian use, or evident
ly improper, or disagreeable to you in the Second or Third
Books, point them out to me in a week or two, and oblige me
further. " I rejoice, dear brother, when I find you concurring with
me in the great ends of Christianity, (viz.) the glory of God's
perfections, as being much superior and infinitely preferable
to our single or social human virtues and relative duties in
this mortal mixed state. When I used the words (mere mo
rality) I confined them to this sense, though I know the word
moral has a larger extent when applied to the law, &c. But,
vulgarly, we mean by it second table duties. Therefore, we
have differed merely about a word, and I ask your pardon for
the occasion. I am of your mind too, that moral relative
duties, such as justice, goodness, truth, &c. and solitafy —
such as sobriety, temperance, &c. should be insisted on, and
well intermingled with the diviner part of the gospel. It is a
just remark, that a minister in the country knows the moral
character of his hearers much better than in the city : per
haps we should have more reason to be large upon the second
table, did we see so much neglect here as you do there.
" I have received no notice from Mr. Lewis about what
you wrote; but I am utterly precluded long ago from serving
any friend, having a near relation, for whom I have engaged

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 231

Mr. Shute's interest, whenever any such kind of place falls ;
and I believe Mr. Shute will oblige me. Farewell, dear
friend, tell me when you design this way. Last week your
mother and family were well.
" I am yours affectionately, " I. WATTS."
TO THE SAME* "London, Nov. 1, 1709.
" Dear Sir,
" 'Twas at Tunbridge Wells I received your letter,
with the account of Mr. Ward's ordination at Woodbridge.
Just now I read a large narrative, by letter, of Mr. Scott's ordi
nation to his church. Your remarks on two or three heads
give me occasion for the same.
" You speak of yourself and the rest of your order as wanting
a name. I think you are ministers of Christ, and ordinary
eyangelists. A person whose gifts have been approved by a
church of Christ, and its elders, who devotes himself solemnly
and publicly to the work of the gospel, who is thereupon sent
forth to preach by the elders and brethren of a church, with
a word of exhortation and prayer, is, in my opinion, a minis
ter of the gospel, and has not only authority to preach, but
also to baptize. The Lord's supper being an ordinance of
communion with one another, &c. seems to require a more
particular union and relation to a single church : but if any
are otherwise minded, I shall not be angry with 'em. Note,
if there are no elders in a church which sends forth a minister,
it is (at least) prudentially necessary to have the approbation
and assistance of neighbouring elders, if such can be had.
But I can't tell how to make any thing necessary to consti-
* It appears from this Letter, that Mr. Say had not yet been ordained over any
particular church.

232 LIFE AND TIMES
tute a minister that involves a necessity of succession from
the apostles' days.
" The laying on of hands can never be proved from scrip
ture to be an essential requisite to ordination that I can find,
nor that an office is thereby ordinarily conveyed ; but it has
been a sign in use in all ages, agreeably to, and derived from,
the nature of things, when a superior has prayed for a blessing
on an inferior, or when any thing has been devoted to sacred
use; I could use it, therefore, on all such occasions, with
great freedom, or omit it, according as might be most agree
able to the church where I minister; and if I were to be
removed by providence twenty times, I could submit so often
to the imposition of hands.
" I hear you were at Mr. Scott's public ordination ; I hope
all things will succeed well there, and that God will give him
prudence to conduct his affairs with success to the gospel,
honour to God, and good to souls.
" I shall be glad to hear of your ministry being blest sensi
bly for conversion. I hope you health : mine is as usual, my
head capable of very little study ; and I'm like to be deprived
of assistance, Mr. Hollis being not willing to keep any servant
for me in the house, having been, in some instances, a little
incommoded by my servant. I owe you a Book of Hymns,
if you can tell me how to convey it. Let me hear from you
ere long. "I am yours, "i. WATTS."
FROM MR. SECKER, AFTERWARDS DR. SECKER, ARCH
BISHOP OF CANTERBURY.* "Gloucester, Nov. 18, 171 J.
"Rev. Sir, " Before I give you an account of the state of our
academy, and those other things you desired me, please to
•This interesting letter was written at the age of nineteen, by Mr. afterwards

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 233
accept of my hearty thanks for that service you have done
me, both in advising me to prosecute my studies in such an
extraordinary place of education, and in procuring me admit
tance into it. I wish my improvements may be answerable
to the advantages I enjoy; but however that may happen,
your kindness has fixed me in a place where I may be very
happy, and spend my time to good purpose, and where, if I
do not, the fault will be all my own.
" I am sensible how difficult it is to give a character of any
person or thing, because the most probable guesses we make
very often prove false ones. But since you are pleased to
desire it, I think myself obliged to give you the best and most
impartial account of matters I can.
" Mr. Jones, then, I take to be a man of real piety, great
learning, and an agreeable temper ; one who is very diligent
in instructing all under his care, very well qualified to give
instructions, and whose well-managed familiarity will always
make him respected.* He is very strict in keeping good
orders, and will effectually preserve his pupils from negligence
and immorality ; and, accordingly, I believe there are not
Dr. Seeker, Bishop of Oxford, aud for several years Archbishop of Canterbury. He
was brought up among the dissenters, and conformed, according to Calamy, in
1721. When elevated to the archiepiscopal dignity, "his friends and dependants,"
says Archdeacon Blackbourne, " thought it necessary to represent, that his con
nexions with the dissenters had been extremely loose and unconfined." Even the
candid Bishop of London, Dr. Porteus, his biographer, asserts that he never com
municated in any dissenting church. There is, however, positive evidence to the
contrary; for the name of "Thomas Seeker" occurs in a list of the members of
Timothy Jollie's church, in whose academy he was for some time a student.
Seeker, moreover, preached a probation sermon to a dissenting congregation at
Bolsover, in Derbyshire. At this time it is related, that, haviug expressed himself
to some ministers in terms strongly declaratory of his ambitious turn of mind :
"Aye," said one of them, "nothing will do for you, Seeker, but conformity."
" No," replied Seeker, with indignation, " conform I never can." From the above
letter, it will be seen that Watts was one of his early patrons.
*It is surely not very creditable to the biographers of Seeker, Dr. Porteus and
TJr. Stinton, that they merely mention his tutor as one Mr. Jones. The man
whose system of instruction is detailed in this letter, and who educated Seeker and
the celebrated Dr. Butler, Bishop of Durham, deserved something more than this
meagre notice. Q

234 LIFE AND TIMES
many academies freer in general from those vices than we
are. In particular, my bed-fellow, Mr. Scott,* is one of
unfeigned religion, and a diligent searcher after truth. His
genteel carriage and agreeable disposition gain him the
esteem of every one. Mr. Griffith is more than ordinary
serious and grave, and improves more in every thing than
one could expect from a man who seems to be not much under
forty; particularly in Greek and Hebrew he has made a
great progress. Mr. Francisf and Mr. Watkins are diligent
in study and truly religious. The elder Mr. Jones,! having
had a better education than they, will, in all probability, make
a great scholar; and his brother is one of quick parts.
" Our Logic, which we have read once over, is so contrived
as to comprehend all Heereboord, and the far greater part of
Mr. Locke's Essay, and the Art of Thinking. What Mr.
Jones dictated to us was but short, containing a clear and
brief account of the matter, references to the places where it
was more fully treated of, and remarks on, or explications of,
the authors cited, when need required. At our next lecture
we gave an account both of what the author quoted and our
tutor said,. who commonly then gave us a large explication of
it, and so proceeded to the next thing in order. He took care,
as far as possible, that we understood the sense as well as
remembered the words of what we had read; and that we

* Afterwards Dr. Daniel Scott, with whom Dr. Gibbons was intimately acquainted.
He was a very learned and amiable man. After he had studied under Mr. Jones,
he removed to Utrecht for further education, where he took the degree of Doctor
of Laws, but never, I believe, entered on the work of the ministry. In the year
1741, he published a new version of St. Matthew's gospel, with critical notes, and
an Examination of Dr. Mills's various readings. He published also in the year
1745, an Appendix to H. Stephens's Greek Lexicon, in two volumes. He dedica
ted them to Dr. Seeker and Dr. Butler, who had been his fellow-students at Mr.
Jones's. f Not improbably Mr. Henry Francis, for some time assistant in London to the
Rev. Mr. John Foxon, and afterwards pastor of the church at Southampton.
X Mr. Jeremiah Jones, the learned author of "Anew and full Method of settling
the Canonical Authority of the New Testament."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 235
should not suffer ourselves to be cheated with obscure terms
which had no meaning. Though he be no great admirer of
the old logic, yet he has taken a great deal of pains both in
explaining and correcting Heereboord, and has, for the most
part, made him intelligible, or shown that he is not so.
"The two Mr. Jones's, Mr. Francis, Mr. Watkins, Mr.
Sheldon, and two more gentlemen, are to begin Jewish an
tiquities* in a short time. -I was designed for one of their
number, but rather chose to read logic once more ; both be
cause I was utterly unacquainted with it when I came to this
place, and because the others having all, except Mr. Francis,
been at other academies, will be obliged to make more haste
than those in a lower class, and consequently cannot have so
good or large accounts of any thing, nor so much time to
study every head. We shall have gone through our course in
about four years' time, which I believe nobody that once
knows Mr. Jones will think too long.
" I began to learn Hebrew as soon as I came hither, and
find myself able now to construe, and give some grammatical
account of, about twenty verses in the easier parts, of the bible
after less than an hour's preparation. We read every day two
verses a-piece in the Hebrew bible, which we turn into
Greek (no one knowing which his verses shall be, though at
first it was otherwise). And this with logic is our morning's
work. " Mr. Jones also began about three months ago some criti
cal lectures, in order to the exposition you advised him to.
The principal things contained in them are about the Anti
quity of the Hebrew Language, Letters, Vowels, the Incor
ruption of the Scriptures, ancient Divisions of the Bible, an
account of the Talmud, Masora, and Cabala. We are at pre
sent upon the Septuagint, and shall proceed after that to the
Targumim, and other versions, &c. Every part is managed
* A neatly written copy of Mr. Jones's Lectures on Jewish Antiquities, in two
volumes 8vo., is preserved in the Red-cross-street Library.

236 LIFE AND TIMES
with abundance of perspicuity, and seldom any material thing
is omitted that other authors have said upon the point, though
very frequently we have useful additions of things which are
not to be found in them. We have scarce been upon any
thing yet, but Mr. Jones has had those writers which are most
valued on that head, to which he always refers us. This is
what we first set about in the afternoon ; which being finish
ed we read a chapter in the Greek Testament, and after that
Mathematics. We have gone through all that is commonly
taught of Algebra and Proportion, with the six first books of
Euclid, which is all Mr. Jones designs for the gentlemen I
mentioned above, but he intends to read something more to
the class that comes after them.
"This is our daily employment, which in the morning
takes up about two hours, and something more in the after
noon. Only on Wednesdays in the morning we read Diony-
sius's Periegesis, on which we have notes mostly geographical,
but with some criticisms intermixed ; and in the afternoon we
have no lecture at all. So on Saturday in the afternoon we
have only a thesis, which none but they who have done with
logic have any concern in. We are also just beginning to
read Isocrates and Terence, each twice a week. On the latter
our tutor will give us some notes which he received in a col
lege from Perizonius.*
" We are obliged to rise at five of the clock every morning,
and to speak Latin always, except when below stairs amongst
the family. The people where we live are very civil, and the
greatest inconvenience we suffer is, that we fill the house ra
ther too much, being sixteen in number besides Mr. Jones.
But I suppose the increase of his academy will oblige him to
remove next spring. We pass our time very agreeably be
twixt study and conversation with our tutor, who is always
ready to discourse freely of any thing that is useful, and al-
* Mr. Jones was educated under Perizonius, in Holland.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 237
lows us either then or at lecture all imaginable liberty of
making objections against his opinion, and prosecuting them
as far as we can. In this and every thing else he shows
himself so much a gentleman, and manifests so great an affec
tion and tenderness for his pupils, as cannot but command
respect and love. I almost forgot to mention our tutor's li
brary, which is composed for the most part of foreign books,
which seem to be very well chosen, and are every day of great
advantage to us.
"Thus I have endeavoured, Sir, to give you an account of
all that I thought material or observable amongst us. As for
my own part, I apply myself with what diligence I can to
every thing which is the subject of our lectures, without pre
ferring one subject before another ; because I see nothing we
are engaged in, but what is either necessary, or extremely
useful for one who would thoroughly understand those things
which most concern him, or be able to explain them well to
others. I hope I have not spent my time, since I came to
this place, without some small improvement both in human
knowledge, and that which is far better ; and I earnestly de
sire the benefit of your prayers, that God would be pleased to
fit me better for his service both in this world and the next.
This, if you please to afford me, and your advice with relation
to study, or whatever else you think convenient, must needs
be extremely useful, as well as agreeable, and shall be thank
fully received by " Your most obliged
" humble servant,
"THOMAS SECKER."

238 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER VIII.
HOR^ LYRKLE. — HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL
SONGS.

REMARKS ON SACRED POETRY.— OPINIONS OF DR. JOHNSON. — "THE
FIRST LYRIC HOUR."— EXTRACT.— CAS1MIRE SARBIEWSKI.— CRITICISMS
OF WATTS UPON HIS POETRY. — TRANSLATION BY MR. HEALD.— THE
" DACIAN BATTLE."— FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS OF THE LYRICS.—
MISTAKE OF TOPLADY.— ALTERATION OF THE 100th PSALM.— HYMNS
TRANSFERRED INTO WESLEY'S COLLECTION.— NOTE TO THE EDI-
TION OF 1763. — CONGRATULATORY POEMS FROM WATTS'S FRIENDS.—
HYMNS. — ACCOUNT OF THEIR COMPOSITION. — PREVALENCE OF
SACRED SONG. — HYMNS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. — BOAT-SONG
ON THE SAONE. — PLINY. — TERTULLIAN. — ORIGEN. — HILARY. —
AMBROSE. — PRUDENTIUS. — CHRYSOSTOM. — MONKISH HYMNS. —
VERSES SUNG IN THE CATHEDRAL OF MANS. — ST. THOMAS
A QUIN AS. — FUNERAL DIRGE. — REFORMATION.— LUTHER.— METRICAL
VERSION OF THE ACTS.— KENN.— WATTS.— FIRST AND SECOND EDI
TIONS.— MONTGOMERY'S REMARKS.-DEFECTS.— MODERN HYMNISTS.
— THE WESLEYS. — CONCLUSION.

"Young man," said Sir Edward King to Watts in early
life, " I hear that you make verses — let me advise you never
to do it, but when you cannot help it." The poverty and
misfortunes which have been proverbially the inheritance of
genius, seem to justify the prudence of this counsel ; and to
intimate that the cultivation of letters ought to be the recrea
tion and not the employment of life, the improvement of lei
sure and not the business of existence. In this light Mr.
Watts always regarded his poetical attempts ; he did not allow
them to interfere with the higher duties of his sacred calling ;
they filled up the hour of relaxation, and cheered the period
of nervous depression, without infringing upon the engage-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 239
ments which were incumbent in the season of health and
strength. The great Milton was descending into the grave,
when the author of the Horae Lyricce was born ; and though
the epic mantle of the dying bard did not fall upon his shoul
ders, it is certain that no one ever more nearly resembled him
in his taste for devotional poetry, and aspirations after
"The fair humanities of old religion,
The power, the beauty, and the majesty."
The first work that Mr. Watts published was the Horae
Lyricae, and, in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, it entitled him to
a honourable place in the temple of the " English Poets."
This opinion, notwithstanding the irregularity and obvious
defects of many of the compositions, cannot justly be disputed ;
and, according to the award of the great critic, the name of
the author is inscribed with that high and glorious priesthood,
who, in the language of their mighty leader in his blindness,
" Feed on thoughts that voluntary move
Harmonious numbers."
Some of his earliest attempts in verse have already been no
ticed. During his residence in the academy and at home, he
* seems to have sedulously cultivated this department of litera
ture ; and many of his pieces were privately circulated among
his friends, before they appeared from the press. The publi
cation of the Lyrics is referred to in the memoranda :
" Published my Poems, Dec. 1705."*
Many of them appear to have been composed in the year
1694; and some are dated as early as 1691. The volume was
received with the highest approbation by the religious public
in Great Britain and America; it procured for its author the
friendship of some of the most eminent characters of the day ;
and a second edition was called for in the year 1709.
Aristotle and Bacon, the two gieat masters of the philoso-
* Watts's MS.

240 LIFE AND TIMES
phy of the ancient and modern world, agree in representing
poetry as being of a more excellent nature than history ; the
latter assigning as his cause of preference, that the poet pre
sents us with pure excellence and an unmingled grandeur, not
to be found in the coarse realities of life or of history. It is,
however, to be lamented, that poetry has been often diverted
from its high and noble office, and employed to stimulate the
passions of the disordered mind, and gratify the follies of a
vain giddy world. In modern times especially it has been
seldom enlisted in the cause of religion ; and the examples of
our elder poets, Spencer and Milton, have been rarely imitated
by those who have, succeeded to the inheritance of their genius.
"Great men," says an inspired speaker, "are not always
wise ;" and this fact explains the neglect which sacred poetry
has received from the master-spirits of the age. The unrege
nerate heart has no sympathy with " the truth as it is in Jesus"
— its affections pay no homage to the beauty of holiness —
the theme that was of old a stumbling-block to the refined and '
polished Greek, has not lost a tittle of its offensiveness to the
natural man — and hence, however highly gifted the mind
may be, it is not likely that genius should give forth its inspi
ration upon topics which it may inwardly nauseate. He who*'
is a stranger to the influence of religion, will have no delight
in the celebration of its mysteries — his feelings, hopes, and
wishes will synchronise with the " things of the world" — the
region of spiritual truth will have no charms to excite, no at
tractions to satisfy the gross and earthly appetite — and so
long as the poet's lips remain untouched by the live coal from
off the altar, he will not sing the songs of Zion — the harp of
David will slumber in neglect upon the willows, and the viol,'
the tabret, and pipe, be in the feast. Had Shakspeare, Dry
den, and Pope, known any thing of the " wisdom that cometh
from above," they would have employed their powers in the
service of the cross — their pages would have been gilded with
the broad beams of the Sun of Righteousness — they would

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 241
have invested the ark of faith with the melody of song — and
numbers might have been drawn in penitence and praise to
the seat of mercy, and transferred from the earthly sanctuary
to the heavenly temple. Pliny remarked of the celebrated
sculptor, Phidias, that in his Jupiter he had given a new mo
tive to religion ; and the saying has a most felicitous applica
tion to the author of a devotional poem.
There is a passage in Dr. Johnson's Life of Watts, in which
he propounds the singular and almost peculiar sentiments he
entertained respecting the capabilities of religious poetry. He
pronounces Watts's, " like that of others, unsatisfactory — the
paucity of its topics," he remarks, " enforces perpetual repeti
tion, and the sanctity of the matter rejects the ornaments of
figurative diction — it is sufficient for Watts to have done bet
ter than others what no man has done well." This opinion is
again advanced and elaborated by the critic in his life of
Waller. That the sanctity of religion cannot be heightened
by human art or effort, is readily acknowledged ; but that the
" ornaments of figurative diction" cannot be employed to ad
vantage in its embellishment and illustration, is directly oppo
sed to the testimony of experience. No poetry is so devo
tional, and at the same time so figurative, as that of Judea ;
and from the song of Miriam at the Exodus of Israel, to that
of Mary at the advent of the Holy One, we find religion and
verse happily and effectively united. The theme of the He
brew bards, whether relating to the outpouring of divine
wrath, or the manifestation of heaven's mercy — the sorrows
of penitence, or the confidence of faith — the progress of the
gospel, or the renovation of the world — is always associated
with the vivid colouring of imagination, and frequently as
sumes the character of wild and daring hyperbolism. "The
doctrines of religion," it is further observed, " may indeed be
defended in a didactic poem; and he who has the happy
power of arguing in verse will not lose it because his subject
is sacred." But matter of fact is again opposed to the critic ;

242 LIFE AND TIMES
for experience proves, that a " happy power" of argumentation
upon the evidences of Christianity, may be far more effective
ly displayed in prose than verse; and assuredly a metrical
version of the thirty-nine articles or the Nicene creed, would
never be consulted but by the curious. The psalms and pro
phecies of Jewish literature, written under the inspiration of
heaven, most clearly prove, that it is not a presumptuous
meddling to sing of "mercy and of judgment;" and he who
brings to their perusal, if not a critical taste, at least a devo
tional spirit, will see that the sanctity of religion is not im
pinged, but shadowed out to the mind's eye more distinctly
and palpably by an association with poetical embellishments.
The objection advanced against sacred poetry, on account
of the " paucity of its topics," may be satisfactorily refuted by
every Christian, who examines into his own experience, un
folds the volume of revelation, and looks abroad upon the fields
of nature. Instead of religion being confined and limited in
its range, it embraces as many subjects as the rays of light
that are continually streaming around us, or the moments that
compose the sum total of our existence. To the man of con
templative piety, the whole visible creation becomes one great
temple ; to him the floods clap their hands ; the trees of the
field rejoice and are glad ; and the mountains break forth into
singing, in adoration of the supreme Intelligence. Every sun
that shines, and every star that twinkles — every forest that
waves, and every ocean that roars — every mountain that rises,
and every valley that sweeps — leads him to the Creator's
footstool; and from every part of the earth's surface, there
ascends, to the eye of faith, a mystic ladder reaching up to
heaven, and the " Lord God is above it." As Watts beauti
fully sings in one of his Lyrics :
" What are my eyes, but aids to see
The glories of the Deity
Inscrib'd with beams of light
On flowers and stars?" 

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 243
Strictly speaking, indeed, a poet may sing of nature with
out being entitled to be considered a sacred poet, just as a
painter may produce a landscape without ranking with scrip
ture artists. But the topics to which I have adverted, become
in the hands of a religious man, materials for the sublimest
devotional poetry — they are the types of the Almighty, to be
found in glorious luxuriance in every comer of his creation —
and in their contemplation the devout soul is elevated to an
intercourse with the great Invisible. The lines of Burns de
scriptive of connubial love, exactly explain the communion
that subsists between the Christian and Jehovah in his works :
" There's not a bonnie flow'r that springs
By fountain, shaw, or green,
There's not a bonnie bird that sings,
But minds me of my Jean."
If from the book of nature we turn to the book of God, the
marvels of near six thousand years are presented to our atten
tion, each bearing a sacred impress, supplying an infinite va
riety of subjects, adapted to the epic, tragic, and sentimental
muse. Religion embraces all the perfections and works of
Deity — creation, providence, and redemption — angelic
visitations to the tents of eastern patriarchs — the incarnation,
life, miracles, death, and resurrection of Christ — the gor
geous visions which flit like shadows in the mysterious twi
light of the Apocalypse — the solemnities of universal judg
ment — the glorious heights of heaven — and the dark abysses
of the unfathomed pit. The bible must become a sealed book
to the Christian, the memory of his own experience fly forgot
ten as a dream, and the bright and beautiful world become a
blank, before he can complain of the paucity of devotional
topics. " How many are thy thoughts of love !
Thy mercies, Lord, how great !
We have not words, nor hours enough,
Their number to repeat."

244 LIFE AND TIMES
Johnson's criticisms upon religious poetry partake the
character and tone of his religious experience — timorous,
embarrassed, and fearful. Whatever his idea of religion might
be, he appears to have regarded it as something too sacred to
be enjoyed; be sighed for it at a distance, but did not
approach to its possession ; he knew the fearfulness of the
stricken penitent, but not the confidence of the believer; he
confounded the triumph of faith, with the bold impiety of pre
sumption ; he dreaded puritanism, and lived in gloom. The
motive that brought him to his Maker's footstool, was one of
fear not of love ; he looked up to him not as a Father recon
ciled, but as a Judge severe ; his religion was a scheme of
penance, not an act of trust ; his devotions were the offspring
of a guilty conscience, not the grateful outpourings of a renew
ed heart. The remarks upon sacred poetry are evidently tinged
and impregnated with the religious horror that enwrapped
his soul ; to decorate with the cadence of verse that which had
been uttered by inspired lips, he regarded as amounting almost
to profanity ; and hence he seems to deprecate the attempt as
an insulting rivalry of the all-wise and perfect Mind.
The Lyric Poems are divided into three books, sacred to
religion, friendship, and the memory of the dead. In one of
Watts's early pieces, published when in the decline of life, he
makes an interesting reference to his first cultivation of the
muse. It is entitled " The First Lyric Hour," and is founded
upon one of the odes of Casimire, in which the Polish poet
describes his first attempts on the harp, and his commencing
a poem : '"Twas an unclouded sky : the day-star sat
On highest noon : no breezes fann'd the grove,
Nor the musicians of the air pursu'd
Their artless warblings; while the sultry day
Lay all diffus'd and slumb'ring on the bosom
Of the white lily, the perfum'd jonquil,
And lovely blushing rose. Then first my harp,
Labouring with childish innocence and joy,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 245
Brake silence, and awoke the smiling hour
With infant notes, saluting the fair skies,
(Heaven's highest work), the fair enamellM meads,
And tall green shades along the winding banks
Of Avon gently-flowing. Thence my days
Commenc'd harmonious ; there began my skill
To vanquish care by the sweet-sounding string.
' Hail, happy hour ! O blest remembrance, hail !
And banish woes for ever. Harps were made
For heaven's beatitudes : there Jesse's son
Tunes his hold lyre with majesty of sound,
To the creating and all-ruling Power
Not unattentive : while ten thousand tongues
Of hymning seraphs and disbodied saints,
Echo the joys and graces round the hills
Of Paradise, and spread Messiah's name.
Transporting bliss ! Make haste, ye rolling spheres,
Ye circling suns, ye winged minutes, haste,
Fulfil my destin'd period here, and raise
The meanest son of harmony to join
la that celestial concert."*

Watts's muse is ever the handmaid of devotion; he rarely
touches upon any topic which he does not press into its ser
vice; his poetic torch is kindled with the fire from off the
altar; he visits Parnassus, but it is only on his way to Calvary.
If he aims at poetical excellence, it is not so much to please as
to convert the reader ; his " high endeavour" is not to gratify
the taste, but to amend the heart. The cheerful spirit of his
piety infuses itself into all his compositions ; there is nothing
gloomy or melancholic ; he seizes every opportunity of der
parting from the scenes of common life, to catch a glimpse of
the bowers of Paradise, and to bask in the glorious sunshine
of heaven. *" Albis dormiit in rosis,
Liliisqne jacens et violis dies,
Primie cui potui vigil
Somnum Pieria rumpere barbito," &c.
Casimire Otl.

246 LIFE AND TIMES
The charm of Watts's devotional poetry is its perfect sincerity
— religion was with him not a theory but a principle, a pre
dominant and all-pervading passion — his numbers flow from
the heart and not from the lip. Writers upon sacred subjects,
both in poetry and prose, but more especially the former, have
generally failed, in the absence of an experimental knowledge
of their theme ; destitute of this, they have lost themselves in
the opposite extremes of extravagance and insipidity. The
truths of religion may be perfectly understood and symmetri
cally arranged, but, like the bones in the prophet's vision, the
breath of heaven must come into them before they live. Sin
cerity, an intense and life-giving faith, is essential to the cha
racter of a religious poet ; without it the imagination in vain
aspires after a communion with the pure, the heavenly, and
the immortal; the seraph's wing is wanting to raise it above
the dust and darkness of an earthly sphere. The glorious
outpourings of Hebrew poetry, are evidently the offspring of
sincere devotion ; a cloud of incense, rising from the altar of
devout -and grateful hearts to the throne of God, and meeting
with as gracious a welcome there, as the ever-ceaseless cry of
"Holy, Holy, Holy," from the ten thousand "blessed voices
uttering joy" in the presence-chamber of the Deity.
To enter into a minute examination of a book so popular
and common as the Horae Lyricae, may now seem needless;
nevertheless in a memoir of Watts's life and writings, some
critical notices of it will be expected.
In general, Watts, I think, is happiest in his shorter poems.
He seems frequently to take up his pen for amusement, and
to get tired if he proceeds beyond a certain distance. In his
longer pieces he wants strength of wing to conduct him to the
end of his journey with the same vigour as he begins it ; his
flight is irregular, uneven, and hurried ; the commencement
is bold and sprightly, and the conclusion tame and spiritless.
The poem entitled, " Launching into Eternity," is an admir
able specimen of easy, flowing rhythm, and appropriate ima-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 247
gery. In the following well-known lines, the poet grapples with
a higher theme, and does his devoir nobly :
"Eternal Wisdom, thee we praise,
Thee the creation sings ;
With thy lov'd name rocks, hills, and seas,
And heaven's high palace rings.
"Thy hand how wide it spreads the sky,
How glorious to behold !
Ting'd with a blue of heav'nly dye,
And starr'd with sparkling gold.
" There thou hast bid the globes of light,
Their endless circles run;
There the pale planet rules the night,
The day obeys the sun.
" The noisy winds stand ready there,
Thy orders to obey ;
With sounding wings they sweep the air,
To make thy chariot way.
" There, like a trumpet loud and strong,
Thy thunder shakes our coast ;
WTiile the red lightnings wave along,
The banners of thine host."
Many of the Lyric poems are either imitations or transla
tions of the odes of Casimire Sarbiewski, whom he designates,
in his preface, the noblest Latin poet of modern times.*
Some of his productions are indeed worthy the genius "of
Horace, though occasionally disfigured with fanciful conceits.
The copy of Casimire's poems, in the quarto edition, which
was in Watts's library, came into the possession of Dr.
Gibbons, who found at the head of the twenty-ninth ode in
•Casimire was a Polish Jesuit, and born in 1547. Grotius and D. Heinsius
affirm him to be equal to Horace. He was so partial to Virgil, that he began to
imitate him in an epic poem, called the " Lesciade," iu twelve books, but his death
at Warsaw, in 1640, put a stop to the work. His epigrams are much inferior to
his odes. The best edition of his poems is that of Paris, in 1759. The Poles
have always been celebrated for their pure Latinity, and, despite of modern inno
vations, the Miscellanea Critica of the University of Cracow, still appears in the
Latin language. The Latin poetry of Szymonowicz, rivals that of Casimire.

248 LIFE AND TIMES
the fourth book, entitled, "Ad Equites Polonos, anno 1630,"
the following high eulogium in his hand-writing, " Carmen
saeculare Horatiano sublimius." In the Improvement of the
Mind, we have Watts's judgment of his favourite poet : "You
shall hear Altisino not only admire Casimire of Poland, in
his Lyrics, as the utmost purity and perfection of Latin poesy,
but he will allow nothing in him to be extravagant or faulty,
and will vindicate every line. Nor can I much wonder at it,
when I have heard him pronounce Lucan the best of the
ancient Latins, and idolize his very weaknesses and mistakes.
I will readily acknowledge the odes of Casimire to have more
spirit and force, more magnificence and fire in them, and in
twenty places arise to more dignity and beauty than I could
ever meet with in any of our modern poets ; yet I am afraid
to say that Palla sutilis e Luce, a robe stitched together of
light, has dignity enough for the dress of the Almighty,
lib. iv. ode 7, 1. 37, or that the man of virtue, lib. iv. ode 3,
1. 44, under the ruins of heaven and earth will bear up the
fragments of tlie falling world with a comely wound on his
shoulders. "'  late ruentl

Subjiciens sua colla ccelo
Mundum decoro vulnere fulciet;
Interque cceli fragmina."
" Yet I must needs confess also, that it is hardly possible a
man should rise to so exalted and sublime a vein of poesy as
Casimire, who is not in danger now and then of such extra
vagances ; but still they should not be admired or defended,
if we pretend to pass a just judgment on the writings of the
greatest men." But few of the odes of Casimire have been
translated, and the English reader is principally indebted to
Watts and Mr. Heald for an acquaintance with the Polish
poet.* * The annexed translation, by Mr. Heald, affords a favourable specimen of the
poetry of Casimire.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 249
"Ad Suam Testndinem.
Sonori buci filia sutilis,
Pendebis alta, barbite, populo ;
Dum videt aer, et supinos
Solicitat levis aura frondes,
Te sibilantis lenior halitus
Perflabit Euri : me juvet interim
Collum reclinasse, et virenti
Sic temere jacuisse ripa.
Eheu! Serenum quae nebula; tegunt?
Repente coelum ? quis son us imbrium ?
Surgamus. Heu semper fugaci
Gaudia praeteritura passu!" Lib. ii.
I.
"In the high- towering poplar thus swinging,
My lyre, hang suspended at ease;
Thy strings, at wild intervals, ringing,
When swept by the breath of the breeze.
II.
" The blue vault its full beauty displaying,
Not a cloud the pure ether o'ershades,
And in sighs his soft wishes betraying,
The greeu foliage fond zephyr pervades.
III.
"Thus I leave thee to murmur and quiver,
As whispers the slow-rising wind;
While here, stretch'd on the banks of the river,
I repose, in light slumbers reclin'd.
IV.
"Ha ! along yon horizon dark-scowling,
What tempest-fed shadows appear!
Clouds ! clouds rise incessantly rolling !
Hark ! the shower whistles loud on mine ear.
V.
" O my harp ! my companion, my treasure !
Let us rise, let us hasten away;
'Tis thus flies the phantom of pleasure,
With quick-step ever hast'niug away."
R

250 LIFE AND TIMES
The Dacian Battle is one of the longest of Watts's poems ;
and is praised by Johnson for the vigorous and active imagi
nation which it displays. It is a translation, with large addi
tions, of a lyric ode of Casimire, entitled " Celebris Polonorum
de Osmano Turcorum victoria, prselio ad Chocimum Dacico
Anno Domini 1621, Quarto Non. Sept. commisso parta."*
An extract from the original poem, will give the reader some
idea of the merits of the paraphrase :
"CASIMIR. LIB. IV. OD. IV.
" (Galesi Agricolaa Dacici cantus inducitur.)
" Dives Galesus, fertilis accola
Galesus Istri, dum sua Dacicis
Fatigat in campis aratra
Et galeas, clypeosq ; passim, ac
" Magnorum acervos eruit ossium ;
Vergente serum sub sole hesperum
, Fessus resedisse, et solutos
Non solito tenuisse cantu
" Fertur juvencos. Carpite, dum licet,
Dum tuta vobis otia, carpite,
Oblita jam vobis vireta
Emeriti, mea cura, tauri,
* "The famous victory obtained by the Poles over Osman, the emperor of the
Turks, in the Dacian battle at Choczim, on the fourth of the nones of September,
in the year of our Lord 1621." The authors of the Universal History give the
following account of this battle : — " Osman, the Turkish emperor, perceiving that
the Christian army was increased daily, proposed a general attack on their lines by
the 28th of September, and led his troops in person. The janissaries began the
attack by break of day, and fought with the most desperate fury for twelve hours,
fresh troops constantly supplying the place of the fatigued, wounded, and slain.
Ten times were the Turks repulsed, and as often were they led back to the attack
by their bashaws, who charged under the immediate eye of the sultan, and were
ambitious of distinguishing themselves. All their efforts were fruitless, the Poles
were impenetrable, and the infidels were at last forced to sound a retreat, after
having lost near 30,000 slain before the intrenchments. From the time the two
armies had first faced each other, the different attacks cost the sultan upwards of
60,000 lives, the bulk of whom consisted of janissaries, the flower ofthe army, apd
the bulwark of the Othman empire. Disease and famine co-operated with the
sword, and the Turkish army, which consisted of 800,000 men, was diminished to
half that number." Modern Univ. Hist. vol. xxxiv. p. 185.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 251
" Victor Polouus dum posita super
Rcspirat hasta, sic etiam vigil
Sasvusque. Pi 6 quantis, Polone,
Moldavici tegis arma campi
" Thracum ruinas ! Quas ego Bistonum
Hic cerno strages ? Quanta per avios
Disjecta late scuta colleis?
Quae Geticis vacua arma truncis ?
" Hac acer ibat Sarmata, (Thracibus
Captivus olim nam memini puer)
Hic aere squallenteis et auro
Concanus explicuit catervas."

LITERAL TRANSLATION BY DR. GIBBONS.

" Galesus, a rich yeoman on the banks
Where rolls the fruitful Dauube, tir'd his share
Iu ploughing o'er his grounds, which oft upturn'd
Helmets, and shields, and heaps of mighty bones ;
But, when the sun hung o'er the western main,
Relaxing from his toils, as fame reports,
And loosing from the yoke his weary bulls,
He held them pleas'd with an unusual song : —
' My fellow-labourers, my delightful care,
In safety now enjoy the sweets of peace,
Aud freed from labour at your pleasure rove
The smiling meads, and crop the flow'ry food
So long untasted, while upon his spear
Leans the victorious Pole, but throws his eyes
Watchful and fierce around. Brave countrymen,
What ranks of Thracian enemies have fall'n
By your resistless swords ! What carnage fill'd
Moldavia's fields! What piles of bucklers strow'd
The pathless mountains ! What huge armour lay
Wide scatter'd, of Mahometan limbs despoil'd!
Here the fierce Sarmatans (for while a hoy
In Turkish slavery I mark'd their dress),
And here the Corlcanans in order rang'd,
Advanc'd all arm'd in radiant brass and gold.' "

252 LIFE AND TIMES
In comparing the first with subsequent editions of the
" Horae Lyricae," considerable alterations and improvements
will be observed. The preface, in which Boileau's opinion as
to the incompatibility of sacred subjects with a poetic dress is
noticed, appeared in the second edition in 1709; and about
seventy poems were added to the original collection during
the author's life-time. But the first edition contained several
pieces which were afterwards omitted, particularly metrical
versions ofthe 1st, 3rd, 100th, and 131st Psalms, which now
appear with some alterations in the imitations of the Psalms.
There was also a sacred song, entitled " The Sufferings and
Glories of Christ," which Watts's maturer judgment led him
to throw into a different metre, and insert in the second book
of the Hymns. The two first verses are annexed, as they
stood originally in the Lyrics, and as they are remodelled in
the Hymns :
"I long for a concert of heavenly praise,
To Jesus the God, the omnipotent Son ;
My verse should awake in harmonious lays,
Could it tell half the wondei-3 which Jesus has done.
"I would sing how he left his own palace of light,
And robes made of glory which dress'd him above ;
Yet, pleas'd with his journey, how swift was his flight,
For he rode on the pinions of infinite love."
Lyr. edit. 1.
Toplady, who published a short account of Dr. Watts, sin
gularly enough introduces this piece, word for word, as it
appears in the Lyrics, first edition ; and remarks, " There is
a hymn which, to the best of my knowledge, has never yet
appeared in print, and which seems, from the unfinished state
in which he left it, to have been one of the last products of
his poetic pen. This little poem, whose authenticity is un
questionable, and. which, amidst all its inaccuracies, is replete
with heavenly faith and poetic fire, deserves to emerge from

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 253
its long obscurity. Though capable of obvious correction and
improvement, it shall be submitted to the reader verbatim,
and without a single alteration, exactly as it was communica
ted to me." The verses are thus altered in the Hymns;
" Now for a tune of lofty praise,
To great Jehovah's equal Son !
Awake, my voice, in heavenly lays,
Tell the loud wonders he hath done.
" Sing how he left the worlds of light,
And the bright robes he wore above ;
How swift aud joyful was his flight
On wings of everlasting love."
Hymns, lib. ii. //. 23.
The noble version of the 100th Psalm, in Watts's imita
tions, is also an equally felicitous improvement of some jing
ling rhymes which first appeared in the Lyrics. Two stanzas
will exhibit his happy method of retouching his compositions*
Three noble poems have been transplanted from the "Horae
Lyricae" into the hymn-book of the Methodists, viz. : the
hymns commencing, " Father, how wide thy glory shines ;"
* In the Lyrics, first edition.
" 'Twas God who gave life to our souls with a breath,
He fashion'd our clay to the figures of men ;
And when we had stray'd to the regions of death,
He reduc'd his own sheep to his pastures again.
"We enter his gates with hosannahs aud songs;
The arches resound with the notes which we raise;
Thus while our devotions are paid with our tongues,
Thy temple adores by repeating thy praise." Lyr.edit. 1.
Altered in the Psalms.
" His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay and form'd us men ;
And when like wandering sheep we stray'd,
He brought us to his fold again.
« We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise,
And earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
Shall till thy courts with sounding praise.?? Ps. 100.

254 LIFE AND TIMES
" Eternal Power, whose high abode ;" " He dies, the Friend
of sinners dies." The compositions dedicated to " Divine
Love," have been objected to, on account of the association of
earthly passions with a theme so sacred ; but this was not so
much the fault of the author, as of the theology of the age in
which he lived. In a note appended to the edition of 1736,
he remarks, by way of apology, " Solomon's Song was much
more in use among preaphers and writers of divinity when
these poems were written, than it is now, which will afford
some apology for the writer in his youngest years." Similar
blemishes might be pointed out in the devotional poetry of the
Messrs. Wesley, and in far greater luxuriance in the hymn-
ology of the Moravians : indeed, it is impossible for a writer
to express himself upon such a subject in an evangelical man
ner, without employing terms upon which a vicious world
may put an offensive gloss. Let an individual sit down to the
perusal of Watts, with a mind purified from earthly thoughts,
and renewed and hallowed by the Holy One, and he will find
but few passages which do not give utterance, in strict accord
ance with the analogy of faith, to emotions which he has.
himself experienced.
The lyric poems of Watts must be criticised with an indul
gent eye — as the mere amusements of a man of letters — the
casual impulses of an imaginative mind — and not the serious
and laboured efforts of a poet. He did not " gird himself
up" to write — his effusions did not abstract him from the
world, and result from daily and nightly invocation of ancient
bards and sages — he was a pilgrim only to the Heliconian
spring, and not a dweller by the mountain-fount. Hence he
is frequently flat, prosaic, and excessively slovenly ; he dresses
up his thoughts like one who is travelling post-haste, and
cannot stay to put himself in fashionable trim; if he cannot
find a rhyme at once, he pushes on without one, with the
greatest nonchalence as to his lameness. Notwithstanding
these defects the "Horae Lyricae" has stood high in public esti-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 255
mation ; and eight editions of it appeared before the decease
of its author. Attached to the later editions are several re
commendatory poems, sent to Mr. Watts chiefly in the year
1706, from the following individuals : Rev. J. Standen ;* Mr.
Henry Grove ;f Philomela; J Eusebia;§ and Brittanicus.||
The success which attended the publication of the Lyrics,
determined Watts to prepare his Hymns for the press, and,
accordingly, the first edition appeared in the year 1707. The
favourable opinion which his brother Enoch expressed of them,
had considerable weight with him ; and in this instance the
judgment of the critic was not misled by the partiality of the
relative. Many of them were composed during his two years'
residence at his father's house, to supplant the dry and pedan
tic compositions then in use in the meeting-house of his na
tive town. The Rev. John Morgan of Romsey, Hampshire,
in a letter to Dr. Gibbons, remarks, " The occasion of the
Doctor's hymns was this, as I had the account from his wor
thy fellow-labourer and colleague, the Rev. Mr. Price, in
whose family I dwelt above fifty years ago. The hymns
which were sung at the dissenting meeting-house at South
ampton, were so little to the taste of Mr. Watts, that he could
not forbear complaining of them to his father. The father
bade him try what he could do to mend the matter. He did,
and had such success in his first essay, that a second hymn
was earnestly desired of him, and then a third and fourth, &c.
till in process of time there was such a number of them as
to make up a volume." The offence thus given to his refined
taste and critical ear by the homely psalmody of Southampton,
led to the composition of the Spiritual Songs ; and now,
wherever the praises of the God of grace are celebrated in the
* Dissenting minister at Newbury in Berkshire, afterwards conformed.
f One of Watts's fellow students, a writer in the Spectator.
X Miss Singer, afterwards Mrs. Bowe.
§ Countess of Hertford, afterwards Duchess of Somerset.
II Unknown.

256 LIFE AND TIMES
costly sanctuaries of Christian lands, the krail of the wander
ing Caffre, and the habitation of the far-distant Polynesian,
they are known, admired, and sung.
One of the most pleasing of the Greek writers, advances it
as the sacred duty of mankind, to " hymn the gods," who
alone have endowed them with an articulate voice. This
maxim has met with a universal recognition ; for all nations
acquainted with either poetry or religion, have songs and
verses devoted to the powers and attributes of their divinities.
The poetry and mythology of the Greeks were intimately con
nected ; the former was the tongue of the latter ; it entered
deeply into the celebration of its rites, gave popularity to its
festivals, and immortality to its fictions. The hymns of Homer
and Callimachus may have been intended merely for indivi
dual recitation; but the choral song early accompanied the
sacred ceremonial, the solemn and swelling tone of the dithy
rambic hymns was heard in the religious festivals of the
Athenians, and whilst the scenic exhibitions delighted the
sight, the junction of music and verse ravished the ear. The
literature of the Orientals exhibits the same harmony between
religion and verse, the same union between the " sons of God"
and the " daughters of men ;" and the Arab even now sits at
the door of his tent, in the evening hour, chanting the moral
apothegms and luscious dreams of the followers of the pro
phet. It is, however, especially in Judea that we see devo
tion and the muse dwelling together in unity — twin-sisters
that God hath joined, going up to his house in company,
worshipping hand in hand at the throne, weeping at the altar,
and bowing in silent adoration before tbe glorious cloud,
flashing in awful brightness from the holiest place. It is no
extravagant assumption, that the lyre of Jubal was attuned to
the harmony pf verse ; and pur great pqet indulges the ima
gination, that the singing of the birds in Paradise initiated
our first parents into the art of sacred song.
The word v^vo?, hymn, is used by the Greek writers, to

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 257
signify those compositions which were sung in honour of the
gods ; and Gregory of Nyssa defines it to be a thanksgiving
offered to God for the blessings we enjoy — v/j,vos £<nlv y dirl
toii virapypvaiv rfp.1v ayaOols avaTiOepAvq tw ©eiS e'u0iy/tio.* The
early Christian church appears to have employed not only the
Psalter in its religious services, but uninspired compositions
upon sacred subjects. The first hymns were, however, pro
bably of an inspired character, selected from the pages of the
New Testament ; as, the songs of Elizabeth, of Mary, and of
Zacharias, Luke, i. 42, &c. the angelic hymn, " Glory to God
in the highest," &c. Luke, ii. 14 ; the cherubic hymn, " Holy,
Holy, Holy," &c. Rev. iv. 8; and the hymn of victory,
vp,vos iira/iiclos, " Great and marvellous are thy works," &c.
Rev. xv. 3. To these short yet splendid specimens of sacred
song, the " Alleluia," &c. Rev. xix. 6, was generally added as
an accompaniment ;t and Sidonius AppoUinaris, bishop of
Clermont, relates that it was frequently sung by the boatmen
on the Saone.J To the Christian, hunted from city to city
by an infuriated priesthood, and often dragged to the amphi
theatre to suffer for his faith, the thrilling episodes of the
Apocalypse would be singularly appropriate; and many
doubtless trod the thorny path of martyrdom, like Paul and
Silas in their dungeon, glorifying their exalted Saviour in the
language of the elders before the throne ! At the close of the
first century, or the commencement of the second, Pliny relates
that the Christians met together on a stated day before it was
light, to sing a hymn to Christ, as God ; Tertullian, in the
third century, speaks of singing psalms as a part of the public
worship of the church ; and Origen, a little later, speaks of
* Greg. Nys. in Psalm, xi.
f " Alleluia uovis balat ovile choris." PauUn. Ep. ad Sev. 12.
t " Curvorum hinc chorus helciariorum
Responsantibus Alleluia ripis
Ad Christum levat amnicum celeusma." Sid Apolt. ii. ep. 10.

258 LIFE AND TIMES
singing psalms and hymns to the Father in Christ, in melody,
metre, and vocal concert. It was common also with many, in
their household devotions, in seasons of outward tribulation
or inward conflict, to give expression to their feelings, and to
seek to strengthen the weak hands and to confirm the feeble
knees, by having recourse to the melody of sacred song ; and,
hence, Tertullian refers to the practice of private singing in
the family, as an argument why Christians should marry
among themselves, in order to perform this duty more harmo
niously. It is certain that uninspired productions were introduced
into the hymnology of the church at an early period, though
since the Reformation some sects have entertained scruples as
to their admission. Several of the fathers sought to edify
their flocks by supplying them with devotional poetry ; and
instances are referred to by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical
History,* of private individuals composing hymns. Speaking
of the mode of administering the Lord's supper, Tertullian
remarks in his Apology, " After water is brought for the
hands, and lights, we are invited to sing to God, according as
each one can propose a subject from the Holy Scriptures or of
his own composing."t Hilary of Poictiers, in the fourth cen
tury, presented his church with a collection of hymns ; and
the Milanese Christians, about the same period, were accus
tomed to assemble at night, to chant those composed by
their bishop Ambrose. The Morning Hymn of the former,
and the Evening Hymn of the latter, are simple and pleasing
compositions.! Augustin describes the effect produced upon
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. 17. lib. v. 28. lib. vii. 24. H-
f Apol. c. 39.
X The book of hymns attributed to Hilary, was printed at Paris, 4to. 1 480. The
Morning Hymn is well known, commencing,
" Lucis largitor splendide,
Cujus sereno lumine."
To Ambrose a considerable number of hymns are attributed ; but critics point out

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 259
his mind by tbe psalmody of the church : " The hymns and
songs ofthe church," says he, "moved my soul intensely, the
truth was distilled by them into my heart, the flame of piety
was kindled, and my tears flowed for joy. This practice of
singing had been of no long standing at Milan. It began
about the year when Justina persecuted Ambrose. The pious
people watched in the church prepared to die with their pas
tor. There my mother sustained an eminent part in watching
and praying. Then hymns and psalms after the manner of the
east were sung, with a view of preserving the people from
weariness, and thence the custom has spread through Chris
tian churches."* In the fifth century, Prudentius of Sara-
gossa increased but did not much enrich the sacred songs of
Christendom, though the well-known passage in his Hymnus
Epiphaniae, has been often and justly admired.f Of the
poetic treasures of the eastern church, during the primitive
ages, no specimen has come down to us, with the exception
of some verses appended upon doubtful authority to the works

twelve which possess a stronger claim than others to be of his production. The
Te Deum, once given to him, is now ascribed to some unknown member of one of
the Gallic churches. The following lines are from the Evening Hymn :
"Deus Creator omnium Artus solutas ut quips
Polique rector, vestiens Reddat laboris Usui,
Diem decoro lumine, Mentesque fessas allevet
Noctem soporis gratia : Luctusque salvat anxios."
See Mr. Matthias's " Excerpta ex Hymnis Antiquis."
* August. Confess, lib. ix.
f The subject is, a congratulation of the innocents slain by Herod :
" Salvete flores Martyrum,
Quos lucis ipso in limine,
Christi insecutor sustulit,
Ceu turbo nascentes rosas.
Vos, prima*, Christi victims,
Grex immolatorum tener,
Aram ante ipsam, simplices,
Palma et coronis luditis." Pruden. Katkemetinon.
Bishop Home cites the passage in his Sermon on Innocents' Day.

260 LIFE AND TIMES
of Clemens Alexandrinus. When Chrysostom occupied the
episcopal throne of Constantinople, the Arians were accus
tomed to parade the streets of the city, singing hymns strongly
tinctured with the peculiarities of tbeir creed ; upon which
the bishop, fearing the propagation of the heresy, furnished
his choristers with some verses of his own production, in al
liance with the opinions of the orthodox.
As we advance to the middle ages, hymns multiply upon us
in abundance. The monastic clergy sought to maintain their
hold upon the prejudices and affections of the people, by Im
posing devotional services. " The monasteries were schools
of devotional music, and many times during the day the
voices of the choir, were heard swelling from the neighbour
ing abbey ' over some wide-watered shore.' The labourer as
he woke with the sun to his accustomed toil, or as in southern
climates he reposed from the heat of the burning noon, or as
he lingered weary on his return at evening to his dwelling ;
the traveller at midnight — all were reminded of their hea
venly Father and Redeemer, by the solemn strain of the organ
from the commanding minster, or the sweeter and gentler
voices which pealed from the chapel of the convent." A
fragment of a ballad composed by Canute the Dane, as he
was sailing by the abbey of Ely, shows us the monks practis
ing psalmody : " Merry sang the monks in Ely,
When Canute the king was sailing by ;
' Row, ye knights, near the land,
And let us hear these monks' song.' "
But the language of the choristers was an unknown tongue
to the people ; they responsed to words the meaning of which
they had not the ability to comprehend; and, hence, though
the sacred strain might fascinate the listening ear, and awe
the superstitious mind, it had no power to communicate reli
gious knowledge, or excite devotional feeling. Yet there is a
sweet simplicity and rugged grandeur about some of the old

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS.

261

monkish verses, however grating Leonine rhyme may be to
classical ears. A few specimens of the hymnology of Catho
licism may not here be inappropriate. The following lines are
taken from a hymn, sung in the twelfth century in the cathe
dral of Mans, which Usher designates " rythmos elegantissi-
mos." The author was Hildebert, bishop of Anomanum or
Mans:

"Extra portam, jam delatum,
Jam foetentem, tumulatum,
Vitta ligat, lapis urget ;
Sed, sijubes, hicresurget:
Jube, lapis revolvetur ;
Jube, vitta disrumpetnr ;
Exiturus, nescit moras ;
Post quam clamas Exiforas
In hoc salo mea ratis
infestatur a piratis :
Hinc assultus, inde fluctus :
Hinc et inde mors et luctus.
Sed tu, bone nauta ! veni ;
Preme ventos, mare leni ;
Fac abscedant hi piratae,
Due ad portum, salva rate."

"Now from house and all things torn,
To his last home, he is borne,
Mouldering as all mortals must,
Earth to earth, and dust to dust ;
But though dreary be the tomb,
Thou canst dissipate its gloom ;
Speak, the teeming dust shall hear ;
Speak, the dead shall reappear:
They shall little brook delay
When thou sayest, ' Come away.'
" On the wide sea as I go,
Oft I meet the plundering foe ;
War above, the waves beneath,
And in all things woe and death :
Thou who rulest with thy will,
Bid the raging winds be still ;
Chase the fearful foe away ;
Bring me safely on my way;
And with peace and plenty blest,
Lead me to the port of rest"

The annexed stanzas are from a hymn for the great feast
of Corpus Christi, a composition of St. Thomas Aquinas : —

"Lauda, Sion, Salvatorem,
Lauda, ducem et pastorem,
In hymnis et canticis ;
Quantum potes, tantum aude,
Quia major omni laude,
Nee laudare sufficis.

"With joyous hymns, O Sion, sing
Thy Saviour, Shepherd, Guide, and King:
To themes like this, to-day, belong
The chiefest praise of sacred song,
Too weak, though all its skill be spent
On this stupendous argument !

262

LIFE AND TIMES

" Bone pastor, panis vere,
Jesu, nostri miserere,
Tu, nos parce, nos tuere
Tu nos bona fac videre
In terra viventium
Tu qui cuncta scis, et vales,
Qui nos pascis hic mortales.
Tuos ibi commensales,
Cohaaredes et sodales
Fac sanctorum civium."

"Jesu ! good Shepherd, living Bread,
Pity, protect us, watch and lead ; .
And stretch forth thy forgiving hand,
To guide us to thy promis'd land.
" Thou by whose grace all good is sent,
Omniscient and Omnipotent !
When life and all its pangs are past,
Oh, let us join thy saints at last;
To us, their fellow-guests, be given
A joint inheritance in heaven !"

The hymn to the Holy Ghost, for the feast of Pentecost, is
in a still sweeter and more poetic strain : —

" Veni, Sancte Spiritus,
Et emitte ccelitus
Lucis tuas radium.
Veni, pater pauperum,
Veni, dator munerum,
Veni, lumen cordium.
"Consolator optime,
Dulcis hospes animal,
Dulce refrigerium ;
In labore requies,
In aestu temperies, In fletu solatium !"

" Come, Holy Ghost ! One ray of love,
From that perrennial fount above,
Shoot down into my breast ;
Come, Father of the fatherless,
Whom none, but thou, console or bless,
Hearts' hope, hearts' light, hearts' rest.
" Thou art our soul's most loving guest,
Of all her comforters the best,
Her stay and solace here ;
Rest to the weary and the poor,
Who suffer long and travail sore,
With none but thee to cheer !"

The celebrated dirge " in commemoration of all the faith
ful departed," is known through the medium of Roscommon's
translation : —

"Dies irae, dies illaj"
Solvet seeclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sybilla.
"Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando judex est venturus,
Cuncta strict^ discussurus."

" The day of wrath, that dreadful day,
Shall the whole earth in ashes lay,
As David and the Sybils say.
"What horror shall invade the mind,
When the strict Judge, who would be kind,
Shall have few venial faults to find !"

At the Reformation a new era in the history of religious
verse commenced; the protestant leaders at once threw off

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 263
the bondage of antiquated Latin rhythm, and taught the com
mon people to sing in their own vernacular tongue the won
derful works of God. The sagacity of the reformers soon
discovered the potent influence of verse, with its suitable
melodies, upon the lower orders of society ; and those who had
a poetical turn, composed hymns and sacred ballads,* which
were chanted by their followers in the streets of the German
cities and by the way-side. A more effectual mode could
not easily have been devised, to render the scripture history
familiar to the minds of the people ; and the ear of many a
passenger was doubtless caught by the inspiring strain, and
led to listen till the abominations of the papal hierarchy were
renounced. Luther is said to have heard a poor man singing
some printed rhymes under his window in Wittemberg, and
when upon inquiry he learned the name of the author, he
burst into tears, and rendered thanks to God for making such
humble expedients conducive to the propagation of truth.
Before parting with his family and friends in an eveningfhe
usually sang a hymn ; and in his hours of dejection it doubt
less proved a delightful restorative. Luther was himself a
poet and musician, as well as reformer ; and his music, and
many of his hymns, still hold a distinguished place in the
protestant psalmody of the continent. That noble hymn and
tune of his, " Great God ! what do I see and hear," has been
long introduced here ; and it will be sung with solemn rap
ture by the faithful "looking for the coming of the Son of
Man," until the perfected church shall join in the higher
anthems of the blessed. The prevailing characteristic of his
mind was strength ; it was rugged and inharmonious, yet full
of noble daring and magnanimous resolve ; his words, it has
been aptly said, were "half battles." His verse is full of the
native vigour of his soul ; he comes before us strong in his
*The word Ballad was formerly used to signify a religious song. In some old
English translations of the bible, the Song of Solomon is entitled the Ballet of
Ballets.

264 LIFE AND TIMES
righteous cause ; impetuous as his own wild and voiceful
Rhine : " High deeds, O Germans, we expect from you,"
was his motto.
As the doctrines of the Reformation were established in
England, a passion for religious versification was excited ;
the old choral mode of worship was partially superseded; and
many votaries of the muses, among the reformed ecclesiastics,
seemed bent upon affording the singing lofts of the churches
an unlimited supply of verse, by turning the whole bible into
metre. In King Edward the Sixth's chapel, a metrical Acts
of the Apostles was in use ; and the royal ear was edified by
listening to such inspiring strains as the following, sung by
the courtly choir ! "It chaunced in Iconium,
As they oft tymes did use,
Together they into did come
The sinagoge of Jeus.
" Where they did preache and only seke
God's grace them to atchieve ;
That soe they speke to Jue and Greke,
That many did bileve."»
During the next two centuries, the art of sacred song made
little or no advances. Among churchmen Sternhold and his
coadjutor remained lords of the ascendant; while the noncon
formists were content with the bald verses of Patrick, or
* " The Actes of the Apostles translated into Englyshe metre, and dedicated to
the kinges most excellent majestye, by Cristofer Tye, doctor in musyke, and one of
the gentylmen of hys graces most honourable chappell ; with notes to eache chapter
to synge, and alsoe to play upon the lute ; very necessarye for studentes, after theyr
studye, to fyle their wittes, and alsoe for all Christians that cannot synge, to read the
good and godlye storyes of the lives of Christ his Apostles." 1553, printed by
William Serres. The first fourteen chapters only were published, with a poetical
dedication, " To the vertuous and godlye learned Prynce Edward the Sixth," in
which the following stanza occurs :
" Unto the text I do not ad,
Nor nathyngc take awaye;
And though my style be gros and bad,
The truth parceyve ye may.'

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 265
singing was altogether banished from their services, lest it
should betray to the informer the meeting-house, the glade or
wood, in which the persecuted assembled. It was not until
the time of Watts, that any collection of hymns appeared
which deserved to be tolerated, either on the ground of poeti
cal excellence, or adaptation to the purpose of congregational
worship. To Milton, indeed, we are indebted for a few versi
fications of the Psalms, which are, however, unworthy of his
fame ; to bishop Kenn the church must ever express her obli
gations for three immortal hymns ; four more were furnished
by Addison, which shine among the brightest stars in the
hemisphere of devotion : but these were desultory attempts,
and never intended for the public service of the church. " Dr.
Watts," as Mr. Montgomery remarks, " may almost be called
the inventor of hymns in our language : for he so far departed
from all precedent, that few of his compositions resemble those
of his forerunners ; while he so far established a precedent
to all his successors, that none have departed from it, otherwise
than according to the peculiar turn of mind in the writer, and
the style of expressing Christian truths employed by the de
nomination to which he belonged." He is, therefore, with
propriety placed by the poet of the Moravians at the head of
the hymnists of our country : he may have been equalled,
and, in some instances, surpassed by others ; but far greater
honour is due to him who invents the model, than to him who
copies the design. It is the glory of Columbus to have first
crossed the Atlantic, though many a statelier vessel, by a
shorter and a safer track, has since performed the voyage.
The first edition of the Hymns has an essay appended to it,
towards the improvement of psalmody, or an inquiry how the
psalms of David ought to be translated into Christian songs ;
and how lawful and necessary it is to compose other hymns,
according to the clearer revelations of the gospel, for the use
of the church. The volume contained two hundred and
twenty hymns, including the several doxologies, reckoning

266 LIFE AND TIMES
each one of them as a hymn. In little more than twelve
months this edition was exhausted, and a second appeared in
the year 1709, according to the title-page, corrected and much
enlarged. In comparing the two editions, considerable alte
rations will be found in several hymns, the suggestions of
friends, and a large addition of new compositions. The fol
lowing advertisement, dated April, 1709, prefixed by Mr.
Watts, explains the nature of the alterations introduced : —
" I. There are almost one hundred and fifty new hymns add
ed, and one or more suited to every theme and subject in di
vinity. Having found by converse with Christians, what
words or lines in the former made them less useful, I have
not only made various corrections in them, but have endea
voured to avoid the same mistakes in all the new composures.
And whereas many of the former were too particularly adapted
to special frames and seasons of the Christian life, almost all
which are added have a more general and extensive sense,
and may be assumed and sung by most persons in a worship-!
ping congregation. 2. About fourteen or fifteen psalms which
were translated in the first edition, are left out in this, because
I intend, if God afford life and assistance, to convert the big
gest part of the book of Psalms into spiritual songs for the use
of Christians, yet the same numbers are applied to the Hymns,
that there may be no confusion between the first and second
editions." To the seventh edition, which appeared in the year
1720, there is the following note, dated March 3rd. : " Since
the sixth edition of this book, the author has finished what he
had so long promised, namely, the Psalms of David imitated
in the language of the New Testament, which the world
seems to have received with approbation, by the sale of some
thousands in a year's time. There the reader will find those
psalms which were left out of all the later editions of these
hymns in their proper places. It is presumed, that book, in
conjunction with this, may appear to be such a provision for
psalmody, as to answer most occasions of the Christian's life;

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 267
and if an author's own opinion may be taken, he esteems it
the greatest work that ever he has published, or ever hopes to
do, for the use of the churches."
In eulogising the merits of Watts's hymns, I may lay myself
open to the charge of being a partisan ; I prefer, therefore, to
adopt the language of a critic, against whom the plea of sec
tarian bias cannot in this instance be advanced; one whose
judgment invests opinion with authority, and whose sincerity
cannot be questioned. The author of the " Christian Psalmist"
remarks, " Passing by Mrs. Rowe, and the mystical rhymers
of her age, we come to the greatest name among hymn-
writers ; for we hesitate not to give that praise to Dr. Isaac
Watts, since it has pleased God to confer upon him, though
one of the least of the poets of his country, more glory than
upon tbe greatest either of that or of any other, by making
his ' Divine Songs' a more abundant and universal blessing,
than the verses \)f any uninspired penman that ever lived.
In his ' Psalms and Hymns' (for they must be classed toge
ther), he has embraced a compass and variety of subjects,
which include and illustrate every truth of revelation, throw
light upon every secret movement of the human heart, whe
ther of sin, nature, or grace, and describe every kind of trial,
temptation, conflict, doubt, fear, and grief, as well as the faith,
hope, charity, the love, joy, peace, labour, and patience of the
Christian, in all stages of his course on earth ; together with
the terrors of the Lord, the glories of the Redeemer, and the
comforts of the Holy Spirit, to urge, allure, and strengthen
him by the way. There is in the pages of this evangelist, a
word in season for every one who needs it, in whatever circum
stances he may require counsel, consolation, reproof, or in
struction. We say this, without reserve, of the materials of
his hymns ; had their execution always been correspondent
with the preciousness of these, we should have had a Chris
tian Psalmist in England, next (and that only in date, not in
dignity) to the ' Sweet Singer of Israel.' Nor is this so bold

268 LIFE AND TIMES
a word as it may seem. Dr. Watts's hymns are full of ' the
glorious gospel of the blessed God ;' his themes, therefore, are
as much more illustrious than those of the son of Jesse, who
only knew ' the power and glory' of Jehovah as he had ' seen
them in the sanctuary,' which was but the shadow of the New
Testament church ; as the face of Moses, holding communion
with God, was blighter than the veil he cast over it when
conversing with his countrymen."*
That Watts's hymns have faults, many and grievous faults,
Mr. Montgomery admits; their most ardent admirers too, in
the denomination where they are regularly used, acknowledge
it ; yet still they are most of them imperfections which might
naturally be expected to connect themselves with a first hymnic
enterprise. His most frequent failings are defective rhythm
and prosaic phraseology ; the want of rhymes between the
first and third lines in the quartain measure, is sensibly per
ceived, and occasions the hymn sometimes to halt and stumble ;
whilst the harmony and beauty of the verse is too frequently
destroyed by the insertion of proper names and scripture refe
rences, certainly out of the pale of poetry and good taste.
These last are indeed sometimes put between brackets, and
may be omitted in the singing without affecting the sense ;
but it would have been better had they been altogether ex
punged, as they offend the eye, spoil the programme of the
hymn, and often remain at the disposal of our clerks, a race
not over-blessed with keen perceptions and harmonious ears.
Mr. Watts seems to have been sensible, that his rhymes, as
Dr. Johnson remarks, were not " sufficiently correspondent,"
as he apologises for the defect in the frequent recurrence of
scriptural and theologic terms, which admit but few words to
chime with them. The period when he flourished was not so
nicely critical as the present ; pure and perfect harmony was
not so rigidly required ; what would now be regarded as false
versification, was practised by the mighty masters of the lyre.
* Preface to Christian Psalmist, xix. xx.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 269
The same inequality which characterises the lyric poems,
may be perceived in many of the hymns ; some of them begin
well, often nobly, then become dull and puerile, and at the
close recover their ground, and soar even to a higher elevation.
An illustration of this occurs in two of Watts's finest compo
sitions, which, though not inserted in his collection, evidently
partake the hymnic character, and have been transferred from
his lyrics into most succeeding selections. The first commences
in the highest tone of sublimity and grandeur, but indulges an
Homeric nod in the line printed in italics in the second verse,
rallies again immediately, and plies a vigorous wing unto
the close : "Eternal Power! whose high abode
Becomes the grandeur of a God ;
Infinite lengths beyond the bounds
Where stars revolve their little rounds.
"Thee while the first archangel sings
He hides his face behind his wings,
And ranks of shining thrones around
Fall worshipping and spread the ground."
The other hymn is on the Resurrection, and celebrates in
stirring strains the scenes of the cross and of the deserted
tomb. It opens with a verse of stately and solemn magnifi
cence, degenerates in the second into the merest drivelling,
and concludes with a picture evincing the most consummate
dramatic art : " He dies ! the Friend of sinners dies !
Lo ! Salem's daughters weep around !
A solemn darkness veils the skies,
A sudden trembling shakes the ground.
" Come, saiuts, and drop a tear or two
On the dear bosom of your God ;
He shed a thousand drops for you,
A thousand drops of richer blood."

270 LIFE AND TIMES
Let it be, however, remembered, that Watts wrote without
a model ; that what he has achieved is purely the result of
inventive genius; and our surprise will be, not that he
failed so often, but that he accomplished so much. To suc
ceeding practitioners he has been a landmark and a guide ;
they have had the benefit of his experience and designs, and
have reaped important advantages from his successes and
mistakes. With all my partiality for Watts as a writer of religious
song, I am not insensible to the defective tone and expression
of some of his hymns, which betray, more indeed in phraseo
logy than in spirit, the neighbourhood of a hyper-calvinistic
school. The theology of his day was of a somewhat different
mould to that embraced at the present by the majority of the
dissenting churches ; it had sterner features, and, at tlie same
time, those which were more tumid ; it spoke in severer ac
cents to the sinner, and in a more glowing and mystic style
to the saint; it -delighted too much in presenting to the one
the elements of gathering wrath, without a shelter from the
storm, and in pampering the other with the gay and ardent
fancies of impassioned eastern poetry. The Calvinism of
Watts was of the moderate kind at the close of his career, so
much so as to subject him to the charge of Baxterianism ; yet
still I am by no means certain, but that his connexion with
Dr. Chauncey, a divine of the Crispian stamp, might give a
colouring to his creed in early life. It would be an unprofita
ble task, to particularise the luscious phrases which savour of
the school ; phrases which might easily be altered to advan
tage, and which assuredly ought to have been long ago ;
which to a mind like Watts's will bespeak only the triumph
of holy love, but which are apt to convey to unhallowed ima
ginations a licentious image, and thus degrade the Christian's
fellowship with his Redeemer, by an association with terms
indicative of human fondness and familiarity. The ardency
of pious affection is indeed apt to express itself in the Ian-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 271
guage of animal passion ; the heart in communion with God
will not stay to take the guage of a fastidious delicacy before
it gives utterance to its desires ; but it by no means follows,
that what is proper for the closet is adapted for the sanctuary.
There is another fault which may be charged upon some of
Watts's compositions, of an opposite character, but which
proceeded from the same cause as the one just noticed. There
is too little of that sweet persuasiveness, that melting tender
ness, in which the gospel addresses the sinner ; while harsh
expressions occur, breathing a spirit of vindictiveness, which
unquestionably does not harmonise with the character of that
God who delights in mercy, and which it borders upon down
right impiety to offer up in praise to him. It would be a boon
to tbe dissenting congregations, if some one, of kindred spirit
and competent ability, and such an one doubtless might be
found, would give his hymns the benefit of a careful correc
tion and revision. The productions of Charles Wesley
have been revised and expurgated and re-revised; and the
memory and claims of Watts imperatively demand a similar
service.* While such I honestly conceive to be the defects of Watts,
I am still inclined to claim for him the highest place among
the hymnists of our land. Many labourers have indeed since
appeared in the field, some of undoubted talent, and all have
trod in his steps ; yet his sacred songs remain as a whole un-
* There have been many professed improvements of Watts ; but none that have
as yet come under my notice, appear to have fulfilled their object. In the hands
of private speculators some of his hymns have been wretchedly mangled. A con
siderable number have been inserted in the " Church Hymn Book," chiefly used iu
the midland counties ; but the reverend compiler has not displayed much skill in
his alterations. The almost faultless imitation of the 23rd Psalm, in the com
mon metre, is amplified until its beauty is completely frittered away, and the
imagery of the original, which Watts has preserved, is iu several instances changed.
The fourth resolution of the Congregational Union, at their last meeting, was
the appointment of a sub-committee, to prepare a denominational hymn-book, as
a supplement to that now iu use ; and to the gentlemen there specified, Dr. Fletcher,
Rev. J. Blackburn, Mr. Josiah Conder, and Mr. Henry Rogers, the task might safely
be confided of revising the hymns of Watts.

272 LIFE AND TIMES
surpassed and unequalled, and are far more generally used in
the services ofthe church, than those of any of his successors.
Charles Wesley approaches the nearest to him, but must yield
the palm for originality, catholicity, and versatility of genius :*
' — Doddridge's hymns are distinguished by their unaffected
piety, and engaging sweetness ; but are often faulty in their
poetry, and disfigured by a formal rhetoric : — Newton's com
positions are clear and evangelical in their sentiments; but
prosaic, sometimes wretched in their construction, and, be
sides, unfit for congregational use : — Cowper's mighty, yet
sorely-crossed and troubled spirit, produced some hymns in the
sunshine of his day, which delightfully embody the experience
of the Christian heart ; some also of high and solemn charac
ter, written in " the twilight of departing reason," on the
verge of " blackness of darkness :" — Toplady, with all his
churlishness, has struck off tones from David's harp, not in
ferior in vigour and musical intonation to any of his compeers :
— Beddome's humble and unpretending verse, barren in
poetry, will yet remain, for its instructive metrical aphorisms,
a lasting blessing to the families of the righteous : — Heber's
performances have probably been admired more, and deserve
it less, than any of the preceding ; for, though arrayed in the
" purple and fine linen" of glittering diction, they are poor in
*In the recent edition of Mr. Wesley's works, published by the direction ofthe
conference, there is the following notice. Mr. John Wesley remarks of his brother
Charles — "His least praise, was his talent for poetry ; although Dr. Watts did not
scruple to say, 'that single poem, Wrestling Jacob, is worth all the verses which
I have ever written.' " Upon this the editor observes in a note — "The late Mr.
Robert Hopkins used to say, that in the early part of his life he was once in com
pany with Mr. Wesley, and several other friends, when Mr. Wesley referred to the
opinion which Dr. Watts had expressed concerning 'Wrestling Jacob;' and added,
apparently with great emotion, ' O what would Dr. Watts have said, if he had
lived to see my brother's two exquisite funeral hymns, beginning,

aud

' How happy every child of grace,
That knows his sins forgiven !
1 Come, let us join our friends above,
That have obtain'd the prize.' "

Wesley's Works, vol. xiii; p. 471.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 273
thought and defective in spirituality : — these, and many
others, whose names have perished, but whose contributions
to the treasury of devotion have been preserved, have followed
in the track of the nonconformist, their pattern and their
guide. One of Watts's principal excellences, that which peculiarly
fitted him for his work as a writer of hymns, was the variety of
his powers — in this respect he stands alone and unrivalled —
surpassed by none of his successors. He travels with the
Christian through the joys and sorrows of his pilgrimage,
from the new-birth of spiritual feeling and character, to its
glorious consummation in heaven. The different stages of
religious experience, from the germinating seed to the full
com in the ear: — the various feelings which are called into
operation in the believer's, bosom, love, fear, hope, faith, de
spondency, and triumph : — the events, of which we either
have been or shall be witnesses, birth, bereavement, sickness,
recovery, death and judgment : — the progressive history of
the church, from its first foundation, cemented with the blood
of martyrs, to its final glory celebrated with angelic hymns :
— all are touched upon with the inspiration of a poet, and
the devotion of a saint — there is a song for every season, a
supply for every want. Mr. Charles Wesley has indeed fur
nished a far greater mass of religious poetry : his productions
of this kind, are said to amount to forty-eight distinct publi
cations, from the duodecimo volume to the pamphlet off one or
two sheets ; but there is in this large collection little variety of
manner, and less variety of matter. Many of his pieces wear
the exclusive aspect of the sectarian ; he casts his mite into
the treasury of a party ; he writes as the " Poet of Methodism,"
not as the servant of the universal church. The paucity of his
topics produces frequent repetition, a tiresome amplification of
the same thought and theme ; and though this may be regard
ed an excellency or a defect, according as the religious opinions
of his critic agree or differ from him, there can be no question

274 LIFE AND TIMES
but that the amount of genius requisite for the composition of
such hymns, was far less than that which Watts brought and
employed in his task. The latter does not follow the narrow
beaten causeway of sectarian theology ; his hymns are more
varied in their character, and catholic in their spirit; indeed,
while he is every where consistent with the sentiments of
his own denomination, I know of but few, if any, passages
which a Christian of an opposite creed would hesitate to
adopt. This circumstance has given to him an extended
fame, and to his sacred lays a wide circulation; it has
associated them with the churchman, the dissenter, and
the Methodist; and "every sabbath, in every region of
the earth, where his native tongue is spoken, thousands
and tens of thousands of voices are sending the sacrifices of
prayer and praise to God, in the strains which he prepared
for them a century ago."*

*In estimating the merits of these two great hymnists, Watts and Wesley, the
greatest unquestionably that our country can boast, I should not hesitate to ascribe
to the former greater skill in design, to the latter in execution ; to the former more
origiuality, to the latter more polish. Many of Wesley's flights are bold, daring,
aud magnificent. The spirit ofthe righteous man, resting secure amid the confla-
gration of nature's elements, and " clapping" its " wings of fire," is a vision of sur
passing grandeur, though the honour of the suggestion is, perhaps, due to Dr.
Young. That fine hymn, commencing
'< With glorious clouds encompassed round,
Whom angels dimly see,"
isin the he^ightof sublimity, though the thoughtand the expression belong toMilton :
( who sit'st above these heavens,

To us invisible or dimly seen.1
The favourite couplet, " Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough for everCmore],1'
is one of the felicitous expressions of Matthew Henry. Such imitations as these are,
however, trivial, and are common with the best writers ; but to the German hymn
ology Wesley is under deep and momentous obligations, which literary justice
ought to have constrained him to acknowledge. Germany has long been proverbial
for the number and excellency of its hymns ; indeed I have heard them estimated
by a competent judge at upwards of sixty thousand, whereas our language can
boast of little more than two thousand. The connexion ofthe two brothers with the
Moravians at the commencement of their career, opened unto them this rich mine

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 275
The faulty versification and inelegant construction of some
of Watts's hymns, which have been pointed out as their prin
cipal defects, would never have occurred had they been written
under the same circumstances as those of his Arminian suc
cessor. The former wrote principally in his youth, the latter
in the full vigour of ripened manhood ; to the former hymnic
composition was an occasional recreation, to the latter at one
period it was his chief employment. It is well known, that
Mr. C. Wesley desisted from his itinerant ministry, and aban
doned the fatiguing journeys of his brother, for an alternate
residence in London and Bristol — the consequence of indo
lence say some, a just appreciation of his own powers say
others. A considerable portion of his time was now devoted
to poetical enterprise, to which he sedulously directed his ta
lents ; he measured the object before him in) its height and
length, and depth and breadth, and carefully trained and dis
ciplined his spirit for his task :
" His soul was like a star, and dwelt apart."

of devotional song; and some of the brightest gems in the Wesleyan collection
have been dug from it. They are indeed most skilfully versified ; but the merit of
translation is widely different to that of original composition. Some of these con
tinental grafts have been claimed by Mr. Montgomery, in his " Christian Psalmist,"
for the Moravians ; and Mr. Watson, in his recent "Life of Wesley," acknow
ledges the claim, yet pleads correctly for their being Wesleyan not Moravian
translations. Among these may be mentioned,
" Thou hidden love of God, whose height ;"
" Thee will 1 love, my strength, my tower ;"
"Shall I for fear of feeble man ;"
" O thou who earnest from ahove ;"
" Now I have found the ground wherein ;"
" My soul before thee prostrate lies ;"
"Holy Lamb, who thee receive."
In addition to these, it appears from the recently translated Memoirs of Gerhard
Terstegein, that that splendid hymn, "Lo, God is here, let us adore," and, " Ye
virgin souls, arise," belong to the German stock. The two last verses of the hymn,
" What shall we offer our good Lord," commencing, " O multiply the sower's seed,"
are taken from the Moravian German hymn, "High on his everlasting throne."
" O God, my God, my all thou art," is from the Spauish. " Come, Saviour Jesus,
from above," is from the French. There are nine of Watts's compositions in the
collection.

276 LIFE AND TIMES
But it was otherwise with Watts : none of those who had
preceded him in this species of writing had attained any ex
cellence, so as to stimulate his genius, «nd call forth his powers ;
the hymns in use were so miserably defective, and the task of
surpassing them so easy, that he did not generally " gird up
the loins of his mind." This is to be lamented, as the occasion
of all his blemishes in composition. There is, however, far
less appearance of effort in his hymns than in Wesley's ; they
are less strained and artificial, and bear in a higher degree the
stamp of being the spontaneous effusions of devotional feeling.
One of his highest achievements commences, " My God, the
spring of all my joys," in which he avails himself of a beauti
ful idea from Gray's " Fragment on Vicissitude :"
"See the wretch that long has tost
••fP"' On the thorny bed of pain,
>"> At length repair his*vigour lost,
And breathe and walk again ;
The meanest floweret of the vale,
The simplest note that swells the gale,
The common sun, the air, the skies,
To him are opening paradise."
The sentiment in the concluding line is seized upon by the
hymnist, and skilfully introduced in the third verse of the
hymn. From Watts, however, the idea receives a very dif
ferent form of presentation ; it ceases to be descriptive, and
becomes experimental; it expresses not a feeling that is re
membered merely, or gathered from a process of ratiocination,
but one that is present with, and pervading the regenerated
soul: "The opening heavens around me shine
With beams of sacred bliss,
If Jesus shows his mercy mine,
Aud whispers / am his."
The hymn is almost without " spot or blemish," if we ex
cept the last line of the fourth verse, which has certainly been

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 277
amended by Wesley ; for felicity of expression, strength and
tenderness of feeling, and beautiful pictorial truth, it has
never been surpassed ; it is a sublime communion with the
Deity, made visible by the eye of faith, and brought near
with the cords of love, giving birth to a majestic burst of im
passioned and irrepressible joy and triumph.
Of all the compositions of Watts, his religious verse, inclu
ding both psalms and hymns, have been most widely circula
ted, and most eminently useful. A copy was taken into
Central Africa by Mr. Anderson, the fellow-traveller and
brother-in-law of the unfortunate Mungo Park, and lately
found by the Landers at Youri, hung up in the residence of
a chieftain asfetishe or sacred. From his pulpit he instructed
and edified a numerous and attentive auditory ; from his study
he benefitted, by practical and doctrinal treatises, thousands
who never heard the sound of his living voice : but from his
closet he has given songs of praise to the churches, which will
be used in their solemn assemblies and private devotions till
time shall be no more, and have been employed by the deli
vered spirit soaring triumphant over death to its native skies.
They have been instruments in the hand of God of improving
the religious experience, and increasing the spiritual enjoy
ments, of his people ; rousing their deadened affections, en
kindling the almost extinguished flame of love, prompting
the longings of desire, and calling back, by the " voice of
music" and the gushing of "sweet sound," many a wandering
sheep to the fold of his heavenly Father and Redeemer. When
the syrens of heathen mythology warbled their soft and sedu
cing airs, to draw the heedless into the gulf of unholy pleasure,
some overcame the temptation by chanting divine hymns:
the moral of the fable is correct and apposite ; for, in the ex
perience of the pious, the evil spirit has not only been dispos
sessed, but his enticements resisted, when melody has been
made with heart and lip unto the Lord. The hymns of Watts
are purely spiritual, eminently holy and divine in their cha-

278 LIFE AND TIMES
racter ; they were evidently written in the exercise of devout
and heavenly affections, the Avoids give utterance to the tone
and temper of the heart ; there is little of human speculation,
but much of personal experience ; they are not dry and sap
less strains, but such as " angels might often delight to hear,"
throughout pervaded with the vital power of godliness ; and,
hence, they have been to the " planting of the Lord," as the
dew, the shower, and the sunbeam to the planting of man.
The mourner convinced of sin, and bending beneath his load
of guilt, has oftentimes gone to the throne of grace, repeating
some stanza imbued with the spirit of melting penitence and
broken-hearted grief; the man of many woes, over whom the
clouds of misfortune have gathered, has found a verse full of
resignation, hope, and confidence, and has sung of mercy in
the midst of judgment; the sufferer, to whom wearisome
nights and days have been appointed, has been carried for
ward by gleams of future blessedness, which brighten upon
the strains of Watts, in holy triumph and calm exultation, to
the land where the weepers cease to weep ; while thousands
on the verge of death's dark river, have cheered surviving
friends and sorrowing relatives, with tidings of the " sweet
fields beyond the swelling flood," which have "stilled its
tossing, hush'd its roar," and which have broke upon their
ravished vision as they entered into the joy of their Lord.
" O let me glory ! glory in my choice !
Whom should I sing but him who gave me voice !
This theme shall last, when Homer's shall decay,
When arts, arms, kings, and kingdoms, melt away !"
Note. Two statements have been made, with reference to
Watts's Hymns, which ought not to pass unnoticed here,
though the subject will be more fully considered before this
volume closes.
I. Expressions occur relative to the humanity of Christ,
which some pious persons have regarded with considerable

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 279
jealousy and alarm. Such expressions are, however, perfectly
orthodox, and would have occasioned no remark, but for the
suspicion Avhich the author's doctrinal sentiments at the close
of his life excited. It may be observed here, that, so far as the
Hymns are concerned, this is completely a false alarm : the
divinity of the Saviour is asserted Avith the same force and
peculiarity as the humanity ; and no line can be adduced, in
which this momentous article of our faith is impugned. The
impression to the contrary has, however, gone forth in certain
quarters, and evidently dictated the folloAving passage in the
Wesleyan Magazine for December, 1831 : — "Of late years
several collections of hymns have been made for the use of
Socinian congregations; and it is remarkable, how many
hymns written by orthodox Christians, even by Watts and
Doddridge, by a slight alteration have been rendered accepta
ble to men who cannot see in Christianity either a divine
atonement or a sanctifying spirit. Great as is the poetical
excellence of Charles Wesley's hymns, tbey are rarely found
in collections of this nature. They are made of too unbending
materials ever to be adapted to Socinian worship. The glory
of Christ as God incarnate ; the perfection and efficacy of his
sacrifice ; his intercession founded upon his atoning death —
these are the lofty themes of his immortal songs, and are ' far
above, out ofthe sight' of these grovelling religionists, who can
see in Christianity little else than a republication of the laAV of
nature." Now upon this paragraph I have three remarks to
make : — 1. That Watts's compositions, Avith but few excep
tions, inserted in Socinian collections, are psalms not hymns,
which, from their very nature, do not celebrate the peculiar
doctrines of the gospel, because written before the clearer dis
coveries of the New Testament Avere brought to light. 2. That
the topics mentioned as the subjects of Charles Wesley's
" immortal songs," are precisely the same " unbending mate
rials" as are employed in Watts's hymns. 3. That the pro
ductions of Wesley, or any other Avriter, might, Avith the same

280 LIFE AND TIMES
alterations as Watts's have suffered, be adapted to the purpo
ses of Socinian worship.
" The King of glory dies for men." Watts.
" God's well-beloved dies for men." Soc.
" Then I can smile at Satan's rage." Watts.
"Then I can smile at all its rage." Soc.
" Thy blood like wine adorns thy board,
And thine own flesh feeds every guest." Watts.
"His table is divinely stor'd,
And rich the food for every guest." Soc.
"Our faith adores thy bleeding love,
And trusts for life in one that died." Watts.
" We joy to tell his matchless love,
We trust for life in one who died." Soc.
The truth is, as Mr. Montgomery testifies, that the songs of
Watts are full of "the glorious gospel of the blessed God;"
had this not been the case, had they synchronised even in the
slightest degree Avith the cold heartless dogmas of Socinianism,
they Avould long ago have been discarded by the tens of thou
sands Avho still use them in their devotions.
II. It has been asserted, that Mr. Watts, Avhen advanced
in life, corrected and revised his Hymns, in accordance
with the change which his views and sentiments on various
topics underwent ; that he left this corrected copy of his
hymn-book behind him ; and that, owing to the care of his
friends for his reputation, it Avas suppressed and destroyed.
The evidence upon Avhich this allegation is founded, is as
follows :
1. The Rev. B. Williams, in the preface to his "Collection
of Psalms," speaking of Watts's unconfined charity, men
tions his " Avish to avoid every Avoid in his poetical compo
sures, designed for public worship, which Avas likely to give
the smallest offence to serious Christians of any denomina
tion :" he states, that " Avhen he found in the latter part of
his life, that he had not been so successful, in this respect, as

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 281
he had aimed to be, he wished for nothing more ardently
than sufficient health and time, to revise both his Psalms
and Hymns, in order to render them unexceptionable to
every Christian professor:" he further states, that this account
" Avas received from Dr. Watts himself, a few years before his
death, by the late Dr. Amory, and by him given to one of
his pupils, who communicated it to the editor:" and he also
says, that he has good authority to add, that the revisal so
fervently wished for, was undertaken and finished, and
would most certainly have been published, had not the
author's death unhappily prevented.
Mr. Williams's statement is too loose, and his authority
too imperfect, for much weight or importance to be attached
to it. It is not very probable, that with Watts's knowledge
of the world, he should have entertained the thought of
making his composures universally unexceptionable ; for the
alterations that Avould have pleased one party, would have
offended another. Besides, Mr. Parker, his amanuensis, dis
tinctly disclaimed any knowledge of the corrected copy, or
even the design to revise. The Rev. Samuel Palmer states,
that he heard from Dr. Amory a conversation Avhich took
place between Mr. Grove and Watts, which may explain and
conect the above account. Mr. Grove remarked, that several
of the hymns laid the stress of our redemption on the com
passion of Christ, rather than on the love of God ; and ex
pressed his wish that he would alter them in this respect,
and make them more conformable to the scripture doctrine.
Mr. Watts replied, that he should be glad to do it, but it was
out of his power ; for he had parted Avith the copy-right, and
the bookseller Avould not suffer any such alteration.
2. Mr. Belsham next makes the following statement, in
his " Memoirs of Mr. Lindsey," p. 216 : " It is Avell known
that this learned and pious writer (Watts), in the latter part
of his life, receded very far from those mystical opinions
concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, and- particularly the

282 LIFE AND TIMES
person of Christ, which he held in his youth. His well-
known volume of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, so much used
in Calvinistic congregations, Avas published Avhen he Avas
very young, and contains many expressions, and many senti
ments, from which, though regarded by great numbers as the
standard of Christian verity, his judgment revolted in ma
turer years, and Avhich he would gladly have altered, if he
had been permitted by the proprietors of the copy-right, who
knew their OAvn interest too well to admit the proposed im
provement." Mr. Belsham cites no authority for this declaration; and
I am at a loss to find any, except it be the private correspon
dence, Avhich took place between Mr. Watts and the Rev.
Martin Tomkins, of Hackney. With much that is erroneous,
there is some truth in the passage. It appears that Mr.
Tomkins had censured the doxologies, at the close of the
third book, as unscriptural ; and censured also the author for
allowing them to remain, as inconsistent with his supposed
later judgment. It is alloAved by Mr. Watts, that some
things might be improved, but that he had no authority to
alter, as the copy -right had been sold ; yet he expresses his
satisfaction to let the copy remain as it was. If he had been
as much dissatisfied as is stated, if he would " gladly," as Mr.
Belsham expresses it, "have altered," he might and ought
and doubtless would have left a copy corrected according to
his last sentiments. But nothing of this kind was found
among his papers and manuscripts after his decease. The
truth is, that the corrections which he saw might be made
were so trivial and unimportant, that he Avas content to let
the book remain as originally written.
The correspondence upon this subject, between Mr. Tom
kins and Mr. Watts, deserves a more lengthened notice.
The Rev. Martin Tomkins, the friend of Lardner, Avas
educated along with him and the celebrated Daniel Neale,
at Utrecht, under Professors D'Uries, Graevius, and Burman.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 283
On his return to England he became minister at Stoke
NeAvington, from which congiegation he was dismissed for
Arianism, in the year 1718. Residing at Hackney, he at
tended the ministry of Mr. Barker, a zealous trinitarian, but
was offended by the doxologies he used at the close of his
prayers, and especially those that were sung from Watts's
hymns. Privately remonstrating about their use, without
effect, he published a pamphlet in the year 1738, entitled
" A calm inquiry, Avhether Ave have any warrant from scrip
ture, for addressing ourselves, in a way of prayer or praise,
directly to the Holy Spirit, humbly offered to the considera
tion of all Christians, particularly of protestant dissenters."
Prefixed to this pamphlet there is a " Letter to the Rev. Mr.
Barker," expostulating with him upon the subject of the
doxologies, &c. He endeavours to prove, that " addresses to
the Spirit, in prayer or praise, are unlawful and improper ;
chiefly, because we have no warrant for them in the holy
scripture, which is our only rule of worship, and that no
other considerations ought to influence us to the practice."
To corroborate his own views, he quotes frequently from
Watts's works to the effect, that " there is in scripture no
express precept for addressing such worship to the Spirit" —
" nor any example of it" — " that there may be two or three
examples of it in the writers of the three first centuries" —
" that, therefore, this ought not to be considered as a necessary
part of Christian worship" — that " he thought it lawful, be
cause the Spirit of God is truly divine" — and " expedients
because the omission of doxologies to the Spirit, would be
highly offensive to serious Christians, who had been accus
tomed to them, and injurious to their edification,"
Mr. Barker did not reply to Mr. Tomkins, but Watts
wrote the following remarks in his own copy of the pamph
let, which came into the possession of the Rev, Samuel
Palmer :

284 LIFE AND TIMES
" SENTIMENTS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT.
" To repeat in brief my sense of this matter, it stands thus :
The Spirit of any being, in scripture phrase, is sometimes used
for the being itself, or it denotes its active and operating
power. So an unclean or evil spirit is the devil, Luke, vii.
21. Acts, xix. 15. Matt. x. 1 ; and is called the spirit of an
unclean devil, Luke, iv. 33. So the Spirit of God sometimes
means God himself. And, further, as the spirit of a man and
the spirit of a beast, denote, in scripture language, the prin
ciple of active power in man and beast, why may not the
Spirit of God have the same signification ?
" And though God the Father and his Spirit be the same
one true God, yet they are sometimes distinguished, and
sometimes joined : Isaiah, xlviii. 16; 'The Lord God and
his Spirit has sent me !' Even the attributes of God are dis
tinguished from him, and yet coupled with him in scripture :
Is it not foretold in Hosea, concerning the latter days, that
men should ' fear the Lord and his goodness ?' Hos. iii. 5.
Does not Ezekiel say, * blessed be the glory of the Lord !'
Ez. iii. 12. Does not Psalm cv. 4, direct us to 'seek the
Lord and his strength; seek his face evermore?' Are not we
called upon to trust in his mercy, as well as in God himself?
Why may we not then praise the Lord and his goodness* or
bless the Lord and his strength ? Why should these expres
sions ' sound so oddly' in the ears of Christians, who read
those in the bible so nearly like them ? And why may we
not say, 'Blessed be the Lord and his Eternal Spirit?'
especially supposing the Spirit of God to be something in
God of greater distinction than a mere attribute, and to be
often represented in scripture in a personal manner."
These remarks were read to Mr. Tomkins, Avho Avrote a
reply to them, filling tAvo sheets of paper, in a small hand,
which also came into Mr. Palmer's possession. The docu
ment is dated April 21, 1738. After animadverting upon

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 285
the practice of doxologising the Spirit, he comes at once to
the point, and observes, " My chief aim in all I do upon this
subject is, the restoring ofthe Christian worship to its primitive
purity, and freeing it from Avhat I cannot but look upon as
an unwarrantable innovation. And for this purpose I Avould
make bold to proceed one step further, and ask, whether you
now approve of Avhat you have said concerning the Gloria
Patri, in your book of hymns ? and whether, upon your pre
sent notion of the Spirit, you can esteem some of those doxo
logies you have given us there, I will not say, as some of
' the noblest parts of Christian worship,' (See Hymn-book)
but as proper Christian worship ? And if not, whether you
may not think it becoming in you, as a lover of truth, and as
a Christian minister, to declare as much to the world; and
not suffer such forms of worship to be recommended by your
name and authority, to the use of tlie Christian church in the
present time and in future generations ?"
Upon the margin of this letter Mr. Watts makes several
observations, and opposite to this paragraph he writes thus : —
" I freely answer, I wish some things were corrected. But
the question with me is this : as I wrote them in sincerity at
that time, is it not more for the edification of Christians, and
the glory of God, to let them stand, than to ruin the useful
ness of the whole book, by correcting them now, and, perhaps,
bring further and false suspicion on my present opinions ?
Besides, I might tell you, that of all the works I have written,
that particular copy is not mine : I sold it for a trifle to Mr.
Lawrence, near thirty years ago, and his posterity make
money of it to this day; andi can scarce claim a right to
make any alteration in the book which would injure the sale
of it."
A rejoinder to this came from Mr. Tomkins, dated Hack
ney, July 5, 1738. In this epistle he grants, that the doxo
logy which Mr. Watts used was not in itself unlawful, but
strongly objects to the propriety of it, and to the principle on

286 LIFE AND TIMES
which he pleaded for it — that of complying with the prejudice
of many serious people. He concludes thus: — "Whether
you or I are in the right ; whether your conduct in this affair,
or mine is best approved of him Avho is the infallible judge,
Dies ultimus indicabit. However that may be, as it is my
prayer, that we may, so I bless God, I can say, it is my hope,
that both you and I shall find mercy of the Lord in that day.
" I am, Rev. Sir, notwithstanding any difference of opinion,
your sincere friend " and humble servant,
" M. T."
This letter has one marginal note in Watts's hand- writing :
" Mr, Tomkins's confession of my Doxology to the H. S. to be
lawful, yet not necessary."
Upon the whole I think it may be concluded, that Mr.
Watts admitted that his hymns were open to correction, to
accord them in several instances with his last sentiments ;
that such corrections Avere not, however, in his estimation of
moment enough to induce him to make them ; aud that the
report of his leaving an altered copy of his hymn-book behind
him, is Avithout any just foundation.
Though this note has already exceeded its proper bounds,
yet a further remark or two is necessary.
1. That there is in scripture " not any one plain and express
instance of a doxology directly and distinctly addressed to the
Holy Spirit," is asserted in Prop. 20 ofthe " Christ. Doc. of the
Trinity," and aftenvards still more strongly in Diss. 5 of the
* ' Arian invited to the Orthodox Faith." Admitting this state
ment, about which, hoAvever, some divines would hesitate,
the fact in itself proves nothing. The right of the Holy Spirit
to be addressed in words of praise or prayer, does not depend
upon example or precept, but upon the scripture testimony to
his being a Divine Person. If this is proved, then are our re-

OF DR ISAAC WATTS. 287
gards justly due to him, as an object of trust and Avorship, of
praise and blessing. " In creation Ave see him moving upon
the face of chaos, and reducing it to a beautiful order; in
providence ' renewing the face of the earth,' ' garnishing the
heavens,' and ' giving life' to man. In grace Ave behold him
expanding the prophetic scene to the vision of the seers of the
Old Testament, and making a perfect revelation of the doc
trine of Christ to the apostles of the New. He ' reproves the
world of sin,' and works secret conviction of its evil and dan
ger in the heart. He is the ' Spirit of grace and of supplica
tion ;' the softened heart, the yielding will, all heavenly desires
and tendencies, are from him." From the general considera
tion of his divinity, joined to the affectingly benevolent and
attractive character which he sustains, the churches of Christ
in all ages have, therefore, associated the Spirit with the Fa
ther and the Son, in equal glory and blessing, honouring Him,
in every gratulatory act of devotion and supplicatory exercise,
as a Person in the Eternal Trinity.
2. Mr. Watts admits the practice of doxologising the Spirit,
to have prevailed among the primitive Christians ; but there
are more than " two or three examples" of it, as he asserts in
Diss. 5, in the first three centuries. The relation of the mar
tyrdom of Ignatius, closes with mentioning "Jesus Christ
our Lord, by whom and with whom all glory and power be
to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for ever :" Epist. c. vii.
The martyrdom of Polycarp closes in like manner : " that
Jesus Christ our Lord may also gather me together Avith his
elect, to whom, Avith the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory
for ever and ever :" Epist. c. xxii. inscrip. " But we wor
ship," says Justin Martyr, " and adore Him (the Father), and
his Son, who came out from Him, and the prophetic Spirit :"
Apolog. i. c. vi. " Let us give praise," says Clement of Alex
andria, " to the only Father and Son, with the Holy Spirit,
to whom be glory now and for ever:" Ped. lib. iii. p. 211.
edit. Oxon. " To Him (Christ)," says Hippolytus, " be glory

288 LIFE AND TIMES
and strength, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit
in the holy church, now and for ever and for evermore:"
Contra Noetum. c. xviii. vol. ii. p. 20. ed. Fabricii. "To God
the Father," says Dionysius of Alexandria, "and his Son,
our Lord Jesus- Christ, with the Holy Ghost, be glory and
power for ever and ever :" Apud Basilium de Spiritu Sancto,
c. xxix. vol. iii. p. 358. ed. Par. See also for other doxologies,
Justin Mar. apol. i. c. xvi ; Clemens Alex, fragment, p. 1019;
Origen, in fine Expos, in Psalmum x. Cod. MS. Barocc,
Numb. 335 ; Julius Africanus apud Basil, de Spiritu S.
c. xxix. vol. ii. p. 359; Hippolytus Homil. in Theophaneiam,
c. x. vol. i. p. 264.
3. Mr. Watts always maintained the propriety of honouring
the Spirit with express divine worship.
In his " Scrip. Doct. of the Trinity," he asks, " Is it proper
for us to address ourselves in a way of prayer or praise, directly
to the blessed Spirit, since Ave can neither find it plainly com
manded or practised in the Avord of God ?
" Answer. I confess we cannot find in scripture any such
positive and express precepts or examples of petition and
praise, so directly addressed to the person of the Holy Spirit,
as there are to the Father and to the Son. Yet, since we
have proved before, that the Spirit hath real, true, and proper
communion in the Godhead, there is sufficient ground, in my
judgment, to address ourselves to him by way of prayer for the
spiritual mercies Ave Avant, and by Avay of praise for the bless
ings we receive." Again, in his " Arian invited to the Ortho
dox Faith," he remarks, "Though the scripture has not
taught us distinctly to offer pi>aise and honour to the Holy
Spirit, yet it has taught us to hearken to the voice of the
Spirit, to obey the Spirit, to hope and wait for the enlighten
ing and sanctifying and comforting influences of the Spirit,
and not to resist him ; and since the Holy Spirit is true God,
I think it follows by evident consequence, that we may offer
him the sacrifice of praise for the blessings which he bestows."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 289
This was written after the change, which his views are suppo
sed to have undergone, had taken place ; so that, whatever the
precise amount of change might be, as to the doctrine of the
Spirit, it is evident, that it Avas not such as lowered the cha
racter of the great Sanctifying Agent in his estimation, or
modified his reverence for his office.

290 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER IX.
1712—1720.
CO-PASTORATE WITH MR. PRICE.

WATTS'S FRIENDS. — LORO BARRINGTON— SKETCH OF HIS LIFE. — ANEC
DOTES OF COLLINS. — MRS. BRIDGET BENDISH — SINGULAR CHARAC
TER. -HENRY BENDISH, ESQ. — MRS. ROWE.— PRIOR AND WATTS.—
RICHARD CROMWELL. — DR. THOS. GIBSON. — ILLNESS OF WATTS. —
POEMS. — REMARKS IN AFFLICTION. —RECOVERY. — AT TUNBRIDGE.—
ODE TO LADY SUNDERLAND.— TO AMYNTAS. — IMPROMPTU. — ORDI
NATION OF MR. PRICE. — REMOVES TO SIR THOS. ABNEY'S.— THE
ABNEY FAMILY.— EARLY LIFE OF SIR THOMAS.— PUBLIC SPIRIT.— LORD
MAYOR. — OCCASIONAL CONFORMITY.— SCHISM BILL.— DEATH OF THE
QUEEN. — DR. BENSON. — GUIDE TO PRAYER PUBLISHED.— THAMES
FROZEN OVER.— CHARACTER OF THE BOOK.— THEOBALDS.— PREACHES
IN THE ABNEY FAMILY. — CHESHUNT CHURCH-YARD. — LINES ON A
SPOT-DIAL.— CONFERENCE AT SALTER'S HALL. — MATTHEW HENRY'S
SERMON.— HIS CONTINUATORS.— CORRESPONDENCE.

In the second book of the Lyrics there are several poems
inscribed to particular friends, which throw considerable
light upon the connexions and private life of the author.
To some of them introductory letters are attached, which
appear to have accompanied the lines to which they are
appended. Among the individuals thus enrolled among his
friends at this period, we find the names of Lord Barrington,
Mrs. Bendish, Miss Singer, Richard Cromwell, Dr. Thos.
Gibson, William Blackbourne, Esq., Mr. Arthur Shallet,
Mr. William Nokes, Rev. John Shower, Sir Nathaniel
Gould, Mr. C. and S. Fleetwood, David Polhill, Esq., Henry

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 291
Bendish, Esq., and the celebrated John Howe. A few
gleanings respecting those Avith whom Mr. Watts was more
intimately associated, I shall here introduce as illustrative of
his personal history.
John Shute, first Baron Barrington of Newcastle, and Vis
count Barrington of Ardglass, in Ireland, Avas born at
Theobalds, in Hertfordshire, in the year 1678. He Avas
lineally descended from Robert Shute, one of the barons of
the exchequer, in the reign of Elizabeth, the representative
of the Norman family of Shute, Avho possessed a castle Avith
territorial property in Normandy until the separation of the
duchy from the English croAvn. At the age of sixteen young
Shute Avent to study at Utrecht, Avhere several of his acade
mical exercises* Avere printed, Avhich are/ highly commended
by Cocceiusf and HeinnecciusJ, and several eminent Avriters
on the civil laAv. In 1701 he began to write in favour of the
dissenters, and published in 4to. a pamphlet Avithout his
name, entitled, " The Interest of England, considered in re
spect of Protestants dissenting from the Established Church."
Tavo years aftenvards appeared "The Rights of Protestant
Dissenters," in two parts, Avhich probably introduced him to
the acquaintance of Locke, Avho ever afterwards honoured
him with his friendship and correspondence. Upon the ill
ness of that illustrious philosopher, in 1704, Watts apostro
phised his friend in a poetical epistle, and bade him " wait
the prophet's flight," and seize "his mantle" as the inheri
tor of his genius.§ In his twenty-fourth year, Mr. Shute was
* These exercises were,
I. Exercitatio Physica de Ventis. Utrecht. 1696, 4to.
2. Dissertatio Philosophica de Theocratia Morali. 1697.
3. Dissertatio Philosophica Inauguralis de Theocratia Civili. 1697.
4. Oratio de Studio Philosophies conjungendo cum studio Juris Civilis, habita
in inclyta Academia Trajectana, Kalendis Junii, 1698.
f J. Gottlieb Heineccii Opera. Ed. tertia, Genevan, 1744.
X Sam D. Cocceii de Princ. Jur. Nat. Diss. 1.
§ Horae Lyricae, lib. ii.

292 LIFE AND TIMES
summoned before the cabinet of Queen Anne, and repre
sented to Lords Somers, Wharton, Halifax, and Sunderland,
the sentiments of the dissenters as to the projected union of
Scotland. To obtain the assistance of the Scotch presbyte
rians and the English dissenters, in carrying the measure, he
was employed by the ministry to negociate, for wliich he was
appointed one of the commissioners of the customs. About
this period Francis Barrington, Esq., of Tofts,* in Essex, Avho
had married his first cousin, left him his estate in that
county, on condition of his taking the name and arms of
Barrington ; and soon aftenvards he Avas appointed secretary
to Lord Wharton, the Irish viceroy .f In 1711 he was de
prived of his place in the customs by the Tory administration;
at the accession of George I. he rejected office, but Avas
elected member of parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed ;
in 1720 he was created an Irish peer; and in 1723
his political life closed, by being expelled the house of
commons for his connexion with the Harburgh lottery,]: but
really on account of the enmity of Sir Robert Walpole. Re
tirement was well improved by Lord Barrington ; for it pro
duced his "Miscellanea Sacra," in 1725, and "An Essay
on the several Dispensations of God to Mankind" — Avorks
which have elevated him to an eminent place among theolo-

* This gentleman was descended from the Plantagenets, by the marriage of Sir
Thos. Barrington, with Winifred, second daughter and co-heiress of Henry Pole,
Lord Montague, son of Sir Richard Pole, K. G., by Margaret Plantagenet, Countess
of Salisbury, sister and heiress of Edward Earl of Warwick, and daughter of George
Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. and Richard III.
f Swift, in a letter, dated Nov. 30, 1709, to Archbishop King, observes, upon this
appointment, " One Mr. Shute is named for secretary to Lord Wharton j he is a
young man, but reckoned the shrewdest head in England, and the person in
fehqm the presbyterians chiefly confide ; and if money be necessary towards the
good work in Ireland, it is reckoned he can command as far as 100,000 from the
body of the dissenters here. As to his principles, he is a truly moderate man, fre
quenting the church and the meeting indifferently."12mo. edit of Swift's Works, 1765. vol. xiv.
X His son, the Bishop of Durham, has amply vindicated him in the life prefixed
to his edition of his father's works.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 293
gians.* Descended from a dissenting family, his mother
being the daughter of Mr. Caryl, he first communicated with
Mr. Bradbury, but differing from him in his sentiments upon
the Trinity, and disgusted with his violence during the
Salter's-Hall debates, he left him to join Dr. Jeremiah Hunt's
church at Pinner's Hall. His pastor was a frequent visitor at
his seat, at Tofts, in Essex, and Mr. Anthony Collins, the
celebrated free-thinker, occasionally joined the literati assem
bled there. After dinner the Greek Testament was generally
introduced, in order to elicit criticism ; and on one occasion
Collins is reported to have said, respecting the apostle Paul,
" I think so well of him, who was both a man of sense and a
gentleman, that if he had asserted he had worked miracles
himself, I would have believed him." Upon Lord Barring
ton producing a passage to that effect, the disconcerted infidel
seized his hat, and hastily retreated from the company. At
another period his lordship extorted from his guest the con
fession, that though he cared little about religion himself, yet
he took care that his servants should regularly attend at
church, to prevent "their robbing or murdering him."t The
intimacy which substituted between Watts and this distin
guished individual, commenced, probably, through the medium
of Sir Thos. Abney, who Avas his uncle by the mother's side.
Lord Barrington died, after a fevir hours' illness, at his seat at
Becket, near Shrivenham, in Berkshire, Dec. 14, 1734, in

* Besides the works named above, Lord Barrington wrote, " A Dissuasive
against Jacobitism." 1713. It reached a fourth edition.
" An Account of the late proceedings of the Dissenting Ministers at Salter's
Hall, &c, in a Letter to the Rev. Dr. Gale ; with a Postscript to the Rev. Thos. Brad
bury. 1719." This gave rise to a reply from Bradbury, entitled, "An Answer to
the reproaches cast on those Dissenting Ministers who subscribed their belief to
the Eternal Trinity. In a letter to John Barrington Shute, Esq. 1719."
"Letter to Protestant Dissenters, concerning their conduct in the ensuing
Election." 1722. 8vo.
f Biog. Brit. vol. i. p. 626. Note G.

294 LIFE AND TIMES
his fifty-sixth year ; a monument in the parish church bears
an honourable inscription to his memory.*
Mrs. B. Bendish, the eldest daughter of General Ireton, by
Bridget Cromwell, the eldest daughter of the Protector, was
a singular and eccentric character. Of this masculine and
intrepid woman, amusing accounts have been draAvn up by
Mr. Say of Westminster, Dr. Brooke of Norwich, and Mr.
Luson of Lowestoff.f She is described as inheriting more of
Oliver's constitution of body and complexion of mind than
any of his other descendants — " a person of great presence and
majesty, heroic courage, and indefatigable industry, and Avith
something in her countenance and manner, that at once
attracts and commands respect the moment she appears in
company; accustomed to turn her hands to the meanest
offices, and even drudgeries of life, among her workmen and
labourers, from the earliest morning to the decline of day, in
sensible to all the calls and necessities of nature, and in a
habit and appearance beneath the meanest of them, and

* " Here Lies
The Right Hon. John Barrington,
Viscount Barrington of Ardglass, and Baron of
Newcastle,
In the Kingdom of Ireland ; his father Benjamin
was
The youngest son of Francis Shute, of Upton,
In the county of Leicester, Esqr.
Who was descended from Robert Shute, of Hockington,
In
The county of Cambridge,
One of the twelve Judges in
The reign of Queen Elizabeth.
" John Lord Barrington was chosen representative for the town of Berwick-uponi
Tweed in both parliaments of King George I.; and died Dec. 14, 1734, in the
56th year of his age ; leaving by Anne his wife, daughter and coheiress of Sir
William Daines, six sons and three daughters. He took the name of Barrington,
pursuant to the settlement of his relation, Francis Barrington, of Tofts, in the
county of Essex, Esqr., and inherited the estate he had in this neighbourhood by
the will of John Wildman, of Becket, in the county of Berks, Esqr."
f Appendix to " Letters by several eminent Persons Deceased," &c. vpl. 2.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 295
neither suiting her character or sex".* Enthusiastically at
tached to the memory of the Protector, she "looked upon
him as the first and greatest of mankind, and also as the best
— in talking of herself, on the mention of any good quality,
she would always say, she learned it from him, and would
add, that if she had any thing valuable in her, she OAved it all
to her grandfather. In a violent fever, being thought past
recovery, and insensible to any thing that might be said, her
aunt, Lady Fauconberg, and other company being in the
room, and her Ladyship, though Oliver's daughter, giving
too much way to things said in dishonour of his memory by
some present, to the astonishment of all she raised herself
up, and with great spirit said, if she did not believe her
grandmother to have been one ofthe most virtuous women in
the world, she should conclude her Ladyship to be a bastard,
Avondering how it could be possible, that the daughter of the
greatest and best man that ever lived, could be so degenerate,
as not only to sit with patience to hear his memory so ill-
treated, but to seem herself to assent to it."t " As the whole
of Mrs. B.'s personal economy was not of the common form,
her hours of visiting went generally out of the common sea
son. She would very frequently come to visit at nine or ten
at night, and sometimes later if the doors were not shut up.
On such visits she generally stayed until about one in the
morning. Such late visits in those sober times, were consi
dered by her friends as highly inconvenient, yet nobody com
plained of them to her: the respect she universally com
manded, gave her a license in this and many other irregulari
ties. Mrs. B. never Avould suffer a servant to attend her —
God, she said, was her guard, and she Avould have no
other ! Her dress on these visits, though it was in a taste of
her own, was always grave and handsome. At about one in

* Mr. Say. f Dr- Brooke.

296 LIFE AND TIMES
the morning, she used to put herself on the top of ber, mare,
or into the chaise, and set off on her return. When the mare
began to move, Mrs. B. began to sing a psalm or one of
Watts's hymns in a very loud but not a very harmonious
key."* , The husband of this lady Avas Thos. Bendish, Esq.
of Gray's Inn, descended from the ancient family of Sir Thos.
Bendish, Bart., of Essex, ambassador from Charles I. to the
court of Turkey. He died in the year 1707, but his widow
survived him to the year 1728, residing chiefly at South-town,
i. e. south of Yarmouth. She Avas much attached to Owen as
a divine, and Watts as a poet : the latter addressed to her a
poem, " Against Tears," dated 1699, and charity may indulge
the hope, that she is now where eccentricity and soitoav are
alike no more.
Henry Bendish, Esq., of Bedford Row, in the county of
Middlesex, was the second son of the above.f He Avas con
nected Avith Lord Barrington's family, being united to his
sister Martha Shute in the year 1705. He appears to have
been much esteemed by Watts, as he has preserved in his
Lyrics some complimentary verses on his marriage, with a
prefatory letter. His lady is described as strongly resembling
her " noble brother in her person, in her voice, in the grace
and politeness of her address, and in the strength and extent
of her understanding."! The name of Bendish became ex
tinct in the person of her only son Henry, who died at South-
toAvn, unmarried, in the year 1753.
Miss Singer, afterwards the celebrated Mrs. Rowe, is too
well knoAvn to need any lengthened notice ; but there is one
circumstance which intimately associates her name with that

* Mr. Luson.
f The eldest son was Thos. Bendish, Esqr., of Colkirk, in Norfolk, desoribed as
"an expensive, loose liver," who died upon a family estate, in the West Indies.
He left an only son, Ireton Bendish, who held a place under the government, but
died young and unmarried about the year 1730.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 297
of Watts. The personal charms and mental acquirements of
this lady, procured her, previous to her mamage, a number of
admirers, and among the rest the name of the divine occurs
as one of her suitors. In early life he is said to have formed
an attachment for Miss Singer, and along with the poet
Prior to have sought in vain the honour of her hand. Mrs.
Barbauld may allude to this circumstance in the following
lines: "Thynne, Carteret, Blackmore, Orrery approv'd,
And Prior prais'd, and noble Hertford lov'd,
Seraphic Kenn, and tuneful Warts were thine,
And virtue's noblest champions fill'd the line."
How far the equanimity of the lover was ruffled by his dis
appointment we cannot determine ; but Prior, his companion
in misfortune, seems to have conducted himself as became a
disconsolate swain. In his pastoral on " Love and Friendship,"
he says, addressing the unyielding lady,
" But if perchance the series of thy joys,
Permit one thought less cheerful to arise,
Piteous transfer it to the mournful swain,
Who, loving much, who, not belov'd again,
Feels an ill-fated passion's last excess,
And dies in woe, that thou mayst live in peace,"*
If Watts's passion was ever any thing more than platonic,
it afterwards subsided into a pure and sincere friendship,
which subsisted to the gratification of both parties until the
death of Mrs. Rowe.f Certain it is, that he formed no second
* Prior's Poems.
f The circumstance here referred to, seems to have been noised abroad, as it
attracted the attention of Dr. Young, who notices it in his fifth satire :
"What angels would those be, who thus excel,
In theologies, could they sew as well !
Yet why should not the fair her text pursue ?
Can she more decently the dootor woo ?
0

298 LIFE AND TIMES
attachment. He was, hoAvever, by no means insensible to
the charms of female society : he sung of " mighty love" in
his poetry, and was half converted to matrimonial bliss by his
"Indian Philosopher;" but a salutary remembrance of " the
Avretched souls" " chained to eternal strife," marred the gay
vision of imagination. It Avas the opinion of the learned
Sigonius, and his excuse for celibacy, that Minerva and
Venus could not live together.
Richard Cromwell, the eldest son of the Protector, Avas
upon terms of friendly intercourse Avith Watts ; and Avas fre
quently visited by him in his retirement at Cheshunt, Avhere
he calmly spent an extended and vigorous old age. After
descending from his transient elevation, at the Restoration,
he passed several years upon the continent, involved in pecu
niary embarrassments, but returned to witness the second and
final expulsion of the Stuart race, and to enjoy a competent
estate. He resided for some time in the neighbourhood of
Romsey, where the pew in Avhich he used to sit in the meeting
house is, I believe, still preserved, as a relic worthy of notice.
At Cheshunt he occupied a house near the church, courting
privacy, but receiving the visits of some select friends, among
Avhom was the poet of the nonconformists. Visiting Mr.
HoAve, his former chaplain, upon his death-bed, they con
versed upon the varied and tumultuous scenes of the past,
and both are said to have separated in tears. The enemies of
the name of Cromwell, have delighted to represent Richard
as Aveak and pusillanimous ; but for no better reason, than
that he Avas uninfluenced by the selfish and sanguinary am-

" Isaac, a brother of the canting strain,
When he has knock'd at his own skull iu vain,
To beauteous Marcia often will repair,
With a dark text to light it at the fair.
O how his pious soul exults to find
Such love for holy men in womankind !
Charm'd with her learning, with what rapture he
Hangs on her bloom, like au industrious hee ;
Hums round about her, and with all his power,
Extracts sweet wisdom from so fair a flower."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 299
bition of his father. Nature intended him to occupy and
adorn a private station, and he wisely rejected the allurements
of the throne, and honourably and usefully sustained the cha
racter of an educated and independent private gentleman.
" He ahvays," says Noble, "avoided speaking of the time of his
elevation ;" and Mr. Watts asserted, that he never knew him
glance at his former station but once, and that in a very dis
tant manner. His appearance is described as grave and pre
possessing, with venerable Avhite hair, and a polished and
insinuating address. — Thomas Gibson, M.D. physician-gene
ral of the army, was his son-in-law; and to him a poem is
addressed in the Lyrics, entitled " The Life of Souls." He
was uncle to Edmund Gibson, bishop of London, the learned
editor of Camden ; and married the eldest daughter of the
ex-protector. With his nephew, the bishop, he always pre
served a respectful and intimate correspondence ; and left him
the whole of his property after the decease of his Avidow. It
is probable that Dr. Gibson Avas a dissenter ; he died in 1722,
and lies interred in the burial-ground adjoining the Foundling
Hospital, belonging to St. George the Martyr.
The malady Avith which Watts was afflicted in the year
1711, returned with increased violence in the autumn of 1712 ;
and so shattered his constitution and debilitated his frame, as
wholly to suspend his public labours. In September he Avas
seized with a violent fever, which induced a state of nervous
agitation of the most painful and distressing kind ; and during
its continuance he was frequently unable to recognise the
voices and features of his friends, and lay apparently uncon
scious of their presence, sympathy, and attentions. At inter
vals, during the progress of his complaint, his imagination,
naturally strong and vivid, was powerfully excited ; reason
seemed to hold the sceptre with a trembling hand ; and the
most assiduous friendship failed to chase the fancies and
chimeras with which the couch of the invalid was haunted.
His own pen has strikingly portrayed his sufferings :

300 LIFE AND TIMES
" My frame of nature is a ruffl'd sea,
And my disease the tempest. Nature feels
A strange commotion to her inmost centre;
The throne of Reason shakes. ' Be still, my thoughts ;
Peace and be still.' In vain my reason gives
The peaceful word ; my spirit strives in vain
To calm the tumult, and command my thoughts.
This flesh, this circling blood, these brutal powers,
Made to obey, turn rebels to the mind,
Nor hear its laws. The engine rales the man.
Unhappy change ! when nature's meaner springs,
Fir'd to impetuous ferments, break all order ;
When little restless atoms rise and reign
Tyrants in sovereign uproar, and impose
Ideas on the mind ; confused ideas
Of non-existents and impossibles,
Who can describe them ? Fragments of old dreams,
Borrow'd from midnight, torn from faiiy fields
And fairy skies, and regions of the dead,
Abrupt, ill-sorted. O 'tis all confusion!
If I but close my eyes, strange images
In thousand forms and thousand colours rise,
Stars, rainbows, moons, green dragons, bears, and ghosts ;
An endless medley rush upon the stage,
And dance and riot wild in Reason's court,
Above control. I'm in a raging storm,
Where seas and skies are blended ; while my soul,
Like some light worthless chip of floating cork,
Is tost from wave to wave : now high-mounted on the ridge
With breaking floods, I drown, and seem to lose
All being : now high-mounted on the ridge
Of a tall foaming surge, I'm all at once
Caught up into the storm, and ride the wind,
The whistling wind ; unmanageable steed,
And feeble rider!"

Throughout this dark and trying period of his life, Watts's
mind experienced the support and comfort of religion ; and
it is delightful to contemplate the light of his piety breaking
through the deep gloom of afflictive dispensations :

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 301
" Vst, gracious God, amidst these storms of nature,
Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calm
Reign through the realms of conscience : all within
Lies peaceful and composed. 'Tis wondrous grace
Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom,
Tho' stained with sins aud follies, yet serene
In penitential peace and cheerful hope ;
Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood.
Thy vital smiles amidst this desolation,
Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,
Break out in happy moments with bright radiance,
Cleaving the gloom ; the fair celestial light
Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,
And richest cordials to the heart conveys.
O glorious solace of immense distress,
A conscience and a God ! A friend at home
And better Friend on high ! This is my Rock
Of firm support, my Shield of sure defence
Against infernal arrows."
******
" O thou, all-powerful Word, at whose first call
Nature arose; this earth, these shining heavens,
These stars in all their ranks came forth, and said,
' We are thy servants : ' didst thou not create
My frame, my breath, my being, and bestow
A mind immortal on thy feeble creature,
Who faints before thy face ? Did not thy pity
Dress thee in flesh to die, that I might live,
And with thy blood redeem this captive soul
From guilt and death ? O thrice adored name,
My King, my Saviour, my Immanuel, say.
Have not thy eyelids mark'd my painful toil,
The wild confusions of my shatter'd powers,
And broken fluttering thoughts ? Hast thou not seen
Each restless atom, that with vexing influence
Works thro' the mass of man ? each noxious juice,
Each ferment that infects the vital humours,
That heaves the veins with huge disquietude,
And spreads the tumult wide? Do they not lie
Beneath thy view, and all within thy reach ?
Yes, all at thy command, and must obey
Thy sovereign touch: thy touch is health and life,
And harmony to nature's jarring strings."

302 LIFE AND TIMES
During some of his intervals of ease, his conversation with
his friends displayed his deep and scriptural piety — a piety
Avhich enabled him to kiss the hand that Avounded and cast
down. " I know not," he Avas accustomed to remark, " but
my days of restraint and confinement by affliction may appear
my brightest days, Avhen I come to take a review of them in
the light of heaven. " To one of his acquaintance he observed,
" St. Paul's thorn in the flesh Avas the debilitated state of his
nerves, occasioned by the overpoAvering glories of heaven;
whence I conclude, that the apostle Avas in the body when he
Avas caught up into paradise."* This opinion, though com
pletely conjectural, Dr. Gibbons thinks admirably agrees Avith
Avhat the apostle says concerning himself, that he was " Avith
the Corinthians in weakness and in fear and in much tremb
ling." In a letter to a minister in affliction he thus expresses
himself: — "It is my hearty desire for you, that your faith
may ride out the storms of temptation, and the anchor of
your hope may hold, being fixed Avithin the veil. There sits
Jesus our forerunner, Avho sailed over this rough sea before
us, and has given us a chart, even his Avord, where the
shelves and rocks, the fierce currents and dangers, are well
described; and he is our pilot, and Avill conduct us to the
shores of happiness. I am persuaded, that in a future state
Ave shall take a sAveet review of those scenes of providence,
which have been involved in the thickest darkness, and trace
those footsteps of God when he Avalked Avith us through the
deepest Avaters. This will be a surprising delight to survey the
manifold harmony of clashing dispensations, and to have those
perplexing riddles laid open to the eyes of our souls, and read
the full meaning of them in set characters of wisdom and
* The sentiments of divines vary as to the affliction of Paul ; whether an un
ruly lust, according to the ancient Latin commentators, or a false teacher, or a
bodily infirmity. Whitby, Lord Barrington, Benson, and Macknight, with many
others, adopt the latter opinion ; Baxter regarded it as a headache: aud the wis
dom of inspiration is here evident, in not exactly defining it, as every Christian
sufferer is now at liberty to apply the case to himself.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 303
grace." He refers again to his own peculiar trials in his
" Miscellaneous Thoughts," and displays the submissive spirit
of the Christian character: — "But has not my spirit been
depressed by a sickly constitution, and confined to a feeble
engine of flesh under daily disorders ? Have I not sustained
many sorrows on this account, and Avasted some years among
the infirmities of the body and in painful idleness ? Are there
not several souls favoured with a more easy habitation, and
yoked with a better partner ? Are they not accommodated with
engines which have more health and vigour, and situated in
much more happy circumstances than mine? What then?
Shall I repine at my lot and murmur against my Creator, be
cause he has made some hundreds happier than I, while I
survey whole nations and millions of mankind that have not
a thousand part of my blessings ?"* Upon the occasion of Mr.
Watts's illness, the members of his church met together fre
quently, to make prayer in his behalf; and after a chasm of
more than four years in the exercise of his ministry, he was
permitted to return to his public duties. The "Hymn of
Praise for Recovery " which he wrote, expresses the feelings of
a grateful heart :
"Happy the man, that the slow circling moons
And long revolving seasons measure out
The tiresome pains of nature! Present woes
Have their sweet periods. Ease and cheerful health
AVith slow approach (so providence ordains)
Revisit their forsaken mansion here,
And days of useful life diffuse their dawn
O'er the dark cottage of my weary soul.
My vital powers resume their vigour now ;
My spirit feels her freedom, shakes her wings,
Exults and spatiates o'er a thousand scenes,
Surveys the world, and with full stretch of thought
Grasps her ideas ; while impatient zeal
Awakes my tongue to praise. What mortal voice,
Or mortal hand, can render to my God
* Reliq. Juv. No. 5.

304 LIFE AND TIMES
The tribute due ? What altars shall I raise ?
What grand inscription to proclaim his mercy
In living lines ? Where shall I find a victim
Meet to be offer'd to his sovereign love,
And solemnize the worship and the joy.
******
" Jesus, great Advocate, whose pitying eye
Saw my long anguish, and with melting heart
And powerful intercession spread'st my woes
With all my groans before the Father-God,
Bear up my praises now ; thy holy incense
Shall hallow all my sacrifice of joy,
And bring these accents grateful to his ear.
My heart and life, my lips and every power,
Snatch'd from the grasp of death, I here devote,
By thy bless'd hands, an offering to his name."
Part of the summer of 1712, previous to his violent illness
in September, was spent at Tunbridge ; and here he compo
sed the following lines in honour of Lady Sunderland, Avho
was then a visitor at the Wells. This lady, whose husband
had recently been dismissed from the councils of the queen,
was one of the daughters of the Duke of Marlborough, and
had herself just withdrawn from the court. As the poem is
not found in Watts's works, it is inserted here, together Avith
an explanatory letter, which he addressed to a friend :
- "ODE TO THE LADY SUNDERLAND, 1712.
" Fair nymph, ascend to Beauty's throne,
And rule that radiant world alone ;
Let favourites take thy lower sphere;
Not monarchs are thy rivals here.
" The court of Beauty built sublime,
Defies all pow'rs but heav'n and time;
Envy, that clouds the hero's sky,
Aims but in vain her shafts so high.
"Not Blenheim's field, nor Ister's flood,
Nor standards dy'd in Gallic blood,
Torn from the foe, add nobler grace
To Churchill's house than Spenser's face.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 305
" The warlike thunder of his arms,
Is less commanding than her charms ;
His lightning strikes with less surprise
Than sudden glances from her eyes.
"His captives feel their limbs confin'd
In iron; she enslaves the mind:
We follow with a pleasing pain,
And bless the conqueror and the chain.
" The Muse that dares in numbers do
What paint and pencil never knew,
Faints at her presence in despair,
And owns th' inimitable fair."

"Perhaps you Avere not a little surprised, my friend, Avhen
you saw some stanzas on the Lady Sunderland at Tunbridge
Wells, and AVere told that I Avrote them ; but Avhen I give you
a full account of the occasion your wonder will quickly cease.
"The Duke of Marlborough's three daughters, namely,
the Lady Godolphin, the Lady Sunderland, and the Lady
Bridgewater, had been at the Wells sometime when I came
there ; nor had I the honour of any more acquaintance Avith
any of them than Avhat was common to all the company in
the Wells, that is, to be told who they were Avhen they past
by. A few days afterwards they left that place, and the
next morning there Avas found a copy of verses in the coffee
house, called the 'Three Shining Sisters,' but, the author
being unknown, some persons Avere ready to attribute them
to me, knowing that I had heretofore dealt in rhyme. I con
fess I was ashamed of several lines in that copy. Some Avere
very dull, and others, as I remember, bordered upon pro
faneness. " That afternoon I rode abroad as usual for my health, and
it came into my head to let my friends see, that, if I would
choose such a theme, I would write in another manner than

306 LIFE AND TIMES
that nameless author had done. Accordingly, as I Avas on horse
back, I began a stanza on the ' Three Shining Sisters,' but
my ideas, my rhyme, and the metre would not hit Avell, while
the Avords ran in the plural number; and this slight occur
rence Avas the real occasion of turning my thoughts to the
singular; and then, because the Lady Sunderland Avas ac
counted much the finest Avoman of the three, I addressed the
verses to her name. Afterwards, Avhen I came to the coffee
house, I entertained some of my friends Avith these lines,
and they, imagining it would be no disagreeable thing to the
company, persuaded me to permit them to pass through the
press. This is the whole story, and the real truth."
On reading the preceding lines, a divine composed the fol
lowing impromptu, in Avhich it is difficult to say Avhether the
author or the lady has the greater compliment :
" While numerous bards have sounded Spenser's name,
And made her beauties heirs to lasting fame,
Her memory still to their united lays
Stands less indebted than to Watts's praise.
What wondrous charms must to that fair be given,
Who mov'd a mind that dwelt so near to heaven !"
On the 3rd of March, 1713, owing to Watts's continued
affliction, Mr. Price, his assistant at Bury-street, Avas or
dained co-pastor Avith him, at his express recommendation
and desire. The Rev. Messrs. Nesbitt, Bragge, Collins,
Ridgley, and Foxon, assisted on the occasion. Mr. Price is
described as a man of sound and solid sense, a judicious use
ful preacher, and eminent for his gift in prayer. He pos
sessed great sagacity ; was very able, faithful, and ready to
advise and communicate his mind in serviceable hints and
cautions to his friends. His disposition Avas friendly and
peaceable, and he laid himself out to do good, in Avhich he
much delighted.* That Mr. Watts highly esteemed his col-
* Wilson's Diss. Churches, i. 319.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 307
league, is evident from his will, in which he styles him his
faithful friend and companion in the labours of the ministry :
he mentions also a legacy which he bequeaths him, as only
a small testimony of his great affection for him, on account of
his services of love, during the many harmonious years of
their fellowship in the work of the gospel. In the dedica
tion of one of the volumes of sermons to his people, he says,
that he could not conceal his joy, that his kind and faithful
companion in the service of their souls practises his ministry
Avith the same vieAvs and designs (as himself), and that he had
been sensibly owned and assisted of God, to support and
build up the church during his long confinement. "His
labours," he adds, "both for you and for me, shall ever endear
him both to you and me." Mr. Price Avas the uncle of the
late celebrated Dr. Richard Price; he survived his colleague
but little more than seven years, and died lamented by per
sons of various persuasions, April 21, 1756, having been con
nected with the church in Bury-street almost fifty-three years.
His remains lie entered in Bunhill Fields, Avith an inscription
upon his tomb-stone, Avhich he himself dictated : — " Here lies
the body of Mr. Samuel Price, Avho served with the truly Rev.
Dr. Watts, in the gospel, under the character of his assistant
aud co-pastor 45 years, to Avhose uninterrupted goodness and
candour he has been highly obliged so great a part of his life.
He died in hopes of being together for ever with the Lord, the
21st of April, 1756." Mr. Price is only knoAvn as an author
by the folloAving sermons : — "To the Society who support the
Morning Lecture at Little St. Helen's, Aug. 1, 1724." "To
the Societies for Reformation of Manners, preached at Salter's
Hall, June 28, 1725." "Nine Sermons in the Bury-street
Collection, 1735." "A Charge at the Ordination ofthe Rev.
John Angus, at Bishop Stortford, 1748." "A Sermon on the
death of Dame Mary Abney, 1750."
The long illness of Watts not only inspired his own people
with a tender sympathy towards him ; but engaged the bene-

308 LIFE AND TIMES
volent attention of Sir Thomas Abney and his lady, who
invited him to become an inmate in tbeir house. This invi
tation led to a residence of nearly forty years with this amiable
family, by whom he Avas treated with the utmost kindness as
a friend, attention as an invalid, and respect as a divine. The
exact time when this offer Avas made and accepted I am un
able to ascertain, but most probably it took place in the year
1713 or 1714. "A coalition like this," Dr. Johnson remarks,
" a state in which the notions of patronage and dependence
were overpoAvered by the perception of reciprocal benefits,
deserves a particular memorial." The Countess of Huntingdon
once told Mr. Toplady, that Avhen she visited Dr. Watts on
one occasion he thus accosted her : " Madam, your Ladyship
is come to see me on a very remarkable day." — " Why is this
day," she replied, " so remarkable ?" — " This day thirty years
I came hither to the house of my good friend Sir Thomas
Abney, intending to spend but one single week under his
friendly roof, and I have extended my visit to the length of
exactly thirty years." — Lady Abney, who Avas present, imme
diately said, " Sir, Avhat you term a long thirty-years' visit, I
consider as the shortest visit my family ever received."* The
obligation was doubtless felt to be mutual ; and the instruc
tions and consolation derived from the conversation and dis
courses of the invalid divine, repaid the hospitality of his
hosts. At the morning and evening sacrifice the family Avere
favoured with the prayers and counsels of their guest, and
on the evening of the sabbath he generally expounded and
preached to them. Dr. Gibbons observes, " A gentlewoman
now living, Avho is an ornament to her sex, told me, that in
younger life, when on a visit at Lady Abney's, she was taken
somewhat ill, and was left in the house (the rest of the
family being gone abroad) Avith only the doctor; and the
good man improved the occasion to enter into discourse Avith
* Gospel Mag. 1776. p. 41.

OE DR. ISAAC WATTS. 309
her, and give her most excellent advices, of which she has a
pleasing remembrance to the present day."*
Having given an account of Sir John Hartopp and his
connexions, some notice of Sir Thomas Abney and his family
it may here be proper to introduce.
Sir Thomas Abney was the younger son of James Abney,
Esq. of Willersley, a small village in the hundred of Repton
and Gresley in Derbyshire. The family Avas ancient and
respectable, having settled there in the commencement of the
fifteenth century. The parish church contains several memo
rials of its early branches. The manor of Willersley originally
belonged to the abbey of Burton, under which it was held in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the family of Ing-
wardby, the heiress of whom married one of the Abneys, Avho
eventually became possessed of it. The manor-house is in the
form of the letter H, and was built in the early part of the
reign of Charles I. Here Sir Thomas Abney was born in
January, 1639, "the religious son of Avorthy and pious pa
rents." His mother, whose maiden name Avas Mamvaring,
of Whitmore in Staffordshire, died during his infancy, but his
father lived to the advanced age of ninety-four, serving the
office of high-sheriff of Derbyshire in the year 1656. His
elder brother, Edward, became doctor of civil laAv, Avas
knighted at Whitehall, April 2, 1673, and elected member
for the borough of Leicester in the parliaments of 1690 and
1695.f Owing to the death of his mother, and the confusion of the
civil wars, in which the family suffered considerably, young
Abney was placed under the care of his aunt, Lady Bromley,
relict of Sir Edward Bromley, one of the barons of the ex-
* Gibbons's Life, p. 135.
f A manuscript, written in the year 1588, the time ofthe threatened Spanish
invasion, contains a list of the gentlemen in the county of Derby who contributed
to the defence of the nation. The name of "James Abney," the grandfather
of Sir Thomas, occurs, with his contribution, " £25."

310 LIFE AND TIMES
chequer during the reigns of Elizabeth and; James I. He
received the first rudiments of learning at a school in Lough
borough, in the neighbourhood Avhere his relative resided.
Her pious instructions, it is believed, made early impressions
upon him, and were the happy means of a sober and religious
turn of mind, which continued through the Avhole of his life.
Firmly resolved on the side of virtue and religion, he early
attached himself to the dissenting interest, and probably at
tended the ministry of Mr. Caryl, whose daughter was his
first wife. With this lady he lived in great happiness Up
wards of twenty years ; and in 1700 he was united to Mrs.
Mary Gunston, the eldest daughter of John Gunston, Esq. of
Stoke Newington. After Mr. Caryl's death Sir Thomas
became a member ofthe presbyterian church, in Silver-street,
under Dr. Thomas Jacomb ; and with this congregation he
continued attached until his decease, under the successive
ministry of John HoAve, John Spademan, Samuel Rosewell,
and Jeremiah Smith. Upon the death of his father, the family
estates at Willersley came into the possession of his brother,
Sir Edward Abney ; but his own means were then ample,
and by his subsequent marriage he succeeded to considerable
wealth. In 1693 he Avas elected sheriff of London and
Middlesex; in 1694 he was chosen alderman of Vintry Ward,
and knighted by King William ; and in 1700 he succeeded to
the office of lord mayor,* some years before his time. In 1701
the citizens chose him at that critical juncture to represent them
in parliament ; in 1716 he became alderman of Bridge Ward
Without ; he was also a director of the bank from its first in
stitution in 1694, president of St. Thomas's hospital, and for
some time previous to his death father of the city.
* Elkanah Settle was laureate to Sir T. Abney. He was poet to the city of
London, and had a pension for an annual panegyric to celebrate the festival of
their chief magistrate :
" Settle the poet, to my Lord Mayor's show,
Shall Dryden, Cowley, and our Duke forego."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 311
During his mayoralty Sir Thomas Abney rendered signal
service to the cause of William III. ; and materially assisted
to thwart the designs of that faction Avho opposed the foreign
policy of the monarch. Upon the death of the exiled James,
the king of France caused his son to be proclaimed at St.
Germains king of Great Britain, Avhich being a direct viola
tion of the peace of Ryswick, the Earl of Macclesfield Avas
recalled from the French court, and forbid to take any audi
ence upon his departure. War being looked upon as unavoid
able, Sir Thomas Abney had the courage to propose an
address from the common council to his majesty, signifying
their determination to support him against France and the
Pretender. This address, though opposed by the majority of
his brethren on the bench, was carried with remarkable
success, and transmitted to the king, Avho Avas then on the
continent. When this noble resolution of the city of London
was known, it animated his affairs, and gave new life to his
interest, both abroad and at home. A considerable person
then living complimented the author of this proceeding,
assuring him, that he had done more service to the king than
if he had raised him a million of money.
It Avas by no means unusual at that period, for the chief
magistrate of the city of London to be a dissenter, though
such appointments Avere viewed with jealousy by the high-
church party. In the year of the Revolution, Sir John
Shorter,* a nonconformist, filled the civic chair; and dying
during his mayoralty, his place Avas supplied by Sir John
Eyles, who was of the same religious persuasion. Sir
Humphrey Edwin, also a presbyterian, Avas elected lord
mayor, in the year 1697; and in his time the warm debates
on occasional conformity commenced. The dissenters, who
* Sir John Shorter going to proclaim Bartholomew Fair, he called as was usual
upon the keeper of Newgate, who entertained the chief magistrate upon such occa
sions with a tankard of wine, nutmeg, and sugar. The lid of the tankard falling
down suddenly, the noise startled his horse, which threw him and caused his death
the next day.

312 LIFE AND TIMES
legally qualified themselves to occupy civil stations, were
accustomed to attend one part of the Sunday at church, and
upon the other part to frequent their OAvn places of worship.
This practice had continued for some years, without reprehen
sion from either party, Avhen Sir H. Edwin, imprudently car
ried the regalia of his office to Pinner's Hall meeting-house.
The church party immediately took the alarm at this incautious
step ; and the circumstance of the " ensigns of the august
corporation," being carried to a "nasty conventicle,"* led to
strenuous and at length successful attempts to bring in the
bill against " Occasional Conformity." The dissenters were
themselves divided as to its laAvfulness; and Mr. Howe, Sir
Thomas Abney's pastor, Avas appealed to by De Foe to vin
dicate the practice. The following curious specimen of high-
church vituperation, referring to Watts and his patron, is
from one of the popular pamphlets of the day: — "But a
lady (Queen Anne) now sits on the throne, Avho though
sprung from that blood Avhich ye and your forefathers spilt
before the palace-gates, puts on a temper of forgiveness, and,
in compassion to your consciences, is not willing that you
should lose the hopes of heaven by purchasing here on earth.
She would have no more Sir Humphreys tempt the justice of
God, by falling from his true worship, and giving ear to the
cat-calls and back-pipes at Paul's; Avould have your Sir
Thomas'st keep to their primitive text, and not venture dam
nation to play at long-spoon and custard% for a transitory
twelvemonth ; and would have your Sir Tom sing psalms at
Highgate Hill, and split texts of scripture with his diminutive
figure of a chaplain,§ without running the hazard of qualify-
* Dr. Nichols's Apparat. ad Def. Eccles. Angl.
f Sir Thomas Abney.
X Custard was a standing dish at a lord mayor's feast.
§ Watts.

OF DE. ISAAC AVATrS. 313
ing himself to be called a handsome man, for riding on horse
back* before the city trainbands."f
In the public events of the year 1714 the dissenters were
deeply interested, as at one time they threatened the total ex
tinction of their civil and religious liberties. The schism bill,
which rapidly passed through, what Burnet terms, the Avorst
parliament he ever kneAV, received the royal assent on the
25th of June ; and, but for the gracious interference of provi
dence, would have closed every public and private school or
seminary throughout the kingdom, Avhich Avas unprotected
by the license of a bishop and conformity to the liturgy.
Nonconformists, Avho of course could not subscribe to the
terms imposed by this measure, were, upon conviction of
keeping school, as " the head and front of their offending,"
to be consigned to the hardships of imprisonment. The
pagan classics were prohibited by the emperor Julian to his
Christian subjects, as a species of refined policy to bring them
again Avithin the fold of Olympian Jove; and the infidel
St. John seems to have borroAved from him the idea of
making the dissenters ignorant, as a preparatory step to con
vert them to the establishment. By the death of the queen,
August 1, the fatal influence of the schism bill Avas arrested
on the very day it was to have come into operation ; and of
its principal abettors, Bolingbroke was driven into exile;
and Oxford Avas committed to the tOAver. Such a striking
coincidence could not escape notice and acknowledgment
as a remarkable providence; and so late as the year 1758,
Ave find the apathetic soul of Dr. Benson Avarmed into trans
port, and almost converted to orthodoxy, by its remembrance.
"On the very day," said he, preaching at Salter's Hall, "that

* Before the state coach came into use, the lord mayor appeared in procession
upon a state horse : — "To ride the city horse, and wear the ehain."
f "The Shortest Way with the Dissenters." 1 703. 4to.
X

314 LIFE AND TIMES
the schism bill Avas to take place, God once more appeared
for us, in the most remarkable and distinguishing manner;
took away the life of that princess Avho had so far been
seduced, as causelessly to seek our destruction; and intro
duced King William's legacy, the amiable and illustrious
House of Hanover. O that glorious first of August ! that
most signal day, Avhich ought never to be forgot !" The reign
of Queen Anne, auspicious at its commencement, Avas most
inglorious at its close ; lending herself to evil counsellors, she
conspired against the liberties of the subject, under a pre
tended zeal for the church and the royal prerogative ; and the
termination of her government is disgraced Avith some of the
most intolerant measures that degrade the legislature of
Great Britain. She forfeited the attachment of the noncon
formists and the moderate churchmen, to become the tool of
a party in league with her exiled brother; and, hence, the
recantation which the dissenting poet made of his panegyrical
verses.* In the early part of his ministry, Mr. Watts delivered a
series of discourses upon prayer to a private society of young
men, who met together in the vestry of his meeting-house for
devotional exercises. During his illness he was occupied in
correcting and arranging them for the press; and the volume,
entitled "A Guide to Prayer," was published in the year
1716. None of his preceding biographers have been able to
* In 1705 Watts sings,
" Princess, the world already owns thy name;
Go mount the chariot of immortal fame,
Nor die to be renowned."
In 1721 he subjoius his Palinodia to the piece, and makes the amende honor
able, which truth and justice demanded : —
"Britons, forgive the forward muse,
That dar'd prophetic seals to loose.
Unskiird in fate's eternal hook,
And the deep characters mistook.
George is the name, that glorious star;
Ye saw his splendours beaming far,
Saw in the east your joys arise,
When Anna sunk iu western skies."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 315
ascertain the period Avhen this treatise appeared, for the pre
face is Avithout any date; but in accidently looking over a list
of books in the library of the London Institution, printed by
Mr. William BoAvyer, the most celebrated printer of the last
century, I found Watts's work, dated 1716. Nichols, who
gives the list, remarks, that this year, during the severe frost
in January and February, the river Thames became one block
of ice, and shops of every description were erected upon its
surface. Among the rest the printers and booksellers pursued
their professions. Either Mr. Bowyer, or his brother Jonah,
the bookseller, was one of the number, as the following record
proves: — " In this place Bowyer
plies; that's Lintot's stand."*
It would be a curious circumstance, if any part of Watts's
volume made its appearance upon the surface of Father
Thames. The " Guide to Prayer" is intended to assist the youthful
Christian in the performance of this important part of devo
tion, by leading him to avoid the incoherent and rhapsodical
style of the enthusiast, and the cold formality engendered by
a liturgical formulary. One of his predecessors, Mr. Clarkson,
in a treatise abounding with valuable learning and cogent
reasoning, entitled "A Discourse concerning Liturgies," has
successfully shown, that no forms of prayer Avere imposed or
prescribed during the first four centuries, till the state of the
church Avas rather to be pitied than imitated; and Watts
expresses himself decidedly hostile to their use, except in
certain extraordinary cases. It is very evident, that what is
called the Lord's prayer was given to the early disciples, as a
mode and not as a, form ; as a directory suited to the infant state
of Christianity, and not designed to be the law and standard of
our devotions. The perpetual confinement to any formula,
* Nichols, i. 118.

316 LIFE AND TIMES
interferes with the work of the Spirit; it tends to render
religious services formal and mechanical; and inverts "the
true order of Avorship, making our AA'ords regulate our de
sires, instead of our desires regulate our words." On the
other hand Watts cautions his readers against the opposite
extreme — that of neglecting all preparation for prayer;
the dangerous delusion of the seventeenth century, occasion
ed by a notion, that the influence of the Spirit superseded the
exercise of the understanding. At that period the abuse of
the doctrine of divine influence Avas the prominent vice of
the religious Avorld; an ambitious pietism prevailed, Avhich
asserted in the most fearless manner extravagant claims to
high supernal illumination ; and the assistance of the intel
lectual poAvers Avas disdained, as unnecessary and unbecom
ing to him who was supposed to hold the energy of the
Spirit in his grasp, and could wield the omnipotence 6f the
Eternal at Avill. The too frequent consequence of this pre
sumption Avas, the extinction of plainness and simplicity in
devotion, and the assumption of a rude and familiar demea
nour, Avith the use of dark and mystical phraseology. Prayer,
which should be accompanied Avith the adoration of the
divine perfections, a deep gratitude for the blessings of this
life and for the expectation of a better; prayer, Avhich
should be conducted under an awful sense of the divine pre
sence, the most inspiring of all encouragements, and the most
efficient of all controls; prayer, Avhich ought to be, from its
very nature, an acknoAvledgment of our dependence upon
one Avho "knoweth our infirmities before we ask, and our
ignorance in asking" — assumed the character of demand,
and the professed petitioner became, in his OAvn estimation, an
inspired prophet, oracularly unfolding the will and explain
ing the purposes of heaven. The simple language in Avhich
penitence Avill confess its guilt, desire utter its cravings, and
faith indulge its confidence, Avas supplanted by "great swell
ing Avoids of vanity;" and the tumid style of the philosophi-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 317
cal and mystic dreamers of the convent and the hermitage,
became the fashionable mode of spiritual expression. It was,
however, little better than "speaking in an unknoAvn tongue"
to the multitude, to address the Divine Being as hypostatically
three and essentially one — as by the plenitude of perfection
in his essence being self-sufficient for his own existence and
beatitude — as in an incomplex manner eminently, though
not formally, including all the infinite variety of complex
ideas in his creatures — and as gladding his people Avith the
exuberant profusions of his grace and the sempiternal efflux
of his glory ! It would be unjust to regard this as an exclu
sive feature of puritanism ; it Avas the error of the period more
than of the men; and the mightiest names that adorned the
great struggle for religion and liberty, were but slightly
tinctured Avith it. "It was common," says Mr. Orme,* "to
others, as well as to those who are stigmatised as the sec
taries of the time. It is impossible, indeed, to produce the
prayers of churchmen, as their book admits neither of im
provement nor of deterioration from the changes of human
society; but if we may judge Avhat Avould have been their
prayers from their sermons, it is not difficult to perceive that
even the best of them did not rank high above the preachers
of the commonAVealth." There is much truth in the follow
ing remarks of the same Avriter, apologetical for the prayers
of Cromwell's chaplains: "I am far from thinking that
their minds Avere as Ioav and vulgar as the language which
they employed would seem to indicate. They Avere men
accustomed to pray much ; this in itself gendered a kind of
familiar habit; and as they Avere not surrounded by senti
mental religionists and fashionable clergymen, but by per
sons of their oavii spirit and sentiments, they expressed them
selves without reserve. High devotional ardour cannot al
ways be restrained to measured phrases ; but those Avho cau
* Appendix to Owen's Life, p. 495.

818 LIFE AND TIMES
make every alloAvance for poetical license and scientific en
thusiasm, have no charity for any excess of feeling in which
religion is concerned!" Those Avho are not disposed to acqui
esce in these remarks, but unscrupulously to condemn the
extemporary prayers of the parliament divines, Avould do well
to remember, how changed the morals of the court and the
nation became, when a printed formulary Avas forced upon
their observance. — "The Guide to Prayer" may be advanta
geously consulted by the young inquirer; and even those Avho
may object to Watts's plan of instruction,. the churchman on
account of there being too littre system, and the dissenter be
cause there is too much, Avill yet agree, that his directions
display his piety and desire to be useful.
The Guide to Prayer and the Imitation of the Psalms origi
nated the following sprightly lines from Mr. Samuel Wesley,
Avhichiare inserted in the duodecimo edition of his poems :

"Form stints the spirit, Watts has said,
And therefore oft is wrong ;
At best a crutch the weak to aid,
A cumbrance to the strong.
"Old David both in prayer and praise,
A form for crutches brings ;
But Watts has dignified his lays,
And furnished him with wings.
"E'en AA'atts a form for praise can choose,
For prayer, who throws it by;
Crutches to walk he can refuse,
But uses them to fly."

In the close of the year 1716, Mr. Watts Avas Avith the fam
ily of Sir Thomas Abney at Theobalds, in Hertfordshire, at
their country-seat. The two discourses inserted in the first
volume of his sermons, entitled "Appearance before God,"

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 319
were delivered by him here at the evening worship, Nov.
25th and Dec. 9th. In the dedication of these two sermons
he censures "that unrighteous law," the act against occa
sional conformity, which Avas noAv in full operation, and
which was passed to depri ve the dissenters who practised it
of their civil offices. Sir Thomas Abney, Sir John Fryer,
and several others, who Avere magistrates, were, hoAvever, anx
ious to escape such consequences; and took refuge from the
influence of the measure in the accommodating scheme of Mr.
Howe. "Upon mature consideration," says Calamy, "back
ed with the pressing importunity of several persons of dis
tinction in our own nation, joined with the solicitation of the
Resident of Brunswick, Avho took pains to represent to them,
in the strongest manner, hoAV far the interest of his master
and of the Hanover family depended upon their continuance
in their posts and stations, they were prevailed Avith to keep
their stations, and content themselves with that restrained
Avay of worship the laAV allowed." To secure the interest,
therefore, of the Elector of Hanover, Sir Thomas Abney
retained his office, abstaining from attending his own place
of worship, and employing in his family the ministrations of
Mr. Watts. But the lay dissenters Avould have acted a much
more honourable and consistent part, had they sacrificed at
once worldly honours to maintain the rights of conscience
and display the purity of their principles.
At Theobalds many of Watts's happiest hours were spent;
and many of his literary undertakings were executed. It was
the favourite residence of the crafty Burleigh; the scene of
many of Elizabeth's gorgeous "progresses;" and the site of
James's pleasures and death. In the neighbouring village of
Cheshunt and its vicinity, Lord Barrington, Mr. Pickard, and
Richard Cromwell Avere frequently resident; and many of
Watts's metropolitan friends Avere accustomed to retire there
in the summer from the confinement of the city. The
church and church -yard of Cheshunt contain some monumen-

320 LIFE AND TIMES
tal inscriptions from the pen of the poet;* and the following
lines appear to have been written upon a ceiling or spot-dial,
at a Avestern window at Theobalds :
" Little sun, upon the ceiling
Ever moving, ever stealing
Moments, minutes, hours away;
May no shade forbid thy shining,
While the heavenly sun declining
Calls us to improve the day."
An eventful period now arrived in the history of protestant
dissenters, the year 1719, in Avhich the conference at Salter's
Hall Avas held upon the Exeter trinitarian controversy.
This unhappy dispute engaged the attention of the London
ministers : to maintain the peace of the Avestern churches Avas
the ostensible object of their meeting; but principles Avere
covertly propagated in the contest, which have proved de
structive to most of the presbyterian congregations, at that
time the pride and glory of nonconformity. The subject of
these pages stood personally aloof from the fiery polemics;
the arena of debate ill accorded Avith his amiable and unob
trusive temper; but his active mind eagerly fixed upon the
topics in dispute, and a change Avas ultimately effected in bis
own doctrinal views, which, though unwarrantably magnified
by the Arian party, the Christian church can never* cease fo
lament. At the period of the Salter's-Hall debates, Mr. Watts's
opinions upon the trinity coincided Avith those now enter
tained by the orthodox ; but he Avas hurt by the divisions and
strife he Avitnessed, and his love for peace led him to endea
vour to conciliate the disputants by attempting a new expli
cation of the doctrine. Here was his error: he sought to dis-
* Thos. Pickard, Esq. Chap. 7. On the gravestone of Mr. John May, a young
student in divinity, who died after a lingering and painful sickness:
"So sleep the saints, and cease to groan,
When sin and death have done their worst;
Christ hath a glory like his own,
Which waits to clothe tbeir waking dust."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 321
cover the modus of the divine nature, Avhich to finite minds is
inexplicable; and, as the inevitable consequence, he plunged
into a labyrinth, and became ftt every step the more involved
in uncertainty and doubt.
To heal the breach Avhich had taken place betAveen the
Exeter pastors, Avho were accused of Arianism, and their con
gregations, a committee of metropolitan ministers prepared a
paper of advices for promoting peace ; and a general meeting
of the three denominations Avas convened at Salter's Hall,
to deliberate upon it. The proposal to insert in it a declara
tion respecting the trinity, analogous to tbe first of the
thirty -nine articles of the church of England, and the fifth
and sixth articles of the Assembly's Catechism, to remove all
suspicion as to their OAvn orthodoxy, was strenuously debated,
and ultimately lost by a minority of four voices. The minis
ters became now divided into three parties: the subscribers
to a confession of faith, the non-subscribers, and those Avho
withdrew or never attended the assembly. Mr. Thos. Brad
bury was the leader of the first party ; Dr. Joshua Oldfield, the
second ; and Mr. Watts, Dr. Calamy, Dr. Marryat, and Mr.
Neale, were the principle persons in the third. It is not to be
concluded, that the non-subscribers Avere all of them anti-tri-
nitarians, though some of them were so ; a considerable number
Avho voted on that side, Avere as orthodox as the other party, but
objected to the proposed subscription as an infringement of
their Christian liberty, and inconsistent Avith their principles
as dissenters, to subscribe to any test of sentiment not ex
pressed in the words of scripture. The inexpediency, and in
jurious tendency of ecclesiastically sanctioned and imposed
formularies, expressed in the words taught by man's Avisdom,
is readily admitted ; but still there are periods Avhen it is highly
expedient for both ministers and churches, to testify against
prevailing heresy, by declarative summaries of their faith.
The AA'holesome exercise of Christian discipline, to maintain
the internal piety of a church, is a better safeguard against

322 LIFE AND TIMES
corruption than a vaunted theoretical orthodoxy; yet at such a
period as that ofthe Salter's-Hall conference, Avhen error Avas
skulking abroad in disguise, and the successors of the HoAves
and Baxters of a former age, were many of them covertly
ranged beneath the banners of Socinus, a public and explicit
avowal of doctrine, not as an imposed creed, but a voluntary
confession, seems not only proper but necessary. Without
any compromise of principle as a dissenter, Mr. Watts might
have joined the subscribers; for the independents have never
objected to simple declarations of their belief: it is only to
exaction and imposition that they are opposed. From the
beginning of their history, they have been accustomed to
publish such statements — hence, the BroAvnist " true confes
sion" in 1596 — the platform of doctrine and discipline recog
nised by the New-England churches, in 1648 — the Savoy
confession, in 1658 — and the declaration of faith and order,
recently issued by the congregational union of England and
Wales. As an apology for Watts, it may be observed, that
he was evidently not aware of the extent of the evil that
threatened the dissenting churches; he Avas inclined to hope
the best of the suspected party; he Avas a lover of peace,
and, therefore, anxious to mediate ; he might think that har
mony Avas more likely to be restored by silence than by
interference — and, hence, he retired to occupy neutral
ground. The history of this unhappy contest has been touched upon,
because I believe it to have had a powerful and, as it proved,
an unfortunate influence upon the mind of Watts. He Avas
misled, with many others, by a specious appeal to his candour
and moderation; he sought to strike out a new scheme of
explication to accommodate the rival disputants, evidently
forgetting the "length of his line," and the numberless
"depths in the ocean which it cannot fathom."
At this critical juncture it was deemed advisable, to reprint
a sermon by the excellent MattheAV Henry, as having a par-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 323
ticular relation to the agitated state of the religious world.
This is entitled, " Disputes Reviewed, in a Sermon preached
at the Evening Lecture at Salter's Hall, on Lord's-day, July
23, 1710:" to the edition of 1719 Mr. Watts prefixed a pre
face, full of eloquence and peaceful zeal. " Surely," says he,
" the design to republish this useful sermon of the late Rev.
M. Henry must meet with a general approbation. In my
opinion," he adds, " there has not been a season these twenty
years so inviting to tbe writers on peace and union, and so
much in want of healing discourses. That great man had a
most happy talent in tbe practical Avay. His easy and fami
liar turns of thought and language, insinuate themselves into
the conscience with so poAverful and pleasing a conviction,
that we cannot but delight in hearing ourselves so artfully
reproved, even while we blush inwardly and own the folly
that he corrects." Mr. Watts was equally esteemed by Mr.
Henry, and in his poetical compositions he took great delight.
In his Diary he remarks, Avhen journeying from London
to Chester, July 31, 1711, "Between Woburn and Coventry
I read over Mr. Watts's Hoiae Lyricse." There has been
some difference of opinion as to the authorship of part of
the last volume of Mr. Henry's commentary, but the follow
ing entry in Mr. Watts's OAvn hand-writing, upon a blank leaf
at the beginning of the last volume of the copy in his library,
may be adduced as valuable evidence : " The Rev. Mr.
Matthew Henry before his death had made some small pre
parations for this last volume. The epistle to the Romans,
indeed, was explained so largely by his own hand, that it
needed only the labour of epitomising. Some parts of the
other epistles Avere done, but very imperfectly, by himself; and
a few other hints had been taken in short-hand from his
public and private expositions on some of the epistles.
"By these assistances the ministers whose names are here
Avritten, have endeavoured to complete this Avork in the style
and method of the author : viz.

324 LIFE AND TIMES
"Romans  Mr. (afterwards Dr.) John Evans*
1 Corinthians .... Mr. Simon Browne.f
2 Corinthians .... Mr. Daniel Mayo.
Galatians  Mr. Joshua Bayes.
Ephesians  Mr. Samuel Rosewell.
Philippians  jMr (aflemaids Dr) Wil]iam Han.is
LoJossians  3
1 Thessalonians j m ^.^
2 I hessalomans 3
1 Timothy  7 ,T .
2 j. , 5- Mr. Benjamin Andrews Atkinson.
„, .. [ Mr. Jeremiah Smith.
Jrhilemon  J
Hebrews  Mr. William Tong.
James ...'.'  Mr. William Wright.J
1 Peter  Mr. Zech. Merrill.§
2 Peter  Mr. Joseph Hill.
1, 2, 3, John  Mr. John Reynolds|| of Shrewsbury.
Jude  Mr. John Billingsley.
Revelations  Mr. William Tong."
* " The exposition ou the Romans," says Doddridge, "begun by Henry, and
finished by Dr. Evans, is the best I ever saw. "
f Pastor at the Old Jewry, a man of high intellectual attainments, but unhap
pily a victim, in the latter part of his life, to one of the most extraordinary phan
tasies that ever visited the human imagination. He thought that God bad anni
hilated the thinking principle within him, that the ratioual soul had gradually
perished, and that he was degraded to the level of the brutes. Hence, he would
join in no act of public or private worship, looking upon himself no longer as a
moral agent. Yet strange to say, that in this mood he combated Collins and
AVoolston, wrote on the Trinity, and compiled a dictionary ! See Adventurer, No. 88.
X It should be Dr. S. Wright.
§ The editors of the 4to edition, assign the 1 Peter to Mr. Merrill, but on what
ground does not appear. Mr. Stedman also varies from Mr. Watts without any
explanatory remark, attributing 1 Peter to " Mr. Hill," and 2 Peter to "Mr. Merrill
of Hampstead."
|| "Hehadmade," says Watts, "the holy scriptures his study; and itis evident
that he was very capable of explaining the word of God. The chief monument
of his skill in this kind is, his comment on the three epistles of St. John, in that last
volume of Mr. Henry's Exposition of the Bible, which was completed by the

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 325
"Tuesday, Aug. 19, 1712.
" Mr. Spectator, " You very much promote the interests of virtue,
Avhile you reform the taste of a profane age ; and persuade us
to be entertained Avith divine poems, whilst Ave are distin
guished by so many thousand humours, and split into so
many different sects and parties; yet persons of every party,
sect, and humour, are fond of conforming their taste to yours.
You can transfuse your own relish of a poem into all your
readers, according to their capacity to receive ; and Avhen you
recommend the pious passion that reigns in the verse, Ave
seem to feel the devotion, and groAV proud and pleased in
wardly, that Ave have souls capable of relishing what the
Spectator approves. Upon reading the hymns that you have
published in some late papers, I had a mind to try yesterday
whether I could Avrite one. The 114th psalm appears to me
an admirable ode, and I began to turn it into our language.
As I Avas describing the journey of Israel from Egypt, and
added the Divine Presence amongst them, I perceived a
beauty in this psalm, Avhich was entirely new to me, and
which I was going to lose ; and that is, that the poet utterly
conceals the presence of God in the beginning of it, and
rather lets a possessive pronoun go Avithout a substantive,
than he will so much as mention any thing of divinity there.
"Judah Avas his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion or
kingdom." The reason uoav seems evident, and this conduct
necessary : for, if God had appeared before, there could be
no Avonder why the mountains should leap and the sea retire;
therefore, that this convulsion of nature may be brought
in with due surprise, his name is not mentioned till afterwards;
and then Avith a very agreeable turn of thought, God is
labours of many worthy aud learned writers. There we may read both his know
ledge, his spirit, his faith, and his love, wherein he was ahappy imitator ofthe bless
ed and beloved disciple." Preface to Reynolds on Reconciliation.

326 LIFE AND TIMES
introduced at once in all his majesty. This is what I have
- attempted to imitate in a translation without paraphrase,
and to preserve Avhat I could of the spirit of the sacred
author. "If the folloAving essay be not too incorrigible, bestow upon
it a feAv brightnings from your genius, that I may learn how
to write better, or to Avrite no more.
" Your daily admirer and
" humble servant, &c."
PSALM, CXIV.
I.
" When Israel, freed from Pharaoh's hand,
Left the proud tyrant and his land,
The tribes with cheerful homage own
Their king, and Judah was his throne.
II.
"Across the deep their journey lay,
The deep divides to make them way ;
•The streams of Jordan saw, and fled
With backward current to his head.
III.
" The mountains shook like frighted sheep,
Like lambs the little hillocks leap ;
Not Sinai on her base could stand,
Conscious of sovereign power at hand.
IV.
" What power could make the deep divide ?
Make Jordan backward roll his tide ?
Why did ye leap, ye little hills ?
And whence the fright that Sinai feels ?
* "Jordan beheld their march and fled." See Watts's Psalms.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 327

" Let every mountain, every flood,
Retire, aud know th' approaching God,
The King of Israel ; see him here ;
Tremble, thou earth, adore and fear.
VI.
" He thunders, and all nature mourns ;
The rock to standing pools he turns,
Flints spring with fountains at his word,
And fires and seas confess their* Lord."
" TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST MEETING IN BURY STREET,
OF WHICH THE HOLY GHOST HAS MADE ME OVERSEER.f
" Dearly beloved in our Lord,
" Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied to you, from
God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been a
very sore aggravation to my long sorrows, that I have not been
able to encourage your Christian visits, to converse with you
singly, to receive your consolation, and relate my OAvn expe
riences : nor have I been capable to express my constant con
cern for your Avelfare by Avriting to you together as a church,
which I often designed : but you are in my heart more than
ever. While God chastises my former want of zeal by silenc
ing me for a season, I boAv to his wisdom and holiness, and
am learning obedience by the things that I suffer, and many
lessons of righteousness and grace, which I hope hereafter to
publish among you. As I have been long pleading with him
for pardon of my negligence, so I ask you also to forgive.
Long afflictions are soul-searching providences, and discover
the secrets of the heart and omissions of duty that Avere un
observed in a day of peace. May the blessed Spirit reveal to
each of us why he continues to contend with us.
•The.
f This letter is endorsed as "read- by Mr. Scott to the church, the 5th of Novem
ber, 1713, when almost all the brethren were present."

328 LIFE AND TIMES
" I cannot reckon up all my obligations to you for your kind
supports of me under my tedious and expensive sickness, and
for your continued and instant prayers for my recovery, AA'hich
gave me the first ground of hope that I should be restored ;
which hope and expectation still remain with me, and, I think,
are supported by the Avoid and Spirit of God. It seems at
present to be more needful for you that I abide in the flesh ;
and I trust I shall yet abide, for your furtherance and joy of
faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Christ
Jesus for me, by my coming to you again ; and Avhile I am
confined as the prisoner of God, I request the continuance of
your supplications for patience and sanctification, as Avell as
health. " I rejoice, also, to hear of your union, your love, and your
attendance on the Avorship of the church. This has been a
great comfort to my thoughts in the time of my affliction and
absence. Yet I am in pain for your edification, because you
have none among you to administer the special and sealing
ordinances ; and since it is your earnest desire to knoAV my
opinion in that affair that lies before you, I have at several
seasons been enabled to Avrite it under these heads : namely,
" 1. That there Avere in the primitive churches several
preaching elders, bishops, or overseers.
" 2. That Avhere their gifts Avere different, some were called
pastors, or elders for exhortation, to feed the flock, to exhort
the saints ; others were called teachers, or elders for doctrine;
to instruct their hearers in the principles of Christianity —
chiefly the younger Christians — and to bring in neAV converts.
" 3. The Scripture makes no difference nor subordination
of power betwixt them in the church ; but seems to give all
elders an equality of power.
" 4. The Scripture does not determine Avhen, or how often,
one or other should preach or administer holy ordinances:
and yet it is necessary there should be some rule to decide it,

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 329
lest ambition or controversy should arise among the elders in
this matter.
" 5. Therefore I believe the church (to Avhich the light of
nature and scripture has given all poAver in things indifferent
that are necessary to be determined) has power to appoint the
times, seasons, and places of their ministrations.
" 6. It is for the certain advantage of a church to have
more elders than one in it ; that may more frequently visit the
church ; more fully take care of them, and regularly adminis.
ter all holy ordinances : if one or other be sick or absent, may
also better keep the church together, and encourage young
converts to join themselves to it.
" 7. That it is for the advantage of a church to have such an
elder chosen Avhose gifts have been tried and approved in the
church, and been OAvned and blessed of God for the good of
souls. Such a one may most likely please and profit,
" Now with regard to our church in particular.
"1. It is my opinion, that, Avhether I live or die, if such an
elder be chosen by the universal desire and voice of the church,
it will be much for their spiritual advantage, in all probability,
" 2. Whether I live or die, if another elder be chosen with
the desire of a feAV persons, and the opposition of a few, and
the bare cold consent in the major part, it will not be for the
advantage of the church ; and I am sure my Avorthy brother,
Mr. Samuel Price, on whom your thoughts are set, has too
tender a sense of your spiritual interest, and too wise a sense
of his own, to accept of such an imperfect call to a fixed office
in the church.
" 3. If any elder be chosen by a pretty general desire of the
church, though not universal, it will be for the interest of the
church, if I live and am restored to your service ; and I shall
rejoice to have you supplied with all ordinances in my ab
sence by a man I can most entirely confide in ; and at my
return I shall rejoice to be assisted in all services to the church

330 LIFE AND TIMES
by one whom I love and esteem highly ; and I Avrote as much
with an eye to your future benefit as to your present want.
" 4. If God, for my sins, should refuse to employ me again
(for I have justly deserved it), and if he should deny the long
and importunate requests of his people (for he is a great Sove
reign), I trust he will direct and incline your hearts to choose
and establish one or more elders among you, that may give
universal satisfaction, and especially to such as now may be
less satisfied, and may be for your future edification and in
crease. " 5. If my beloved brother Price be chosen as an elder
among you, I hope your diligent and sincere attendance on
his ministrations will give you a more abundant sense of his
true worth, of the exactness of his discourses, of the serious
ness of his spirit, and of the constant blessing of God Avith
him ; all which I have observed with much pleasure.
" Now I have fully delivered my sentiments in this affair,
and you see how sincere and hearty I am in it ; yet I Avill
give you two reasons Avhy I did not think fit first to propose it
to the church: (1.) Because it is the proper business of the
church to seek after elders and officers for itself, from a sight
and sense of their own spiritual interest, both as Christians and
as an united body ; especially considering that the elder you
propose to choose is not to be my deputy or servant, but your
minister and overseer in the Lord : (2.) Because I Avould never
have any thing of such importance done in the church by the
influence of my desire, Avithout your OAvn due sense, and pros
pect of your OAvn edification and establishment as a church of
Christ. Nor Avould I now influence you in this affair, unless
the judgment of your minds concur with mine ; for, as I never
had interest divided from the interest of the church, so I hope
I never shall.
" And now, brethren dearly beloved, I entreat you, by the
love of Christ to you, and by the love you bear to Christ our
common Lord, that there may be no contentions among you.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 331
I shall be glad to find every affair that belongs to the church
carried by as many voices as I trust I have hearts and affec
tions among you. However, let every one Avith freedom speak
his sentiments as under the eye of Christ the great Shepherd,
without bias or resentment, and with zeal for the church's in
terest. Let every thing that is debated be with calmness, and
so much the more in my absence; each of you believing,
concerning one another, that you sincerely seek the honour of
Christ and the union and peace of the church, as I believe
concerning you all. Let each of you be ready to lay aside his
own former opinions or resolutions, as you shall see reasons
arise for the common welfare. If there should be quarrels and
janglings, reflections apd hard speeches, it would be a grief
too heavy for me to bear, and the most effectual way to over
whelm my spirit, and delay my return to you ; and as I know
you have the utmost tenderness of my peace, you ought to be
as tender of each other's spiritual advantage, and the union and
peace of the body, and to indulge no secret Avhispers or backT
bitings that may hinder the edification of your brethren by the
ministrations of the church.
" But I will not give myself leave to entertain such suspir
cions concerning you, who have so many years Avalked toge
ther ip constant love. I pray heartily that the all-wise God,
and Jesus Christ our Lord, may preside in your consultations,
direct your hearts, and determine all things for you ; that you
may be established and edified, and be a joy and a blessing
to each other, as you have been, and I trust will be, to
" Your most affectionate and afflicted pastor,
" ISAAC WATTS,"

332 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM LORD BARRINGTON.
"Rev. Sir, "London, Jan. 11, 1718.
" I cannot dispense Avith myself from taking the first
opportunity I have of acknoAvledging your great favour in
assisting me so readily to offer up the praise due to Al
mighty God, for his signal mercies vouchsafed me on
three several occasions, and of assuring you that it Avas
with the utmost concern I understood that I must not flatter
myself Avith the hopes of your being Avith us in this last. But
how very obliging are you, who Avould give yourself the trou
ble to let me knoAV, that though you could not give me the
advantage of your company at Hatton Garden, yet I should
not want your assistance at a distance, where you would ad
dress such petitions to heaven to meet ours as tend to render
me one ofthe best and happiest men alive. This they will
influence me to be in some measure, both by their preva
lency at the throne of grace, and by instructing me in the
most agreeable manner Avhat I should aspire to. Whilst I
read your letter I found my blood fired Avith the greatest am
bition to be Avhat you wish me. I Avill, therefore, carefully
preserve it, where it shall be least liable to accidents, and
Avhere it will be always most in my vieAv. There, as I shall
see Avhat I ought to be, by keeping it always before me, I
shall not only have the pleasure of observing the masterly
strokes of the character you Avish me, but I hope, come in
time to bear some resemblance to it.
" Whilst you were praying for us, we did not forget you ;
nor shall I cease to beseech Almighty God, to make you a
bright example of passive virtue, till he shall see fit to restore
you to that eminent degree of acceptableness and service you
have once enjoyed. I am, Sir,
" Your most obliged humble servant, " BARRINGTON.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 333
" My wife is veiy much obliged by your civility. She has
desired a copy of your letter, which she says will be as useful
to her, as it has been entertaining, if it be not her OAvn fault.
Both our humble services attend the good family where you
are. I am sorry my Lady's cold is like to deprive us of their
company on Wednesday."
"TO SIR RICHARD BLACKMORE, KNT.
"Worthy Sir,
" Though you have constrained me to deface one of
the best pages in my preface * by forbidding me the honour
of showing your name to the Avorld there, yet I cannot deny
myself the pleasure of setting your name in this blank leaf,
where none but yourself will be witness to the high esteem
that I pay you. So secret a gratitude can never offend,
Avhile the honour you have done me in a late preface of yours
is thus silently acknoAvledged by, Sir,
"Your obliged humble servant,
"ISAAC AVATTS.
"Jan 9. 1719."

• This letter was written in a presentation copy of the Imitations of the
Psalms. Sir Richard Blackmore had previously complimented Mr. Watts in the
preface to a. collection of poems, published in the year 1718. "Hitherto," he
observes, " as 1 have said, but few of the wits of this kingdom, which abounds in
genius and poetical inspiration above any nation upon earth, have thought fit to
exercise their pens expressly and directly in cultivating divine and moral poetry,
but only in an allegorical and disguising dress. Some persons of great virtue and
piety have attempted it ; but these having neither poetical genius nor judgment,
neither fertile imagination, nor any knowledge of the rules and spirit of poetry, have
only written indifferent prose in the poorest verse ; and though they deserve the.
honour of good men, they must be contented with the character of bad poets.
This, I think, is a just censure on the greatest part of those who have written reli
gious books in English verse; but I except from this number the ingenious Mr.
Watts, whose divine poetry is very laudable, and much superior to all who have
gone before him in the lyric kind."

334 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER X.
IMITATIONS OF THE PSALMS.

STRUCTURE OF THE PSALMS.— JEWISH CHOIR SERVICE.— EVANGELICAL
APPLICATION OF THE PSALTER— PARTICULAR PSALMS SUNG BY THE
JEWS.^THE PSALMODY OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.— CORRUPTION
OF ITS RITUAL. — METRICAL VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES.— INTRO
DUCTION OF PSALM-SINGING IN ENGLAND. —VERSION OF MAROT.—
POPULARITY IN FRANCE.— ADOPTED BY CALVIN AND BEZA. — DE
NOUNCED BY THE CATHOLICS. — PATRONISED BY THE REFORMED
CHURCHES. — THE TRANSLATION OF STERNHOLD, HOPKINS, NORTON,
AND WISDOME.— ARCHBISHOP PARKER AND KING JAMES'S VERSION.—
WILLIAM HUNNIS AND JOHN HALL. — SIR PHILIP SIDNEY AND THE
COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE. — SANDYS. — ROUSE. — TATE AND BRADY.—
MERRICK.— WATTS.— CHARACTER OF HIS VERSION.— THE 29th PSALM.
INAPPROPRIATE METRES.— BISHOP MANT. — MARSH. — 17th AND 8th
PSALMS. — SIDNEY VERSION. — 19th AND 92nd PSALMS. — SANDYS.—
CONCLUSION.

The book of Psalms, the " flower," as Hooker calls it, " of
all things profitable in other books," has perhaps been more
extensively used by tbe church, in public and private devo
tion, and more copiously illustrated by divines, than any
other part of the sacred volume. A host of translators, para-
phrasts, critics, and versifiers have exercised their skill upon
it — no inexpressive tribute to the intrinsic excellence of its
contents. Calvin describes it as "the anatomy of all the
parts ofthe mind;" av an fiyv omnium animse partium; and
Augustine denominates it an abridgment of the whole
scripture. As prophecies, many of the psalms delineate the
person of the Messiah, and the glories of his reign, in a

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 335
striking and emphatic manner — as hymns addressed to the
Deity, they embody the loftiest sentiments of piety Avith the
purest spirit of devotion — and as poems, they exhibit some of
the most ancient and the most splendid specimens of poetry,
that the literature of the Avorld can boast. In such veneration
Avere they held in the primitive age of the church, that the
fathers assure us, the Avhole book Avas frequently learned by
heart, and ministers of all gradations Avere expected to repeat
it from memory. Still honoured are these invaluable scrip
tures with the regards of the pious of every denomination ; they
form words of prayer and of praise for them in retirement and
in the sanctuary ; they are repeated Avithout weariness, and are
in daily use, as memorials of former mercies and supplications
for present blessings.
The Psalms, as a collection of sacred odes, exhibit almost all
the varieties of this species of poetical writing. In some the ode
appears in its simple form, a narrative of facts in the private life
of the psalmist, or the national history of his country, but in
an adorned and figurative style. Some are elegiac, composed
on occasions of distress and mourning, tender, plaintive, and
pathetic, celebrating the trials of the writer, the loss of friends,
the temptations of a sorely vexed and troubled spirit. Some
are didactic, enouncing the precepts of religion, grave max
ims of morality, for the most part in simple strains, but occa
sionally adorned with figures of expression. Some and but a
few are pastoral, the imagery taken from rural scenes and
occupations. Some are dramatic, consisting of dialogues be
tween different persons, sometimes the psalmist himself, the
chorus of the priests, and the leader of the Levitical band ;
and sometimes the Lord of the Jewish polity, the incarnate
Saviour, and the grateful and rejoicing church. The style of
composition is of course as varied as the character and subject
of the poems : now cheerful, sprightly, and triumphant ; now-
stately, solemn, and magnificent; now soft, expressive, and
touching. The great characteristic of the ancient Hebrew

336 LIFE AND TIMES
poetry, the adoption of correspondent versicles, is seen in the
construction of almost all the psalms. The period is divided
into members, answering to one another, both in sense and
sound; the sentiment expressed in the first, is amplified or
repeated in different terms in the second ; yet never in such a
manner as to enfeeble the style, and weaken its energy.
The psalms are all of them lyric poems, that is, intended to
be accompanied with music, and the peculiarity in their
structure which has been noticed, probably arose from the
Jewish mode of alternate singing. The temple choir, Ave
know, Avas divided into twenty-four courses; and each band
of singers took up the strain in its turn, and thus answered
alternately to one another. For instance: when one party
began the psalm thus, " Sing unto the Lord a new song;"
the corresponding versicle was taken up by the chorus or
semi-chorus, " Sing unto the Lord, all the earth :" the one
band proceeded, "Sing unto the Lord and bless his name;"
the other replied, " SIioav forth his salvation from day to day."
The musical poetry of the Jews became thus divided into a
succession of strophes and antistrophes correspondent to each
other — a method of composition Avhich, becoming familiar,
insensibly spread from their hymns to their other poetical
Avritings. But the psalms were not only accompanied with
vocal music ; instrumental music, Avhich has been employed
in the religious services of all nations, which was introduced
into the sacred ceremonials of the Greeks, Avas cultivated by
the JeAvs for the same purpose at the earliest period of their
history : the song of Moses and Miriam, after the deliverance
of the children of Israel from Egypt, Avas accompanied with
the timbrel ; the silver trumpets were ordered to be sounded,
in the solemn days, over the burnt offerings ; and many other
instruments were added by David to the Jewish ritual. In
his time there Avere three masters Avho presided over the
band of music ; and at their head one chief musician or mas
ter of the whole choir. That females Avere admitted into the

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 337
temple choir, is strenuously denied by the Jewish writers ;
but the case of the three daughters of Heman, Avho Avere "for
song in the house of the Lord Avith cymbals," makes it
evident that Avomen Avere thus employed. This part of their
devotional service the JeAVS usually performed in a standing
posture ; " the Levites stood with the instruments of David ;"
a practice Avhich has been folloAved in most Christian congre
gations. The choir service was suited to the genius of Juda
ism, a religion full of splendid external rites ; and it must
have been an imposing and overpowering spectacle, when
"the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound
in praising and thanking the Lord," the glorious cloud filled
the house — a sight only inferior to the "hundred forty and
four thousand," "on mount Sion," " harping with their
harps." The propriety of introducing the JeAvish psalmody into
Christian worship, has been disputed on the ground, that it
is preferring the "veil of Moses" to the clearer discoveries of
the "latter days." But it is evident, that besides the literal
or primary meaning of the psalms, a considerable number,
perhaps the majority, are susceptible of the double sense;
that they were originally composed and sung, as "shadows of
good things to come;" and upon this principle the objection
referred to falls to the ground. It is difficult to conceive
that the Jews would have admitted them to their daily wor
ship, would have given them such prominence in their public
devotions, or that their authors would have delivered them to
the church for such a purpose, had not their typical character
been distinctly understood on both sides. Sometimes the
spiritual sense only discovers itself at intervals, and seems
with difficulty to break through, like light struggling with
clouds, and beaming forth in sudden flashes upon the sight ;
at other times, on the contrary, it displays itself prominently,
shining Avith strong, steady, and unbroken lustre through the
whole piece, pressing each Avoid and phrase into its service,

338 LIFE AND TIMES
and throAving the letter completely into the shade. Some
times the two senses appear equally pervading the body of the
composition, distinct and yet harmonious, perfectly analogous
in every lineament and feature, mutually corresponding and
mutually illustrative, until the theme leaves its earthly con
nexion, and, fully purified from every impress of mortality,
ascends far above "mortal ken," and vanishes in the full
brightness of heaven. We may not, then, be directly concern
ed with the person Avho appears upon the page of the poem,
but we are with the illustrious individual he shadows forth;
Ave celebrate the extraordinary depressions, trials, exaltation,
and victories, not of a monarch Avho died three thousand
years ago, but of the King of Sion Avho still lives and reigns :
and thus the psalms, by this application, expressly authorised
by the evangelical Avriters, cease to be the exclusive property
of the Jew, and become the common treasure of the church.
It is vain to ask, Avhat we have to do Avith the affairs of
David or of Israel, the ark or the temple, Sion or Jerusalem,
the sacrifice of lambs or of goats, the enemies of the ancient
faith, Moab, Edom, and Philistia — the temple has, indeed,
vanished from its site, the ark disappeared, the law been abol
ished never to be restored, Sion trampled under foot by the
haughty Turk, and Moab and his people perished from the
nations— but though "old things have passed aAvay," there
still remains a spiritual temple, ark, and sacrifices, spiritual
victories over spiritual enemies, a Jerusalem below and above,
Avhich, under their old names but with new associations, may
be celebrated in our devotions before God. Congregations are
not, however, adepts in theology ; and, hence, if the productions
of the inspired psalmists are to be sung by them, close trans
lation should not be attempted, the NeAv-Testament interpre
tation of typical expressions should be given, and the evan
gelic sense made plain to the simplest understanding. This
Avas Watts's plan ; and the application of the Psalms in this
manner in Christian worship, gives them an incalculable

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 339
advantage over any fresh compositions however skilfully
executed : they keep alive in our remembrance the deliver
ances of ancient days, and the mercies of former times ; they
illustrate the progressive history of the church, and the con
nexion betAveen the old and the neAV dispensation ; they ad
vance the experience of the past, to guide the conduct and
correct the errors of the present; and they tend to increase
our faith, to confirm our confidence, and excite our hopes,
by bringing before us Avhat our "fathers" tell, the "elders"
teach, and the "years of many generations" testify.
But though the singers of Israel may thus be introduced
into Christian sanctuaries, there does not seem much propriety
in admitting the Psalms indiscriminately, as has generally
been done, into our religious services. If it is proved, that
they were all originally Avritten for musical recitation, it re
mains to be proved, that they Avere all designed for congrega
tional worship, and all adopted by the Jews in the temple
ritual. Those who affirm this to have been the case, have to
assign a reason, which it is difficult to do, why the prophecies
of David should be sung in the synagogue, to the exclusion
of those of Isaiah or Jeremiah, or the song of Deborah, which
Avear the same poetic dress. Some of the Psalms are so
obviously unfitted for congregational worship, as to render the
conclusion probable, that only a selection was employed from
the general body of Hebrew devotional poetry. Lightfoot,
with his usual learning, has endeavoured to ascertain what
compositions Avere commonly used by the Jews in their public
religious services, assigning from the Gemara some fanciful
reasons for the selection. On the first day of the week they
sang the 24th psalm; "The earth is the Lord's and the ful
ness thereof:" on the second day they sang the 48th ; " Great
is tbe Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of God:"
on the third the 82nd; " God standeth in the congregation of
the mighty:" on the fourth the 94th; "O Lord God, to
whom vengeance belongeth:" on the fifth the 81st; "Sing

340 LIFE AND TIMES
aloud unto God our strength:" on the sixth the 93rd; "The
Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty :" on the sabbath
the 92nd, entitled, a psalm for the sabbath day; " It is a good
thing, to give thanks unto the Lord." Besides these psalms,
Avhich Avere sung each recurring week in the temple, particu
lar compositions were appointed for the different festivals
during the year. Thus on the first day of the year, the feast
of trumpets, the 81st psalm Avas sung; "Sing aloud unto
God:" and at the evening sacrifice the 29th; "Give unto
the Lord, O ye mighty." On the first day of the feast of
tabernacles the 105th; "O give thanks unto the Lord:" on
the second the 29lh, as on the feast of trumpets: on the
third the 50th; "The mighty God, even the Lord, hath
spoken :" on the fourth the 94th, as in the regular weekly
service on that day : on the fifth the 95th; " O come, let us
sing unto the Lord:" on the sixth the 80th; " Give ear, O
Shepherd of Israel:" on the seventh the 82nd; "God standeth
in the congregation." The fifth verse of the 47th psalm,
" God is gone up Avith a shout," Avas used at the removal of
the ark; the 135th and 136th, at the dedication of the temple;
and the 97th, 98th, 99th, and 100th, on occasions probably
of solemn national thanksgiving. At the feast of the pass-
over the lesser Hallel Avas sung, consisting of the six short
psalms from the 113th to the 118th. In addition to the psalms
here specified, there are, doubtless, many more in the Psalter
Avhich were in common use among the Jews at the hour of
sacrifice, in the religious festival, or at periods of general and
solemn convention. The authors of most of our metrical ver
sions have, however, proceeded upon the assumption, that the
Psalter was the hymn-book of the Jewish church ; and they
have, hence, injudiciously endeavoured to introduce it as a
whole into the service of Christian congregations. The mistake
of our modern psalmists is, indeed, rectified by the parish clerk,
for many ofthe psalms are never sung; but the principle upon

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 341
Avhich they have proceeded is objectionable, as it devotes them
to a purpose for which it is highly probable they were never
intended, and originally never used.
The foregoing remarks upon the general structure of the
psalms, and their use in the Jewish church, have been elici
ted by Watts's labours in this department of sacred song ; and,
in order to appreciate his undertaking, it will be necessary
briefly to revieAV the modern history of psalmody, and com
pare his attempt Avith the efforts of his predecessors.
From the scanty gleanings that antiquity furnishes upon
the psalmody of the primitive church, it is impossible to ascer
tain at what period the whole psalter was adopted as a devo
tional formulary in her services, or Avhat degree of musical
intonation was given to it. In celebrating the last supper, the
Saviour sung a hymn with his disciples, the Hallel, consisting
of six psalms ; but the word X pv^o-awes may merely mean a
kind of recitative reading or chanting.* When Peter and
John Avere delivered from the council, the second psalm was
evidently sung by the multitude, or repeated Avith some con
siderable inflection of the voice.f In the Corinthian church,
in the days of the apostle, we are told that "each one
had a psalm,"! which may imply that a selection merely
was then in use. The 73rd Avas the morning, and the 141st
the evening psalm of the early Christians ;§ and they are
admirably adapted to the times of fiery trial in which they
lived, when " troubled on every side " themselves, they " saw
the wicked in prosperity." The manner in Avhich the psalms
Avere used, varied in different places : sometimes they Avere
simply read by one person, the rest of the congregation listen
ing in silence; || in the church of Alexandria, in the time of
* Matt. xxvi. 30. f Acts, iv. 24—30. + 1 Cor. xiv. 26.
§ llingham Antiq. lib. xiv.
|| "Absque eo, qui dicturus in medium psalmos surrexerit, cuncti sedilibus
humillimis insidentes, ad vocem psallentis omni cordis intentione dependent."
Cassian Jnstit. ii. 12.

342 LIFE AND TIMES
Athanasius, the reader spoke them with a slight flexure of
the voice;* in the church of Hippo they were sung with
some accompaniments, but Augustine was dissatisfied Avith
the plan, and wished to adopt the Alexandrian method; in
the cathedral of Milan a mode of alternate singing Avas in
troduced, and Ambrose compares the voice of the multitude,
as they took up the response, to that of many Avaters.f The
people were, however, gradually deprived of any participation
in this part of the public service, which Avas assigned exclu
sively to the choir; and the antiphonal manner of singing be
came general, in which one half of the choir repeated verse
for verse after the other. A high authority was pleaded for
this practice ; for Socrates reports, that the martyr Ignatius was
favoured Avith a vision of the heavenly Avorld, and heard the
angels, in the antiphonal manner, celebrating the praises of
the Trinity.]: Instrumental music seems to have been gene
rally discarded by the early church ; its introduction was the
corruption of a later age, when even a puritan could say,
"But let my due feet never fail,
To walk the studious cloyster's pale,
And love the high-embowed roof,
With antique pillars massy proof,
And storied windows richly dight,
Casting a dim religious light;
There let the pealing organ blow,
To the full-voic'd choir below,
In service high, and anthems clear,
As may with sweetness through mine ear,
Dissolve me into ecstasies,
And bring all heaven before mine eyes."

*"Tam modico flexu vocis faciebat sonare lectorem psalmi, ut pronuncianti
vicinior esset quam canenti." August. Conf. x. 33.
f'Responsoriis psalmorum, cantu virorum, mulierum, virginum, parvulorum,
consonans undarum fragor resultat." Hexam. lib. iii. u. v.

JSocrat. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. viii.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 343
The disciples of Pythagoras resorted to instrumental music
early in the morning, to dissipate the dulness of the mind ;
but the ancient fathers regarded it as a typical Jewish insti
tute, abrogated by the gospel, and tending rather to captivate
the senses than suitably dispose the soul, to divert the atten
tion from the words to the sound. The beAvitching innovation,
however, once introduced Avas soon universally established,
and the corruption of the church's ritual kept pace with the
decline of its piety. Simple melody was succeeded in the first
instance by the light airs of the Greek and Roman theatre;
abstruse harmonical proportion was then studied, and gradu
ally took possession of nearly the Avhole service ; for not only
the psalmodical, but the supplicatory parts, Avith the appoint
ed epistle and gospel, Avere sung not in mere intonation or
chant, but elaborate canon. In the twelfth century, and Avith
little alteration till the Reformation, the church music was
extremely intricate; the composers seem to have bade defi
ance to syllabic order and metrical arrangement, rendering
the terms meant to be expressed unintelligible, by each part
enouncing different words at the same time* "The kind of
music," says Erasmus, "introduced into divine Avorship, is
such that Ave are not able to understand distinctly, nor have
those who sing it leisure to attend to Avhat they sing; the tin
kle of the words is all that strikes the ears, and soothes them
with a transient and slightly pleasurable sensation ; with this
they are so much delighted that the monks do nothing else,
especially among the Britons, "f
The composition of metrical versions or paraphrases of diffe-
* A curious example of this exists, or recently existed, in the library of the cathe
dral at York — a breviary or missal, containing the genealogy of the first chapter of
Matthew set to music ; and which, if performed in canon according to the custom of
the age, would present the following absurd combination : the bass would be holding
forth the existence of Abraham; while the tenor, in defiance of nature and chro
nology, would be employed in begetting Isaac; the counter-tenor, Jacob; and the
treble, Joseph and all his brethren !
f Erasmi. Annot. in xiv. cap. 19 v. prim. Epist. ad Corinthios.

344 LIFE AND TIMES
rent parts of the scriptures, was a frequent employment of the
northern ecclesiastics in the early and middle ages. This plan
was adopted in imitation of the old Teutons, Avho were accus
tomed to record their domestic and national transactions in
verse. Many of the Saxon clergy, and afterwards the Wal-
denses, attempted these poetical paraphrastic translations, to
assist the memory, to supply some holy strain for the recluse
monk or pilgrim traveller to chant, and to be sung at the
evening entertainment by the minstrels to the harp, instead of
the " fairy legend and the gay romaunt." In the Bodleian
library there is a production of this kind, a paraphrase of the
Gospels and the Acts, Avritten in the Saxon character, Avithout
rhyme, in imitation of the most common species of the Latin
tetrameter iambic. In the library of Corpus Christi college,
Cambridge, there is a version of the Psalms, in English metre,
but in the northern dialect of the tAvelfth century, a transla
tion as close as verse will alloAV of the Gallican edition of
Jerome's Latin version. It Avas not, however, until the Re
formation, that metrical versions of the Psalms were attempted
Avith reference to the public service of the church. The royal
commission, to reform the ecclesiastical law, appointed in the
reign of Henry VIII. and executed in the days of his son,
condemned the old choral mode of Avorship ;* and the leading
reformers at once abandoned it for congregational psalmody.
Elizabeth, indeed, Avhose hatred of puritanism and prejudices
in favour of the renounced religion were strong, continued to
patronise the cathedral music, but the psalmodical was not
interdicted, and it Avas speedily introduced into most churches.
The neAV morning prayer began at St. Antholin's, London,
Avhen a psalm Avas sung in the Geneva fashion, all the con
gregation, men, women, and boys, singing together. Bishop
Jewel remarks, that " the singing of psalms, begun in one
church in London, did quickly spread itself, not only through
the city, but in the neighbouring places, sometimes at Paul's
* Ref. Leg. Eccles. c. v. Andrew's Hist, of Great Britain, vol. i. p. 231.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 345
Cross six thousand people singing together." The first in
stance, however, in our country on record, is undoubtedly the
following during the reign of Edward VI. : — " On March
15, 1550, M. Vernon, a Frenchman by birth, but a learned
protestant, and parson of St. Martin's, Ludgate, preached at
St. Paul's Cross before the mayor and aldermen, and after
sermon done they all sung in common a psalm in metre, as it
seems noAv was frequently done, the custom being brought to
us from abroad by the exiles."* The practice of the primitive
church was thus revived, the people were, as Seeker expresses
it, " restored to their rights," and taught to sing as Avell as
pray, " not with the heart only, but with the understanding
also." Hence, arose an imperious necessity for metrical ver
sions of the Psalms ; for the old music being too complicated
to be easily learnt, the Avoids must be reduced to a regular
rhythm, in order to be attuned to simpler strains. "Every
thing contributed to endear the book of Psalms to the early
reformers ; not merely as it formed a part, and a most impor
tant part, ofthe long-sealed Avoid of God ; not merely as its deep
and thrilling expressions of repentance, its splendid amplifica
tions of the poAver and glory of God, its energy, its sublimity,
its heartfelt tenderness, captivated their excited feelings ; not
merely for one or all these reasons did it cleave to their me
mory, and, when associated to their national airs, take root, as
it were, in the depth of their hearts : but it Avas still further
endeared by temporary circumstances. Much which Avould
have been inapplicable to the church in a state of peace,
became, or appeared to be, strictly appropriate in the hour of
persecution and distress. All those poems Avhich represented
the chosen people, or the individual, in the lowest state of
oppression and misery, faithfully and, as it were, prophetically
described their own condition. The hunted Hugonot, or he
that was condemned under the bloody statute of the Six Arti-
* Nichols's Progress of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. p. 54, in a kind of diary taken
from Strype.

346 LIFE AND TIMES
cles, beheld himself in David fleeing as a bird to the hills, or
betrayed by his own familiar friend."
The singing of the psalms in rhythm, though designated by
Heylin "a presbyterian trick," had a Catholic origin. The
first attempt at a metrical version was made by Clement Marot;
and is deserving of particular notice, not on account of its
intrinsic excellence, but OAving to the patronage of Calvin
and Beza, and its adoption into the ritual of the reformed
churches. Marot Avas born in the year 1495, and was a na
tive of Cahors, in Querci, near Toulouse ; like his father, Jean
Marot, he became valet de chambre to Francis I. ; and also
page to Margaret of France, Avife ofthe duke of Alencon. He
was the favourite bard of the king; his pastorals, ballads,
fables, elegies, epigrams, and poetical translations, became po
pular throughout France, and won for their author the title of
"prince of poets and poet of princes." Accompanying his
master to the battle of Pavia, in 1521, he was Avounded and
made prisoner ; and on his return to Paris, he was accused of
heresy, and thrown into prison. Being brought before the
Lieutenant-criminel, he was reminded of the gay and dissolute
chansons he had taught the court ; reproached for the licen
tious character of his productions; and all that was granted
him, OAving to his earnest solicitations, was a removal from
the unwholesome prison of Chatelet to that of Chartres.
During his imprisonment he Avrote his Enfer, a severe and
caustic satire, and completed a revision of the famous Roman
de la Rose. On the return of Francis from Spain, he regain
ed his liberty, but was obliged to flee to Geneva, and from
thence repaired to Turin, Avhere he died in poverty in the
year 1544*
It was at the instigation of the learned Vatablus, professor
of Hebrew in the university of Paris, that Marot began his
task of versifying the psalms. The professor, along Avith
Francis Melin de S. Gelays, assisted him in his translations;
* Walton's Hist, of English Poetry, vol. iii. 161—163.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 347
for they are said to be " traduitz en rithme Francais selon la
verite Hebraique." The first edition contained only thirty
psalms, and Avas dedicated to Francis, with the following
compliment : " Dieu le donna aux peuples Hebraiques
Dieu te devoit, ce pense-je, aux Galliques."
In producing his version he intimates that he had received
assistance : "par les divins esprits
Qui ont sous toy Hebrieu langage apris,
Nous sont jettes les Pseaumes en lumiere
Clairs, et au sens de la forme premiere."
The royal dedication is followed by another, " Aux dames
de France." Warton observes, that Marot seems anxious to
deprecate the raillery which the new tone of his versification
was likely to incur, and is embarrassed to find an apology for
turning saint. The introduction of metrical psalmody he
describes as bringing again the golden age :
" O bien heureux qui voir pourra
Fleurir le temps, que l'on orra
Le laboureur a sa charrue,
Le charretier parmy la rue,
Et Partisan en sa boutique
Avecques un Pseaume ou cantique
En son labeur se soulager ;
Heureux qui orra le bergcr
Et la bergere en bois estans
Faire que rochers et estangs
Apres eux chantent la hauteur
Du saint nom de leurs Createur.
" Commeneez, dames, commencez
Le siecle dore ! avancez !
En chantant d'um cueur debonnaire
Dedans ce saint cancionnaire. "
" Thrice happy they, who may behold
And listen, in that age of gold !
As by the plough the labourer stays,
And carman mid the public ways,

348 LIFE AND TIMES
And tradesman in his shop, shall swell
Their vnice in psalm or canticle,
Singing to solace toil ; again,
From woods shall come a sweeter strain !
Shepherd and shepherdess shall vie
In many a tender psalmody,
And the Creator's name prolong
As rock and stream return their song !
" Begin, then, ladies fair ! begin
The age renew'd that knows no sin ;
And with light heart that wants no wing,
Sing! from this holy song-book sing!"*
Marot declares in the spirit of religious gallantry, that his
design is to add to the happiness of his fair readers, by substi
tuting divine hymns in the place of amorous ditties; to inspire
their hearts with a passion in which there is no torment ; to
banish that fickle and fantastic deity cupid from the world;
and to fill their apartments with the praises of the true
Jehovah. Nor did he labour in vain ; for the book Avas sold so
rapidly, that the printers could not supply the public Avith
copies. At the court each of the princes and nobility selected
a psalm, and sung it to the ballad tune that each preferred.
The dauphin, priuce Henry, Avho delighted in hunting, Avas
fond of Ainsi qu'on oit le cerf bruire; As the hart panteth
after the water-brooks, which he sung when going to the
chase. The queen's favourite Avas, Ne veuilles pas, O sire !
Me reprendre en ton ire; O Lord! rebuke me not in thy
wrath, which she sung to a fashionable jig. Madame de
Valentinois, Avas partial to Dufond de mapenste; From the
depth of my heart. Antony king of Navarre sung, Revenge
moy, pren le querelle; Stand up, O Lord, to revenge my
quarrel, to the air of a dance of Poitou.
After his removal to Geneva, Marot completed tAventy
more psalms, which, with the former thirty, and eight whose
translators were never known, were printed in 1542, at Rome,
?Les Oeuvres de Clement Marot de Cahors, valet de chambre du roy, &c,
A Lyon, 1551. 12mo.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 349
by Theodore Drust, a German, printer in ordinary to the
pope. This edition was in the Gothic character, in octavo.
The remaining psalms Avere soon after versified by Beza,* and
were as favourably received as. Marot's, until the productions
of both were interdicted by the catholic authorities, on account
of the patronage given to them by the reformed. The doc
tors of the Sorbonne took the alarm, and issued their fulmina-
tions against them ; and psalm-singing began to be considered
by the papal party, as an infallible sign of Lutheranism.
The cardinal of Lorraine was particularly zealous in pro
moting a crusade against the new psalmody ; every artifice
Avas adopted to induce the court of Francis to renounce the
" holy song-book ;" and the ecclesiastic went so far as to re
flect upon the gallants and ladies, for preferring the composi
tions of the Hebrew bard, to the amatory elegancies of
Horace. The zeal of the catholics only increased the attach
ment of the protestants; they taught the psalms to their
children, appended them to their catechisms, and adopted
them in their worship; and Marot's metrical version Avas at
once introduced by Calvin into his OAvn congregation at
Geneva. They cheered their social assemblies, and were com
monly heard in the streets ; the husbandmen sung them in
the fields, the boatmen on the Rhine and Rhone, the Flemish
Aveavers at their looms, and the artificers of Flanders became
noted for their skill in psalmodical performances. Bayle cal
culates, that ten thousand copies set to music Avere printed
and circulated. The music of Marot's psalms, was chiefly
borroAved from the airs of ballads popular with the French
peasantry ; on which account Florimond de Remond objected
to them, but the Sieur de Pours replied, that Avhat used to
belong to "profane songs, was now separated from them, and
become in a measure sanctified." A revised version of Marot,
having become necessary, it was commenced by M. Conrart,
*Les Pseaumes de David mis en rime Francoise, Par Clement Marot et Theo
dore Beze. Sedan, 1630. 8vo.

350 LIFE AND TIMES
and completed by M. de la Bastide, and soon adopted in
Geneva, Hesse Cassel, and by the German protestants in
general.* The success which attended the continental psalmodists, in
duced many of the protestants in England to imitate their
example; and it Avas the ambition of Sternhold to become
the reforming poet of the court of Edward. Previous to his
attempt, however, two brothers in Scotland, John and Robert
Wedderburn,f versified a number of the psalms, Avhich were
used by the reformed in the north, until superseded by the
English version. Like Marot, Sternhold was a layman, a
servant of the court ; and appears from the title-page of his
production, Avhich has been continued in all the printed
copies, to have undertook his translation to supplant the love-
ditties and licentious sonnets of the courtiers — a design which
Antony Wood testifies was but partially accomplished. He
lived to complete but fifty-one of the psalms, which were
printed with a dedication to the king, in 1549, under the
title, "All such Psalms of David as Thomas Sternholde, late
grome of the king's majestyes robes, did in his lyfe-time
drawe into Englyshe metre." Of his clerical successor, Hop
kins, who versified fifty-eight more, very little is known, but
Warton pronounces him the "better poet" — a fact Avhich
•Marot and Beza's Psalms were translated into Low-Dutch metre, by Peter
Dathen, about the year 1560, the first pastor of the reformed church at Frankfort-
on-the-Maine. He adapted them to the French tunes and measure, and dedicated
them to all the Belgic congregations and pastors "groaning under the cross."
A new Dutch translation of the Psalms, and the songs of the bible in metre, was
undertook by Philip de Marnix, lord of Sainte Algedonda. Zamosky, a Bohemian,
produced the Pjsne Duchownj, or spiritual songs; whilst one of his countrymen,
Stryc, attempted the Psalms, a version of the highest merit, Zaimowe Sw. Dawida
w ryhmy Ceske uwedene, 1590, first edit.. At Madrid the Psalms in metre
appeared in Latin, 1600, 12mo. the work of Louis Crucius, u. Lisbon Jesuit.
Bernard Woiewodka, of Cracow, printed them in Polish metre, at Brescz, a royal
city of Lithuania, about the year 1565, at the same press from which the bible of
Pinckzovian protestants issued, under the auspices of Prince Radzivil.
fThe Wedderburns were the chief authors of "Gude and Godly ballates,
changed out of prophane songs, for avoyding of sin, harlotrie," &c. written to
spread the reformed opinions iu Scotland, and exceedingly popular in its day.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 351
shall not here be questioned, as the task of comparing the
two venerable worthies Avould be rather an unedifying one.
Whittingham, the friend of Calvin, the successor of Knox at
Geneva, and aftenvards dean of Durham, contributed his
mite to the work, and versified five other psalms, Avith the de
calogue, and several creeds which he sung in his OAvn church.*
Norton a barrister, according to the Oxford biographer " a bold
and busy Calvinist," the translator of the reformer's " Insti
tutes," furnished twenty-seven more ; Wisdome, archdeacon of
Ely,f translated the twenty -fifth psalm ; and the eight others
*The hymns which follow the singing psalms in the old version, were also
Whittingham's compositions. The following are specimens of the talent of this
rhymer of creeds : " The Father God is, God the Son,
God Holy Ghost also ;
Yet are there not three Gods iu all,
But one God and no mo."
Atkanusian C.
" From there shall he come for to judge
All men, both dead and quick ;
I in the Holy Ghost believe,
And church that's catholick." Apostolic C.
f In the olden time there was a very popular prayer inserted at the end of the
old version, atranslation of Luther's hymn upon the same occasion, aud intended to
be sung iu the church, for which we are indebted to the archdeacon. The com
mencing stanza is, " Preserve us, Lord, by thy dear Word,
From Pope and Turk defend us, Lord .'
Which both would thrust out of thy tin-one,
Our Lord Jesus Christ thy dear Son|!"
The bones of Wisdome were laid in peace in Carfax church ; but his rest was
disturbed by the jovial Corbet, bishop of Norwich, the opponent of his metropolitan,
the Calvinist Abbot, the slave of Land, and the boon companion of King James.
He invokes the ghost of the archdeacon to assist him in composing a puritanical
hymn ; he then advises him to steal back again to his tomb for fear of being
entrapped by his old enemies the Pope and Turk :
" Thou once a body, now but ayre,
Arch-botcher of a psalm or prayer,
From Carfax come.'
And patch us np a zealous lay,
AVith an old ever and for ay,
Or all and some.
" Or such a spirit leud me,
As may a hymn down send me,
To purge my braine :
But, Roberte, looke behind thee,
Lest Turk or Pope do find thee,
And go to bed againe."
Poems written by the Right Reverend Dr. Richard Corbet,
late Bishop of Norwich. London, 1647. duod. p. 44.

352 LIFE AND TIMES
Avhich completed the series, were contributed by authors now
unknown. The Avhole was published in 1562, and attached
to the Book of Common Prayer, under the title, "The whole
Booke of Psalmes, collected into English metre, by T. Stem-
hold, J. Hopkins, and others, conferred with the Ebrue, with
apt notes to sing them withal." Whatever might be the merits
of this production, considering the time of its appearance, it is
to the disgrace of the church, and the detriment of religion,
that after the lapse of nearly three centuries it should still be
retained in her services. In those who regard antiquity as ex
cellence, and use as authority, it may find patrons; but its
most zealous advocates, in pointing out its occasional beauties,
have always been at fault, after that oasis in the desert, the
9th and 10th verses of the 18th psalm. Perhaps Sternhold's
versification of this passage is better than any other, superior
to the classic Buchanan, and infinitely preferable to Tate and
Brady; but it is a solitary instance of success, and a critic
might cavil at the line, " And bow'd the heavens high," as
well as at the fanciful distinction draAvn between cherubs and
cherubims :
" He boAved the heavens also, and came down ; and dark
ness Avas under his feet.
" And he rode upon a cherub and did fly ; yea, he did fly
upon the wings of the wind.
"He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round
about were dark Avaters and thick clouds of the skies.
" At the brightness that was before him, his thick clouds
passed, hail-stones and coals of fire."
STERNHOLD.
"The Lord descended from above, and bow'd the heavens high ;
And underneath his feet he cast the darkness of the sky ;
On cherubs and on cherubims full royally he rode;
And on the wings of mighty winds came flying all abroad,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 353
"And, like a den, most dark he made his hid and secret place :
With waters black and airy clouds, encompassed he was;
At his bright presence did thick clouds in haste away retire,
And in the stead thereof did come hailstones and coals of fire."

ARCHBISHOP. PARKKR.
"The heavens full lowe he made to bowe,
And downe dyd he ensue ;
And darkness great was undersete
His feet in cloudy hue.
" He rode on hye, and dyd so flye
Upon the cherubims ;
He came in sight and made his flight
Upon the wyng of wynds.
"The Lord from heaven sent down his leaven,
And thund'red thence in ire ;
He thunder cast in wondrous blast,
With hayle and coales of fyre."

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
" He bowed the heavens, and from the bow'd heavens did descend
With hugy darknes, which aboute his feete did wend.
"The cherubims their backs, the windes did yield their wings,
To beare his sacred flight ; in secrete place then clos'd ;
About which he dimme cloudes, like a pavillion brings
Cloudes, even of waters darke, and thickest aire compos'd ;
But streight his shining eyes this misty masse disclos'd:
Then haile, then firie coales, then thund'red heav'nly Sire,
Then spake he his lowd voice, then hailstones, coles and fire."

TATE AND BRADY.
' The chariot of the King of kings
Which active troops of angels drew,
On a strong tempest's rapid wings,
With most amazing swiftness flew."

354 LIFE AND TIMES

WATTS.
" When God, our leader, shines in arms,
What mortal heart can bear
The thunder of his loud alarms,
The light'ning of his spear?
"He rides upon the winged wind,
And angels in array,
In millions wait to know his mind,
And swift as flames obey."
Nothing can surpass the native dignity and simplicity of
the original; the figure of the winds being the servants of the
Deity, and carrying him in his progress of inspection and
superintendence through the universe, is a favourite one with
the Hebrew bards — " he maketh the clouds his chariot, and
Avalketh upon the Avings of the wind." Sternhold, it has
been asserted, wrote all the winds, instead of mighty winds,
Avhich, if true, is certainly preferable to the alteration. Tate
and Brady attempt to improve upon the psalmist; but the
mention of " active troops" drawing the " chariot," robs the
whole scene of its majesty, and places before us the descend
ing King, driving his team of angels. Watts's plan allowed
him liberties with the sacred text, Avhich the others could not
employ ; but he paints the picture with considerable dignity,
though the splendid original must cast into the shade every
imitation. The poetry of most nations is largely indebted to
the sacred volume ; and this striking representation has been
frequently imitated by our poets, who have sung of
"Nature's King, who oft
Amid tempestuous darkness dwells alone,
And on the wings of the careering winds
Walks dreadfully serene." Thomson, Winter. I. 199.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 355
The next version of the Psalms,* Avas by no less a person
than the second protestant archbishop of Canterbury , MattheAV
Parker, Avhich was printed in 4to. about the year 1567, under
this title, " The whole Psalter translated into English metre,
Avhich contayneth an hundredth and fifty psalmes. The first
Quinquagene. Quonium omnis tense deus, psallite sapienter.
Ps. xiv. 47. Imprinted at London, by John Daye, dwelling
over Aldersgate, beneath St. Martyn's. Cum privilegio per
decennium." The archbishop aspired to the character of
musician as well as poet, and accompanied his Avork Avith
eight tunes, and a metrical preface, detailing the poAver of
sacred song :
"The psalmist stayde with tuned songe, the rage of minds agast,
As David did with harpe among to Saule in fury cast,
With golden stringes such harmonie his harpe so sweet did wrest,
That he relieved his phrenesie whom wicked sprites possesst."
The extreme rarity of this book, together Avith the fact,
that, though proceeding from the head of the church, it
did not supersede the production of the groom of the king's

* The labours of William Hunnis, a gentleman of the chapel under Edward VI,
and Elizabeth, should not be passed over without some notice. In 1550 he
printed a number of the psalms under the title, "Certayne Psalmes, chosen out of
the Psalter of David, and drawen forth into Englysh metre, by William Hunnis,
servant to the Ryght Honourable Syr William Harberd, Knight. Newly collected
and imprinted." He was also the author of " Seven Sobs of a Sorrowful Soul for
Sin, comprehending the seven Penitential Psalms in metre."
In 1550 John Hall, or Hawle, a surgeon at Maidstone in Kent, published
" Certayne chapters taken out of the Proverbes of Solomon, with other chapters of
the Holy Scripture, and certayne Psalmes of David, translated into English metre,
by John Hall." There is an edition in quarto, dedicated to King Edward VI. with
this title: "The Psalmes of David, translated into English metre, by T. Sternhold,
Sir T. Wyat, and William Hunnis, with certaine chapters of the Proverbes, and
select Psalmes, by John Hall."
Interesting notices of the history of psalmody may be found in Bingham's
Antiquities ofthe Church; Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. iii.; Strype's
Life of Archbishop Parker, lib. iii. and iv. ; Nouveau Dictionaire Historique, vol. vi. ;
Art. Marot in Bayle's Gen. Diet. ; Sir John Hawkins's History of Music, vol. iii. ;
Works of William Mason, vol. iii. ; Todd's Observations upon Sternhold and
Hopkins, and others ; A Preparation to the Psalter, by George Wyther, 1619.

856 LIFE AND TIMES
robes, afford sufficient evidence that it had no pretensions to
excellence. The attempt of the archbishop was followed by
that of King James I. who had the ambition to be thought a
poet as well as philosopher, and to provide psalms as well as
sports for his subjects : he lived, hoAvever, only to complete
part of his design, which was printed under the sanction of
his successor, a version remarkable, says Grainger, for its flat
simplicity and unmeaning expletives.* A host of names must
be passed over — statesmen, bishops, cavaliers, and roundheads,
Lord Bacon, Sir John Denham, bishops Hall, King, and
Patrick, Withers, Herbert, Donne, and Blackmore — the ver
sions of some of these individuals were respectable, but the mass
sinks far below mediocrity. The labours of Sir Philip Sidney,
and his accomplished sister, the Countess of Pembroke, are,
however, deserving of notice, though time has rendered them,
as to any practical purpose, almost useless. For nearly two
centuries and a half their joint production quietly slept in
manuscript, and is even now comparatively unknown, only a
small edition, of two hundred and fifty copies, having issued
from the Chiswick press, in 1823. This version has many
passages of great merit and beauty; it displays frequently a
striking felicity of expression ; the rhythm of the lines is ex
ceedingly easy and musical ; and many psalms are rendered
with a nerve and energy, quite refreshing, after the tame and
spiritless attempts that preceded it. The fine gold is, indeed,
mixed up with much dross, but besides its irregular metre,
*The following is a specimen of this royal production, and certainly when
placed in juxtaposition with Hopkins, the subject must yield to the monarch :
PSALM, lxxiv. 11.
" Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand ? pluck it out of thy bosom."
JAMES I.
" Why dost thou thus withdraw thy hand, e'en thy right hand restrain ?
Out of thy bosom for our good drawe back the same againe."
HOPKINS.
" Why doost withdraws thy hand aback, and hide it in thy lappe ?
O pluck it out, and be not slack to give thy foes a rappe."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 357
its faults are chiefly those which characterise the poetiy of the
Elizabethian age; false antitheses, fanciful conceits, quaint
and occasionally uncouth phraseology. The commencement
of the 45th psalm displays considerable skill in versification ;
to use a poet's phrase, the "numbers come," and produce that
intuitive music Avhich only accomplished minds can command :
"ERUCTAVIT COR MEUM.
"My harte endites an argument of worth,
The praise of him that doth the scepter swaye;
My tongue the peu to paynt his praises forth,
Shall write as swift as swiftest writer may,
Then to the king these are the words I say;
Fairer art thou than sonnes of mortall race,
Because high God hath blessed thee for ay,
Thie lipps, as springs, doe flowe with speaking grace.
" Thie honors sword gird to thy mightie side,
O thou that dost all things in might excell ;
With glory prosper, on with triumph ride,
Since justice, truth, and meekness with thee dwell.
Soe that right hande of thine shall teaching tell,
Such things to thee as well may terror bring,
And terror, such as never erst befell
To mortall mindes, at sight of mortall king."*
Among the poets of the seventeenth century, there is a name
almost "unknown to fame," that of George Sandys, whose
psalms have never been surpassed for closeness of the version
and poetical beauty. He employs chiefly the trochaic coup
let, in which he has been folloAved by Mr. Montgomery, the
most simple of our lyric measures, but one of the most beauti
ful, and best adapted for psalmody : Sandys rarely fails when
he uses this measure ; but he becomes flat and tame when he
adopts a more involved metre. His name is seldom seen in
any of our selections, probably owing to the Avant of that exact
metrical precision, the fault of his day, Avhich is so requisite in
* Sir P. Sidney and the Countess of Pembroke's version, &c. Whittingham, 1823.

358 LIFE AND TIMES
verses intended to be sung to simple tunes. The translation
of Rouse,* the elegant paraphrases of Addison, must be passed
over, with the attempts of many others to accomplish the high
emprise. What is commonly called the New Version, that of
Tate and Brady, requires some notice, not on account of any
superior merit, but because sanctioned by the royal authority
to be used in churches. Of the authors we knoAV nothing,
save Avhat Johnson tells us of Brady's translation ofthe iEneid,
that Avhen dragged into the world, it did not live long enough
to cry. A better fate attended his undertaking in honour of
David than of Virgil, though one, perhaps, not more deserved;
for, notwithstanding a feAV exceptions, the book, as a repre
sentation of the HebreAV psalmists, can scarcely be tolerated.
It has none of the dignity, animation, and fire of the inspired
text ; the same spirit is breathed into compositions differing
Avidely in their character; and the choral song ofthe church,
the lo Triumphe of the Jew, is rendered after the same like
ness, and receives the same sort of treatment, as the didactic
ode and the mournful elegy. If, struck with the beauty of the
original, the coadjutors attempt to transfer it to the picture,
the imagery is sure either to be barbarously clipped or ampli
fied, forming a collection of those ambitiosa ornamenta, which
may please a vitiated taste, but Avill disgust a correct judg
ment: the 67th, 19th, and J 39th psalms are among the best
versions in the volume. Since that period, the names of Watts,
Merrick, Bishop, Mant, Marsh," Montgomery, Lord Byron,
and Sir Walter Scott, occur, as those who have entered the
lists; and if complete success has not been attained by any,
* The parliament of 1643 recommended the Westminster assembly of divines, to
propose a version ofthe psalms in the place of Sternhold ; the assembly corrected and
improved Rouse's production, and sent it up to the commons with the following
notice: "Whereas the honourable house of commons, by an order bearing date
Nov. 20, 1643, have recommended the psalms, published by Mr. Rouse, to the
consideration of the assembly of divines, the assembly has caused them to be
carefully perused, aud, as they are now altered and amended, do approve thein,
and humbly conceive they may be useful and profitable to the church, if they be
permitted to be publicly sung."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 359
an almost hopeless expectation now, it has not been owing to
the want of competition or talent, but to the peculiar genius of
Hebrew poetry, which disdains the shackles of English metre.
Merrick's version Avas popular in its day, and has been much
praised for its elegance and smoothness ; but it is too evident
ly polished into harmony by art and labour to please. What
ever might be his Hebrew scholarship, he had nothing beyond
that in common with the Hebrew muse ; his was not a kin
dred spirit ; he could neither rise to its elevation, nor grasp its
breadth, nor explore its depth. We look in vain for the lofty
and bold conceptions of the psalmist; all is flat, languid,
and insipid; the "high hills" become table-lands, the ever
lasting mountains hide their diminished heads, and the lofty
cedars are paired down into trim hedge-rows.
The version of Watts, to Avhich we have now arrived, left
the works of his predecessors at an immense distance. Trans
lation, indeed, was not his object, but free imitation ; and
with peculiar felicity, in many instances, has he caught the
spirit of his model, and made David sing the song not only of
Moses but of the Lamb. He brought to his task no inconsi
derable amount of qualification — a critical acquaintance with
the inspired originals, fervent piety, facility of versification,
and poetical taste. It has been justly said, that in " catching
the spirit of the text, no writer has been on the Avhole so
happy ; and his metrical version, free and imperfect as it pro
fessedly is, and faulty in many respects, is, nevertheless, the
most instructive commentary on the Psalms that we possess.
Nor has any single Avork so poAverfully contributed to promote
the cultivation of sacred poetry."* In judging of the merits of
his production, AA'e must consider the object at which he aimed ;
not to give a representation of the psalms as poetry, but to
adapt them for Christian worship, a purpose which limited
him in his metres, and frequently obliged him to sacrifice the
?Eclectic Review, vol. xxiii. No. 1, to whose valuable labours I am, in several
instances, indebted.

360 LIFE AND TIMES
graces of style, ornament, and expression. His Avork soon
became popular in his own denomination, upwards of four
thousand being sold the first year ; it was gradually admitted
into most of their places of Avorship,* an honour which it still
retains. But meagre praise, notwithstanding, have the la
bours of the nonconformist received from churchmen : Bishop
Home mentions Merrick and Ogilvie, but overlooks the ver
sion of the dissenter ; and Bishop Mant, though evidently
indebted to it, maintains the same profound silence.f
He who undertakes a metrical version of the Psalms, should
first sit down and carefully examine the structure and charac-

*Mr. Bradbury, indeed, sternly refused it his favour, opposed its use in his con
gregation, and at the lecture at Pinner's Hall. The baptists, however, soon began
to use Watts's psalms, in connexion with their own selections. A curious contro
versy once agitated this body, as to the propriety of singing at all iu worship ; a
practice which, at one period, they generally omitted. Mr. Keach was the first
who broke the ice; he began to introduce singing at the ordinance ; after a strug
gle of six years, it was added to the devotions of thanksgiving days ; and after
fourteen years more of perseverance and debate, it was permitted at the close of
each service on the sabbath, that those who chose it might withdraw, and not have
their ears offended by the sound. The church, however, divided, and the inharmo
nious formed a new society, which still flourishes in Mays Pond. Isaac Marlowe
fiercely opposed Mr. Keach, designating the practice as, " error, apostacy, human
tradition, prelimited forms, mischievous error, carnal worship." The heats
excited by the controversy, led the General Assembly, held in London, May 3, 1692,
to interfere; and it was decided, that both parties had been guilty of personalities ;
that both were to call in their books, and that the members of the churches were
to be requested not to buy, give, or disperse any of them any more.
f That the Quarterly Review should not have the magnanimity to give Watts
his due might be expected; but that it should be so obtuse, as to issue the follow
ing criticism, is passing strange : " It is the most ungracious and unwelcome
part of our present task, to speak unfavourably of the well-meant contributions of
good men to the cause of Christian piety, especially when they are still popular
with a large class ofthe community. We do not object to Watts that his psalms
are not literal versions, which he did not intend them to be ; but we cannot help
suspecting, that the attachment of the better educated among the dissenters to
this which is, we believe, generally their hymn-book, partakes of that feeling from
which many pious members of the church adhere to old Sternhold and Hopkins."
Notwithstanding this, it is curious to observe one of Watt's versions, "Before
Jehovah's awful throne," inserted in Mr. Murray's late edition of Heber's hymns.
It has, however, Anon, for its signature ! Was the editor really ignorant of the au
thor of this noble poem ? or did he think that the pastor of Bury-Street was not
proper company for the Bishop of Calcutta ?

OF DR. TSAAC AVATTS. 361
ter of the poems, the events they celebrate, and the occasions
on Avhich they were Avritten. Though they all come under
one general appellation, yet, imperfect as is our acquaintance
with the nature of Hebrew verse, it is easy to perceive that
their metrical structure in the original varies. Some are
acrostic poems ; in some the parallelisms are more prominent
than in others ; whilst not a fevv seem to have been intended
for different modes of musical recitation. Style and metre,
then, are not to be taken at random, but to be selected with
careful discrimination, as the tone and measure best adapted
to give to the English version an analogical dress to that
Avhich the Hebrew text wears. Many of our translators
have failed from the Avant of a just apprehension of this im
portant point : they have versified the triumphal ode with the
same form of stanza as the plaintive elegy ; and, consequently,
the measure is frequently as inappropriate to the psalm, as the
couplets of Hudibras Avould be to the Iliad. The correspon
dence of Watts Avith his friends, shoAvs how anxious he Avas
about his metres ; though not always happy in his choice, yet
he is so generally ; and his failures result from his being obli
ged to adopt that measure which Avas most suited to a simple
regular congregational tune, rather than that best adapted to
express the spirit and poetical beauty of the composition.
The 29th psalm has been versified in almost all kinds of
stanza, and a few specimens Avill show hoAv completely its
dignity has been sacrificed by inappropriate metre. The psalm
is one of David's, and was sung by the Jews on the second
day of the feast of tabernacles. It is a contemplation of the
power and majesty of Jehovah ; and " it is enough to say of
it," remarks Lowth, "that the sublimity of the matter is per
fectly equalled by the unaffected energy of the style." The
antithetical balance of line against line is preserved through
out; nor does the collocation of the same or equivalent terms
enfeeble the poem :

362 LIFE AND TIMES
1. " Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2. Give unto the Lord, the glory due unto his name;
Worship the Lord in his glorious sanctuary.
3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters :
The God of glory thundereth ;
The Lord is upon many waters.
4. The voice of the Lord is in power,
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty :
5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars :
Yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon :
6. He maketh them also to skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn."

THE SIDNEYS.
" Afferte Domino.
" Ascribe unto the Lord of light,
Ye men of power, even by birth-right,
Ascribe all glory, and all might.
" Ascribe due glory to his name ;
And in his ever glorious frame
Of sanctuary doe the same.
" His voice is on the waters found,
His voice does threat'ning thunders sound,
Yea, through the waters doth resound.
" By voice of high Jehova we
The highest cedars broken see,
E'en cedars which on Liban be.
" His voice doth flashing flames divide ;
His voice have trembling deserts tride ;
E'en desertes, where the Arabs bide."
BUCHANAN.
4. Vox dignitatis plena, nee irrita;
Unquam ad patrand um jussa potential ;
o. Nudare cedris seu Libanum jurat,
Celsasque ventis sternere fraxinos :

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 363
6. Seu vincta saxis saxa revellere,
Notisque montes sedibus erutos
Versare, taurnm ut verna per avia
Vexat juventae heta protervitas
7. Ad vocisictum nubibus exsilit
8. Elisus iquis ; tesqua Arabum tremunt ;
9. Ferae pavescunt ; ante diem fluunt
Partus acerbi ; robora concidunt.
SANDYS.
"From a dark and show'ring cloud,
On the floods that roar aloud,
Hark ! his voice with terror breaks :
God, our God in thunder speaks ;
Powerful is his voice on high,
Full of power aud majesty."
TATE AND BRADY.
"'Tis he that with amazing noise
The wat'ry clouds in sunder breaks ;
The ocean trembles at his voice,
When he from heaven in thunder speaks.
How full of power his voice appears !
With what majestic terror crown'd I
Which from the roots tall cedars tears,
And strews their scatter'd branches round."
WATTS.
" Give to the Lord, ye sons of fame,
Give to the Lord, renown and pow'r;
Ascribe due honors to his name,
And his eternal might adore.
"The Lord proclaims his pow'r aloud,
Over the ocean and the land;
His voice divides the wat'ry cloud,
And lightnings blaze at his command,
"He speaks, and tempests, hail and wind,
Lay the wide forest bare around;
The fearful hart, and frighted hind,
Leap at the terror ofthe sound.

364 LIFE AND TIMES
" To Lebanon he turns his voice,
And lo, the stately cedars break ;
The mountains tremble at the noise,
The valleys roar, the deserts quake."
BISHOP MANT.
"The voice of the Lord the darkness divides,
And deals forth his fire in arrowy flakes :
The voice of Jehovah the wilderness chides,
Jehovah of Kadesh the wilderness shakes.
"The voice of the Lord speeds the hind to her throes;
The voice of the Lord smites the oak to the ground ;
The forest dismantled his majesty shows,
And all in his temple his praises resound.
"Jehovah is set o'er the water-flood high,
Jehovah is King till existence shall cease ;
Jehovah his people with strength shall supply,
Jehovah shall visit his people with peace."
MARSH.
" The voice of Jehovah the tall cedar breaks ;
At the voice of Jehovah all Lebanon shakes;
Like heifers the cedars of Lebanon bound,
And like bullocks in Sirion they tempest the ground."
It is impossible to do justice to this psalm in a rhythmical
version; it will no more endure such fetters than Samson the
withes of the Philistines ; but perhaps of all the metres select
ed, Watts's long measure is best adapted to its majestic charac
ter. The Sidney version is very pleasing ; Buchanan is cold
and classic; Sandys is manly and spirited; Tate as usual dif
fuse and affected ; Watts sinks below his general standard, but
is respectable; the Bishop and Mr. Marsh have completely
failed, and assuredly in bad taste have "Sternhold himself
out-Sternhold-ed." The 17th psalm is extremly well done by Watts; though a

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 365
free imitation, he realises and embodies the feelings, purpose,
and hopes of David better than any of his rivals ; and, in com
parison with his spirited production, the versions especially of
Tate and Mant are execrable ditties. The eighth psalm, evi
dently Avritten by the royal poet when gazing upon the bril
liant sky, the moon and the stars of an eastern heaven, he
has versified in three different measures, and in each instance
successfully, with the exception of a feAV lines, keeping in
mind the evangelical application the psalm has received in
the New Testament. The Sidney version, of Avhich an ex
tract is annexed, with all its quaintness, displays consider
able energy ; Bishop Mant's is also one of his best.
"DOMINE DOMINUS NOSTER.
"When I upon the heav'ns do look,
Which all from thee their essence took;
When moon and stars my thoughts beholdeth,
Whose life uo life but of thee holdeth :
Then thinck I : Ah, what is this man,
Whom that greate God remember can !
"Tht)u under his dominion plac't
Both sheep and oxen wholly hast :
And all the beastes for ever breeding,
Which in the fertil fields be feeding.
The bird, free-burgesse of the aire,
The fish, of sea the native heire ;
And what things els of waters traceth
The unworn pathes, his rule embraceth.
O Lord, thou ruls't our mortal lyne,
How through the world thy name doth shine !"
The 19th psalm has been often attempted, notwithstanding
"the stone of stumbling" which occurs in the seventh, eighth,
and ninth verses, the terror of all versifiers. Watts interprets
the psalm prophetically, and his paraphrase furnishes a beau
tiful hymn, and a most instructive exposition. In the pastoral
poem, "the Lord is my Shepherd," he has been equally
happy in each of his three versions, though perhaps his com-

366 LIFE AND TIMES
mon measure is the closest to the text, and the general favou
rite. This psalm seems to present little diflSculty to the metrical
translator, its imagery is rural, its style simple and unaffected ;
and yet the compass of our devotional poetry, excepting Watts
and Addison, presents but few instances of even tolerable suc
cess. The 92nd psalm, the production of an anonymous author,
was the sabbath-day song of the Jewish church : the com
mencement of Watts's paraphrase is very beautiful, " Sweet is
the work, my God, my King ;" but Sandys, in this instance,
bears aAvay the palm. THE SIDNEYS.
" Bonum est confiteri.
" O lovely thing,
To sing and praises frame
To thee, O Lord, and thy high name ;
With early spring
Thy bounty to display,
Thy truth when night hath vanquisht day,
Yea soe to sing,
That ten-string'd instrument,
With lute, and harp, and voice consent.
"For, Lord, my mind
Thy works with wonders fill ;
Thy doings are my comfort still.
What witt can find
How bravely thou hast wrought,
Or deeply sound thy shallow'st thought?"
SANDYS.
"Thou, who art enthron'd above,
Thou, by whom we live and move,
O how sweet and excellent,
'Tis with tongue and heart's consent,
Thankful hearts, and joyful tongues,
To renown thy name in songs;

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 367
K When the morning paints the skies,
When the sparkling stars arise,
Thy high favours to rehearse,
Thy firm faith in grateful verse.
From thy works my joy proceeds:
How I triumph in thy deeds !
Who thy wonders can express ?
All thy thoughts are fathomless."*
The attempt to make the Psalms Christian in tenor and
spirit, Avhich was Watts's grand aim, may be regarded as
entirely new. Luke Milbourne, Darby, and Patrick, do
indeed, depart occasionally from the literal sense ; but the
breaking forth of evangelical light is rare, " like angels' visits,
few and far between." Admirably has he succeeded in his
task as a Avhole, though many instances of failure might easily
be pointed out. His psalms form a useful commentary. He
takes us from the temple upon the " holy mountain," to the
church built upon the " foundation of apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus being himself the chief corner-stone ;" and shows
to the thoughtful mind how the " latter house" exceeds the
"former" in glory. The fugitive, penitent and helpless, is
taught to flee not to the "horns of the altar," but to the
" throne of grace," and to take refuge not in the blood of bulls
or goats, but in that " new and living Avay" Avhich has been
opened by the incarnate Saviour. He has erred, indeed, in
versifying the psalter indiscriminately, and attempting to
adapt the whole, with few exceptions, for congregational use.
The didactic poems are not appropriate for praise ; the elegiac

* The 104th psalm has been explained by the editor of Marvell's Works, Captain
Edward Thompson, as the production of the honest and upright patriot; the
editor likewise claims for Marvell, Addison's hymns in the Spectator, and the
elegiac ballet of William and Margaret, by Mallet. Nichols calls this charge of
plagiarism a ridiculous one. The fact seems to be, that the person into whose
hands Marvell's MS. poems came copied into the volume various productions of
other authors as they appeared. This volume came into the Captain's possession,
who had not sagacity enough to perceive the circumstance. Dove's Life of
Marvell, Gent. Mag. vols. xlvi. xlvii.

368 LIFE AND TIMES
are more suited to the closet ; it is only those that are general —
that are applicable to the majority — that should be introduced
in public. The contrition of the lapsed though penitent mo
narch, for his awful crime — the sorrow of his over-burdened
heart, Avhen driven from his royal city and hunted on the
mountains — the weight of anguish he felt, on account of the
treachery of his friend and minister — beautiful and unrivalled
poems as they may be, are only fit for individual use, are fo
reign to the local interests and circumstances of the solemn
assembly. Watts seems to have felt this : " There are several
songs," he observes, " of this royal author, that seem improper
for any person besides himself;" yet out of the one hundred
and fifty psalms he has only omitted tAvelve. Hence, there
are some of them that are never sung, and many more out of
Avhich only a stanza or two can be employed. Another and a
serious defect is, the occurrence of harsh expressions — phrase
ology which seems to appeal to angry and vindictive passions —
and to give utterance to feelings incongruous Avith the pure
and heavenly emotions which influence the spiritual worship-
per. In the pulpit it might be explained, that the spiritual
enemies of the Christian are intended, the world, the flesh,
and the devil ; that the denunciation is frequently nothing
more than a prophetic announcement ; and that the Hebrew is
often equally capable of a future as Avell as an imperative sig
nification : but these considerations Avill only present them
selves in the fervour of singing to the pious and intelligent.
To excel Watts, hoAvever, as a Christian psalmist, Avould be
no trifling achievement: the qualifications requisite for the
task, are rarely found united — scholarship, poetry, and devo
tion. All these are indispensable to the individual Avho would
do justice to these sublime compositions : he must be a scho
lar, or he will not perceive the terseness, energy, and vigorous
simplicity of the originals ; a poet, or he will not catch the
spirit of the eastern bards ; a devout man, or he cannot give
expression to Avhat he does not understand.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 369
The dissenting congregations are under immense obligations
to Watts, for the strains he has composed for their public as
semblies and social meetings. Previous to the introduction of
his Imitations, the sound of the gospel proceeded from the
pulpit, but the praises of the Jew ascended from the hearers ;
the Avorshippers seemed to localise themselves in Judea — to re
trace some two or three thousand years of the world's history —
and AvithdraAV from the " light that lightens the Gentiles," to
join their " fathers Avho were under the cloud." It Avas no
uncommon thing, if the minister and the people Avere not
prone to retrospection — if the retrograde movement Avas disli
ked — for some six or seven verses to be selected from as many
different psalms, a stanza culled here and there, in order to com
pound one evangelical hymn. The demands of a few sabbaths'
services, thus put the Avhole book in requisition ; and it neces
sarily occurred, that the fragments were often joined together
without the slightest connexion, presenting indeed a body,
but Avithout form, proportion, or symmetry. The days on
Avhich the ordinance of the Lord's supper recurred, brought
Avith them the never- failing repetition of the 23rd or 118th
psalms, slight as are the passages Avhich can be construed
into references to the solemn festival. The composition of the
Psalms and Hymns was, thus, an invaluable acquisition ; and
though the altered circumstances of the church have created
fresh wants, and a rigid confinement to them Avould be im
proper Avhere it can be avoided, yet the step from Patrick to
Watts was, indeed, a leap " over many a gulf between."

370 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XI.
1720—1726.
DISPUTE WITH MR. BRADBURY.

SOUTH-SEA COMPANY. — PLAGUE AT MARSEILLES. — AURORA BOREALIS.
— "SONGS FOR CHILDREN:" — THEIR POPULARITY :— DR. JOHNSON'S
REMARKS : — INSTANCES OF USEFULNESS : —ARIAN EDITION, BY MRS.
BARBAULD.— INSCRIPTION AT BROADSTAIRS.— " ART OF READING AND
WRITING." — ILLNESS.— VOLUME OF "SERMONS."— " CHRISTIAN DOC
TRINE OF THE TRINITY."— THREE "DISSERTATIONS."-DEATH OF SIR
THOMAS ABNEY:— OF SIR JOHN HARTOPP:— FUNERAL SERMONS.— PRO
FESSORS FRANK AND RAMBACH. —"DEATH AND HEAVEN."— LAST
WORDS OF REV. SAMUEL ROSEWELL. — SERMONS ON "CHRISTIAN
MORALS"— "LOGIC:"— OPINIONS OF SECKER, BARRINGTON, AND JOHN
SON.— DISPUTE WITH MR. BRADBURY:— ITS CAUSES:— EXTRACTS FROM
THEIR CORRESPONDENCE:— DISLIKES WATTS'S PSALMS:— CONDUCT AT
PINNER'S HALL. — LORD BARRINGTON'S ELECTION. — MINOR PUBLICA
TIONS.— CORRESPONDENCE.

The formation and proceedings of the South-Sea Company,
engaged the attention of the nation during the years 1720
and 1721. " Clergy and laity, Avhigs and tories, churchmen
and dissenters, statesmen and ladies, turned stock-jobbers ;"
every mind seemed tainted with avarice, and all classes Avere
occupied Avith golden prospects and elysian dreams. But,
like the Trojan horse, Avhat was ushered in and received with
such acclamations of joy, was contrived for treachery and
instrumental of ruin. Gay and Pope among the poets, and
Chandler among the dissenting ministers, suffered severely by
the prevailing mania; the latter, having lost the whole of his
wife's fortune, established a bookseller's shop in the Poultry,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 371
to assist his scanty salary* Dr. Calamy congratulates him
self upon raising the money for his neAV meeting-house at
Westminster, at this period, Avhen, dazzled Avith imaginary
riches, the people were unusually liberal in their contribu-
tions.f These years of national infatuation and calamity, are
noticed by Watts in an English and two Latin epigrams :
" 'Tis said, the citizens have sold
Faith, truth, and trade for South-Sea gold ;
'Tis false! for those that know can swear,
AH is not gold that glisters there."J
The breaking out of the plague at this time, with its awful
ravages in Marseilles, " when nature sickened, and each gale
was death," Avas calculated to sober the minds of men, and to
check their quixotic schemes for Avealth. Though measures
were adopted by the government to prevent the introduction
of the contagion into this country ; yet the apprehension of it
happily led many to serious concern, and with the pious clergy
and the dissenting ministry, it became a "labour of love," if
not, like " Marseilles' good bishop," to serve their flocks in the
midst of the pestilence, yet to prepare them for its expected
approach. A lecture Avas established every Wednesday by
the latter, with reference to this event, which, after the origi
nal cause had ceased, Avas carried on at Fetter Lane, as an
anti-arian lecture. It Avas upon this occasion that Mr. Brad
bury preached his course of sermons upon the "PoAver of
Christ over Plagues and Health."§ To add to the apprehen-
* Gay, who lost his all, found an asylum iu the Duke of Queensbury's mansion :
Pope, who did not risk so much, soon remedied his losses ; and Chandler's shop
was only kept open two or three years.
f Cal. Life. ii. 442.
X Reliq. Juv. No. 69.
§ Neal's Sermon on the "Christian's duty and interest in a time of public
danger, preached at Wapping, Oct. 27, being a time of solemn prayer on account
of the plague." This sermon is in the library of Queen's College, Cambridge.
Guyse's " Sermon on the Plague at Marseilles, Amos, iv. 12."

372 LIFE AND TIMES
sions of the nation at this period, the evenings of February,
1721, were brilliantly illuminated by the aurora borealis, and
the harmless meteor Avas converted into a dire prognostic, and
interpreted by some theological alarmists as a forerunner of
the final day *
The period in the life of Walts, upon Avhich we are noAv
entering, Avas one of continued bodily suffering, yet extraordi
nary mental exertion. It is probable, though the exact time
is uncertain, that one of the most pleasing and useful of his
publications appeared about the year 1720 — "Divine and
Moral Songs, for the use of Children." Several of these
pieces had been previously circulated in manuscript; the
hymn commencing, " Hush, my babe, lie still and slumber,"
Avas an early composition ; and it Avas owing to the earnest
wishes of intimate friends, that the collection was formed and
printed. This humble and unpretending performance speedi
ly obtained an unwonted popularity; edition after edition
rapidly issued from the press in England and America; and
translations have since appeared in many of the European
and trans-atlantic languages. The number of copies that
have been circulated throughout the Avorld, must amount to
many millions; upwards of thirty editions, in this country,
are regularly kept in print ; and, upon a moderate computa
tion, the average annual sale in England only cannot be less
than eighty thousand. It was stated some years ago upon
authority, that two institutions, the Society for Promoting
Religious KnoAA'ledge among the Poor, and the Religious
Tract Society, had distributed upwards of one hundred thou-
*" I would ask," says Mr. Moyleto one of his correspondents, "the grave divine
you mention, what warrant he has for this conceit from scripture, where we are
told more than once that the day of the Lord shall come as a thief; that is, with
out giving any warning at all. I might tell him, that a superstitious observation
of signs in the heavens, is condemned in the Old Testament as a rag of heathenism,
and a kind of idolatry. Upon tbe whole matter, I am apt to think, that the brains
of this divine are as full of vapours, as the air hath been of late, and that they have
produced the same effect in his bead, viz. new light, and set him a prophecying."
Works of Walter Mayle, Esq. i. 368—371.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 373
sand. It is an honourable distinction, that the most popular
books in the English, and probably in any other language, have
proceeded from the pens of nonconformists. In proof of the
accuracy of this statement, there need only be instanced the
" Pilgrim's Progress" of Bunyan; the " Saint's Rest" of Baxter;
the " Rise and Progress of Religion" of Doddridge ; the " Di
vine Songs" of Watts ; and the " Robinson Crusoe" of De Foe.
Wherever the English name is knoAVn, and its language has
penetrated, these productions have travelled, the heralds of
the literature and religion of the country of their birth.
Of the merit of the Divine Songs a very high opinion has
been entertained, of Avhich their extensive dispersion affords
evident proof. The writer, Avith singular felicity, adapts
himself to the feeble capacity of childhood ; his rhymes pre
sent a rare combination of the simple, the useful, and the
attractive; and, perhaps, no equal instance can be found in our
literature, of the truths of religion, the duties of morality, and
the spirit of poetry, being so admirably accomodated to an in
fantine comprehension. It is no slight praise to have expounded
the sublimest lessons of philosophy to the educated, and, at the
same time, to have put into " the mouths of babes and suck
lings," such plain and beautiful effusions. Dr. Johnson's
striking eulogy should not be Avithheld: "For children," he
remarks, "he condescended to lay aside the scholar, the
philosopher, and the wit, to Avrite little poems of devotion,
and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capaci
ties, from the dawn of reason through its gradations of
advance in the morning of life. Every man acquainted Avith
the common principles of human action, will look with vene
ration on the Avriter, Avho is, at one time, combating Locke, and
at another, making a catechism for children in their fourth
year. A voluntary descent from the dignity of science, is,
perhaps, the hardest lesson that humility can teach."* In
such compositions as the following, "Whene'er I take my
* Johnson's Life of Watts.

374 LIFE AND TIMES
Avalks abroad;" "My God, who makes the sun to know;"
"Lord, hoAv delightful 'tis to see;" "And now another day is
gone;" "'Tis the voice of the sluggard;" "Hoav fair is the
rose," &c, we see genius and devotion coming doAvn to the
level of the most juvenile understanding. Had Watts written
nothing beside, his name would have lived for ever; they
form one of the most precious boons which the church of
Christ has ever received from the hands of uninspired man; and
they will be repeated by the seed of the righteous on earth,
until they hear and learn the songs of the blessed in heaven.
Many of the correspondents of Watts refer to the happy
influence of his Songs upon the minds of children ; and seve
ral striking testimonies to this effect are upon record. A
Welch divine observes, " I have seen the sweet delight and
joy with Avhich they have been read by many of the young.
On the hearts of five children in my own connexions, they
have, by the blessing of God, made deep impressions ; and
one of these the other day died comfortably, repeating them a
few minutes before his departure." A religious periodical
relates the folloAving affecting instance of the conversion of a
mother : " A poor Avretched girl, religiously educated, but noAv
abandoned to misery and want, with an illegitimate child,
was struck with horror at hearing this infant daughter repeat,
as soon as she could well speak, some of the profane language
she had taught her by example. She trembled at the
thought, that she was not only going to hell herself, but lead
ing her child thither. She instantly resolved the first six
pence she could procure, should purchase Watts's Divine
Songs, of which she had some recollection, to teach her infant
daughter. She did so; and, on opening the book, her eye
caught the folloAving striking stanza :
' Just as the tree cut down, that falls
To north or southward, there it lies;
So man departs to heav'n or hell,
Fix'd in the state wherein he dies.'

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 375
She read on; the event ended in her conversion, and she
lived and died an honourable professor of religion."* Thou
sands and tens of thousands of others, have recuned in after
years to these lessons of their childhood ; and not a few have
traced to the impressions made by their means their direc
tion to the paths of virtue and religion.
An edition of the Songs for Children, revised and altered,
was published anonymously in the year 1785, and generally
attributed to the celebrated Mrs. Barbauld. The design of
the accomplished editor Avas, to accommodate Watts's little
work to the principles of Unitarianism, in order to prepare it
for circulation among the juvenile members of that body.
After a compliment to the author for his pleasing versification,
she remarks in the preface,f that " Doctor Watts's little book
has been considered as very defective, or rather erroneous, by
great numbers of serious Christians; for though it has been
very credibly reported, and generally believed, that he chan
ged many of his religious principles before his death ; never
theless there are retained in his book some particular doctrines
and phrases, which his better judgment would probably have
corrected or expunged. But, be this as it may, the present
editor has judged it expedient to make many alterations in
both these respects. It has been," she further remarks, " her
principal design to confine all the ascriptions of praise and
thanksgiving to the one only living and true God, to whom
alone all praise and thanksgiving are most justly due." It
will only be necessary to observe here, that, whatever change
Watts's religious opinions underwent, it Avas not such as to
interfere with the sentiments expressed in his Songs, much
less to sanction, in the slightest degree, the alterations and
omissions of the arian editor. The hymns entitled, " Praise
to God for Redemption," and, "The Hosanna, or Salvation
ascribed to Christ," are omitted in the spurious edition; and
* Evang. Mag. vol. xii. p. 288. f Pref. dated Nov. 17, 1785.

376

LIFE AND TIMES

the doxologies of Dr. Samuel Clarke, are inserted in the
place of those of Watts. A few specimens of this so-called
improved version the reader may be curious to see :

ORIGINAL EDITION.
SONG VII. VERSE 6.
"Here would I learn how Christ has dy'd,
To save my soul from hell;
Not all the books on earth beside,
Such heavenly wonders tell."
SONG IX. VERSE 4.
" Dear Lord, this book of thine
Informs me where to go
For grace, to pardon all my sin
And make me holy too."
VERSE S.
"Here I can read and learn,
How Christ the Son of God
Did undertake our great concern ;
Our ransom cost his blood."
VERSE 6.
" And now he reigns above,
He sends his Spirit down,
To show the wonders of his love,
And make his gospel known."

ARIAN EDITION.

" Here would I learu how Jesus dy'd,
To prove his gospel true;
Not all the books on earth beside,
E'er so much good can do."

" 0 God! thy book so good,
Informs me what to do ;
Besides the knowledge of thy word.
It makes me holy too."

"Here I can read and learn,
How Christ the Son of God
Has undertook our great concern,
And seal'd it with his blood."

"But God still reigns above,
And sends his Spirit down,
To show the wonders of his love
And make the gospel known."

SONG XVII. VERSE 2.
" Jesus who reigns above the sky,
And keeps the world in awe,
Was once a child as young as I,
And kept his Father's law."
SONG XXVII. VERSE 4.
"With thoughts of Christ and things
divine,
Fill up this foolish heart of mine ;
That, hoping pardon through his blood,
I may lie down and wake with God."

" Jesus who lives above the sky,
Beloved of his God,
Tho' once a child as young as I,
He kept his Father's word."

" With thoughts of Christ and things
divine,
Employ this foolish heart of mine ;
That, hoping pardon through his word,
I may lie down and wake with God,"

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 377
This production gave rise to severe animadversions; and a
small pamphlet, exposing the unwarrantable liberties taken
by the editor, appeared under the following singular title : —
"A Letter to the Rev. Mr.  , or a Gnat disturbing tbe
Little Arian Foxes among the Vines ; and part ofthe Remains
of Dr. Watts cleared of a feAV Leaves and Rags of Arianism."*
*The following incident connected with these Songs, related by a correspondent
of the Protestant Dissenters' Magazine, may not be unworthy of preservation. He
notices a striking affinity between Watts's metrical version of the Commandments,
and an old inscription, now probably erased, upon the walls of the meeting-house
at Broad stairs in Kent, which he concludes to have been the original of the poet's
composition. The meeting-house in question is part of an old catholic chapel,
formerly dedicated to the Virgin, and held so sacred, that all vessels passing within
sight of it lowered their sails, in token of veneration. A pious man, named Josiah
Culmer, fitted up the place for worship among the dissenters in the year 1691,
and inscribed the walls with texts of scripture aud the following verses, which Watts
has evidently abridged and modernised :
"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
" 1. Have thou no other God but me.
2. Unto 110 image bow thy knee.
3. Take not the name of God in vain.
' 4. Do not the sabbath day profane.
5. Honour thy father, mother too.
6. Take heed that thou no murder do.
7. From whoredom keep thy hody clean.
8. Steal not although thy state be mean.
9. Bear not false witness, shun that blot.
10. What is thy neighbour's covet not."
" These sacred words in these ten lines,
Are strings of pearls and golden mines ;
Or heaven transcribe!, wherein, no doubt,
God's mind to men is copy'd out.
Bless God, my soul, that thus hath given,
In this thy pilgrimage to heaven,
Such sight and guidance; but withal
Bless God for Christ that kept them all :
Refuse not that which conscience bids thee choose,
And choose not that which conscience says refuse."
The good man who put up this inscription, little imagined in what perilous cir
cumstances he might perchance place his pastor. Dr. Clarke of St. Albans rallies
Doddridge in one of his letters, about losing the chance of an invitation to Hert
ford, by having the commandments in humble prose upon the walls of his meeting
house at Kibworth : " stumbling-blocks and superstitious customs," say s he, " which
are very offensive to your Christian brethren. It is no wonder you are thought a
legal preacher, when you have the ten commandments painted upon the walls of
your chapel. Besides, you have a clerk, it seems, so impertinent as to say 'Amen'
with an audible voice. 'O temporal O mores!' that such arag of popery should
ever be tolerated in a congregation of protestant dissenters."
Bb

378 LIFE AND TIMES
The summer of 1720 was spent by Watts at Theobalds;
and here he finished his "Art of Reading and Writing English,"
the preface of Avhich is dated July 31st, the same year. The
work of education has since made such rapid advances, and
scholastic exercises have been so multiplied and improved,
that this little treatise has noAv become obsolete, and all that
is valuable in it may be found incorporated Avith more effi
cient elementary systems. The plan laid down in this piece,
Avas originally formed for the instruction of the three daughters
of Sir Thos. Abney, Avhose education Watts superintended, as
a grateful acknowledgment of the favours he received from the
family. It is, therefore, dedicated to his " Honoured young
Friends," whom he adflresses in the matronly style of the last
century, as Mrs. Sarah, Mrs. Mary, and Mrs. Elizabeth. The
institution of a charity-school at Cheshunt, under the patronage
ofthe Abneys, was the immediate cause of its publication, being
a suitable formulary to put into the hands of the children. Since
the year 1716, when Mr. Watts was restored from four years of
sickness and confinement, his health had continued precarious ;
and frequent affliction considerably entrenched upon his pub
lic labours. For some time it appears that he had been often
unable to preach, and Avhen he did appear in the pulpit, his
exertions were folloAved by such Aveakness and pain, that he
was obliged to retire immediately to bed, and have his room
closed in darkness and silence. Not only Avas he incapacita
ted for regular public ministration, but for the private duties of
the pastoral office ; and though his place Avas ably supplied by
Mr. Price, yet his comparative retirement Avas a source of anx
iety to himself, and of sorrow to his flock. In such circum
stances, to supply his lack of service he was induced to pre
sent his people with a volume of sermons from the press, that
they might read in their families those truths Avhich they had
heard with so much delight from his lips. The volume is
dedicated "To" the* Church of Christ assembling in Bury-
Street," and dated at Theobalds, Feb. 21, 1721. "It often

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 379
grieves me," he observes, "to think Iioav poor, feeble, and short,
are my present labours among you ; and yet what days of faint-
ness I generally feel after every such attempt, so that I am
continually prevented in my design of successive visits to you,
by the want of active spirits, Avhile I tarry in the city ; and
yet if I attempt to stay a week or ten days there, I find a sen
sible return of Aveakness, so that I am constrained to retire to
the country air."* To be hindered from meeting his people
in the sanctuary Avas a painful deprivation ; but he had a place
in their hearts, and experienced their kindest attentions. — " I
think," says he, " I can pronounce it with great sincerity, that
there is no place, nor company, nor employment, on this side
heaven, that can give me such a relish of delight, as when I
stand ministering holy things in the midst of you. It is in
the service of your souls, that I have spent the best period of
my life, ministering the gospel among you. Two-and^twenty
years are now expired since you first called me to this de
lightful work ; and from that time my care and labours, my
studies and prayers, have been employed in your behalf. I
trust they have been accepted with God, and through his
almighty blessing have obtained some success. As to their
acceptance with you, I have too many and plain evidences to
admit a doubt of it; Avhich I have often thankfully acknoAV-
ledged to God and you. Your forward kindness hath always
forbid my requests; nor do I remember that you ever gave me
leave to ask any thing for myself at your hands, by your con
stant anticipation of all that I could reasonably desire." The
discourses which he presented to his people, are fourteen in
number, chiefly remarkable for a rich display of evangelical
truth and Christian experience. They contain many happy
illustrations, and pointed appeals to the conscience, and are ex
pressed in a plain and perspicuous style. He seems ever to
keep in mind the maxim,
* Preface to vol. i. of "Sermons on Various Subjects," 12mo. first edit. 1721.

380 LIFE AND TIMES
" Smooth be your style, and plain, and natural,
To strike the sons of Wapping or Whitehall."
An occasional redundancy of expression and prolixity iu ar
rangement, Avill be overlooked in the striking and impassioned
exhibitions of scripture truth, Avith which the volume abounds.
Two more publications appeared in 1721: "The Christian
Doctrine ofthe Trinity, or Father, Son, and Spirit, three Persons
and one God, asserted and proved ; Avith their Divine Rights
and Honours vindicated by plain Evidence of Scripture, with
out the Aid and Incumbrance of Human Schemes." This was
folloAved by three of the seven dissertations which constitute
" The Arian invited to the Orthodox Faith." These works are
mentioned in the order in point of time in which they Avere
published ; but our notices of them are deferred to the chapter
which will review the other writings of the author upon the
same subject.
The year 1722 Avas one of peculiar affliction to Watts, for he
lost his kind and beneficent patron, Sir Thos. Abney, who died
on the 22nd of February, in the eighty-third year of his age.
In a paper, entitled the "Honourable Magistrate," inserted in
the " Miscellanies," he has left the following testimony to his
virtues: — " He never aimed at superiority over his neighbours,
though by the bounty of providence he grew richer than they.
He had the universal respect clue to goodness, long before he
was made great; and when his fellow-citizens voted him into
power and honour, he surveyed the province Avith a just reluc
tance, and shrunk away from grandeur; nor could any thing
overcome his sincere aversion, but a sense of duty and hopes of
public service.
"He passed through the chief offices ofthe city, and left a
lustre upon them by the practice of such virtue and such piety
as the chair of honour has seldom knoAvn : those who have at
tended that court since the year of his magistracy, search the
register backward for twenty annual successions, and confess

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 381
he has had no rival."* Sir Thomas's funeral sermon was preach
ed by Mr. Jeremiah Smith, one of the joint pastors at Silver-
Street, and published under the title of "The Magistrate and
the Christian." To this Avas appended a few memorials of his
life by Mr. Smith, and an elegiac poem by Watts, written at
the request of Lady Abney. "The nation," says the preface to
the elegy, " mourns a good man lost from the midst of us, a
public blessing vanished from the earth. — The city mourns
the loss of a most excellent magistrate, a sure friend to virtue,
and a guardian to the public peace. — The church of Christ
mourns a beautiful pillar taken from the support and orna
ment of the temple."f The commencement of the beautiful
ode of Horace to Virgil, on the death of Quintilius Varus, "de
morte Quintilii Vari," J forms an appropriate motto to the piece,
the Avord Abneium being inserted in the place of Quintilium.
On the 1st of April, in the same year, Sir John Hartopp like
wise terminated a long and honourable career, at the advanced
age of eighty-five. He was buried in the church at Stoke New
ington ; and his funeral sermon Avas preached by Mr. Watts,
April 1 5th, in the meeting-house of that place. This good man
was signally favoured by providence. Born at a period when
civil war was unfurling its sanguinary banner, he not only
outlived the oppressions of the Stuarts, and witnessed the estab
lishment of religious liberty under William, but beheld the
machinations of its enemies finally defeated by the settlement
ofthe Hanoverian family upon the throne. Among his papers,
some of Dr. Owen's sermons were found, Avhich he had taken
down in short-hand as they were delivered : several of them
appear to have been preached at ordinations, and a few others
atStadhamin Oxfordshire, between the years 1669 and 1682.§
* Miscell. No. 14.
f Reliq. Juv. No. 55.
+ Hor. lib. i. od. 24.
§ Sir John appears to have accompanied the doctor in several of his excursions.
Chiselbampton near Stadham, was the residence of Sir John D'Oyley, whose bro
ther's widow Owen married.

382 LIFE AND TIMES
These were published in 1756, entitled "Thirteen Sermons,
preached on Various Occasions, by the reverend and learned
John OAven, D.D. of the last age," to which an advertisement
is appended, stating, that " to be fully satisfied they are gen
uine, Mrs. Cooke,* of Stoke Newington, by this means informs
the reader, that her pious grandfather, Sir John Hartopp, Bart.
wrote them in short-hand from the doctor's OAvn mouth, and
then took the pains to transcribe them into long-hand, as think
ing them worthy of being transmitted down to posterity."
The year preceding his death, Sir John assisted in compiling
memoirs of 0Aven, drawn up principally by Mr. Asty, pastor
of the church in Rope-Makers' Alley, and perfixed to a folio
volume of sermons and tracts, which Avas dedicated to the baro-
net.f The death of such men as Abney and Hartopp Avas a
heavy loss to the dissenting interest, on aecountof their private
worth and public spirit; but their kindness to Watts will keep
their names in remembrance by the church of Christ — a kind
ness shoAvn without exacting obsequious submission or dis
playing the usual pride of patronage.
The funeral sermon Avhich Watts preached for his early pa
tron, was founded upon Heb. xii. 23, "the spirits of the just
made perfect;" and forms the second of the two discourses
which he published, entitled "Death and Heaven, attempted
in two funeral discourses in memory of Sir John Hartopp and
his lady deceased." These appeared in July, 1722, Avith a de
dication to his former pupil, who noAv succeeded to his father's
title and estates. It would be a sufficient proof of the value
and usefulness of this production to state, that it was a favou
rite book with the amiable Doddridge, his solace at Lisbon when
in declining health, soothing him under the prospect of being

* Mrs. Cooke, second daughter of Nathaniel Gould, Esq., and Frances Hartopp,
and wife of Thomas Cooke, Esq., some time governor of the bank. She died in
1763, aged 63, at Stoke Newington.
f Entitled " A Complete Collection of the Sermons, &c." The preface was w ritten
by Matthew Clarke, Thomas Bradbury, and Thomas Ridgley, D.D.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 383
buried on a foreign strand. Its popularity carried it through
several editions during the life-time of the author, and led to
its circulation in America and on the continent. Professor
Frank was so much pleased Avith it, that he engaged a person
to translate it into German, Avhich appeared after his death
at Halle in Saxony, in the year 1727, with a recommendatory
preface by Professor Rambach, his successor in the divinity
chair.* The plan ofthe latter discourse, and many of its lead
ing features, are drawn from an ingenious treatise, published
by a nameless author in 1683, entitled "The Future State, dis
playing the progressive Knowledge ofthe Blessed in Heaven."
An edition of this little work was published in France in 1700,
and a German translation appeared at Frankfort ad Maenum,
with a preface by Dr. Pritius. Both of Watts's sermons
abound Avith passages of considerable beauty ; a yein of ardent
piety runs throughout; the style is more than usually sprightly
and vivacious; the fancy of the writer is evidently on the Aving,
and his imagination excursive, yet it does not attract from
the highAvay of truth, nor betray into error and inconsist
ence. It has, indeed, been objected, that some of his views of
the station, employment, and happiness, of perfected spirits are
not expressly sanctioned by the sacred page ; yet they harmo
nise with the general tenor of its brief and brilliant revelations,
and are certainly supported by the inferential evidence of the
scriptures. Though inspired truth maintains a dignified re
serve with reference to the future — though it seeks not to gra
tify the longings of the ambitious, or tbe fretful impatience of
the curious — though it sympathises in all its details AAith that
secresy Avhich sits aAvful mistress of the creation around us —
yet hints are thrown out which Ave may follow and improve,
without incurring the charge of being Aviser than what is writ-

* Professor Rambach is known as the author of a series of discourses on the
Passion, preached during Lent, at Jena and Halle, in 1721 and 1722. They were
published in 1730, and translated into English iu 1763. An abridged edition was
published by J. Gray, of York, in 1819.

384 LIFE AND TIMES
ten. The landscape may have the mists and shadows of the
morning tAvilight upon it, but the gleams of light that perforate
the covering, and open a passage for our vision, enable us to
form some idea of the scenery upon Avhich the darkness rests.
It requires, indeed, a steady hand to throAV the sounding line
over the battlements ofthe present; a matured judgment to
know how far to proceed and when to stop ; yet excursive as
Watts's attempt undoubtedly is, in no instance does he tres
pass upon forbidden ground, or violate the boundary that sepa
rates faith from presumption. His views of the administration
of future glory being proportioned to individual attainment —
of heaven being a state of constant improvement — are generally
held by the orthodox. The same progression that marks the
character and experience ofthe Christian on earth, will doubt
less attend him beyond the grave, and accompany him in his
passage through eternity; he Avill go from "strength to
strength" before " God in Zion," as well as during his journey
to the "holy mountain ;" and be ever advancing to an increased
likeness to Jehovah, in knoAvledge, purity, and glory, in bound
less progression and infinite approximation, discovering at
every step some new tract of moral and intellectual splendour,
of unpierced and unapproached light, yet to be attained. "In
the Avorld of spirits made perfect," he observes, "David and
Moses dwell: both of them were trained up in feeding the
flocks of their fathers in the wilderness, to feed and to rule the
nation of Israel, the chosen flock of God : and may we not sup
pose them also trained up in the arts of holy government on
earth, to be the chiefs of some blessed army, some sacred tribes
in heaven ? They were directors of the forms of worship in the
church below under divine inspiration ; and might not that fit
them to become leaders of some celestial assembly, when a
multitude of the sons of God above come at stated seasons to
present, themselves before the throne ?" We know for certain
that there are gradations of rank and authority among the
angels that " excel in strength," thrones and dominions, prin-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 385
cipalities and powers ; and the same may be predicated of glo
rified saints, not merely upon the ground of analogy, but upon
the scripture testimony that assigns to the possessor of ten
talents rule over ten cities, and of five talents over five cities.
From the grave of Abney and Hartopp, Watts Avas called to
the sick-bed of the Rev. Samuel Rosewell, the pastor and inti
mate friend of his deceased patron. The father of this excel
lent man was the Rev. Thos. RoseAvell, celebrated for his
trial for high treason before the infamous Jefferies, and un
just condemnation in the reign of Charles II. The son was one
of the pastors at Silver-Street, and was confiiied to his chamber
by his last illness at the time of Sir Thomas Abney's death.
When informed ofit he exclaimed, " Well, I shall soon go after."
An interesting account of his conversation when visited by
Watts, we have in one ofthe sermons which the latter preached
at Bury-Street: — " Come, my friends," says he, " come into the
chamber of a dying Christian; come, approach his pillow and
hear his holy language : ' I am going up to heaven, and I long to
be gone, to be Avhere my Saviour is. — Why are his chariot wheels
so long in coming ? — I hope I am a sincere Christian, but the
meanest and the most unworthy. — I know I am a great sinner,
but did not Christ come to save the chief of sinners ? — I have
trusted in him, and I have strong consolation. — I love God, I
love Christ. — I desire to love him more, to be more like him,
and to serve him in heaven without sin. — Dear brother, I shall
see you at the right hand of Christ. — There I shall see our
friends that are gone a little before,' (alluding to Sir T. Abney.)
— ' I go to my God and to your God, to my Saviour and to your
Saviour.' These," observes AVatts,* " are some of the dying
words ofthe Rev. Mr. S. Rosewell, when with some other friends
I went to visit him tAvo days before his death, and which I
transcribed as soon as I came home Avith their assistance."
The health of Mr. Watts improved during the year 1722;
* Sermons.

386 LIFE AND TIMES
he preached at times to his own people, and engaged in seve
ral occasional services; but he was not able regularly to occupy
the pulpit at Bury-Street. He required frequent intervals of
retirement and rest; and again, therefore, he resorted to publi
cation, to compensate for the interruptions of his public min
istry. The "glorious and controverted doctrine," as he terms
it, of the trinity, at first engaged his thoughts; but his friends
wisely advised him to uudertake the easier and more useful
task of transcribing some of his discourses for the press. The ,
favourable reception which his first volume had met with,
having reached a second edition, encouraged the undertaking,
and another accordingly appeared in March, 1723. Literary
exertion must have been a painful and laborious effort, as he
states that his health only allowed him a few hours for study
in a week; but such a mind as his could not remain inactive.
"My slow returns of health, and Avant of capacity to fulfil my
weekly ministrations in the church Avhere God has placed me,
is another constraining motive to attempt their edification in
this manner. I give thanks to my God, Avho has blest this last
year with some growing measures of strength for their service.
I know they join their prayers with me for my perfect recov
ery; and I long and Avait daily for the pleasure of constant
labour amongst them. My duty demands this, and their love
deserves it at my hands. And since I must not, I cannot, be
quite idle in my retiring days, I thought of employing the
press again for the service of their souls, to make some com
pensation for the inconstancy of my public ministry." The
volume contained sixteen discourses, the first five devoted to
Christian doctrine, and the rest to Christian morals. The same
excellences and defects Avhich characterise the former sermons,
may be pointed out here : they are evangelicalin sentiment, plain
in style, and practical in their design ; but marked with that dif-
faseness and prolixity, though to a less extent, that Avas noticed
in their predecessors. The mode of sermonising common at the
commencement of the last century, would be a severe trial to the

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 387
patience of a modern audience; the divines of that day in prepa
ring for the pulpit, seem to have acted upon the assumption, that
their hearers desired to have the entire subject in hand spread
out before them, with all its relations, inferences, and improve
ments prominently displayed; and, hence, any one of the ser
mons of Flavel, Henry, Owen, and Watts, might with very few
additions be readily converted into a theological treatise. The
Countess of Hertford mentions a pleasing instance of the util
ity of the volume upon Christian morals: a man who had
been for tAventy years " a bad husband, and a notorious drunk
ard," was by reading them reformed, and converted to a course
of life the very opposite of his previous conduct.
The Avell -known treatise on Logic appeared in the year 1724 ;
a treatise which Avas soon sanctioned by the imprimatur ofthe
learned Avorld ; and which, Avhile it raised the fame of the writer,
contributed more than any other work of its day, to rescue
the science from that disrepute, into which the quibbling of
the schools had brought it. The object which Watts contem
plated was indeed a magnificent one — to expound the laws of
thought— to facilitate the detection of fallacy — to define the
mental process which must take place in all correct reasoning
— to furnish a test to try the validity of an argument, to analyse
the elements of which it is composed, and ascertain the basis
upon which it is built — an object which the professed cham
pions of dialectics, have too often abandoned for the display of
frivolous subtilties and sophistical disingenuousness. Perhaps
the plan Avhich he sketched out, is too vast and comprehensive
to be prosecuted Avith complete success — perhaps it was an
error to suppose, that a system could be constructed to effect
all the purposes proposed, definite in itself and yet universally
applicable — perhaps in aiming at too much he is in danger of
leading us only to empty generalities — yet the attempt was in
the highest degree useful, to counteract the prejudices which
the perverters of logical science had excited against it, and to
introduce sounder views upon the subject. It has been the

388 LIFE AND TIMES
fate of dialectics, since the days of Zeno the Eleactic, Avho
furnished the erotetic mode of disputation ipu>Tn<n<i, Euclid of
Megara, and Archy tas, to whom the invention of the categories
is attributed, to experience either gross perversion or almost
total neglect; its utility has either been umvarrantably mag
nified or unduly contemned ; the ancients who followed Aris
totle were guilty of the former error, the moderns have been
of the latter. Intellectual vanity led many of the early patrons
of logic to elevate their favourite study into something pro
foundly mysterious; to involve it in obscurity and mist, in order
to give undue importance to their own attainments ; and thus
to sacrifice the value of the science at the shrine of vulgar
admiration. In the hands of the schoolmen it degenerated •
into a mere art of wrangling, a kind of gladiatorial exhibition
with subtle fallacies and refined distinctions; while many of
the studious recluses of the middle ages applied it to physical
discoAreries, and attempted to investigate the Avide field of
nature by the aid of the syllogism. This absurd misapplica
tion deprived the "Queen of Arts" of the popular favour;
the censures of Bacon and Locke almost banished her from the
schools; while the mention ofthe Scholastic, Ramist, Semi-
Ramist, Cartesian, Wolfian, and Kantian dialectic, the nice
distinctions of the Arabians and Latins, Scotists, Thomists,
Realists, and Nominalists, operated to inspire the prayer of St.
Ambrose, A Dialectica Aristotelis libera nos, Domine. Yet logic
rightly understood, and confined Avithin the limits of its legiti
mate domain — the investigation of the canons of thought, and
the; application of these laws to intellectual acts — is a most
important branch of study, and highly serviceable to the
cause of truth. An individual may indeed attain considerable
argumentative skill, who has never studied a system ; but to
deny its utility on this ground, Avould be just as absurd as to
deny the utility of a grammar, from the circumstance that many
write and speak correctly who have never learnt its rules.
The "Logic" of Watts was originally written for the assist-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 389
ance of his pupil, young Hartopp, to Avhom it is dedicated ;
and Avas published at the importunity of Mr. John Eames, the
preface being dated " London, August 24, 1 724." In the dis
senting academies it Avas soon adopted as a text-book, as well
as used in the national colleges ; and many flattering testimo
nies, as to its merit, were received by the author from some
of the most distinguished men of the day. Dr. Seeker, Avhen
bishop of Oxford, wrote to him, stating that it Avas by no
means the only piece he had Avritten read in the university
Avith high esteem; and Lord Barrington remarks, " I intend,
as some have done Erasmus or a piece of Cicero, to read it
over once a year." Dr. Johnson observes, " Of his philoso
phical pieces, his ' Logic' has been received into the universi
ties; and, therefore, Avants no private recommendation. If he
owes part of it to Le Clerc, it must be considered, that no man
who undertakes merely to methodise or illustrate a system,
pretends to be its author." The accuracy of some of his defi
nitions has been questioned, but the substantial utility of the
work is not deteriorated by them ; the elementary principles of
the science are propounded and its remote deductions ; and the
manual adapts itself to students of all classes, from the unin-
structed tyro to the advanced logician. The tutors of our acad
emies, have ever properly regarded the cultivation of accurate
principles of reasoning, as a necessary branch of ministerial
education. Truth will, indeed, always prevail where the advan
tages are equal, but error has not unfrequently obtained a par
tial triumph owing to the unskilfulness of those avIio have con
tended Avith it. A correct display of the doctrines of the faith,
may be made without the aid of dialectics ; but the gordian
knot Avhich Hume constructed in his Essay on Miracles, could
only have been unravelled by a logician.
One of the most painful passages in the life of Watts noAv
occurred — an unhappy dispute Avith the celebrated Rev. Thos.
Bradbury. This gave rise to a long epistolary war, in the year
1725, in Avhich considerable Avarmth was displayed by both

390 LIFE AND TIMES
parties. Controversy is unfriendly to the interests of religion ;
it has too often lost its humble and unobtrusive character Avhen
brought upon the theatre of debate ; and not unfrequently a
conscientious difference of opinion has engendered private feuds
and personal altercation. Between Watts and Bradbury an
intimate friendship was formed soon after their settlement in
the metropolis: to Bradbury he addressed a poem, entitled
"Paradise," in 1708, and during the same year he invited him
to preach at the opening of the Bury-Street meeting-house.
But the character of this popular preacher by no means syn
chronised with that of Watts : his temperament was ardent and
impetuous ; he was fond of witticisms in the pulpit; and loved
to meet error, not with the legitimate Aveapons of reason and
scripture, but with stinging irony and cutting lampoons. A
manuscript account of the London ministers, laments that he
had not "as much judgment as quickness of Avit, and as much
temper as zeal." Honest and fearless in advocating the cause
of truth, he Avas the dread of tories aad Jacobites ;* an unyield
ing champion for the divinity of his Master during the arian
controversies ; but unfortunately his zeal Avas unaccompanied
with suavity of manner, and his irresistible inclination to sati
rise frequently involved him in disputes Avith his brethren.
It is well known, that in several sermons at Bury-Street, as
Avell as in various publications, Avhich Avill hereafter be noticed,
Watts indulged his fancy in explaining the doctrine of the
trinity in a way which gave offence to the orthodox. The
meetings at Salter's Hall upon the arian controversy, bad given
rise to no little animosity among the dissenting ministers ; and
the rigid zeal for orthodoxy which Bradbury displayed upon
* Queen Anne is said to have attempted to silence " bold Bradbury" by the
offer of a bishopric. Mr. Secretary Harley was the negociator ; but the mitre could
not tempt the sturdy dissenter from his principles. A scheme for his assassina
tion which failed, was planned by the Jacobites. When going up with a congra
tulatory address to George I., a nobleman, referring to the cloaks which the
ministers wore, accosted him with, " Pray, Sir, is this a funeral i" "Yes, my Lord,"
replied Bradbury; "it is the funeral of the Schism Bill, and the resurrection of
Liberty."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 391
that occasion, roused him to oppose the views of his friend.
At Salter's Hall both Watts and his colleague, Mr. Price,
refused to divide Avith his party ; and this circumstance might
contribute to embitter his mind against them. But his mode
of attack was exceedingly injudicious : the pulpit at Pinners'
Hall was made the vehicle of ill-timed railing ; and the friend
of his early years Avas represented as a traitor to the faith, and
a disciple of Socinus. Such treatment Avas calculated to
ruffle and to excite the mind of Watts ; and it is not to be
wondered at, if in the correspondence Avhich ensued he em
ployed some strong and severe expressions. It is readily ac
knowledged, that he had laid himself open to animadversion ;
but there Avas no foundation for the charge of his opponent,
that he designed " to have the divinity of his Saviour evapo
rate into an attribute, and his humanity to be different from
the nature that he represented."* Had Mr. Bradbury in a
serious and candid manner opposed Avhat he considered un
scriptural in the views of his friend, without descending to
personal invective, the church might have been spared the
painful spectacle of beholding tAvo of its brightest ornaments
engaged in angry disputation.
The correspondence is too lengthy and too personal to
find a place in these pages, but some extracts may be adduced
to show its general tenor. In a letter dated Lime-Street,
Nov. 1, 1725, Watts observes, "On Friday night last, my
Avorthy friend and neighbour, Mr. Caleb Wroe,f called on me
at Theobalds, and desired me to convey the inclosed papers
to you, with his humble thanks for the share you have given
him in the late legacy entrusted Avith you ; and he entreats
that you Avould be pleased to pay it into the hands of this mes-
* Letter to Brad.
f- Mr. Wroe was a member of Chews's Coffee House Club, in Bow-lane, a
society of ministers, who met on a Thursday, and formed a design of compo
sing a concordance to the scriptures. Dr. Obadiah Hughes, Dr. Jer. Hunt, and
Dr. Lardner were also members.

392 LIFE AND TIMES
sen ger, that I may return it to him ; and I cannot but join
my unfeigned thanks with his that you are pleased to remem
ber so valuable and pious a man in your distributions, Avhose
circumstances are by no means above the receipt of such cha
ritable bequests, though his modesty is so great as to prevent
him from sueing for an interest in them. But while I am
acknoAvledging your unexpected goodness to my friend, per
mit me, Sir, to inquire into the reason of your conduct to
ward myself in so different a manner. It is true I Hve much
in the country, but I am not unacquainted with what passes
in town. I Avould noAv look no further backward than your
letter to the board at Lime-Street, about six months ago,
where I was present : I cannot imagine Avhat occasion I had
given to such sort of censures, as you pass upon me there,
among others Avhich you are pleased to cast upon our Avorthy
brethren : nor can I think how a more pious and Christian
return could have been made by that board at that time, than
to vote a silence and burial of all past contests, and even of
this last letter of yours, and to desire your company amongst
us as in times past* As a brother I entreat you to consider,
whether all this Avrath of man can work the righteousness of
God. Let me entreat you to ask yourself, what degrees of
passion and personal resentment may join and mingle them
selves with your supposed zeal for the gospel. Jesus the
Searcher of Hearts knovrs Avith Avhat daily labour and study,
and Avith Avhat constant addresses to the throne of grace,
I seek to support the doctrine of his deity as Avell as you, and
to defend it in the best manner I am capable of; and shall I
tell you also that it was your urgent request among many
* Mr. Bradbury seems to have doubted this fact ; but in a subsequent letter he
is assured, "if you do not believe that there was a vote passed at the board, that
your company should be desired as in times past, and that all these late contests
should be buried, ask your good friend, Mr. Horrocks, who came immediately from
the board into our house, and conversed freely with me about it, acknowledging
that the greatest part of hands were held up for that question, and remarking one
or two that were not held up."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 393
others, that engaged me so much further in this study than I
at first intended. If I am fallen into mistakes, your private
and friendly notice had done much more toward the cor
rection of them than public reproaches."
To this letter Bradbury sent a rejoinder, dated Charter-
House, Dec. 23, 1725: " I was in great hopes to have pre
vented both you and myself the trouble Ave may find in an
ansAver to your letter, by conveying my thoughts in a free dis
course with your brother [Richard Watts, M.D.], which yes
terday I had an opportunity of doing. I read him part of
your letter, and assured him as I went along that I Avas far
from deserving the hard opinion you had conceived of me.
But he was pleased, in a language Avhich I thought it beloAv
both him to give and me to take, to convince me, that he was
no proper messenger of my vindication to you." He goes on
reiterating his charge of heresy : "I heard and saw the holy
Sir John Hartopp, Avith tears running doAvn his cheeks,
lament your opposition to Dr. Owen, which he imputed to an
instability in your temper, and a fondness for your OAvn inven
tions." The heavy accusation implied in this passage was
keenly felt by Watts ; hence, he observes, in a letter dated
Lime-Street, March 15, 1726, "as for my attempts to main
tain the new and essential deity of Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit, I have often examined my own heart, and am
not conscious to myself, that the pride and fondness of
novelty has led me into any particular train of thoughts ; and
I beg earnestly that he that knows all things would search
and try me in this respect. My only aim has been to guard
this doctrine against the objections and cavils of men, and to
set it in the most defensible light ; and if I can see that
done in any other form, I shall rejoice to bury all my papers
in oblivion, or, if you please, to burn them all. My Aveak-
nesses of nature are so many, and perpetually recurring, that
I am often called to look into the other Avorld, and would not
dare to write any thing that might derogate from the divine
c c

394 LIFE AND TIMES
ideas Avhich scripture ascribes to God, my Saviour and my
Sanctifier." The following passage in a postscript will be
read with interest :— " You tell me that ' the plain drift of this
Avhole imagination, viz. of resembling the being of God by the
soul of man, is to destroy a Trinity of Persons.' Now I have
often freely declared, and still declare, that I allow the greatest
distinction possible between the sacred Three in the divine
nature, Avhich does not arise to three distinct conscious minds
or spirits. Make it as great as you will short of this, and I
acquiesce in it. But, then, since three distinct conscious
minds is the true idea of three proper literal persons, Avhatso-
ever falls short of this can be but an analogical personality ;
yet if any man will call this a proper divine personality, though
it is but similar to human personality, I Avill not contend about
words and names. And whereas I have sometimes called the
Word and Spirit, in the divine nature, two distinct powers or
principles of operation in the godhead, yet I have in many
places told Avhat I mean, viz. that the idea of distinct poAvers
or principles of operation, being the greatest distinction that
Ave can conceive in one spirit, it is the nearest analogical idea
ofthe sacred Three that lean arrive at, always supposing there
may be some unknown distinctions in the divine nature
greater than the ideas Ave have of the poAvers or faculties in the
soul of man. If I have either given you or any one else occa
sion to understand me in a different sense from what I now
declare, I should be glad to retrieve any such mistake of my
meaning." Another ground of difference betAveen these tAvo eminent
men, was the publication of the Psalms and Hymns. It appears
that Watts had mentioned originally his design to Bradbury, of
composing a version of the Psalms, and Avas encouraged in his
intention by him ; but upon its publication, after their misun
derstanding had probably commenced, he severely attacked the
production in conversation and from the pulpit. Not only did he
continue to use Dr. Patrick's version in his own congregation ;

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 395
but, in deference to his prejudices, the compositions of Watts
were not introduced at Pinner's Hall, where he lectured, until
after his death. It is said, that an unlucky clerk, on one occa
sion, having stumbled upon one of Watts's stanzas, Bradbury
got up and reproved him Avith, " Let us have none of Mr. Watts's
Avhims." In objecting to allow the metrical version of Watts
to be sung in his congregation, he was by no means alone,
though none of his brethren imitated him in his rude and un
manly attacks. He appears to have regarded it as a presump
tuous meddling with the sacred text, a supplanting of the Avoid
of God with the words of man, to alter and accommodate the lan
guage of David to the clearer light of the gospel dispensation.
Hence, he speaks of the Imitations as "mangling," "garbling,"
and "transforming" the songs of Sion; as an attempt to "rival"
> it with the psalmist, as to which is to be considered henceforth
the "sweet singer of Israel ;" a design of which Watts will at
once be acquitted by every candid mind. The charge was,
however, preferred against him by more than one of his
brethren, and he thus replies to it in a letter to Bradbury,
January 14, 1726: "You tell me that I rival it with David,
whether he or I be the sweet psalmist of Israel : I abhor the
thought ; Avhile yet, at the same time, I am fully persuaded,
that the Jewish psalm-book was never designed to be the only
psalter for the Christian church. We may borroAv many parts
of the prayers of Ezra, Job, and Daniel, as well as of David,
yet if we take them entire as they stand, and join nothing of
the gospel with them, I think few of them will be found pro
per prayers for a Christian church ; and yet I think it Avould
be very unjust to say, ' Ave rival it with Ezra, Job,' &c. Surely
their prayers are not best for us, since Ave are commanded to
ask every thing in the name of Christ. Now I know no rea
son Avhy the glorious discoveries of the New Testament should
not be mingled with our songs and praises as Avell as Avith
our prayers. I give solemn thanks to my Saviour with all
my soul, that he hath honoured me so far as to bring his name

396 LIFE AND TIMES
aud gospel in a more evident and express manner, into Chris
tian psalmody."
A third ground of difference was Watts's friendship with
Lord Barrington, and his interference in behalf of his lordship's
election as member for Berwick-upon-Tweed. That town con
tained a considerable number of dissenters, and the influence
of a few ofthe metropolitan ministers was employed to promote
the return of such a firm friend to the cause of nonconformity.
This Avas for the second parliament in the reign of George I. ;
and Messrs. Neal, Nesbit, and Clark, with Watts, wrote strong
ly recommending Lord Barrington to the electors. This noble
man had been an intimate friend of Bradbury's, and a member
of his congregation ; but owing to his violence at Salter's Hall,
and a difference of opinion in that controversy, he connected
himself Avith Dr. Hunt at Piniier's Hall, whose ministry he
afterwards attended. The encomiums passed upon him might
be galling to Mr. Bradbury, but they Avere such as the ser
vices he had rendered to the state demanded ; and Watts Avas
perfectly justified in recommending to the dissenting interest
at Bewick an individual of whom the body had reason to be
proud. "When I knew," says Bradbury in a letter, dated
Charter-Square, March 7, 1726, "that Messrs. Nesbit, Clark,
Neal, and Raper, had writ to Berwick in recommendation of
Lord Barrington and Mr. Neville, my correspondent told me
that Mr. Watts had sent them a letter of the most extravagant
encomiums that ever Avere heard; and that you represented
Lord Barrington as something more than a man." To this
Watts replied, Lime-Street, March 15, "I am well assured
that as in" those days I spent almost all my time at Theobalds,
under much Aveakness, so I wrote nothing but Avhat with up
rightness and honesty of heart I designed for the service of
the dissenting interest ; and declared at the same time, that I
Avas no partisan of my Lord Barrington's in that subscribing
contest (at Salter's Hall) ; however in my judgment I thought

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 397
him a very fit representative for a tOAvn Avhich had many dis
senters in it."
It is obvious that long before the parties came to an open
rupture, the harmony that once subsisted between them had
ceased ; the bitter altercations upon the Arian heresy widened
the breach ; and a few years aftenvards Watts took up the pen
to expostulate. A lengthened correspondence ensued, but no
satisfactory result was obtained, and in the course of a few
months the subject appears to have dropped by mutual consent.
A smart repartee is, however, upon record with reference to this
controversy. At the Red-Cross-Street Library, when a number
of ministers were met together, Mr. Watts having something
to propose rose up to speak, but owing to the feebleness of his
voice it was with difficulty that he could make himself heard.
Upon this Mr. Bradbury called out to him — "Brother Watts,
shall I speak for you?" to which he significantly replied,
" Brother Bradbury, you have often spoken against me." If
in reviewing noAv this painful dispute, an impartial observer
has occasion to blame the one party, for the absence of that
charity that "hopeth all things;" he Avill also remember, that
there was cause for animadversion, with reference to the other,
in a partial deviation from the orthodox doctrine, and a prone-
ness to torture the mystery of godliness into a congruity with
new schemes and explications. The spirit which Watts mani
fested during this unfortunate altercation, will be best seen
from the folloAving extracts: — "It has always been a painful
and grievous thing to me, to hold a contest with any person
living, much more with one for whom I have had so sincere
an esteem, more especially since my constitution and my
spirits are much broken by long illness. If, therefore, the tem
per of your mind continues the same as runs through a good
part of your two letters to the board and me, I can neither
desire nor expect a return to this paper ; nor am I Avilling by
any means to carry on such an epistolary contention. If you
think fit to talk Avith me on any of these heads, in a spirit of

398 LIFE AND TIMES
meekness, I am very ready to give you further satisfaction
about any of them." — " Let us examine concerning what is
past, and let us take care for the time to come, that what Ave
write or print Avith regard to our brethren, be expressed in
such language as may dare appear and be read by the light
of the last conflagration, and the splendour of the tribunal of
our returning Lord."
The year 1725 produced several minor publications : " The
KnoAvledge of the Heavens and the Earth made easy ;"
" Prayers composed for the Use and Imitation of Children ; "
"A Discourse on the Education of Children and Youth ;" and
the second part of the Dissertation on the Trinity, or " The
Arian invited to the Orthodox Faith." These various produc
tions, some of them rather voluminous, evidence the uncom
mon industry ofthe Avriter, and are monuments as well of his
benevolence and piety. A hint is throAvn out in one of his
prefaces, that some "particular friends" imagined his time
employed in too mean a service ; but he nobly replies, that
"nothing is too mean for a servant of Christ, if he may thereby
promote the honour of his Master." The first of these pieces,
" The KnoAvledge of the Heavens and the Earth," though con
taining much accurate information, has been long since super
seded by more complete synopses of astronomical and geographi
cal science. It appears to have been submitted to the inspection
of Mr. John Eames,* F.R.S. to whom the treatise is dedicated.
* "Mr. Eames," says Mr". Wilson, "was a native of London, and received his clas
sical learning at Merchant Taylor's School. He afterwards pursued a course of
academical studies, with a view to the Christian ministry ; yet he never preached
but one sermon, when he was so exceedingly agitated and confused, that he was
scarcely able to proceed. There was also unhappily a great defect in his organs of
speech, and his pronunciation was exceedingly harsh, uncouth, and disagreeable.
These circumstances discouraged him from renewing the attempt ; so that quitting
the pulpit entirely, he devoted himself to the instruction of young men,whose edu
cation for the ministry among Protestant dissenters was patronised and assisted by
the Independent fund. His departmentincluded the languages, mathematics, moral
and natural philosophy. Mr. Eames was a mau of extensive learning, and a uni
versal scholar. His scientific learning procured him the acquaintance and friend
ship of Sir Isaac Newton, to whom he was on some occasions singularly useful.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 399
The preface is dated "Theobalds in Hertfordshire, June 11,
1725," and a note, dated "August 20," is appended to it by
Mr. Eames, stating that but very few alterations had been
made in the Avork. The Prayers for Children furnish another
proof of the Avriter's kindly regard for the young, and of his
truly catholic spirit ; for Avhilst on the one hand, he would not
AA'ith the churchman impose forms of devotion as necessary, he
did not Avith a superstitious abhorrence blindly reject their aid
as sinful. The Discourse on the Education of Children is an
admirable manual for parental guidance, and contains all that
is valuable in more recent treatises, but with a greater promi
nence given to moral and religious culture. It was in such
employments as these that Watts especially delighted; and
though partially superseded by more modern efforts of Chris
tian philanthropy aud zeal, yet his works are still in use, and
will be remembered to his immortal honour. His praise is de
servedly in all the churches, Avho, having given lessons to
ripened manhood ahd to hoary age, has taught thousands and
tens of thousands of the young, to draw nigh to the throne of
grace Avith the voice of prayer and the song of thanksgiving.
FROM THE REV. JOSEPH STANDEN*
" Newbury, May 26, 1721.
" Dear Sir,
" I have more thanks to offer than a man of your
generous spirit will be persuaded to receive for all the favours
you have been pleased to confer on me, than Avhom none can
Sir Isaac introduced him to the Royal Society, of which he became a member, and
he was employed to prepare and publish an abridgement of their transactions."
Diss. Chur. ii. 73, note.
Mr. Eames died suddenly, June 29, 1744. " What a change," said Watts to Dr.
Gibbons, " did he experience — but a few hours between his lecturing to his pupils,
aud his hearing the lectures of angels !"
* This gentleman was a dissenting minister at Newbury, Berkshire. He after
wards entered the Church of Eugland, and continued his ministry either in the
same town or its immediate neighbourhood. Mr. Stauden wrote some lines addressed

400 LIFE AND TIMES
more value them, though few can less deserve them. I know
an hearty acknowledgment and continual gratitude (which I
am sure I cannot be Avithout) is a better return than a multi
tude of words. I am very particularly obliged to you, Sir,
for your last invaluable present. May that excellent book*
(through the divine blessing) answer the design of the author,
and the end which the several subjects so naturally lead to ;
that profane and unthinking men may no longer make a jest
of their own reason, while they banter the inward testimony
which an improved Christian has for the truth of his religion ;
that mankind may more value those noble faculties by Avhich
they are distinguished from the brutes, and that supernatural
grace by which alone at last they can be distinguished from the
devils ; that they may seek help from God rather than crea
tures, and not only spread their sorrows before the God of all
consolation, but their sins before him, who can abundantly
pardon ; that there may be fewer instances of persons in Avhom
man may think he sees all the beauty of an angel without,
while the all-seeing God knoAvs there is the hideous deformity
of a devil within, and that the world may be brought to so
just and reasonable a taste and judgment, as not to think that
the former makes amends for the latter ; that the hidden life
of Christians may be their better part, and that they may more
place their felicity in nearness to the great Author of it, and
may be more ambitious of rising by the heavenly scale of tru e,
than the earthly one of imaginary blessedness, and so may
every day groAV more fit for a solemn appearance before God
both in this and the other world !
" I had the happiness to see your good father three Aveeks

to the author ofthe "Hora Lyricae," April 17, 1706, which are generally printed
with the Lyric Poems. At the time when he conformed, several others adopted
the same course ; as Butler, who became bishop of Durham and the author of the
"Analogy," Seeker, Seager, Hasset, Bellamy, Briscoe, Billie, and the two Jacombs.
Calamy's Life and Times, vol. ii. 504.
fThe first volume of Sermons.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 401
ago at Southampton ; and Mrs. Watts, your mother, Avas then
so Avell as to appear abroad. I hope they Avill both live some
years the longer, being supported with the joy of having such
a son. I saw the dear Sarissa* too, whose temper and spirit
I am satisfied you are pleased with.
" Shall we never see you at NeAvbury ? Nobody (hardly
Sarissa herself, had she been in my case) could more regret
your passing by without my snatching a look or two at you.
It will (I confess) more show my respect to Mr. Watts, if I go
to Southampton on purpose to meet him for an hour or two,
and that I beg you will permit me to do by letting me have
timely notice of your being there, as (if I mistake not) some
body told me you intended this summer.
" I have not the honour to knoAV Sir Thomas and his family,
but cannot forbear congratulating them on the happiness of
your company, which, in my opinion, is a greater honour
than titles and coronets.
"T beg again a line from you, and pray give me some hopes
that you will admit me to an intervieAV with you at Southamp
ton, which will be a greater satisfaction than you imagine to,
" Dear Sir,
" your most obliged friend,
" and most obedient servant,
"J. STAN DEN."
FROM LORD BARRINGTON.
" Gerard-Street, July 8, 1721.
"Rev. Sir,
" I am obliged to you, that you would take the trou
ble to acquaint me with Mrs. Oakes's distress ; and the rather,
* Sarah, Mr. Watts's sister.

402 LIFE AND TTMES
because you have been the first from Avhom I have learned tbe
deplorable state of her affairs : she has never acquainted me
with them herself, nor by any other friend than by you. She
sent to me, indeed, to desire me to lend her two guineas, to
buy some tea in order for sale, she having been disappointed
in some monies she expected to receive, Avhich I refused her.
But instead of acquainting me or any other of our family Avith
her necessities, she and her daughter seemed rather to conceal
them. I knoAV not what she has said to you, to induce you to
use some expressions in your letter. But you see by this how
little my honour, as you express yourself, can be really touched
by her difficulties, Avhatever they be, since she has not thought
fit to acquaint me with them, till I received the favour of yours.
And though I doubt not but Sir Thomas Abney, on his noti
fying of her extreme Avant to you, took care to relieve her, yet,
since I received yours, I have sent her something for imme
diate relief.
" I have always been desirous to relieve her since her hus
band's death in the most effectual manner. I thought that
would not be by my allowing her a pension, or using any in
terest I could, or she could, Avith other friends to do the like,
imagining they would be soon Aveary of it ; but rather, to raise
a sum of money to put her in a way to maintain herself. She
told me Sir Thomas Abney Avas of the same opinion, and
thought that her selling tea, coffee, &c. Avould be a proper way
for her to engage in, and would concur with me in helping her
to a sum of money to set her up. I desired her to tell Sir
Thomas I Avould give my proportion, and desired him to name.
She told me he said I must name first. After that I named
twenty pounds ; she then told me Sir Thomas said, I must pay
it before he Avould give any thing. I told her I Avas Avilling
to give my money, but thought it would be of no use unless
Sir Thomas Avould give in proportion, because I kneAv if I did
it would be money flung away ; for twenty pounds Avould not
be sufficient to lay in a stock to support a trade, but fifty

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 403
pounds would. However, she afterwards told me that Sir
Thomas would not do any thing, nor say Avhat he Avould do,
till I had paid the money. In confidence that a proportion
able alloAvance Avould have been made by that family, I gave
her my money ; twenty pounds she had from me. She had a
great deal before. She had also five pounds, I think, from
my brother Bendysh, and five pounds they procured her from
another friend. And I must say, that I take the loss of all this
money, besides credit that I have given her for six pounds'
[worth] of tea, and five pounds since my brother Bendysh has
advanced her, to be all OAving to her not having that propor
tionable support that induced us all to give her what we have.
" She is my relation, but neither she nor any of her family
have pretended much friendship or good-Avill to me or mine.
Her and their friendships have been much more elseAvhere
than Avithus. I do not think this a reason for me to abandon
her in her distress ; but sure this is a very strong reason for
others related to her in blood, to co-operate with me in
supporting her and my uncle Grey. I am sure my family
have suffered a great deal more by that family than Sir Thomas
Abney's has done ; and I neither have been, nor am wanting
to my uncle Grey nor to Mrs. Oakes.
" I like the scheme you propose in relation to Mrs. Oakes's
family very well, and shall be very ready to contribute my
share and proportion to it Avith Sir Thomas Abney ; though I
have expenses of the same kind Avith him, in respect of three
families that I represent, and expenses of a very public nature
too. I shall be very glad that those Avho are more capable of
executing that scheme, will see it performed, and will be pleas
ed to let me know my quota, Avhich shall be flheerfully and
thankfully complied with by, Reverend Sir, *^^
" Your most humble faithful servant,

404 LIFE AND TIMES
" P. S. The reason why I would not lend her two guineas,
for the better carrying on of her trade, was, that I thought if
she had such a fund of credit, she would never keep within
any bounds.
" My humble service and my lady's attend Sir Thomas, my
Lady Abney, and Mrs. Gunston."

: Sir,

FROM LADY MARY LEVETT.* " March 10, 1722.

" This presents with grateful acknowledgments for
your book and picture ; both are worthy of a better place than
I have to put them in. I did not receive them till last Monday.
So far as I have looked into your book,f I have reason to be
lieve that tbe method, together with the spirit and temper, is
best suited to convince of error, and establish in the most im
portant articles of Christianity, and hope the divine blessing
will by these your labours produce these happy effects. I
have been much concerned for the death of Sir Thomas Abney,
at a juncture Avhen his zeal as a magistrate, and his prayers
as a good Christian, are so much wanted. I beg my service
to Lady Abney ; tell her I sympathise Avith her, for though
Sir Thomas was full of years, and nature was spent, yet to lose
such a husband, parent, and master must be matter of deep
sorrow : one every way so fit for heaven must be a diffusive
* The relict of Sir William Levett, Alderman of London. To this lady
Calamy dedicated his three sermons at Salter's Hall, entitled, " God's concern for
his glory in the British isles, and the security of Christ's church from the gates of
Hell." She was^n intimate friend of his mother's, and was with her when she
died at Bath wbifPra a visit. The doctor in his dedication notices her " ladyship's
remarkable steadiness in opposition to ecclesiastical impositions, joined with a
visible concern for real holiness, a catholic spirit, and a hearty affection to all
without distinction that are for pure and undefiled religion." She died soon
after the date of this letter. "Oct. 15, (1722.) Died my good friend, the Lady
Levett, at Bath." Cal. Life and Times, vol. ii. 463.
f "Christian Doctrine ofthe Trinity."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 405
blessing to our earth. But, however, her ladyship is not un
acquainted Avith her duty, or an experimental benefit by a due
submission to the darkest dispensations. She knoAvs the God
Avho sends — the errand — and tendency of afflictions. And
here I cannot but say, I am more apt to pity a carnal wretch
under afflictions than a pious soul ; the one is so hardened that
he usually either contemns or reproaches God, or studies in
direct methods to relieve himself; whilst the other is more
solicitous to have trouble sanctified than removed. Happy is
my lady in such a disposition, and in having you, Sir, to men
tion her complaints to, and ask your advice and prayers ! That
you may have confirmed health of body, and groAving degrees
of a prosperous soul, and abundant success in your ministerial
labours, is the wish of, Sir,
" With great respect, your servant,
"MARY LEVETT."

TO THE REV. HUBERT STOGDON *

" Sir,

" I take it as a piece of peculiar respect, that you
should make a present to me of your letter in manuscript,!
and deny yourself the satisfaction of your designed publica-
*This gentleman was the son of the Rev. Robert Stogdon, and grandson by the
mother's side of the Rev. Francis Hubert, ejected by the Act of Uniformity from
a living in Wiltshire. He was one of those who unfortunately departed from the
faith of their fathers by adopting the Arian scheme, though in early life he was
heard to inveigh warmly against the opinions of Whiston and Dr. Clarke. When
about to propose himself for ordination before the united ministers of Devon and
Cornwall, his altered principles naturally created a prejudice against him, and he
withdrew from being a can di d ate. He afterwards resided with Mr. Bill ingsley, at
Ashwick in Somersetshire, to whose congregation he preached'for some years. Mr.
Stogdon, though an anti-paedobaptist, took the charge of a paedobaptist congregation
•atTroubridge in Wiltshire, in the year 1724, where he died Jan. 2, 1728. Dr. Toul-
min in Mon. Repos. February and March, 1S09.
f This was a narrative detailing the progress of Mr. Stogdon's inquiries, which re
sulted in his change of religious sentiment. Dr. Toulmiu of Birmingham hadit in
his possession, but it was lost by lending it to a friend.

406 LIFE AND TIMES
tion ; and that merely upon the slight notice given you by my
bookseller of some further dissertations which I design to pub
lish on the doctrine of the trinity. If you think I have delayed
too long to make my acknoAvledgments to you, yet I am
persuaded you will imagine it a sufficient excuse Avhen I
tell you, that the day before I received your manuscript I had
a large pamphlet put into my hands, in ansAver to my little
book of the trinity, which was published three days after, and
which you may easily suppose has busied my thoughts, and
employed the few hours of health Avhich I enjoy.
"I thankfully receive, Sir, the great candour and respect Avith
Avhich your epistle treats me, and make this free confession to
you, that the greatest part of your manuscript speaks much of
my sense and thought concerning the doctrine of charity ; and
if those arguments had been published alone to the world,
and concluded with that most solemn and pious account of
your friend in the three last pages, without any regard to my
book, I Avould assure you, Sir, you should have found no an
swer from me, for I confess I cannot refute them.
" I might also tell you that there is some truth in this para
graph of yours, (viz.) ' In short you seem to me to have re
solved to offend the one party as little as could possibly
consist Avith pleasing the other, and keeping your conscience
between both ; though you durst never say expressly, that
your notion of the trinity is necessary to salvation, &c. Yet
you convey your charity with such a secret hand,' &c.
" Truly, Sir, I think this is but an observance of the rule
of the great apostle (1 Cor. x. 32, 33), ' Give none offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of
God ;' neither to the zealous Athanasians, nor to the Arians,
nor to the pious Christians of any party whatsoever. As there
are some seasons wherein that advice of the apostle is neces
sary (Rom. xiv. 22), 'Hast thou faith? have it to thyself be
fore God;' so there are some seasons also, wherein a parallel

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 407
advice is as proper ; ' Hast thou charity ? Have it to thyself
before God? But I hope the seasons are growing to an end.
" Surely, Sir, you knoAV so Avell the present temper of many
Christians, that it is necessary for any man that Avould
attempt to enlarge their charity, that he should make it ap
pear first that he himself is sound in the faith according to
their judgment of things. Till this is done, whatever he shall
say upon the principles and duties of love, Avill be vain and
insignificant ; for they imagine that the author hath need of
charity for himself, and therefore he bespeaks it. Now since
I am well satisfied in the general doctrine, that true and
proper godhead is ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit in many places of scripture, I was willing first to
make that appear Avith such strength and evidence as I could
in a few plain pages, and set what I think is truth in the most
convincing light, though I am doubtful of the common
schemes of explication. And I thought it enough in that
book to lay down some principles and foundations of charily,
without drawing out the inferences at large. The 247th page
of my book expresses the same sentiments with the 21st and
22nd propositions, even though your notions of communion in
or with godhead may not arise so high as mine do.
"If I have in any expressions betrayed an uncharitable spirit,
I hope the world will forgive AvhatI myself do not approve, and
will understand those Avords in a sense no more severe than
what I had when I Avrote them, Avhich I shall show immedi
ately. And as I hope I have been enabled to do something
in that book towards the establishment of the truth ; so, if I
can find that the world will hear it, I trust God Avill enable
me to do some further service in the propagation of charity in
due time. I have some dissertations of that kind by me at pre
sent; but I would willingly delay and manage my publication
of them in such a manner, that Jhey might have the best in
fluence upon those pious souls Avhose charity is too narrow.
And I pray God to direct and guide my thoughts and deter-

408 LIFE AND TIMES
minations for this purpose. In the pursuit of this design, if I
should ever have occasion to cite some pages of yours here
after, as received in a private letter from an unknown hand,
I persuade myself that you Avill be pleased to see it used in
so happy a design ; but I can determine nothing yet.
" And noAv, Sir, I have spoken my sentiments of charity with
so much freedom, give me leave also to add, that if our Lord
Jesus Christ be the true God, or has the fulness of the god
head dwelling bodily in him, so as to make one complex per
son, or principle of action and passion, as I verily believe he
has ; then I do not think it a matter of small importance whether
we believe his godhead or no. Though my charity can ex
tend itself towards persons who are humble and sincere in their
search, and pray earnestly for divine assistance, even to such
persons as you describe in the end of your letter; yet I think
they ought to have a most solemn awe upon their OAvn spirits,
lest they should degrade that glorious person from his oneness
with the Father in true godhead, Avhom so many ages of
Christians have believed to be truely one with God, according
to his OAvn expression, ' I and the Father are one? And in my
opinion the glory of his mediation, the all-sufficience of his
atonement, the almighty prevalence of his intercession, his
power to send the Holy Spirit, and to govern the known and
unknoAvn worlds, depend upon his divinity, or the union of the
man Jesus to the eternal godhead, constituting one person or
one complex principle of action. It awakens, therefore, a sort
of religious horror, when some persons seem to take pleasure
in a contemptuous debasing of the character of our blessed
Lord, and roundly assert that Christ is but a mere creature,
and that he is called God only for the same reason that angels
or magistrates are called gods, or as the devil himself is called
the god of this world. I Avish these things were laid to heart
by all who profess sober and pious inquiries into the truth.
"I own, Sir, I find nothing like this sort of language in your
letter.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 409
" But there are tAvo or three things in your epistle which I
particularly take occasion to remark, partly to declare my
agreement Avith you, and partly to show my different thoughts.
"You observe, Sir, that I use the Avords necessary honours,
and due honours, paid to the Son and Spirit, in such a cautious
manner, as though I did not mean them explicative of each
other, but in a different sense, p. 245 and 246. Indeed, Sir,
you are perfectly in the right ; for I cannot call all those hon
ours which are due to our Lord Jesus Christ, as he has com
munion in the divine nature, to be necessary to our salvation,
and it is obvious enough to every thoughtful reader.
" You observe again, Sir, and you OAvn that you are a little
warm there, that I levelled that text, 2 Pet. ii. 1, against my
brethren, Avhich my conscience tells me does not belong to
them, (viz.) damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought
them. And you say, that it stands in my book temptingly
offering itself to that unrighteous service. Now, Sir, I dare
freely confess, that I do not believe that scripture particularly
refers to those that deny the godhead of Christ, but probably
to those who deny him as a holy governor of his people, or at
least in general to those that deny him in any of those poAvers,
properties, offices, or characters, the belief of which is necessary
to salvation ; and I wish upon second thoughts that I bad so
explained it.
" But, however, without such a paraphrase, I think I have
not given such just reason as you suppose, to apply it directly
and peculiarly to those that deny the deity of Christ; for
when the first part of my book is spent in proving the deity
of Christ and the Spirit, the second part of my book in prov
ing their personality, and the third or last part, in proving
their several offices and relations in which they stand to us;
and upon a recapitulation I make this conclusion, that there
are such things as damnable heresies when persons deny the
Lord that bought them ; this should with much more justice
be referred to the denial of all or any of the preceding pro-
Dd

410 LIFE AND TIMES
perties, characters, or offices of Christ, the belief of Avhich is
necessary to salvation, and not merely confined to the doctrine
of his deity.
"You ask me, Sir, how Ave shall knoAV a seeming contradic
tion from a real one. I reply, that by a seeming contradiction
I mean that which at first sight appears so, but after due in
spection and inquiry cannot be plainly and clearly proved to
be a contradiction. And whatever you may imagine con
cerning some of the known and common schemes of explica
tion of the doctrine of the trinity (Avhich yet I can by no means
give up), yet I entreat you to believe, that there is or may be
some uncommon or unknoAvn scheme of explication which'
may not be a contradiction ; and I cannot part with this doc
trine, which seems to me so plainly revealed in scripture, till
the doctrine itself be either directly disproved from the word of
God, or till all possible schemes of explication (both knoAvn
and unknoAvn) are either actually refuted or precluded.
" I further add, that if ever my book of the trinity should
live to another edition, I should make you sensible that I lie
ever open to conviction, and should make some corrections, for
which you and others have given me proper hints and just
occasion, and for Avhich I return my acknoAvledgments.
" To conclude, Sir, the civility and reasoning of your letter
deserve a larger and better answer than my want of health
and many other necessary engagements will at present alloAV ;
and if, besides all the candour of your Avriting, you alloAV me to
suppose that yourself are the person described in the three last
pages of your epistle, my esteem and respect for you is doubled.
That God Avould send [guide] you and me and every inquiring
Christian into the firm belief of all important truths, and the
constant practice of holiness and love, is the hearty prayer of,
Sir, " Your humble servant,
"i. w.
"August 4, 1722."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 411
" P. S. I do not forbid a prudent communication of this
letter ; yet I entreat you would admit no copy of it, but treat
it as I do your MSS. according to our Saviour's rule, Matt.
vii. 12." TO THE REV. SAMUEL ROSEWELL.
" Dear Brother Rosewell,
" Your most agreeable and divine conversation tAVo
days ago, so sweetly overpoAvered my spirits, and the most af
fectionate expressions Avhich you so plentifully bestowed on
me, awakened in me so many pleasing sensations, that I
seemed a borderer on the heavenly world when I saw you on
the confines of heaven, and conversed Avith you there. Yet I
can hardly forbear to ask for your stay on earth, and Avish your
service in the sanctuary, after you have been so much within
view of the glorious invisibilities which the gospel reveals to
us. But if that hope fail, yet our better expectations can never
fail us. Our anchor enters Avithin the veil, where Jesus our
forerunner is gone to take our places: Heb. vi. ult. May
your pains decrease, or your divine joys overpower them !
May you never lose sight of the blessed world, and of Jesus the
Lord of it, till the storm is passed, and you are safely arrived.
And may the same grace prepare me for the same mansions,
and give you the pleasure of welcoming to those bright re
gions " Your affectionate and unworthy
" Friend and brother,
- " is. WATTS.
" Lime-Street, 7th April, 1722.
" Just going to Theobalds.
"P. S. Our family salute you : they were much affected,
pleased, and edified Avith their late visit. Grace be Avith you
and all your dear relations. Amen."

412 LIFE AND TIMES
TO MRS. ROSEWELL*
" Madam, " When nature has vented itself a little, and poured
out its first sorrows, it is proper then to apply the means of
consolation. The skilful surgeon will let a fresh Avound bleed
a little before he binds it up, and thereby prevents inward
disorders, and makes surer Avork in healing it up. Your griefs
have had their loose, and the floods have almost ovenvhelmed
you. It is time now, Madam, to stop the current, and raise
your head above the Avaves. It is time to fix your thoughts on
all the cheerful and supporting circumstances that attend a
mournful providence. My dear brother Rosewell Avas a zea
lous servant of Christ in his church on earth, and he has called
him to a better and nobler service in heaven. Behold him
as living on high, and forget him in his dying agonies. Be
hold him released from every pain, nor let fancy entertain you
with the echo of his ancient groans. " Old things," with
him, "are past away; behold all things are become new!"
He is where he long wished to be, and we hope to meet him
there when our race is finished. O that we may be as ready
to go, and long after that state with the same warm affections !
But you are left mourning here, a sorrowful widow in the
midst of helpless children. Well ; The Father of the father
less is a kind title which God has assumed for their sakes ;
and he is the Husband and Judge of the widow. Faith can
realize such words as these, and turn them into food and cor
dials in a sinking and fainting hour. Nor is there a want
which you can complain of, nor a sorrow Avhich you can feel,
but there is a blessed word of supply and comfort to answer it
in the book of God. May the blessed Spirit lead you to that

* This lady was the daughter of Richard Barrett, Esq., and survived her hus
band until the year 1762, when she died at Hackney, aged 75.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 413
living spring of consolation, and give you a divine relish of
those Avaters of life. It Avas a pleasurable sympathy of pain
that I felt in my last visit to my dying brother Rosewell. I
mourned to see so useful a man so near to the grave of silence.
But the pleasures Avith Avhich I received the grasp of his
friendly hand, and his assurances of his meeting me at the
right hand of Christ, wrought a sort of mixture of passions
within me, and I wept at once for sorrow and joy. Good man !
How he reviewed the foundations of his hope ! And searched
and felt them, as it were, on all sides, to see that they were
strong and divine ! And Avhich of us shall ever arrive safe at
heaven, if he could miss the way ? Which of us can raise a
juster and a firmer expectation ? VieAV him then, Madam, in
his Father's house, in the gardens of Paradise, waiting for
your ascent thither, and for the company of those young
plants* Avhich he left behind, till they shall grow into trees of
righteousness, and are fit to be transplanted into the same
garden of God on high. May the dews of heaven fall hourly
on the stock and branches ; and may you all be kept under
the providential and gracious care of his God and your God
in this dangerous wilderness, till he shall call you to his more
immediate presence !
" Yours in the bonds of the gospel, " I. WATTS.
"Lime-Street, May 24, 1722."
FROM LORD BARRINGTON. " Tofts, Jan. 28, 1724.
"Rev. Sir," I returned you my thanks for the kind present of
your Logic soon after I received it. I can now do it on much
* Mr. Rosewell left two children ; one of them, Mrs. Susannah Girle, was living
at Hackney in 1802.

414 LIFE AND TIMES
better grounds, for since I have read it (Avhich from the scene
of sorrow and business I have lately been in, I have not been
able to do till within these few days) I do not barely thank
you for the civility of your present, or only for the satisfaction I
have received on reading a book finely written on a noble and
useful subject, or for the profit I have reaped by it, but for
a "book by Avhich I expect not only the youth of England,
but all, who are not too lazy or too Avise to learn, will be
taught to think and write better than they do, and thereby
become better subjects, better neighbours, better relatives,
and better Christians. As far as wrong reasoning helps to
spoil each of these (and a great Avay every one Avho will re
flect must see it goes towards it), so far will putting us in a
right way of thinking help to mend us. I think your book
so good an help to us this Avay, that I shall not only recom
mend it to others, but use it as the best manual of its kind
myself, and intend, as some have done Erasmus or a piece
of Cicero for another purpose, read it over once a year.
" I am, Sir,
" Your most faithful humble Servant,
"BARRINGTON."

FROM THE SAME.
" Becket-house, Aug. 18, 1724.
"Rev. Sir,
" I am very much obliged to you for the trouble you
have had in the affair of Mr. Tindall; and to Mr. Gunstone
for the trouble he has given himself to recommend Mr. Tin
dall to Mr, Bloodworth. I beg you Avill accept of my
acknoAvledgments, and render them acceptable to Mr. Gun-
stone.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 415
" I have sometimes had great hopes of being someways
useful in the Avorld. That prospect has been a darling plea
sure to me. I think I see it closed, and I hope I submit as
I ought. I am not worthy of such an honour. Perhaps the
world is not fit to be served. I assure you since I see my
way barred by Providence, and not by myself, I am not only
contented, but happier than I ever have been in my life. I
could bear a bustle in the hopes of doing good, but I never
¦ loved it. I always loved retirement ; and since I see so little
an opening to usefulness, I truly taste and enjoy my retreat.
I take some care of my health, Avhich a fatiguing life had
very much impaired. I take some small care of my affairs ;
I enjoy my family and my friends ; and I have a good deal
of time to look into my bible ; and I hope I do not only .find
infinitely more benefit, but more entertainment, from convers
ing with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Paul and Peter,
James and Judges, than ever I did Avith ministers of state or
courtiers, or any of the men of the Avorld : and I read profane
authors purely in subservience to the sacred ones. I have in
tbe neighbourhood three or four friends, Avith whom I can
talk with great satisfaction of these matters. I only Avish you
near me, and in the state of health I enjoy. If you have not
read Dr. Cheyne's Essay of Health and Long Life, I hope
you will. I have a great opinion of his rules, in nervous
cases especially. I heartily wish you a degree of health
equal to the inclinations you have to make use of it.
" My wife is to Lady Abney and yourself, as I am, a most
faithful humble servant. " BARRINGTON."

416 LIFE AND TIMES

" Reverend Sir?

FROM THE SAME. "Tofts, June, 1725.

"Yesterday I received the favour of yours ofthe 2d
and 10th instant; I had before received your second part,
which happened thus — I had bought your first part before I
received the favour of your order for it; I gave it away
the other day to a friend, and so sent that order for the first
part to your bookseller, before I had happened to hear your
second part Avas come out : he sent me your second part by
virtue of your order for the first. I sat down yesterday and
to-day to read it, but, before I was got far, have been pre
vented from the instruction and the pleasure I propose to my
self in getting through it.
" However I may happen to differ from the sentiments, yet
I see, by reading as far as I am got, that it has and will greatly
add to the high esteem and regard I have had for you ever
since our acquaintance ; and, indeed, I must think very ill of
myself if it do not. For what is there more valuable among
mankind, than the most ardent love of truth ; the most diligent
and impartial inquiry after it; the greatest frankness in pro
fessing our opinions about it for the good of the world, and
our becoming an example, as Avell as an advocate for the bear
ing with the different sentiments that are the necessary results
of free inquiry ? All these, the noblest dispositions of the
mind, you must convince every one you possess in the highest
degree ; and are, at the same time, an instance of paying a
superior homage to truth, as not only to sacrifice the ease and
esteem that folloAvs thinking Avith the herd, but your own late
and avowed sentiments to her sovereign authority. It is
Avithout the least:mixture of a compliment that I assure you,
I value a drachm of this heavenly temper beyond all the ortho
doxy or truth in the world. The cursed spirits knoAV more

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 417
truth than all of us put together ; but their Avant of the love
of it, renders them odious to God and dangerous to us : and
the love of it in us, is the love of God, Avho is Truth, and
hateth none but him that loveth and maketh a lie. And the
sovereign love of truth must include in it the supreme love of
virtue and piety, which are founded in truth and in truth alone.
And what then, besides this, can possibly render us amiable
to our Maker, or to those amongst us who propose the judg
ments he makes of things as the standard of ours? This,
hoAvever, I am sensible, may be said of him that Avrites on any
subject with that happy temper and disposition that appears
in Avhat I read on that important subject of your Dissertations.
But I will add, therefore, Avhat can be so Avorthy of a Christian
and a divine, as to borroAv your own thought and expression,
(for, I think, there cannot" be a more beautiful one) " as to
endeavour that the object of our Avorship may not ansAver the
inscription on the Athenian altar ?" I shall be heartily sorry
to hear that any of your friends should discourage a temper
that can best fit us either for the duties and enjoyments of this
life or a better. If we were all in a right cue, we should all
of us propose you as a pattern in our search after truth, and
our professions of it; but this is not to be expected; censures
will come from all Avho do not pay a like ready and cheerful
obedience to truth with yourself: arm your mind then against
them. Those that censure you here, must acquire the temper
they cannot bear in you, before they can relish heaven itself,
as you will. Whilst they censure you then, pity them ! If
you have any mistakes, your openness to conviction will soon
set them right, when your heart shall be irradiated with the
morning star. But their eyes are to be opened and fortified,
before they will be able to receive the full pleasure and bene
fit of the land of light and vision. Forgive these overfiWings
of my heart, which I see, on looking back on them, have run
into too great length, whilst I am talking to one Avho, I am
satisfied, can suffer for the truth as well as write and act for it.

418 LIFE AND TIMES
May the God of truth bless, accept, and support you, and all
you do and bear for its sake.
" I have only just room to return my most hearty thanks to
yourself and Mr. Price, for the respect you have sIioavii to my
recommendation of the case of Bewick, unless I Avould make
you pay more than as much again as they deserve. I am to
him and you, therefore, Avithout adding a Avord more, Reve
rend Sir, a most faithful and most humble servant.
"BARRINGTON."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 419

CHAPTER XII.
1726—1731.
DEATH OF GEORGE THE FIRST.

DEATH OF THE KING: — SERMON AT BURY-STREET. — CORONATION OF
GEORGE II.— PREVALENCE OF SUICIDE: — PUBLICATION OFTHE " DE
FENCE."— SERMON BY MATTHEW HENRY. — DEATH OF MATTHEW
CLARKE: — HIS CHARACTER. — DR. MATHER BYLES: — POEM— THIRD
VOLUME OF " SERMONS."— ASSOCIATION OF DISSENTING MINISTERS:
—MINUTES OF MEETING.— DIPLOMA :— VERSES BY DR. EARLE.— "ESSAY
ON CHARITY SCHOOLS."— ORIGIN OF GRAVEL-LANE SCHOOL —THE
SCHOOLS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT— DR. GIBSON. —SOUTHAMPTON
AFFAIRS.— INSTITUTION OF DODDRIDGE'S ACADEMY.— "CATECHISMS."
—TREATISE BY REYNOLDS— "CAVEAT AGAINST INFIDELITY."— DEISTI-
CAL CONTROVERSY.— THE DUNCIAD:— REMONSTRANCE AVITH POPE.—
TREATISE ON THE "PASSIONS." — "SCRIPTURE HISTORY." — DOD
DRIDGE— HARVEY.— BROADHURST.— COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.— COR
RESPONDENCE.

By the death of George I. in the year 1727, on his journey
to Hanover, the dissenters lost a firm friend and benefactor ;
but happily the liberal and, at the same time, vigorous policy he
had adopted, was pursued by his successor. The disputes be
tween the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, Avhich had distracted
the nation in his reign, began noAv gradually to subside; the
fall and banishment of Atterbury had paved the Avay for the
overthrow of high-church principles; and churchman and
dissenter, Watts and Seeker, Doddridge and Warburton, were
frequently seen engaged in literary and Christian intercourse.
The decease of the late monarch and the accession of his son,
were improved by Watts at Bury-Street, June 18th, from
Isaiah, v. 12 : " And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe,

420 LIFE AND TIMES
and wine are in their feasts : but they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands." This
sermon Avas printed at the request of the congregation, under
the title of " The Religious Improvement of Public Events."
If the eulogy pronounced upon the first George cannot be
maintained from his private character, it was at least richly
merited by his public conduct. The preacher referred his
people to former times, Avhen they had to apprehend the do
minance of popish darkness and tyranny upon the death of
many of their princes ; and he congratulated them upon " the
peaceful and regular succession of a protestant heir to his
Father's throne — a blessing," said he, "as hath not been
known in Great Britain for a hundred years past."* There
was occasion then for tiie " harp and the viol" to be in their
"feasts;" but he cautioned them against the crime of the
Jews, who allowed festivity to supersede devotion, and forgot
the providence of God in their hours of joy. The coronation
of George II., October 11, of the same year, drew from the
pen of Watts a commemorative ode, Avhich has, however, little
besides its loyalty to recommend it.-f- " Wednesday, Oct. i 1,"
says Calamy, "the king and queen Avere croAvned at West
minster in great pomp and state ; the procession to and from
the abbey upon that occasion, of which I was a spectator, was
very magnificent. Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford, preached
the coronation sermon from 2 Chron. ix. 8."J The dissenting
ministers in the metropolis Avere introduced to the royal pres
ence by the Vice Chamberlain Earl Stanhope; and a con
gratulatory address upon the occasion Avas read by Mr. after
wards Dr. John Evans.
A painful subject had presented itself to the attention of
* The last instance of this kind, he observes, was when Charles I. succeeded
his father James I. j and indeed was theonly one except when Edward VI. came
to the crown.
T Miscel. No. 71.
X Cal. Life and Times, ii. 500.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 421
Watts during the preceding year, and drawn him away from
his ordinary studies — the practice of suicide, of which many
melancholy instances had occurred. The ruin and distress
with which most parts of the kingdom had been visited in
consequence of the South-Sea delusion, largely contributed to
the increase of this fearful crime ; for the bills of mortality
for 1725 report fifty-nine cases in the metropolis, besides
seventy-four persons droAvned, and forty-three found dead, the
cause of whose fate was uncertain. The topic Avas sufficiently
important and distressing to awaken the solicitude of the
friends of religion throughout the nation; and in the early
part of the year 1726, " A Defence against the Temptation to
Self-murder," by Mr. Watts, made its appearance, dated " Lon
don, January 28." The principal arguments of this treatise
were originally drawn up in a private letter ; and an unhappy
individual who contemplated suicide, being diverted from it
by its perusal, tbe writer was induced to make it public in the
hope of profiting others. He investigates the causes in gen
eral of such fatal occurrences — dissipation, pride, and gam
bling ; and endeavours to present suitable dissuasives to arrest
the tempted victim in his career. The volume is divided into
six sections, viz. — the unlawfulness of self-murder displayed —
the folly and danger of it — the motives to it examined and
answered — means of security against the temptation — admo
nitions to those who have been rescued from it — and cau
tions against all approaches to it, as intemperance, duelling,
&c. The increase of commercial speculation, and in conse
quence the more frequent occurrence of blighted hopes and
changing fortunes, have of late years alarmingly multiplied this
crime ; and it may be doubted whether the charity of modern
juries is serviceable to the public morals, in attributing to
temporary insanity what might often be more correctly traced
to mortified pride and disappointed ambition. In Paris,
owing in a great measure to the impunity which attends this
practice, the number of persons taken out of the Seine

422 LIFE AND TIMES
amounts to a frightful sum ; and it is a singular instance of
taste, that the average number in summer far exceeds that in
the Avinter, on account of the warmer temperature of the
stream. " The supreme Governor of all things," says Cicero,
"forbids us to depart hence Avithout his order; and though
when the divine providence does itself offer us a just occasion
of leaving this Avorld, a Avise man will then depart joyfully, yet
he Avill not be in such haste as to break his prison contrary to
law, but will go as a prisoner Avhen dismissed by the magistrate
or laAvful power."*
A sermon of the excellent MattheAV Henry's, edited by
Watts, was published in 1726, entitled " Separation Avithout
Rebellion." It was preached at the opening of the neAv
meeting-house in Crook Lane, Chester, August 8, 1700, from
Joshua, xxii. 22, 23 : " The Lord God of gods, the Lord God
of gods he knoweth, and Israel he shall knoAV, if it be in
rebellion or if in transgression against the Lord — that Ave
have built us an altar." Mr. Heniy evidently intended this
sermon for publication, as he kept a copy of it "fairly tran-
scribed,"f which was found among his manuscripts. The
reason why its appearance Avas delayed during his life, Mr.
Palmer conjectures^ to be "his great solicitude to avoid
giving offence to any members of the established church" in
tbe city where he ministered. Mr. Watts Avrote a commen
datory preface to this interesting relic of his friend. The
sermon may be found in Henry's Miscellaneous Works ; and
furnishes a " fair specimen of the Avriter's candour, ability,
and moderation, and is well calculated not only to instruct

* Tusc. Quest, lib. i.
f "It cannot be said of Mr. Henry," says his biographer, "as of Caspar
Barthius, that on account ofthe neatness of his haud the first copy required no
transcript; both he and the printer might rather have adopted such Calligraphic
regrets as those expressed by Dr. Parr." See the characters of the late J. C. Fox,
i. p. 9. William's Life of Henry, Note 0.
t Palmer's Mem. of Henry p. 13.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 423
those unacquainted with English nonconformity, but to con
found prejudice, whether it arise from education, ignorance,
or pride."*
Another of Mr. Watts's friends Avas numbered with the
dead in the course of this year — the Rev. MattheAV Clarke, of
Miles's Lane meeting, by Avhom he Avas highly respected and
beloved. During a dangerous illness, nearly tAventy years
before, Mr. Clarke desired that his friend might be sent for to
pray with him, apprehending that his end Avas near. Mr.
Neal observes that " that excellent person observed in him a
sweet calmness and composure of mind, a firm and steady re
liance upon the merits of Christ alone for his salvation, and a
humble resignation of himself to the will of God whether for
life or death. He then assisted him in his devotions, and as a
person departing out of the world, recommended him to the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."f In his
last affliction Mr. Clarke removed to Stoke-Newington, for
the benefit of the country air, and here he Avas visited by Mr.
Neal and several of his ministerial acquaintance. The divi
sions among his brethren, occasioned by the trinitarian contro
versy, Avounded the spirit of this good man, and excited pain
ful apprehensions that the vital poAver of religion would
disappear from the churches. On the morning of the earthly
sabbath, March 26th, he commenced the heavenly rest. A
neat monument at the east end of Bunhill Fields, marks the
place of his interment and witnesses the friendship of Watts,
Avho honoured his virtues in an elegant Latin inscription. His
biographer ranks him among the best and most useful divines
of the age in Avhich he lived ; and the hand that traced his
portrait upon bis tomb, exhibits him as not only faithful and
laborious, but, which was not ahvays the case at that period,

* Williams's Life. p. 180.
f Neal's Memoirs of the Rev. M. Clarke, p. 27.

424 LIFE AND TIMES
"inter Theologorum dissidia, Moderatuset Pactficus;" among
the controversies of divines, Moderate always and Pacific.*
The literary labours of Watts Avere now not only appreciated
in his own country, but his name was popular upon the con
tinent and in America ; his theological works were widely cir
culated among his countrymen across tbe Atlantic ; and his
Hymns and Psalms were gradually coming into use among
the NeAv-England churches.f A tribute of respect was paid
to his genius and piety by one of the Boston divines, in some
verses Avhich may here properly be introduced. The author was
Dr. Mather Byles, pastor of one of the churches in that city.
"TO THE REV. MR. WATTS ON HIS HOR* LYRICjE.
"Feb. 1, 1727.
I.
" Say, smiling muse, what heav'nly strain
Forbids the waves to roar,
Comes gently gliding o'er the main,
And charms our list'ning shore ?
II.
"What angel strikes the trembling strings?
And whence the silver sound?
Is't from the heights where Gabriel sings?
Or Watts on lower ground ?
III.
" 'Tis thine, seraphic Watts! thy lyre
Plays soft along the floods;
* The parents of both Watts and Clarke, were tasting the cup of sorrow,
at the period when the children were born. Witness with reference to the one,
the prison at Southampton, and as it respects the other, a solitary house on
Leicester Forest, where his father, the ejected clergyman of Narborough, was
compelled to retire by the violence of persecution, the scene of the birth and
childhood of his son. The inscription speaks of him, as
" Patris venerandi iilius cognominis
Nee ipse minus venerandus."
A son beaviug the name
Of his venerable father,
Nor less venerable himself.
\ Appendix G.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 425
Thy notes the answ'ring hills inspire,
And bend the waving woods.
IV.
' The deserts, fill'd with vital strains,
A smiling verdure show ;
While whisp'ring o'er the fertile plains,
The tuneful breezes blow.

" Such artful sounds, such flowing grace,
E'en the rough rocks regale;
And flow'ry joy spreads o'er the face
Of ev'ry laughing vale.
VI.
"And thou, my soul, the transport own,
Fir'd with immortal heat ;
While dancing pulses driving on,
In cheerful motions beat.
VII.
"Long as the sun shall rear his head,
And chase the flying glooms,
When from the ocean's eastern bed,
The gallant bridegroom comes ;
VIII.
" Long as the dusky ev'ning flies,
And sheds a doubtful light,
Till shadows thick'ning round the skies,
Vest half the globe with night,
IX.
" O Watts! thine heav'nly lays so long,
Shall ev'ry bosom fire;
And ev'ry muse, and ev'ry tongue,
To speak thy praise conspire :
X.
" When thy fair soul shall on the wing
Of shouting seraphs rise,
Then with superior sweetness sing
Amid thy native skies: E e

426 LIFE AND TIMES
XI.
" Still as thy gentle numbers flow,
Melodious and divine,
Angels above and saints below
The deathless chorus join ;
XII.
" To our far shore the sound shall roll,
As Philomela* sung,
And east to west, and pole to pole,
Th' eternal tune prolong."
The only production of this year Avas a third volume of
Sermons, Avhich appeared, March 25th, designed for the
sabbath-evening worship in families. At that period the
majority of the dissenting meeting-houses Avere only open
in the morning and afternoon ; the evening Avas generally
devoted to catechetical exercises and domestic instruction.
In the fifth edition of the Sermons, the three volumes in
12mo. Avere reduced into two in 8vo. and the prefaces were
abridged and united. Several of the discourses in the last
collection, are beautiful meditations upon the right improve
ment ofthe death of friends and kindred, originally addressed
to the mourning family of Mrs. Abney, and largely amplified
Avhen delivered from the pulpit.
It Avas at this period that the dissenting ministers in the «
metropolis formed themselves into a voluntary association, in
order to promote the interests of their body. They had fre
quently united to preserve their religious liberties from the
aggressions of arbitrary power, and in their collective capacity
on various occasions had addressed the throne ; but no society
had been regularly formed for the purpose of mutual advice
and co-operation. A meeting of the three denominations Avas
accordingly held at the George, in Ironmonger Lane, July 11,
1727, the Rev. Mr. Boyce in the chair, when several resolu
tions Avere passed, which formed into a body all approved min-
* Mrs. Rowe.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 427
isters, Avhether presbyterian, independent, or baptist, living
Avithin ten miles of the cities of London and Westminster. It
Avas also agreed that a committee should be chosen to conduct
the affairs of the general body, consisting of seven presbyteri
ans, six independents, and six baptists. At the first meeting
Mr. Watts Avas not present, but at a second, on the 25th of
September, Avhen the Rev. Mr. Asty presided, his name in
connexion Avith some others in addition occurs. The commit
tee appointed to represent the congregational ministers consist
ed of Messrs. Ridgley, Watts, Bradbury, Hurrion, Lowman,
and Asty.
A meeting of congregational ministers, tAventy-nine in num
ber, was held at Mr. Watts's meeting-house, Dec. 5, 1727,
Avhen he presided. The proceedings of this meeting are thus
reported in the minutes :
" All the minutes of this book being first read over, and tbe
design of this meeting represented, there was a considerable
debate about the rule or method by Avhich the list of the con
gregational ministers should be settled. The tAvo most consid
erable opinions proposed and urged AArere these : 1. That those
only should be accounted congregational ministers Avho some
how or other manifested their agreement to the Savoy Confes
sion of faith and order of congregational churches. 2. That
the rule by Avhich the ministers were admitted, Sept. 25th, to
give their vote for the choice of the committee, should be the
rale by which the list of the congregational ministers should
be determined and settled, viz. those who had been known
and approved preachers, and chose to be ranked among the
congregational ministers, and did not design to vote in the
body of the Presbyterian or Baptist ministers. After much
lime spent, and many arguments on both sides, it was agreed
nem. con. that the rule by which the ministers Avere determi
ned to have a vote for choosing a committee of a third body
of protestant dissenters, on Sept. 25th last, be folloAved in ad
mitting any minister into the list of that body, to vote with it

428 LIFE AND TIMES
on political occasions for one year, i. e. till Michaelmas next.
Note. It Avas called a third body, because some present Avere
very desirous to exclude the term congregational out of the
whole question, unless the first rule Avere folloAved, and the
congregational ministers distinguished by agreeing to the
Savoy Confession. Night coming on, and the ministers Avith-
drawing themselves, those of the other opinion permitted the
question to be put in this form, rather than break up the
assembly and do nothing." The leaven of antinomianism
Avas now spreading in the metropolis ; and certain ministers
Avho Avished to be ranked with the congregationalists, enter
taining latitudinarian principles, of course objected to the
Savoy Confession as a test of admission, because opposed to
their views — hence, the conclusion that was resorted to.
The eminent services Avhich Watts had rendered to religion
and literature, had long attracted the notice and called forth
the approbation of scholars at home and abroad ; and, in
addition to the marks of respect he privately received from
them, he was honoured in 1728 by the universities of Edin
burgh and Aberdeen, with a diploma of Doctor of Divinity.
Never was academical distinction more properly bestowed:
it was wholly unsolicited on his part, and Ave may gather
from his modest and unobtrusive character, wholly unex
pected. "Academical honours," says Dr. Johnson, "Avould
have more value if they were ahvays bestoAved with equal
judgment." "Learned seminaries," Toplady remarks,
" Avould retrieve the departing respectability of their diplomas,
Avere they only presented to (I will not say such men as Dr.
Watts, for few such men are in any age to be found), but to
persons of piety, orthodoxy, erudition, and virtue." "The
presenting of such titles," observes Erasmus Middleton, " to
people who either can pay for them, or Avhose silly vanity
prompts them to have their names ushered in Avith a sound,
without any just qualification in the world beside, exposes the
honours of a university to contempt, and the persons who

OF DB. ISAAC WATTS. 429
bear them to ridicule. The name of Doctor, though it cannot
make a man intuitively learned or wise, should give the Avorld
ajust expectation not to find him at least weak or illiterate."
Several of Watts's brethren in the metropolis were diplo-
mated at the same time; as Mr. Jabez Earle, Mr. John
Evans, Mr. William Harris, Mr. John Comyng, and Mr.
Zephaniab Marryat. This event gave rise to the folloAving
humorous lines, sent by Dr. Earle, to his friend Harris :
" Since dunces now are doctors made,
As well as men of skill ;
What does the title signify ?
I'll tell thee, honest Will.
" The same as trappings to a horse,
Which, be he fleet or jade,
Not for his own, but rider's sake,
So wondrous fine, is made.
" So when our universities,
Doctorial honours give,
'Tis not our merits they declare,
But their prerogative."
Dr. Watts once more appeared before the public as the
friend of education, and published " An Essay towards the
encouragement of Charity-Schools, particularly among pro
testant dissenters, 1728." This was the substance of a sermon
preached before the managers of one of these institutions, pro
bably the one kept in Crutched Friars, Aldgate, as it Avas print
ed at the request of several gentlemen connected Avith it. It is
true, Avith reference to these benevolent establishments, as it is
with almost every other method of usefulness noAv in operation,
that the dissenter has led the Avay for the churchman, and pro
voked him by example to " labours of love." In adoptingmeans
for the education ofthe poorer classes, the establishment has but
followed in the track of the nonconformity she so indignantly
spurned from her pale ; and whilst this fact ought not to be
advanced to encourage the spirit of party, it ought not to be

430 LIFE AND TIMES
concealed, as an evidence of the superior practical utility of a
voluntary Christian association to that of an endowed corpo
ration. The first English charity-school Avas founded among
the dissenters in Gravel Lane, Southwark, in 1687,* as an
antidote to the school of one Poulter, a Jesuit, who instructed
the children of the poor gratis. This Avas during the semi-
popish reign of James, Avhen protestantism was threatened by
a catholic monarch, and the principles of his creed Avere in
dustriously disseminated by Jesuitical emissaries. The dis
senters commenced their school Avith forty children, but these
soon increased to one hundred and thirty, who were admitted
Avithout distinction of parties and denominations, and taught
reading, Avriting, arithmetic, and the principles of religion,
according to the Assembly's Catechism.f
In his Essay Dr. Watts, whose candour cannot be impeach
ed, gives us the following account of the progress of these
institutions in the church and among the dissenters : " Many
others Avere formed by persons of the established church, to
which several dissenters subscribed largely. But at last they
found, by sufficient experience, that the children Avere brought
up in too many of these schools in principles of disaffection to
the present government, in bigotted zeal for the word church,
and with a violent enmity and malicious spirit of persecution
against all whom they were taught to call Presbyterians,
though from many of their hands they received their bread
and clothing. It Avas time, then, for the dissenters to Avith-

* Vet the National-School Society, for promoting the education of the poor in
the principles of the established church, in their annual report say, that the " first
English charity-school was opened in Westminster, jnl698" In thus contend
ing for the honour of the establishment, the truth of history is unwittingly
violated ; for eleven years before, the Southwark presbyterians founded theirs.
Matthew Henry observes, in his private MS. " I went early, January 1, 1712—13,
to Gravel Lane, in Southwark, Mr. Marriott's meeting-place, where there has
been a charity-school for twenty-five years" [answering to 1687], " there I
preached an anniversary sermon, on Prov. iii. 9: 'Honour the Lord with thy
substance.' A collection was made, amounting to £35."
f See Charity-School Sermons, by Read, Chandler, and Neal.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 481
draw that charity which Avas so abused ; and since the favour
of our rulers gives us leave to educate children according to
our sentiments and the dictates of our consciences, some ge
nerous spirits amongst us have made attempts of this kind,
and employ their bounty in the support of a few such schools.
And as Ave hope this charity Avill be acceptable to God and
useful to mankind, so Ave are Avell assured it Avill be a sensible
service to the present government, Avhich has no friends in the
Avorld more sincere and more zealous than the protestant dis
senters."* That the grave charge here brought by Watts
against the charity-schools of the establishment, that of propa
gating disaffection to the Hanoverian succession and senti
ments friendly to the exiled Stuarts, Avas not unfounded, is
candidly acknoAvledged by Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London.
" This is," says he, " a very heavy objection indeed, that in
many of the charity-schools the children are trained up to dis
affection to the government, and it is a point that the govern
ment is nearly concerned to look after, since it is to little
purpose to subdue and conquer the present ill humours, if a
succession of disaffected persons is to be perpetually nursing
up in our schools." After this his lordship adds, " that there
is not at present the like ground to complain of disaffection as
there Avas some years ago ;" yet he acknowledges, " that
while the protestant succession remained doubtful, and no
stone Avas left unturned to defeat it, some persons who had
their views a different way, that is, Jacobites, endeavoured to
get the management of these schools into their hands, and to
make them instrumental in nourishing and spreading an
aversion to the protestant settlement." The attempt to convey
a political bias to the popular mind under the mask of charity,
was happily discovered ; and the exposure served to place in a
stronger light the claims of the dissenters to tbe gratitude of

* Essay. Works, vol. iv. 527, 8vo. edit.

432 LIFE AND TIMES
the monarch as his staunchest adherents, and to his protection
from the repeated persecutions of the dominant hierarchy.
But feAV memorials of the personal history of Dr. Watts at
this period can be collected ; his time Avas spent principally
betAveen London and Theobalds, chiefly in his study; and
though he Avas associated Avith his brethren in many of their
transactions, yet he seems to have avoided as much as consis
tent Avith duty, from weakness and perhaps from inclination,
the distractions of public life. He Avas in correspondence at
this time with the Rev. Mr. Francis, and probably with his
aged father, concerning the dissenting interest at Southampton.
The congregation there had been long under the care of Mr.
Boler, but groAving infirm Mr. Francis removed from Girdler's
Hall in the city to be co-pastor with him. Several letters
passed between Dr. Watts and this gentleman, which I have
not been able to discover; but in them he persuades
his continuance at Southampton, and expresses himself in
terms of the Avarmest affection and esteem.
The institution of an academy in the midland districts of the
kingdom, was the subject of anxious deliberation during the
year 1728. Upon the death of Mr. Jennings in 1723, the
academy under his care at Hinckley, in Leicestershire, was
dissolved ; and to repair the loss sustained by tbe dissenting
interest, a proposal Avas made to revive it under the direction
of Mr. afterwards Dr. Doddridge. This excellent man was
then commencing his career at Kibworth, a small village in
the same county ; and his eminent acquirements, as Avell as
his knowledge of Mr. Jennings's plan of education, Avhose
pupil he had been, pointed him out as a proper person to un
dertake the charge. A letter detailing the course of study
pursued, from the pen of Doddridge, was taken up to town
by Mr. Some of Harborough, and submitted to the inspec
tion of Dr. Watts, for the purpose of indirectly ascertaining his
opinion upon the project. This letter Avas returned to the
country with some observations by the Doctor, from which he

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 433
seems to have entered cordially into the plan. At this period
Doddridge was a comparative stranger to Watts : the former
remarks in a postscript to the Rev. MatlheAV Clarke, Nov. 17,
1725, "Mr. Watts will be glad to hear that Mrs. Jennings is
Avell. He hardly remembers that he ever saAV me, otherwise I
should be very glad to send my respects to him; for I have
received so much entertainment and advantage from his wri
tings, that I cannot but have an affection for his person, and
should think myself happy if providence should ever give me
an opportunity of cultivating an acquaintance with him."
The private approval of Dr. Watts having been obtained, and
the public sanction of a general meeting of ministers at Lutter
worth, April 10th, 1729, Doddridge commenced his labours as
a theological tutor, Avhich brought him into frequent corres
pondence with the subject of this memoir.
It must have been towards the close of the year 1728, that
Dr. Watts published his " Book of Catechisms." In 1727 a
request was made to him by Sir Gilbert Elliot, to undertake
the composition of a catechism ; in April, 1728, we find him
writing to Mr. Say in answer to a similar wish, that several
schemes Avere already drawn out for the purpose ; and in 1729
a discourse on catechetical instruction appeared, connected
with a second edition of the catechisms.
The attention paid by the early nonconformists to the scrip
tural instruction of the young was most exemplary, and
formed in some cases the most laborious part of pastoral duty.
Of the Rev. John Ratcliffe, pastor of tbe presbyterian church,
Jamaica Roav, Rotherhithe, from 1705 to 1708, his biogra
pher relates, " He entirely devoted every Monday, from five
in the morning to eight at night, for the several parts of the
Avork. His catechumens were young persons of all parties,
without any distinction of denominations, if they were but
willing to receive the benefit of his assistance. Certain hours
in the morning were taken up in hearing the younger children
recite the answers of the Assembly's Catechism; those ot

434 LIFE AND TIMES
some further standing being employed to hear them, and
others to take care to preserve order, and an exact account of
every one's proficiency and behaviour. Mr. Ratcliffe after
wards spent two hours in examining those that were more
grown, upon the parts and sense of an answer, or more
frequently upon a text of scripture, which he closed with
some practical inferences from the subject before them, a
pathetical exhortation suited to the capacities and temptations
of children, and an earnest prayer for them. After dinner
the time Avas filled up till five with some profitable and free
conversation, and the evening was spent in like endeavours
for the good of the other sex. The numbers thus instructed
were no less than ten thousand, within the eight years he Avas
employed in it. Sometimes there have been no less than two
thousand present on a day."* The catechism chiefly in use
among the dissenters, was that draAvn up by the assembly of
divines at Westminster; but both in sentiment, style, and
language, this formulary is obviously unfitted for children.
Easier exercises had, indeed, been prepared by Owen,
Bowles, Gouge, M. Henry, Noble, Cotton, and others; but
these were not sufficiently general and popular, to render
Watts's labours unnecessary. The collection of catechisms
which he furnished, contains "The Child's First and Second"
— "The Assembly's Shorter Catechism, with Explanations"
t- " A Preservative from the Sins and Follies of Childhood,
draAvn up in the way of Question and AnsAver" — "The
Catechism of Scriptural Names" — "The Historical Cate
chism" — and" A Large Collection of Remarkable Scriptural
Names." Several of these pieces have obtained an extensive
circulation, and the first especially is an established favourite
in the schools and families of dissenters. In the year 1729,
a second edition of them appeared, collected into one volume,
to which a judicious essay was attached, " On the way of
* Wilson's Hist, of Diss. Chur. iv. 855.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 435
Instruction by Catechisms, and of the best manner of com
posing them."
In 1729 appeared "A Practical Discourse of Reconcilia-^
tion betAveen God and Man, by the late learned and pious
Mr. John Reynolds." To this Avas prefixed a recommenda
tory preface by Dr. Watts, dated, "London, Oct. 19, 1728."*
This "great and excellent man," as he terms him, poet,
divine, and scholar, resided a considerable period at ShreAvs-
bury, and removed to London in the year 1718. He was the
author of many ingenious and useful Avorks, a contributor to
the Occasional Papers, and one of Matthew Henry's continu-
ators.f In his preface Dr. Watts criticises the various
productions of his friend ; and observes with reference to the
treatise he edited, "whosoever can read it through Avith an
attentive mind, and yet after all can obstinately refuse to be
reconciled to the God of heaven, has just reason to fear that
the ' god of this Avorld has blinded their eyes,' and hardened
their hearts, in order to prevent their acceptance of this great
salvation." The Doctor's pen was employed upon several
other performances of Mr. Reynolds. His "Compassionate
Letter to the Poorer part of the Christian World" he revised,
divided it into sections, and omitted in one of the last editions,
the Avoid "poorer" in the title-page, thinking it of universal
adaptation. A Latin epitaph on "Bigotry," inserted in
the Occasional Papers, No. 6, vol. iii. he also translated, and
transferred it to his own Miscellaneous Thoughts.:);
The benevolence of Watts's character, and the usefulness of
his life, did not secure him from the derision of the wits, and
the censures ofthe critics. In an early edition ofthe Dunciad,
his name was introduced, in connexion with that of the elder
Wesley, the rector of Epworth. The circumstances Avhich
led to his being honoured with a niche in the temple of the
* This Preface is not inserted in Watts's Works.
f See p. 324.
X Miscell. Thoughts, No. 20.

436 LIFE AND TIMES
"Mighty Mother" have not transpired. The line which
stands at present thus,
" Well purg'd ; and worthy Withers, Quarles, and Brome,"
appeared in a surreptitious edition as follows :
"Now all the suffering brotherhood retire,
And 'scape the martyrdom of jakes and fire ;
A gothic library of Greece and Rome
Well purg'd ; aud worthy Wesley, Watts, and Brome."
Dr. Watts remonstrated Avith the author; and his name Avith
that of Wesley's was deprived of the undesirable distinction.
" I never offended Mr. Pope," he observed, " but have ahvays
expressed my admiration of his superior genius. 1 only wished
to see that genius employed more in the cause of religion, and
ahvays thought it capable of doing it great credit among the
gay or the more Avitty part of mankind, who have generally
despised it, because it hath not always been so fortunate as to
meet with advocates of such exalted abilities as Mr. Pope
possesses, and who Avere capable of turning the finest exertions
of Avit and genius in its favour." This remonstrance had its
desired effect, and the writer no longer sat in the seat of the
Dunces. The elder Wesley's name Avas probably omitted
owing to the interposition of his son Samuel, who corresponded
Avith Pope, and Avas highly esteemed by him. The above
information was derived by Mr. Nichols from the Rev. Mr.
Lamb of Dorchester, Avho received it from Mr. Price, Dr.
Watts's colleague.*
In February, 1729, the diligence of Watts was again appa
rent in the publication of a " Caveat against Infidelity, or the
danger of apostacy from the Christian faith." The materials
of this treatise were collected in the year 1722, and designed
as an antidote to the loose and dangerous sentiments then
propagated by the enemies of truth. The writer contents him-
Nichols, vol. v. 218, 219.

* OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 437
self with assuming a defensive attitude ; his object being to
guard the friends of religion, and not to assail the advocates of
infidelity. Hence, he does not prominently introduce the evi
dences of the Christian faith, but notices the specious and
sophistical opinions by which it is often indirectly impugned :
be does not contend with the confirmed unbeliever, but reasons
Avith the doubting Christian. The volume is divided into five
sections : On the necessary Articles of Christianity — Consi
derations to prove the Doctrine — Various Queries and Ob
jections of the Deists ansAvered — General Exhortations to
Christians — Preservatives against Apostacy from the Faith
of the Gospel. The value of this volume has been deteriorated
by the luminous defences of more modern divines ; it cannot
either be compared with the learned efforts of many of the
writer's brethren in the ministry ; yet still to the particular
class to which it was directed, the foundation of whose faith
had been shaken but not destroyed, it Avas calculated to be
useful. The deistical controversy was much agitated at the
commencement of the eighteenth century ; and the dissenters
sent forth a goodly host of combatants into the field. Collins,
Tindal, Woolston, Morgan, andDodwell, appeared on the side
of infidelity ; and Leland, Chandler, Lardner, Browne, Rey
nolds, and Doddridge, for the cause of truth. The adversaries
of religion in that day, excepting a few persons of learning
and ingenuity, were, however, widely different to those Avho
are now found in the ranks of infidelity : they were " men of
wit and pleasure about town," imposing upon the ignorant
and unwary by flippant declamation and shalloAv philosophy.
Some divines of the establishment were for checking their
career by the aid of the civil magistrate ; but against the pro
secution of Woolston the dissenting ministers strongly though
ineffectually protested. Whatever evils might be enumerated
as the consequence of freedom of religious discussion; far
greater might be advanced resulting from the exercise of a
spiritual despotism. Truth is too potent to court the aid of

438 LIFE AND TIMES
civil enactments and penal laws, to skulk from the fair field
of debate behind the magisterial chair, and contend with its
thousand foes by incarceration and fine, instead of by calm
and deliberate inquiry. The deistical controversy of the last
century was a signal benefit to the cause which avus assailed ;
it has enriched our theology, illustrated the resources Ave com
mand, shown the strength of those foundations upon which
our hopes repose, and unveiled Christianity to the confusion of
the sceptic, exhibiting the majesty of truth and reflecting the
benignity of heaven.
The next work that comes under our notice is entitled
" The Doctrine of the Passions explained and improved ; or, a
brief and comprehensive scheme of the natural affections of
mankind, and an aecountof their names, nature, appearances,
effects, and different uses in human life." The character of
the treatise may be gathered from this full and descriptive
title — the Avriter investigates the nature of the mental affec
tions — their general design and use — the circumstances that
most poAverfully influence them; as, natural constitution, cli
mate, season, employment, health or sickness — and some
admirable rules for their government and regulation are pro
posed at the close. Descartes divides the primary passions
into six — admiration, love, hatred, desire, joy, and soitoav —
by no means an accurate distribution: Dr. Watts, Avho has
evidently Avell studied his treatise, divides them into three —
admiration, love, and hatred — minutely examining their sev
eral modifications and derivatives. The subject has a most
important practical bearing upon man in his social, civil, and
personal relations ; and the work in question deserves the se
rious and attentive perusal of every one anxious to perform
his part aright upon the great theatre of public life, within the
range of immediate neighbourhood, and in the privacy of the
domestic circle. The happiness of individuals has often been
infringed, and the comfort of families sacrificed, where one
mind has undergone no proper training — where the early

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 439
ebullitions of passion have met with no check — the capricious
will encountered [no rein — and the character left to groAv up
and be confirmed in its native wildness and instability. To
be proficient, however, in the art of self-government, Dr. Watts
well knew that the aids of religion are indispensable; that
divine grace alone can implant a permanent and enlightened
moral principle; a principle of guidance and control, "the
spirit of poAver and of a sound mind," achieving the mastery
of self, and conquering the appetites and propensities of car
nal nature. It is Avhen the gospel comes not in word only to
the ear, but in power to the heart, that the axe is laid to the
root of the tree, instead of pruning a few of its excrescences ;
the display of unhallowed tempers is then succeeded by the
attractive beauty of holiness; and the every-day actions of
life are ordered by tbe calm decisions of the judgment, and not
by the sudden impulses of unbridled feeling.
The Doctrine of the Passions originally appeared in outline,
as an introduction to the "Discourses on the Love of God, and
the use and abuse of the passions in religion." Both subjects
appearing to the author capable of considerable expansion, he
enlarged his plan, and the contents of the volume were am
plified into two separate treatises. The latter work arose from
the declining state of leligion, and the growing deadness of the
churches to its vital influence : it was designed to vindicate the
affectionate Christian, to reprove the formalist, and to shoAV
that the gospel, as CudAvorth remarks, is not merely " a letter
without us, but a quickening spirit Avithin us." Dr. Watts
was an attentive observer of the signs of the times ; not only
did the spiritual prosperity of his own people lie near his heart,
but his expansive charity led to a lively concern for the im
provement of others; and he could not Avitness symptoms of
degeneracy, Avithout attempting to correct the evil and avert
the calamity. The excitement produced by the political
changes of the seventeenth century, had a powerful and, in
many instances, an unfortunate influence upon various religious

440 LIFE AND TIMES
classes of the period. Some weak, yet dreamy and ardent
spirits, belonging to the successful party, in the intoxication
of the moment, Avere led to interpret their triumphs as plain
and unequivocal signs of heavenly approbation. The judg
ment of God Avas seen in the routing of a cavalier, and the
special interposition of Providence in the victory of a round
head ; the turbulence of human passion was mistaken for the
fervour of devotion; and the high eminences of spiritual attain
ment Avere aAvarded to those Avho connected the most extrava
gant displays of animal feeling with the profession and exer
cises of piety. A different error Avas introduced by the resto
ration ofthe monarchy and the settlement ofthe national con
vulsions. The state of unnatural excitement which subsisted
during the commonwealth, Avas followed by one of lamentable
depression ; and the evil that resulted from enthusiastic perver
sions, Avas equalled if not surpassed by that Avhich sprung
from a drowsy supineness. A large body among the dissenters,
and nearly the whole of the establishment, agreed in reducing
the elements of religion to a few cold theorems and formal
observances ; the expression of a joy that is unspeakable and
full of glory, was denounced as a relic of former fanaticism ;
and Christian experience, condemned as the offspring of vision
ary minds, was banished from the pale of cultivated and polite
society. Syllogistical reasoning usurped the place ofthe doc
trine of Christ, and dry and jejune disputes were heard instead
of the whole counsel of God. Dr. Watts observed with pain
this new divinity dominant in the church, and engrafted
among the presbyterians, and to counteract tbe groAving evil
he produced the work now under revieAV. No one Avas better
qualified for such a task ; his unexceptionable personal piety,
his calm and dispassionate judgment, his knoAvledge of the
human heart, and of the state of the religious Avorid, eminently
fitted him for a work which the circumstances of the church
so loudly demanded. He shows that godliness has not only
an outAvard form but an inward power — that pious affections,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 441
impugned by philosophy as a Aveakness, are the peaceable
fruits of righteousness — that to excite is the use, to govern the
abuse of the passions in religion — and that pure and unadul
terated Christianity, dwells semi-distant from the frigid zone
of formality as well as from the tropic climes of fanaticism.
Another publication of Dr. Watts's appeared in the year
1730 ; " A Short VieAV ofthe whole Scripture History, illustrated
with Remarks on the Laws, Government, &c. of the JeAvs."
This was Avritten in the way of question and answer, and in
tended as a kind of sequel to the catechisms. Lord Barrington
had such a high opinion of this work, that he promised the
author in one of his letters to keep a copy of it in his own
study, and to leave it in his nursery, hall, and parlour. To
form a proper estimate of Watts's labours, Ave must constantly
keep in mind the time in Avhich he lived. The press noAv
teems Avith religious exercises and popular theology for the
young, and little effort would be necessary to construct an
educational formulary, having such multifarious works to use.
But it Avas Avidely different a century ago: there had been
then comparatively few labourers in the field ; there was but
little stock in hand that was available; and the amount of
time and labour required in the composition of these lessons
of instruction, was far greater than at first sight may appear.
It Avas at this period that Dr. Watts's acquaintance com
menced with the amiable and accomplished Countess of Hert
ford, celebrated for her literary acquirements and fervent
piety. This lady, the friend of Mrs. RoAve, and the patron of
the poet Thomson, was the daughter of the Hon. Mr. Thynne,
brother to Viscount Weymouth. She married Algernon, Earl
of Hertford, son of Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset, Avho,
uniting in his oavu person the blood and the possessions of the
illustrious houses of Percy and Seymour, Avas, perhaps, the
greatest subject this country has ever seen by hereditary right.
He was summoned to parliament during his father's life-time
as Baron Percy, in 1722 ; was created Earl of Northumber-
Ff

442 LIFE AND TIMES
land and Earl of Egremont, each Avith a special limitation,
and became Duke of Somerset upon his father's demise, Dec. 2;
1748. He died Feb. 9, 1750, when the titles of Earl of Hert
ford, and Baron Beauchamp of Hache, and Seymour of Trou-
bridge, became extinct. His lady survived him, and died
July 7, 1754. She appears to have possessed an elegant and
cultivated mind, and to have gladly exchanged courtly splen
dour for her favourite literary pursuits and devotional exercises.
Thomson thus apostrophises her in his Spring :
" O Hertford, fitted or to shine in courts
With unaffected grace, or walk the plain,
With innocence and meditation join'd
In soft assemblage, listen to my song,
Which thy own season paints, when nature all
Is blooming and benevolent, like thee."
In a collection of letters, published by Mr. Hull in tAvo vo
lumes, from distinguished persons, there are eleven written by
the countess. Mr. Shenstone justly says in the preface, that
" there are discernable in them a perfect rectitude of heart,
delicacy of sentiment, and a truly classic ease and elegance of
style." The correspondence of Watts Avith this lady, illustri
ous by birth, by native talent, by elegant acquirements, and
unaffected piety, cannot noAv be recovered ; but many of her
letters to him are inserted in this volume from Dr. Gibbons,
Avith additions furnished from other sources. Those Avritten
at the close of life are tinged with melancholy, OAving to the
death of her only son at Bologna. The countess never reco
vered the stroke given to her health and spirits by that event ;
her time, chiefly spent Avith her daughter in the halls and
castles of the Percys, was devoted to retirement and prayer ;
affording the gay Avorld an example, how the mind loathes its
vanities under the pressure of earthly calamity.
Besides the accession of so valuable a friend as the countess,
the acquaintance which had commenced between Dr. Watts

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 443
and Doddridge, through corresponding about the academy,
was ripening into a firm and intimate attachment. Writing
to Mrs. Owen, at whose house the latter met Avith tbe lady
aftenvards his wife, he makes the doctor one of his referees,
as to his character and prospects. But Avhilst these eminent
men Avere thus cultivating that intercourse, so valued by both
in after-life, two individuals Avere removed, whose loss Watts
sincerely and deeply lamented. The one was Mr. Samuel
Harvey, the assistant minister at Crutched-Fryars, to Avhose
" pious memory" he dedicates an epitaph in his Miscellanies ;*
and the other was Mr. Edward Broadhurst of Birmingham!,
to whose " marble" he Avas called to contribute an inscription.

FROM SIR GILBERT ELIOTT, BART.
" London, Jan. 21, 1726.
"Reverend Sir,
"My wife was favoured with yours of the 14th
instant. I return a thousand thanks for the obliging expres
sions of your concern for us, and particularly for your Chris
tian sympathy in comforting my wife upon the melancholy
occasion of my terrible misfortune and greatest unbappiness.
I took the first opportunity I could to kiss your hands, grati
tude and inclination equally engaging me to it. I propose
to wait upon you when you come to town. In the mean
time, give me leave to put you in mind of the request I made
you some time since, about a catechism of natural religion,
Avhich is a subject untouched, and Avould be, I am persuaded,
of singular use. I must tell you what brought this to my
memory : I Avas reading the other day in the fourth volume
of Monsieur Saurin's Sermons, ' Sur les travers de I'esprit
•Miscell. No. 70.
f A very valuable minister and tutor, born in Derbyshire, and removed by death
in the 39th year of his age. July 21, 173a Miscell. No. 70.

444 LIFE AND T1MKS
Hiimain,' page 338; these are his Avords: ' Combien peu y
en a-t-il qui aient Vart et mime temps F intention de propor-
tionner lafoides enfans a leur dge, n' exigeant qu'ils ne croisent
a I'dge de dix ans que ce qu'ils peuvent concevoir & cet dge-la,
et qu'ils ne croient a I'dge de quinze ce qu'ils peuvent concevoir
a I'dge de quinze, et ainsi du reste? Combien peu de Cat6-
chismes, ou cette gradation d'annies et de capacity soit observSe,
et ou Von ne propose d'abord les viriUs les plus abstruses du
Chrisiianisme V I hope this was a happy providence, direct
ing me to address you as the gentleman in the world that I
believe, Avithout flattery, to be most capable of so necessary
and useful a Avork. I hope for a favourable ansAver, and
should be glad to know Avhen you come to town.
" My most humble service attends my lady Abney, Mrs.
Gunston, and the young ladies. I am with most sincere
esteem, Reverend Sir, your most affectionate humble servant,
" GILB. ELIOTT."
TO MRS. ROSEWELL.*
" Madam, " When you peruse the Sermons on Death, guard
your heart from too painful impressions: I Avould not open
the wounds that have been made, but attempt to pour the
balm of the gpspel into them. You will find something in the
eleventh discourse borrowed from the dying bed of my depart
ed friend and brother. It may pain you a little, but I trust it
Ayill please you more. May all grace be Avith you and yours
here and hereafter.
" I am, Madam, " Your most obedient servant,
" I. WATTS.
" March 6, 1726."
* With a copy of the third volume of Sermons.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 445
FROM MR. ROBERT PORTER* " Oct. 29, 1726.
" Sir, " When I took leave of you in England, I had no
small honour done me in being desired to Avrite to Mr. Watts.
" I have seen but very little of Holland, and, consequently,
am capable of giving but a very little account of the country ;
and, indeed, there are not a great number of things observable
in the Provinces. I was much pleased at Delft Avith the mag
nificent tomb of William Maurice, Prince of Orange, Avhich
really is no common monument: this I think Misson has
given an account of. What they have erected for Van Trompe
has likewise in it a great deal of propriety to the subject of it.
I cannot help taking notice here of the absurdity of Sir
Cloudesley Shovel's in Westminster Abbey, who is figured in
an easy careless posture like a beau ; Avhereas Trompe, oh the
contrary, liesAvith his head upon a cannon. Thestadt-house
at Delft has written over the door,
* Haec domus amat, punit, conservat, honorat,
Nequitiem, pacem, scelera, jura, probos.'f
" As soon as you enter there hangs depending from the ceil
ing a tub without a bottom, decreasing gradually to the top
which is likewise open. This is put over persons who have com
mitted crimes, apd with this (their heads appearing out above)
they are condemned to walk along the streets. At Haerlem
I saw the books which the citizens say Avere first printed ; and
according to them (for Mentz is a rival in this point), Cos-
* This gentleman was a student of medicine, a member of Dr. Watts's church,
and afterwards a physician in London.
+ " This house hates vice, loves peace, swift vengeance flings
Impartial upon malefactors1 heads ;
To laws insulted timely succour brings,
And glory round the brows of Virtue sheds."

446 LIFE AND TIMES
terus, their toAvnsman, first invented this art* The house
where he lived is noAv little better than a petty stationer's.
The college of physicians have erected a statue (such as it is)
to his memory in their physic-garden, and behind upon the
pedestal are these lines :
' Costerus cirra redimitus tempora lauro
Quisquis ades, quare conspicatur, habe.
Haec propria heroum fuit olim gloria, quorum
Vel gestis Celebris vita vel arte fuit.
Invento diu gesta suo, servavit, et artes,
Quis neget hunc tantum bis meruisse Deus.'f
"This good precaution the states of Holland have, that every
night a watch is placed upon the church or stadt-house, that
he may thus overlook the town, and discover any fire that
might break out, and as a proof of his watching he is obliged
to sound a trumpet every hour. At some distance from Ley
den is a very neat pesthouse kept in that order to be ready at
an hour or two's warning, if any such calamity should hap
pen. Dr. Boerhaave has a very distinct way of teaching, but
has not an equal gaiety in his dress with an English physi
cian. He was first designed for the ministry, and has a
brother of that profession, who Avas, on the contrary, designed
* Laurence Coster — Mr. Konig, a member of the Dutch Society of Sciences,has
devoted much time and industry to prove, that the first attempts were made by
Coster about the year 1 420. The books referred to are kept in the Stadthouse.
t " See Coster here with laurels deck'd,
Ask you the cause of such respect ?
If thus of old their heads were crown'd,
For bold heroic deeds renown'd,
Or theirs who with superior mind
Disclos'd some art to bless mankind i
What power divine but will bestow
A double wreath to grace his brow,
Whose wondrous skill to deeds and arts
Eternity of fame imparts !"
Besides this monument there is a statue of him set him up in the street before
the house in which he resided; the statue is nine feet high, placed upon a pedes
tal, upon which Coster on one side is represented carving letters upon the bark of
trees, and on the other working in a printing-office.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 447
for physic ; this gentleman has an impediment in his speech,
and the people don't greatly admire him, but the doctor con
stantly, Avhen his brother preaches in the town, goes to hear
him. These trifling remarks, Sir, can give you but small
entertainment : I Avish I could have the honour to afford you
more in the remaining part of this letter.
"I wonder, amidst all the studies which employ our
thoughts, we take not more notice of those miracles which
present themselves to our vieAv in the lower rank of creation.
Were these attended to, they Avould prodigiously enlarge our
minds, and give us far more exalted ideas of the supreme
being. Perhaps it might almost puzzle Mr. Derham, Avere
the question asked, Avhether his quadrant or microscope, Avhe
ther a star or an insect, has given him greater surprise or satis
faction. But man stalks heedless and thoughtless along
amidst a Avorld of beings Avhich surround him on every
side, and because they occur frequently to his sight he takes
no regard of them. If I might be alloAved, Sir, the presump
tion of presenting you what I have frequently thought on
this subject, I would say, Ave may as rationally find footsteps
of Divinity in the most abject reptile upon the ground as in
the sun himself. How Avonderful must be the contrivance in
the legs of a scolopendra !* Hoav inexpressibly curious must
be the structure of those muscles Avhich move its unnumbered
joints ! Or to carry this still farther, how amazingly small
must the nerves be Avhich convey the spirits to actuate those
muscles in such a regular succession ! And I question not but
the limbs of every insect are composed of such constituent
parts, adapted to the nature of the creature, as ansAver to the
connexion of the bones in the human body, attended with all
the supplement of cartilages or epiphysis. All animals as
they fall below each other in the scale of existence have their
organs suitably prepared ; nor is there more Avisdom, no nor
* An insect of a veiy slender and long body, very smooth, and of a yel'owish
or reddish colour, furnished with a vast number of legs, aud having a clefted tail.

448 LIFE AND TIMES
power, evinced in the formation of an elephant than of an
Ichneumon. "It may not be unpleasing to reflect a little on the percep
tions Avith which animals seem furnished. ' And I am apt to
think a pile of building to some may appear a level plain ; nor
can I yet find sufficient reason for the contrary. There is no
difference in their velocity in ascending a brick-wall, or tra
versing the flat surface of the ground, and they Avill mount or
run down a perpendicular height with equal swiftness, intre
pidity, and unconcern.
" As to the degree of their sense of pain, it seems plain from
what I have said concerning the formation of their parts ; and
Shakspeare sure is in the right Avhen he says,

' — —  The beetle that we tread upon
In corporal sufferance feels a pang as great
As when a giant dies.'
" However, I think it barbarous to take away the life of any
animal (but Avhat Ave are necessitated to), and that from an os
tentation of the superiority of human power, especially con
sidering the short duration of time they enjoy among us is the
whole of their life, and that they have no future existence.
Mr, Locke, I remember, in his Treatise of Education, advises
parents to let their children have as many birds, squirrels, &c
as they will ; for he thinks the care they take of them will
give a tincture of humanity to their minds. And, by the way,
Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Florentine painter, could not
bear to see a bird even confined in a cage, and, as he walked
along the streets, would purchase them, and set them at li
berty. " It is observable, that the Supreme Being has given them
such perceptions as are suited to the functions of their lives,
and the different places of their residence. A bee is in its
element while hovering over a parterre, and a charnel-house
is the paradise of a toad. To some the most loathsome stench

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 449
is a perfume, and others nauseate the most grateful odour ;
it is the happiness of these to lie basking in the noon-day
sun, of those to hug themselves in dust and obscurity.
"The most trivial thing in nature may entertain a specula
tive mind with many an agreeable meditation. What wonder
ful art appears in a bird's nest ! How contemptible is the very
mention of it, and yet what great sagacity appears in its make !
Not only every species composes them of different materials,
and in a peculiar plan, but each constantly presents the same
form, and invariably keeps to one model. Mr. Addison has
observed this before me, but there are two other considerations
which fall under this head that gentleman has not noticed.
One is the strength and firmness Avith which those little
buildings (if I may so call them) are made. A piece of ar
chitecture founded on a rock is not more secure than the basis
of a bird's nest, which is so intricately interwoven with the
branches of a tree. An oak may be riven with lightning or
torn up with a hurricane before the storm shall be able to dis
lodge the nest.
" The other consideration is, they, whose young can beat
the severity of the cold, or where they would perish by being
exposed to the severity of the Aveather, accordingly provide for
their offspring. A crow brings up its little family upon the
summit of an elm, while a sparrow nurses her tender progeny
within the close recess of a house-ridge.
" The organs of sight in some can endure and take delight
in the effulgence of the sun, and others cannot bear the light ;
therefore a lark never builds in a barn, nor an oavI in a corn
field. " Is it not remarkable, that among all insects the bee and
the pismire should be so regardful of futurity, and show such
indefatigable industry in laying up their winter's provision ?
And if the entrance of an hive is guarded by proper centinels
to prevent a foreigner's admission to the community, could we
discover the passage to the subterraneous kingdom of ants,

450 LIFE AND TIMES
possibly we might find the like policy used by them, and the
same outguards posted before their separate states. Those ani
mals, whose life is determined to a short period, discover none
of this care; for in them it would not only be useless but bur
densome : or, as Mr. Cowley expresses it,
'Wisely the ant against poor winter hoards
The stock which summer's wealth affords ;
In grasshoppers, that must at autumn die,
How vain were such an industry !'
"The Supreme Being has exerted an infinite benevolence
towards every individual of his creatures, and has made the
lives of all easy and pleasant to themselves. In those Avhich
amphibiously search their food by land and water, how must
it have obstructed their flight if that element had adhered to
the feathers of water-foAvl ! Where the necessity of their
lives confines them to places Avhich must otherwise have been
destructive to them, how has their Maker sufficiently guarded
them from those injuries! 'God,' says Boerhaave, 'lest
fishes should be affected by the salt Avater Avhich surrounds
them, has placed innumerable glands in their skins Avhich
secrete an oil.' He has left no creature unguarded from and
exposed to the inclemency of the weather, but each carries
with itself "ja, sufficient shelter from the cold. Nay this, in
those of the same species, is proportioned according to the
difference of the climate they inhabit : the skin of hares is
remarkably thicker in the northern than the southern parts of
England. " I think this moral, Sir, may naturally be draAvn from
what I have mentioned. If the Supreme Being has shown
such extensive benevolence toAvards this inferior rank of his
creation, and if he has given them all satisfaction and plea
sure in their own momentary life, what unknown and superior
joy must he have reserved for man, whose existence is not
confined to time and this world, but whose duration he has

OF DR, ISAAC AVATTS. 451
designed shall measure with eternity ! And, on the contrary,
how dreadful will be the effects of his vengeance on those in
corrigible wretches Avho take no care to please him, and live,
as it were, in defiance of his wrath, when they shall have an
angered Omnipotence by Avhich to be punished, and an ever
lasting state in which to endure those punishments ! These
are but a small part of his works ; but the thunder of his power
who can understand!
" Sir, as soon as I was settled here I wrote to my mother,
to desire Mr. Price at the close of the then next succeeding
sacrament, to offer up my thanks to God for my safe arrival
here; but I find she had anticipated me herein, and, before
that letter came, had already sent to him on that account.
You will please, Sir, to present my humble service to him, in
whose and in your own prayers I beg I may be remembered,
and hope I shall ever be enabled so to behave myself, that
through me no scandal shall fall on the profession I have
made, or on the religion of my Saviour* I am, Sir,
" Your most obliged
" And most humble Servant,
"r. porter.
" Sir, you will believe me when I say I shall be glad to re
ceive a letter from Mr. Watts. If you can ever find leisure
for this, I hope it will come safe to me at Mr. John Frasen-
burgh's, upon the Long Bridge in Leyden, Holland."
TO THE REV. SAMUEL SAY.
" Dear Brother,
" I hoped to have heard some word from you ere I
sent this book, Avhich I think I promised you in my last. It
is no charge to you I presume to receive what I send this way,

452 LIFE AND TIMES
otherAvise I fear lest the gift be not Avorth the carriage. If
you think one of these manuals may be useful for your daugh
ter, I send one to her. The other is at your disposal. I
would become all to all, and even as a child to children, that
by any means I might save some. Farewell, dear brother,
and continue to love " Your affectionate friend and servant,
" I. WATTS.
" My salutations attend Mrs. Say.
" Lime-Street, in London,
"Feb. 2d. 1727."
FROM THE REV. DANIEL MAYO.*
" Kingston, Feb. 29, 1727.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" I find in your last a fresh specimen of your hum
bleness and goodness, and subscribe to your prudent advice,
and the rather, because, as I promised you, I am Avilling you
should judge what is fit for me to do in the troublesome af
fair, as a kind friend to both parties you are engaged with.
" I have herewith sent you a copy of a letter I have by this
post sent to Sir G. E., in which I have endeavoured to sup
press such thoughts as will arise when I think of the strong
temper and carriage of some persons in this whole affair ; but
* This gentleman, the son of the Rev. Richard Mayo, one of the ejected ministers,
was the pastor of a dissenting church upwards of thirty-five years at Kingston-
upon-Thames. After the death of Matthew Heury he preached at Hackney two
sabbaths in the month, where the Gravel-pit meeting-house, now occupied by Dr.
Pye Smith's congregation, was built for him. He afterwards removed to Silver-
Street, upon the decease of Mr. Jeremiah Smith, where he finished his labours,
June 13, 1733, aged 61 years. Mr. Mayo divided with the subscribing ministers
during the Salter's-Hall controversy. He was educated in Holland under the cele
brated Professor Witsius, and published daring his residence there a Latin thesis
upon miracles.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 453
perhaps you may think a word or two might yet have been
spared. Whether I should have omitted any Avords I will
not be positive, but the things intended thereby I am sure
should be thought on by him, and they will be thought on
Avith a becoming temper if he be what I gladly hope he is.
" I am, Sir, your most obliged friend and humble servant,
" DANIEL MAYO.
" P. S. I design to Avait on you in Lime-Street on Satur
day at about five o'clock." TO SIR G. E.
" Kingston, Feb. 29, 1727.
" Sir, " If you had Avritten to me yourself I should not have
delayed an answer so long as since the time I received a letter
from your son Charles : by what I read therein and hear from
other hands, it appears hoAV highly you resent some unguard
ed expressions of mine in private conversation, Avhich I am
persuaded have been represented to you. What the words
were, as I cannot exactly remember, so I am confident no one
that heard them can take upon himself to repeat upon oath ;
but this I am sure of, they did not proceed from malice in my
heart, nor were spoken Avith design* to calumniate, falsify any
person living or dead : nor do I believe any one of the hearers
(not he in particular that related them) did in the least suspect
or imagine any such thing. For this I appeal to every one
then present.
" If I had an opportunity of giving you a true and full in
formation of the Avhole matter, in the presence of the Reverend
Mr. Watts, or the Avhole company in Avhich I then was, I
believe yourself would not think my offence deserves so many
and such severe accusations and menaces as are in your son's

454 LIFE AND TIMES
letter. God and my conscience aequit me of the guilt of ma
lice and enmity, &c. Avhich I am there charged Avith ; and
upon consultation Avith the learned in the laAV, I fear no ill
consequence as to myself by any legal prosecution; which,
however, for many reasons very obvious to every body, I think
ought not to be commenced nor threatened.
"Though I cannot remember exactly the words spoken,
and never shall make any confession of particular words said
to be spoken by me, nor own such guilt as I know myself to be
(I had almost said perfectly) free from ; yet as I have at all
times, when this matter hath been mentioned, readily acknoAV-
ledged, so I now in this manner own to you, I was in the
wrong to say Avhat I said, because I impertinently talked
about what did not concern me; and I am truly sorry for
Avhat was said, especially considering how it hath been repre
sented and resented ; and so far as you are or can be justly
offended thereby, I very freely ask your pardon. I do most
sincerely wish you and all yours prosperity in this world, and
eternal happiness in the next, and remain, Sir, yours in all
good offices you will please to accept of.
" D. M."

FROM SIR GILBERT ELIOTT, BART.
" Epsom, March 4, 1727.
" Reverend Sir,
" I have your favour of the first instant, to which I
had made an immediate return, but business prevented. Mr.
Mayo has written to me, Avhich I told you I could not accept
as a reparation for the injury ; but such a letter, so void of
manners, so full of Jesuitical evasions, I should have believed
it dated from the Sorbonne, if it had been polite enough.
Since he will not make the acknowledgment before the com
pany where he uttered the slander, there is no more to be said.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 455
Forgive me, dear Sir, to appeal to you, for the healing proposal
I made in justification of my conduct, if necessity require it.
A missive apology is properly an expedient or palliative cure
in no manner equal to the present case ; and I do assure you,
I demand nothing of him but Avhat conscience and honour
Avould both oblige me to, Avas I in his situation. I cannot but
give you one passage in the Avoids of his letter : ' I freely ask
your pardon, Avhich I think, by the laws of Christ, I have as
much reason to expect to receive as give, Avhere it is needful
for me, or Avhere I am obliged to ask it.' I must observe, to
take tbe coherence and structure of his letter, it is asking par
don for nothing, a mere evasion. But if I understand the laAv
of our blessed Lord, no man can expect pardon for injury to
his neighbour, if he be capable to make full restitution in a
proper manner, and refuse to do it. I am sure I have great
reason to ask pardon of you, for the trouble and interruption I
have given on this melancholy occasion, and to return you a
thousand thanks for all your civilities and favours.
" My most respectful services ever attend my Lady Abney,
the young ladies, and Mrs. Gunston. I am,
" Reverend and dear Sir,
" Your most affectionate humble servant,
" GILB. ELIOTT."
TO MR. SAY AT IPSWICH.
"Dear Bra,
" Mr. Ashurst informed me some weeks since he saAV
you at Ipswich, and you gave him reason to expect your com
pany a day or two at Hedingham Castle when I was there.
I am arrived here this day, and hope to spend all next Aveek
there ; if your affairs permit you to fulfil your promise, I know
it will not be disagreeable to Mr. Ashurst, and I am persua-

456 LIFE AND TIMES
ded your company will be acceptable to the Lady Abney, &c.
And if you will share a bed with me for a night or two, you
Avill be a very agreeable companion to your old friend and
brother and humble servant, " I. WATTS.
" Hedingham Castle, Augt. 10th, 1727."

TO THE REV. SAMUEL SAY.
" Dear bro. Say,
" I repeat my sincere thanks for your kind visit at
Hedingham Castle. I wish your situation of affairs had not
forbid your longer stay. Distance and absence of body in this
incarnate state forbids the pleasures of conversation to intellec
tual minds that dwell in them. Writing is a relief, but still a
slow way of communication. May God keep our hearts still
pointing heavenward, where the sweetest society shall never
be interrupted by such avocations as disturb us here !
"This only tells you that I have sent last week a small
packet for you to Mrs. Porter's. When you receive it, you
will please to inform "Your most affectionate brother,
" and humble servt,
" I. WATTS.
" Sep. 12th, 1727.
" My salutations attend Mrs. Say.
FROM SIR GILBERT ELIOTT, BART.
" Epsom, Nov. 8, 1727.
" Rev. Sir,
" I proposed myself the pleasure of seeing you be
fore this, but several unexpected accidents have preventedme ;

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 457
and as I do not know when I shall enjoy so great a satisfac
tion, I take this opportunity to renew my old request, that
you would be so good and charitable as to oblige the world
with a short catechism, in a plain, easy, intelligible Avay,
adapted to the several ages and capacities of children. Give
me leave to be importunate in my request, because it would
be of great use to a society that I have some concern in. It
would look like flattery and not sincere friendship, was I to
tell you what a general and deserved applause your Avritings
meet with. Sure this is a great encouragement ; let me use
it as an argument to undertake so useful and beneficial a work,
which seems to be reserved by Providence for your happy ge
nius and extensive capacity. It was no small pleasure to hear
upon the road by Mr. Tonge of your health, which I hope
and wish you may still long enjoy to be continued as a fur
ther blessing in your day and generation. My respectful
services attend Lady Abney ; I hope she will be my advocate
in this cause, and use her interest Avith you in my favour. I
should be extremely glad to hear of your welfare, as being
with a sincere esteem, Rev. and dear Sir,
" Your most affectionate humble Servant,
"gilb. eliott."
to the rev. samuel say.
"Apl. 11th, 1728.
" Dear Sir,
" Your letter dated from Feb. 10th to March 5, af
forded me agreeable entertainment, and particularly your
notes on the 2nd psalm, in which I think I concur in senti
ment Avith you -in every line, and thank you. The epipho-
nema to the 16th psalm is also very acceptable; and in my
opinion, the Psalms ought to be translated in such a manner
for Christian worship, in order to show the hidden glories of
that divine poesy.
Gg

458 LIFE AND TIMES
" I beg leave only to query about the Sheol in Ps. 16, whether
that phrase of not seeing corruption, ought to be applied to
David at all, since Peter, Acts, ii. 31, and Paul, Acts, xiii. 36,
seem to exclude him. And though I will not say, that your
sense of the soul, i. e. the life, may answer the Hebrew man
ner of reduplication of the same thing in other words ; yet, as
David sometimes speaks of the soul as a thing distinct from
the body, Avhy may not the soul be taken so in this place, and
Sheol signify Hades, the state of the dead ?
" I am glad my little prayer-book is acceptable to you and
your daughter. I perceive you have been also (among many
others) uneasy to have no easier and plainer catechism for
children than that of the Assembly. I had a letter from Lei
cestershire the very same day Avhen I received yours on the
same subject; and long before this, a multitude of requests
have I had to set my thoughts at Avork for this purpose. I
have designed it these many years. I have laid out some
schemes for this purpose : and I would have three or four
series of catechisms as I have of prayers. I believe I shall
do it ere long if God afford health. But, dear friend, forgive
me if I cannot come into your scheme of bringing in the creed;
for 'tis in my opinion a most imperfect and immethodical
composition, and deserves no great regard, unless it be to put
it at the end of the catechism for form's sake, together Avith
the Lord's prayer and ten commandments, as is done in the
Assembly's catechism. The history of the life and death of
Christ is excessively long in so short a system ; and the design
of the death of Christ (which is the glory of Christianity) is
utterly omitted. Besides, the operations of the Spirit are not
named. The practical articles are all excluded. In short, 'tis
a very mean composure, and has nothing valuable, preetermille
annos. My ideas of these matters run in another track, which,
if ever I have the happiness to see you, may be matter of
free communica tion between us.
"lam sorry I forgot to put up the coronation ode in my

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 459
packet. I will count myself in debt till I have an occasion
to send you something more valuable along with it. Two
days (ago), I published a little essay on charity-schools, my
treatise of education groAving so much longer in my hands
than I designed. If it were worth while to send such a trifle
you should have it. In the mean time I take leave, and with
due salutations to yourself and yours,
"lam
" Your affectionate brother and servant,
"I. WATTS."
FROM PROFESSOR GREENWOOD, A.M.*
"Harvard College, Sept. 12, 1728.
"Rev. Sir, "Yours of the 10th of May last I received this
week, together with the generous present of the second
edition of your Astronomy and Geography, and your Prayer-
"Hollisian Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy in Harvard College, New
England. When tidings of Mr. Hollis's death (see page 205) reached America,
Mr. Greenwood read to the students, April 7, a philosophical discourse concerning
the mutability and changes of the material world, which he thus introduced :
" You cannot expect that I should go on in the ordinary course of my lectures
at this time, regardless of that great change that has passed upon the religious and
most generous founder thereof. I have thought it more proper to turn my thoughts
upon this mournful occasion, to the mutability and changes ofthe material world."
After treating of the resurrection of the body, and the immortality of the soul, he
remarks, "If this be so, with what comfort and hope may we survey the relics of
departed pious friends! They have ended one course of change to begin another;
they have borne their fruit iu this world, and returned to their seed that they may
spring up the sooner in another, productive of other good fruit. And, as in the
vegetable kingdom, it is with a superior pleasure and expectation that we consider
the revival of such plants as have always been distinguished by the plenty and
delipacy of their fruit ; so, with earnest desires and hopes, we should wait for the
day when we shall behold the resurrection of such as have distinguished themselves
by acts of charity and bounty. And with such expectations and hopes, nature
itself will allow me to bid a solemn farewell to the remains of that unparalleled
benefactor to this society, Thomas Hollis, Esq., who has laid the foundation of
this and other philosophical and mathematical exercises."

460 LIFE AND TIMES
book for the assistance of children. It is an undeserved
honour you do me in your correspondence, and I acknoAv-
ledge myself under the strongest obligations of gratitude and
all possible returns. Those I have shown your Prayer-book
to, are very well pleased with the design and performance ;
and some have told me, that, Avere it not that we are
suspicious of novelties, they would encourage the reprinting
of it among us. Your Astronomy and Geography is highly
worthy the esteem our students have of it, and if there are
enough in the country to be purchased, I propose this fall to
make it the vade mecum in those studies.
" Could I obtain treatises on all the mathematical sciences,
which are proper for the education of divines, written Avith
such a freedom and ease of expression, as well as perspicuity
of thought, it would exceedingly facilitate the business of
professing the mathematics, &c.
"It is our most hearty prayer that God would confirm your
health still more and more, and give an opportunity to go on
as you have so excellently done in your Logic, Geography
and Astronomy, to shoAV us Avhat studies you pursued, and in
Avhat method, in order to arrive at that perfection we admire
in your theological tracts.
" I have sent you inclosed a small book of sermons, Avhich
were preached among us upon the death of his late majesty, and
the accession of the present king to the throne, which, being
very much admired among us, I have thought they might
not be unacceptable to you. I am, Avith the utmost respect,
" Your obliged humble servant,
" ISAAC GREENWOOD.
"Please to present my humble service to the Rev. Mr.
Price, your colleague."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 461

Dr. Watts's Remarks upon the scheme of Mr. Jennings's Plan
of Education, drawn out by Doddridge, ivith the Annota
tions of the latter.
FROM A MANUSCRIPT BY DR. AVATTS.
"Upon reading the Avhole of this letter, I am sensibly
struck with the following thoughts :
" 1. How Avonderful and extraordinary a man Avas the late
Mr. John Jennings! The little acquaintance I had Avith
him made me esteem and love bim ; but my love and esteem
Avere vastly too Ioav for so sublime and elevated a character.
The world and the church know not the dimensions of that
mournful vacancy which they sustain by his death.
" 2. How necessary it is that two persons at least should be
engaged to fill up all the parts of that office, Avhich tbe
ingenious writer of this letter has made to devolve upon one.
The diversity of genius, the variety of studies, the several
intellectual, moral, and pious accomplishments, the constant
daily and hourly labours necessary to fulfil such a post, can
hardly be expected from any one person living.
" 3. Yet if there be one person capable of such a post,
perhaps it is tbe man who has so admirably described this
scheme of education ; and as he seems to have surveyed and
engrossed the Avhole comprehensive view and design, together
with its constant difficulties and accidental embarrassments,
and yet supposes it to be practicable, I am sure I can never
think of any person more likely to execute it than himself;
although if an elder person joined Avith him, for the reputation
of the matter, at least, it would be Avell. The beauties and
congruities of the scheme are so many and various, that, if I
should have made my remarks upon them, as I have done
(en passant) upon some little improbables, I must have filled
a quire instead of a sheet of paper.

462 LIFE AND TIMES
" Remarks.
"1. Why oratory once a Aveek in the second half year, and
not cultivated a little towards the end of the course, when the
pupil should be taught to preach ?*
" 2. Why not render the Greek authors into Latin, and
then into English ?f
" 3. If in the first half year popular arguments were
turned into an algebraic form, Avould it be amiss, in the
second or third half year, to turn the same into a logical
form ? %
"4. Upon the whole I cannot but think Mr. Jennings's
mode of treating logic in a strict mathematical way, is very
improper; and though I mightily approve of many things in
his third book of logic, and of the perpetual references to
various authors which the pupil may read in private, yet I
have given my best sense of the form of logic in Avhat I have
writ ten. §
" 5. I do not think so universal a contempt should be
poured on the ontological part of the old systems of logic as
some have done: human nature is ever ready to turn into
extremes. I wish there Avere a good system of ontology,
treating of its absolute and relative affections, so far as is
useful, set in a good light, and regular short method. ||
* " I think that provided for in the Lectures on the Art of Preaching referred to
the sixth or seventh half year.
f " I acknowledge it to be the best way, and intend it.
X "Whether by logical he meant syllogistic. — If it he only analytic and syn
thetic, it is what we did at Mr. Jennings's, and I am sorry that I omitted to men
tion it.
§ "It is with due deference to the superior judgment of Dr. Watts, that I still
think that Mr. Jennings's method of treating logical and ethical subjects of all
others the most proper for academical lectures. Yet I am highly sensible of the
value of the doctor's Logic, which will afford me an opportunity of enriching my
tutor's system with some of the finest references.
|| "I highly approve ofthe addition proposed ; and would earnestly entreat the
doctor to prepare a few lectures on that subject, for which I will not fail to make
room in my intended course.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 463
" 6. Though there may be some good hints lost for want of
transcribing; and yet I hardly think it necessary to copy out
every academical exercise, as it Avould fill up time Avhich
might be better employed*
" 7. One thing, I think, was very useful in the academy
where I was educated; and that Avas, that plain easy books
of practical divinity, such as Grotius de Veritate Rei. Chr.,
&c. Avere recommended to the pupils to be read in their own
closets on Saturdays, from the very beginning of their studies.
For this purpose our tutor never read lectures on Saturdays ;
and, indeed, Avhen all is done, it is a good acquaintance with
practical divinity that will make the best Christians and the
best rninisters.f
" 8. You will have many lads coming from grammar
schools ; and as many such scholars Avill not be fit to enter
upon your academical course with proper advantage, should
not the perfection of the studies of grammar, algebra, and
geometry, be the business of your first half year?J
" 9. Are the hands of enemies so effectually chained up
from offering us any violence, that they cannot indict or
prosecute you under the pretence that your academy is a
school ?"§
* "I should, therefore, incline to find out a medium, and the plain short-haud,
which is one of the first things 1 should teach, would do much to obviate the
objection. f " I acknowledge this to be a useful hint; and hope my pupils will allow some
time to practical writers every day as I have done, unless when accidentally pre
vented, for more than ten years.
X " I propose that the perfection of these studies should be the employment of
the first year.
§ " I know not how it may be iu other places, but about us I cannot discern so
much fury iu the clergy ; nor do I imagine they could make any thing of a prose
cution. It was once attempted to the shame of the undertakers, with regard to
Mr. Matthews of Mount Sorrel."
Dr. Doddridge soon had occasion to change his opinion, and to experience
something ofthe "fury" which his candour would not allow him to apprehend.
The Rev. Mr. Wills, of Kingsthorpe, a small village in his neighbourhood, full of
the divine right of kings and priests, remonstrated at his intruding within the pre-

464 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Grosvenor Street, Feb. 23, 1729.

«

Sir,

" I could not have been so long without making
my acknowledgments for the favour of your excellent and
obliging letter, had not my Lord Hertford's illness in a long
and severe fit of the gout confined me to a continual atten
dance to his chamber. He is uoav, I thank God, on the re
covery, though not yet able to Avalk without the help of
crutches. "Our human state is indeed liable to many inconvenien
ces ; we are loaded with bodily infirmities, and tormented with
passions ; but a few circling years will clear the prospect, and Ave
shall, through the grace of God, be relieved from all the pains
and sorrows which vex us here. My health has been very uncer
tain all this winter: at the beginning ofit a violent rheumatism
confined me to my bed and chamber for some Aveeks; and I am
at present very much disordered by a very severe cold, Avhich has
lasted me more than a fortnight, and is rather worse than it was
at first. My Lord and my daughter assure you of their sincere-
est regards. I am truly concerned to hear that you have been
so ill, but I hope you Avill enjoy a more confirmed state of
health for the future, that you may pass your pilgrimage here
Avith as little uneasiness as mortality will admit of.
" Governor Shute* brought me your picture, which I shall
always set a high value upon, as I shall do on every thing that
reminds me of so worthy a friend.
cincts of his parish to preach; and Chancellor Reynolds verified Dr. Watts's
anticipation, by attempting to put down his academy. An act still remained on
the statute-book respecting schoolmasters, the 13th of Charles II., which the tolera
tion act had not noticed, and a prosecution was commenced to enforce its penalties.
But, happily a member of the house of Brunswick was upon the throne, and
George II. issued a nolo prosequi for the protection of the defenceless noncon
formist. * Mr. Shute was the brother of Lord Barrington, and Governor of Massachusetts
from 1716 to 1730.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 465
" I will not trouble you any longer at present, than to beg
to be remembered in your prayers, that I may lead a life of
holiness for the few remaining years that may yet be left me.
" I am, with sincere friendship,
" Sir, your most humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."
FROM THE REV. PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D.D.
" Harborough, Nov. 8, 1729.
"Rev. Sir, "The great regard I have for your judgment, and
my confidence in your generous and most obliging friendship,
engages me to beg the favour of your advice in a very impor
tant affair, with which I am exceedingly embarrassed.
" I have now before me an unanimous and most pressing
invitation to Northampton, accompanied with all the circum
stances of seriousness, zeal, and affection, which is possible
for a plain honest people to express. You knoAV, Sir, that it
is a very large congregation, and though their sentiments be
much narrower than I could wish, which alarms some of my
wisest friends in these parts, yet I am ready to hope I might
have a comfortable settlement amongst them, and a fair pros
pect of considerable usefulness, with the blessing of God
attending my labours. They are, indeed, a people of a very
low taste as any I ever met Avith, Avhich is a circumstance I
OAvn disagreeable to me, but Avhich, if it Avere the only objec
tion, might Avell give way to the solemn arguments on the
contrary side.
"But the greatest difficulty of all, is that Avhich relates to
my scheme for academical education. I have been preparing
for the business of a tutor several years ; I am noAv entered
upon it, and find it a delight rather than a fatigue. On the
whole I have reason to believe, and it is the judgment of Mr.

466 LIFE AND TIMES
Some, Mr. Saunders, and several of my other friends in these
parts, that my designs for education are as likely to succeed
as any others Avhich I can form for the service of the church,
since my intimate acquaintance with Mr. Jennings's method
may give me advantages above others Avho are vastly my
superiors in genius and learning. Besides that, I am under
such obligations to my pupils and their friends, as Avould
make it highly indecent for me to lay aside the business till
their course be dispatched.
"The people at Northampton do indeed freely offer to
admit of my going on with this employment amongst them.
But, allowing it Avere possible to do something that Avay, it is
apparent that many great advantages must be resigned which
I am very loath to quit. The prudence of Mrs. Jennings and
her generous friendship, Avhich makes this family far more
agreeable to my pupils than any other which I could offer
them in exchange. The temper of the dissenters in these
parts, which cheerfully allows innocent freedoms, which to
such young students should not be denied. The great leisure
I have for study, while all the care of the people lies on Mr.
Some, and the countenance Avhich his name gives to my
scheme, besides the much greater and more important advan
tage I receive from his most intimate friendship and daily
conversation. While I am here I consider myself as still in
a course of education, and hope, if God spare my life to the
end of these four years, to have made some considerable
improvements in my academical scheme, aud to be in many
other respects abundantly fitter for public service than I iioav
am. If I go to Northampton, I may indeed spare a few
hours every day to read and explain Mr. Jennings's lectures
to one class at a time ; but I shall have very little opportunity
of increasing my own stock, Avhich is yet but very small. I
can never expect a flourishing academy, for provisions are
very dear there, and many other circumstances make it an
inconvenient situation for young students; and, at present,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 467
my engaging in such a variety of business, might, perhaps,
shock my constitution, and much more probably expose me
to the censure of the world, as guilty of inexcusable rashness
and arrogancy. Mr. Some and Mr. Saunders do not think it
prudent to oppose my going ; but I am confident they Avould
neither of them be thoroughly pleased Avith it. I was very
unwilling to determine the affair absolutely till ' I had con
sulted with you. I beg your speedy answer, and desire that
you would please to communicate this to Dr. Hunt, Mr. Neal,
Mr. Jennings, Mr. Jolly, Mr. Anther, and any other friend
whom you may think proper. I have just been Avriting to
Dr. Wright about it, and should be glad if you had an oppor
tunity of talking over the business with him. I beg a parti
cular remembrance in your prayers, and humbly hope that
God Avill direct me to what will be most for his glory, and the
good of his church, to the service of which I have devoted my
life, and all my little capacities and opportunities of useful
ness. I cannot conclude Avithout returning my hearty acknow
ledgments to good Dr. Watts for his many favours. I assure
you, Sir, that I have tbe most tender and respectful sense of
them, and shall rejoice in every opportunity of cultivating a
further friendship with you, as one of the greatest honours
and pleasures of my life.
"I am, Reverend Sir,
" Your most obliged humble Servant,
" P. DODDRIDGE."

468 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE SAME.
"Harborough, Nov. 22, 1729.
"Rev. Sir,
" I hope you will pardon the liberty I take of re
minding you of a letter I wrote to you a fortnight ago, to beg
the favour of your advice in the present circumstance of
my affairs. I would by no means urge you to any thing
which would be an inconvenience to you ; but as it is high
time the business should be determined, and many ill conse
quences may folloAV on keeping it longer in suspense, I ex
pect your answer with some impatience. I fear, lest in this
sickly season, some illness should have prevented your Avri-
ting. I heartily pray for the continuance of that life and
health Avhich is so important to the church and the world;
and am, Avith much greater respect than I can express,
"Reverend Sir,
" Your most obliged and affectionate Servant,
"P. DODDRIDGE.
"P. S. Mr. Joseph Saunders (brother to Mr. J. Saunders of
Kettering) and one of my pupils, is a man of so good a genius
and so excellent a character, that I conceive very delightful
hopes with regard to him. His circumstances are narrow,
and those of his excellent brother are at present much per
plexed. His coming to me has prevented his having an ex
hibition from either of the funds, Avhich makes me the more
solicitous to do him Avhat service I can, by recommending
him to my friends. If it lies in your way, Sir, to give any
assistance towards his education, I should take it as a parti
cular favour, and I hope you would have a great deal of reason
to be thoroughly satisfied in having chosen a very Avorthy ob
ject of regard."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 469
FROM THE HON. JONATHAN BELCHER*
" Whitehall, Jan. 8, 1730.
" Reverend Sir,
"I believe you will find among your last year's
New-England letters, one that came by me from my esteemed
friend the Rev. Mr. Colman ; and I think, sometime in April
last, I had the pleasure of waiting on you at my Lady Abney's,
and aftenvards of seeing you at Tunbridge, since which I had
promised myself the satisfaction of a more particular personal
acquaintance with Dr. Watts; but the sovereign God (in
whose hands our times are) having lately confined you at
Theobalds, and called me to an affair of life that engrosses
much of my time to be in readiness to look homeward early
in the spring ; I say, these things have debarred me of that
satisfaction and happiness I have so much desired. In New
England I have often regaled myself with your ingenious
pieces, and I can assure you (Avithout a compliment) all Dr.
Watts's works are had in great esteem and honour amongst
us. It Avas with uncommon concern I observed your weak
tender state of health the last Lord's day ; and although, as
you very excellently set forth to us, ' that the God of Nature
can make new vessels, and the God of Grace can fill them with
* Mr. Belcher was appointed Governor of New Englaudin 1730, and continued in
that station until the year 1 740. He was a native of the Massachusetts, where his
father was a wealthy merchant. After an academical education in his own country,
he came over to Europe, was twice at Hanover, and was introduced to the court
there when the Princess Sophia was the presumptive heiress^ to the British crown.
The gracefulness of his person, his talents, and property, procured him considerable
notice. He lived in great state, was hospitable, fond of splendid equipages, and
of an aspiring turn of mind. In his government he was a stickler for the preroga
tive of the crown ; and, in the estimation ofthe people, was indifferent to the liber
ties of the subject. He was accused of being attached to the episcopal clergy, and
of conspiring with them against the congregational interest in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire. His high spirit, his want of suavity of manner, procured him
many enemies ; and the charge, as it was made by anonymous parties, was proba
bly without any foundation.

470 LIFE AND TIMES
treasure, and although the apostle tells us we have this trea
sure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may
be of God, yet Christ's ministers are the salt ofthe earth, and
how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things ! And when
Christ fills his vessels Avith precious treasures, and makes his
ministers burning and shining lights, God's people will sorrow
most of all to hear the ministers tell them, they fear they shall
see their faces no more.' But I hope it may stand with the
holy will of God to restore and confirm your health, that his
church may have Dr. Watts long in store, still to go on, by
the grace and assistance of your ascended Lord, in multiply
ing the seals of your ministry to his honour and glory, and
the eternal happiness of those whom you shall turn from the
error of their ways ; and then those sons and daughters you
have here begotten in Christ, will serve as sparkling gems, to
give lustre to that crown of righteousness which God, the
righteous Judge, will fix on your head in the great day of his
appearance. Amen. God grant it may be so !
"And now, Sir, since it has pleased the all-wise God (in
his providence) to remove me from one ordination of life to
another, and to a station Avhere I must stand in a glaring
light, exposed to the view of the Avhole world, and every one
Avill think himself entitled to be my censor morum, to subject
my words and actions to his ill-natured cavils and criticisms ;
I am sensible, great is the burthen and duty of the place with
which the king has honoured me. I, therefore, desire you to
join with me, while I boAV my knees to the God of all grace
and wisdom, that he would give me a Avise and understanding
heart, to discern between good and bad, and to knoAV bow to
go out and in before his people. Every day fills my soul Avith
care and solicitude, that I may discharge my trust to the
honour of God, the good of his people, and my own comfort
and credit. When I consider how ungratefully and unprofit-
ably I have lived to God and man, it is with shame that I tell

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 471
you, I am this day entered into the forty-ninth year of my age.
My days are swifter than a post, and short (perhaps very short)
the race I have to run : may I then double my diligence for the
honour and service of God and man, and so as may most of all
promote my OAvn eternal happiness.
" You will pardon me for the freedom I have taken with a
gentleman, more a stranger than I could wish, and believe me
to be, with great esteem and respect, Reverend Sir,
" Your most obedient and humble servant,
" JONA. BELCHER.
" P. S. My service to the Rev. Mr. Price."

472 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XIII.
1731—1736.
STATE OF DISSENTERS.

THE FIRST NONCONFORMISTS:— DECLENSION OF THEIR SUCCESSORS.—
METROPOLITAN DISSENTERS.— THE "INQUIRY" BY STRICKLAND
GOUGH.-DODDRIDGE'S "FREE THOUGHTS."— STATE OF NORTHAMP-
TONSHIRE.-THE "HUMBLE ATTEMPT" TOWARDS REVIVAL-CONTRO
VERSY BETWEEN WHITE AND TOWGOOD. — THE "STRENGTH AND
WEAKNESS OF HUMAN REASON."— " PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS." —
REMARKS OF DR. JOHNSON.— DEATH OF MISS ABNEY.— VISITED BY
DODDRIDGE.— HOPKINS'S BENEFACTION.— MR. COWARD.— BURY-STREET
LECTURE :— NEAL'S PREFACE:— SERMON ON BAPTISM.— NORFOLK CON
TROVERSY.— LETTER FROM DR. GIBBONS.— COWARD'S ACADEMY.—
"'RELIQULE JUVENILES."— THE "REDEEMER AND SANCTIFIER."— CON
NEXION WITH THE "GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE."-CORRESPONDENCE.

We have now advanced midway into Avhat may be called
the second age of nonconformity. Seventy years had elapsed
since its founders began to assert its principles, and to suffer
for its sake. The cause they espoused in their day widely
extended itself ; the bush which the flame could not consume
covered the land Avith its offshoots ; and whatever remained of
the piety of the first reformers, Avas found in the bosom of
their churches. But religion did not flourish among them
under a tolerant government with the same vigour, as when
" troubled on every side" by the executives of despotic power.
The unfavourable change which commenced soon after the
" fathers fell asleep," has been already noticed ; their doctri
nal views were, in many instances, abandoned by their de-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 473
scendants ; and as the truth departed from the pulpit, its vital
and practical influence disappeared from the people. The
first nonconformists were Calvinists in sentiment ; they zea
lously testified against the semi-pelagianism Avhich had crept
into the establishment ; and Avith a fervour and laboriousness
Avortby of apostolic times, preached " Christ Jesus the Lord."
A more palatable creed was craved after by those of their suc
cessors, Avhom education merely had made dissenters ; and it
is remarkable, that those who departed from the faith, with
scarcely one exception, pursued the same track. Arminianism,
Avhich, under the poAverful advocacy of the Wesleys, Avon its
tens of thousands of converts, Avas the first step of congrega
tional decline ; the second stage Avas Arianism ; and the third
andfinal lapse was into Socinianism. The consequences of this
apostacy Avere soon apparent in empty meeting-houses, and
wholly extinguished interests ; the error carried the chill of
death along the path it travelled ; but happily it Avas confined
to the Presbyterians and Baptists, and did not extend its ra
vages to the Independents. The latter body remained unin
fected with theneAv theology, and though a spiritual lethargy
had fastened upon some of the churches, there Avere many
flourishing amid surrounding barrenness and decay. In the
metropolis the number of places of Avorship belonging to the
Presbyterians and Independents, amounted in 1 695 to fifty-
seven ; in 1730 there Avere fifty-eight, but many of these had
been enlarged, so as to accommodate about four thousand
additional hearers. It is estimated that the inhabitants of the
city had increased one-sixth part during this period ; so that
in proportion to the population, the dissenters bad positively
retrograded. The unsatisfactory state of the dissenting interest, elicited
considerable inquiry as to the causes of its decline ; many
mourned in secret over the melancholy fact ; others attempted
to point out the means of revival from the press. In the year
1730 Mr. Strickland Gough, a young minister who afterwards
h h

474 LIFE AND TIMES
conformed, published a pamphlet, entitled " An Inquiry into
the Causes of the Decay," &c. ; but unevangelical himself in
his views, he overlooks the true source of the evil, and con
tends for an external reformation, without touching the seat of
the disease. An anonymous author appeared in answer to
Mr. Gough in a small treatise, entitled " Free thoughts on the
most probable means of reviving the dissenting interest, occa
sioned by a late inquiry into the causes of the decay" — after-
Avards ascertained to be the first production of Doddridge's
pen. His intelligent mind and evangelical spirit at once
perceived the reason why religion drooped in the localities
Mr. Gough pointed out — the apathy of the ministry in some
instances, and their lamentable theological errors in others ;
and he expresses his conviction, that nothing but the plain,
experimental, and affectionate proclamation of the doctrines
of the gospel, can preserve a congregation from decay, or re
vive it in decline. It was only, hoAvever, in particular dis
tricts, that decreased numbers and diminished spirituality
appeared : of one of the midland counties, Northamptonshire,
Doddridge testifies, " I know that in many of the congrega
tions the number of dissenters is greatly increased within
these twenty years ; and the interest continues so to flourish,
that I am confident some of our honest people, Avho converse
only in their own neighbourhood, will be surprised to hear of
an inquiry into the causes of its decay." It Avas chiefly in
London and in the West of England that Arianism found an
entrance : but as the irruption of a tempest is often narrow in
its span, while it is lengthened in its course; so Avas it with
the inroad of heresy, and numerous and flourishing commu
nities existed on either hand of its line of desolation.
The Independent churches could boast a goodly number of
faithful ministers, who laboured zealously for the advance
ment of true religion, witnessed with painful anxiety the
signs of deterioration, and applied themselves from the pulpit
and the press, to " strengthen the things that were ready to

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 475
die." The excellent Mr. Some of Harborough published a
sermon with this design in 1730; and in March, in the fol
lowing year, Dr. Watts sent forth his "Humble Attempt
tOAvards the revival of practical religion among Christians."
This treatise is divided into two parts : an address to ministers,
founded on Col. iv. 17, "Take heed to the ministry which
thou hast received;" and an address to the people, from
Matt. v. 57, "What do ye more than others." The former
part was drawn up for the ordination of Mr. John Oakes,
over the church at Cheshunt, November 12, 1729 ; but being
prevented by illness from attending, he Avas requested to
publish what he had intended to deliver : the latter part is the
substance of several sermons preached at Bury Street. This
publication obtained an unexpected notoriety, as it originated
an able controversy upon the principles of nonconformity. In
exhorting the dissenting body to increased purity of life and
more active exertion, Dr. Watts assumed the fact, that they
were favoured with superior advantages, for the cultivation of
personal religion, than the members of the establishment —
that they were not so much in danger of substituting the out
ward forms of religion for the power — that they Avere freed
from the inventions of men and the imposition of human
ceremonies in divine worship — that they were not confined
to a perpetual repetition of set forms of prayer — that they
had the choice of their own ministers — that the communion
of their churches was kept more pure and free from the ad
mission of scandalous and unworthy members — and from
these considerations he argues their obligation to improve
ment in proportion to their privileges. Though the writer had
no design whatever to provoke a controversy ; though his aim
was rather to expose the failings of his own denomination,
than those of the dominant hierarchy ; yet, as the positions
which he assumed involved all the main points at issue be
tween the dissenters and the establishment, it Avas hardly to
be expected that they would be suffered to pass current

476 LIFE AND TIMES
in silence. A champion for the national church appeared in
the person of the Rev. John White, B. D. felloAV of St. John's
college, Cambridge, and vicar of Ospring in Kent, who
published "Letters to a Gentleman dissenting from the
Church of England." In his first letter he asserts the
superiority of his own communion to any scheme of dissent;
and in the two succeeding ones, assails, Avith some asperity,
those who seceded from it. Dr. Watts does not appear to
have taken any notice of his opponent; but Micaiah
ToAA'good, a minister in the West of England, accepted the
challenge he gave, and produced "The dissenting Gentle
man's Letter to Mr. White." It is foreign to our present
purpose to trace the history of this controversy ; several pieces
appeared on both sides ; but the vicar Avas plainly no match
for the Exeter pastor. Though Towgood was one of those
Avho departed from the doctrinal sentiments of the first
nonconformists, yet he explains the principles and vindicates
the reasons of their secession Avith great ability; his wit,
his acuteness, his pungent reasoning Avill always please ; and
his volume is still read with interest, Avhilst the Avork of his
antagonist has sunk into oblivion.
Dr. Watts, though never in the possession of robust health,
Avas now enjoying an interval of comparative vigour, one of
the few bright and sunny periods that mark his often clouded
career. Besides engaging in arduous literary employment at
home, he Avas able to attend to his pastoral duties abroad, and
the strength Avith Avhich he was favoured was carefully
expended for his people's benefit. He appears to have
occupied his pulpit regularly during the year 1731, and in
April and December he preached the sermons forming the
first part of the " Evangelical Discourses." His indefatigable
mind was next employed on the deistical controversy; and
in the same year that produced the attempt to rouse the
dissenters from their lethargy, his Avork on "The Strength
and Weakness of Human Reason," appeared anonymously.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 477
This important topic is argued at considerable length, in
conversation at four conferences, between Logisto, an inquir
ing deist, Pithander, a Christian, with Sophronius, as
moderator. " If," as Dr. Johnson remarks, " the writer is
unhappy in coining names expressive of his characters, he
manages the discussion with his usual ability and tact." The
sufficiency of the light of nature, in the discovery of truth
and the search after happiness, Avas loudly asserted by the
philosophical oracles of the time; the volume of inspiration
Avas thrown aside as a complete work of supererogation ; and
the proper cultivation of the intellectual faculty, maintained
to be alone requisite to meet all the exigencies of man. In
opposition to these views, the necessity of a divine revelation
is ably argued and satisfactorily proved in Watts's treatise;
deism is chased through its various subterfuges; and reason
shown, from the history of human opinion, to be a weak and
erring faculty, utterly inadequate to find out the mind of the
Most High, and ascertain the knoAvledge of his will. We
have the page of history, to which the appeal can be made,
to ascertain what the unaided powers of the human mind
have been able to discover of moral and religious truth. The
possession of the greatest talents has been no security from
the grossest errors ; though endowed with the most transcen-
dant mental qualities, men have still remained perplexed
with doubt, involved in uncertainty, and degraded by super
stition. Many among the Avisest of the ancients made not
even the remotest approximation to some of the most
important truths recognized now by natural religion; they
Avere deluded with the most trifling fancies ; and Avasted their
"strength" upon "that Avhich profiteth not." And yet the
masters of the Grove, the Portico, and the Lyceum, were not
inferior in intellectual ability to the mighty names of
Cud worth, Clarke, Cumberland, Wilkins, and Wollaston;
they had the same natural phenomena to behold, and the
same providential administration to reason from; and their

478 LIFE AND TIMES
argumentative powers were disciplined by the same processes
of mathematical and dialectic science. Modern philosophers
indeed, professedly following the same guide, throAving aside
the volume of revelation, have pretended to surpass them in
moral and religious discovery ; but it has not been OAving to
their superior mental vigour, but because of the intervening
communications of divine truth ; their best views have
emanated from the fountain of scripture; the light that
breaks forth in their works is a reflection from the lamp
of inspiration. It has been objected to Watts's work, that he
has made his deist a feeble reasoner, that he is too soon and
too easily convinced by his antagonist, and pays too much
deference to the opinions of the moderator; but the argu
ments of Logisto are carefully selected from the leading
writers on the deistical side, and he does not yield the victory
to his opponent, but at the point Avhere legitimate controversy
ends and sophistical cavil commences.
A production of a different character, the "Philosophical
Essays," with the " Scheme of Ontology," Avas published in
June, 1732. Some of these metaphysical disquisitions are
evidently founded upon the doctrines of Des Cartes, Avhose
Principia Dr. Watts attentively read whilst a student in the
academy. He Avas in early life a disciple of the fanciful, yet
ingenious French philosopher, adopting and expanding his
doctrine of spirits, but resigning his system of the material
world at the feet of Newton. The reputation of Des Cartes is
sullied by the charge of constructing the ground-Avork of
modern scepticism, though certainly undesignedly on his part ;
but lo him the honour in some degree belongs, of pointing
out the road to true philosophy by reason and experiment —
a path which Gassendus, Bacon, and Boyle, soon aftenvards
so successfully pursued. It has been observed by Mr. Dyer,
that Dr. Watts, in his first essay, confounds the idea of space
with that of empty space; and does not consider, that though
space might be without matter, yet matter being extended,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 479
cannot be without space. In the third essay concerning the
origin of our perceptions and ideas, he notices the strange
opinion of Malebranche,* Avhose mystical philosophy it is
difficult to understand, that we see all our ideas in God ; and
explains at length the Cartesian doctrine, which has been
embraced by Locke and most modern metaphysicians. This
theory supposes, that our ideas originate in sensation and
reflection, to which Watts adds, rather needlessly, a third
source, viz. abstraction ; for as he grants that the materials
of the latter are derived from the two former, it cannot properly
be reckoned a third primary source. Some Avriters, as Brown,f
maintain that we have all our ideas from sensation ; and this
must be admitted, if his definition of the word idea is correct,
which he supposes a representation of some sensible object
laid up in the imagination. The fourth essay is on innate
ideas : and here the masterly reasoning of Locke is followed,
but cautiously guarded, it being granted that there are certain
circumstances, in which it is impossible for the mind to avoid
receiving certain ideas, and assenting to certain propositions,
the necessary consequence of its constitution — a position
which Locke himself seems to admit, under the name of
innate practical principles. Though an ardent admirer, Dr.
Watts was not a servile follower of the great modern philoso
pher : indeed, one design of the philosophical essays is, to
point out his fallacies, correct his mistakes, and guard the
unAvary against the errors into which they might be led by a
blind deference to his authority. In the inquiry, Avhether the
soul always thinks,J he takes the affirmative side of the ques
tion, in opposition to him ; and, by a train of beautiful and
conclusive reasoning, confutes a notion which would go far to
destroy the lofty distinction betAveen mind and matter.
Locke's notion as to the principium inviduationk, that perso-
*La Recherche de la Verite, lib. iii. part ii. c. vi.
•(•Brown's Procedure of the Understanding, p. 55, &c.
X Essay 5.

480 LIFE AND TIMES
nal identity consists in a continued consciousness of the same
actions, and not as Watts defines it, in the same intelligent
substance or conscious mind, the same soul united to the Same
body, is ably combated.* But the charm of these philoso-
phemes is, the lessons of practical piety Avhich they inculcate,
and the modest spirit in Avhich they are conducted. " Every
art," says he, "puzzles my reasonings and baffles all my
science." His disquisitions have all of them an important
moral ; he finds some truth to humble and instruct in his
most severe and abstruse inquiries ; and culls many a flower
from the barren fields of metaphysical speculation. Justly
does Dr. Johnson remark, " Whatever he took in hand Avas,
by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to theology. As
piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused over his works :
under his direction it may be truly said, theolOgiee philosophia
ancillatur, philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruc
tion; it is difficult to read a page Avithout learning, or, at
least, wishing to be better. The attention is caught by indi
rect instruction ; and he that sat down only to reason, is on a
sudden compelled to pray."
On the 2nd of April, 1732, Dr. Watts preached a funeral ser
mon for Miss Sarah Abney, the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas,
who died March 20th, Avhich he wrote out in manuscript, and
presented to the sorrowing mother and the two surviving sisters.
Of this young lady he gives a high character : — " Religion
was her early care, a fear to offend God possessed and govern
ed her thoughts and actions from her childhood, and heavenly
things were her youthful choice. She had appeared for some
years in the public profession of Christianity, and maintained
the practice of godliness in the church and the world ; but it
began much more early in secret. Her beloved closet and her
retiring hours were silent witnesses of her daily converse with
God and her Saviour." Among her papers were found recollec
tions ofthe sermons she had heard, and a journal of her religious
* Essay 12.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 481
experience. She was attacked by malignant fever, accompa
nied with delirium, but previous to her decease she had many
lucid intervals, in Avhich she humbly yet confidently expressed
her trust in Christ and hope of heaven. Part of the 139th
psalm Avas frequently repeated by her, and the paraphrase of
the 17th faltered from her lips just before they were closed by
death. During the summer of 1733 Dr. Watts was with the Abney
family at Theobalds, where in July he Avas favoured with the
company of Dr. Doddridge. In the correspondence of the
latter the folloAving notices of this visit occur : — " I go this
evening to Theobalds by Lady Abney's invitation." — " Pray
tell Mrs. Tingey that I have spoken to Dr. Watts on her ac
count, who unhappily forgot her case, though I had given it
in writing ; but he hopes to have an opportunity of introduc
ing it before all the legacy is distributed, and faithfully pro
mises he will do it if he can." — "I have been at Theobalds,
where Dr. Watts and the family are very well." The legacy
here referred to, was probably that of the " dying Hopkins"
whom Pope satirised,* in the distribution of which Dr. Watts
had a share. The " Gentleman's Magazine," which Avas
then commencing, has preserved the folloAving memorial of
this benefaction: — "April 25th, 1732, John Hopkins, Esq.,
died, at his house in Broad-street, worth £.300,000, bequeath
ing £.500 to be distributed by Dr. Calamy, Dr. Watts, Dr.
Evans, and Dr. Wright, to poor widows of dissenting minis
ters ; and £.1,000 to poor dissenting ministers in the country,
not exceeding £.10 each."t There was also a bequest of
£.100, to repair the Avail of and make a gateway to the
burial-place of the dissenters, near Sherbourne, Dorset.
Mrs. Tingey, for Avhose case Doddridge solicited the interest
of his friend, Avas the Avidow of the Rev. Thos. Tingey, his
predecessor at Northampton, afterwards pastor of the church
* Mor. Ess. iii. S5. t Gent. Mag. ii. 725.

482 LIFE AND TIMES
in Fetter Lane, a man of "uniform piety," cut off in the
vigour of life, in the year 1729.*
Among the influential lay dissenters in the metropolis at
this period, was William Coward, Esq., with whom Dr. Watts
Avas brought into frequent intercourse. This gentleman had
been a merchant in the city, but was then living in retirement
at Walthamstow. Tenacious of his OAvn opinions, and singu
lar in his habits, it is said that he would never allow the door
of his mansion to be opened to any visitor, hoAvever pressing
the emergency, after eight o'clock in the evening; but his
eccentricities, and they Avere neither few nor slight, were
counterbalanced by his sterling virtues. With unwearied as
siduity he assisted the metropolitan and country ministers in
their benevolent exertions ; his enterprising spirit led him to
design and promote various plans of usefulness ; and his
princely fortune was liberally expended in supporting the
interests of religion. A course of sermons Avas preached at the
Bury-street meeting-house, in the year 1733, at his request
and under his patronage. The ministers employed in the
service were Dr. Watts, Dr. John Guyse, Dr. David Jen
nings, Mr. Price, Mr. Neal, and Mr. Hubbard. These ser
mons were intended to be printed at the termination of the
course ; and accordingly they appeared in two volumes, in the
year 1735, under the title of " Faith and Practice, represented
in fifty-four sermons on the principal heads of the Christian
Religion." Nine of the discourses in this collection are by
Dr. Watts : the preface and the dedication are from the pen of
Mr. Neal, who stipulated in his agreement with Mr. Coward,
that this task should be committed to him. He observes,
with reference to himself and colleagues, "We are conscious
to ourselves, that our aim has not been to seek our own ho
nour or interest, nor to flatter the humours and gratify the
passions of any of the divided parties of Christians ; but to
teach the plain doctrines of our divine religion as we receive
* Ridgley's Sermon on his death.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 483
them from the bible, and to exhort mankind to the zealous
practice of piety, virtue, and goodness, upon evangelical
principles." Of the merit of these lectures Dr. Doddridge
has observed, " I cannot recollect where I have seen a set of
important thoughts on such various and weighty subjects
more judiciously selected, more accurately digested, more
closely compacted, more accurately expressed, or in a few
words more powerfully enforced, than I have generally found
in these sermons." This work rapidly passed through several
editions, confinning the justness of the encomium; the repu
tation of its authors as scholars and theologians, was a suffi
cient guarantee for its excellence and orthodoxy; and it is
still deservedly esteemed as a compendium of sound doctrinal
and practical divinity. In its adaptation to the errors of the
times, it was peculiarly valuable; establishing the divine
origin of Christianity against the bold aggressions of infidel
philosophy — expounding its fundamental truths to the over
throw of Socinian hypotheses — and asserting its practical
tendency in opposition to the licentious perversions of Antino-
mian delusion.
The sermon on " Christian Baptism," in the Bury-street
collection, contains a candid statement of the sentiments of
the denomination to which Dr. Watts belonged, as to the
proper subjects for that ordinance, and the mode of its admi
nistration. But certain zealots for immersion, eager to plead
the authority of a name so distinguished, have given a most
unfair interpretation to some paragraphs in the discourse.
Mr. Ivimey also, the highly respected historian of the English
Baptists,* appears inclined to claim him as a proselyte ; for he
observes, that " he was not very zealous for sprinkling," nor
" remarkably tenacious for infants being the proper subjects of
baptism." Dr. Watts's views upon this controverted subject
will be best explained in his own words : " The Greek word
* Ivimey. Hist, of Eng. Baptists, iii. p. 224. note

484 LIFE AND TIMES
' baptizo' signifies to ' wash' any thing properly by water
coming over it." After mentioning what " learned men have
argued" in proof of this assertion, he pleads for the manifesta
tion of Christian charity among those who agree in so many
important particulars and differ only in trifles. " Our brethren
who reject infant baptism, as well as Ave who practise it, all
agree in a belief of the sacred institution of this ordinance, and
in a reverence for it; Ave all agree that children should be
devoted to God, and should be partakers of all the utmost
privileges iuto which the Scripture admits them, and that
they should grow up under all possible obligations to duty ;
and since each of us desires to find out the will of Christ, and
to practise accordingly, it is a most unreasonable thing Ave
should be angry with each other." In reply to the question,
" Who are the subjects of this ordinance of baptism, or to
Avhom is it to be administered?" he states, "The first, the
most proper, or, at least, the most evident subjects of it, are,
persons who confess their sins, and profess to repent of them,
and Avho accept of the grace and salvation offered in the gos
pel; but in the Christian church from its early ages, and Ave
think from the apostles' time, it hath been the custom also
to baptise the infant children of professed Christians; and
though there be no such express and plain commands or ex
amples of it written in the scriptures as Ave might have expect
ed, yet there are several inferences to be draAvn from what is
Avritten, Avhich afford a just and reasonable encouragement to
this practice, and guard it from the censure of superstition
and Avill-Avorship." The vieAvs of Dr. Watts Avere plainly
those of the Paedobaptists in general ; he regarded believing
adults, Avho had not been baptised before, as proper subjects
for the ordinance as well as the children of believers ; and he
Avas zealous for sprinkling, not as an exclusive mode of bap
tism, but as the mode most suitable for its ministration, Avhich
propriety and decency seem alike to suggest. In the year
1 782 several pamphlets were published upon the baptist con-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 485
troversy by the Rev. John Carter, of Mattishall in Norfolk,
and the Rev. William Richards, of Lynn. In one of his
pamphlets Mr. Richards asserted, in reference to sprinkling
not being the proper mode of baptism, that " Dr. Watts told
his friend Mr. G. [meaning Dr. Gibbons], that he wished
infant baptism was laid aside." This assertion occasioned a
letter from Dr. Gibbons to Mr. Carter, of which the following
is an extract : * "London, June 22, 1782.
"Reverend Sir,
" 1^ find it has been asserted in a publication, that
Dr. Watts declared to me (for I am said to be the person re
ferred to, though only the initial letter of my name, and not
my name at length, is printed), that he Avished ' infant baptism
Avas laid aside.' It is not a little disagreeable to me, that what
I mentioned casually in conversation, without the least appre
hension I should hear of it again in the public manner I have
done, should have come into the press, and thence communi
cated to the Avorld. But as this has been the case, it may not
be improper, nay it may have become necessary, for me to give
a plain account of the matter, which I shall do with the
strictest regard to truth, and without the least tincture of par
tiality. " The doctor and myself were one day, perhaps tAVO or
three years before his decease, in a free converse together,
when (I cannot recollect hoAv the subject was introduced) he
expressed himself to this purpose: that he had sometimes
thought of a compromise with our Baptist brethren, by their
giving up their mode of baptism, immersion, on the one side,
and our giving up the baptism of infants on the other, as he
had not observed any benefit arising from the administration
of the ordinance to them. This Avas the whole, from what I
* Ivimey. iii. 222.

486 LIFE AND TIMES
remember, the doctor said upon the point; which, in my
opinion, falls much short of a declaration from him, that he
Avished infant baptism to be laid aside." It Avould be highly
desirable, for the sake of peace and the manifestation of Chris
tian charity, if the Baptists and Independents were to merge
into one body, as there is no difference betAveen them as to
doctrine or discipline, but upon the one point of baptism : Dr.
Watts Avould, it appears, have conceded the baptism of infants,
if the other party Avould have given up the immersion of
adults ; but no reason exists, why the object should not be
effected without any such compromise, and these two poAver-
ful sections of the church be blended, each attending to its
OAvn peculiarities of observance, and tolerating one another in
love. It may be hoped, from the recent infusion of liberal
feeling into many of the Baptist churches, from the rapid
abandonment of the odious practice of close communion, that
the time is not far distant Avhen a comprehension will be ac
complished, and " Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah
shall not vex Ephraim."
Mr. CoAvard's friendship for Dr. Watts, and attachment to
the dissenting interest, have already been mentioned; and
during the year 1734, among his other labours of love, the
scheme of a college for the education of young men for the
ministry was proposed by him. The seat of this institution he
designed to have been at Walthamstow, where he resided ;
and the professorship of divinity he offered to Dr. Doddridge,
whom he warmly solicited to remove from Northampton to
take the charge. Dr. Watts Avas deeply interested in this
design ; his influence over Mr. Coward was employed to
induce him to change various parts of his scheme ; and it was
owing partly to his advice, that the property he designed for
the academy was vested in the hands of trustees. In several
instances in which large benefactions had been left by will to
the dissenting interest, tedious and expensive litigations had
been instituted by interested parties, and the designs of the

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 487
testator had been often by this means defeated. Mr. Coward
devoted upwards of tAventy thousand pounds to the benevolent
object he contemplated ; and these large funds have since been
faithfully appropriated to fulfil the Avishes of the donor. He
designed to furnish the dissenters with a learned ministry, to
supply to them in some degree the advantages of the tAvo na
tional universities, which were closed against them by intole
rant subscriptions ; he evidently Avished also to provide them
Avith an orthodox ministry, and, hence, enjoined it upon all his
lecturers, to make Christ the prominent theme of their dis
courses, and to educate the students in the principles of the
Assembly's Catechism. To give full and entire effect to his
wishes in this respect, to expend the property of the founder
in instilling those religious views and principles which he
sanctioned, has been carefully observed in the appointment of
tutors and trustees : Dr. Doddridge was the first tutor, Dr.
Watts Avas one of the first trustees. The academy was first
placed at Northampton, and after subsequent removals to
Daventry, and again to Northampton, where it was dissolved
on account of the Arianism of its tutor, it was re-established
at Wymondley, where for several years it has flourished.*
Mr. Coward died in 1738, leaving behind him this monu
ment of his benevolence, which has supplied the dissenting
churches with a number of useful ministers, and which,
under the direction of its present president, the Rev. T.
Morell, is likely to prove a still more extensive blessing.
In March 1734 a collection of early compositions was pub
lished, under the title of " Reliquiae Juveniles ; or, Miscella
neous Thoughts, in prose and verse, on natural, moral, and
divine subjects, written chiefly in younger years." This small
volume is dedicated to the Countess of Hertford, Avhose per
mission the author appears to have requested. Of this Avork,
familiar to most religious readers, it is enough to say with one
* The academy is about to be removed to London.

488 LIFE AND. TIMES
of his biographers, " many of the pieces are highly beautiful ;
some few are on literary subjects, but the far greater part
contain the effusions of piety from the lips of a man of genius.
They ought to form part of the library of every young person
of taste and seriousness."* Soon afterwards the treatise on
the " Sacrifice of Christ, and the Operations of the Spirit"
appeared, probably in 1735, as a presentation copy is ac
knowledged by Bishop Gibson in that year. This is a con
versation piece, and Avas published anonymously, with a vieAV
to recover those who had fallen into error, and to establish
those who were wavering upon these important points of the
Christian faith. Dr. Watts was grieved to see, as he re
marks, " a new sort of Christianity" published and propaga
ted, referring to the defection of his presbyterian brethren ;
some had already discarded the necessity of a Redeemer to
atone, and a Sanctifier to reneAv; and had abandoned the
peculiar truths of the gospel for the cold and cheerless dogmas
of natural religion. His treatise is, therefore, an attempt to
contend for the " faith delivered to the saints," and proclaim
ed with such success from the pulpits of the first nonconform
ists ; he states the inefficiency of human means to counteract
the evils and to meet the exigencies of the fall ; and the ne
cessity of that provision which the gospel exhibits, for the
judicial destitution of man in the atonement of Christ, and for
his moral destitution in the influence of the Holy Spirit.
At the close of this year, a correspondence commenced be
tAveen Dr. Watts and Edward Cave Esq. the proprietor,
printer, and probably the original editor of the Gentleman's
Magazine. This periodical Avhich was then in its infancy,
Avas fast rising in public estimation ; and its respectable pub
lisher, to encourage the correspondents to his miscellany, pro
posed rewards for the best poetical contributions upon certain
given subjects. The first subject proposed Avas in the year 1733,
on her Majesty's Giotto, and the poems written by the contend-
* Memoirs prefixed to practical works, 27.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 489
ing parties, were inserted in several numbers for that year, and
afterwards published in a pamphlet entitled "The Contest."
The prizes appear to have been adjudged upon this occasion by
a number of individuals selected by the editor. In the following
year the person fixed upon as the poetical arbitrator was Dr.
Watts; and he accordingly, though with some hesitation, un
dertook the office of literary judge. The subject proposed Avas
astronomy, upon which four poems Avere written. In a letter
to Mr. Cave Dr. Watts adjudged the prize Avith so much
candour and good-nature, that the poets, though proverbially
a sensitive race, cheerfully acquiesced in his decision. This
task was afterwards performed by Dr. Johnson, who remarks
in a letter to the publisher — "as to the prize poems, a back
wardness to determine their degrees of merit is not peculiar
to me. You may if you please still have what I can say ;
but I shall engage with little spirit in an affair, which I shall
hardly end to my own satisfaction, and certainly not to the
satisfaction of the parties concerned."

FROM LORD BARRINGTON.
"Becket-house, Feb. 4, 1731.
"Rev. Sir, "At last I have received the kind present* you so
long since ordered me. I have read it over, and looked over
some parts of it again ; I shall lay it in my nursery, hall, and
parlour, and keep it in my study. I think it a book that
Avill be very instructive and entertaining to people of all ages
and conditions. You know I am very much for the whole
bible's being looked through, and not one part of it only, or
even the NeAV Testament alone in prejudice of the rest. I
think you have done very good service in giving us the apo
cryphal history, as a part of the account of God's transac-
* The View of the whole Scripture History.
I i

490 LIFE AND TIMES
tions Avith his people. But, after saying this, I must own to
you I could have wished you had made your sections, especi
ally at the beginning, not barely as historical ones, but with
a vieAv to the different dispensations of God to mankind (I
mean in that part of the book before the law), though still
preserving the order of the Bible. The breaks that arise
from that consideration, are Avhat are most likely to lead us
into the true knowledge of the Bible. Without them the his
tory of the Bible Avill be little more than the amusement of
other histories. I am, Sir,
" Your very faithful humble servant,
"barrington."
from the bishop of london*
" Whitehall, April 30, 1731.
" Good Sir,
"I was solicitous to know the Avriter of a book
Avhich came to me Avith an anonymous letter, because I was
very much pleased with the performance. The reasonings are
clear and strong; and the manner of Avriting serious and
truly Christian. You judge very right of what I mean by the
insufficiency of reason to be a guide in religion ; and it is
strange, how the person who has Avritten against my Second
Letter,t should understand me in any other sense, Avhen he
knew I Avas writing against those Avho assert such a suffi
ciency of reason as renders revelation needless ; and when I
had guarded against all misconstructions, by distinguishing
between reason in a state of innocence and in a state of cor
ruption ; and took the estimate of Avhat it can do, from Avhat
in fact it has done.
"Since you are resolved that the author ofthe 'Strength and
Weakness of Human Reason' shall continue unknown, I will
*E dmund Gibson, D.D. f Second Pastoral Letter.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS.

491

punctually comply Avith your direction in that particular, till
you shall think fit to discharge me from the obligation you
have laid me under. But, in my own private judgment, I
cannot think the reasons you mention for your continuing un
known of weight enough to hinder the doing justice to your
self. "I am, Sir,
" Your assured friend and servant, "EDM. LONDON."

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD. "May 17, 1731.
"Sir, " I am afraid you will think me very ungrateful for
the favour you have done me in sending me your excellent
book;* for such I may justly call it, since I never read any thing
written with more piety, or founded upon juster principles.
If you design one for Mrs. Rowe, be so good as to send it to
me, and I will convey it to her as soon as I get to Marlborough,
Avhich I hope to do next week. I should not have been silent
thus long, but I have been of late a perfect nurse ; for the old
servant who bred me up, and whom I now look on as a
mother, was so ill about a fortnight since that she Avas given
over for many days together ; and, however it might sound to
the fashionable part of the world, I dare OAvn to you, that it
Avas a great affliction to me, and hindered me from doing
every thing but trying to contribute Avhat lay in my power
(by my care and prayers) to her recovery. As soon as she
grew a little better my Lord fell into a severe fit of the gout,
and is not yet able to set his feet to the ground, and I can
* Probably the " Humble Attempt," &c.

492 LIFE AND TIMES
seldom be long enough out of his room to write a letter : this
I hope will plead my excuse, since, Avhatever I may appear to
be, you may be assured I am in reality with the sincerest es
teem, "Your most obliged friend
"and faithful servant, "F. HERTFORD."

FROM THE REV. P. DODDRIDGE, D. D.
"May, 1731.
" Reverend Sir,
" I very Avillingly comply Avith the request of my
good friend, Mr. Hawtyn, in Avriting to you by him, as it
gives me an opportunity of introducing to your knowledge a
person very much esteemed by us in these parts, on account
of his genius, learning, piety, and conduct, and, at the same
time, of paying my respects to Dr. Watts ; with what sincere
reverence and affection I do it, I hope, Sir, I need not tell
you at large. I cannot but think, that whenever I have been
so happy as to see and converse Avith you, my countenance
must have discovered the inward pleasure that Avas diffusing
itself over my mind on such an occasion. I am deeply sensi
ble of the favour which you have done me in joining with
some other friends in recommending me as a tutor at your
board. I do not impose upon myself, my conscience witnesses
for me in the sight of God, that the hopes of usefulness, ra
ther than the prospects of any worldly advantages, have en
gaged me to undertake the work. And I persuade myself
that your prayers are sometimes concurring with mine, that
the great Author of knowledge and of grace may impart to
me all that furniture of both kinds which such a station re-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 493
quires, and may succeed my attempts for the edification of his
church and the glory of our common Lord. Till heaven is
enriched by your removal thither, I hope, Sir, to find in you
a counsellor and a friend, if God should continue my life ;
and I cannot but admire the goodness of Providence in ho
nouring me with the friendship of such a person. I can
truly say, your name was in the number of those Avhich Avere
dearest to me long before I ever saAV you. Yet since I have
knoAvn you, I cannot but find something of a more tender
pleasure in the thought of your successful various services in
the advancement of the best of causes, that of real, vital,
practical Christianity. What happened under my observa
tion a few days ago, gave me joy with regard to you, Avhich is
yet so Avarm in my mind that I hope, Sir, you will pardon my
relating the occasion of it. On Wednesday last I was preach
ing in a barn to a pretty large assembly of plain country people,
at a village a feAv miles off. After a sermon from Heb. vi. 12,
Ave sung one of your hymns (which, if I remember right, Avas
the cxl. of the second book) ; and in that part of the Worship I
had the satisfaction to observe tears in tbe eyes of several of
the auditory, and after the service was over some of them told
me that they Avere not able to sing, so deeply were their minds
affected with it, and the clerk, in particular, told me he could
hardly utter the words of it. These were most of them poor
people who work for their living. On the mention of your
name, I found they had read several of your books with great
delight, and that your Hymns and Psalms were almost their
daily entertainment. And when one of the company said,
' What if Dr. Watts should come down to Northampton ?'
another replied Avith a remarkable warmth, ' The very sight
of him Avould be like an ordinance to me.' I mention the
thing just as it was, and am persuaded it is but a familiar
natural specimen of Avhat often occurs amongst a multitude
of Christians who never saw your face. Nor do I, by any
means, intend it as a compliment to a genius capable of en-

494 LIFE AND TIMES
tertaining by the same compositions the greatest and the
meanest of mankind ; but to remind you, dear Sir, (with all
the deference and humility due to a superior character) hoAV
much you owe to Him who has honoured you as the instru
ment of such extensive service. Had Providence cast my lot
near you, I should joyfully have embraced the most frequent
opportunities of improving my understanding and warming
my heart by conversing with you, Avhich would surely have
been greatly for my advantage as a tutor, a minister, and a
Christian. As it is, I Avill omit none Avhich may fall in my
way ; and Avhen I regret it that I can enjoy no more of you
here, will comfort myself with the thoughts of that blessed
state Avhere I hope for ever to dwell Avith you, and to join with
you in sweeter and sublimer songs than you have taught the
church beloAV. It is my desire and my expectation, that
these and your other writings may be transmitted to the re
motest generations, and that thousands yet unborn may have
eternal reason to be thankful for them. And it is, I hope, a
desire animated by a higher principle than that sincere 'affec
tion, gratitude, and respect with which I am, dear and ho
noured Sir, ¦' Your most obliged, humble servant,
" P. DODDRIDGE.
" P. S. My most humble service attends Lady Abney, and
her most agreeable family, with Mr. Price, Mr. Neal, Mr.
Jennings, Mr, Anther, &c,"

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 495

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
" Marlborough,* Aug. 3, 1731.
" Sir, " I hope you have before this time heard that Mrs.
RoAve has received your book, which I took care to have safely-
delivered to her. I assure you it has been my companion in
many of my evening Avalks ; and the moderation Avith Avhich
you treat our Avay of worship, ought, in my opinions to en
gage the leading people of our church to judge Avith e.qual
candour of yours, and then methinks there would be little
cause for separation, since we all acknoAvledge one Shepherd.
The summer is almost past, and Ave have seen very little of it,
since I think Ave have scarce been able to leave off fires for
above three days together. I have a cough Avhich still hangs
upon me, but I hope air and exercise, Avith the blessing of
God, Avill soon remove it. I am Avith a very sincere esteem,
Sir, " Your most faithful friend and servant,
"F. HERTFORD.
" My Lord and my young people send their services to you.
I assure you my little boyt is grown a great proficient in
your Songs for Children, and sings them Avith great pleasure."

* At this place the Earl of Hertford had a country-seat, a large mansion com
menced by the first Duke of Somerset of the Seymour family. It occupied the site
of the ancient castle, but has since been converted into an inn. In a grotto by
the old keep Mrs. Rowe wrote her "Friendship in Death," and Thomson also com
posed here a great part of his "Seasons." The poet, however, is said to have pre
ferred the society of the Earl and his jovial companions to that ofthe Countess, and
to have left with no little reluctance the festive board and its accompaniments, for
the silent grotto and poetical inspiration.
f George Lord Viscount Beauchamp.

496 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE REV. MESSRS. HUNT, DRAKE, P. DODDRIDGE.
"Olney, Feb. 23, 1732.
"Rev. Sir, "As you have- already been informed of some cir
cumstances relating to the dissenting interest here at Olney,
and were so good as to appear ready to espouse the cause of
your friends here, we think it proper to address ourselves to
you, with this account of the present state of things amongst
them, which we desire you Avould please to communicate lo
the board, Avith our most humble service to the gentlemen
there. "We suppose it is not unknoAvn to many of them, that
most of the dissenters in this tOAvn have for some time been
extremely fond of lay preachers in the Antinomian strain, and
have entertained very strong prejudices against all the regular
ministers in these parts ; nevertheless, there are a few amongst
them who are persons of great candour and good sense, as
well as eminent piety ; these have invited us over 'to preach a
lecture here once a month, and we have each of us taken our
turns according to the advice of Dr. Watts and some other
friends in town. We have found a very numerous auditory,
and apprehend, by the most moderate calculation, it must
amount to near five hundred people. A great many of these are
churchmen, who express very high satisfaction in what they
hear; and, indeed, considering the character of the clergyman
ofthe tOAvn on the one hand, and that of many of his people on
the other, it seems probable that several of them would come
over to the dissenters if a regular minister Avere fixed here,
and some of them have not scrupled expressly to declare it.
The dissenters seem all satisfied, many of them much pleased;
and we hope a farther acquaintance with our brethren and
their labours, may remove remaining prejudices, and bring
many to a better temper : on all these accounts Ave think it a
desirable thing that the lecture should still be supported; but

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 497
the number of our practical friends here is so very small, that
it would be loo burthensome, were it to lie on them alone to
uphold it. We can truly say, Ave knoAV not any lecture to
which an exhibition is granted, Avhere the auditory is so nu
merous, and the prospects of usefulness seem more encoura
ging. Nor are Ave Avithout our hopes, that the continuance
of this lecture may be the means of fixing a regular minister
here at length, which Avould be a great satisfaction to us, as
we hope it might greatly conduce to the advancement of the
truth as it is in Jesus, and the glory of God in the salvation
of souls. One thing more we take leave to add, that though
our" preaching here has been evidently in the Calvinistical
strain, and Ave judged it prudent at our first appearance here
to declare our sentiments very freely and expressly in that re
spect, yet we do not find it has given any disgust to those of
our hearers who statedly attend at church.
" We cannot, dear Sir, conclude this address to you, without
assuring you that it is matter of abundant joy to us, that the
great Lord of the church is pleased to continue your life,
health, and extensive usefulness. We cannot express our
gratitude to you for your many important services to the
public, or our thankful sense of that friendship with which
you are pleased to honour us. We have no end in the propo
sal Ave now make, but the promoting that cause of truth and
holiness, peace and love, in which you have been so faithfully,
so warmly, and, through grace, so successfully engaged.
We promise ourselves a share in your remembrance at the
throne of grace ; and are, with sincere respect,
"Reverend and dear Sir,
" Your most obliged humble servants,
"W. HUNT,
"J. DRAKE,
"P. DODDRIDGE."

498 LIFE AND TIMES

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Whitehall, March 7, 1732.
"Good Sir,
"I thank you heartily for your late kind present;*
but, as the course of my life has led me into studies of another
kind, I am sensible I cannot profit so much by it as others
will do Avhose thoughts have been more employed in that Avay.
"It is certainly a very laudable exercise of the mind, especi
ally as you apply it throughout to the good of religion ; and
Avhat you have published will, I doubt not, be of great use to
the growing generation, by leading them into a just way of
thinking and reasoning. One thing I Avonder at, and that is,
hoAV a mind that thinks so closely, can at the same time frame
itself to that easy and familiar way, which appears in some
of your other Avritings. I commend you and your labours to
the divine care and direction, and remain Avith great truth,
"Sir, "Your very faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON." *
FROM ZABDIEL BOYLSTON, M. D.f
" Boston, N.E. Aug. 12, 1732.
" Rev. Sir,
" The repeated and undeserved favours you have
done me, have laid me under such obligations as I am at pre-
» The Logic.
+ This excellent man, one of the most eminent of the Boston physicians, was
the object of virulent persecution, on account of being the first to commence
inoculating the small-pox in that town. It was brought into the harbour by the
Saltortugas fleet, in April, 1722, and raged with awful violence for several months.

OF DR. TSAAC WATTS. 499
sent unable to discharge ; and my long silence savours so much
of ingratitude, that had I not a long indisposition of body,
viz. a convulsive asthma, which has torn me doAvn for five or
six years past, to have pleaded for me, I must have been
Avithout excuse.
" I thankfully accept the present of your extraordinary per
formances, viz. fourteen sermons on various subjects, that on
king George's death, your four catechisms, and an humble
attempt to revive religion, &c. All which, and indeed every
piece which drops from your golden pen, meet a joyful accept
ance in general from those who see them here in NeAV Eng
land as well as those at home. May your shining gifts and
graces be increased, your very valuable useful life and health
be preserved, and your pious endeavours be more and more
successful in the work of the Lord to Avhich you are called !
" Your concern to find out the donor of a handful of cran
berries sent you some years past, and the repeated acknoAv-
ledgment of so small a present, surprises me, considering
your public and extraordinary labour in studying, preaching,
writing, conversing, visiting, &c. in your Aveak state of health.
That you should regard such a trifle, or the unworthy giver, is
but agreeable to your uncommon goodness and gratitude to all.
" I am sorry I cannot at present inform you of the success
of our later, practice of inoculating the small-ppx. Although
our physicians generally came into it, at a time when they
Dr. Cotton Mather recommended the physicians to inoculate, but they all declined
it except Dr. Boylston. To show the confidence he had of success, he began with
his own children and servants. Many sober pious people were struck with horror,
and were of opinion, that if any of his patients should die he ought to be treated
as a murderer. The vnlgar were enraged to that degree, that his family were
hardly safe in the house, and he often met with affronts and insults in the streets.
The faculty convened by the justices of the peace resolved, " that the continuing
the operation among us, is likely to prove of the most dangerous consequence."
Dr. Mather's nephew, the Bev. Mr. Walter, who was privately inoculated, had a
hand grenade thrown into his house. Boylston, however, persevered in spite of all
opposition, and at the date of this letter it seems that the physicians had come over
to his views. He wrote a work, detailing the success of his practice, which was
published soon afterwards.

500 LIFE AND TIMES
found it their interest so to do, yet they have declined giving
the public an account, notAvithstanding they succeeded well
therein. However, if it may please God to restore my health,
I intend to collect their number and success, with my OAvn,
Avhich Avill amount to hundreds, and give them the public,
though it may be thought too late.
" The bearer, Mr. Joseph Baxter, is a young gentleman of
so much worth as will in my opinion recommend him to all.
He has behaved so Avell here, that we hope he may at least
meet with the common civilities abroad. He was designed
for the pulpit, and preached some years ; but the organs of
speech in him proving weak, and his voice low, about a year
past he altered his profession, and became a pupil to me, and
has been industrious and made a considerable progress in the
practice of physic and surgery, and now comes to London to
inform himself further in the cure of diseases, in order to
serve his country better at his return. I am, Rev. Sir,
" Your most humble " And most obliged servant,
" ZA. BOYLSTON."

FROM THE HON. JONATHAN BELCHER.
"Boston, Oct. 20, 1732.
"Rev. and dear Sir,
" In August last I had the favour of yours of the
fourth of May, with your lamentation on the death of that ex
cellent Christian, Mrs. Sarah Abney. God indeed in his
unerring wisdom orders every thing at the best time, yet, to
speak after the manner of men, her death was untimely to the
world, and uncommonly so to those who were happy in her
relation and acquaintance. She seemed to be seasoned with

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 501
a peculiar modesty, grace, and piety, and her conversation
discovered a good knowledge of the world and things. But,
dear Doctor, I must not excite you, or any of her surviving
friends, to new grief. I doubt not but she has dropped anchor
within the veil. May God of his infinite mercy enable us to
follow her in imitation of the holy Jesus !
"I heartily condole with you and his bereaved flock, in
the death of Dr. Calamy,* who Avas a faithful labourer in
his Master's vineyard, and I doubt not is entered into the joy
of his Lord.
"I know, Sir, the station in which God has set me is sur
rounded with snares and difficulties, and requires great care
and thought : bow then your knees Avith mine to the fountain
of grace and Avisdom, that I may so conduct my administra
tion, as most of all to advance the honour of God, with the
welfare and happiness of his people ; then shall I at last be
able to give up a joyful account of the talents committed to
my trust.
" May the God of the spirits of all flesh restore your health,
and strengthen your tender crazy constitution ; and may the
great Head of the church replenish you continually with the
effusion of his Holy Spirit, for the better edification ofthe body
of the church, and at last receive you to the general assembly
and church of the first-born, and the spirits of just men made
perfect. "This is, and shall be, the hearty prayer of, Sir,
"Your affectionate friend,
"And very humble servant,
"J. BELCHER."
* " 1732, June 3, Edmund Calamy, D.D. a dissenting minister in Westminster."
Obituary, Gent. Mag. ii. 826.
" A few days before his death he plainly apprehended that his end was near, aud
did in a particular manner pray for a blessing upon his wife and children, that
were about him, and then took his leave of them, and hardly ever had the use of
his reason afterwards." Funeral Sermon by Rev. D. Mayo, dedicated to Sir Wil
liam Ellys.

502 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM SAMUEL HOLDEN, ESQ.*
"Carpenter's-Hall, Dec. 28, 1733.
"Sir, "The papers you communicated contain tAvo stories
remarkably sad and profane, though I fear there are but too
many instances of the like nature.
"Mr. Chandler told me one Avhich happened at a coffee
house Avhere he was present. A person came in retching and
straining as though he wanted to vomit. He was asked what
ailed him. He replied, he had been the- day before at the
sacrament to qualify himself, and that he should never be
easy till he got the d  d bread and Avine off his stomach.
"How those who have it in their poAver to remove the occa
sions of such horrid impieties (and yet continue them for se
cular ends), can answer it to the great Judge of all, must be
left to their own consciences, if they have any.
"My respects wait upon yourself and the good family.
"I am, Sir,
"Your most humble and affectionate servant,
"SAMUEL HOLDEN."
FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Whitehall, Jan. 22, 1734.
" Good Sir,
" Since I received the favour of your presentf it has
become part of my Sunday's exercise, and I have iioav read it
* Dr. Benjamin Colman, of Boston in New England, preached and published a
funeral sermon for this gentleman, in which are contained several extracts from his
letters to the doctor, which show Mr. Holden to have been a man of considerable
abilities and eminent piety. He was chairman of the committee of protestant
dissenters in London.
f Discourses on the Love of God, &c. 2nd edit.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 503
over with pleasure, and I hope not Avithout profit. The new
notion that has prevailed among us of late years, that the
Christian religion is little more than a good system of moral
ity, must in course draw on a disregard to spiritual exercises,
which calls on all serious Christians to do all that is in their
power to raise and keep alive a spirit of devotion and piety
in this lukewarm and degenerate age. I pray God to give a
blessing to your labours in this way, and remain with great
respect, "Sir, " Your faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON."

"Sir,

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Grosvenor Street, Feb. 9, 1734.

"The fresh proof of friendship you design to give me,
is as agreeable to me as it must be to receive any instance of
kindness and approbation from those we sincerely esteem.
Since you alloAV me to object to any thing in the dedication,*
I will trespass so far upon your good-nature as to beg you
will leave out whatever may imply my attempting to write
poetry; but if there be any among the things you have of
mine which you think worth placing among yours, I shall
have just cause to be pleased at seeing them come abroad in
* This was the dedication of the "Reliquiae Juveniles," which was submitted to the
Countess's inspection, and doubtless altered in accordance with her request;
for though it abundantly evinces the partiality of the friend, and eulogises her
poetic taste, there is no express mention of her poetical attempts. The above let
ter is an interesting document, as it not only intimates the Doctor's possessing
some of her Ladyship's compositions, but places beyond doubt the authorship of
the four poems inserted in the 63rd Number ofthe Miscellanies. These are intro
duced in an epistle to Philomela, the name by which Mrs. Rowe was distinguish
ed, and are expressly attributed to Eusebia, the title which the Countess herself
selects as a cognomen. The paper is entitled "Piety in a Court," and is found
ed upon the well-known lines,
"The court's a golden, but a fatal circle."

504 LIFE AND TIMES
such company, if you will have the goodness to conceal my
name either under that of Eusebia or a Friend ; a title which
I shall think myself happy to deserve. My Lord and the
children assure you of their services and kind wishes, and I
am with great truth and regard,
"Your most obliged
"and faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."
FROM THE SAME. "Aprils, 1734.
"Sir, " I have received the book to Avhich you had the par
tiality to prefix my name. This public mark of your friend
ship, and the kind opiniou you express of me, would be in
danger of giving me a self-satisfaction which I have no title
to, if a croAvd of frailties and defects, Avhich are too frequently
reminding me how far I am from meriting your esteem, did
not hinder me from giving way to a complacence Avhich
would be criminal unless my life were more perfect,
" I have gone almost half through the book, from Avhich I
have received the pleasure your writings never fail to give
me, a pleasure attended by profit and reason.
"I am, Sir, with the truest friendship,
"Your most obliged and faithful servant,
"F. HERTFORD.
"My Lord and our young people send services to you."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 505
FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Fulham, July 14, 1734.
" Good Sir,
" I return you my hearty thanks for your late valua
ble present, which has given me both pleasure and profit; and
I am satisfied it Avill give the same to every honest mind that
attends to it. Only I am someAvhat afraid, that the first part
to sect. 14,* though laid out with great exactness, yet, being
also abstracted and philosophical, may discourage persons,
who are not accustomed to close thinking, from going on to
that part which more immediately relates to practice, and
which throughout is very plain and edifying.
"You will pardon the freedom I take, and believe me to
be, with great truth and respect,
" Sir, " Your very faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON."
TO WILLIAM DUNCOMBE, ESQ.f
"From Lady Abney's at Newington, Nov. 1, 1734.
"Sir, "Your present of a ticket, which entitles me to Mr.
Hughes's poems, was an agreeable surprise. My acquaint
ance and intimacy Avith that ingenious gentleman, was in the
* Doctrine of the Passions. 2nd. edit.
f This gentleman was a younger son of John Duncomhe, Esq., of Stocks in
Hertfordshire. He was born in 1690, and married iu 1726 the only sister of Mr.
John Hughes. He collected and published his brother-in-law's poems, in two
volumes 12mo., upon his decease, assisted chiefly by the MSS. of Alexander
K k

506 LIFE AND TIMES
younger years of life chiefly: our later situations in the world
divided us so far as to prevent frequent conversation, though
not to destroy mutual esteem. Your lady I believe I have
seen as a child in some of my ancient visits to Mr. John
Hughes, Avhen his brother Jabez Avas a little boy.* While I
Avrite thus, methinks I recall youth, and revive some buried
ideas. But eternity lies before me, and appears in a much
nearer view. May 1 be found ready for the important sum
mons! *****
"I have seen the French 'Athaliah't long ago, and by
your translation now enjoy the English ; but a man of my
character must not too much indulge Avhat relates to the mod
ern stage, because of its vicious entertainments. It is my
opinion, that dramatic poesy might have been useful to many
happy purposes, had it ahvays been kept Avithin the bounds
prescribed by virtue and religion, as Racine has done. But,
as you say from Horace concerning yourself, ' Quid verum atq;
deceits euro, et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum,' so I must say (at
Strahan, Esq., the translator of the iEneid. Some pathetic verses are prefixed to
the edition by Miss Cowper, afterwards Mrs. Madan, Mr. John Bunce, and Mr.
Lewis Duncombe. He died Feb. 26, 1769, aged 79. Several ofthe most eminent
characters in the literary world were among his friends and correspondents : Mr.
Pope, Alexander Bayne, Esq., professor of the municipal law in the university of
Edinburgh, Dr. Rundle, Bishop of Deny, Thomas Southerne, Esq., Mrs. Rowe,
Archbishop Herring, and Christopher Pitt, Esq., the translator of Virgil. Mrs.
Duncombe died in 1735 — 6, leaving an only sou, the Rev. John Duncombe, M.A.
one ofthe six preachers in Christ Church, Canterbury, the Editor of the " Letters
of several eminent persons deceased."
* Mr. Jabez Hughes was, like his brother, a votary of the muses, and an excellent
scholar. He published in 1714 a translation of "The Rape of Proserpine," from
Claudian; and"The story ofSextusandErictho," from Lucan'sPharsalia, lib. vi.
in 8vo. A reprint of these translations, with notes, appeared in 12mo. in 1723.
In 1717 he also published a translation of Suetonius's "Lives ofthe Twelve
Caesars; " and several novels from the Spanish of Cervantes were inserted by him
in " The Select Collection of novels and histories," printed by Watts, 1729. He
died Jan. 17, 1731, in the 46th year of his age. A volume of his " Miscellanies
in verse and prose" was published in 1737. His widow accompanied the lady of
Governor Byng to Barbadoes, and died there in 1740.
f One of Racine's plays translated by Mr. Duncombe, and printed by Watts
in 1723. •

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 507
least since my last published miscellanies), ' Nunc itaque et
versus et csetera ludicra pono?
"Mr. Samuel Say, of whom you write, was an old intimate
of Mr. John Hughes, at the same time Avith me, being all
fellow -students together in logic and philosophy. He is very
lately fixed in London, a minister to that congregation which
Avas lately under the care of the Rev. Dr. Calamy.
"With all due salutations
"I am, &c. "i. AVATTS"
FROM EDWARD CAVE, ESQ*
"St. John's Gate, Dec. 16, 1734.
"Reverend Sir,
" As a stranger I ought to make some apology for
giving you this trouble ; but your good-nature will excuse my
presumption, and your known attachment to the belles let-
ires is encouragement enough to expect your attention to
what is offered you by one Avho is a well-Avisher to the sciences.
" The undertaker of the ' Gentleman's Magazine,' a monthly
book, Avhich you have possibly heard of (I dare not presume
it has merit enough to deserve a place in your library), for the
entertainment of his readers, and as a spur to ingenuity,
annually proposes a subject to exercise the Avits of the age,
and to spirit emulation annexes a prize to the best perform-
* This gentleman is better known under his assumed uame of Sylvanus Urban.
He commenced the Gentleman's Magazine in 1731, aud by that fortunate specu
lation amassed a large fortune. With this periodical Dr. Johnson was connected
from 1738 to 1743. His first contribution was an alcaic ode, which appeared March,
1738. Mr. Cave died January 10th, 1754, leaving behind him the reputation of
being a worthy and benevolent man. His attention to his magazine was so unre
mitting, that Johnson was apt facetiously to remark, that he never looked out of
the window but with a view to its improvement.

508 LIFE AND TIMES
ances. The first subject of this kind he offered the public was
on her Majesty's Grotto, and the poems wrote thereon were
inserted in several magazines in the year 1733, and published
in a separate pamphlet, called ' The Contest ;' and the prizes
Avere adjudged according to the impartial opinion of some
gentlemen who Avere so kind as to undertake that office.
"The subject given out for a prize for the year 1734 Avas
Astronomy. Four poems have been Avrote upon it, wliich
you will find p. 503, 562, 563, 564; and the prize being to
be determined this month, three of the writers, the fourth is
unknoAvn to us, unanimously refer the decision to your judg
ment and determination, declaring their entire satisfaction in
your opinion, to whomsoever it shall give the preference : only
please to observe, there are tAvo degrees of merit ; the first is
entitled to the best prize, the other to the second best. If
you will be so good as to comply with their request, they will
esteem it as a peculiar favour, and you will also hereby oblige
him, Avho is, Avith true respect and very great esteem, your
humble servant,

TO EDWARD CAVE, ESQ.
"N  on, Dec. 26.
"Sir, ."Though I have sported with rhyme as an amuse
ment in the younger years of life, and published some reli
gious composures to assist the worship of God, yet I never set
myself up among the numerous competitors for a poet of the
age, much less have I presumed to become their judge.
" 'Tis too great a honour, Sir, you have conferred upon me
to place me in that situation, when I find myself so utterly
unfit to execute such an office ; and if I ever had been blessed
Avith a capacity of this kind, yet there is a certain limit and

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 509
period to all mortal powers. The gay colours of imagery, and
the sprightly relish of verse, die aAvay and vanish in my ad
vancing age ; for I have almost left off to read as well as to
write that Avhich once Avas so engaging. One ought to pre
serve a quick sense of beauties and blemishes, and an elegant
taste of sentiment and language, in order to pass a judgment
on the labours of the muses. I acknoAvledge your civility, Sir,
and the respect of the gentlemen who have done me this hon
our. I Avish, in return, I could adjudge the prizes to every
one of them, for all have their peculiar merit.
"The first has many delightful couplets in the description
of nature, but perhaps it dAvells too long, for so short a poem,
on the natural influences of the heavenly bodies, Avhich is the
proper subject of another science ; and it omits too great a
part of the theme which Avas proposed to the candidates, i. e.
Astronomy. Had the elegant author enlarged upon astro
nomic subjects, his genius Avould have come nearer to the
prize; and yet I must confess also he bas several agreeable
thoughts and lines concerning Venus,* the Polar star,f and
the art of Navigation derived from Astronomy, both which
last are too much neglected and almost forgotten by the other
three. " The second author will forgive me if I think the preface
of twenty lines too long for the poem Avhich follows it, and
* " But see how gentle A'esper, sweetly gay, ^
Leads the fair evening with its silver ray, >
Now gilds the night, now ushers in the day. *
When Luna sinks beneath the western main,
O'er other lands and unknown worlds to reign,
Thy lustre, friendly star, supplies her place,
We scarce complain we want her fuller face."
+ "The Polar star eternally remains
JFixt to the north, on the celestial plains ;
The wandering mariner's unerring guide,
When toss'd in tempests on the swelling tide ;
When raging winds across the billows roar,
And heave the beaten ship from shore to shore,
He views his compass with observing eye,
The magnet rearing to the polar sky ;
Guided by this a certain course be forms,
Thro' thickest darkness and thro' fiercest storms."

510 LIFE AND TIMES
adds but thirty-one lines to it ; yet there are, I think, several
good verses in it, and particularly the description of the moon
and earth mutually eclipsing each other,* is a part of astro
nomic science mentioned in this poem only. I could wish
the third and fourth had touched upon eclipses and the art of
sailing more expressly; for I am sure these Avould afford
various and happy ideas for the muse to illustrate with her
ornaments. " I persuade myself the authors of the-tAvo first Avill yield
up the prizes to the tAvo latter, wherein the several themes of
astronomy are more particularly kept in sight all the way, nor
are the proper beauties of poetry omitted.
" And what shall I say, Sir, to these tAVO ? If I must
speak my opinion, the beginning of the fourth pleases me
best, and the latter end of the third ; though I confess the
conclusion of all four of them happily derives honour to the
Creator from these sublime Avorks of his hands. In fine, I
am ready to cry out Avith Palaemon in Virgil, ' Non nostrum
inter vos tantas componere Lites? Methinks I could Avish the
beauties of them both united ; for I am ready to think some
times the third exceeds, and sometimes the fourth. The
fourth seems to me to have the greatest variety of thoughts,
yet I cannot say, in the main, that they are described in bet
ter verse than the third. He must be a nicer judge than I Avho
determines the prize betAveen these tAvo."
The conclusion of this letter is wanting, but Mr.Cave adds,
"The learned gentleman, after making some judicious inqui-

;( Here smoothly gliding through the lovely throng,
The earth appears to roll her orb along ;
One even course, her poles inclin'd, she keeps,
And, softly spinning on her axle, sleeps.
Sometimes her interposing orb is seen
To shade, in dark eclipse, the night1 s fair queen j
So, in her turn, the correspondent moon
Opposes her dark orb, and veils the sun.
Lo 1 how she fills her silver horns with light,
And with reflected glory reigns by night!
While all the stars that gild heaven's azure road,
Rais'd hy a hand divine seem worthy of a God!"

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 511
ries, why several curious sentiments relating to the subject
were omitted, Avhich too he supposes (and rightly) may be
found in Astrophil's [the assumed name of one of the candi
dates] larger poem, leaves the matter to a superior determina
tion ; but the tAvo persons concerned, perfectly satisfied in his
judgment, do not desire any further application, having, as
they are intimate friends, compromised the matter. Never
theless, since it is such a nice point, and lies between the same
persons Avho shared the prizes last year, Avhen the decision
Avas declared almost equally puzzling, Ave have assigned them
noAv as we then did, both prizes of the first rate."

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Whitehall, Jan. 19, 1735.
" Good Sir,
" I thank you very heartily for the book* I lately
received, and Avhich I have read with great satisfaction and
delight. The seeing so shameful a departure from true
Christianity on the two points which are the subject of your
book, has long been a sensible concern and grief to me, and
especially when I see it countenanced and propagated by
many Avho call themselves Christians, but are in reality little
more than deists; for if the great work of our redemption,
and the blessed fruits of it, are to be laid aside, I cannot see
that the name of Christian signifies much. You have set this
matter in so clear a light, and Avorked up the whole in so
agreeable a manner, that I hope, by the blessing of God, it
Avill have great effect ; and it would have had greater, if you
bad set your name to it. To deal clearly Avith you, I have
thought for some time that those doctrines, and others of the
same kind, have received a grievous wound from the indiffe
rence about them (to say no worse) which some dissenting
*The "Redeemer and Sanctifier."

512 LIFE AND TIMES
ministers have discovered of late; and the wound is the
deeper, because hitherto the dissenters were, without excep
tion, zealous for them, and the present manifest abatement of
that zeal in some of their leading men, will be reckoned an
evidence of their present conviction, that their doctrines are
either false, or at least of small moment. Forgive me if I add,
that I think due care has not yet been taken to satisfy the
world, that, notwithstanding the defection of some dissenters,
there are many among them, and those of great note, who are
not in the least tainted Avith the modern notions, but adhere
steadfastly to the true doctrines of the gospel, as delivered to
us by Christ and his apostles. I am, with gieat truth and
esteem, Sir, " Your very faithful friend and servant,"EDM. LONDON."

TO A FRIEND.
: Stoke Newington, near London, Jan. 21, 1735.

« Sir,

" Your letter, dated about the middle of October,
should have been answered long ago, had I not been withheld
from my study by long illness ; nor am I yet fully recovered.
I take pleasure, Sir, to find your honest inquiries after truth,
and that you are not willing either to put off your children, or
to be contented yourself, Avith a mere set of Avoids, instead of
clear and intelligible doctrines.
" I will, therefore, write you my thoughts in a few lines, of
that impotency and inability of man to believe and repent, and
return to God, Avhich arises from the fall, and Avhich is, I think,
the best and the only Avay to secure our thoughts from run
ning into the extremes of Antinomian opinions on the one
side, or Arminian on the other.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 513
"This impotency, though it may be called natural, or rather,
native, as it comes to us by nature in its present corrupted
state, yet it is not a want of natural powers, either of under
standing or will, to knoAV or choose that Avhich is good ; for if
there were not natural powers sufficient for this purpose, I do
not see how men could be charged as criminals, in not receiv
ing the gracious offers of the gospel. This impotence, there
fore, is what our divines usually call a moral impotence, i. e.
their mind will not learn divine things, because they shut their
eyes ; they will refuse the proposals of grace, they shut it out
of their hearts, they have a delight in sin, and dislike to Christ
and his salvation ; they have a rooted obstinacy of will against
the methods of divine mercy, and against the holiness Avhich is
connected Avith happiness. And yet this moral impotency is
described in scripture by such methods as represent us ' blind,'
or ' dead in sin,' and that Ave can no more change our nature,
than the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his
spots ; and the reason of these strong expressions is, because
God knoAvs this natural aversion to grace and holiness is so
strong and rooted in their hearts, that they will never renounce
sin and receive the salvation of Christ, Avithout the powerful
influence of the Spirit of God, even that same Spirit which
can cure those Avho are naturally blind, or can raise the dead.
" Now that this weakness of man to do that Avhich is good
is a moral impotence, appears by the moral remedies Avhich
are applied to cure it : viz. commands, promises, threatenings,
Avhich sort of methods would be useless and ridiculous to ap
ply to natural impotence ; that is, to make the blind see, or
the dead arise. It must be concluded, therefore, that man has
a natural ability, i. e. natural powers, to do Avhat God requires,
but at the same time such a native aversion of will, that he
Avill never do it without divine grace. Thus there is a fair
way laid for the necessity of divine grace, and yet at the same
time a just foundation laid for the condemnation of impeni
tent sinners. I have spoken more largely to this subject in

514 LIFE AND TIMES
the eleventh of the Bury-street Sermons, Avhich Avere pub
lished last year in two volumes octavo.
" May the Avisdom and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ di
rect you to walk in a safe Avay to eternal life, and to lead your
children therein ! at the same time assuring you, that the
happening to take a little different turn of thought in some
of the difficult inquiries, is not of so vast importance as some
persons would make it to be, Avith respect to our salvation,
provided we do but maintain a constant dependence upon the
grace of the Spirit of God in all our duties to assist us, and
on the perfect righteousness or obedience and sufferings of
Christ, as our atonement for sin, and the only effectual
ground of our acceptance with God. I am, Sir, under fre
quent returning Aveaknesses, rendered unable to write much,
and, therefore, subscribe
" Your friend and humble servant, " I. WATTS."
FROM THE SECOND LORD BARRINGTON.*
" Becket-house, Feb. 22, 1735.
"Rev. Sir,
" My lady begs you to accept through my bands her
best thanks for your last kind letter to her. She is fully sen
sible of the favour you do her, both by tire handsome manner
in Avhich you speak of her deceased Lord, and the excellent
motives you propose for her consolation.
f William Wildman Viscount Barrington was in his eighteenth year when' he
succeeded to his father's title and estates, and when tbe above letter was written.
He took a prominent part in politics, and held various offices under the govern
ment. In 1740 he became member for Berwick. He was master of the great
wardrobe iu 1754; Secretary at War in 1755; Chancellor of the Exchequer in
1761' Treasurer of the Navy in 1762; and reappointed Secretary at War iu 17G5.
He quitted the House of Commons iu May 1778, and the War Office iu December.
He became joint Postmaster-general in 1781, and died Feb. 3, 1793.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 515
" Give me leave, Sir, to return you my thanks for your kind
Avishes on my account. My late dear father Avas often com
mending me in a manner far above what I any Avays deserved,
and for Avhich I esteem myself entirely indebted to his pater
nal fondness. But, if I Avas to have chosen to AA'hom I Avould
have been so commended, it should have been to Dr. Watts at
Lady Abney's. I esteem it incumbent on me to come up as
far as I am able to his account of me, Avhich I shall endea
vour to do by the closest imitation of his bright example.
" The desire you express of having my father's head among
your collection of learned men, is Avorthy of a person who had
so long an intimacy and friendship with him. I am sensible,
that if all the world had the same regard and so quick a re
membrance of men of merit as yourself, a picture would be
entirely superfluous. Yet if you think, that from the inspec
tion of the late Lord Barrington's picture, any may be induced
to follow the pattern of virtue and self-denial he has set, it
may be easily done. I am in a very particular manner, Sir,
" Your most humble servant,
" BARRINGTON."

FROM EDAVARD CAVE, ESQ.
"St. John's Gate, March 11, 1735.
" Reverend Sir,
" I am commissioned by the gentlemen who are
candidates for the prize, to return you their most grateful
acknoAvledgments, for the pains you have so kindly taken in
discussing their respective claims. They did not expect so
learned and critical a dissertation on their several pieces,
Avhose merit, they imagined, Avas far from entitling them to
so great an honour. But since you have condescended in so
polite and candid a manner, to examine their several preten-

516 LIFE AND TIMES
sious to the prize, it is the least part of their gratitude to de
clare their unanimous satisfaction in your opinion of their
deserts, and accordingly have amicably adjusted the difference
betwixt themselves.
" With regard to Avhat you have added in the postscript to
your letter, I must allow, Sir, there has been too much reason
for the censure you have passed on the magazine ; but it shall
be my future care to let nothing pass of that kind ; and to
convince the world I am much better pleased Avith ingenuity
of a more serious turn, I have proposed a considerable
reward for poems on five sublime subjects, on Avhich, if it
suited your leisure, and you have not taken an absolute leave
of the muses, I should be proud of a poem from Dr. Watts.*
" I must OAvn myself tardy in not paying you my respects
till noAv ; but, multiplicity of business, and a great deal of
illness, has been the reason, Avhich I trust your goodness will
take as an excuse for a neglect not intended by your very
humble servant, " EDAV. CAVE."
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.f
" Sir, " I am extremely concerned that I cannot have the
pleasure of seeing you on Thursday, since I think it very long
'The following advertisement appears in the Gentleman's Magazine for July,
1734, with reference to this prize : " Be it knowu to all men by these presents,
that the sum of fifty pounds will be given to the person, who shall make the best
poem, Latin or English, on Life, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, viz. all the
said subjects jointly, and not any single one independent of the rest. — London,
July 31, 1734. I promise to pay to the author of the best poem, on or to his or her
order, the sum of fifty pounds, according to the intent, sense, and meaning of the
above advertisement. "SYLVANUS URBAN.
" P. S. This reward will be punctually paid by Edward Cave at St. John's Gate,
or, in case of his demise, be made payable out of £.100 claim ou the Assurance
Office in Hatton Garden."
f There is no date to this letter, but the doctor has written on the back of
it " April, 1735."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 517
since I had that satisfaction, Avhich I assure you I wish for
much oftener than I enjoy ; but it is my lot at present to be
in waiting,* and besides my Lord has been laid up, and still
is so Avith a most severe fit of the gout, so that what time I
can spare from my attendance on the Queen is passed by his
bed's side. If he is able to be lifted into the coach he talks of
leaving London next Aveek. We have had an unpleasant
winter; for, betwixt illness and accidents, there has scarce
been a Aveek in which the whole family Avas well enough to
go out. I have for my own particular case suffered extremely,
first from an intermitting fever, which lasted a long time, and
since that from a bruise I got on horse-back by a wagon,
which crushed my stirrup-leg in so sad a manner, that, though
it is more than seven weeks ago, I have still great trouble
with it. My Lord and my young people assure you of their
hearty compliments. I hope you will be so good as to re
member me in your prayers, and believe me, as I am with
great truth and esteem,
" Your most obliged humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

TO WILLIAM DUNCOMBE, ESQ.
" NeAvington, May 23, 1735.

" Sir,

"Your letter, and the present of Mr. Hughes's
' Works,' were joyfully received by me the next day after I
saw you. Methinks I see the very man, my old acquaintance,
there, with his temper and softness, his wit and sprightly
genius, spreading almost over every page. 'Twas Avell Tele-
machus took Mentor Avith him, when he ventured into Ca
lypso's island, painted by such a pencil, Avhile the goddess
* Lady of the Bed-chamber to Queen Caroline.

518 LIFE AND TIMES
was dressed by such a poet, and she and her nymph Eucharis
had airs and sonnets given them by such a master in music.
" But my sorrow freshens and reneAVS upon my heart, that
such a genius did not live to write more moral and divine
odes in advanced years, to be a counterpoise to all the charms
of pleasure, and youth, and beauty, Avhich his younger poetry
indulged. Yet it must be confessed, I can find nothing that
is an offence to virtue and piety, so far as I have perused,
which amounts to more than half. The Christian scheme
has glories and beauties in it, which have superior power to
touch the soul, beyond all the gods and heroes of the heathen
heaven or elysium. I should have been much pleased to see
so fine a pen employing its art on such themes. Mr. Pope's
' Messiah' ahvays charms me. I speak not uoav of Mr.
Hughes's odes ' On the Creator of the Avorld,' the '• Ecstasy,'
&c. because I have read them long ago : these have so much
dignity in them, that I wished for more of the same kind.
Pray tell me, Sir, Avhen I shall be so happy as to see you
next, whether Sir R. Blackmore's preface to his 'Alfred'
does not convince you, that a Christian poet has happier ad
vantages than a pagan ? His prefaces are certainly better in
their kind than his poems, as several gentlemen of good taste
have acknowledged. And Avhy should not some great genius
seize those advantages, and leave old Homer no longer right
to the supreme laurel ?
" But I forget myself and my years, though Avhen I am
upon such a subject, rejuvenescit calamus renuentibus annis.
" I am, Sir,
" Your obliged humble servant,
" I. AVATTS."

of dr. isaac Watts. 519
from the hon. jonathan belcher.
"Boston, Oct. 24, 1735.
"Worthy Sir,
" In June last Mr. Boylstone brought me your
obliging letter of 2nd. of May. I again thank you for your
prayers and good Avishes for me in the weight of the govern
ment. It shall be my study to be faithful to my master, and
Avith a tender eye to keep inviolate all the liberties of my dear
country, and such a practice I think very compatible. I Avas
sorry to hear of the death of the late ingenious and religious*
 . I looked on him as a part of our glory and
defence ; but what shall Ave say, the ' residue of the spirit is
with God ? Ashur shall not save us, neither Avill we ride on
horses ; and cease ye from man whose breath is in his nos
trils, for Avberein is he to be accounted of?' God's church and
people shall be safe here and safe for ever; Avhile their faith
is fixed, trusting in the Lord, they shall be as Mount Zion,
Avhich cannot be removed but abideth for ever. I have from
others the same account you give me of the declining state of
the health of my predecessor, Governor Shute, for Avhom I
have a great esteem, as a gentleman of great virtue and inte
grity : 'his days have filled up the age of a man, whose
strength is not the strength of stones, nor his flesh of brass.'
We must all cry out at last, ' Corruption, thou art my father !
O worm, thou art my sister and mother !' but happy, thrice
happy shall they be, who, Avhen this corruptible shall put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, shall
be able to triumph over the last enemy of mankind, and say,
' O death! where is thy sting? O grave! Avhere is thy vic
tory ?' This I hope will be the portion of my worthy friend,
Colonel Shute, who, I doubt not, in God's best time, will
* Prooably Lord Barrington.

520 LIFE AND TIMES
come to his grave in full age, like as a shock of corn cometh
in his season. Faxit Deus.
"I ask leave to condole with the Hon. Lady Abney on
the death of Mrs. Gunston, and to congratulate her on the
mercy of God in her own recovery. May she live long in
good health, a still more extensive blessing to her family
and this unworthy world !
" I thank you, Sir, very heartily for your share of the fifty-
four discourses delivered at Mr. Coward's lecture, the two
volumes being sent me by my excellent friend Dr. Guyse.
" I pray God to pour out upon you and upon your brethren
more and more of his Holy Spirit. That you may be faithful
to your great Lord and Master, even unto death, and then
receive the croAvn of life, is the prayer of,
"My dear friend,
" Your most obliged and most humble servant,
" J. BELCHER."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 521

CHAPTER XIV-
1736  1739.
STOKE NEWINGTON.

TENDENCY OF WATTS'S MIND. — SITUATION AT LADY ABNEY'S. — HIS
STUDY. — INSCRIPTIONS. — HOUSE AT STOKE NEWINGTON.— EMBEL
LISHMENTS.— ILLNESS.— NIGHT STUDIES— DR. OWEN.-DEATH OF MRS.
ROWE. — "DEVOUT EXERCISES." — HER CHARACTER.— WORK ON "HU
MILITY."— OPINION OF BISHOP GIBSON. — NEW-ENGLAND REVIVAL.—
PRESIDENT EDWARDS'S NARRATIVE.— PREFACE.— WATTS AND GUYSE.—
"HOLINESS OF TIMES AND PLACES."— TIME FOR CELEBRATING THE
LORD'S SUPPER. — RISE OF METHODISM. — SENTIMENTS OF THE DIS
SENTERS.— OPINIONS OF BARKER, DODDRIDGE, AND WATTS. - INTER
VIEW WITH WHITFIELD.— CORRESPONDENCE.

The biography of Watts has been hitherto a detail of lite
rary labours ; few incidents occurred to disturb the calm and
even flow of his history ; and little presents itself to interest
those who are fond of novelty and eager for excitement. " The
life of a scholar," says Goldsmith, " seldom abounds Avith ad
venture — his fame is acquired in solitude." That retirement
which is indispensable for literary pursuits, deprives those
who would distinguish themselves by intellectual exertion of
the opportunity, and often of the inclination, to mingle promi
nently in the active concerns of life. In the language of
Milton they must shut themselves up
" In some high lonely tower,
Where they may oft outwatch the bear
With thrice-great Hermes."
Ll

522 LIFE AND TIMES
The studious are seldom practical men : years of patient de
votion to abstruse pursuits, unfit them for the tumult of a bus
tling world; or the sensitiveness Avhich usually accompanies
the higher endoAvments of genius, leads them to recoil from a
contact with the prejudices and passions of mankind ; or the
timidity Avhich is the usual product of long habits of seclusion,
causes them to shun those engagements which induce promi
nence and notoriety. The tendency of Watts's mind Avas
tOAvards a life of retirement; this disposition Avas strengthened
by the ill health to Avhich he was subject ; but Avhen sum
moned to the post of duty, he never failed to tear himself from
his beloved solitude, to meet the task that Avas assigned unto
him. And Avhen free from the attacks of his complaint, the
duties that devolved upon him were many and arduous. Be
sides his regular ministry at Bury Street, he had an extensive
correspondence at home and abroad to maintain; he Avas
intimately connected Avith the various plans of usefulness that
Avere formed among the dissenters; in the concerns of NeAV
England he took a prominent part ; and he was frequently
called to the discharge of extraordinary ministerial services.
In the midst of such avocations, and a constant martyr to
disease, to produce such a number of important works, em
bracing a range of subject so extended, evinces an industry
and application rarely equalled, never surpassed. What is
said of Gallus in Cicero's treatise on Old Age, Avas often true
Avith reference to Watts at the commencement of his career —
when he sat down to write in the morning, he was surprised
by the evening; and when he took up his pen in the evening,
he was surprised by the appearance of the morning.
It Avas the happiness of Dr. Watts to be placed in circum
stances the most favourable for the gratification of his taste
and genius : he had none of the anxieties of domestic life,
with a large share of its comforts : the kind attentions of Lady
Abney anticipated all his wants, and afforded every facility
for the prosecution of his studies. Under her roof he pursued

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 523
the " noiseless tenor of his Avay," a blessing to the family,
the church, and to the world, repaying the regard of his host
ess Avith his prayers and counsels. In doing good he Avas
truly in labours more abundant ; he was constantly on the
watch for opportunities of usefulness ; and suffered no occa
sion of advancing the cause of his divine Master to escape
him unimproved. The end at Avhich he aimed in his nume
rous Avritings Avas not to procure applause, or to relieve his
readers of a vacant hour; but to communicate a medicine to
the mind diseased, to vindicate Christianity from the asper
sions of shalloAv philosophers and licentious Avits, and assert
the great principles of virtue and religion in a degenerate age.
At the entrance of his study, on the outside, appeared the fol-
loAving lines of Horace, denouncing the faithless friend, printed
and hung up in a frame :
" Absentem qui rodit amicum
Qui non defendit, alio culpante ; solutos
Qui captat risus hominum, famamq ; dicacis,
Fingere qui non visa potest, commissa tacere
Qui nequit, hic niger est ; hunc tu, Romane, caveto." Sat. 4. 1. 81.
The spaces in the study Avhere there were no shelves, Avere
abundantly covered with prints of considerable persons,
mostly divines. On one side of the large and high pannel
over the fire-place an inscription from Horace was hung up
among the portraits :"Locns est pluribus umbris."
On the other side of the pannel there Avas another inscription,
encircled with portraits, soliciting an addition to his illustrious
shades : "Quis me doctorum propria dignabitur umbra."
The house at Stoke Newington in which Lady Abney re-

524 LIFE AND TIMES
sided, and which Avas occupied by her surviving daughter*
until the year 1782, still retains some interesting memorials
of Dr. Watts. There is a costly apartment, called the painted
room, a curious specimen of the taste' of the age in which it
Avas arranged. The mouldings are gilt, and the Avhole of the
pannels on the sides are painted with subjects taken from
Ovid. On the AvindoAV-shutters are some pictorial decorations,
Avhich are supposed to have been added by Watts's pencil.
These consist of the emblems of Death and Grief, together
with the arms of Gunston and Abney, evidently alluding to
their lamented decease. The contrast betAveen these mourn
ful emblems and the other embellishments of the room, is
strongly marked. Dr. Watts frequently employed his pencil
in his leisure hours ; and some of his paintings, the heads of
Democritus, Heraclitus, Aristotle, and Alexander, are said to
have been executed with considerable taste and skill. In the
grounds attached to the manor-house the stately " elms" still
remain, Avhich are mentioned in his poems as the scene of
friendly intercourse with their beloved OAvner.f Associations
of a pleasing and profitable kind, connect themselves with a
spot, the residence for so many years of so much piety and
genius ; the devout mind is humbled by a sense of its OAvn
deficiencies, and excited to emulate the example of eminent
attainment placed before it; and the prayer is prompted in
the heart of the Christian visiter, that as " the harvest" is still
" plenteous," more such labourers may be sent forth by the
Lord of the harvest.
The infirmities of age began noAv rapidly to advance upon
Dr. Watts ; he already trembled beneath the Aveight of years;
* Of this lady the late Dr. Winter was accustomed to relate an anecdote of his early
life with great glee. Dressed in the costume of a belle of George the First's reign,
with formidable hoop and all the appurtenances of the ancien regime, her appear
ance betokened considerable antiquity. On being introduced to her presence the
boy was abashed ; but the good dame, by way of being familiar, condescended to
inquire how old he thought she was. The awe-struck youngster, eyeing the
venerable figure before him, replied, "Madam, nine hundred years !
f Brown's Stoke Newington.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 525
while his attenuated frame, and the tremulous hand with
which he seems to have Avritten his letters, bespoke " the
shadoAVS lengthening as the day declines." The year 1736
was one of retirement from public labour on account of illness,
which originated the hymn entitled " Complaint and Hope
under great pain." The effects of intense mental application
appeared in a broken constitution and completely disordered
and debilitated nervous system. The sufferer was greatly
distressed by insomnia, or continual wakefulness. For several
nights successively he could obtain no sleep, except such as
was forced by medical preparations ; and even the strongest
opiates lost their virtue by repeated use, and only served to
aggravate his malady. In one of his sermons he recurs to his
youthful studies ; and attributes his weakened frame and fre
quent attacks of illness, to the laborious exertions of his early
life. " Midnight studies," he remarks, " are prejudicial to
nature : a painful experience calls me to repent of the faults
of my younger years, and there are many before me have had
the same call to repentance. Wearing out the lightsome
hours in sleep, is an unnatural Avaste of sunbeams. There is
no light so friendly to animal nature as that of the sun."*
Diligence is commendable in every student, but many have
fallen victims to their ardour for literary renown ; and an early
death or a premature old age has been the result of their
severe yet injudicious economy. "Dr. Owen," Watts ob
served upon one occasion, " was accustomed to say, that he
would gladly part Avith all the learning he had acquired by
sitting up late at study in younger life, if he could but regain
the health he had lost by it." In seasons of sickness, when
incapable of public service, Dr. Watts refused to take his
salary from the church, saying that as he could not preach he
had no right to it. But his people, to their honour, did not
listen to such a proposal, as so much of the church's increase
was owing to his labours, and so great a portion of his life had
*Ser. xv. vol. ii.

526 LIFE AND TIMES
been spent in its service. Mr. Price too joined Avith them in
opposing the Avishes of his colleague, at the same time that he
admired the delicacy of feeling that prompted him to decline
his income.
In the commencement of the year 1 737 the circle of Watts's
intimate acquaintance Avas broken by the death of Mrs. Rowe,
Avhose piety, talents, and amiable qualities caused her loss to
be universally deplored. She died suddenly, on Sunday
morning, Feb. 20th, leaving in her cabinet letters for the
following friends, Avhom she held in high esteem : Dr.
Watts, the Countess of Hertford, Mr. James Theobald, the
Earl of Orrery, and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Sarah Rowe.
The doctor's letter Avas accompanied with the manuscript of
her " Devout Exercises" in several loose papers, which she
requested him to publish, after having subjected it to a careful
revision. These devotional meditations Avere published in the
September folloAving, with a preface written by himself, and
a dedication to the Countess, as an " intimate friend" of the
deceased. During an intimacy of nearly thirty years, he had
enjoyed ample opportunities of estimating the merits and
defects of Mrs. RoAve ; and the opinion of her character, ex
pressed in his prefatory letter, is remarkably just and dispas
sionate. Far from joining with her admirers, who almost
elevated her into a divinity, he yet meets the severe animad
versions of her impugners ; and finds an apology for the trans
ports and raptures Avhich marked her experience in an ardent
temperament and vivacious imagination. The frigid calcula
ting formalist, familiar Avith the theory, but strange to the
poAver of godliness — the Avorldling, upon Avhose heart no
spark of devotion has yet fallen — may turn from her pages
Avith disgust, or by an umvonted stretch of candour regard
her as an amiable visionary ; but he who has been warmed
by the same heavenly fire, will be able, in some degree, to
sympathise with her devout aspirations. " It Avas much the
fashion," says Watts in his preface, "even among some

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 527
divines of eminence in former years, to express the fervours
of devout love to our Saviour in the style of the Song of Solo
mon ; and I must confess, that several of my composures in
verse, written in younger life, were led by those examples
unwarily into this tract." It may be questioned, Avhether
such a mode of expressing religious feelings, the natural pro
duct of an eastern clime, is judicious; for men of corrupt
minds, in an earlier period, " turned the grace of God into
lasciviousness ;" and an impure imagination and an unsanc
tified heart, Avill connect carnal and sensual ideas with the
employment of such imagery. Be it, however, remembered,
that the taste of the age in Avhich Mrs. RoAve lived Avas essen
tially vitiated ; the adoption of a tumid passionate style was
necessary to pamper the popular appetite; and, hence, the
sickly sentimentalism of Sterne, and the bloated effusions of
Hervey, which are noAv justly discarded, Avere, at a period
not much posterior, not only tolerated but admired. Her
mind was tinctured not only by the prevailing taste, but by
the mystical writers she had read ; but he who on this
ground alone would unsparingly condemn her compositions,
gives ample room for others to suppose, that he is a stranger
to the " devout exercises" in which she delighted — that he
has light but not love — and that however clear his head, his
heart is cold.
A few months previous to the publication just noticed, Dr.
Watts sent forth a treatise entitled " Humility represented in
the character of St. Paul," dated from his retreat at " New
ington, March 25." It consists of various papers Avhich he
tells us had lain by him in his desk for several years. The
tract is founded upon Ephesians, iii. 8, "less than the least of
all saints ;" and exhibits in an impressive manner, the advan
tages invariably attendant upon the cultivation of a similar
temper to that Avhich the passage expresses. Though Avritten
in an exceedingly plain and homely style, it is by no means
deficient in striking remark, and lively delineation of charac-

528 LIFE AND TIMES
ter. Bishop Gibson commends it for its fidelity, point, and
individuality, for Avhich the author had thought it necessary
to apologise. The habit of generalising has been in every ao-e
the besetting sin of the ministry ; and the fastidious politeness
of modern times, has rendered it too much a characteristic of
the pulpit addresses of the present day. To illustrate impor
tant axioms in morals and religion by the events of domestic
life ; to descend from general exhibitions to the delineation of
individual character, in the Avay the bishop approved, would
shock the taste and alarm the sensitiveness of a fashionable
audience, and sound harsh and inviduous to "ears polite."
And yet to " declare the whole counsel of God," it is necessa
ry to advance painful and unpalatable truths ; and much
more efficient and useful would the ministry be, if less defe
rence was paid to the prejudices of hearers, and more attention
to the treatment which their circumstances demand. A maxim
of Christian morals may frequently be best enforced by the
miseries attendant upon its neglect ; and no ideal representa
tion, no declamatory harangue, is so directly calculated to
convince as those illustrations which come home to the con
sciences and every-day experience of an auditory. In clear
and evangelical exposition of truth the present age may per
haps exceed any of the preceding ; but in its plain and pointed
application to the state and character of the individual it is
lamentably deficient. The skilful operator is often obliged to
probe the wound in order to cicatrise and heal ; and he Avho
Avould be a physician to the souls of men, must unveil, ex
amine, and expose the foulness of the stain he would remove.
The attention of Dr. Watts was poAverfully arrested at this
period by an extraordinary revival of religion in NeAV Eng
land, of which he was informed by his trans-atlantic corres
pondents. A small district of about thirty miles' compass, on
the banks ofthe river Connecticut, containing tAvelve or four
teen toAvns and villages, was the scene of one of the most re
markable out-pourings of the Holy Spirit since the apostolic

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 529
age, during Avhich multitudes of young and old were brought
under a serious concern, and turned to the Lord with "Aveep-
ing and Avith supplication." In the town of Northampton,
favoured Avith the ministry of that master in moral and me
taphysical science, Jonathan Edwards, the " cloud" arose, at
first little as " a man's hand," but which, gradually spreading
over New Hampshire and the Massachusetts, descended in
showers of holy influence upon the churches embosomed in
their tracts of wood and wilderness. For several months the
sanctuaries were unable to contain the croAvds that thronged
unto them ; the houses of the ministers were besieged with
contrite and anxious inquirers; and every day Avitnessed
some thoughtless prodigal reclaimed or hardened heart sub- .
dued. The expatriated puritans compelled by persecution to
seek a quiet home and peaceful altar across the Avaters, had
diligently " soAved," and their descendants now " entered into
their labours :" the devotion of the pilgrim fathers was re
warded, and their prayers Avere answered in abundant bless
ings upon their children. The season of heavenly light and
hallowed influence Avhich visited the Avestern wilds, Avas not
evanescent as the early dew : for several successive years,
under the ministry of Gilbert Tennant, Whitfield, and others,
the poAver of divine truth was exemplified in aAvakening
numbers of the most careless and profane. The tidings of
colonial revival speedily reached the mother country, and
elicited various opinions as to its cause, its permanence, and
its merits. By the Avisdom.of this world it Avas pronounced
the result of enthusiastic excitement — a cold and heartless
philosophy attributed it to the influence of social sympathy —
men of tasfe and refinement formed an unfavourable judgment,
from the occasional irregularities that marked its progress —
Avhilst not a few in professedly religious circles treated it as
the offspring of error and extravagance. But the spiritual
phenomena exhibited Avere too extraordinary to be accounted
for upon natural principles ; and the chief actors in the work

530 LIFE AND TIMES
were men too intellectually acute to be themselves deceived,
and far too upright to propagate deception. Dr. Watts, there
fore, hailed it as an instance of gracious visitation from on
high — from contention and decline at home, he gladly turned
to the brighter prospect that opened in the aboriginal forests
of America — and attentively traced the rise and watched the
progress of the " time of refreshing." He wrote to his friend
Dr. Colman of Boston for information, who forwarded his
wishes to Mr. Williams, a minister in the neighbourhood
where the revival commenced. This application coming under
the notice of Mr. EdAvards, produced his " Faithful Narrative
of the surprising work of God, in the conversion of many hun
dred souls in Northampton and the neighbouring towns and
villages of NeAV Hampshire," Avhich he sent as a letter to Dr.
Colman. Mr. Edwards observes, " Having seen your letter to
my honoured uncle Wilfiams of Hatfield, of July 20, wherein
you inform him of the notice that has been taken of the late
Avonderful work of God in this and some other towns in this
country, by the Rev. Dr. Watts and Dr. Guyse of London,
and the congregation to which the last of these preached on a
monthly day of solemn prayer ; as also of your desire to be
more perfectly acquainted with it, by some of us on the spot ;
and having been since informed by my uncle Williams, that
you desire me to undertake it, I would noAv do it in as just
and faithful a manner as in me lies."
The manuscript of Mr. EdAvards's narrative was sent by
Dr. Colman to England, and published under the direction
of Dr. Watts and Dr. John Guyse in the year 1737. The
editors remark in their preface,
"The friendly correspondence Avhich we maintain with our
brethren of New England, gives us now and then the plea
sure of hearing some remarkable instance of divine grace in
tbe conversion of sinners, and some eminent examples of
piety in that American part of the Avorld. But never did we
hear or read, since the first ages of Christianity, any event of

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 531
this kind so surprising as the present narrative hath set before
us. The Rev. and worthy Dr. Colman of Boston, had given
us some short intimations of it in his letters ; and upon our
request of a more large and particular account, Mr. Edwards,
the happy and successful minister of Northampton, which
was one of the chief scenes of these Avonders, dreAV up this
history in an epistle to Dr. Colman. There were some useful
sermons of the venerable and aged Mr. Wm. Williams pub
lished late in New England, which were preached in that
part of tbe country during this season of the glorious work of
God in the conversion of men, to Avhich Dr. Colman sub
joined a most judicious and accurate abridgment of this epis
tle ; and a little after, by Mr. EdAvards's request, he sent the
original to our hands, to be communicated to the world under
our care here in London. We are abundantly satisfied of the
truth of this narrative, not only from the pious character of
the Avriter, but from tbe concurrent testimony of many other
persons in New England; for this thing Avas not done in a
corner." The cheering facts Avhich the "Narrative" records, form by
no means an isolated instance of religious revival. The suc
ceeding history of the western continent, furnishes us with
similar plenteous communications of heavenly influence, pro
ducing a deep and general concern in behalf of spiritual and
eternal things. In our own days such exhibitions of divine
grace have been witnessed, and tbe testimonies of men the
most intelligent, and widely removed from enthusiasm, have
been fonvarded to our shores, recounting what God hath
wrought. It seems as though such occurrences were intend
ed in the divine administration signally to OAvn and bless the
piety and devotedness of the early settlers. They were "some
of the best people, of the best nation on the face of the earth,
and in its best age" — they took joyfully "the spoiling of
their goods" at home to promote the interests of true religion,
and banished themselves beyond the bounds of civilisation,

532 LIFE AND TIMES
rather than yield their consciences to the yoke of spiritual
tyranny — and though many died of the hardships of exile,
with no shelter but the forest, yet their " labour has not been
in vain in the Lord." The fruit has been gathered, the har
vest has been reaped by their posterity; and the ark of liberty
and religion, which they transported to a foreign soil to pre
serve inviolate, has been handed doAvn to their children's
children. In January, 1738, Doddridge was in London, procuring
subscriptions for his " Family Expositor ;" and in February
he paid a visit to Lady Abney and Dr. Watts at Newington.
The latter was now engaged in preparing his discourses on
" The Holiness of Times, Places, and People," which appeared
in the month of May, which Doddridge mentions Avith appro
bation in a letter to his friend Dr. Clark of St. Albans* In
tbe summer he assisted at the ordination of the Rev. Samuel
Snashall, at Stoke NeAvington, and gave the charge to the
minister. Dr. Gibbons observes, " I Avell remember that the
minister who prayed over Mr. Snashall, before the doctor
gave the charge, made use of this expression, ' Lord, we re
member our faults this day.' The doctor took notice of it as
falling from the lips of his reverend brother, and approved and
adopted it into his preface to his charge in the easiest and
happiest manner. Such Avas his ready and immediate com
mand of thought and language." " The Holiness of Times,
Places, and People," consists of five essays upon the folloAv-
ing important topics : "The Perpetuity of the Sabbath, and
the observation of the Lord's Day" — " Of the Time of Day
for administering the Lord's Supper" — " The Holiness of
Places of Worship" — " The JeAvish Worship and the Chris
tian compared" — " The Holiness of the Jewish and Christian
Churches considered and compared."
The first essay originated Avith a discourse on the same
•Dated, "Newport Pagnel, June 23, 1738."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 533
subject, printed in the Bury-street collection.* It considers
the obligation of a sabbatical institution upon Christians,
Avhich it establishes by the same line of argument as is usually
employed by divines. The seventh day Avas halloAved by
divine appointment at the close of the creation ; its sanctity
Avas strongly marked, previous to the promulgation of the laAv,
by suspending the supply of manna ; it Avas aftenvards em
bodied in that great epitome of religious and moral duty
written upon the tables of stone; it formed a part of the poli
tical law of the people who recognised Jehovah as tbeir politi
cal head ; it was sanctified, when changed by apostolic autho
rity to the first day of the Aveek, in the practice of all the pri
mitive churches ; and these incidental circumstances, in the
absence of an explicit injunction, are advanced as irresistibly
determining in favour of the institute.f The loose and in
cautious statements of episcopal writers upon this subject, the
non-observation of the day of rest by the court in the time of
the Stuarts, introduced a laxity of manners among the people,
and led them to convert the sacred festival into a civil holi
day. Many of the nonconformist divines took up the pen to
correct the mischievous errors of Heylin, and counteract the
still lingering spirit ofthe Book of Sports ; and their treatises
still remain among the most valuable in the library of English
theology, in defence of the perpetuity and sanctity of the sab
bath. The second essay, on the time for administering the
Lord's supper, was Avritten about the year 1710 ;J and arose
from some religious scruples Avhich one of the hearers at
Bury Street entertained, about receiving the communion at
* " The Lord's Day, or Christian Sabbath. Gen. ii. 3."
fTwo appendices are added to this essay. The first contains an extract from
Lord King's "Inquiry into the Primitive Churches;" and the second, some addi
tional remarks, strengthening the inferential proof of the Sabbath being of divine
obligation. This question has of late been set at rest by many excellent produc
tions; and especially Dr. Wardlaw has most triumphantly refuted the objections
ofthe anti-sabbattarians, in his "Discourses on the Sabbath. 1832."
X See preface.

534 LIFE AND TIMES
noon, according to the custom of many churches. He argues,
that where the time of any duty has been expressly instituted,
it ought to be punctually obeyed; but that it by no means
follows, that every circumstance of time or place, which at
tended any part of worship in Avhich the apostles or Christ
himself engaged, must be observed also whenever Ave perform
it. We are under as much obligation to partake of the Lord's
supper only in a " city," " in a large upper room furnished,"*
observing the Jewish posture of sitting at table, as to receive
it iu an evening. The practice of the primitive churches va
ried upon this point ; sometimes the sacrament was celebra
ted " horis ante lucanis," before break of day ; Paul at Troas
" broke bread" Avhen it was past midnight ;f but the proper
season for its performance is doubtless that which is most
convenient to the parties engaged in it.J The third disserta
tion is the substance of a sermon preached at Wapping, Oct.
20th, 1737, at the opening of Mr. Jennings's meeting-house.
The fourth and fifth contrast the economy and advantages of
the Jewish and Christian churches. — These essays contain a
very valuable and practical exhibition of evangelical truth ;
they discover the writer's extensive acquaintance Avith the sa
cred page and both ancient and modern divinity; and the
just remarks and happy illustrations Avith which the volume
abounds, render its perusal pleasing and profitable, and add
considerably to the reader's stock of theological knoAvledge.
We have seen Dr. Watts rejoicing in the spiritual prosper-
* Mark, xiv. 15, 16. + Acts, xx. 7.
+ President Chauncey thought the Lord's Supper should be in an evening. In
the records of Harvard college, there is the following memorandum:
"At a meeting ofthe Honourable and Reverend Overseers of the college, Mr.
Mather and Mr. Norton were desired by the overseers of the college, to tender
unto the Reverend Mr. Charles Chauncey the place of President, with the stipend
of one hundred pounds per annum, to be paid out of the country treasury; and
withal to signify to him, that it is expected and desired, that he forbear to dissemi
nate or publish any tenets concerning immersion in baptism, and celebration of
the Lord's Supper at evening, or to expose the received doctrine therein."
Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, x. 175.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 535
ity of the American colonies: a striking change Avas now at
hand in the moral and religious state of his own country.
The Methodists were beginning to attract public notice by the
holy lives and abundant labours of the Wesleys ; the popu
lace of the metropolis was flocking to Kennington Common and
Moorfields, to be roused from its slumber by the poAverful
voice of Whitfield ; and that glorious ministry was commenc
ing in the "highways and hedges," Avhich, though opposed
by the cold advocates of order, and scowled upon by selfish
bigots, has proved such a signal blessing to the nation.
Various representations have been given of the disposition of
the dissenters towards the distinguished leaders of the rising
sect. The ardour, the disinterestedness, the desire, and
unremitting exertions to Avin souls displayed by them, com
manded the admiration and won the love of such men as
Watts, Doddridge, and others; but in many instances
their co-operation was forfeited by the want of a conciliating
spirit, and the good-will they tendered was lost by causeless
and imprudent reflections. When their churches were de
nounced as companies of banded formalists — Avhen their min
istry Avas proclaimed, as feeding the flock with husks instead
of salutary food — it is not surprising if the majority kept aloof
or retired disgusted by the exhibition of so much censorious-
ness. Whitfield, especially in middle age, saw the error into
Avhich he had been betrayed by youthful intemperance, and
in the spirit of a Christian publicly acknowledged it. But
notwithstanding such unhappy circumstances, Dr. Watts,
Dr. Doddridge, Mr. Barker, and other eminent ministers,
exemplified the charity that "hopeth all things," and Avitness-
ed with intense interest and joy the good that was accom
plished, hoAvever imperfect they might deem the instruments.
The latter in a private letter remarks, " I have heard a little
of Count Zinzindorf, but not a full and satisfactory account ;
but this I am sure of, that if Satan's kingdom falls, and that
of our Lord rises, if the one lessens and the other extends,

536 LIFE AND TIMES
therein do I rejoice, and will rejoice, whoever is the instru
ment, and whatever the means, and in what place soever
Providence opens the road. By what you say of that noble
person, I suppose you are Avell satisfied he is a Christian re
formed from popery as well as impiety, and zealous for the
truths and laws of Christ. I still think the Methodists sin
cere ; I hope that they do good, and that some may be re
formed, instructed, and made serious by their means. I saAV
Mr. Whitfield preaching on Kennington Common last Aveek
to an attentive multitude, and heard much of him at Bath ;
but supposing him sincere, and in good earnest, I still fancy
that he is but a weak man — much too positive, says rash
things,, and is bold and enthusiastic. I am most heartily glad
to hear of piety, prayer, reformation, and every thing that
looks like faith and holiness, in the north or south, the east
or the west, and that any real good is done any Avhere to tbe
souls of men ; but whether the Methodists are in a right Avay,
whether they are Avarrantable in all their conduct, Avhether
poor people should be urged (through different persons, suc
cessively) to pray from four in the morning till eleven at night,
is not clear to me ; and I am less satisfied Avith the high pre
tences they make to the Divine influence. I think Avhat Mr.
Whitfield says and does comes but little short of an assump
tion of inspiration or infallibility." In the sentiments here
expressed Dr. Doddridge fully coincided ; with the Wesleys,
Whitfield, and Zinzindorf he had personal intervieAvs ; but
the extravagances Avhich were tolerated by their followers at
last grieved his candid mind. "I had," he says in one of his
letters, "great expectations from the Methodists and Moravi
ans ; I am grieved from my very heart that so many things
have occurred among them, Avhich have been quite unjustifia
ble; and I assure you faithfully, they are such as would have
occasioned me to have dropped that intimacy of correspond
ence which I once had with them. And I suppose they have
also produced the same sentiments in the Archbishop of Can-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 537
terbury, who to my certain knowledge received Count Zin-
zindorf with open arms, and Avrote of his being chosen the
Moravian bishop, as Avhat was done 'plaudente toto ccelesti
choro.' " It is highly probable that Dr. Watts sympathised
with his friends in their views ofthe zealous itinerants; he
saAV much to hope and much to fear from their conduct ; and
Avhilst their inexperience and rashness led him to treat them
Avith cautious reserve, he rejoiced inasmuch as Christ was
preached. I knoAV not Avhether either of the Wesleys came
into personal contact Avith him, but Whitfield sought his
friendship, and visited him previous to his second voyage to
America. He took occasion to correct his errors, and point
out the dangers to which he Avas exposed ; to guard against
interpreting mental impression as the voice of God, and mis
taking animal excitement for the influence of devotion ; advice
which the young apostle received with candour, and regret
ted at a later period that he had not sooner folloAved.
FROM THE REV. GEORGE THOMSON*
"St. Ginny's, Jan. 17, 1736.
" Poet, Divine, Saint, the delight, the guide, the Avonder
of the virtuous world ; permit, Rev. Sir, a stranger unknown,
and likely to be for ever unknown, to desire one blessing from
you in a private way. 'Tis this, that Avhen you approach the
throne of grace, and lift up holy hands, when you get closest
to the mercy -seat, and wrestle mightily for the peace of Jeru
salem, you would breathe one petition for my soul's health.
In return I promise you a share for life in my unworthy
prayers, who honour you as a father and a brother (though
differently ordered), and conclude myself
" Your affectionate humble servant,
" GEORGE THOMSON.
* This gentleman was living in 1780, though deprived of sight.
im m

538 LIFE AND TIMES
" P. S. If you can forgive my freedom, and find a few mi
nutes' leisure to ascertain me of your kind design to oblige,
to make me happy, direct to George Thomson, Vicar of St.
Ginny's, near Camelford, in Cornwall."

" Dear Sir,

TO THE REV. SAMUEL SAY.
" NeAvington, Jan. 28, 1736.

" If you desire me to do any thing for you which
you could not do yourself, you know that I am ever ready ;
but Avhen you ask me to correct a copy of verses, you ask me
to teach Quintilian to correct an oration of one of his Roman
pupils, or to instruct Horace to Avrite lyrics. Alas ! my friend,
I am grown into years, and though part of the critic lives,
yet the poet is almost expired. Old age can find fault Avhere
it cannot mend. Yet friendship prevails, and overrules my
reasonings, and constrains me to attempt what you desire. I
have sent you a short sketch of Avhat may be much improved
by your review. " I am, &c. " I. WATTS."

FROM THE REV. BENJAMIN COLMAN, D. D.*
" Boston, Feb. 12, 1736.
" Reverend Sir,
" In one of your last to me you express yourself as
greatly pleased with the account I gave you of the great and
good disposition found in a tribe of Indians on our south-
*This very eminent divine was educated at Harvard college. He came over to
England in 1692, and having been ordained, returned to the charge of one of the
churches (called the New Church) in Boston. He corresponded with Dean, after
wards Bishop, Kennet, and received his degree from the university of Edinburgh,

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 589
Avestern borders, at Honstatonock, to receive the gospel. I
send you by this ship, and to Dr. Harris, Dr. Guyse, Mr.
Neal, and others, the sermon preached at Mr. Sargeant's*
ordination, to Avhich some account of this work of God is pre
fixed, and therein two letters to me, to Avhich I refer you.
Since which I have a third letter, in which Mr. Sargeant ex
presses himself thus to me :
" ' Sir, I doubt not but God in his infinite mercy hears the
prayers of good men daily put up to him for success in the
cause of Christ, in Avhich I have the honour to be engaged.
In their favour, next to the blessing of God on my endeavours,
I seem to enjoy the pleasures of society in the deepest solitude.
" ' I Avish I were Avorthy the love of so excellent a man as
the Rev. Dr. Watts, whom all the Avorld admire and love.
And if I may be thought to deserve in any measure the good
opinion of the Avorld, it is not a little OAving to the doctor's in
genious writings, which have the force to charm minds to the
love of piety and virtue, and infuse something of his own spi
rit into his readers.
'"I have always endeavoured to lead our Indians by the
easiest steps into knoAvledge. I had no thoughts of my first

in conjunction with Professor Wigglesworth. Upon Whitfield's visit to Georgia,
he invited him to Boston, and gave him the use of his pulpit. Dr. Colman wrote
" A Narrative of the Method and Success of Inoculating the Small-pox in New
England, with a Reply to the objections made against it from Principles of Con
science." This was published by Mr. Neal in London, and attracted the attention
ofthe Prince and Princess of Wales, who invited the editor to an interview. In
a Sketch of eminent ministers in New England, by the Rev. John Barnard, Dr.
Colman is described as "a most gentlemanly man, of polite aspect and conversa
tion, very extensive erudition, great devotion of spirit and behaviour, a charming
and admired preacher, extensively serviceable to the college and country, whose
works breathe his exalted, oratorical, devout, and benign spirit : an excellent man
in spirit, in faith, in holiness, and charity." Collections of the Historical Society,
Boston, a. 169. — Dr. Chauncey, in a letter to Dr. Stiles, says of him, "His
character would have been greater, conld it have been said that he exceeded as
much in strength of reason and firmness of mind, as in many other good qualities."
He died, after a useful and blameless life, in the year 1747, aged 73. His life was
published by his son Turell, 8vo. 1749.
•See Correspondence to Chap. XVII.

540 LIFE AND TIMES
discourse to them, that it Avould be ever read by any but my
self; but had I tried to mend it, it may be I should have
made it worse.
" ' God pleases to croAvn our endeavours with unexpected
and surprising success. I have baptised almost forty persons,
infants and adults. I hope the adults have a pretty good
understanding of the main and fundamental doctrines of the
holy religion into which they have been baptised. I always
endeavour to possess their minds with a most serious sense of
Avhat they are about when they enter themselves the disciples
of Christ. Their Avhole hearts seem to be engaged in the mat
ter ; and I have reason to think, that the imperfection of their
knowledge is made up by the zeal and integrity of their in
tentions. Those that have been baptised have behaved them
selves very Avell, though they have several times been tempted
to exceed the rules of temperance with the offers of strong
drink, which used to be their beloved destruction. They
seem to be surprised with the change they find in themselves ;
and, after their manner, express the difference between their
former and present state, by infancy and manhood, dreaming
and being awake, darkness and light, and the like metaphors.
I pray God that the day-star that seems risen in their hearts,
may shine more and more to the perfect day. I have two
Indian lads live Avith me, and have £.3 in money, which
I design to spend on them (i. e. by subsisting them), and by
their assistance to get the language. Pray for me, and for
our new proselytes, and the AA'hole tribe, and may the blessing
of the charitable descend on you, &c.
" ' December 26, 1735. JOHN sargeant.'
" Mr. Sargeant had not been ordained four months when
he Avrote this letter. I have sent him some of Mr. Holden's
money for his subsisting the Indian lads, ten pounds ; and he
shall have more if he needs. His Avork and prayers are a good

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 541
return. You see, Sir, how you are loved up in our Avoods,
and what excellent men live there, and Avhat good things are
doing there. As it rejoiced Mr. Sargeant there to hear of
your joy in them, so it will refresh you, Sir, in tbe midst of
London, to hear from him.
" My packet now comes to Mr. Coram,* at tbe navy office ;
he Avill safely, and Avithout charge, convey it to you. He is
one of the trustees for Georgia, and has brought me into some
correspondence Avith the Earl of Egremont, and the Rev, Mr.
Smith of Aldgate, and now also with the Rev. Mr. Winder of
Liverpool,? who by his letter appears to be a very superior
person. Mr. Coram has a vast zeal for our missionaries in
the east on Dr. Williams'sJ foundation. But the prospect is
poor there. If it continue so unprofitable, and the door opens
above Honstatonock, as seems likely, I tell our governor Ave
must needs remove those missionaries thither.
" And now I have named his Excellency, I Avill add, that
he never has said any thing of your leaving your poem to
him out of your Miscellaneous Thoughts. I am sorry you
thought there Avas reason to do it. If I am able lo judge, he
is an upright and fervent man to do good. He is the father
of the Honstatonocks, and tender of Mr. Sargeant as of his
eye. His heart is much Avith God and for him. I will take
* Captain Coram.
f The Rev. Thos. Winder, D.D. author of " A Critical and Chronological His
tory ofthe Rise, Progress, Declension, and Revival of Knowledge, chiefly Reli
gious: in two periods. 1 . The Period of Tradition from Adam to Moses. 2. Tlie
Period of Letters from Moses to Christ." This was published in 1745 in two
volumes quarto, under the editorial inspection of his learned friend Dr. Benson, of
Poor Jewry Lane. Some memoirs of Dr. Winder's life are appended to it.
X Dr. Williams, among his numerous benefactions, left a legacy for the support
of two missionaries to the Indians in America. The incorporated society in London,
for propagating the gospel in New England and the parts adjacent, had the ma
nagement of this fund. Their commissioners in Boston appointed, at the recom
mendation of Mr. Brainerd, Mr. Elihu Spencer to labour among the Indians of the
Six Nations. He was accordingly ordained, and usefully employed among the
Oneidas, about one hundred and seventy miles beyond Albany.

542 LIFE AND TIMES
leave to communicate tb you some lines he has lately wrote
to me, that I may restore him in your thoughts if need be.
" 'January, 1735—6.
"'Great are my desires to serve my Creator and Redeemer
in my public and private life. Dear Sir, I entreat, I charge
and require you to Avrestle with God, that I may be always
faithful and upright before him.' " ' February 7,  .
" ' As the recess of the general assembly and the winter
season give me some little ease, I cannot employ myself better
to my satisfaction, than to inquire into the duty I owe to my
God and Saviour. These are admirably set before me in your
letters, &c. But, O Sir, in what a glaring light has God set
me ! How has he encompassed me Avith innumerable bless
ings, health, affluence, honour, &c. ! And now to be taken
from the sheepfolds, &c. ! How grateful, vigilant, and pros
trate ought I to lie at his feet, on whose shoulders the govern
ment is laid, that in the whole of my administration I may-
advance his glory ! wherein I am sure I shall best of all honour
the king and serve his people,' &c. &c.
" I thought, Sir, there could be no like effectual way to
shoAV you the true worth and spirit of our excellent governor,
than by such a transcript, which I send you in a confidence
of secresy, that can only excuse, if it may at all justify, Avhat
I do. And after all my heart smites me, as David's did him,
when he cut off the skirts and saved his father's life.
" The spring is now coming, and the ships from sea appear
then, as the birds out of the Avood. Then Ave look out to see and
read you again, to receive neAv bounties and blessings. But
good and bad is mixed in this life, and we seldom hear from
our living friends, but Ave hear of some dead. May you still
live by the will of God, and love and pray for your affectionate
"BENJ. COLMAN.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 543
" P. S. We have had a strange fever that seizes the throats
of our children, in New Hampshire, this Avinter, and carries
them off suddenly ; SAveeps houses ; so that from week toAveek
Ave hear of three buried together by one, and three by another;
some have buried their all, and some their five or six* It is
new, and no means safe as yet; our eyes are up to God, and
have kept a day of prayer through the province to make inter
cession. ' Spare thy people, O Lord !' "

FROM MR. ELISHA WILLIAMS.t
"NeAV Haven, May 24, 1736.
"Rev. Sir, "I have noAv before me yours of May 13th, 1735, for
Avhich as Avell as the two volumes of sermons sent thereAvith
to the college, my grateful acknoAvledgments on my OAvn ac
count, as Avell as in behalf of the college corporation, you

* The Rev. Jabez Fitch, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, published an account
of this fatal disorder, as it appeared in that province, for fourteen months, prior
to July 25, 1736. He also published two sermons from Jeremiah, xiv. 8, 9, de
signed to lead the people to a religious improvement of the throat distemper.
f This gentleman was the rector of Yale college, at New Haven, in Connecticut,
from the year 1726 to 1739. He resigned the office owing to ill health, but became
chaplain to a regiment sent from New England against Cape Breton in the year
1745, when that important place surrendered to the British arms. After this, when
an expedition was concerted against Cauada, and a regiment of a thousand men
was raised by his majesty's order for the purpose, he was appointed by the General
Assembly to be the chief colonel, which office he accepted, and was in readiness to
have gone upon the service, when orders came from Great Britain for disbanding
the troops designed for the expedition. He came to England to solicit the pay
ment ofthe regimentin January, 1749 — 50, and did not leave it till August, 1751.
Daring this time Dr. Gibbons had a particular and intimate acquaintance with
him, and so had Dr. Doddridge, who in a letter to a friend gives this account con
cerning hioi : " I look upon Colonel Williams to be one of the most valuable
men upon earth : he has joined an ardent sense of religion, solid learning, con
summate prudence, great candour, and sweetness of temper, and a certain noble
ness of soul capable of contriving and acting the greatest things without seeming
to be conscious of having done them."

544 LIFE AND TIMES
might justly have expected before this time ; yet, Avhen I
have informed you that my friend at Boston, into Avhose
hands your packet Avas put to convey it to me, happened to
send it by one who left it in the country at some distance
from Boston, Avhere, notwithstanding all the care I could pos
sibly take, it lay till this spring, and then was earned back to
Boston for conveyance hither, and but two days ago came to
my hands, you will not, Sir, interpret it as a neglect of duty
that our thanks reach you no sooner.
" Though I have had so little time to think on Avhat you laid
before me in yours relating to those philosophical inquiries,
yet I durst not omit this first opportunity of transmitting this
to Boston, and the rather, expecting it may reach the hands
of Mr. Hooker, an ingenious and hopeful young gentleman
educated at this college, noAv sailing for London, Avho intends
to do himself the honour of waiting on yourself, if God shall
give him leave, and so I hope this may safely reach you by
him. Since the thesis I sent you Avas not unacceptable, I
venture to offer you the last.
"The state of religion in the nation seems very lamentable
according to your account of it, and, considering the light and
means they have, it is amazing, and a very strong evidence
of the dreadful depravation of human nature, and so of some
of those truths they so earnestly oppose. As those volumes of
sermons you Avere pleased to send us were doubtless very sea
sonable Avhere they Avere preached, wherein several truths
were fairly cleared which had been suffering from various
quarters, so they are indeed seasonable in this country, and I
cannot sufficiently express my thankfulness to God and to
you for them on account of the youth who are here educated.
"I am obliged, in thankfulness to God, to own that your
sermons have done great service to our youth, as I hope those
now sent will, which I purpose shall be read in the college-
hall every Sabbath evening, as yours and some others have
been, that they may be made the more extensively beneficial

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 545
" I sometime since informed you I hoped your Catechisms
for youth would have an impression in this country, and
should when accomplished have offered one to your accept
ance had there not been the mistake of copying after the
first edition instead of your corrected one, Avhich I trust will
be mended Avhen it receives a second edition, Avhich I wish
for ; and my father (who Avrote the preface to it) lately telling
me Mr. S. Mather* of Boston had acquainted him he had
sent you one of them, I thought it not amiss to inform you
hoAV the mistake came. The ministers in the county of
Hampshire devolved the care of printing it on one of their
number, who told me he had your corrected edition, I having
seasonably observed to him the necessity of putting such a
one into the printer's hands, and that if he had not one I
AA'ould furnish him, and upon his telling me so I took no fur
ther care of the matter till it Avas too late to help his mistake.
" Since the advancement of Christ's kingdom is always your
* Son of Dr. Cotton Mather, aud the author of his life, to the English abridg
ment of which Dr. AAratts wrote a preface. We have interesting memoirs ofthe
Wesley family : a memoir of the Mather family is a desideratum, and would be a
valuable addition to the library of Christian biography. The great grandfather of
the Mr. S. Mather mentioned above, was the Rev. John Cotton, who was pastor, in
conjunction with Air. Wilson, of the first church in Boston. The name of the city
until his arrival in 1 634, had been among the Indians Shawmut, afterwards among
the early settlers Tri-mountain, from its three hills, but changed to Boston, in
honour of the place of the same uame in Lincolnshire, where Mr. Cotton had ex
ercised his ministry. Dr. Cotton Mather tells us, that the gathering of the second
church in Boston, was "very much against the interest of Mr. Cotton, his worthy
grandfather; but his name was John, and he reckoned his joy fulfilled in this, that
in his own decrease the interest of Christ would increase ; and, therefore, with ex
emplary self-denial, he set himself to encourage the foundation of this church.
And that it pleased the Lord so to order it, that his self denial should turn out to
some account in the opportunities which that very church had given to his children
to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in the conduct of it. His son-in-law (Increase
Mather) for more than thrice ten years, and his grandson (Cotton Mather) for
more than twice seven years, being the minister of the gospel in that very church,
accommodated with happy opportunities to serve their generation." Eccles. Hist.
of Massachusetts in Historical Collections, x. 27. I know not whether Mr. Samuel
Mather succeeded his father in the same church, called the North Church, but he
was a minister many years in Boston, and became doctor of divinity. His great
uncle, the Rev. Nathaniel Mather, was pastor of the Independent church in Paved
Alley, Lime Street, London, to whose memory Dr. Watts has inscribed an epitaph.

546 LIFE AND TIMES
rejoicing, it Avill not be disagreeable to you if I should ac
quaint you that there has been a remarkable revival of religiou
in several parts of this country, in ten parishes in the county
of Hampshire, in the Massachusetts province, Avhere it first
began a little more than a year since, and in near twenty pa
rishes of this colony. It has not been equal in them all,
though in all the Spirit of God has appeared remarkably
poured out on many old professors, but especially on the ri
sing generation. In several towns it was very general, and
a serious thorough concern Avas stirred up in them to make a
business of religion, so as to bespeak the special hand of God
therein. I will only instance in one town, Hatfield.* There
appeared a great concern upon the minds of many in one part
of the tOAvn at once. Children from ten to twelve years of age
of their own accord (and Avithout the knowledge of elder peo
ple), assembled to read and pray by themselves, while others
who Avere elder did the like (though in this practice the chil
dren Avere first). The other part of the tOAvn observed this,
and rather wondered Avhat had happened to them than thought
of any such thing themselves, and the looser among them ri
diculed it, but in a feAV days they Avere awakened themselves,
and the concern became so general that it seemed almost the
universal cry (among the unconverted) Avhat they should do to
be saved ; so that they applied to their minister in numbers
every day from morning till night Avith their difficulties for his
* A small town iu Hampshire, upon the river Connecticut. The minister here
was the father of the writer of this letter, the uncle of President Edwards, and the
son-in-law' of Mr. Stoddard of Northampton. Dr. Chauncey remarks, in his " Sketch
of Eminent Men," " I have read all Mr. Stoddard's writings, but was never able to
see iu them that strength of genius some have attributed to him. Mr. Williams of
Hatfield, his son-in-law, I believe to have been the greater man, and I am ready to
think greater than any of his own sons, though they were all men of more than
common understanding. Rector Williams and his brother Solomon I give the pre
ference to the other sons." In his "Faithful Narrative," speaking of the revival,
Mr. Edwards observes, " It began also to be manifest in the south part of Hatfield,
in a place called the Hill, and the whole town, in the second week in April, seemed
to be seized, as it were, at once with concern about the things of religion ; and the
work of God has been great there."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 517
direction and help. The issue has been, that many are hap
pily converted, some children under ten years of age, many of
Avhom surprise us Avith their piety and understanding in reli
gion. There is a universal reformation of manners, there are
frequent meetings for reading and praying kept up in several
parts of the towns, the most engaged attention on the ministry,
and the conversation of people is much turned from Avorldly
concerns to those of a religious nature, and their religion
seems to be a real living principle within them. After this
manner has the work been, and is still going on in some pla
ces. This mercy has also reached some of the Indians, especi
ally a tribe of them, to Avhorn Mr. Sargeant, lately a tutor at
this college, a learned pious man, has gone, and entirely de
voted himself to serve the interest of Christ among them, and
since last October has baptised fifty infants and adults, of
whom he says he has reason to hope they will live Avorthy the
profession they have made ; that they seem surprised at the
change they feel in themselves, and compare their former
state of heathenism to a dream, and their Christianity to their
being aAvake ; their heathenism to the darkness of the night,
their Christianity to the brightness of the day : these and such
like metaphors they use to express the difference betAveen
their former and present state. Would to God this blessing
might be extended not only through our land and nation but
the Avhole world !
" We have just received the unwelcome neAvs, that the par
liament has rejected the application of the protestant dissenters
to have the corporation and test acts repealed. I had hoped
by this time that the just notions of liberty had so far pre
vailed in the nation, as to have delivered as good subjects as
any the king has from a part at least of that persecution they
had long felt. Are the adversaries of truth and liberty still
so strong as to discourage any further attempt ?
"Forgive all the trouble of this tedious letter, and be pleas
ed to accept of our sincere and affectionate regards, and of the

548 LIFE AND TIMES
humble duty of our tutors and Mr. Hubbard, and alloAv me to
subscribe myself, Reverend Sir,
" Your most obliged and
"Very humble servant,
"ELISHA WILLIAMS."
FROM THE HON. JONATHAN BELCHER.
" Boston, Nov. 29, 1736.
" Dear Sir,
" In June last came to my hand your favour of the
28th of February, Avhen I Avas sorry to find Mr. Belcher dis
appointed of the pleasure of your conversation in the city by
your confinement at Newington, Avhere I hope he soon wait
ed on you. I desire to own it, with the humblest and highest
sense of gratitude to my gracious God and Father, that I
have continued accounts of my son's sobriety and diligence;
and I am the more pleased with Avhat I formerly wrote him
on the score of his standing a candidate, since you fully agree
with me iu those sentiments; yet, as I then hinted, if God
spares his life, and opens a fair door, I should be pleased he
might find a seat in St. Stephen's chapel at the next election ;
but that is at a great distance, and it is not Avorth while to be
anxious about it.
" From the arrival of one ship after another, 1 find Gover
nor Shute gradually decaying ; may his last days be his best,
and when numbered and finished may he receive a croAvn of
life. " Governor Holden gives me the account of the miscarriage
of the repeal of the test : considering how cold the ministry
were in the matter, it is a pity the attempt Avas made yet ;
when it Avill be a convenient season it is hard to say.
" My best respects always wait on the good Lady Abney.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 549
" I thank your kind condolence on the death of my late dear
sister Oliver, Avho did Avorthily in her generation, and I doubt
not but, through the mercy of God in Christ, she is become a
member of the ' general assembly and church of the first-born,
and noAv lives Avith the spirits of the just men made perfect.'
I am much pleased with your ingenious little book, ' The Re
deemer, Sanctifier,' &c. and sorry there should be occasion for
it in this part of the Avorld. ' God planted this world Avith a
noble vine, Avholly a right seed ;' and justly noAv complains,
' How art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange
vine ! And how is the gold become dim ! How is the most
fine gold changed ! Yet I will not despond, for the residue
of the Spirit is with God, and he can revive his work in the
midst of the years.' This Ave must always pray for in the name
of his well-beloved Son, our exalted Redeemer and poAverful
Intercessor. " I thank you very kindly for your good wishes to my go
vernment, to myself, and to my family.
" I am now, Sir, with a faint voice and Avith a trembling
hand, to acquaint you of the death of my late dear wife, on
the 6th ult. God has removed the desire of my eyes with a
stroke ; she who had been the faithful divider of all my cares,
and the doubler of all my joys. I desire now to remember,
that ' affliction does not spring out of the dust,' nor ' does God
willingly afflict or grieve the children of men ;' I Avould, there
fore, bow down and adore, and say, ' I have sinned, Avhat shall
I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men ?' And ' wherefore
doth a living man complain ? A man for the punishment of
his sins ?' Especially since, in this judgment, God gives me
great reason to sing of mercy ; for she had the full use of her
reason till the last moment, and died in great peace and sere
nity ; and while I tell you some of her last expressions, you
will charitably hope so. She* died on the Wednesday, and
on the Monday before, as I was sitting with her on the bed,
I said to her, ' My dear, you draw nigh to the grave? She

550 LIFE AND TIMES
replied, 'I knoiv it, my dear? I then said, ' 'Tis a great work
to die? SheansAvered, ' Soit is, but Christ Jesus died for the
chief of sinners, or I should die without hope? She then
Avent on ; iHe is an almighty Saviour, and saves to the utter
most those that come unto him ; therefore, my dear, I am not
afraid to die? And again, with a loud voice, she said, ' He is
a lovely Saviour, and f love him with my whole soul; and
could not love him, if he had not loved me first.' She has
trod the dark valley, Avhether I must soon folloAV her; and
the voice of God to me in this providence is, ' Be you, there
fore, ready also.' Let me, then, Sir, ask you to join your
prayers to mine, that by the assistance of the Holy Spirit of
God I may ' stand with my loins girt, and my light burning,
that Avhenever the Son of Man comes I may enter into the
joy of my Lord.' May you and I meet and dwell for ever
there, through infinite riches of grace and mercy, in Jesus
Christ! Amen. Reverend Sir,
" Your assured friend
" And most obedient servant,
"J. BELCHER.
" P. S. Your packets under my care Avere all carefully
delivered." FROM THE REV. FREDERIC MICHAEL ZIEGENHAGEN*
"Kensington, Oct. 29, 1736.
" Rev. Sir,
" Your very kind letter of the 23rd instant, together
with three books of the late Rev. Mr. John Jennings'sf Dis-
*This gentleman was chaplain to George II. minister of the German chapel at
St. James's upwards of fifty-three years, and died, bearing an excellent character,
January 24th, 1776.
f Mr. J. Jennings was pastor at Kibworth and Hinckley in Leicestershire, the
tutor of an academy, and died at the latter place in the year 1722. He was the
author of another small treatise on "Preaching Christ," to which Dr.Watts wrote a
preface. Appendix H.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 551
courses concerning evangelical and experimental preaching
came safe to my hands, Oct. 26. I heartily thank you, dear
Sir, as Avell as the Rev. Mr. David Jennings,* for so agreeable
a present, and more especially for the care and pains both of
you have been at, either in translating or revising and publish
ing the late Professor Franck's epistle on the same subject. I
shall not fail to acquaint the son of that good man, the present
professor Frank, Avith your particular esteem for and love to
the memory of his father, and by the first opportunity also
transmit, according to your direction, tAVO copies of the said
discourses to Halle. In the mean time I dare assure you this
fresh instance of your pious desire to promote the interest of
true Christianity will certainly be acknowledged with praise
to the Lord, and endear your name to very many Avho wish
well to the cause of Christ in Germany. May the Lord be
pleased to awaken by this little book the whole order of men
who pretend to be ministers of Christ and the gospel, and
nevertheless have been too negligent, if not ashamed to preach
Christ or the gospel, that they may recover themselves out of
the snare and deceit they most unhappily are fallen into, that
for the future they may not preach themselves, but Christ
Jesus the Lord, and especially him crucified, who alone is
made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sancti
fication, and redemption.
" As to your kind invitation to come and dine with you on
a Tuesday in Aldermanbury I very thankfully accept of it,
but must beg leave to defer it a time longer, till the arrival of
three missionaries for the protestant mission in the East Indies
at Tranquebar, who are expected from Halle the middle of
December next, and will certainly be very glad to have the
happiness to get acquainted with good and pious men, and
particularly with the author of that excellent book called

* Brother of the preceding, and pastor of the church in Gravel Lane, Wapping,
one of Watts's most esteemed friends.

552 LIFE AND TIMES
' The Redeemer and Sanctifier,' and I do not question that
your goodness will grant them a friendly access and conversa
tion. My most humble service to my Lady Abney and her
family. I remain, with much sincerity and esteem, reverend
Sir, " Your affectionate brother
" And humble servant,

(<

FRED. MICH. ZIEGENHAGEN."

FROM THE REV. BENJAMIN COLMAN, D. D.
" Boston, Dec. 17, 1736.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" Your favours of September last found me confined
to my chamber, under the asthmatic oppression of a very
great cold and cough, which has been very heavy upon me by
night, but by day I have had more ease. I have not been out
of my doors these thirty days, but only to preach, and am much
enfeebled and wasted ; but, I thank God, this last Aveek I am
something amended. My tender constitution from my youth
feels the advancesofage sooner and stronger than many others;
yet I have seen others, seemingly stronger, breaking sooner in
all their poAvers : and what am I that I should be spared ?
The Lord quicken me in my work, and prepare me for my
change. " Your picture for the college, and the books for Mr. Sar
geant, came safe to me, and I have given the good captain a
receipt for them, in acknoAvledgment of his care. I have wrote
to Mr. President* and Mr. Sargeant, and given them an ac-
*The Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth. He succeeded President Leveret in the
charge of Harvard college, in the year 1724. He graduated in 1690, and in con
nexion with the Rev. Thomas Foxcroft became pastor of the Old Church in Boston.
" These are reckoned," says Neal, " the most narrow in their principles, and to
approach nearest the Brownists." Hist, of New England, ii. 589. Mr. Wads
worth is described as of " good learning, most pious, humble and prudent, an
excellent, plain, pathetical preacher." Rev. John Barnard in Hist. Coll. x. 169.
He died in the following year, and was succeeded by President Holyoke.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 553
count of your kindness, and the words you have Avritten re
specting both. But there is such a wilderness between us and
Mr. Sargeant, that I fear whether the books will get to him
till the spring ; and Mr. President has not yet got a safe hand
to send for your picture, which will be very Avelcome to the
college, as I am sure your soul in its various forms has been.
" I sometimes wonder that my packets last were so long in
their way to you ; but Mr. Coram lets me know from Bristol,
that he had been long from home, Avhich accounts in part to
me for the reason.
" Although the difference that has been at Springfield* and
Boston, has wounded and Aveakened the hearts of some of us
there and here, yet, thanks be to God, the good fruits of the
Spirit there abide ; and I send you an extract of a long letter,
and another to Dr. Guyse, from the Rev. Mr. Edwards of
Northampton, relating to that work, Avhich will gratify both
you and him in the general account given ; and you may make
what use of it you please for the good of others. The whole
of his letter to me is eight sheets, in Avriting ; and whether it
Avill be best to print it all I am in doubt, considering the taste
of the present day ; yet I find Mr. Edwards is not altogether
pleased Avith the liberty Ave have taken of so general an ex
tract. If it be not printed here in the whole, as a proposal is
made by the bookseller, I think to send over to Dr. Guyse and
you the manuscript, with Mr. Edwards's leave, and I think
nothing less was his meaning in his labour of writing it ; and

* A town upon the river Connecticut, founded by William Pynchon, Esq. called
after a place of the same name in Essex, near to which he had a mansion. Spring
field was nearly destroyed by the Indians under the famous Sachem Philip. " I
suppose," says Mr. Edwards, " we have been the freest of any part of the land from
unhappy divisions and quarrels in our ecclesiastical and religious affairs, till the
late lamentable Springfield contention." " The contention," he adds, "relates to
the settlement of a minister there, which occasioned too warm debates between
some, both pastors and people, that were for it, and others that were against it, on
account of their different apprehensions about his principles, and about some steps
that were taken to procure his ordination." N n

554 LIFE AND TIMES
then it will be yours to use as you may judge best for the
service of souls.
"I suppose you have my sermon on the Rev. Mr. Stod
dard's* decease, Avho Avas an eminent father in our churches ;
and it will please you to see the piety, labours, and success of
his grandson and successor, Avho is risen up as Elisha in the
spirit of Elias, to do greater things, through the special grace
of God in him and Avith him.
" The Rev. Mr. Williams, to whose pious and plain sermons
the letter aforesaid is an appendix, is now seventy years old,
and has been the father of that country since Mr. Stoddard's
decease; a man eminent for meekness of wisdom, apostolic
love and charity, devotion, public and private, admirable in
the flow of his prayers, and the humblest saint in the whole
province- God has blessed him Avith four sons ; one presi
dent of Yale College, two superior in the ministry among us,
the youngest one of our court. Our visit last year to Spring
field Avas a great Avound to his soul.
" I heard lately from Mr. Sargeant, that his Indians grow
uneasy about tOAvnships laid out about them, to his great dis
couragement. Not able to wait on the governor I Avrote to
him, and he laid my letter before the court; and he satisfies
me, in a line, that the court will take effectual care to make
the tribe easy. The Dutch traders do all they can to infuse
jealousies into the Indians of our design to make a property
of them, but as yet in vain.
" The state of our province is greatly embarrassed about the
paper currency. The court called us to a day of prayer with

* The Rev. Solomon Stoddard, born at Boston in the year 1643. He graduated
at Harvard in 1662, commenced his ministry in his native city, but removed for
the benefit of his health to Barbadoes, where he spent two years. He afterwards
settled at Northampton, a town on the Connecticut, as the successor of the Rev.
Eleazer Mather, the first minister, and was ordained Sep'. 1 1, 1672. After labour
ing for nearly sixty years he was removed by death, Feb. 11, 1728, aud was suc
ceeded by his colleague and grandson, President Edwards. He had extraordinary
success in his ministry, and was accustomed to say, that he had enjoyed five har
vests, referring to seasons of religious revival.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 555
them in the council chamber ; Ave kept it with much appear
ance of the presence of God with my brethren in their
prayers. I preached from Zech. vii. 8, 9; and the court
ordered the printing of it. The governor sent me, for my
subject, Hosea, x. 12; so I made it my application. We
are at our Avit's end, and yet had we honour and honesty, and
humility enough, with, indeed, righteousness and compas
sion to ourselves mutually, our Avay is plain ; to cashier our
finery, pride and vanity, and live within ourselves ; and one
fifty years' good and just management would bring back the
silver which the last fifty years' extravagance has sent away
to you, to whom we ought to pay our debts, and live on the
rest. " Captain Coram's letter is not yet come to me ; I am glad
you answered him as you did. The commissioners have seen
good (Dr. Sewal* and I dissenting) to dismiss Messrs. Sue-
comb and Parker from their stations, in March next, Avithout
any certainty of another door opening for them. This trou
bles me; but the governor and all the gentlemen voted it
after a long debate ; so unprofitable has their present station
and labours proved. I doubt Avhether it will not appear
sudden to the honourable society at Edinburgh.f
"As to Mr. Mason and his Indian, who I hear is dead;
his visit to London did not at all please the governor and
commissioners here, and so Ave told him by a vote before he
*The Rev. Joseph Sewal, D. D. pastor ofthe Old South Church in Boston. He
was the son of Judge Sewal, one of those who presided at the trials of the New-
England witches at Salem in 1692. Nineteen of these unfortunate individuals were
executed, among whom was the Rev. George Burroughs, formerly minister of Salem.
It is needless to remark, that these were the victims of popular frenzy, and were
convicted upon the most flimsy evidence. The affair lay heavily upon the con
sciences of some of those engaged in it. Judge Sewal, in a full assembly on a
fast-day, at the South Meetingin Boston, delivered in a paper to be read before all
the people, acknowledging that he had fallen into some errors iu the trials at Salem,
and begging the prayers of the congregation, that the guilt of such miscarriages
might not be imputed to the country, or to him, or to his family. The judge re
mained standing while this paper was read.
f The society in Scotland for promoting Christian knowledge.

556 LIFE AND TIMES
went. I am sorry I did not give you an account of his
voyage. When he told the commissioners of it, Avho had
employed him seven years before as school-master to the
Mohrags, near New Loudon, I said to him at the board,
that the first thought occurring to me upon his motion was,
that it might affect the civil liberties of the colony of Connec
ticut. I hinted this to the Rev. Mr. Adams,* pastor of the
church in NeAv London, and he sent my hint to the govern
ment there, Avhich immediately alarmed them, brought me
their thanks, and their application to the commissioners,
with papers and deeds ; whereby it plainly appeared to us,
that under the pretence of the government injuring the Indi
ans in their land, Mr. Mason was invading them for himself,
by an old deed given in times of distress by their ancestor
Uncasf to Mr. Mason's grandfather, to secure them at that
threatening juncture; which obligation the Indians thought,
from their father's account to them, had at the time been con-
celled and burnt. However, the government have no doubt
instructed their agent on this point; and as Mr. Mason had
only asked of me a letter to Mr. Holden, I let him know I
should Avrite in his disfavour, and so I did ; and Mr. Holden
in his last told me he had heard nothing of him. The com-

* The Rev. Eliphalet Adams graduated at Harvard college in 1694, mentioned
in Barnard's Sketch as "a great Hebrician."
f Uncas, the sachem of the Mohegans, was hated and envied by the Naragansets,
for his attachment to the English, and the distinguished favours shown him in
return. In 1638, having entertained some of the Pequods after the war with them,
and fearing he had given offence, he came to the governor at Boston, and brought
a present, which was at first refused, but afterwards the governor being satisfied that
he had no designs against the English, it was accepted ; and he promised to submit
to such orders as he should receive from the English concerning the Pequods, and
also concerning the Naragansets, and his behaviour towards them, and concluded
his speech with these words : " This heart" (laying his hand upon his breast) " is
not mine but yours. Command me any difficult service, and I will do it : I have
no men but they are all yours. I will never believe any Indian against the English
any more." He was dismissed with a present, went home joyful, carrying a letter
of protection for himself and men through the English plantations ; aud never was
engaged in hostilities against any of the colonies, although he survived Philip's
war, and died a very old man after the year 1680.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 557
missioners here, I suppose, will not employ him again if he
returns; and I see nothing but distraction and confusion to
himself and family in his present voyage ; and I could not
Avish him God-speed.
"You are pleased to say, Sir, 'Alas! that the Hollis's* are
all dead,' and then name two yet alive, Avith your prayers
'that the good spirit of their ancestors might rest upon
them.' I am glad I can now inform you, that your prayer
is answered in Mr. Isaac Hollis, on Avhom I have diawn, in
the last ship, by his order, for sixty pounds sterling, for the
instruction, clothing, and lodging of twelve Indian boys at
Honstatonock, and from year to year he promises the continu
ance of that support ; for Avhich God lengthen out his life,
heart, and ability : may it be his blessed will. The merchants
here have his name and bills now, so that it can no longer be
a secret. Five or six years ago I refused, to his displeasure,
a settlement of twenty pounds sterling per annum for a fourth
missionary to the east ; but I told him I must be equally for
him, if he held me Avise and faithful, and pointed him to
other services, which he regarded not ; but now I think all
his pious intention answered under Mr. Sargeant, and he has
proceeded as you now hear.
" I had your ' Redeemer and Sanctifier' before, and have
given what you noAv sent to my colleague, Mr. Cooper ;t but
there are two things you have printed I have not, but have
read, and made an abstract of one, because I owned it not,
which is on the Human Will.
•See pp. 205, 206.
f The Rev. William Cooper, ordained co-pastor with Dr. Colman at the age of
twenty-three. He was elected to the presidency of Harvard college, but his mo
desty led him to decline the appointment. Dr. Chauncey says, "he was a good
preacher, eminently gifted in prayer, and a man of good understanding, though
not endowed with a great deal of learning." Dr. Colman, who preached his funeral
sermon, observes, "He cultivated learning as a religious duty, and his talents, as
well as his usefulness, maintained a visible progress, till his graces were ripened in
glory. I ought to thank God if I have contributed to form him for his eminent ser
vices : thus a torch may be lighted at a farthing candle." Mr. Cooper died in
1743 in his fiftieth year.

558 LIFE AND TIMES
" My respects to Mr. Roffey.* Entreat Dr. Guyse, who has
not Avrote to me, to accept of what I here Avrite as to himself.
" Our governor has lately buried the wife of his youth
with great magnificence ; her funeral sermon will be out this
week, by Mr. Prince, f and no doubt will come to you ; he
has behaved on the occasion, in privacy and openly, with a
most Christian temper, and been openly insulted for it by
some hidden, but I hope impotent malice. He has always
immediately been acquainted with all you send to him for
others, and takes great pleasure in any office from Dr. Guyse :
his nepheAV here is married, tell him, and set up his trade in
Boston, and I hope does well, and two days ago I called to
see if he had any letter from his uncle. I am glad to hear
that the compassionate address to the Christian World, is Mr.
Reynolds's, an admirable man, and soon ripe for heaven ; Ave
reprinted it here, and knew not >vhence it Avas.
"The glass of your picture is not broken, and just noAv Mr.
Appleton J came in and has taken it Avith him to Cambridge:
•William Roffey, Esq. of London.
f The Rev. Thos. Prince graduated in the year 1707 at Harvard, and after spend
ing some time in England he became Dr. Sewal's colleague at the Old South
Church in Boston. He is chiefly known as an author by his " Christian History"
and " Chronological History of New England." The first volume of the latter
work was published in 1736, commencing with the Creation, and containing but
ten years of the annals of New England. The public was disgusted, and Mr.
Prince suspended his labours. The materials he had collected he left by will to the
care ofthe Old South Church, and they were deposited in an apartment ofthe meet
ing-house, where they lay neglected and iu confusion from 1759 to 1773. In 1774
they were arranged, but in the following year the British troops took possession of
Boston, and converted the elegant building into a military riding-school. Many valu
able manuscripts were then destroyed. Mr. Prince died in 1758 at the age of 72.
" He possessed all the intellectual powers in a degree far beyond what is common.
He may be justly characterised as one of our great men ; though he would have
been much greater, had he not been apt to give too much credit, especially to sur
prising storjes. He could easily be imposed on this way. Another imperfection
that was really hurtful to him was, a strange disposition to regard more, in multi
tudes of instances, the circumstances of things, and sometimes minute and trifling
ones, than the things themselves. I could from my own acquaintance with him
give many instances of this. But these weaknesses notwithstanding he deserves to
be remembered with honour." Dr. Chauncey in Hist. Coll. x. 164.
X The Rev. Nathaniel Appleton, D. D. son of Colonel John Appleton of Ipswich.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 559
he thanks you for the respectful mention you make of his
sermon. We have a new church building in Boston ; many
of my hearers go off to it : one Mr. Hooper from Edinburgh,
an admirable preacher, is like to be settled there, but he has
brought no certificates ; he came over to be tutor to a young
gentleman. "This comes by Mr. J. Boylston, eldest son of Dr. Boyl
ston, who tells me he has heretofore waited on you ; I pray
God to prosper and bless him.
"God has pleased to put me again into mourning: my
dear grandson, the only branch of my beloved Tural, is in
the grave with his mother. A dark and pleasant tomb, Avhere
my midnight thoughts too often are. It has helped to bring
me doAvn wards : God give me consolation to see them in hea
ven. Pray for my only surviving daughter: she has a poeti
cal turn too, I wish only it were as magnetically turned on
heaven, as her sister's Avas ; I am in hopes of it, for she is
truly virtuous. Forgive a father to a friend if on a sudden he
doze a little. " Your loving Brother, "BEN. COLMAN."
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD. "April 13, 1737.
"Sir, " I would sooner have thanked you for the favour of
your letter, and the book which I received just after, but de
layed it till I could get lime to finish the inclosed lines which
I began soon after Mrs. Rowe's death, but had not leisure to
proceed with them till after my Lord's return to London,
whither he and my daughter went last Aveek. He Avas taken
"An upright, faithful, excellent preacher, though much wanting in correctness, and
a man of very considerable powers, and has been of great service to the college
by his wise endeavours to promote its good. He deserves to be remembered with
honour." Dr. Chauncey in Hist. Coll. x. 158.

560 LIFE AND TIMES
Avhile he Avas here Avith a violent pain in his stomach and
bowels, Avhich, whether it were gout or cholic, reduced him
very low, and alarmed me extremely ; but I bless God he is
now in perfect health again, and I hear has recovered his
good looks entirely. I am myself much better than I was in
the winter, bating a shortness of breath, Avhich makes them
judge my continuance in the country absolutely necessary.
I must noAv thank you for your excellent discourse on Humi
lity, Avhich I have read with great pleasure, and I hope I
shall receive profit from the just manner in Avhich you have
treated so useful a subject. I must also repeat my gratitude
for your book on the 'Strength and Weakness of Human Rea
son.' I never read any thing more entertaining and instruc
tive. I should be very happy if I could flatter myself that I
had goodness enough to make my life as useful as the bene
volence and charity of your temper incline you to think it
may. I beg the faArour of you not to give any copy of the
inclosed verses, for I would wish my excursions of this kind
to be a secret from every body but you, and a friend or two
more, Avho knoAV that I do not aim at the character of a
genius by any attempts of this nature, but am led to them
merely to amuse a leisure hour, and speak the sentiments of
my heart. I have no company at present but my son, his
tutor being gone to London about business; but I do not
mention this as a mortification. I am afraid the decline of
years, and the languishing state of health I have laboured
under for some time, make it rather necessary for me to en
deavour to find arguments to reconcile myself to the variety
of company to Avhich my station and the occupation I am at
tached to in a court require me to accommodate myself. I
am, Sir, Avith the sincerest esteem and regard,
" Your most obliged,
" And faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 561
FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Whitehall, April 23, 1737.
" Good Sir,
" I have perused your discourse upon Humility Avith
much satisfaction, and I hope Avith profit to myself; if not, I
am sure it is my own fault. There Avas no occasion to make
the apology (p. 52) for descending to the lowest scenes of life.*
It is a fault both in preaching and writing upon practical
subjects, when Ave keep too much to general reasonings, and
do' not bring down our doctrines to common life, Avhich are
best remembered, and take the fastest hold upon the minds
and consciences of our hearers and readers.
" I wish you a full enjoyment of health, that you may be
able to proceed in your good designs for the benefit of reli
giou, and am Avith great truth and esteem, Sir,
"Your faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON."
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Hermitage on St. Leonard's Hill, May 2, 1737.
" Sir, " I return you my thanks for the epigramf you
Avere so good as to send me, and should think myself very
•The household tyrant, fretting and fuming over a spoiled dinner, or a blun
dering domestic, comes under the writer's lash ; and he thus apologises for intro
ducing an everyday scene from common life : " I almost reprove myself here, and
suspect my friends will reprove me, for introducing such low scenes of life and such
trivial occurrences into a grave discourse. I have put the matter into the balances
as well as I can, aud weighed the case, and the result is this : general and distant
declamations seldom strike the conscience with such conviction as particular re
presentations do; and since this iniquity often betrays itself in these trivial in
stances, it is better perhaps to set them forth in their full and proper light, than
that the guilty should never feel a reproof, who, by the very nature of their dis
temper, are unwilling to see or learn their own folly, unless it is set in a glaring
view." Note to Humil. Represented. Works, ii. p. 391.
f See " Remnants of Time," &c. No. 6.

562 LIFE AND TIMES
happy if any thing of mine could deserve to show the joy I
should feel in being able to imitate Mrs. Rowe in the small
est instance. I have only two meditations of hers, which she
gave me Avith the strongest injunctions not to let any body
see them lest they should be thought too rapturous; but, as I
conclude she Avould not have included you among those from
whom she meant they should be concealed, I will have them
copied if you desire it.
"I thank God all my family except myself are in perfect
health, and I am myself much better than in the Avinter, only
that I have still a shortness of breath, which makes walking
up stairs or any ascent very painful to me ; but as I have a
better appetite I have recovered some of my flesh, and a little
of my natural colour. My Lord and Betty are iu London,
so that my son and his governor are my only companions at
present; but we pass our time agreeably enough between
reading, walking, and such other amusements as the place in
Avhich we are and the season of the year afford us. We
have been lately reading Leonidas,* in which I think there
are many fine thoughts; but I hear the town are much divided
in their sentiments about it, since one part of them are for
preferring it to Milton, and others for levelling it to the Ioav-
est rank of poetry. I confess neither of these appear to me a
just representation of it. If you have read it I shall be glad
to know your thoughts of it.
•The Leonidas by Glover was published in 1737, and though very favourably
received, its reputation has since greatly declined. By the party in opposition
to the court it was extolled to the skies, and its author regarded as another Milton.
Lyttleton, who then headed the opposition, in a periodical paper, entitled " Com
mon Sense," eulogised it under the signature of " Philo-Musaeus," but another wri
ter as severely animadverted upon it in the "Weekly Miscellany," under the signa
ture of " Miso-Musffius." The poem is characterised by a bold spirit of liberty,
which rendered it a favourite with the opposition party; hut the style is prosing
and familiar, and bears no marks of a vigorous and creative imagination. It was
of Glover, who was a citizen of London, that Thomson remarked, "He write an
epic, who never saw a mountain!" The Leonidas, however, went through three
large editions in the years 1737 aud 1738; but it is upon his "Hosier's Ghost"
that Glover's fame must rest.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 563
"I own I find a pleasure in thinking that I perceive dawn-
ings of an honest heart and tolerable reasoning in Lord
Beauchamp, and his governor and I flatter ourselves that we
see a clearness of judgment and distinctness of ideas in the
themes he composes, which are infinitely the favourite part
of his studies, and always performed with good-humour,
though he is obliged to write them in three languages, English,
Latin, and French. He is by no means good at getting
things by heart, for which reason Mr. Dalton* is very favour
able in his impositions of that kind, which he seldom gives
him, and in small quantities. Noav I have said so much of
my son, I should be unjust to his sister if I did not tell you
that I have the happiness to see her a very good-natured,
sensible young woman, Avith a sincere sense of religion and
virtue, and the same observance from affection to my Lord
and me at almost one-and-twenty years old that she had in
her earliest childhood. You see, Sir, I take the privilege of
a friend, and flatter myself that you will not be tired with a
detail of my family comforts, for the enjoyment of which I
hope I am thankful as I ought to be, and most particularly so
that my Lord is so entirely recovered as to allow me to hope
his children will long have the blessing of the tenderest father,
and myself of the best husband I ever saw. You will forgive
the length of this letter, and believe me Avith the truest esteem,
Sir, - "Your most obliged
" And faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."

* His tutor, afterwards Dr. Dalton. The Biog. Britt. says, that " a bad state of
health prevented him from attending his pupil on his travels abroad, and saved
him the mortification of being au eye-witness of his death."

564 LIFE AND TIMES

FROM THE SAME.
"Marlborough, July 13, 1737.
"Sir, "Nothing but my own very bad state of health, and
the confinement I have had Avith my Lord, Avho is just recover
ing from a severe fit of the gout, should so long have hinder
ed me from acknoAvledging the receipt of your letter, and the
papers inclosed with it, particularly the letter Avhich you Avere
so good as to design to prefix to Mrs. RoAve's Meditations.
I can with the strictest truth affirm, that I do not knoAV any
distinction upon earth, that I could feel a truer pleasure in
receiving were- 1 deserving of it; but as I am forced to see
how much I fall below the idea which the benevolence of
your nature has formed of me, it teaches me to humble my
self by that very incident Avhich might administer a laudable
pride to a more Avorthy person. If I am constrained to ac
knowledge this mortifying truth, you may believe there are
many people iu the Avorld Avho look upon me with more im
partial eyes than self-love will alloAv me to do; and others,
who perhaps think I enjoy more of this Avoiid's goods than I
either merit, or than falls to the common lot, look at me with
envious and malignant views, and are glad of every oppor
tunity to debase me or those who they believe entertain a
favourable opinion of me. I Avould hope that I have never
done any thing, wilfully I am sure I have not, to raise any
such sentiments in the breast of the meanest person upon
earth ; but yet experience has convinced me that I have not
been happy enough to escape them. For these reasons, Sir,
I must deny myself the pleasure and the pride I should have
in so public a mark of your friendship and candour, and beg,
that if you still design me the honour of joining any address
to me Avith those valuable remains of Mrs. Rowe, that you
will either retrench the favourable expressions you intended

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 565
to insert, or else give me no other title at the top of it than that
of a friend of yours and hers, an appellation which, in the
sincerity of my soul, I am prouder of than I could be of the
most pompous name that human grandeur can lay claim to.
My Lord and his children desire me to assure you of their
service and best Avishes. I inclose you a copy of the letter
Avhich Mrs. Rowe left for me,* and am glad of every oppor
tunity to repeat that I am with the greatest esteem, Sir,
"Your most obliged
" And faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."
•The following is an exact copy of Mrs. Rowe's letter, transcribed from Lady
Hertford's own hand-writing :
" TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE COUHTESS OF HERTFORD.
" Madam, " This is the last letter you will ever receive from me, the last assurance I
shall give you on earth of a sincere and steadfast friendship ; but when we meet
again I hope it will be in the heights of immortal love and ecstasy. Mine perhaps
may be the first glad spirit to congratulate your safe arrival on the happy shores.
Heaven can witness how sincere my concern for your happiness is. Tbither I have
sent my ardent wishes that you may be secured from the flattering delusion ofthe
world, and, after your pious example has been longa blessing to mankind, mayyou
calmly resign your breath, and enter the confines of unmolested joy I
"I am now taking my farewell of you here, but it is a short adieu, for I die with
full persuasion thatwe shall meet again. But, O, in what elevation of happiness !
in what enlargement of mind, and perfection of every faculty ! What transporting
reflections shall we make on the advantages of which we shall feel ourselves eter
nally possest !
"To him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood we shall
ascribe immortal glory, dominion, and praise for ever. This is all my salvation,
aud all my hope. That name in whom the Gentiles trust, in whom all the fami
lies on earth are blessed, is now my glorious, my unfailing confidence ; in his me
rits alone I expect to stand justified before infinite purity and justice. How poor
were my hopes if I depended on those works, which my own vanity or the partiality
of men have called good, and which, if examined by Divine Purity, would prove
perhaps but specious sins ! The best actions of my life would be found defective,
if brought to the test of that unblemished holiness in whose sight the heavens are not
clean. Where were my hopes but for a Redeemer's merits and atonement ! How
desperate, how undone my condition ! With the utmost advantage I can boast,
I should start back and tremble at the thoughts of appearing before the unblemish
ed Majesty. O Jesus, what harmony dwells in thy name ! Celestial joy and im-

566 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE HON. JONATHAN BELCHER.
"Boston, Aug. 1, 1737.
" My much esteemed Friend,
" Your religious kind letter of the 3d of March, and
2nd of April, I have read once and again with much plea
sure, and they are now open before me for an answer, which
I return Avith the most sensible gratitude, for the great respect
and honour you do to the memory of my late dear Mrs.
Belcher, as well as for the ingenious, pious hints you suggest
for my profitable reflection and meditation. She Avas, Sir,
much my croAvn and glory, and I have great reason to believe
from the course of her life, as well as from her serenity at
death, that my irreparable loss is her eternal gain. I may
and ought to mourn my own loss, even to the latest period of
life; and the voice of God to me in this melancholy providence
is, that I be ' working out my salvation with fear and tremb
ling,' and then I shall not mourn for myself, ' as one Avith
out hope.' God has done his pleasure, at Avhich I dare not
murmur, but would lie prostrate in the dust before him, for
my sins have exceeded. How dreadful must the case of that
man be, who has not a God to repair to, when such scenes are
drawn for his entertainment ! Dear Sir, the prayer you have
offered for the Avatchful eye of providence and grace to guard
mortal life are in the sound. Let angels set thee to their golden harps ; let the
ransomed nations for ever magnify thee !
"What a dream is mortal life ! What shadows are the objects of sense ! All
the glories of mortality, my much-beloved friend, will be nothing in your view at
the awful hour of death, when you must be separated from the whole creation, and
enter on the borders of the immaterial world.
" Something persuades me that this will be my last farewell in this world. Heaven
forbid that it should be an everlasting parting ! May that Divine Protection, whose
care I implore, keep you steadfast in the faith of Christianity, and guide your steps
in the strictest paths of virtue ! Adieu, my most dear friend, till we meet in the
paradise of God.
v " ELIZABETH ROWE."

OF DR. TSAAC AVATTS. 567
me in my separated state of solitude, is the highest instance
of your love and friendship; and I doubt not but that
(through the powerful intercession of the great Mediator)
' your prayer will come before God as incense, and the lift
ing up of your hands as the evening sacrifice.'
" I was glad to find my son had (though late) done his
duty, in paying his just regards to his father's friend at New
ington ; and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for
your kind concern towards him. I know he lives in an age
and place, and in an employment, that continually environ
him with a numerous variety of snares and temptations; and
that nothing less than the matchless powerful influences of
the grace of God are able to keep him ; and to the grace of
God I desire to commend him, and thereto leave him ; nor
am I without encouragement so to do, and to give praise to
God for ever and ever, while I hear he yet saves him from
any open flagrant vices.
" It is my duty, and has been my pleasure (during his dis
tance from me), to be his monitor on his birth-day, by telling
him he was born to die ; and I take the freedom to inclose
you what I now write to him on that head, which you will
read, seal, and let it find the way to his chambers, not taking
notice to him, at any time, that you have read it ; but what
I design in it is, that (in your conversation and letters, when
you will please so to honour him), you would now and then
harp upon the same string, and you will, doctor, forgive this
trouble, when you consider the ineradicable 2to/>7i) implanted
by the God of nature in us fathers.
' Omnis in Ascanio chari stat cura parentis.'
"I pray you to make my most respectful compliments to
the excellent Lady Abney, to whom I am highly obliged for
her condolence and kind Avishes.
"I thank you for your two books ; that on Humility I have
twice run over, and am much pleased. Methinks a man

568 LIFE AND TIMES
that loves this Avorld, or a better, should rejoice to shine in
that virtue. What says Solomon? 'Before honour is humi
lity.' And Avhat says St. Peter ? ' God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace to the humble.' I have not quite got
through your ' Strength and Weakness of Human Reason,' but
am greatly gratified, so far as I am gone ; and Avhen you are
pleased to oblige the world with any thing new, I shall be
glad to have it as a strength and ornament to my small col
lection. And I am also to beg your picture, one of which
graces our college library.
"The several packets committed to my care, found the
way to their oAvners. I ask your acceptance of our last elec
tion sermon, preached by the reverend and pious Mr. Loving;
and of a grammar lately put out by one of the sons of our
college. " Mr. Belcher sent me a copy of your letter to him, of the
19th. of Jan. last, from Newington, respecting the epitaph he
had prepared for the tomb of his late dear mother. Your
frankness and freedom with him is such a test of your sincere
regard to his honour, as I cannot enough thank you for, and
with such a grateful sense does he represent it to me. I
approve your corrections in general, and like your last thought
of saving the whole, the first part to be on the top stone of
the tomb, the two other parts to be on the tAVO sides. I by no
means like the word barr'd ; for the dust of the saints is not
imprisoned, but only rests from its labour. Poets, they say,
must be born so, which I am sure I was not; therefore, yon
must pardon the blunder, if I think the two first lines might
run thus : 'Peaceful within this silent shrine's preserv'd,
Awhile that sacred dust which angels guard.'
When with your kind help he has made the matter perfect,
I shall be expecting it for inscription.
" Reverend and dear Sir, I wish above all things that ' thou

OF DR* ISAAC AVATTS. 569
mayst prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.'
Thus I am, " Your friend and servant,
"J. BELCHER."

" Sir,

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Marlborough, August 17, 1737.

" The sincere esteem I have for you makes it .very
difficult for me to oppose any thing you desire,* and it is
doubly so in an instance where I might have an opportunity
of indulging so justifiable a pride as I should feel in letting
the public see this fresh mark of your partiality to me ; but as
I am apprehensive that the envy such a distinction would
raise against me might draw some vexation with it, I hope
you Avill have the goodness to change the dedication into a
Letter to a Friend, without giving me any other appellation.
"I have been so ill as to keep my chamber, and almost my
bed, since I received the first of your letters, and my Lord has
had a return of the gout. Nothing else should have made
me so long delay owning the receipt of it, and assuring you
that I am with the greatest esteem, Sir,
" Your most obliged humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."
FROM THE SAME. " October 27, 1737.
" Sir, " I should sooner have thanked you for Mrs. RoAve's
Meditations, which you were so good as to send me, but that
* That Mrs. Rowe's " Devout Exercises" might be inscribed to her.
O O

570 LIFE AND TfMES
I had a mind to read them carefully over first. You have in
your preface taken the kindest and most judicious care to
excuse some expressions in them, Avhich I must confess
appear to me to stand in need of some apology ; but upon the
Avhole I think there are several excellent sentiments in them,
Avhich I think cannot fail of doing good, especially to those
who, by their acquaintance with her, knoAV hoAV sincerely they
came from her heart. Lady Betty returns her thanks for the
book you sent her, and says she shall always value it as being
written by Mrs. Rowe, and as a mark of your kind regard to
herself. I have many acknoAvledgments to make you for
the honour you have done me in your dedication, Avhich by
your kindness in suppressing my name gives me an unmixed
pleasure, by affording me the satisfaction of receiving such a
mark of your rardality without the hazard of raising the
public envy.
" My Lord and my son present their services to you, and I
am Avith the siueerest gratitude and esteem, Sir,
" Your most faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."
FROM THE REV. F M. ZIEGENHAGEN.
"Kensington, Nov. 30, 1737.
" Dear and Rev. Sir,
" Your kind letter of Nov. 25th Avith the little book*
annexed to it, lays me under a new obligation, and I sincerely
Avish to be able and to have an opportunity to acquit the same.
I think I foresaAV Avhat you Avere pleased to object against the
encomiums, however well deserved, and no doubt well meant,
bestowed upon you and your writings by Mr. Korthold and
the Abbot Steinmetz. Perhaps you will be the more inclined
• The treatise ori " Humility Represented," Uc.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 571
to excuse the liberty both of them have taken in acquainting
the public Avith your character, when I beg leave to tell you,
that probably neither of them was aware that any thing
published in the German language Avould be translated into
English, or come to your knowledge; for Mr. Korthold's
translation of Mr. Benson's Vindication of Prayer has not
been sent over as yet, although it came out, for aught I know,
a year ago: and as to the abbot's Preface, the translating of
it was purely a motion and resolution of my own, in order to
shoAv my gieat esteem and respect I justly OAve you. This is
really the case, I believe, why these gentlemen did express
their sentiments concerning Dr. Watts and his writings so
full and freely, and no doubt they would be sorry to hear
they had given the least offence to a man they value so much:
the preventing of Avhich is the true reason why I trouble you
with the forementioned circumstances. I agree entirely with
you, that it is more safe to have low thoughts of ourselves
and our abilities than great ones. Highmindedness, and
more especially spiritual pride, is the nearest image of the
fallen angels, and an infallible way to lose all and every
grain of grace, the favour of God, and the glory that is
promised to the faithful servants of God. But, however low
and mean we have reason to think of ourselves, this makes no
law to others to think so too; nor can their liberality in
speaking to our praise, considered in itself, be blamed : the
instance we have of this, Matt. xi. 7 — 11, compared with
John, i. 27, is clear.
"The present of your Catechisms is really very agreeable
to me, and I thank you heartily for it,
"Having received letters this day se'nnight from Ebenezer
in the new colony of Georgia, Avhere some of the Saltzburgh-
ers,* driven out from their own native country, are settled;
•The protestants in tbe archbishopric ef Saltzburgh being inhumanly ex
pelled by the catholic authorities in the year 1732, many of them found an asy
lum in the American plantations. The hardships they endured excited the

572 LIFE AND TIMES
and finding to my own great grief and sorrow, that their
present circumstances are very distressed and deplorable, not
having given them, when the letters came aAvay, the land
Avhich Avas promised them, and suffering in every respect
great poverty and hardships, I am resolved to acquaint all my
friends I have a particular confidence in, with the distress
this Christian and truly good people are in at this time.
Their pious and indefatigable minister, the Rev. Mr.
Boltzius, acquaints the Rev. Mr. Uiispurger, at Augsburg,
and myself, that any old rag thown away in Europe is of
service to them: for instance; old shoes, stockings, shirts, or
any thing of wearing apparel for men or women, groAvn peo
ple or children.
" Wherefore, dear Sir, if Baron Oxie's supposition, that you
have some hundreds of friends at your disposal, be true, per
haps you might, by the blessing of God, be an happy instru
ment to get here and there something of old clothes for them
to cover their nakedness. Some Avell-disposed persons in
Germany have hitherto sent them through my hands at
several times considerable benefactions, and more especially
have agreed among themselves to contribute a certain sum of
money for the buying of linen cloth; and by the last ship
which sailed from hence the 6th of this month for Georgia,
there were actually sent them fifteen pieces of linen, for
shirts, aprons, caps, &c. I must needs OAvn, if the good
providence of God had not raised them such kind benefactors,
I am afraid there Avould have been very few of them yet

sympathy of the English public, and large sums were- raised by voluntary sub
scription, as well as a parliamentary grant of £. 10,000, to relieve their sufferings.
The march of the exiles, amounting to 20,678, in the depth of winter, will long be
remembered in Germany. Many perished for want of food and clothing, having
been obliged to leave their goods behind them. The Count of Stolberg Warne-
gerode gave a dinner to about 900 in his palace ; the Duke of Brunswick liberally
entertained others; the Leipsic clergy met some of the wanderers at the city
gates singing Luther's hymns. "Account ofthe Sufferings- of the persecuted
Protestants in the Archbishopric of Saltzburgh, with their reception in
several Imperial Cities."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 573
alive. If the journal sent by Mr. Boltzius was not in the
German language, I should not fail to communicate it to you,
and am pretty sure that the reading of it would as Avell
edify as raise your compassion to them. Your goodness lets
me hope you will kindly pardon the length of this letter, and
the freedom used in laying before you the misery and calamity
of the poor Saltzburghers at Ebenezer. May the Lord give
us grace at all times to fulfil the good pleasure of his will ! I
am, Avith great sincerity and esteem, Rev. Sir,
"Your affectionate brother,
"And humble servant,
" FRED. MICH. ZIEGENHAGEN."

FROM THE SAME.
"Kensington, Dec. 9, 1737.
" Rev; and Dear Sir,
"I return you many thanks for your kind letter of
December 6, Avhich came not to my hands till just now at
six o'clock at night, else I should not have failed to have an
swered it sooner. The readiness you show in assisting the
poor Saltzburghers, yea, your well receiving the mentioning
them and their circumstances in my last letter, give me great
satisfaction. What you are pleased to mention of an appli
cation made to you in behalf of the Saltzburghers, three years
ago, by three ministers of the Church of England, viz. in the
name of the Society, is all fact, and I myself remember the
thing very Avell; but I never heard the reason why the appli
cation had no success, and am almost apt to question whether
the gentlemen commissioned with that affair made their
report to the ' Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge/
agreeable to what I find in your letter. N.B. The other

574 LIFE AND TIMES
Society, called ' The Incorporated Society for Foreign Paris,'
that is to say, for the West Indies, have done nothing for, or
have any thing to do Avith, the Saltzburghers in Georgia.
" But to come to the main point upon Avhich you are so
good as to desire my answer. The case stands thus : when
the said ' Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,' after
having read the accounts of the sufferings of the Saltzburgh
ers, Avhich were sent me from Germany, and by me commu
nicated to them, did agree to have the same published in
English, in order to raise a collection for the benefit of the
persecuted Saltzburghers in general ; they appointed at the
same time six trustees for receiving all the charities of that
branch, and among the rest I myself was one of them, as you
will find in the first account of the sufferings of the Saltz
burghers published by the society. The office of a trustee
laid me under an obligation to report to the Society what
money I received from benefactors here in England, and so I
did report it, except the money that Avas put into my hands
for particular uses, and desired to be sent to Germany by
myself : for instance ; the money for the Saltzburghers £.67
collected by the Rev. Mr. Burroughs, a minister of the Bap
tist persuasion, who preached tAvo sermons upon that charity,
also the money that was or is still sent me from Germany for
those Saltzburghers Avho are gone to Georgia, I never was
obliged to make a report of it to the Society, and never did.
" The reason of this difference I suppose you apprehend
very easily. I have sent, thank God, every year charitable
contributions to Ebenezer, and given directions to the Rev.
Mr. Boltzius how it is to be applied. Sometimes the bene
factors signify expressly to me for Avhat use they design their
charity, either for the relief of the sick, or old people, or for
AvidoAvs and orphans, or for maintaining some poor children,
or for instructing some negroes, or for the poorest among them
to buy shoes, stockings, shirts, &c. ; but sometimes they leave

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 575
it to the discretion of Mr. Boltzius to apply the money to the
best advantage of the Saltzburghers.
" All this I do in my private capacity without acquainting
the Society Avith particulars either from Avhence the money
comes or for what particular use it is designed. Neither do
they desire it, being sensible that the miserable condition the
Saltzburghers are in is more fully knoAvn to me than to them
selves. As to my former office of trustee, I think it. is quite at
an end, not having herein England in more than two years'
time received the least benefaction for the Saltzburghers, the
thing being noAv dead.
" Wherefore, dear Sir, if the Lord blesses your good inten
tion and intercession in behalf of the Saltzburghers, and sends
them by your means some seasonable help, it will be an ad
ditional kindness if you will be at the trouble to specify in
what manner it is to be applied, and I shall be very punctual
in every respect agreeable to your order and direction, and
send your charity by the first ship to Mr. Boltzius at Ebene
zer;* and I am well assured that the administration of this
service not only will supply the want of the saints (and I hope
many of them really are such), but will be abundant also by
many thanksgivings to God, and by their prayers for you,
good Sir, and all their benefactors. May the Lord give us
grace to do Avhatever is pleasing to him ! I remain with sin
cere esteem, Rev. Sir,
" Your most obliged humble servant,
"And brother in the Lord,
" FRED. MICH. ZIEGENHAGEN."
* £.33,000 was raised in London for the relief of the Saltzburghers. Of Ebene
zer, their settlement in Georgia, Whitfield thus writes in 1738 : " Their lands are
improved surprisingly for the time they have been there, aud I believe they have
far the best crop of any in the colony. They are blest with two such pious minis
ters as I have not often seen. They have no courts of judicature ; but all little
differences are immediately and implicitly decided by their ministers, whom they
look upon and love as their fathers."

576 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE HON. J. BELCHER. "December 10, 1737.
"Dear Sir,
"The seventh current came to my hand your favour
of the 13th of October, for which you have my kindest thanks.
"Mr. Loving's sermon is alloAved by those Avho have the
best sense of religion, to be full of excellent advice to rulers
and people ; and 1 humbly pray, that by the influences of that
God who has honoured him to be an overseer of one of his
flocks, Ave may for the future live and act more to his glory !
And I am here again thankful for your prayers to heaven on
my behalf.
"The acceptance of my picture is a token of your respect,
and so is the present of yours to me, which I hope to receive
by one of the spring ships, Avith Mr. Edwards of Northamp
ton's narrative, printed by yourself and Dr. Guyse at London,
of the Avonderful things Avrought by the Spirit of God on the
hearts of our people in the county of Hampshire.
"You will, Sir, oblige one of your constant readers and
hearty well-wishers, to let me have any thing neAv with which
you oblige the world.
" It is very kind of pious Lady Abney to allow me a share
in her good Avishes. She is making haste to a better Avorld,
and at her great change will come to the grave in full age,
' as a shock of corn comes in its season.' In the mean time,
I wish her length of days Avith health and comfort.
"That you may be continued a burning and shining light,
by which many souls may be guided to the regions of eternal
day, and there be witnesses to that crown of life which you
shall receive from your Lord and Master, in .testimony of your
fidelity, is, and shall be, the prayer of,
"Rev. Sir,
"Your obliged friend, and most obedient servant,
"J. BELCHER,"

Sir.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 577
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"St. Leonard's Hill, June 6, 1738.

"I had the pleasure on Saturday to receive the
book,* and the kind letter you were so good as to send me.
I dare say I shall go through the book with a great deal of
pleasure. I have already read part of it, and find nothing as
yet to give me any apprehensions that I shall find it dry or
unpleasant.' I am sure the subject is of importance, and is
rendered most particularly so at this time, when the polite
part of the world look on the sabbath as an old-fashioned in
stitution, from which they would gladly be released. I inclose
you some verses which, though perhaps not strictly right as
to the rules of poetry, I believe you will excuse for the piety
of the sentiments. They were sent me by a friend of mine
who lives at Gloucester, and she says were written by a young
gentleman there.f
* The discourses on the " Holiness of Times, Places, and People."
f The verses are entitled " Returning to God," and are as follow :
" All-gracious God, my best retreat,
A wounded soul restore:
Unnumber'd are my sins and great,
Thy tender mercies more :
" Receive a -wandering, wanton son,
Unworthy of the name,
Who bends before thine awful throne,
O'erwhelm'd with guilt and shame.
" Long-wean'd from heav'n by earthly joys
I've fix'd my Canaan here,
Quitting for present empty toys
My bright reversion there.
" Like Noah's restless dove I've flown
Around the delug'd ball,
But, ah ! what rest can there be known,
Where sin has cover'd all ?
(t Then let me to my ark return,
Where peace and comfort reign,
With holy flames here let me burn,
Nor wish to cool again.

578 LIFE AND TIMES
" I thought it very long since I had heard from you, and
should without ceremony have written again, but I have la
boured under a very painful disorder in my head and face,
which has of late made Avriting very difficult to me. I thank
God it is now a little better, though so far from well as to
hinder me of the pleasures of riding and walking, to Avhich
the season of the year would naturally invite me, and which
are generally more beneficial to my health than any medicine
in the dispensary. But I ought not to repine at these little
inconveniences Avhich are so far less afflicting than I deserve,
Avhile I have the blessing to see my Lord and my children
enjoy a perfect state of health ; for though I doubt I must
never hope to see my Lord able to walk again, he is otherwise
in as good health and spirits as ever he was since I knew him.
He and my daughter are this day going to London to stay
till Thursday or Friday, but my son and I remain here.
They all assure you of their best wishes. It is comfortable
to find, that there are still enough of such Avell-disposed
minds as to encourage Mrs. Rowe's Meditations, Avhich cer
tainly breathe as sincere a spirit of piety as can be met with
in any writing. I am afraid I have tired you Avith this long

" With sin and toil, ye misers blind,
Your idol, gold, procure,
Here I shall nobler treasure find,
From moth and rust secure.
" While sensual joy vain fools inflames
With gay delusive show,
Grant me, O God, those blissful streams
That from thy presence flow !
" If worth and beauty claim my heart,
What's fair and good like thee ?
If kindest love my soul can move,
What love's like thine to me ?
" I burn, descending from the skies,
Swift flames dissolve my soul ;
My pow'rs in sacred raptures rise,
And soar above the pole.
" Adieu, vain earth, vain thoughts, depart,
Delusive dreams, farewell ;
Such trifling guests must leave that heart,
AVhere God vouchsafes to dwell."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 579
letter, and indeed the pain of my eyes reminds me, that il is
time to conclude it, by assuring you that I am Avith the great
est esteem, Sir, " Your most obliged humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

FROM THE SAME.
" St. Leonard's Hill, Aug. 8, 1738.
" Sir, " I Avould much sooner have thanked you for the
favour of your last letter, but have been hindered by my at
tendance on my Lord in a severe fit of the gout, though, I
thank God, it has been only in his limbs, and not affected
either his head or stomach.
" I think every body must Avish a muse like Mr. Pope's
were more inclined to exert itself on divine and good-natured
subjects ; but I am afraid satire is his highest talent, for I think
his ' Universal Prayer' is by no means equal to some other of
his works ; and I think his tenth stanza* an instance how
blind the wisest men may be to the errors of their OAvn hearts ;
for he certainly did not mean to imprecate such a proportion
of vengeance on himself, as he is too apt to load those with
whom he dislikes ; nor Avould he wish to have his own fail
ings exposed to the eye of the Avorld with all the invective
and ridicule Avith Avhich he publishes those of his fellow-
creatures. " I have lately met Avith some riddles which Ave think
pretty enough in their Avay, and as I remember you once told
* " Teach me to feel another's woe,
To hide the fault I see ;
That mercy 1 to others show,
That mercy show to me."

580 LIFE AND TIMES
me you thought them tolerable amusements, I will inclose
you one or tAvo of them, and, if they do not displease you,
can furnish you Avith a feAV more, Avhich we do not think bad
ones. My Lord and our young people assure you of their ser
vices. I am, Sir, Avith the sincerest esteem,
" Your most faithful humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 581

CHAPTER XV.
TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. — WORKS OF WHISTON AND CLARKE. — THE
"CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY :" — OPPOSED BY MR. TOM
KINS:— HIS "SOBER APPEAL TO A TURK OR INDIAN."— THE "ARIAN
INVITED TO THE ORTHODOX FAITH." — ANCIENT AND MODERN ARI
ANISM.— DISSERTATION ON THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.— THE UNION
OF THE DIVINE AND HUMAN NATURES.— THE WORSHIP PAID TO
CHRIST.— DIFFERENCE ON THIS POINT BETWEEN THE ANCIENT AND
MODERN ARIANS. — SECOND PART OF THE DISSERTATIONS.— ON THE
LOGOS. — THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.— ON THE MEANING
OF THE TERM PERSON IN THE CONTROVERSY. — OPINIONS OF HOWE,
DR. WALLIS, AND DR. HOPKINS.— RELINQUISHES THE SUBJECT.— THE
"USEFUL AND IMPORTANT QUESTIONS" PUBLISHED. — ON THE TITLE
"SON OF GOD."-ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISCIPLES AS TO THE
DIVINITY OF CHRIST— THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHEMES OF EXPLICA
TION.- WORK ON THE " GLORY OF CHRIST."— THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF
HIS HUMAN SOUL — SECOND EDITION OF THE "SOBER APPEAL."—
SUMMARY OF WATTS'S SCHEME.

Among the doctrines of holy writ, there are none which
have attracted greater attention, and occasioned warmer con
troversies, than that of the Trinity. Sentiments inimical to
it Avere propagated in the early ages, which, though opposed
by civil authority, and persecuted Avith the sword, obtained
the support of a formidable, and sometimes dominant party
in the church, and only sank into oblivion when they lost the
charm of novelty, or Avhen a general indifference to religion
ensued. Anti-trinitarianism revived soon after the reforma
tion, and was industriously disseminated by tbe Polish Socini
ans; but, as a spectre from the tomb, it found no favour in the

582 EIFE AND TIMES
eyes ofthe multitude; and during the continuance of the early
Stuarts upon the English throne, and the reign of presbyteri-
anism under the Commonwealth, its adoption was punished
as one of the highest civil offences. The diffusion of more
enlightened vieAvs of religious liberty, allowed of propagan-
dism with impunity — an opportunity which the disciples of
heterodoxy did not neglect. A discussion arose in the estab
lishment, as to the true mode of explication Avith reference to
the doctrine ; and Dr. South and Dr. Sherlock were employ
ed in explaining Avhat both Avould have confessed in calmer
moments to be inexplicable. This drew forth the energies of
HoAve, Avhose " Letters" are evidently the production of a
master mind, and Avhich served to confound the Unitarian, to
rebuke the dogmatist, and to establish upon the basis of
scripture this important article of our faith. But the example
of these great names Avas interpreted as sanctioning a perni
cious practice — their authority Avas pleaded by every inquisi
tive tbeologue ambitious of discovering the secret of the
divine existence — and Avithout a tittle of their learning or
self-control, which would at once have checked the attempt,
a few restless spirits pushed across the limits of legitimate
inquiry, and boldly entered the region of boundless and im
pertinent speculation. The consequences of such a rash ad
venture may be easily anticipated. The truth was disfigured
by human fancies, until every lineament of its original form
was destroyed — the attention being diverted from the realities
of religion and occupied Avith subtle conjectures, induced in
difference to its practical influence — and many who left the
haven, high with hope and confident in expectation of return
ing laden with spiritual and intellectual treasure, foundered
in the sea, and were lost in the depths of anti-christian error.
The mathematical professor in the university of Cambridge,
Whiston, Avas the first avowed advocate of arianism of any note
in this country; and his heresy, after a toleration of some length,
lost him his chair. But the establishment cherished in its bosom

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 583
a more dexterous champion, Dr. Samuel Clarke, Avhose semi-
arianism Avas alloAved by the convocation after some scruple
to pass current. It was the writings of this clever disputant
that infused the poison among the dissenters ; and thus the
establishment, fenced round as its orthodoxy is with the au
thority of creeds, and protected by the anathemas of councils,
was the fountain from whence that error proceeded, Avhich
carried the streams of spiritual desolation and death Avherever
it was embraced. The presbyterians of the western counties,
were the first among the nonconformists who departed from
the faith — the children of those who caused the Long Parlia
ment to enact a statute, inflicting death upon any denier
of the atonement, the deity of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The conduct of Dr. Watts at this momentous juncture, when
the conference at Salter's Hall Avas commenced, has already
been mentioned— the effect which the debates had in
unhinging his mind, and directing his attention to the inves
tigation of the point in dispute, has been hinted at — we have
noAv to accompany him in his inquiries, to ascertain the
sentiments Avhich he at last embraced.
The result of his first examination of this important
subject, he gave to the public in the year 1722, under the
title of "The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity." This is an
able and orthodox essay, exhibiting the scripture evidence of
the doctrine in a lucid and forcible manner, and plainly demon
strating by an appeal ou all points to the law and to the testi
mony the futility ofthe anti-trinitarian dogmas. He adopts the
analytical mode of investigation; elucidates the evidence of
divine truth by a series of twenty-two propositions; and
shows the sentiments of the inspired writers to be at the
antipodes of Socinian and Arian hypothesis. The creeds of
the church are carefully avoided by the author — the writings
of the fathers are not quoted — the preponderance of human
authority is not considered — his object is not to ascertain
what councils have decreed, but what the sacred oracles have

584 LIFE AND TIMES
declared. In the eighteenth proposition he refers to the
pre-existence of Christ's human soul, as an opinion not to be
"rashly rejected" — as calculated to remove some difficulties
connected with his appearances previous to his incarnation —
as affording an easy solution of some obscure and doubtful
texts; but he seems by no means fully satisfied with the
notion, and, hence, merely proposes it, Avithout interweaving
it with his argument. In an incautious passage respecting
addressing the Spirit Avith divine honours, he remarks,
" Since we find so great a silence in scripture of any express
precepts or patterns of prayer or praise, directed distinctly to
the person of the blessed Spirit, let us not bind it upon our
own consciences, nor upon others, as a piece of necessary
worship, but rather practise it occasionally as prudence and
expedience may require." Dr. Watts is here at variance
with himself; for having proved in his eighth proposition
the personality and divinity of the Spirit — having cited some
instances of divine worship being paid to him in the scrip
tures*'— it is inconsistent to speak of their "great silence"
upon the subject, and illogical to alloAV to prudential consid
erations greater force than their authoritative sanction. With
these exceptions I know of nothing in the treatise likely to
offend the most rigid orthodoxy — the practical influence of
* The " instances cited" are taken, 1 . From the words in which the ordinance of
baptism is prescribed : Matt, xxviii. 19. Dr. Wardlaw and the orthodox divines
interpret this form in the same manner, not only as signifying initiation into the
faith and profession of the Christian doctrine, and particularly of that scheme of
redemption, in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ever represented
as fulfilling their respective parts, but involving in it, at the same time, an act of
solemn worship to each ofthe divine Persons mentioned. Wardl. Dis. x. 2. The
second instance is taken from the apostolic prayer in 2 Cor. xiii. 14, in which the
Spirit is joined with the Father and the Son in equal sovereignty and power.
The Rev. John Hurrion, one of Watts's opponents, in his Sermons preached at
the Merchant's Lecture at Pinner's Hall in 1729, 1730, 1731, published after his
death by Dr. Abraham Taylor, adduces Cant. iv. 16, as another instance ! " Awake,
0 North wind, and come thou, South, and blow upon my garden." Because the
Spirit in scripture is often compared to the wind, he interprets this, with Ainsworth,
Piscator, Durham, and the old divines, as an invocation of him — to awake from
the stormy North to blast the corruptions of the church — to come from the sunny

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 585
the doctrine in leading us to adore the Father of all good, to
trust in the satisfaction of the Son, and implore the halloAving
influences of the Spirit, is clearly stated — and the work de
serves to rank among the best of the theological performances
our old divinity has furnished.
At a period when the trinitarian doctrine was the subject of
so much discussion — Avhen a powerful party, both as to num
ber and talent, avoAvedly opposed it — it Avas hardly to be
expected that Dr. Watts's publication should escape Avithout
animadversion. So satisfied was he with the evidence he had
adduced from the sacred page, that he had remarked in his
book, "I think the plain and express scriptures sufficiently dis
tinguish three personal agents — a Turk or an Indian that reads
them without any prepossession, would certainly understand
most of them so." This observation meeting the eye of a
champion for Arianism, he sent forth an anonymous rejoinder,
entitled " A Sober Appeal to a Turk or an Indian, concerning
the plain sense of Scripture relating to the Trinity, being an
answer to Mr. I. Watts's late book." This was the production
of the Rev. Martin Tomkins, formerly mentioned as ejected
by the dissenting congregation at Stoke Newington, on
account of bis Arian sentiments. It displays considerable
controversial dexterity; but it neither meets the argument
fully or fairly, and its expositions of scripture are in the highest
degree forced and unnatural. Admitting the supreme autho
rity of revelation, he enters within the precincts ofthe sacred
pale, and attempts to wrest from Dr. Watts the passages
cited in support of the trinitarian doctrine. And if it is al-
South to cherish with gentle gales and balmy breezes the planting of the Lord !
Psalm, cxliii. 10 is also cited, "Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of up;
Tightness ;" and Leusden's rendering Spiritus tuus bonus deducat me in terra
recta, "Let thy good Spirit lead me in a right land," which is strangely tortured
into a prayer to, as well as for, the Holy Spirit.
Such farfetched expositions render no service whatever to the doctrine in ques
tion. The argument is simple. The right of the Spirit to divine worship is founded
upon his divine character, and not upon scripture practice or precept. Any proof
of the latter is superfluous if the former is established.
pp

586 LIFE AND TIMES
loAvable to violate the recognised canons of criticism — to ex
tract from the original text a desired meaning by unauthorised
glosses and conjectural emendation — to adopt an alteration
Avithout the support of a single manuscript or version — Ave
may admit that the effort did not altogether fail. But the
arbitrary freedoms of polemical theology will not be received
as evidence at the tribunal of the dispassionate critic. A
slight subjection to this ordeal would shoAV the unwarrantable
license which the author of the " Sober Appeal" assumes, and
the lofty and impregnable position occupied by the work which
he endeavours to controvert. An instance occurs in the ren
dering of Rom. ix. 5 : "Of whom, as concerning the flesh,
Christ came, Avho is over all, God blessed for ever ;" which
Mr. Tomkins, following Enjedin, Emlyn, and others, trans
lates, " Of Avhom is the Christ, according to the flesh. He
who is God over all be blessed for ever." Regarding the latter
clause of the passage as a doxology, and putting a full-point
after adpxa, the force of this striking testimony to the supreme
divinity of the Messiah is completely neutralised. But Avhen
it is considered, that the new reading is entirely conjectural —
that it violates the usages of Greek construction — that it ren
ders the limiting clause, " according to the flesh," an unmean
ing and impertinent parenthesis — that it is proposed by an
interested party, for no better assignable reason^ than that
Paul's amanuensis Avas a blunderer in punctuation* — it will
be deemed an obvious presage of a bad cause, to have recourse
to such an expedient. It is not, however, my object to vindi
cate or refute Dr. Watts's sentiments, but to explain them;
and the work of his opponent may be dismissed Avith the re
mark, that its style is courteous, its spirit candid, and though
it elicited no direct reply, it appears, from the references to it
in subsequent publications, to have met with an attentive pe
rusal. Dr. Watts next produced " The Arian invited to the Ortho-
* Mr. Belsham's Calm Inquiry, p. 224.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 587
dox Faith ; or, a plain and easy method to lead such as deny
the proper Deity of Christ into the belief of that great article,"
Avhich appeared in the year ] 724. This Avork consists of three
dissertations, chiefly occupied Avith establishing the divinity
of our Lord, with occasional notices of the " Sober Appeal."
The orthodox faith, the faith of the church from the primitive
times, he defines to be, that explication of the trinitarian doc
trine Avhich supposes the divine nature to be but one nume
rical essence — that this essence is the same in the Father, the
Word, and the Spirit — that these three are sa far distinct as
to lay a foundation for the scriptures to speak of them in a per
sonal manner — that they are not so far distinct as when Ave
speak of three men or three angels — and that in the person of
Christ there are two distinct natures, God and man united.
The Arian scheme, as promulged by its subtle founder, held
for its leading tenet, that Christ was a creature — a glorious
and exalted creature indeed, but still as much inferior to the
true and eternal God as a creature is to the Creator — that he
Avas produced in a peculiar manner anterior to the creation of
the Avorld — and that he alone proceeded immediately from
God, whilst all other things Avere produced mediately by him.
Modern Arianism, as expounded by its distinguished advocate,
Dr. Samuel Clarke, is a refinement of the ancient doctrine —
he held that there is one Supreme Being, Avho is denomina
ted the Father, and two subordinate, derived and dependent
beings — he did not, however, conceive the Son to be a
creature, but something midway between a created and a self-
existent nature. To both these classes Dr. Watts addressed
himself in this Avork, to lead them by " sIoav and easy steps"
into the orthodox doctrine — a noble and elevated object,
the entertainment of Avhich marks a benevolent mind, though
the expectation of success, by the method he pursued, betrays
a temperament far too sanguine.
In the first dissertation he advances a number of queries,
founded upon the propositions of the " Christian Doctrine,"

588 LIFE AND TIMES
in behalf of the divine nature of Christ. There is little of what
is speculative here introduced, with the exception of his fa
vourite notion of the pre-existence of our Lord's human soul,
which will hereafter be considered. In the second dissertation
he pursues the same interrogative style, and discusses the
union of the divine and human natures in the Saviour's per
son. The truth and certainty of the hypostatic union he argues
from scripture ; its possibility and consistency with reason he
proves from various human analogies ; and expresses an ap
proval of the opinion of Nestorius, who acknowledged tAvo
persons in our Lord mystically and more intimately united
than any analogy within our observation can explain. This
is obviously neither the general sense of the church, nor the
true sense of scripture, Avhich harmonises with the decree of
the Chalcedonian council, asserting one person, but in the
unity of persons two natures. The third dissertation is the
most elaborate one, and the most valuable ; it treats of the
Avorship of Christ being founded on his godhead — a position
advanced in the " Christian Doctrine," which its Arian critic
Avas at great pains to overthrow. Dr. Watts proceeds upon
these incontrovertible principles : that religious Avorship is a
divine honour — that God has assumed religious worship to
himself in his word as his own peculiar prerogative, and with
the severest penalties has forbid it to be paid to any infe
rior being — that religious worship is attributed to our Lord
JesuS Christ both in prophecy, in precept, and in example in
scripture — and thence it is inferred, that true godhead be
longs to him. The author of the " Sober Appeal" does not
attempt to controvert these principles, but to exhibit the in
ference as erroneous : he allows that religious worship is and
ought to be paid to Christ, though in his estimation only a
creature : he does not, Avith the modern Socinians, attempt by
unscholarly criticism to pervert the passages Avhich inculcate
and exemplify the practice ; but to avoid the consequences of
his admission, he supposes the first commandment to be

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 589
repealed under the New Testament, and the worship of the
creature, though of an inferior kind, not to be interdicted.
Even Arius himself and Socinus did not depart in this respect
from the faith and practice of the universal church, but taught
their followers to " honour the Son" with acts of adoration,
whilst they disclaimed his divinity. On this ground the fa
thers justly charged the former with restoring idolatry, and
supporting the pagan polytheism — a charge advanced by
Watts, and most triumphantly established by Waterland.
Mr. Tomkins, to escape from such a conclusion, has recourse
to the sophistical distinction of inferior and superior worship,
embraced by the papists to excuse their adoration of saints
and angels ; a distinction sanctioned by Dr. Clarke, to recon
cile homage to the Saviour with his semi-arian scheme ; but
a distinction upon which the scripture is silent, and Avhich
reason utterly repudiates. Worship was paid to Christ by
his immediate followers, and it is ascribed to him in the scenic
representations of the Apocalypse ; but no variation in quality,
no difference of kind, no degrees of high and low, supreme
and inferior, ultimate and mediate, are hinted at; and the
fact yields irrefragable evidence, that the object of the lowly
reverence of earthly and heavenly intelligences, is truly a
divine personage.
The second part of this Avork appeared in the year 1725,
containing four " Dissertations relating to the Christian Doc
trine of the Trinity." He here departs from the sentiments
expressed in his first publication ; he finds that Jewish idioms
will alloAV him to explain the personal representations of the
Spirit by the prosopopseia ; and while he maintains the lite
ral deity of the Word and Spirit, he advocates a figurative
personality. The general senses of the term Logos, the
Memra of the Chaldee paraphrasts, and its application to
Christ, are the subjects of the first dissertation, or the fourth
numbering from the former volume. In this inquiry he dis
plays an extensive range of reading, appealing to the apocry-

590 LIFE AND TIMES
phal writers, the Targumists, Philo, and the Fathers, and
citing the works of Allix, Owen, and Lightfoot, to ascertain
the judgment of the Jewish church. Three interpretations
have been put upon the expressions of Philo Avith reference
to the exalted and mysterious being Avho appears so promi
nently in his pages — theArian, which supposes him to speak
of an exalted creature, a kind of demi-god, Avho governs the
world under the direction and as the representative of the
Deity ; the Sabeliian, according to Avhich the essential wisdom
of God, an emanation ofthe divine nature, is meant; and the
Trinitarian, which introduces a true subsistence in the god
head, as the illustrious person intended. These expositions
are not satisfactory to Dr. Watts; and he brings forward the
pre-existent human soul of Christ, a glorious super-angelic
spirit, having communion Avith divinity, as best ansAvering to
the Logos of the JeAV. This opinion is suggested in the
f Christology" of Mr. Robert Fleming ; it is held by most of
those Avho claim for the human soul of Christ an ante-mun
dane existence ; but it has only a fanciful conjecture for its
basis. That Philo and the Hellenists invest the Logos with
a real personality, in a manner more obvious and distinct than
can be found in the writings of Plato — that his expressions
are clearly indicative of a divine person possessing divine
attributes and performing divine works — are conclusions
verified by competent authorities, though there may be no
evidence for interpreting this hypostatical term, as intended
to point out a distinct person in the nature of deity. The
contrarieties apparent in the doctrine of Philo and the Helle-
nizing Jews respecting the Logos ; the supreme and subordi
nate characters and titles under Avhich he is represented, are
thus illustrated and reconciled at the conclusion of the disser
tation: — "If I might venture into a comparison upon this
occasion, I Avould liken the Avritings of the ancients concern
ing the Logos, to a mine of rich metal, where two travellers
faking up the ore, find some brighter and some baser proper-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 591
lies in the mass. One of them asserts that the metal is all
silver, and he gives the most favourable and exalted turn
that he can to the coarser phenomena of lead Avhich discover
themselves there. The other sinks and beclouds the brighter
phenomena of silver, till he has construed the Avhole mine into
lead. Here it is possible that a less knoAving traveller may
come by, and happen to make such an experiment on the
mingled mass, as discovers that there is both silver and lead
united in the same ore : by this means the different properties
appear to belong to the different metal, and the contenders
are reconciled."
The fifth dissertation is devoted to the doctrine of the
Holy Spirit, to Avhoin he assigns a literal divinity,
but a figurative personality. That there are many passages in
Avhich the term occurs, when merely an influence, a gift or
grace. is intended, no judicious trinitarian will deny; but
there are many others Avhich are absurd and unintelligible
upon our author's hypothesis, in Avhich the Spirit is mention
ed in such a manner that the boldest flights of poetry will
not explain, invested in the plainest prose Avith all the attri
butes of distinct personality. Wisdom may be personified in
the Avritings of Solomon, and charity in the writings of Paul ;
but nothing can be more unhappy than the attempt to resolve
the personal acts attributed to the Holy Ghost into a rhetorical
figure. As to the doctrine of the procession of the Spirit
from the Father and the Son in the essence of deity, and the
notion ol" spiration, or the manner in Avhich the procession is
effected, we may agree with him in regarding them as the
refinements of the schoolmen, resting upon no very obvious
scriptural authority. — The sense in Avhich the term person
ought to be used in the controversy is discussed in the sixth
dissertation. He defines the distinctive character of a person
to be " the application ofthe personal pronouns, /, thou, he:
these three pronouns being frequently applied in scripture to
the Father and the Son, and the pronoun he to the blessed

592 LIFE AND TIMES
Spirit ; Ave, therefore, call them three persons." But then he
pleads for the term not being understood in exactly the same
sense, and including precisely the same ideas, as Avhen Ave call
three men, or three angels, three distinct persons. The ortho
dox trinitarian Avill not object to this admission ; for to retain
the literal and philosophical sense, must necessarily lead to
the absurdities of tritheism. " The Avord person," Howe
observes, " must not be taken to signify the same thing Avhen
spoken of God and of ourselves." Dr. Wallis in his Letters
makes no scruple to say, that the Avord, when applied to the
distinctions in the divine nature, is metaphorical, analogical,
and figurative. To the same effect Dr. Hopkins states, that
" it must be carefully observed, that when this word is applied
to Father, Son, and Holy G host, it does not import the same
distinction Avhich is expressed by it Avhen applied to men. It
means nothing inconsistent Avith the highest perfection, or
Avith these three being really and perfectly one God. Nor is
it pretended, that this Avord Avhen used in this instance can
be so defined as to give any clear and adequate idea of a sub
ject so mysterious and infinitely incomprehensible." But
Avhile Ave may agree Avith these divines in rejecting the strict
philosophical sense of the term, as applied to the trinity in the
godhead ; it is obvious that its interpretation in a political
and metaphorical sense, falls far short of its precise import.
That to Avhich those acts are attributed, and those modes of
speech applied, Avhich usually characterise personality, must
be something more than, as Dr. Watts supposes, a mere pro
perty or power ; and, hence, we conclude, that though the
Father, the Word, and the Spirit are not separate existences,
yet there is such a positive distinction between them, and at
the same time such a real union, as only the common ex
pression, three persons in one God, can adequately express.
Upwards of twenty -one years elapsed before. Dr. Watts
published again upon this subject. The reason of this long
suspension, and the circumstances which led him at length to

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 593
break silence, have not been disclosed. Various causes might
operate to induce him to abandon his labours ; the judicious
advice of friends, or a wish lo avoid angry controversy, or the
coldness with Avhich, notwithstanding his popularity as a wri
ter upon other topics, the public received his works. One of
his opponents, Dr. Abraham Taylor, states, that an impres
sion of five hundred of the second part of his Dissertations,
had not in the course of three years been sold. Had he Avrit
ten as a party man, there might, and probably would have
been, a different result ; but he occupied the unenviable post
of moderator ; he placed himself betAveen the arian and trini
tarian champions ; and, as he did not succeed in pleasing
either, he forfeited the patronage of both. With great justice,
referring to his oavu case, he was accustomed to say, " A mo
derator is sure to get a box on both ears."
In 1746 the " Useful and Important Questions concerning
Jesus the Son of God freely proposed" appeared, but without
the name of the author. There is little of Avhat is neAv in this
Avork ; it is founded upon the doctor's former Avritings ; and
consists of an amplification and proof of some sentiments
Avhich he had before expressed. Its contents may be gather
ed from the titles of the several questions: 1. "What is
the meaning of the name Son of God, as given to Christ in
the New Testament, Avhere the belief of it is necessary to sal
vation ?" 2. " Did the disciples of Christ fully believe that
he Avas the true God during his life-time, or not till after his
death and resurrection ?" 3. " Could the Son of God pro
perly enter into a covenant with his Father, to do and suffer
Avhat was necessary to our redemption, without a human
soul ?" 4. " Is the Godhead of Christ, and the Godhead of
the Father, one and the same Godhead ?" 5. " Is there an
intimate union between the Lord Jesus Christ and God the
Father?" fi. "Is Christ the express image of God the Fa
ther in the human nature or in the divine?" 7. "Are the
Avorship of God and his Son Jesus Christ consistent Avith one

594 LIFE AND TIMES
another?" 8. "What is the Avorship paid to our blessed
Saviour, who is the image of God ?" An examination of
these inquiries would exceed my limits, and involve repeti
tion : a feAV remarks upon the first and second is all that will
be necessary.
The title so frequently occurring in scripture, the Son of
God, discussed in the first question, he interprets as pointing
out the miraculous conception and mediatorial character of
Christ, without any express reference to his divine nature.
The former part of this position will at once be granted : the
latter is open to many serious objections. It is contrary to the
sense of the Jews in our Lord's time, Avho evidently regarded
the designation as distinctive of divinity ; and, hence, treated
its attribution by him as blasphemy. The title is introduced
in several passages with such solemnity and emphasis, as to
exclude the idea of its being a mere appellative of the human
nature; and in the testimonies of Nathaniel and Peter, it
plainly occurs as a distinction peculiarly divine, an antithesis
being strongly marked by both betAveen the official character,
" the Christ," " the King of Israel," and the personal dignity,
" the Son of the living God." Many eminent divines, both
among the ancients aud the moderns, have, however, agreed
with Watts in restraining the term entirely to an official sig
nificancy, an opinion which has been recently agitated by
Dr. A. Clarke, and which Dr. WardlaAV appears to sanction.
That the doctrine of the divine Sonship is not fundamental,
that the belief of it is not " necessary to salvation," a branch
of inquiry which the question embraces, its principal advo
cates, even the cautious Waterland, alloAV ; but that the con
clusions logically deduced from its denial would trench upon
doctrines pronounced fundamental by the orthodox of all
ages, there is great reason to apprehend. — The fact which
the second question is intended to prove — namely, that the
apostles had clearer views of the divinity of their Master after
his death than during his life, will readily be conceded ; but

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 595
it is susceptible of a different and more correct solution than
that which is given in the inquiry. It was not the result of
clearer evidence being imparted, it was not, as it is remarked,
because " the beams of his Godhead did not discover them
selves in a triumphant and convincing light during the days
of his humiliation" — the very opposite of this appears to have
been the case — and their slowness of heart to believe, their
oft recurring doubts and perplexities, whilst yet disciples,
must be attributed to the Avant of that Spirit of truth which
Avas afterwards communicated, and Avhich effectually dispelled
their hesitation, confirmed their faith, and led them into all
truth. The object which the writer had in vieAV in the dis
cussion of this point is not very apparent. If it is, as I
strongly suspect, to loAver the importance of believing in our
Lord's divinity — to prove the harmlessness of loose and un
settled notions with reference to it, " the apostles being," he
observes, " in a state of grace and salvation before there is any
sufficient evidence of their faith therein" — to shoAV that the
doctrine is not so fundamental as the orthodox maintain —
the fact makes equally against the atonement, the intercession,
and each branch of the mediatorial economy ; so that every
thing valuable in Christianity would cease to be important
and fundamental with it. Such a conclusion as this no one
Avould more strongly condemn than Dr. Watts ; yet it is as
fairly draAvn from his premises as his own inference, if rightly
understood, and must stand or fall Avith it. But it is easy to
perceive that his premises are not tenable; for the assertion is
perfectly gratuitous, that the apostles Avere in a saved state
previous to their faith in Christ as a divine person ; it is as
much as saying, that they Avere believers and unbelievers at
tbe same time. The experience of the disciples during the
ministry of their Lord, partook of mingled light and shade,
hope and fear, confidence and doubt ; but there were periods
of unclouded sunshine, of clear and joyous insight into the
native dignity of his character, Avhen noble confessions of his

596 LIFE AND TIMES
divine majesty broke from their lips and won his approval.
No argument can then be drawn from their case, to soften
and extenuate the indulgence of latitudinarian sentiments;
there is no parallel between the hesitations of the disciple,
however frequent, and the settled unbelief of the Arian —
but there is a " great gulf" indeed between a mind in Avhich,
in the infancy of Christianity, faith and doubt might contend
for the mastery, and one in which, under its full maturity,
infidelity is dominant tOAvards its peculiar and leading doc
trines. The next publication that comes under review, is an Essay
appended to the " Questions," on " The true importance of
any human schemes to explain the sacred doctrine of the
Trinity." It is argued, that no such scheme is necessary to
salvation — that it may yet be of great use to the Christian
church — but that all such explications should be proposed
Avith modesty to the world, and never enforced upon the con
science. As to any explication of the doctrine, it is one of the
" secret things" which God has reserved unto himself — he
has here held back " the face of his throne, and spread his
cloud upon it" — and as it savours largely of intellectual pride
and vanity to attempt to remove the obscurity in Avhich di
vine Avisdom has seen good to involve it ; so every scheme of
solution must be attended Avith uncertainty, and can only be
rendered obligatory by the most intolerable dogmatism. But
as to the doctrine itself, the simple fact of its revelation proves
its importance — ascertain it to be a truth of scripture, and
its reception or rejection ceases to be a matter of indifference,
and becomes a matter of responsibility. Its opponents have
loudly asserted, that, admitting its truth, the dogma is one so
purely speculative, as to serve no purpose whatever, in either
morals or religion ; but such a statement proceeds upon false
principles. Revelation is not a needless though liberal over
flowing of the divine intelligence — it has not been made for
the mere purpose of display — every particle is connected Avith

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 597
a moral end, and to accomplish its object nothing is Avanting,
nothing is superfluous. Dr. Priestley allows, that the doctrine
may be necessary to explain some particular texts : a confes
sion which, however short of what truth might demand,
stamps it Avith the highest character of importance. But the
denial of it, pushed to its consequences, Avould necessarily
overthrow the atonement and the Avhole mediatorial scheme,
and thus give a slab to the vitals of Christianity. What
measure of speculative error may comport or be incongruous
with the existence of real piety, it becomes not human falli
bility to decide. Injury has been done to the cause of truth
by the intemperate zeal of its advocates, who have made a
man an offender for a word, and denounced as an Arian he
who did not boAv implicitly to the creed of Athanasius, and
hesitated to subscribe to what he conscientiously might deem
was tritheism. That there have been men of unexceptionable
piety, who have entertained latitudinarian opinions upon the
Trinity — opinions, as to their tendency, pregnant with the
utmost danger — cannot be disputed, and Dr. Watts is him
self an instance* But the danger is, that when speculation,
hoAvever undesignedly, trespasses upon forbidden ground, and
errors of minor importance are imbibed, they are apt to gene
rate others of greater magnitude ; and the remote consequences
that have followed upon trivial departures from the truth,
seem to justify the alarm and jealousy which such deviations
generally create. Dr. Watts would have witnessed an illus
tration of this, had his life been spared a little longer : he
would have seen the semi-arians, to whom the kindness of his
nature led him to stretch out the hand of charity, pass swiftly
down the stream of error, and launch out into the ocean of
* Of Thomas Firmin, unquestionably a Socinian, even Wesley, who published his
life, candidly acknowledged, "I was exceedingly struck at reading the following
life, having long settled it in my mind, that the entertaining wrong notions con
cerning the Trinity was inconsistent with real piety. But I cannot argue against
matter of fact. I dare not deny that Mr. Firmin was a pious man, although his
notions of the Trinity were quite erroneous." Arminian Mag.

598 LIFE AND TIMES
Socinian heterodoxy. It is but justice, hoAvever, to add, that
Avhilst he pleads for kindness and brotherly love tOAvards those
Avho dissented from the orthodox doctrine, Avhilst he treats as
unscriptural and presumptuous their exclusion by any sect
from communion, he ever supposes a life of holy obedience
and practice, of conformity to the divine will, trust in the
atonement, and dependence upon the Spirit's influence, to
exist. In the latter end of the year 1746 Dr. Watts published his
last Avork in the controversy, entitled " The Glory of Christ as
God-Man displayed." This is considered in three discourses,
upon the visible appearances of Christ as God before his in
carnation — the extensive powers of his human nature in its
present glorified state — and the ante-mundane existence of his
human soul. The whole work is an elaborate endeavour to
establish the latter position, the author's favourite sentiment,
which he regarded as one of the main pillars of the indwelling
scheme, the grand panacea for all the difficulties of the tri
nitarian doctrine. The notion is not new. If it is not ex
pressed, as some imagine, in the Shepherd of Hermas, it Avas
undoubtedly held by Origen, who supposed that " the soul of
the Son in its perfection Avas in God and his fulness, and
coming out thence, Avhen he Avas sent by the Father, took a
body of Mary." Among the moderns Avho have professed and
defended it, are Bishops Burnet, Gastrell, and Fowler, Dr.
H. More, Dr. T. Goodwin, and Dr. T. Bennet, Mr. Fleming
and Mr. Hussey.
It is argued, that actions and services are represented as
being performed by Christ, previous to his incarnation, which
seem " too Ioav for the dignity of pure Godhead. Does it not
seem," sayshe, " more congruous, that ahuman soul should ani
mate that human body Avhich eat and drank with Abraham un
der a tree, and should actuate those human limbs Avhen a man
wrestled with Jacob ? Is it not beneath the grandeur, de
cency, and dignity of the supreme Majesty of heaven, to sup-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 599
ply the place of such a human soul for the purposes or actions
of animal nature ? And that the great and eternal God him
self, in an immediate manner, should converse in so human
and familiar a Avay as this angel did Avith several of the pa
triarchs ?" The reason is not stated, why these offices are
" too low" for Deity, and the bare assertion seems like dicta
ting the divine procedure, and defining the bounds of decorum
for the high and lofty One. But our author loses sight of his
own theory ; for if, as he supposes, the human soul of Christ
had intimate communion with the divine nature in its pre-
existent state, the Godhead was as much a party in these
transactions, as though exclusively animating the visible
shape that appeared. The argument, if it has any force,
might be employed by infidel philosophy with advantage
against the doctrine of providence and the scheme of redemp
tion; for, that a sparrow should not fall or a leaf wither
without the observance of the Infinite — and especially to be
manifest in the flesh — to travel through the short span of
mortal life — • to be familiar with hunger and thirst, fatigue
and tears, pain and death — in short, every fact upon which
the display of pardoning love to the sinner is founded, might
be dismissed as improbable, if man is to judge what is " too
low" or what is fitting for an association with the divine dig
nity. For the other reasons advanced in favour of this singu
lar notion, I must refer the reader to the work itself, as they
are not of sufficient weight to deserve examination here. The
opinion has to contend with insuperable difficulties — the
scriptures are completely silent Avith reference to it — and
their general tenor is directly opposed to such a conclusion.
It remains to be explained, how Christ, with any propriety,
can be called the Son of Man, if his human spirit was formed
ages before man was created — how he can be the second
Adam, if the principal part of his humanity existed before the
first — how it can be said, that " he took not on him the na
ture of angels," if in a glorious arch-angelic nature he had

600 LIFE AND TIMES
being before the Avorld began. That there is a real relation
ship between his humanity and ours, whereby he can sympa
thise with the infirmities of his people, is a doctrine Avhich
we think the scriptures plainly teach — thus he is our " elder
brother," " he was made in all things like unto his brethren,"
whereby " he that sanctifies and they that are sanctified" be
come " all of one" — and as these statements are at variance
with Dr. Watts's hypothesis, it must be discarded as a mere
human fancy.
A second edition of the " Sober Appeal to a Turk or an
Indian" appeared in the year 1748, with considerable en
largements ; but Di-. Watts had now done Avith controversy,
and Avas about to exchange a state of doubt and uncertainty,
for the full and unclouded revelations of truth. It is probable,
therefore, that the work of his old antagonist Avas not alloAved
to intrude into the chamber of death. His occasional notices
of Mr. Tomkins's performance are here replied to ; his later
publications are also animadverted on in the notes ; and some
remarks upon his three first Dissertations are added at the
close. A passage in the postscript contains an error of some
importance, as it makes him give up his former opinions as to
a modal distinction in the essence of Deity : — " Dr. Watts,"
it is observed, " in his late treatise,* gives up the more com
mon notion of three modes, relations, or the like, called three
persons, in the one individual, self-existing essence ; as also
the notion of three distinct intelligent beings, however, ne
cessarily united together ; and seems persuaded, that there is
no other way of accounting for the ascribing of supreme
Deity to Christ, but by making the one self-existing essence
and the man Christ Jesus one complex person, a notion as
should seem lately devised by himself."f However true the
middle section of this sentence may be, the former and the
•"Useful and Important Questions," &c.
f Sober Appeal," &c. p. 289.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 601
latter parts are certainly incorrect : after a careful examina
tion of the Avork referred to, I can find no authority for either
statement. He expressly speaks of such distinctions existing
in the divine nature, as lay a foundation for the revelation of
the Deity under three personal chaiacters ; and of one of these
distinctions, a denomination, or relation, or principle, being
made manifest in the flesh. Strictly speaking, then, he did
not altogether fall in Avith the indAvelling scheme — he did
not, as that scheme supposes, found the divinity of Christ
upon the indwelling of the whole Godhead in the humanity —
he well kneAV the consequences charged by the orthodox upon
the doctrine ofthe Patripassians in this respect — and, hence,
to avoid them, he struck out into the middle path opened by
Sabellius, that one of the mysterious and indefinable distinc
tions in the divine essence, an emanation, or principle, or vir
tue, Avas united to our human nature. I know that a correct
theologian will see at once that he does not escape from the
difficulty ; that he admits a distinction without a difference ;
that his notion is substantially the same as that which makes
the Father to become incarnate, to suffer and die — for he ac
knowledges no subsistance in the Deity separate from the
Father ; but Dr. Watts did not see this result so inevitable,
as some of those who have opposed his scheme, and justice
to his sentiments requires that this should be stated. It is
certainly surprising that Mr. Palmer of Hackney, his admirer
and able apologist, should fall into the same mistake as Mr.
Tomkins, and represent him as maintaining no distinctions in
the Deity, a circumstance which may, perhaps, be accounted
for by his misinterpreting some obscure phrases, and in some
measure by the fact, that the opinion itself coincided Avith his
own theological views.
The wbole of Dr. Watts's publications, Avith reference to
the Trinity, have now been noticed ; and Ave may concisely
state the scheme Avhich he proposed and advocated. He sup
poses the term person, in its philosophical sense, to be strictly
q q

602 LIFE AND TIMES
applicable to the Father, an intelligent, voluntary agent—
that in a figurative sense alone it is applicable to the Son and
to the Spirit, who may more appropriately be styled powers
or properties — that the Word is a cognoscitive, or an intelli
gent volitive power, and the Spirit an active or an intelligent
effective power— that the Deity, therefore, consists of one
philosophical person and two divine properties, analogous to
the mind and will in man — that a trinity in the essence of
deity exists, but that the distinction is merely modal — that
the Godhead of Christ is founded upon his union to some par
ticular power of the divine nature, and not to a distinct per
son in that nature — and that this union commenced previous
to his appearance on earth, his human soul having been pre-
existent, and having had communion with divinity before the
foundation of the world. Such is the scheme elaborated with
no little care, and patience, and erudition, which its author
fondly thought would remove all difficulties, overthrow the
barrier between the Athanasian and the Arian, heal the con
tentions of the church, and still the strife of ages. In its
general outline it is closely allied to the doctrine taught in
the early ages by the Patripassians, who alloAved only a nomi
nal distinction to exist in the divine nature, or, as the Sabel-
lians explained it, three denominations in one hypostasis;
thus denying the personality of the Word and the Spirit, and
holding them to be mere functions, virtues, or emanations.
The conclusion to which this notion inevitably leads is, that
incarnation, suffering, and death, may as properly be predica
ted of the Father as the Son ; nay, upon the assumption of a
nominal distinction only, all the acts of the Son become the
acts of the Father ; and, hence, he sends himself into the
world, he prays to himself, he satisfies himself, he mediates
and intercedes with himself — a conclusion fatal to the
scheme, but necessarily deduced from it, Avhether it appears
under the auspices of Sabellius or in the pages of Watts. I
cannot dismiss this subject without remarking upon the li-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 003
berties taken Avith the sacred page in these speculations, and
the dangerous principles of interpretation adopted. If the
ascription of personal acts to the Son in his divine nature^
and the use of personal pronouns, in the gravest and most
solemn history in the world, may be explained aAvay by the
prosopopoeia, language loses its significancy, and may be
pressed into the service of any figment. An objector might
readily prove the impersonality of the Father, resorting to the
same license. It is acutely remarked by Dr. Abraham Tay
lor, " It is a very strong and convincing evidence of the Fa
ther's real personality, that the scripture represents him as a
person, and ascribes personal acts to him; but if any one
should take it into his head to deny that the Father is a real
person, and should only allow him a figurative personality, I
cannot see how he can be confuted upon Mr. Watts's hypo
thesis ; for as the Son and Spirit are not real but figurative
persons, according to him, notwithstanding they are repre
sented under personal characters, I know not how the Fa
ther's having personal actions ascribed to him, can prove him
to be a real person, any more than the other two."
We have now traced Dr. Watts through his various wri
tings, "sounding on a dim and perilous Avay," to the close of
the year 1746. This Avas but a short time prior to his death;
so that the sentiments which have been recapitulated, were
those which his maturity of intellect sanctioned, and Avhich he
carried to his grave. It has indeed been asserted, that at the
close of life his opinions undenvent a change ; that his last
thoughts Avere completely Unitarian ; and his full conversion
has been introduced with no little parade in Socinian works
and periodicals. That the writers considered this as an un
doubted fact I do not question ; that the steal of party render
ed them not over-scrupulous as to its evidence may be as
sumed : but that rumour, Avith her hundred tongues, has in
this iustauce calumniated the memory of the great and good,
sufficiently appears from the preceding revieAv. The fact is,

604 LIFE AND TIMES
that his sentiments remained fixed after first publishing, in
1725, his vieAvs of the indwelling scheme ; that for the last
twenty -three years of his life, they experienced no alteration ;
and that the preceding pages exhibit to its full amount his
departure from the orthodox faith. To pronounce him,
therefore, an Unitarian, in the sense in which the term is
commonly understood, is umvarrantable and unjust. Dr.
Lardner, with whom this allegation originated, might regard
it as a legitimate inference from his views ; but it is not a
fair and equitable principle, to determine the sentiments of an
individual by what party prejudice is pleased to infer. With
equal propriety might eveiy Athanasian be proclaimed a poly-
theist; and those who approve the modal definition of the
word person in the Trinity, be held up as Unitarians likewise.
But would not such men as Dr. Wallis, Baxter, Dr. South,
the authors of the Oxford decree, Avhich pronounced the sys
tem of the latter to be the orthodox doctrine of the church of
England, Tillotson, Doddridge, and the late Dr. Williams,
who all favoured the idea of a modal personality, have reject
ed the title with indignation ?*
The writings of Dr. Watts upon the trinitarian controversy
illustrate his mental activity, his boundless desire after truth,
his resolution to grapple with the most tremendous difficulties
in its attainment, while his expectation of seeing this " glory
of the Lord" with " open face" in the present state, evidences
a singular defect of judgment. He seems to have interpreted
tbe Saviour's promise of the Spirit, to " guide into all truth,"
in the most absolute and unqualified sense, as referring not
only to all saving knoAvledge, but to every topic of theological
and philosophical inquiry. But it is obviously only bis office
here, to make us " wise unto salvation," and to reveal no
more of the ways of God than what is necessary for that pur
pose. Hence, the disclosures of holy writ, full and ample as
they are upon all those subjects which involve our personal
* Appendix I.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 605
interests, seldom touch upon mere extraneous themes ; and to
teach us that humility and modesty becoming our condition,
they condescend not to reconcile the views they exhibit with
our conceptions. We are to receive each announcement upon
the faith that it is God's testimony, Avithout requiring that
divine truth should be brought down to our own alphabet.
Thus the nature of the Deity, infinitely transcending the com
bined comprehension of the human intellect, is made known
to us " as it is," one God in trinity and trinity in unity — but
the secret is not explained — all is mystery and incompre-
hensibleness — and every attempt to render the mystery con
ceivable by the human mind must in the nature of things be
abortive. It is the duty of man to discern the limitations put
upon his mental capacity, and reverently to keep within his
prescribed circle — to ascertain, in this respect, the " bounds
of his habitation" — and not to strive vainly to surmount the
barrier "fixed by a perpetual decree," within which the tide
of legitimate inquiry is to be confined. This is the rock upon
which Dr. Watts splits : he endeavours to reconcile Avhat to
human wit is irreconcileable — to explain what is inexplica
ble — to make the existence of the Supreme Intelligence in
its mode plain and palpable to a finite intellect — and not to
receive the plain doctrine of scripture, that there is in the di
vine nature a strict unity and a three-fold personality, Avithout
ascertaining the why, the how, and the Avherefore. In vain
he speaks of consulting the oracles of God in tbe spirit of
prayer, humility, and submission, to remove the difficulties
which he meets with — to make the crooked straight to man's
hoodwinked mind, and the rough places plain to his intellec
tual vision : this is not their object : they reveal for the exer
cise of faith — to solve for the gratification of curiosity Avould
be to defeat in part their professed design. An opportunity
by searching " to find out God," is scarcely consistent with
humility to expect, or the dignity of Divinity to grant. That
he entered upon the inquiry with the purest motives, and was

606 LIFE AND TIMES
led to it Avith the most benevolent aim, every one must grant
— he devoted himself to his task with a sanctity of feeling
and a holy determination of purpose Avhich Ave respect and
admire, hoAvever much Ave may regret the subject upon which
his energies were exhausted. It was not a love of subtle dis
putation, but a pure and disinterested wish to do good, to heal
the distractions of the church, by discovering the regions of
unclouded truth, that led him to venture beyond his depth,
and boldly enter the wide ocean of infinite being.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 607

CHAPTER XVI.
1739—1745.
WATTS IN DECLINING LIFE.

AT TUNBRIDGE:— ILLNESS AND RECOVERY.— THE "WORLD TO COME:"—
REMARKS UPON IT. —ESSAY ON "CIVIL POWER:'' — ITS SINGULAR
SCHEME.— "SELF-LOVE AND VIRTUE."-" RUIN AND RECOVERY:"— CON
TROVERSY ON THE DOCTRINE :— DR. TAYLOR, DR. RIDGLEY, MR. HEB-
DEN, MR. J. WESLEY, AND PRESIDENT EDWARDS. — EXTENT OF THE
ADAMIC CURSE.— SINGULAR OPINION CONCERNING INFANTS.— SPREAD
OF ANTINOMIANISM:— CURIOUS NOTICES OF IT— MR. JOSEPH WIL
LIAMS;— HIS LETTER.— "QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS." — DECLINING
HEALTH— "IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIND:"— OPINIONS OF DR. JOHN.
SON AND ROBERT HALL: — SECOND PART. — MR. NEAL'S LETTER. —
"HARMONY OF ALL RELIGIONS."— DODDRIDGE'S " RISE AND PROGRESS
OF RELIGION :"— WATTS RECOMMENDS IT IN HOLLAND.— OPINIONS ON
BLAIR'S !' GRAVE."-CORRESPONDENCE,

In resuming the narrative of Watts's life, we find little be
sides the productions of his pen to notice. He kept no diary
of the events that checquered his lengthened pilgrimage ; he
neglected from principle to journalise his thoughts and feelings,
aspirations and fears; he wished, as he often remarked, to live
in his Avorks, not in the pages of a biographer. The modesty
which dictated this procedure is to be admired and regretted ;
for some memorial from his OAvn pen, of his engagements,
connexions, and experience, Avould not only have tended to
private edification, but would have throAvn some valuable
light upon the history of our churches. At this period the
serious apprehensions of those around him were excited by
his evidently fast decaying frame. In some of the Countess

608 LIFE AND TIMES
of Hertford's letters she seems to have been anticipating the
termination of his career ; and, indeed, forty years of ceaseless
mental labour might have exhausted the energies of a far
more robust constitution than he possessed. The greater part
of the year 1739 was spent in extreme debility and suffering.
His disorder was paralytic. In August he Avas advised to try
the waters and air of Tunbridge, but was Avholly incapable of
any public exertion. Mr. Barker, Avriting to Dr. Doddridge,
Sept. 14, observes, " I spent the last month at Tunbridge
Wells, where I had the pleasure of Dr. Watts's company
during some part of the time; but he would not preach, and in
deed has not done so since his return, and is not any better for
the air or water of that place." His recovery was a subject of
public prayer with many of the metropolitan and country
churches; and tOAvards the close of the year his health and
spirits were in a great degree restored. " I read," says Dodd
ridge, in November, to his friend Dr. Samuel Clark, " Dr.
Watts on the future state with a great deal of pleasure, in
my last journey from Northampton to Berkshire, in July; and
I am glad to hear that the excellent author is on the recover
ing hand. The hint you gave me in your letter, was the
means of my engaging the repeated prayers of our brethren
for him in our day of fasting and prayer." The prayers of
the dissenting churches were indeed peculiarly due to him
who had so largely assisted them in their praises.
The work on the future state here referred to, is the Avell-
known " World to Come," a series of invaluable discourses
on the scripture doctrine of reward and punishment. Care
fully abstaining from the vanity of human speculation —
avoiding the inquiries that marked his " Death and Heaven,"
which, however innocent, are still not directly authorised by
revelation — he attempts to unfold the discoveries Avhich the
gospel brings to light, and to place in the most impressive
manner before the reader the. solemn sanctions they give to
the practice of virtue and religion. In this and similar com-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 609
positions, we may trace the spiritual and heavenly temper of
the writer, and the daily preparation in which he lived for his
OAvn rapidly approaching change. He made himself familiar
with the future — Avith the servant of Elijah he was ever in
tently looking towards heaven — and his mind expanded in
satisfaction and swelled into triumph in the prospect of its
imposing realities. But the hope he expresses never savours
of presumption, or his confidence of pride. He remembers
the exhibitions of nature's infirmity and human sinfulness
which the past presents; and as the "unprofitable servant"
he casts himself upon the merits of his Saviour for acceptance.
Some of the discourses in this work were composed upon oc
casions of bereavement, and addressed to the Abney family.
The sixth, on the vain refuge of sinners, was sketched out on
the rocks near Tunbridge Wells in the year 1729. All the
topics introduced are of the utmost moment, and are discuss
ed in a manner calculated to alarm the careless, arouse the
supine, and cheer the sorrow-stricken believer.
The " World to Come" first appeared in two volumes oc
tavo, but the second was not published until the year 1745:
the introductory treatise, on the separate state of souls after
death, printed anonymously at an earlier period, was append
ed to the first volume. The sermon on the " end of time"
has been often printed separately as a tract ; it has been trans
lated into most European languages; and a large edition in
modern Greek, from the Scio college press, is noAv circulating
in the Levant. Of all the prose works of Dr. Watts, none have
perhaps been more useful than this ; it has led many to seri
ous concern by its impressive and affecting appeals ; and the
last moments of the timid Christian have been cheered by its
delightful exhibitions of " the recompense of the reward."
Justly may it be said of the author, that it was good for him
that he Avas afflicted ; the heat of the furnace might be. keenly
felt, but the influence of the fire refined and purified ; with
Baxter he sought consolation amidst present trouble in medi-

610 LIFE AND TIMES
tating upon the Saints' everlasting Rest ; and ever honoured
by the church ought both their names to be, who have opened,
what under the divine blessing their Avritings have often
proved to be, " a well of water springing up to everlasting life."
Ill, depressed, and suffering from extreme physical debility,
as Dr. Watts was at the commencement of the year 1739, Ave
find him entering upon one of the most debatable topics, and
publishing in March his "Essay on Civil Power in things
sacred." In this cautious production the doctrine of toleration
is discussed Avith great moderation and candour ; and the
leading principles of religious liberty are very satisfactorily
explained and defended. Tlie writer endeavours to confine
civil government to jts legitimate domain, viz. civil affairs —
to assert the claims Avhich its enactments have in this respect
upon the obedience of the subject— to prove magisterial in
terference in religious matters, to be an unjust and unauthori
sed usurpation — and to show that Christianity achieved its
proudest triumphs when unallied Avith human power, and free
from the beggarly elements of this Avorld, it Avent forth Avith
nothing but that moral energy Avith Avhich it Avas invested by
its divine Founder. Its early diffusion was not effected by the
aid and interposition of civil authority — it met with its most
deadly opposition — the natural prejudices of the Jew, philoso
phic pride and imperial power, were brought to bear upon it—
and yet it made its way, and went forth from conquering to
conquer. History is full of instructive lessons of the evils re
sulting from connecting the church Avith the throne, and em
ploying the secular arm to enforce the adoption of its creeds
and dogmas. Civil government, indeed, in his first section,
he recognises as an ordinance of God, necessary to preserve
the just liberties and peace of mankind from invasion and in
jury ; and to pay prompt and implicit obedience to its legisla
tion he upholds as the duty of every individual. But to render
unto Csesar the things that are God's — to place the conscience
under the control of human authority — he distinctly disclaims

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 611
as one of the inventions of men. The subjection to " higher
powers," which the scriptures inculcate — the obedience to
magistrates, Avhich the apostles enjoin — is in secular and not
in religious matters, for this very obvious reason, that the ma
gistracy Avas pagan Avhen such precepts were first given. " The
province of the magistrate," says Sir Henry Vane, "is the
Avorld and man's body, not his conscience or the concerns of
eternity." The professed design, however, of Dr. Watts in his
essay is, to inquire whether there might not be an established
religion consistent with the just liberties of mankind, and
practicable under every form of civil government ; an object
which, as expounded in the treatise, may be regarded as a
harmless, but not very feasible speculation. He thinks that
officers might be appointed by the state, to explain the laws
and the great duties of morality ; that such officers labouring
for the national weal, should be paid out of the national ex
chequer ; that to secure tbe attendance of the people upon
these teachers of natural religion, a fine might be levied upon
absentees; for "I fear," he remarks, "it Avill hardly be
esteemed a sufficient penalty, that persons by neglect will con
tinue ignorant of the laws moral and civil;" and that the
magistrate, at the conclusion of such services, might appoint
the " celebrations of his own peculiar religion to follow, pro
viding the people have notice of it, and as many as please are
permitted to depart without penalty or reproach."
The scheme laboriously draAvn out, of which this is an out
line, however fair and goodly it might appear to its projector,
is liable to several fatal objections — its utter insusceptibility
of establishment, and the scanty prospect of an experiment
yielding any benefit commensurate with the evils which it
Avould inflict. Plausible in theory it would soon be found
mischievous in practice, at variance Avith the first principles
of civil and religious freedom. Besides, all the advantages
which could possibly be supposed to Aoav from such an insti
tute, might be obtained in another and wholly unexceptionable

612 LIFE AND TIMES
Avay — a national system of education, which would embrace
elementary knowledge in morals as well as the common
branches of learning ; securing the respect of the people by
its proffered benefits, and not compelling their adoption by
the penalties of the statute book. Strictly speaking, the
establishment which Dr. Watts sketches, cannot be styled
religious — it is purely civil — connected with no forms of
worship or exposition of doctrine, but enouncing those duties,
a breach of which is cognizable by the laws of the realm.
Notwithstanding the visionary end aimed at in the essay, the
reader will find in it many valuable hints ; a firm and un
flinching advocacy of the right of private judgment ; and an
exhibition of those enlightened views of toleration, which
won for the Independents the applause of Hume, and Avhich
have adorned the history as they marked the rise of the deno
mination. Along Avith this treatise Dr. Colman of Boston
acknowledges the reception of another, entitled " Self-love
and Virtue reconciled only by Religion," which probably,
therefore, appeared about the same time. A purely specula
tive question is discussed in this pamphlet, whether the rules
of virtue and our obligations to practise them, are eternal and
immutable in themselves, or dependent upon the Avill and
appointment of God. The latter part of this proposition is
maintained; for though reason may discover some of the
boundaries between good and evil, yet the divine authority,
and the revelation of reward and punishment, are necessary
to induce the practice of the one and the avoidance of the
other. A mystical divinity has, indeed, preached up the fig
ment, that virtue should be embraced Avithout any regard to
these impressive sanctions, simply because of its inherent ex
cellency ; and a deistical philosophy has stigmatised such mo
tives as selfish and mercenary, beneath the dignity of a Avise
man, who, as the ancient Stoics reported, is happy even in
Phalaris's bull : but experience amply proves, that the ab
stract propriety of moral duties, their eternal fitness, are con-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 613
siderations which go little Avay tOAvards recommending them
to the observance of a fallen and deteriorated nature.
During the period devoted to this chapter the Avork on the
" Ruin and Recovery of Mankind" made its appearance, and
probably in May, 1740. The doctrine of the primitive inno
cence of man, his fall, and the subsequent depravity of his
posterity, is the subject of this volume. On the importance
of maintaining the degeneracy of human nature, as a theolo
gical and practical question, a strong opinion is expressed,
rightly regarding it as one of the essentials of religion, and
the foundation upon which the temple of Christian truth is
built. The Deistical and Socinian representation of man, as
born into the world pure and upright, dimmed by no cloud of
sin and shame, is not only an injurious but a fatal error ; it
may be flattering to his pride, but its reception is ruinous to
his interests ; for until a belief obtains, that he has gone astray,
a fugitive from God, there will be neither solicitude nor exer
tion to return. Upon this hypothesis, the Avhole scheme of
revelation becomes superfluous, and is reduced to a needless
display of means, an exhibition of useless instrumentality;
for if our common nature is not corrupt, provision for its pu
rification is not necessary — if it is not " dead in trespasses and
in sins," the agent whose office is to quicken and revive is
not requisite. But in opposition to this dream of proud phi
losophy, the testimonies of divine truth, of human experience,
of daily observation, and of impartial history, are brought
forward, furnishing irresistible evidence, that the seeds of sin
are sown with the stamina of our being, and that depraved
propensities are coeval with the commencing term of mortal
life. The attention of theologians was called to this subject
by the dangerous speculations of the latitudinarian divines,
in whose writings the doctrine was scouted as a relic of the
dark ages, as one of the demon-haunting terrors invented by
ancient priestcraft, unworthy of any serious notice from per
sons of intellect and refinement. Dr. Ridgley, in 1725, pub-

614 LIFE AND TIMES
lished " The Doctrine of Original Sin considered, the sub
stance of two sermons at Pinner's Hall;" and in 1731 he
recurred to the subject in his valuable Body of Divinity,
broaching, however, some singular sentiments. Mr. Hebden,
of Suffolk, also contributed some able pieces ; but the Avork
of Dr. John Taylor, very improperly styled " The Scripture
Doctrine of Original Sin proposed to free and candid Exami
nation," soon afterwards drew forth the most considerable
writers on the orthodox side. Taylor, it is well known, was
a convert to the theology of the Racovian Catechism ; from
his elegant chapel in Norwich* the plain and homely truths
of the gospel had been dismissed ; and no antiquated and
illiberal insinuations against the native dignity of humanity
offended the ears of the fashionable audience he addressed.
He pronounces the common opinion " one of the greatest ab
surdities in all the system of corrupt religion ;" he animad
verts upon several parts of Dr. Watts's treatise in a Supple
ment; and attributes the gloomy colours in which he por
trayed mankind, to his retirement from the Avorld engendering
a melancholy and nervous temperament. To measure his
strength with such an antagonist, learned and ingenious as he
was, was not upon such a question a very arduous task ; but
inclination and age alike forbade it ; and the labours of his
friends rendered it the less necessary. In a second edition of
the " Ruin and Recovery" he notices most of the objections
advanced by Dr. Taylor, repeats and strengthens his own po
sitions, and warns his opponent (in the case of whose pupils
it was exemplified) of the danger of running into deism. Dr.
*The splendour of Dr. Taylor's meetinghouse attracted the notice of Wesley,
who has commemorated his visit by a description of it: "Wednesday, Dec. 23,
1757. I was shown Dr. Taylor's new meeting-house, perhaps the most elegant
one in Europe. It is eight square, built of the finest brick, with sixteen sash
windows below, as many above, and eight sky-lights in the dome, which indeed are
purely ornamental. The inside is finished in the highest taste, and is as clean as
any nobleman's saloon. The communion table is fine mahogany ; the very latches
of the pew doors are polished brass. How can it be thought that the old, coarse
gospel should find admission here !" Journals, vol. iii. 315.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 615
David Jennings replied to the Norwich divine, and Mr. John
Wesley also in one of the best and most laboured of his con
troversial performances; but President Edwards, in 1758,
completely demolished bis theories in his posthumous work,
" The great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin defended."
It was the intention of Dr. Watts in his work, not so much
to establish the inherent depravation of our nature to be a
truth of scripture, as to grapple Avith its difficulties ; to con
sider the aAvful questions which connect themselves Avith the
introduction of moral evil, its permission undeT a benevolentand
holy administration, and its transmission to all the descend
ants of the primal pair. Upon these topics much important
matter is collected, and many apparent contrarieties are re
conciled, though the judgments of God must remain un
searchable to human littleness and infirmity. In defining
the moral state consequent upon the fall, he cautiously
avoids the injudicious language of some divines, Avho have
employed terms which the advocates of original innocence
have seized upon, to found a charge of making God the author
of sin. It is more consonant Avith the scripture statements,
to represent the depravity of man as a positive evil, resulting
from his privation of holy principles — "a depravation," as it
has been expressed, "arising from a deprivation" — rather than
an effect proceeding from any direct infusion of corrupt dispo
sitions* In considering the transmission of an evil nature
from parents to children, he supposes the soul to be of im
mediate creation, and not ex traduce; and enters into an
elaborate inquiry, hoAV, formed as it must be innocent
because formed by God, it becomes corrupt. There is less
difficulty connected with the theory of traduction, though
many have been scared from adopting it by the frightful cry
of materialism. But such a consequence cannot fairly be
deduced from it; for the notion ofthe generation ofthe soul,
* Quest, iii.

616 LIFE AND TIMES
does not imply its production out of nothing, but simply, as
in the case of the body, a disposal of its substance.* The
extent of the Adamic curse is discussed at length, a subject
about which theologians have widely differed. Pelagius who
has been followed by the modern Socinians, held that Adam
Avas created mortal, and that the only penalty inflicted upon
him, was his banishment from the garden of terrestrial delight.
The opinion of such Arminians as Whitby is, that man's
offence subjected him and his descendants to mortality ; and
at the same time operated unfavourably upon their moral
character, yet not so much so, as to produce a depravation of
nature. Most Calvinistic writers agree, that the consequen
ces of the fall include temporal, spiritual, and eternal death ;
the doctrine of the Augsburg confession, and of most of the
reformed churches. Bishop Law maintains, that the curse
meant an entire destruction, rather than a perpetual punish
ment ; an annihilation of the soul, and a resolution of the
body into its original dust; an opinion which Bishop Bull
and Mr. Hallet seem also to have entertained. Dr. Watts
proposes his sentiments hypothetically, but appears to favour
the idea, that the death threatened extended to the utter ex
tinction of being, and Avas arrested in consequence of the co
venant of mercy-that was graciously proposed. But the use
of the word " death" in scripture is against this hypothesis ;
for the passages Avhere it occurs, referring to the soul, plainly
imply a state of conscious punitive infliction.f — The case of
those who die in infancy is the subject of a long dissertation,
which will be regarded as the most defective part of Dr.
Watts's volume. He argues, that the divine conduct, Avith
reference to children, in the instances of it upon record, seems
to identify them with their parents : thus the family shares in
the curse or blessing pronounced upon its head — the children
of Adam are doomed to natural death along with him — the
» Quest, vi. 7. f Quest, ix. 11.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 617
seed of Abraham participate in the patriarch's blessing — the
young buds suffer excision from the " good olive tree" Avith
the larger branches : hence, he concludes, that those dying in
infancy are not exempt from the original curse, the provision
from Avhich the parents do not accept. But he interprets
this curse as signifying a deprivation of all existence, to save
himself from a harsh conclusion ; and thus supposes, that
whilst the infants of believers who die are saved by virtue of
the covenant of grace, those of the wicked fall into a state of
annihilation. A similar but hardly so intelligible a notion is
advanced in the scheme of Dr. Ridgley, Avho supposes the
infants of unbelievers to sink into a state of stupor, and to
exist in everlasting insensibility. Both these eminent men
have remained almost singular in their opinions, at variance
as they are with the sensibilities of our nature, and resulting
from very imperfect and mistaken views of Avhat are commonly-
called the doctrines of Calvinism. It is far more consonant
with the statements of the New Testament, the conduct of
our Lord, who took little children " in his arms and blessed
them," and the infinite value of the atonement, to suppose
that they all "enter into life" through " Him that died." The
declaration, that " of such is the kingdom of heaven," opens by
implication this encouraging view ; words which were spoken
respecting those who evidently belonged to strangers to
Christ and his disciples; and which, whether interpreted
of the kingdom of grace or glory, intimate that the " free
gift" is bestowed upon them " to justification of life." There
may be, as some imagine, a difficulty in placing all infants
who die upon the same level, in admitting no distinction
in favour of the "seed of the righteous," to Avhom such
extensive promises are made; but even the supposition, that
some distinction will be made, or that the offspring of un
believers enter upon a new state of trial, is more congruous
with our notions ofthe divine wisdom and goodness, than the
n r

618 LIFE AND TIMES
theory which consigns them to annihilation.* The views of
Dr. Watts, as developed in this work, respecting the provi
sion made for human recovery, it may not be uninteresting
to notice. He thinks the doctrine of the particular election
of persons to eternal life, supported by "plain, and express,
and unanswerable texts;" and necessary to vindicate the
divine Being from the charge of proposing at such a vast ex
pense a method of salvation, yet leaving it utterly uncertain
whether any saving effect in any single instance is to be
produced by it. But he does not confine the extent of the
atonement within this limit ; he departs from the common
Calvinistic scheme of his day upon this point, and seems
inclined to halt midAvay under the standard of Baxter. Form
the dignity of the person and character of Christ, from the
unlimited calls and offers of the gospel, and from conside
rations relative to the divine equity, he argues strongly, that
God is "the Saviour of all men," though "especially of them
that believe" — that a conditional salvation has been thus
provided for all — that this is offered to them in the gospel —
and that all legal difficulties have been removed out of the
way of their pardon as sinners. " I cannot see," he remarks,
" any reason why the strictest Calvinist should be angry, that
the all-sufficient merit of Christ should overfloAv so far in its
influence, as to provide conditional salvation for all mankind,
since the elect of God have that certain and absolute sal
vation which they contend for secured to them by the same
merit ; nor indeed can I conceive why the Remonstrant should
be uneasy to have pardon and salvation absolutely provided
for the elect, since all the rest of mankind, especially such as
hear the gospel, have the same conditional salvation which
they contend for sincerely proposed to their acceptance."t
Few of the works of Dr. Watts had the good fortune to
escape animadversion; wedded servilely to no party creed,
he seldom wrote Avithout giving offence either to the sceptical
* Quest, xvi. f Quest, xiii.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 619
or the reputed orthodox. He refused, at the instigation of the
latter class, to plunge into the depths of the supra-lapsarian
scheme, Avhich Dr. Gill Avas now expounding to delighted
multitudes ; and they frequently turned their artillery against
him, because he Avould not become more Calvinistic than
Calvin. Mr. Brine wrote against him in a pamphlet enti
tled, " The certain Efficacy of the Death of Christ asserted,
in answer to a book entitled 'The Ruin and Recovery of
Mankind, by Isaac Watts, D.D.'" The author of this
critique was a disciple of the high doctrinal school, in early
life one of Gill's favourite pupils, and afterwards his intimate
friend: in his apprehension, therefore, the divines of Dr.
Watts's class were radically unsound ; the iraddresses to sin
ners were so many attempts to break in upon the unity of
the divine plan, their dialect was Arminian, their doctrine
was rebellion against God's decrees.
The poison of Antinomianism was noAv spreading in the
dissenting congregations; and though tbe error was chiefly
confined to opinion, yet it soon engendered in many instances
a fearful laxity of morals. The views which actuated the Pres
byterians in going over to Arianism, were too subtle and refined
to be embraced or understood by the many; but the Antino-
mian heresy was a bait exactly suited to the popular appetite,
and it was eagerly swalloAved by the multitude. In the
preface to his second volume of Sermons, as far back as the
year 1723, we find Watts admonishing a certain class, who
he apprehended would knit their brows, and throw the book
aside as a piece of "dull morality;" and he embraced the
opportunity of reminding such persons of the iutimate con
nexion which exists between the faith they so loudly magni
fied, and the works they were apt to despise. During the
following twenty years the obnoxious tenet appears to have
obtained in several places a firm footing ; the peace of the
churches was fatally disturbed; and the minister who re
fused to introduce into his pulpit the cant phraseology 01* the

620 LIFE AND TIMES
party, Avas anathematised as au Arminian. Dr. Watts, in
common with many others, made a stand against the spread
ing heresy: the necessity of repentance as the duty of the
sinner, and the pursuit of holiness as incumbent upon the
believer, were prominently preached; and the favourite
dogmas of the supra-lapsarians, Avhich they would have fain
believed were integral branches of Calvinism, Avere indig
nantly disclaimed as parasitical plants. The correspondence
of Dr. Doddridge presents us Avith some curious notices
relative to this subject : writing from London he observes, " I
had several orthodox spies to hear me this morning, and they
observed with great amazement, that I urged my hearers to
endeavour to get an interest in Christ. This it seems is
Arminianism." Dr. Jennings queries in the following man
ner about his suitableness for Nottingham, to which place
he had been invited : — " Whether Dr. Doddridge or an angel
was to preach moderate Calvinism, those Avho are disposed
to send to Taunton for a minister would not despise him?
This I have observed in London amongst persons of pretty
much the same taste (as I imagine) Avith a party at Notting
ham : since even Dr. Watts has openly opposed the modern
fashionable scheme, he is spoken of Avith great contempt, and
his genius is said to be quite sunk." The Rev. Hugh
Farmer writes of Mr. Coward:— "He begins to think Dr.
Watts a Baxterian, and is almost come to an open rupture
with him." These notices bring to remembrance the ortho
dox lady, whose zealous exclamation Dr. Calamy records :
" What Mr. Sprint ! old Mr. Sprint ! Alas, he is a Baxterian !
he is a middle-Avay man! he is an occasional conformist! he
is neither fish nor flesh !" Where a fondness for the dangerous
doctrine obtained, that the moral law is not obligatory upon
the Christian, that the glory of the present dispensation con
sists in his being unshackled by the precepts of its founder,
practical religion gradually disappeared, and was succeeded

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 621
by pride, censoriousness, and conduct inimical to the poAver
and purity of the gospel.
Mr. Williams of Kidderminster, trembling for tbe ark of
God, Avrote a pamphlet upon the divisions that occurred in
the churches, traced the spirit of dissension to its origin, and
endeavoured by a pious and pointed remonstrance to arrest
the tide of discord, and still the tumult it occasioned. This
was placed in the hands of Dr. Watts for revision, and pub
lished in 1740, entitled "The Principal Causes of some late
divisions in Dissenting Churches traced to their origin, in a
Letter from a Dissenter in the Country." From men of cor
rupt minds, disposed to convert the liberty of the gospel yito
an act of indemnity for depraved indulgence, it is cheering
to turn to contemplate such a character as that of Joseph
Williams — a man who eminently " walked with God," bene
fitting the church by his ardent devotion, and commanding
the respect of the world by his stern integrity. Mourning
over the fall of some of his brethren, and the declension of
others, he hailed vrith holy joy the introduction of the
Methodists into his native tOAvn; and justly does Wesley say
of him in his journal, " I know not of what denomination he
is, nor is it material, for he has the mind Avhich was in
Christ." The "Questions proper for Students in Divinity,"
Avere drawn up by Dr. Watts about this time, and printed at
the request of Dr. Doddridge for the use of his pupils. His
connexion with the academy of his friend as one of its
earliest promoters, and as a trustee with Mr. Coward's bene
faction for the education of ministerial candidates, produced
this catalogue of useful and solemn inquiries. They aTe ad
dressed to the conscience, to discover Avhether the springs of
action are legitimate or improper; whether the motives
are evangelical or impure; and whether the desire to enter
so responsible an office, originates in a thirst for distinction,
a fondness for publicity, a wish to display, or proceeds from
a sincere love to Christ and an ardent love for souls. The

622 LIFE AND TIMES
questions also take cognizance of the student's improvement
in spiritual attainment and theological knoAvledge, the econo
mical expenditure of time, the outward deportment becoming
a station so sacred and so exposed to public vieAv, and the
daily growtb of the mind in the virtues of the Christian, the
acquirements of the scholar, and the diligence becoming a
messenger of mercy, "the legate of the skies." Every study
in our academies should be furnished with a copy of these
interrogatives ; they should lie upon the desk of every minis
ter, to be proposed in the hour of silence and solitude, Avhen
duty summons the aAvakened spirit to the tribunal of an invi
sible judge, and the trial of self Avith all its feelings, motives,
and designs is commenced.
It is observed by Mr. Roffey in a letter to Doddridge,
dated June 15, 1740, " Dear Dr. Watts is but indifferent, and
I am afraid that his usefulness will be less and less. So burn
ing and shining a light in the sanctuary, though not extin
guished, yet grown dim, calls for deep humiliation." But
though "in age and feebleness extreme," the production of
the following year showed that his mental vigour was unim
paired ; and that he Avho had been so long the light and honour
of the dissenting churches, had neither exhausted the resour
ces of his intellect, nor were its gifts diminished in their value.
The " Improvement of the Mind" Avas published in 1741, a
work to which the youth of England are under lasting obliga
tions, and Avhich ranks among tbe most useful in its literature.
The germ of this Avork is in the treatise on Logic, at the close
of which he hints the necessity of another volume applying
the rules and practically developing the maxims he there ad
vanced. Such a composition he appears to have contemplated
for some time ; it gradually progressed as health and opportu
nity allowed ; " now and then," he remarks* " it spread itself
into branches and leaves like a plant in April, and sometimes
it lay by without growth like a vegetable in the Avinter." He
seems, after all his labour, to have regarded this treatise as an

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 623
incomplete performance, as falling short of his original design,
and he would probably have kept it still longer from the press
but for the admonitions of advanced age and increased infir
mity. In his own modest and beautiful language he observes,
" I shall be sufficiently satisfied with the good-humour and
lenity of my readers, if they will please to regard these papers
as parcels of imperfect sketches, which Avere designed by a
sudden pencil, and in a thousand leisure moments, to be one
day collected into landscapes of some little prospects in the
regions of learning and in the Avorld of common life, pointing
out the fairest and most fruitful spots, as well as the rocks and
wildernesses and faithless morasses of the country." To guide
into the patlis of wisdom human and divine, was the office
Avhich Dr. Watts most loved, and for which he Avas fully
qualified: his labours in this respect have not been unappre
ciated ; he received the thanks of those in his own day Avhose
approbation the virtuous desire, and the extensive use which
has been made of his work is at once its best eulogy and his
just reward. A book so Avell known it is unnecessary to ana
lyse, and after the decision of two of the greatest men of their
age in its favour, Dr. Johnson and the late Robert Hall, it
would be presumption to criticise. The former remarks,
" Few books have been perused by me with greater pleasure
than his 'Improvement of the Mind,' of which the radical
principles may indeed be found in Locke's ' Conduct of the
Understanding,' but they are so expanded and ramified by
Watts, as to. confer upon him the merit of a Avork in the high
est degree useful and pleasing. Whoever has the care of
instructing others, may be charged with deficience in his duty
if this book is not recommended." Mr. Hall, with the modesty
so characteristic of him, gives his testimony as folloAvs : — "I
very highly approve of Dr. Watts's works in general, and par
ticularly that on the ' Improvement of the Mind.' The book
needs no recommendation ; it may be considered as an Eng
lish classic, Avhich it Avould be nearly as absurd for any living

624 LIFE AND TIMES
author to recommend, as the papers of Addison or the poetry
of Milton. It has already received the most distinguished
applause from Johnson in the most popular of all his works.
This applause is fresh in the memory of every man of reading.
What consummate vanity would it betray in me, to add my
recommendation to a work which has received the imprimatur
of that great dictator in the republic of letters !"
The second part of the " Improvement of the Mind" is ob
viously inferior to the first, which may be owing to its being a
posthumous publication, only partially corrected and revised
by its author. The manuscripts which he designed for the
press, but did not live to publish, he committed in his will to
the care of Dr. Jennings and Dr. Doddridge, who found
among them this supplemental treatise, accompanied Avith the
following notice : — " Though this book, or the second vo
lume of the ' Improvement of the Mind,' is not so far finished
as I could wish, yet I leave it among the number of books
corrected for the press ; for it is very easy for any person of
genius and science to finish it, and publish it in a form suffi
ciently useful to the world.' The editors nominated made
but few additions or alterations in the work, which appeared
in 1751, the last literary engagement of the lamented Dodd
ridge, executed but three months before he departed to a
more southern climate, to return no more to his native shores.
In his correspondence there is an interesting letter from
Nathaniel Neal, Esq., Avith reference to it.
In the following year he produced the " Harmony of all
Religions Avhich God ever prescribed to men, and all his Dis
pensations towards them." This is a judicious and useful
treatise, the production plainly of " a man of one book," one
who has attentively studied not only the letter of scripture but
its spirit, the connexion of its several parts, and the harmony
of the whole. It is designed to shoAV, that God's dealings
with the human family have, been substantially the same
under every dispensation ; that he has ever regarded them as

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 625
fallen creatures ; and proposed the same restorative scheme,
though having in different ages a different form of presenta
tion. He shows, that in the earliest times " the shadow" of
the " good things to come" Avas revealed — that the great
doctrine of pardon by faith in the atonement Avas the lesson
taught the fathers by the sacrificial knife and patriarchal
altar — that the necessity of regenerating grace, self-denial, a
sober and mortified life, was preached unto them by Abra-
hamic circumcision and Jewish washings — and that as
Moses, Elias, and Christ met in friendly converse upon the
mount of transfiguration, debating the high mysteries of the
faith ; so do the great principles of their several economies
associate and harmonise, inculcating in emblem, figure, or
plain announcement, the same fundamental doctrine, that
" no man cometh unto the Father" but by Him Avho has
made " one sacrifice for sins." He notices at some length the
cardinal truth of the gospel, the doctrine of justification by
faith, Avhat Luther styled the great evidence of a standing or
falling church, " articulus stantis et cadentis Ecclesise." The
antinomian perversion of this article, one of the leading errors
of the time, is carefully discriminated and guarded against :
" Let it be always remembered," says he, " as under all for
mer dispensations, so under the Christian, that this faith can
never justify us if it be a dead faith, that is, such a faith as
produceth no good Avorks, that is, where there is time and op
portunity for them." It is granted, that our obedience at the
best is too defective to become a righteousness sufficient to
justify ; " yet reason itself constantly assures us, that God is
too wise and holy a being, to pardon and accept or justify any
creature who continues in constant and Avilful disobedience.
This would be a mere prostitution of his grace to the service
of sin and the encouragement of farther disobedience. This
Avould be to make God the patron of iniquity and Christ the
minister of sin." By the publication of these sentiments Dr.
Watts gave offence to the hyper-calvinists, who replied by

626 LIFE AND TIMES
representing his " genius as sunk," and his judgment grown
dim by infirmity ; but uninfluenced in his purpose by evil re
port, he unsparingly condemned both from the pulpit and the
press a notion dishonourable to tbe divine character, and sub
versive of the purity of the gospel* The ordinary Christian
will find much to edify in this theological tract ; it exhibits
the succession and coherence of the divine dealings ; the first
faint intimation, the gradual opening, and the full disclosure
of the redeeming plan ; and the lofty transactions of the final
day, when every man shall be judged according to the econo
my under Avhich he lived.
Early in the year 1742 Dr. Watts Avas corresponding with
tbe Rev. Robert Blair, D.D. of Athelstaneford, in East
Lothian, the author of the highly popular poem entitled the
" Grave." An acquaintance had subsisted for some time be
tween them, marked by mutual instances of literary civilities.
When Blair was pressed by his friends in Scotland to publish
his poem, he Avrote to Stoke Newington for an opinion respect
ing its merits, forwarding the manuscript for perusal. " Yes
terday," says he, " Feb. 24, I had a letter from the Doctor,
signifying his approbation of tbe piece in a manner most
obliging. A great deal less from him avouM have done me no
small honour. But at the same time he mentions it to me,
that he had offered it to two booksellers of his acquaintance,
* Mr. Ivimey relates the following alteration of a verse in one of Watts's psalm«
which he heard in one of the temples of high Calvinism :
(t He raised me from tlie deeps of sin,
The gates of gaping hell,
And fix'd my standing more secure
Than 'twas before I fell."
This representation not suiting the notions of the learned clerk, he palmed the
following savoury morsel upon either David or his a ersifier :
" And fix'd my standing most secure
In Christ before I fell."
The important personage who perpetrated this amendment of the text, most likely
did not explain the consistency between his most secure foundation and the sub
sequent catastrophe !

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 627
Avho, he tells me, care not to run the risk of publishing it.
They scarcely thinking, considering how critical an age Ave
live in, that a person living three hundred miles from London,
could write so as to be acceptable to the fashionable and po
lite." The poem, notwithstanding, was placed in the hands
of Doddridge, and Avas soon aftenvards published ; and pub
lic opinion has since amply justified the favourable sentiments
expressed by both. It is much to be regretted that Blair's
letters to Dr. Watts have not been preserved, as they Avould
have thrown light upon the character of that amiable and in
teresting man, of whom but little is known.
One of the greatest services rendered to the religious pub
lic by Dr. Watts, was suggesting the idea and forming
the scheme of that highly popular and useful practical trea
tise, " The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." The
design of this Avork was one of his benevolent projects ; its
plan was draAvn out by him ; and but for his growing infirmi
ties he would have executed it. But compelled to abandon
bis purpose, he relinquished the task to Doddridge, Avho, after
some hesitation, yielded to his importunity, and completed the
performance in a manner so acceptable and beneficial to the
Avorld. The latter observes in a letter to Dr. Clark of St.
Alban's, Dec. 15, 1743, " I am hard at work on my book of
the ' Rise and Progress of Religion,' which Dr. Watts is im
patient to see, and I am eager to finish, lest he should slip
away to heaven before it is done." A few days previous he
had heard from Mr. Neal the folloAving statement relative to
his venerable friend : " Dr. Watts has been brought very low
Avith a cholicky disorder, which seized him last Aveek, but I
hear he is now something better again." The deep anxiety
Avhich Watts felt for the success of this production, appears
from his letters : it had long been one of his favourite theolo
gical speculations : the composition of a work detailing the
production and growth of spiritual feeling in the heart and its
outward manifestations, he looked upon as likely to be of the

628 LIFE AND TIMES
greatest practical utility. In one of his letters to Doddridge,
Sept. 13, 1744, he remarks, " I long to have your 'Rise and
Progress of Religion' appear in the world. I Avish my health
had been so far established, that I could have read over every
line Avith the attention it merits ; but I am not ashamed by
Avhat I have read, to recommend it as the best treatise on prac
tical religion which is to be found in our language, and I pray
God that it may be extensively beneficial." Again says he,
" Since you were pleased to read me some chapters of the
' Rise and Progress,' I am the more zealous for its speedy
conclusion and publication, and beg you would not suffer any
other matters to divert your attention, since I question Avhe
ther you can do any thing more necessary." December 14th
he writes as follows : " I thank you that your heart is so much
set upon the book I recommended you to undertake : I long
for it, as I hope it will be a means of great usefulness, and
shall be glad to see tbe first appearances of it ; and hope that
by that time I shall be able to read a little more." When his
wishes were accomplished by one so admirably qualified for
the undertaking he had suggested, he wrote to several foreign
correspondents, to promote the circulation of the Avork. His
own character had long been knoAvn, and his reputation as
an author established, among the divines in Holland and the
Loav Countries ; most of his devotional and practical pieces
had been translated ; and M. Tinon, a bookseller in Amster
dam, applied to him for a voucher, as to the ability and ortho
doxy of Doddridge. This of course was transmitted through
the Rev. David Longueville, minister of the English church
in that city ; and Avith the sanction of his name, not only the
Rise and Progress, but most of the productions of the same
pen, soon afterwards appeared in the Dutch and French lan
guages. It appears from many of Dr. Watts's letters written about
this period, not inserted in this volume, that for several
months at a time he was confined to his room by Aveakness

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 629
and suffering. It was only very occasionally that he could
engage in any public exercises on the sabbath ; his appear
ance in the pulpit, however grateful to his congregation, was
but rarely enjoyed. The following are extracts from his
letters in the Doddridge correspondence : "Dec. 24, 1741.
Your last supposes that Mr. Neal and I have been at the
fund; alas, Sir, we have neither of us been there these many
months, and, therefore, I have transmitted to Mr. Jennings
that part of your letter which relates to it. I thank God I
was in the pulpit last Lord's-day, but for only thirty-two
minutes, which almost overset me ; so that my capacities of
that kind still run exceedingly low: may they be increased
through your prayers if God please to hear and answer them."
"Feb. 24, 1743. That day on which I sent my last letter to
you, I Avas seized with something of a paralytic disorder,
which though it soon Avent off, has left various nervous dis
orders behind it, so that I was confined to my chamber till
this day." "March 31, 1743. In answer to your very kind
and long letter which gave me great pleasure, I am forced to
write but a few lines, because my disorder of the want of
sleep continues with me, and still confines me lo my chamber,
and keeps me under great weakness. Alas, Sir, though I
should take much pleasure in one half hour's conversation
with you on the subjects we should delight to talk of, yet
my health is so low, that I can by no means desire it, not
being capable of receiving the advantages of it by reason of
much weakness." "Dec. 14, 1743. Your letter so full of
sincere affection and the warmest expression of love, was re
ceived this morning. I thank God I am so far recovered
from that severe and dangerous illness, which seized me a
fortnight ago, that I can sit in my chamber and dictate this
letter. If God raise me up to any usefulness I am cheerfully
ready ; if not, I cheerfully resign every thing that is mortal
at his order."

630 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
" Sir, " Jan. 17, 1739.
" I am truly sorry you complain of any decay; but
I am sure if you have any it must be bodily, and has no other
effect than that which both Mr. Waller* and yourself have so
happily described, as ' letting in light upon the soul.'
" I never read any thing in my life that pleased me better
than your meditations on Revelations 10th, and I hope I shall
not only delight in reading the Avords, but lay the substance
of it to my heart, to which end alloAV me to beg your prayers
as an assistance.
" My dear Lord's state of suffering (for he is again confined
to his bed by the gout), gives me little opportunity and less
inclination to lose much time in the gay amusements Avhich
are apt to divert other people from the thoughts of their disso
lution ; but I am not sure that a life of care and anxiety has
not as bad an effect by fixing the mind too attentively on the
present gloom, which obscures every cheerful ray Avhich Avould
otherAvise enliven one's spirits.
" I wish I had any thing to send more worth your reading
than the following verses ; but I have so little leisure that I
can scarce get time to write letters to the feAv friends I cor
respond with. These lines were written one morning in
October as I was sitting in a bow-window in my chamber at
St. Leonard's Hill, Avhich looks on a little grove in the gar
den, and beyond has an extensive view of the forest.
"How lately was you russet grove
The seat of harmony and love !

• « The soul's dark cottage batter'd and decay'd j
Lets in new light through chinks that time has made:
Stronger by weakness, wiser men become,
As they draw near to their eternal home:
Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view
That stand upon the threshold ofthe new." waller.
Dr. Watts's Hor. Lyr. "A Sight of Heaven in Sickness."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 631
How beautious all the sylvan scene !
The flowers how gay, the trees how green !
But now it no such charms can boast :
Its music gone, its verdure lost;
The changing leaves fall fast away,
And all its pride is in decay ;
Where blossoms deckt the pointed thorn
Now hangs the wintry drop forlorn ;
No longer from the fragrant bush
Odours exhale, nor roses blush ;
Along the late enamel'd mead
No golden cowslip lifts its head ;
Scarce can the grass its spires sustain,
Chill'd by the frost, or drench'd with rain.
Alas — just thus with life it fares: "\
Our youth like smiling spring appears, V
Allied to joy, unbroke with cares j X
But swiftly fly those cheerful hours,
Like falling leaves, or fading flowers ;
We quickly hasten to decline,
And ev'ry sprightly joy resign.
Then be our heart prepar'd to leave
Those joys, nor at their absence grieve ;
Sublimer pleasures let us prove,
And fix our thoughts on those above ;
By the bright eye of sacred truth,
Review the dangers of our youth ;
Think how by turns wild passions rag'd,
By calm reflection now assuag'd ;
And bless the gentle ev'ning hour,
When reason best exerts its pow'r,
And drives those tyrants from our breast,
Whose empire they too long possest :
Devotion comes with grace divine,
Around them heavenly glories shine
While ev'ry gloom their rays dispel,
And banish the deceits of hell.
Ambition now no more aspires,
Contentment mod'rates our desires ;
From envy free we can behold,
Another's honours, or his gold;
Nor jealousy our rest alarms,
No longer slaves to mortal charms ;

632 LIFE AND TIMES
With Prudence Patience comes along,
Who smiles beneath oppressive wrong :
If then such peaceful heav'nly guests
Age introduces to our breasts,
Can we his soft approaches fear,
Or heave a sigh, or drop a tear,
Because our outward forms decay,
And time our vigour steals away ?
Should we regret our short-liv'd bloom, T
Which, could it last us to the tomb, v
Must quickly there to dust consume ? \
If thus life's progress we survey,
View what it gives, what takes away,
AVe shall with thankful hearts declare,
It leaves us all that's worth our care.
"I am importuned by a very valuable old Avoman, Avho is
declining apace, to beg your prayers. She took me from my
nurse, and if I have any good in me I OAve it to her. She Avas
trusted by my mother with the care both of my sister and my
self, and has lived with me ever since. But now, though past
seventy, she cannot meet death without terror ; and yet I be
lieve I may venture to answer, that she has ahvays lived under
the strictest sense of religion ; but loAvness of spirit joined to
many bodily infirmities, Avill, shed darkness on the most cheer
ful minds, and hers never was of that cast. I fear she has
very feAv months (if weeks) to come on earth, and a notice that
you Avill grant her request Avould make her I believe pass them
Avith more comfort.
" I am forced to take another page to assure you of my
Lord's compliments, and those of my young people : the two
latter are very well. I have no other vieAV in sending the
above verses, but to prove that my confidence in your friend
ship has received no alteration from the length of time which
has passed since I had an opportunity of assuring you in per
son with hoAV true a regard I am, Sir,
" Your most faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 633
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Windsor Forest, May 19, 1739.
"Sir, " I Avould sooner have expressed my concern for
your illness had I been free from complaint myself. I have
been afflicted for some Aveeks with a pain in my jaws and
face, Avhich is yet very little better, and really disheartens
me from doing any thing. My Lord and Betty are in town,
as is my son's governor on account of a violent rheumatism,
so that he, and I, and a young gentleman three or four years
older than himself, live here in perfect solitude. Our
amusement Avithin doors is at present Rapin's History of
England in English, which they abridge as they go along;
I work or draw Avhile they read aloud, and we do not seem
tired of our way of life.
" Your good prayers for poor Rothery have met Avith unex
pected success. She is so much recovered that I begin to
think she will get entirely well, and if she does I think
nothing of that kind has since I can remember looked more
like a miraculous operation of the healing power of the
Almighty. " I hope the same divine mercy Avill long preserve you a
blessing to the age, and that you will find your strength re
turn Avith the warm weather.
" My son assures you of his kindest wishes and services, and
I am sure the other branches of my family would do the
same if they were here.
" I hoped every week (of late) for the publication of the ser
mons you were so good as to say you intended me. I find
Mr. Grove's are going to be published by subscription. I
have sent to town to desire that my name may be added to
the list.
" I have just had the oddest pamphlet sent me which I ever
s s

634 LIFE AND TIMES
saAV in my life, called ' Amusemens Philosophiques sur le
Language des Betes.' It Avas burnt by the hands of the
common executioner at Paris, aud the priest who wrote it
banished till he made a formal retraction of it; and yet I think
it very plain by the style, that the man was either in jest or
crazed. It is by no means wanting of wit, but extremely far
from a system of probability. I will now only recommend
myself to your prayers, and subscribe myself, Sir,
" Your most obliged and faithful Servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

: Sir,

FROM THE SAME.
" Marlborough, June 7, 1739.

"You will have great reason to think me very un
grateful for your kind present to my son, and very indifferent
in regard to your health, till I have told you Avhat has so long
hindered my returning you thanks for the one, and assuring
you of my concern for tbe other. I have been since I received
yours afflicted with a pain in my head, which was almost
ready to deprive me of my eye-sight. It lasted four or five
days, and as soon as it Avas over, we prepared to remove
hither, where we have only been three days. These have been
the impediments which have kept me silent at a time when I
had the strongest inclination to inquire after you, and assure
you of my sincerest Avishes and prayers for your perfect re
covery. " I have the pleasure of finding my garden extremely im
proved in the two years I have been absent from it. Some
little alterations I had ordered are completed. The trees
which I left small ones, are groAvn to form an agreeable
shade, and I have reason to bless God for the pleasantness of

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 635
the place Avhich is allotted me to pass many of my retired
hours in. May I make use of them to fit me for my last, and
that I may do so allow me to beg the continuation of your
prayers. " My poor old Avoman has got hither contrary to her own
and all our expectations. She has the deepest gratitude for
your goodness to her, and begs you will accept her thanks.
She is still very Aveak, and I fancy will hardly get over the
autumn. My Lord and Betty desire to assure you of their
compliments. I am, Sir, Avith the truest esteem,
" Your most faithful humble servant,
"F. HERTFORD."

FROM THE SAME. "June 10, 1739.
"Sir, "Though I troubled you with a letter so lately, I
cannot dispense Avith my impatience to thank you for the
valuable present you have made me of one of the best books
I ever saAV.* I received it only on Friday night, but, as the
goodness of Providence has allowed me many hours of leisure
and retirement, I have had time enough to read so much of
it as gives me the highest veneration for its author. I hope
God will grant me grace not only to read it, but to endeavour
after the piety it dictates, which is delivered in such a manner
as both to convince the reason, and touch the heart. I have
forgot whether in any of my later letters I ever named to you
a little book newly translated from the Italian by the same
Mrs. Carter who has a copy of verses printed in the begin
ning of Mrs. RoAve's Works occasioned by her death. The
* " Discourses on the World to Come."

636 LIFE AND TIMES
book she has now translated is Sir Isaac Newton's Doctrine
of Light and Colours made easy for the Ladies. My daughter
and I have both read it Avith great pleasure, and flatter our
selves that we at least understand some parts of it. She joins
Avith her father and brother in their assurances of esteem and
good wishes toward you, and I hope you are convinced that
on both those subjects you may equally depend upon the sin
cerity of, Sir, "Your most obliged
" and faithfully affectionate servant,
"F. HERTFORD."

"Sir,

FROM THE SAME.
"Marlborough, July 30, 1739.

" I would much sooner have written to you to thank
you for the favour of your last letter had I enjoyed more
leisure; but I have had a friend with me this last month
who has engrossed a good many of those hours Avhich I used
to employ in writing to my correspondents. She is a very
pious and religious, as well as agreeable Avoman, and has
seen enough of the world in her younger years to teach her
to value its enjoyments, and fear its vexations no more than
they deserve, by which happy knowledge she has brought
her mind and spirits to the most perfect state of calmness I
ever saw, and her conversation seems to impart the blessing
to all Avho partake of her discourse. By this you will judge
that I have passed my time very much to my satisfaction
while she was Avith me ; and, though I have not written to
you, you have shared my time with her, for almost all the
hours I passed alone I have employed in reading your works,

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 637
which for ever represent to my imagination the idea of a lad
der or flight of steps, since every volume seems to rise a step
nearer the language of heaven, and there is a visible progres
sion toAvard that better country through every page ; so that
though all breathe piety and just reason, the last seems to
croAvn the whole, till you shall again publish something to
enlighten a dark and obstinate age, for I must believe that
the manner in which you treat divine subjects is more likely
to reform and work upon the affections of your readers than
that of any other writer now living. I hope God Avill in
mercy to many thousands, myself in particular, prolong your
life many years. I own this does not seem a kind Avish to
you ; but I think you will be content to bear the infirmities of
flesh some years longer, to be an instrument in the hands of
God toAvard the salvation of your weak and distressed bre
thren. The joys of heaven cannot fade, but will be as glori
ous millions of ages to come as they are now; and Avhat a
moment will the longest life appear when it comes to be com
pared with eternity ? My Lord desires to assure you of his
regards and best wishes. I am, Sir, with the truest veneration,
" Your most faithful humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

TO THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
" Tunbridge Wells,'Aug. 15, 173u
"My Lord, " The very kind and condescending reception you
Avere pleased to give to the last book Avhich I published, de
mands my first acknowledgment; and it persuades me that
your Lordship much approves of our plain and warm manner
of preaching, and our endeavours to make the great doctrines

638 LIFE AND TIMES
of the gospel to reach the hearts and consciences of those that
hear us.
" And I am called again to be thankful to your Lordship for
the honour you did me in ordering your late Pastoral Letter
into my hands. Your Lordship has so seasonably and so hap
pily cautioned your flock against that lukewarmness, which in
times of peace is ready to overspread all the professors of
Christianity, as, I hope, under the concurring influences of
divine grace, will have a blessed effect upon the people under
your care. I hope, also, the clergy under your inspection will
not think themselves neglected in your Lordship's discourse,
and will not only apply themselves Avith all holy zeal and fer
vency to warn their hearers of this danger, but set themselves
to root it out from the tribe of Levi as Avell as the rest of the
tribes of our Israel, and that every one among the priesthood
may be burning and shining lights, and powerful examples
among the people.
" Your Lordship's distinction of the extraordinary and the
ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit is so very necessary,
that I think the NeAv Testament cannot be understood without
it; and I Avish Mr. Whitfield Avould not have risen above any
pretences to the ordinary influences, unless he could have
given some better evidences of it. He has acknowledged to
me in conversation, that it is such an impression upon his OAvn
mind that he knows to be divine, though he cannot give me
any convincing proof of it. I said many things to warn him
of the danger of delusion, and to guard him against the irrer
gularities and imprudences Avhich youth and zeal might lead
him into, and told him plainly, that though I believed him
very sincere and desirous to do good to souls, yet I Avas not
convinced of any extraordinary call he had to some parts of
his conduct; and he seemed to take this free discourse in a
very candid and modest manner.
" I own with your Lordship, that so large and general a
charge as he lays upon the clergy of the established church,

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 639
it is impossible for him to know certainly whether it is true or
not; and, therefore, these censures are by no means justifiable.
But if your Lordship Avill permit me to say, that your Lord
ship's excellent citation of some pages of your Charge to those
of your diocese is no sufficient refutation of the censure. That
very Charge was put into my hands at least twelve years ago
in Essex, and it was the first thing that Avrought in my heart
a reverence and veneration for your Lordship. I think no
man could give better advice ; and I persuade myself, all the
best ofthe dissenters, andi think far the greatest part of them,
must have approved it Avith honour. But I cannot but sup
pose your Lordship is so Avell acquainted with the lower clergy
of England, as to know that not a great many of them preach
according to those admirable directions. If they did I easily
imagine there Avould be no dissenters in many parishes in
England where noAv they abound. It is not the differences
of ordination and ceremony, no, nor the imposition of them
without Avarrant, that are so Avell understood as to create a
large separation on those accounts merely. But it is the Avant
of such preaching as your Lordship recommends, that makes
many persons of serious religion uneasy, that they find not
such edification for their souls under the parochial clergy in
many tOAvns and villages. Nor do I think your Lordship and
the rest of your brethren the bishops, can do any thing so ef
fectual to lessen the separation, and to make all the Whitfields
less regarded and less dangerous to the church, as to induce
the ministers under your care to preach and converse among
their people with that evangelical spirit, that zeal for the ho
nour of God and success of the gospel, and with that compas
sion for the souls of men, that your Lordship so much approves
and advises in your pious and excellent Charge.
" Forgive me, my Lord, I entreat you to forgive me, if my
zeal for such preaching as your Lordship prescribes, has car
ried me out so far as to forget myself and the person to Avhom

640 LIFE AND TIMES
I Avrite, as to say any thing unbecoming the lower station of,
my Lord, " Your Lordship's most obliged,
" and faithful humble servant,
" ISAAC WATTS."
FROM THE REV. BENJAMIN COLMAN, D.D.
"Boston, Aug. 20, 1739.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" I have your new and great favour of June 6th,
Avith your packets for Harvard and Yale colleges, Avhich I have
forwarded. My last to you Avas a packet by Capt. Marrier,
Avhich he promised to see delivered at your friend's house
near the Exchange; in it Avas half an ounce of gold, in rings,
to pay for your kind advance of Mrs. Rowe's first volume and
her pictures to me, with which you greatly obliged me. Please
to reserve enough of the said money to pay for the whole sub
scription to Dr. Doddridge's volumes, if you have not done it
before; and as I have left it to you to buy me what pleases
you best, with what is left of my money, so I readily suppose
you Avill send me the ' Discourses of Preaching Christ,' Avhich
the prints tell me you ' desire ahvays to have at your right
hand.'* "Mr. President Williams has been followed this year Avith
a dreadful headache, which has greatly endangered the loss of
his sight, but through the favour of God he is much restored,
yet often thinks he must leave New Haven, and live farther
from the sea air, to Avhich he imputes the pains of his head,
finding them return Avith the bleak sea Avinds. He is a most
valuable man, and his sickness or retirement would be a
great loss to us, * From Dr. Watts's Preface.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 641
" Our dear Mr. Mather* has also suffered much this year
and last by sickness ; with great constancy he Avent through
much incision on his face, and is now recovering from a slow
burning fever, very distressing. I preached for him last
week, and found the ' World to Come' on his table, but his
eyes not able then to look into it.
" How much do I rejoice, my dear brother, in your recovery,
so far as tp write again at large to your friends, and to send us
new fruits of your labour. We are a great expense to you
from year to year, and I am ready to blush at the great charge
you are put to by your correspondence here Avith so many of
us ; but you gladly spend, and are spent, for the benefit of
many, at home and abroad. The Lord render you a full re-
Avard in the comfort of your soul, for its travail for us in the
way to your crown.
" How pleasant is it to see you finishing your course with
the present subject, ' The World to Come !' ' The End of
Time !' ' The Watchful Christian !' &c. and how pleasant
also is it to receive your promise, by the will of God, of more
on the same head : a harvest to you, I trust, living and dying.
You do well to Avear and Avork out, and to come to your grave
as a shock of corn in its season. And I thank God, who
strengthens your hands, and encourages your heart, by the
very great acceptance he gives to your works, which I read
Avith pleasure, in the account of the multiplied editions of
them. This last year, at my motion, two of our booksellers
reprinted your Songs for Children, an edition of tAvo or three
thousand, I think ; and your Hymns are just noAv out of the
press, and your Treatise of Prayer in it. I know not Avhether
you reckon our editions here any thing, but we do.
" There is a motion lately come to us at Boston, from the
presbytery from Pennsylvania and New York, for a new college
to be built in those parts, the churches there multiplying, and
*Dr. Cotton Mather, of the Old North Church.

642 LIFE AND TIMES
the people finding it so far from home to send their children
to Yale, which is next to them : but the rumours of Avar will
be like to retard this great affair ; for as Ave here have promis
ed them our assistance, so they propose to send over one of
their number to London or Edinburgh.
" The 'Essay on Civil Power in Things Sacred' I take to be
your own, by the preface and two first sections. I think what
is said, sect. 3, to be absolutely necessary to the being of a
Christian state, and that the laws of a land should enjoin
strictly and peremptorily the worship and swearing by the
one only Lord God; and that they that deny him, and Avould
swear by any idol god, should not be acknowledged as sub
jects of the state. I cannot think there may be heathens,
serving several gods, and yet useful members of a state; they
must be dreadful snares and pests to the places Avhere they
dwell, and fatal to them, as God warned his Israel of old. I
fear also the appointment and support of preachers of natural
religion, and the laws of the land, Avith a command to people
to attend them, and on the Lord's day in particular, Avould
soon turn out the requisite sanctification of it in private and
public : if one day rather, the first of each term, from county
to county, were the times assigned for people's information,
methinks it would better serve the end proposed ; yet not so
fully I acknowledge : neither is this information so necessary
as preaching the Avord of life to their souls. The honour of the
Lord's day, and means of grace, forbid the intrusion of other
authorised, civil, and moral public teachers. Our government
have lately recommended to ministers, to read a very pious
proclamation for the better observation of tbe Lord's day,
which I gladly did ; but some of our churches here Avould not
come into it : the brethren in one of them spoke openly against
it, and prevented it, with the liking, I fear, of the pastor,
when he, hoAvever, proposed it. There would presently be an
end of religion, if the sacredness of the sabbath be not kept
up and maintained.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 643
" Sect. 6, &c. seem to leave things too loose, and give room
to unsettle Avhat God has settled. The rights of government
itself, and so the liberties of the people, must be judged of by
the Avord of God, and submitted to it. There is no light in us
but by this laAv ; we do well to take heed to it as a light that
shines in a dark place ; tbe rights of conscience are best judg
ed of by it ; the magistrate is to govern, and the subject to
obey by scripture light, which is for conscience' sake toward
God. We are as much the people of God by our profession of
the gospel, rulers and ruled, as the Jews were. We are a
holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, believers
are so truly, the professor declares it of himself. The Romish
apostacy is only a defection from, and rebellion against this
royal and perfect laAv of liberty, ' the glorious liberty of the
sons of God,' bound up by the divine will, just as all heaven
and angels are.
" I thank you, Sir, for the other essay, ' Self-love and Vir
tue reconciled only by Religion,' which the catalogue gives
leave to ascribe to you. The argument in the Avhole of it
appears to me strong and right, and of gieat importance.
" I return to your ' End of Time,' &c. I think you never
Avrote, nor did I ever read discourses more adapted to young
and old, high and Ioav. In such a flame one would Avish to
expire : I am ready to say on it, ' It is finished ! Yet may
you live to add more.'
" Our ships of Avar are fitting out for the Spanish coast.
War Avill break our correspondence by the caption of letters
and packets : it may be my last to you may not have arrived,
with the gold in it; I pray you to advise me, that I may not
lie in debt.,
" My weak heart misgives me when I think of our own
divisions, and the united powers of Spain and France. If our
God and Saviour were not so dreadfully neglected and defied,
more were with us than with them. I fear a swarm of priva
teers upon our merchandise, and the transport of popery across

644 LIFE AND TIMES
the Channel, or round about, in the person of  :* but
God has not forsaken us in times past, though we always him.
" I sent you the vote of our court in form of a brief. We
have had our collections in part, and find Ave shall have mo
nies. Our congregation contributed eighty pounds. Connec
ticut gave some hundreds. A great many five and six pounds
will make a sum. We are proposing the surplus for the foun
dation of a fund, for the support of the gospel in poor places in
all times to come. Please to inform Mr. Holden, that I hope
Ave shall not again lie in debt to him.
" I entreat you, Sir, to inform me by the first opportunity,
of the foundation of your London fund, and how it is sup
ported and endoAved, by Avhom, and to whom, and Avhat ac
count is rendered of it to the contributors. We Avould form
ourselves by you. I depend on Drs. Harris, Guyse, and you,
to give me the information and direction that may be necessa
ry. I have promised our churches to ask it of you.
" We Avere obliged to drop our motion by an adjournment,
sine die, about using a new version of the psalms, finding
our peace endangered. Mr. Cooper has not effected this ver
sion in above twenty psalms, I think.
" The heat of summer has revived me ; the cool of autumn
I now feel, Sept. 22. I missed one ship after I had wrote the
other pages, which has brought me to this date.
" Mercy and peace be Avith you. Salute my dear friends.
Their and your prayers I ask. We have a long coast on the
sea ; abundance of great and small craft with merchandise
and provisions, and a vast border of neAv feeble towns along
our inland woods ; a natural fortification for tbe Indians, east
and west, all Frenchified and Popish : may the Lord God of
our fathers be a Avail of fire round about us.
" We can never fortify ourselves Avithout breaking in upon
the king's instructions and prohibition to our government
* The Pretender.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 645
about emission of bills ; we must fortify immediately, or Ave
betray the king's province into the hands of his enemies. 1
have dared, for once, to say to the governor, ' As God dispen
sed with his first and perpetual laAv, in cases of necessity and
mercy, verily our good king will, Avith his instructions and
order, on so apparent, instant, and urgent a necessity.' The
government has, from year to year, told the court of our
Avretched condition ; but neither would they petition the king
to remit, as to his instruction, for a limited sum of thirty thou
sand pounds per annum, nor could the government dare to
raise more than just to defray the annual charges ofthe govern
ment ; nor could he alone bear the charge of obtaining the
king's leave, not a letter being able to get to Whitehall Avith
out too many guineas for a private purse. But I must break
off, and subscribe, dear Sir,
" Your brother and servant,
" BENJ. COLMAN."

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Fulham, Aug. 21, 1739.
" Good Sir,
" I received the favour of your letter, and am glad
to find that you think the cautions Avhich I have given against
lukewarmness may, by tbe blessing of God, be of some ser
vice to religion. There is, without doubt, great need to
awaken people out of that unhappy state ; and the labouring
to do it is what may truly be called the chief part ofthe mini
sterial office. But though we may hope that there are few
who wholly neglect the Avork, we must never expect that it
will be done by all with equal zeal and life. When you
speak of the way of preaching among the dissenters, you will
not expect it from me to believe, that all the preachers do it

646 LIFE AND TIMES
with the same force and energy that Dr. Watts has done, and
still does, and I pray God he may long continue lo do.
" After I had given directions to my clergy, and put them
into the hands of every particular incumbent, I think I could
say no less, than that I hoped they were not unmindful of
them, unless I kneAV the contrary.
" It is a great misfortune to the church of England, that in
market towns, where there is the greatest need of able minis
ters, there is usually the meanest provisions for them ; Avhich
gives great advantage to the preachers of other denominations,
and may, in some places, be the occasion of particular people
choosing to resort to them, rather than to the church. This
may sometimes happen either through the Avant of vigour and
earnestness in the delivery, or through an unhappiness of
voice, and sometimes by not preaching so frequently upon
points purely Christian as the person could wish ; cases to be
much lamented Avhen they do happen, but not to be prevented
or wholly remedied by the utmost care and endeavour that a
bishop can use, unless he had the appointment of them.
" It had been happy for Mr. Whitfield, if he had taken the
wise advice and cautions you gave him. But, from the time
that men imagine themselves to be singled out by God for
extraordinary purposes, and in consequence of that to be
guided by extraordinary impulses and operations, all human
advice is lost upon them. However, as God knows how to
bring good out of evil, I will hope that these extravagances
of theirs may be the occasion of some good in the event, if
they do not get too much head. I am, Avith great affection
and esteem, " Sir, your very faithful servant,
" EDM. LONDON."

: Sir,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 047
FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
"Marlborough, Sept. 10, 1739.

" I am extremely glad to find that you have still a
reserve of writings which the world may at some time or other
hope to see; for Avithout the least flattery (a vice I would
always avoid, and more particularly on so important an occa
sion), it is my opinion that God has in a very extraordinary
manner blessed your endeavours to the advancement of piety.
I cannot help mentioning one instance of it to you, which has
fallen within my own knowledge, of a person who, after hav
ing drunk extremely hard, and made a very ill husband for
upwards of twenty years, has within this year and a half en
tirely changed his course of life, and is now as sober a man,
and as good a husband, as is possible, and he himself says,
that his reformation has been entirely OAving to reading your
three volumes of Sermons, which were printed some years
since. " I must beg you to direct your next letter to me at St.
Leonard's Hill ; for we remove thither (if it please God) the
day after to-morrow for about two months. My Lord and
my son assure you of their sincere regards, as I am sure Betty
would do were she with me, but she is still in Yorkshire. I
will not add any more at present than to desire the continu
ance of your prayers, and assure you that I am with a real
veneration and friendship, Sir,
" Your most affectionate
" and faithful humble servant,

648 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK.
"Downing Street, Westminster, Oct. 16, 1739.
" Reverend Sir,
" I have received your favour of the 10th of this
month, and have great pleasure in observing, that my small
benevolence to Mr. Leland* will be doubled to the good man
by your leave to find its way to him through the hands of so
valuable a friend.
" On that account also it is, that I take the liberty to ask
the further favour of knowing from you, if the good man's
papers have escaped the flames, and that Ave may yet hope to
see the reply which Ave have heard he Avas preparing to a
second volume not long since published by the shameless
enemy of the person and doctrine of our blessed Saviour.
" May the good God of heaven and earth support and assist
us all in our just endeavours to repel with vigour the virulent
and impious assaults on the whole fabric of our common faith ;
and to detect with temper the fallacious and unmanly arts
employed by the modern adversaries of our holy religion Avith
a degree of boldness and inveteracy not to be equalled by
those of any age that I have read of since the days of Julian
the Apostate.
"Give me leave lo return to you in kind all your good
wishes to me, together with the true esteem and sincere
respect of, " Reverend Sir, your faithful
" and obliged humble servant,
" LAU. EBOR."

* The Rev. John Leland, D. D. a dissenting minister at Dublin, and the emi
nent author of the "View of Deistical Writers," and the "Advantage and Neces
sity of the Christian Revelation."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 649

FROM THE HON. J. BELCHER.
"Boston, Oct. 20, 1739.
"Rev. Sir, " In August last came to hand your kind letter of
the 6th of June, Avhich grieved me with the account you gave
me of a paralytic disorder which had lately visited you. Our
times are in God's hands. The sands run low in your glass
and mine. Oh ! that I could realise it as I ought, then I
should stand with my loins girt and my light burning, and
ready to depart at Avhatever hour the Lord shall come. I
offer up my sincere praises to the God of all grace and mercy,
who still saves and has so much restored you. May your life
and health be precious in his sight, and your usefulness in
your Master's service be extended even to old age !
" Not long after I wrote you of the affairs of my govern
ment, the clouds returned after the rain, and things are not so
placid and easy as I could Avish. I desire to be patient and
submissive to the dispensations of God's wise and holy provi
dence. It is easy with him to say, ' And at evening time it
shall be light.' I thank you for the present of your last book,
which Dr. Sewal borrowed before I could get through it:
the others were delivered as you desired. Please to make my
best regards acceptable to the worthy Lady Abney, and be
lieve me, Sir, with entire esteem,
" Your friend and most obedient servant,
"J. BELCHER."

T t

650 LIFE AND TIMES

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
" London, Nov. 28th, 1739.
"Sir, " I am very much ashamed when I consider how
long I have been indebted to you for the favour of a letter;
but since that time I have had my heart full of care and my
hands full of business. When I received yours my Lord Avas
laid up with a severe fit of the gout, which did not permit me
to leave Windsor forest (whither we are to return no more) till
the thirteenth of this month. When I first came to town I
had the disagreeable news of my daughter's being ill in
Yorkshire; but, I thank God, she is now well again, and I
expect her in town next Aveek. Besides all this, I have been
busy in getting some things ready to go down into Bucking
hamshire, to a house which my Lord has bought there of my
Lord Bathurst, and Avhere Ave are to go to-morroAV morning
to pass there three or four days. It is the place which Mr.
Pope, in one of his letters to Mr. Digby, calls my Lord B.'s
extravagant bergerie. The little paddock in which it stands
perfectly ansAvers that title. The house is old, but very con
venient, and large enough ; and what makes it very agreeable
to me, though Avithin ten miles, it looks as if it Avere an hun
dred from London. ' The Life of God in the Soul of Man' is
a book which I have had and admired above these twelve
years. Nothing can breathe a truer spirit of piety. My Lord
and son desire to assure you of their services and best wishes,
and I am, with a very sincere regard, Sir,
" Your most faithful
" and obliged humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 651
FROM THE REV. BENJAMIN COLMAN, D. D.
"Boston, January 16, 1740.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" A week is past since your letter and packet of
Sept. 17, and another of Oct. 12, arrived together by Captain
Forbes. I thank you for the books bought, and the account
given of them. I find it exact and judicious. I could not
bear to read Thomson through noAv I have him : I thank you
for not buying the second volume : he studies obscurity, and
labours in intricacy, Avhile Somerville's chain is smooth as an
eagle's soaring. All of Young's pleases, edifies, and surprises.
Mr. Law on Perfection is not equal, I think, to his Serious
Call, Avhich I had seen before. I present you noAv with our
Boston edition of your Hymns, and Guide to Prayer, done
Avell for us. My ' Withered Hand,' that little sermon is like
to be of some use here, and is in the press again, together with
a little book of four sermons on the ' Incomprehensibleness of
God.' " Mr. Whitfield arrived some months past at Philadelphia,
where, and through the Jerseys and at New York, he preached
daily to incredible multitudes with great eloquence and zeal?
as a good judge there writes me.
" He has pleased to send me a letter, and ask a correspon*
dence with me. He was shoAvn at New York a letter of mine,
which named him Avith respect, but wherein I happened to
say, ' he is but a young divine :' his sermon of Justification
led me to say so. ' You said right, Sir,' says he to me; 'I
am but a novice in the things of God ; I can only say I desire
to know the Avhole will of God, that I may communicate it
to others. Christ is so good a Master that I would have all
men drawn after him. He is pleased to let me experience daily
the teachings of his blessed Spirit, and to shoAV me the riches,

652 LIFE AND TIMES
freeness, and eternal duration of bis love. Pray that I may
be able to see all things clearly.'
" America is like to do him much honour, as you will see
by the prints from New York and Philadelphia here inclosed.
And it is a most happy prospect to me, in favour of many a
poor soul through the colonies of Maryland, Virginia, and
North Carolina, that he is gone preaching the gospel through
them and praying, in his Avay to Georgia. He proposes to
see Boston in his return to Europe about June next, by
God's will ; and our town and country stand ready to receive
him as an angel of God. Indeed, ministers and people, all but
his OAvn church, speak of him Avith great esteem and love :
he seems spirited from on high in an extraordinary manner,
assisted and prospered.
" Mr. Holden sent me over his Journals and Answer to the
Bishop of London. I read there of his calling in to see you
as he passed through NeAvington ; but neither you nor Dr.
Guyse have said a Avoid to me of him, nor do I find how the
dissenting ministers stand affected to him ; it may be prudent
in them to be silent : but, in what of mercy or judgment,
God may mean this rise of the Methodists to the glory of the
church, or the nation in general, time must shoAV. I shall be
glad of your thoughts of this matter.
• " As to the account I sent you of the story from Mrs. Rowe's
own mouth, I leave it to Mr. Rowe to make Avhat use of it
he pleases, and am far, I assure you, from affecting to have it
inserted at large in my Avords, or as from me. The more I
consider her beauteous life and Avorks, the more I admire the
grace of God which preserved, animated, and honoured her
so. But it is a pleasure to me that you have named me to
the Honourable Lady Hertford on the occasion, whom I love
in the truth for her love to Mrs. RoAve, and her most endear
ing returns of high affection. Such beauteous souls are
formed and shown for the love and esteem of all the ends of
the earth. Mrs. Rowe's hiding that secret from Lady Hert-

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 653
ford, seems almost a prohibition from her of telling it to the
Avorld ; or, if the Avorld noAv hears of it, the silence of her
after-years about it may give it a double force and edge upon
the ingenious and pious part of mankind.
"Mr. Sargeant goes on Avith great pleasure in his Avork;
and Providence has sent up a worthy gentleman Avith his
family to him, whose discreet and very amiable daughter he
has married.
" I am sorry to hear of your continued low state of health,
and that you think it proceeds from a shock of the paralytic
kind; but the Lord, Avhose you are, when on earth healed
the sick even of the palsy! may he receive, support, refresh
the soul, and prolong the life and service of my beloved
friend. Let not my correspondence with you be a burthen
and oppression. I hope God will yet give you health to add
to your last songs on death " the Avorld to come."
" I have had some revival the summer past, and the winter
has not hitherto broken it ; indeed, it has begun in a manner
but this week, and earth and sky are alike dazzling bright,
a serenity which you (our revered mother isle) are altogether
a stranger to; it braces up also our nerves, and makes the
old, whom it does not kill, think themselves hale again for a
season. " I have wrote to the ministers of Connecticut of the packet
for them, which you have committed to Mr. Cox's care, that
they may write to his indolent shopkeeper here, whom I call
so as I find him, on his going off to London, and now on his
return; for by him I sent for some books, and at the end of
tAvo months after his arrival here heard nothing of his brino*.
ing any, though his money lay ready ; and now two months
more are gone, and not a word from him, so I suppose he
bought none, or has sold them to another. I have sent my
friends the rules of the Salisbury library.
" I thank you, Sir, for your free and kind advice to Mr.
Hilhouse, by his messenger Mr. Mason, and have informed

654 LIFE AND TIMES
the gentlemen of Connecticut of it, to whom (Avith us) it is
very agreeable.
"And as to your question, Avhy we give rings at funerals,
and have plate in our houses, Avhen we have no silver and
gold currency among us as a medium of trade. I must first
own, that Boston has ahvays been too expensive in funerals,
and also in vessels of plate in the house. A-la-mode and
lutestring scarfs Avere our mourning tAventy years ago, we
reformed to rings which Avere about half the expense.* Our
people expect a great deal of labour from their ministers when
their families are sick, and have it; and the richer in return
give us a ring. The gold the mean while is only matter of
trade and merchandise in the goldsmith's shop among us,
like other goods ; and as to the silver, it is bought up by
the merchants to make returns to you, to pay debts or buy
more goods from you ; and if one or two hundred thousand
pounds in silver or gold were brought in among us to-morroAv,
Ave OAve it to you, and ought to remit it presently* or to make
gain of it, or purchase Avhat Ave need from you, Ave send it to
you. It is true, Sir, as you say, a public self-denial in these
instances Avould soon mend the matter Avith us, that is, in
half a century it Avould do it, for so long the Avant of it has
been bringing us into these circumstances, and as long there
have not been Avanting public and private warnings of the
Avrong and injurious step. But, beside the private spirit of
traffic,- wherein every one is apt to look to himself first, we
have abundance of strangers from you and other places, who
look only to themselves and employers, and Avhat will make
the easiest aud best returns ; and buy up the silver and gold,

'President Edwards, in » note to Brainerd's Journal, observes, "when Mr.
Braiuerd was at Boston, sick, nigh unto death, it was with reluctance he thought
of dying in a place where funerals are often attended with pomp and show, which
(especially on occasion of his own) he was very averse to any appearance of. How
ever it pleased God to order the event so as to gratify his desire, which he has ex
pressed, of getting back to Northampton, with a view particularly to a more silent
and private burial. Works, vol. iii. 307.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 655
and Avanting often to return presently themselves, will give
sixpence in an ounce more for one, and'so in proportion for
the other; and our merchants are hereby forced to do the
same, or give up the staple metal into their hands. How to
extricate ourselves is difficult, and to preach self-denial to the
merchant is, alas ! too much in vain.
" War is proclaimed, and our Americans are much spirited
for it; but our poor province is left defenceless and naked by sea
and land, the instruction from the king to our governor tying
up his hands, and our representatives tying up, therefore, theirs.
If France goes into the war, down Avill come the Indians, we
may fear, on our Avide-extended borders : there is not a fort in
any good repair or furniture, nor a soldier or officer to be paid ;
and the same on our coasts. God can protect us, but surely he
expects Ave use the means of common prudence ; but Ave have
not self-denial enough to stoop one to another in an exigence,
or to the king for self-preservation. We need the more of the
pity and prayers of our friends ; but how can we pray in faith,
save in the pity that is infinite to pardon, and heal us, and
save us ? When nearest at the throne of grace, bear us on
your heart, and him in particular who is, under the strictest
bands of friendship and gratitude,
" Sjr, your affectionate brother and servant,
" BENJ. COLMAN.
" P. S. If we hear not from one another as Ave expect, we
must look that vessels and letters will sometimes fall into the
hands of enemies,"

656 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE REV. P. DODDRIDGE, D.D.
" MaidAvell, April 23, 1740.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" Mr. Gill* returns to you and the other gentlemen
concerned with you in Mr. CoAvard's trust, his humble ser
vices and thanks for the permission you have given him to
settle for awhile with Mr. Flower,t who, if our information
be right, is a very serious and hopeful young gentleman, who
sincerely aims at the support of religion in his heart and
family by the proposal he has made to our young friend. I
have acquainted our friends at Buckingham with the result,
and renewed the assurance of my sincere desire to serve them
on any future occasion, though I confess I am much at a loss
for the means to do it at present.
" I shall recommend Mr. French! to Messrs. Jennings and
Bradbury, and hope their interest concurring with yours at
the board, will procure him an exhibition. His exemplary
piety is what I chiefly regard. Unsanctified genius and
learning have almost undone us. I bless God many serious
young men are now intending for the ministry; and I am, at
my own charges, bringing up some at school Avith a view to
it. I hope to be able to recommend some to the fund and to
Mr. CoAvard's list, in whose characters you will have great
satisfaction ; and I shall beg leave to lodge in your hand,
about Michaelmas next, a memorial of several such; for
though I know they are more than you can immediately ad
mit, it may be useful in directing you hereafter. I know, Sir,
you will pardon my freedom in doing it. I claim nothing at
all but only to be credited in the account I give, in which I
* Mr. Jeremiah Gill's name occurs in the list of Dr. Doddridge's students, under
the year 1737.
f Mr. Freeman Flower, of Gainsborough.
X Mr. John French is mentioned in the academical list for 1740.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 657
will be careful, and I hope you will not doubt my integrity.
If you, Sir, and the other gentlemen of the board, or of Mr.
CoAvard's trust, find other more deserving and necessitous
persons, I shall rejoice to see their cases preferred even to those
I have most warmly recommended.
" As for Mr. C. B.'s ' Distortion of Mind,' as you, dear Sir,
with your usual felicity of language, express it, I apprehend
it first arose from ungoverned love. Necessity Avas a fine
excuse for that. Love produced indolence, neglect of study,
and the succeeding genealogy, I fear, Avas chat, disputation,
indevotion, pride, and error. I Avrite this with grief of heart.
God shows me by such instances, how little success my best
endeavours can produce ; for, it is certain, I have always had
a peculiar tenderness for this unhappy lad, and yet, after all,
see him in a great measure spoiled and ruined under my
most affectionate caTe. Yet I am not altogether Avithout hopes
as to his recovery. I entirely agree with you, Sir, that argu
ment in such cases too eagerly pursued, often irritates the
spirits, and makes young imaginations more quick and vigo
rous in defending ibeir errors. I hope I have done my duty ;
for I have stated what appears to me the truth with the utmost
evidence I could give, and have referred him to the best wri
ters I know in defence of it. I have, especially in devotional
lectures, and in our daily expositions of scriptures, most affec
tionately, and often with many tears, represented the impor
tance of adhering to the simplicity of the gospel with steadi
ness and zeal, and of maintaining that holy and watchful
course of walking with God, which Avas the glory of our pious
forefathers, and is, I am sure, the greatest safety of their de
scendants. To all this I have added, as soon as I heard of his
defection, personal admonition, earnest prayer to God for him,
and sometimes with him and a friend or two more, in Avhich
so far as I could do it without insinuating any suspicions of
him, I have recommended him to God even with paternal
affection. If after all this he turns out, with all his excellent

658 LIFE AND TIMES
and popular talents, an Arian, a Socinian, or a Pelagian, I
hope I may say, ' I have delivered my own soul ;' and I hope
neither you, dear Sir, nor your worthy associates, nor God,
to whom I am to give up a much more aAvful account, will
on this head condemn me as having betrayed my trust. Yet
I am not utterly hopeless as to him. He expressed a very
pious turn of mind in his last prayer Avhich I heard, and I
have seen some recovered Avho have fallen loAver than he. I
Avish that Avhen he returns he may strengthen his brethren,
and so much the rather, as he has been too successful in his
endeavours to corrupt some of them. I have Avrote the larger
on this head, both to engage your prayers, and that it may
remain as a kind of apology for me in other cases of this kind,
which to be sure Avill occur where freedom of inquiry is alloAV-
ed* I bless God that, on the other hand, I have the pleasure
to see one of the greatest enemies to the gospel that ever came
under my care, surprisingly transformed by divine grace into
a steady patron and bright ornament of it. A happy turn of
which, if I have the honour of your company in July, I Avill,
if God permit, more particularly inform you of.
" Our humble services attend good Lady Abney, Miss, and
Dr. Watts.
" It will be a sad disappointment to me to miss you this
vacation ; on Avhich account I likeAvise beg you AArould please
to inform me some time before you set out, and indeed, if pos
sible, before the 19th of May, hoAV your journey is projected,
that I may order my affairs so as to have more than a transient
sight of you : this is Avith me a very serious affair. My ser
vices, such as they are, will be at your command one Lord's-

?The above interesting notice relates to the Rev. Charles Bulkley, grandson of
Matthew Henry. He came into the academy in the year 1736, and in 1740 settled
for a short time at Welford in Northamptonshire. Removing to London he joined
the General Baptists, and was baptised by immersion, imbibing at the same time
the heterodoxy which distinguished that body. He died in his 78th year, April
15, 1797. A sketch of his life and character was published by Mr. John Evans,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 659
day morning, if you please to accept of them. I know nobody
who has more right to command them.
" I must conclude this letter Avith an extract from one which,
by last post, I received from my Avorthy friend and quondam
pupil, Mr. Simon Reader,* of Wareham : — ' I entreat your
interest lo obtain the assistance of the Independent fund for
Mr. Jacob Chapman of Bere Regis, near Wareham : they
cannot maintain a minister without this assistance, and have
been accustomed to receive it till Candlemas, 1738-9, Avhen,
upon Mr. Coade's removal, Mr. Chapman came thither.
Application bas been made in Mr. Chapman's favour, par
ticularly to Dr. Guyse ; but it seems the doctor has received
some prejudice against him, for he has intimated that a con
fession of his faith would be expected previous to any assis
tance, which is thought to be an unusual severity. I am
(continues Mr. Reader) intimately acquainted Avith Mr.
Chapman, and am satisfied that he is a very serious gentle
man, and, which I think deserves peculiar regard, God has
croAvned his ministry with success, particularly with respect
to two persons in my congregation, whom I have reason to
believe savingly converted by means of his occasional dis
courses: one of them has been very useful in advancing
religion among the young people here. This is, I think, of
greater importance than an exact conformity to any set of
notions how just soever. And there is little foundation for
the prejudices that have been entertained against Mr. Chap
man ; for he is by no means in those unhappy sentiments
which have prevailed in some parts of the West. I have
Avith great pleasure heard him preach on subjects which are
the peculiar glory of the gospel ; and I am very well assured,
that, Avith regard to his sentiments, he is better qualified to
receive the assistance of the funds than some to whom it is
given. Upon these accounts, Sir, I hope you will use your
endeavours to obtain it for him, and I hope it will be granted ;
•Minister aud Tutor at Wareham.

660 LIFE AND TIMES
if not, he must be obliged to remove; and in such case, as
the circumstances of the congregation now are, there is very
great danger of its ruin.'
" Thus far my friend Reader. I have nothing farther to
add on this subject, being entirely a stranger to the gentleman
in question. Hoav far it may be proper to insist on the con
fession required, I pretend not to judge. I hope all wise and
Christian methods will be taken to prevent the growth of
error, without laying a snare for the consciences of men, or
depriving the church of the services it so much needs, merely
on account of a different idea affixed to some human phrases.
I leave you and my worthy fathers and brethren to act as God
shall direct you, and conclude with telling you, that NeAvport
and Welford are just now agreed in giving Mr. Webb, a very
plain spiritual preacher, whom I am now sending, on an una
nimous invitation, to both their places. I suppose he will
prefer the latter, and what will then be done for Newport I
know not. I fear these repeated disappointments will shock
the interest there. However, to prevent its ruin I have ven
tured, in a very critical conjuncture of affairs, to buy the place,
and hope to be able when I see you to give you such an account
of the reason of doing it, as shall not only engage your appro
bation, but also your assistance in making up the deficiency
of Avhat they can do tOAvards paying for it. Excuse the length
of my letter : I have taken some scraps of time in a visit to
Mrs. Scawen,* from Avhose house I write to dispatch it, and
add her very affectionate services (as she is, indeed, an ex
cellent Avoman) with those of Col. Gardiner (whose indisposi
tion prevented his meeting me here according to appointment),
and of, reverend and dear Sir, your greatly obliged and most
respectful brother and servant, "P. DODDRIDGE.
* Only daughter of Lady Russell.

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 661
" P. S. We rejoice abundantly in your health, and ear
nestly pray it may long continue.
"Hearing that Dr. Watts, your brother (to Avhom my
humble service), had thoughts of quitting business, and retir
ing from London to a greater distance, I have sent to tempt
him into Northamptonshire. If you have not yet read Count
Zinzindorf s sermons, I beg you would do it, and give me your
thoughts upon them : there are many Christian notions in
them, and a multitude of expressions which astonish rather
than edify me. I hope it may in part be owing to the unskil
fulness of the translator : my great veneration for the author
makes this very grievous to me.
" Could you, dear Sir, tell me how and Avhere I might
procure charity for a worthy family in great distress ? I beg
if you have access to any such, you would direct me where to
lodge a memorial in their favour : it will secure many prayers
in favour of all concerned in obtaining it.
" The report of Carter is too true. He has resided in town
a year, seldom coming near me. He is a pupil of Messrs.
Emlyn, Taylor, Foster, &c. and has been their professor here
for some time. Hinc illae lachrymae ! Hoav sad a loss of one
of the best furnished lads I ever bred ! But love and melan
choly did the business, and gave him up bound into the
Philistines' hands. I am thankful, hoAvever, that, though he
be something blinded, he has not yet attempted to pull down
any temple. He is really a valuable, upright, devout man,
prays incomparably, writes finely, has a charming voice, an
admirable method, and wants nothing but orthodoxy and
wisdom."

662 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE HON. JONATHAN BELCHER.
"Boston, May 20, 1741.
"Rev. and dear Sir,
" I am ashamed to look over the date of your kind
letter of the 4th of May last, which came to my hands the 1st of
November folloAving, yet I can rely on your goodness for pardon
in owning it so late ; Avhile you consider hoAV much I am en
grossed in the care of two of the king's provinces, sometimes
I fear too much to the neglect of the great business of the
King of kings; aud yet I would humbly hope I have an eye
to his glory in the whole of my administration. 'Man is
born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards ;' and even this
determination of the great Governor of the Avorld is designed
in mercy to mankind. What says the wise preacher, 'In
the day of adversity consider,' and his pious father, 'Before
I Avas afflicted I went astray.' If the fruit of our troubles be
' that our ways please the Lord, he will make even our ene
mies to be at peace Avith us.' May the holy and eternal
Spirit of God take the full possession of my heart, that this
may become my case, through the riches of mercy in Jesus
Christ. He that said to the foaming billows, ' Peace be still,'
and it was so, can disconcert all faction and opposition, can
scatter every cloud, and bid the shades of night fly before the
springing day and rising sun. A governor must endeavour
to mail himself Avith patience, Sasvis esse tranquillum in undis.
I desire to be 'in subjection to the Father of Spirits,' and to
have faith in him, and this constant conclusion in myself,
that all the carvings of his providence tOAvards me, are best
for me.
"I again greatly rejoice in the favour of God, in so Avell
restoring you after such a threatening stroke; but I rejoice
still more in your humble and pious submission, Avhile you
can say 'you are waiting his will to be employed here, or to

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 663
be called away hence at Avhat hour he pleases.' Oh, Sir, how
thankful must the Christian be that has thus got upon the
last round of the ladder! My greatest gratitude flies into
your bosom, in return for all your prayers and good Avishes to
me and to my family ; as to myself I am just at the heels of
sixty ; my few remaining moments are croAvded into a narrow
compass; 'my days are swifter than a post or Aveaver's shuttle;
they will soon be extinct, and the grave be ready for me.' Oh !
then may I, by the sovereign powerful grace of God, double
my diligence, that I may be ready when my Lord shall call.
I entreat and (as the duty of your function requires), I charge
you when you kneel before the throne of God and the Lamb
(in secret) not to forget me; for an alluring Avorld, and a
tempting devil are never Aveary of their attacks. I am
greatly obliged to the excellent Lady Abney, to whom you
Avill present my humble respects. Happy she Avho has
turned her widowed state into an everlasting match with the
glorious bridegroom of the church of God. By the last ship,
I covered to my son a letter for you, from our dear friend
Dr. Colman, wherein I doubt not he has given you an
account of the outpourings of the Spirit of God in a wonder
ful measure, of late, in this and the neighbouring provinces:
to his name alone be the glory. I am, Sir, with the most
perfect esteem and friendship, " Yours, &c,
"J. BELCHER.

" P. S. When you favour the world with any new publi
cation, let me partake/'

664 LIFE AND TIMES

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
" Fulham, June 6, 1741.
" Good Sir,
"I am much obliged to you for your kind remem
brance of me, and particularly for the late present of your
book.* It found me engaged in a particular business that
has been upon my hands some time, so that I have not yet
been at leisure to peruse it. But I have seen enough to satisfy
me of the serviceableness of it towards replenishing the mind
with useful knowledge and true Avisdom, and how- Avell the
rules laid down for that end are calculated for the general
improvement of all, Avhether learned or unlearned, who will
attend to them and be conducted by them. But while you
are teaching others how to employ their thoughts Avisely and
usefully, you must be so just to yourself, as not to stretch your
own beyond your strength, but to take the warning which
age and infirmities give us, to slacken and moderate our pace.
Under this restraint I heartily wish you a successful progress
in your further designs for the service of religion, and remain
with great truth and esteem, Sir,
" Your faithful friend and servant,
" EDM. LONDON."

FROM THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.f
" Cuddesden, near Oxford, June 19, 1741.
" Sir, " I am extremely obliged to you for the agreeable
present of your book,J Avhich is peculiarly well adapted for the
« The " Improvement of the Mind." f Dr. Seeker.
X The " Improvement of the Mind."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 665
direction and improvement of students in the university, where
your Logic is by no means the only piece of yours that is read
with high esteem.
" You have been a diligent promoter of useful and espe
cially religious knowledge, of Christian faith and Christian
morals. On these accounts I have always respected you, from
the time that I had so many years ago the advantage of your
conversation, and always rejoiced in the just honour that has
been universally paid you ; and as this opportunity of ex
pressing my regard gives me much pleasure, so, if the favour
of letting me see you next winter will not be inconvenient to
you, it Avill be a great satisfaction to,
" Sir, your affectionate humble servant,
"THO. OXFORD."

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Fulham, July 12, 1742.
" Good Sir,
" I desire you to accept my hearty thanks for your
kind and valuable present,* which was part of my employ
ment yesterday, and this day I am setting out on my visita
tion of Essex and Hertfordshire. It is written with great
clearness and strength, and whoever peruses and attends to it
will find much light from it in reading several of the epistles
of St. Paul. I am glad to find that you have no difficulty in
making him the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews (which
I took some pains to clear in my third pastoral letter), and
that you carry on the gradual- opening of the gospel dispen
sation by him and the other apostles to the times after our
Saviour's ascension.
" The method you take of reducing the matter to be treated
* "Hatmouy of all Religions."
v u

666 LIFE AND TIMES
of into chapters and paragraphs of no great length, keeps
every thing clear and distinct, and 1 Avish it were observed
by all other Avriters.
"As I take it for granted you have by you other discourses
unpublished, I hope God will give you health and strength
to revise them if needful, and then to publish them for the
service of religion, Avhich is the sincere Avish of, Sir,
"Your very faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON."

FROM THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.
" Cuddesden, Sept. 14, 1743.
" Sir, "I heartily thank you for your obliging letter, and,
had I known that you had printed a sermon on the subject*
I should not have failed to enrich my own from it. I hope
the things I have said in favour of our charity-schools are true.
I hope the Christians of this nation in general are grown much
milder tOAvards each other; and I am sure we have great need
to gain in this virtue what Ave lose in others, and become a
more united body as we become a smaller, Avhich I apprehend
we do. But ' Fear not, little flock.' May God direct and
bless us all in our poor endeavours to serve him ! May he
give you every needful support under your long sickness, and
restore you speedily to your former usefulness, if it be his holy
will! I am Avith great esteem, Sir,
" Your affectionate and faithful humble servant,
"tho. oxford."
* "Essay towards the Encouragement of Charity-schools."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 667
FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF TUAM*
"Dublin, Dec. 15, 1743.
"Rev. Sir," I am brought into the circumstances of an insolvent
debtor, who is afraid to see the face of his creditor; and yet it
is not through idleness or disregard that I remain so long in
my friend's debt for his kind letter of the last summer, but I
am really oppressed Avith letter-Avriting and business of various
kinds, some of my own, but more of other persons, some pri
vate, but more public, both ecclesiastical and secular, Avhich
are incident to my station.
" However, I have at last found a spare hour for thanking
you for the present of your book, which ought more properly
to be done by my wife, who presently laid hands upon it, and
took it into her own library. She is much taken Avith the
vein of piety which breathes in your works, and buys them up.
" I am truly concerned for your insomnie, which I suppose
proceeds from Aveak nerves. If you could ride an easy pad,
increasing your journey every day from one to four or five
miles, as your strength Avould permit, I should hope for some
good effect, as the lassitude occasioned by that exercise Avould
incline you more naturally to rest than the use of drugs.
"I Hess God I enjoy good health, Avhich enables me to go
through much business; but I have for many years been
going down the hill, and, if the doctrine of gravitation takes
place in the life of man, the motion must accelerate as I come
nearer the bottom. Your case is the same, though more ag
gravated by distempers. God grant Ave may be useful while
Ave live, and may run clear, and Avith unclouded minds, till
Ave come to the very dregs !
" I send you my visitation charge to my clergy of Tuam.
* Dr. Josiah Hort. See p. 129.

668 LIFE AND TIMES
The former part is a copy of my charge to the clergy of Kil
more and Ardagh,. Avhich being of general use I saw no oc
casion to change. The latter part is new, and I submit it
to your judgment. I am, dear Sir,
" Your old friend, and affectionate servant,
"josiah tuam."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 669

CHAPTER XVII.
1745—1748.
THE REBELLION.

PATRIOTISM OF WATTS. — FAVOURABLE CONDITION OF THE DISSEN
TERS.— POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT  CONDUCT OF DODDRIDGE.—
CIRCULAR OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE THREE DENOMINATIONS.—
STATEMENT OF DR. SOUTHEY REFUTED. — THE "WORLD TO COME,"
SECOND VOLUME.— SINGULAR OPINION OF MR. BOURN.— DR. T. BUR
NET.— SECKER. — " ORTHODOXY AND CHARITY."— SENTIMENTS WITH
REFERENCE TO DEATH.— DOMESTIC CALAMITY. — DR. DODDRIDGE.—
MR. BARKER. — REPORTED DERANGEMENT: — CONTRADICTED BY DR.
GIBBONS:— A NERVOUS DISORDER.'— CONDUCT OF DR. RICHARD
WATTS:— REFERENCES TO THE RUMOUR.— ESSAY ON THE "FREEDOM
OF TBE WILL."— "EVANGELICAL DISCOURSES."— ''RATIONAL FOUNDA
TION OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH." — VISITED BY THE SPEAKER, MR.
ONSLOW.— CORRESPONDENCE.

The attachment of Dr. Watts to the righteous cause of
freedom has been repeatedly mentioned in this volume;
many of his devotional and moral poems were composed to
celebrate the triumph of its principles; in the hour of
national emergency, therefore, his exertions Avith those of his
brethren were not wanting to support the reigning dynasty.
The writers of the establishment who have, noticed his life,
have done honour to his loyalty Avhilst they have condemned
his nonconformity. Grateful for the liberties Avhich his
country and especially his fellow dissenters enjoyed, he
piously records the events by which they were secured as
among "the mighty acts of the Lord." The seventy-fifth
Psalm is an instance of his patriotic devotion. His congre-

670 LIFE AND TIMES
gation Avas frequently excited to gratitude by being reminded
of the oppressions the fathers endured, and the privileges the
children enjoyed. Compared with his oavii ancestors he
lived at a period peculiarly auspicious; the storms Avhich
raged during his infancy were stilled before he could be fully
sensible of their violence ; he had the report of the soitoavs
his family had endured without their painful experience.
Frequently during the long course of his ministry hostility
was both threatened aud feared ; clerical bigotry vented its
spleen against him in intemperate pamphlets ; but the
designs Avhich the spirit of party conceived, and Avhich the
insolence of power Avas to execute, Avere, by the kind interpo
sition of providence, blasted in their budding. It Avas justly
observed by Sir Conyers Joceyln, conversing Avith Dr. Gib
bons about Mr. Baxter and Dr, Watts, "The latter went to
heaven upon a bed of down in comparison of the former."
For nearly half a century the churches of the nonconformists
had enjoyed peace within their borders ; the exactions which
the magistracy and clergy would have imposed were, with
few exceptions^ discountenanced by the court; and in every
instance the attempt to invade the territory of dissent was
steadily opposed by the Hanover family. The events of the
memorable Forty-five made the policy of this conduct appa
rent. When the government threw around an eye of jealousy
and alarm — Avhen an enemy had penetrated into the heart
ofthe kingdom, and some decisive success Avas alone Avanting
to call forth a host of Jacobites from their hiding-places —
no apprehension Avas felt respecting the sentiments and
conduct of the dissenters. The sufferings of their fathers had
associated in their minds the name of Stuart Avith a persecu,
ting church and au intolerant throne ; and as the reigning
monarch had conciliated their affections by protecting their
liberties, they at once devoted their energies to stem the tide
of invasion. The biographer of Doddridge remarks, " When
a regiment was raising in Northamptonshire, to be under the

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 671
command of the Earl of Halifax, he wrote many letters to his
friends in that county and neighbourhood to further the design.
He went among his OAvn people to encourage them to enlist,
and had the pleasure to find many of them engaging cheerfully
in the cause. He dreAV up and printed at bis own expense a
friendly letter to the private soldiers of a regiment of foot,
which was one of those engaged in the glorious battle of
Culloden."* Dr. Watts was too feeble to imitate the
example of his friend, but his heart was with him, and the
circumstances of the nation formed a subject of his correspon
dence with the Bishop of London. The committee of the
three denominations in London addressed a circular letter to
the members of their persuasion throughout the kingdom,
calling upon them for a proof of their attachment to the
government at a juncture so critical.f So utterly untrue is
the representation of an historian of the present day, that
political disaffection bas ever been the fruit of religious non.
conformity, and that the principles of dissent necessarily tend
to place its advocates on the side of faction. "The principle
of nonconformity," says he, "in religion is very generally con
nected with political discontent ; the old leaven is still in the
* Orton's Life of Doddridge, p. 208.
t A copy of this letter appeared in the public journals of the period:
"Sir, "The Committee ofthe Protestant Dissenters, in aud about London,
having taken into their consideration the present dangerous situation of affairs in
these kingdoms, by reason of the uunatural rebellion raised against his majesty
King George, in favour of a popish pretender, supported by France, the avowed
enemy of this country, have unanimously come to the following resolution, that is
to say, that it be recommended to the body of dissenters to express their utmost
zeal and readiness to join with any number of his majesty's subjects, to support
his person and government, in the present time of danger, in any legal way that
shall be thought most effectual. I am, therefore, directed by the said committee to
communicate to you the above resolution, and they earnestly desire, that you
would use the utmost influence with all your friends, to induce them to act in th§
most zealous manner agreeable thereto. By order of the committee.
"Sept. 28, 1745. " benjamin atery, Chairman,"

672 LIFE AND TIMES
mass, and whenever there is thunder in the atmosphere it
hegins to work. In the time of the Ameriean Avar they were
Avholly Avith the Americans ; and during the French Revolu
tion their wishes were not with the government, nor their
voice with the voice of the country."* These are the only
instances which Dr. Southey advances to support his extra?
'ordinary statement : of the former it is enough to say, that
posterity will record the fact to the honour of the dissenters,
that they were the folloAvers of Chatham; the latter may
be safely contradicted, if it is meant to imply an approval of
the atrocities with which the event was accompanied. The
conduct of the party here maligned during the Forty-five,
the Irish rebellion, and the threatened French invasion,
might be appealed to, to prove that no such systematic effu
sion of traitorous feeling as is supposed has marked their
history ; and the conduct of the party Avho claim the historian
for their champion, with reference to the Catholic Relief Bill
and the Reform Act, might be adduced in evidence, that
" their Avishes were not with the government, nor their voice
with the voice of the country."
Early in this year of national turmoil the second volume
of the " World to Come" appeared, containing six discourses.
The necessary preparation for the future — the freedom of the
heavenly state from all pain — the foretastes of it with Avhich
believers are favoured — the joy of the resurrection morn to
them — and the state and punishment of the wicked, are the
subjects which the Avriter discusses. The persuasives to a
holy life draAvn from its present and future advantages, and
the dissuasives from an opposite course gathered from the
character aud consequences of sin, are urged upon the rea
der's attention in a highly impassioned manner, displaying a
style unenfeebled, and an imagination as strong as in its youth
ful vigour. He discusses the doctrine of future punishment,
all the "sad variety of hell," poena damni and poena senses,
•Southey's Colloquies on the "Progress and Prospects of Society." vol. ii. 44,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 673
in an uncompromising but affectionate spirit, asserting in all
their force and peculiarity the awful statements of scripture,
yet widely removed from that harsh and vengeful tone Avith
which the subject is sometimes treated. The duration of the
future penalties of sin had long been a point of controversy,
and in fact it occasioned one of the theological Avars of the
last century. A middle scheme, between the commonly
received opinion and that of the final restorationists, was
maintained by Mr. Bourn in his letter to Dr. Chandler —
that the wicked, after undergoing a condemnation proportion
ed to their guilt, shall be punished by an utter extinction of
being — a notion which has been advocated by other writers,
but Avhich certainly cannot claim the slightest authority in
scripture. Many of those who held these milder views, as
they were called, of the question, yet acknoAvledged the public
proclamation of them dangerous to the cause of virtue, and,
as a matter of policy, refrained from it — a consideration
which tells powerfully against the soundness of their opinions.
Hence, Dr. T. Burnet, who held the temporary duration of
future punishment, in his Latin treatise " On the state of the
dead and those who rise again," advises the use of the com
mon doctrine and the common language to ministers, and
curiously enough in a note observes, " Whosoever shall tran
slate these sentiments into our mother tongue, I shall think it
Avas done with an evil design and to bad purpose." This
caution Avould not have been given, nor the sentiment to
which it refers have been imbibed, had the scriptures been
recognised as the sole interpreter of the divine conduct ; but
there is no security against error, when the judgment upon
such a topic is influenced in its decisions by Avhat the Aveak
ness of human passion will suggest. Those Avho submit their
understandings to the word of God, conscious of their littleness
of grasp and dimness of vision, will receive Avith joy the reve
lation of eternal life to the faithful, and with reverent aAve
the annuuciation of everlasting destruction to the impenitent.

674 LIFE AND TIMES
There is, however, a mode of representation employed, with
respect to this doctrine, which is highly objectionable, and
unhappily not uncommon in the pulpit, and the only tendency
of which is to harden the heart and confirm the mind in its
infidelity to it. It is when the character of judge is assumed
by the preacher, Avho forgets that he is himself a criminal ;
when a severe and exulting tone is given to the denunciation ;
and when a fact, which ought to Avring the heart Avith unut
terable tenderness and compassion tOAvards the sinful souls of
men, is enounced with voice and look and gesture only befit
ting an ebullition of the malign passions. The intonation of
the ancient Sybil is not necessary to show the fidelity of the
Christian minister; the "whole counsel of God" is to be de
clared, but the declaration should be made with that pathos
and solemnity becoming a divine testimony, and a subject in
which eternal interests are involved. Dr. Watts Avas entirely
free from the defect here pointed out; and to him Bishop
Seeker awards the praise of having Avritten in a strong and
awful, yet compassionate and good-natured manner.
Another Avork appeared about the same period, " Ortho
doxy and Charity united ; in several reconciling Essays on the
law and gospel, faith and Avorks." This is an attempt' to
unite those Avho hold the important doctrines of the gospel,
but differ upon minor points; to illustrate the evil conse
quences of altercation respecting minute and trivial peculiari
ties of faith or discipline ; and to gather Avithin the bounds of
Christian love all true believers in the Saviour, without limit
ing the flow of kindly feeling to a perfect conformity with
our views. It is addressed to the "moderate men among
those who are called Calvinists, and those that are named
New-Methodists:1' as for "the high-fliers" of both parties he
discards them as incorrigible offenders. He anticipates in
his preface a Socinian objection to his book, that no attempt
is made to plead the cause of those who deny the atonement,
and to procure for them a share of fraternal regard ; but a

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 675
proper answer to this is given, that the doctrine is not one of
the lesser things of the Christian system, but a fundamental
principle, the denial of Avhich is subversive of its whole genius
and design. The substance ofthe gospel treated of in the
first essay, is defined to embrace the great truths of the fall
and depravity of our nature — the propitiatory work of Christ
— divine influence — the necessity of repentance and faith —
and the constant practice of a holy life. Those Avho agree
here are united in the essential articles of religion, and assur
edly ought not to be at variance in spirit. But questions as
to the logical relations of different parts of divine truth —
whether the gospel is an absolute promise or a conditional
covenant — whether the laAv ought to be proclaimed, or free
grace alone exhibited, have kept their respective advocates at
a distance, and separated as Avith Avails of triple brass the
several parties to which they have belonged. The Calvinist
has raised the frightful cry of legality against the Arminian,
and the latter has retorted with the charge of licentiousness
upon the former. His OAvn opinion, as to Avhich is the "more
excellent way," the Avriter does not attempt to conceal, but
he is not betrayed into either dogmatism or invective; he
admits the possibility, that his conclusion though honest may
be erroneous ; and, hence, he pleads for the extension of the
hand of fellowship to those who hold the Head, but on other
points conscientiously differ from our vieAvs. The spirit in
culcated in this treatise he remarkably exemplified in prac
tice ; no religious disputant was ever more free from sectarian
virulence; "it was not only in his book," says Dr. Johnson,
"but in his mind also, that orthodoxy and charity Avere
united." Dr. Watts Avas now, as be affectingly expresses it in one of
his letters, on " the borders of life." To' prepare himself as well
as others for such a situation had been the great end of his
existence : its arrival was, therefore, a Avelcome event. The
views Avith Avhich he contemplated his approaching dissolu-

676 LIFE AND TIMES
tion may be gathered from his writings at this period : there
is, if I mistake not, much of his own conduct and experience
embodied in his "World to Come." An ardent admirer of
nature, he sought improvement from her various changes,
and reaped spiritual advantage from her beautiful though
silent phenomena. "Do I observe," says he, "the declining
day, and the setting sun, sinking into darkness ? So declines
the day of life, the hours of labour, and the season of grace:
O may I finish my appointed work with honour ere the light
is fled ! May I improve the shining hours of grace ere the
shadows of the evening overtake me, and my time of working
is no more ! Do I see the moon gliding along through mid
night, and fulfilling her stages in the dusky sky ? This
planet also is measuring out my life, and bringing the num
ber of my months to their end. May I be prepared to take
leave of the sun and moon, and bid adieu to these visible
heavens, and all the tAvinkling glories of them ! These are
all but the measurers of my time, and hasten me on towards
eternity." He dwells Avith peculiar pleasure upon the thought of death
as a short and peaceful sleep, and the grave as a place of
repose. Such imagery teaches us that subjection to mortality
will be but temporary. Slumber may steal over the frame of
man in the eventide, and it may seal up his senses in forget
fulness ; but the morning brings Avith it the dissolution of the
spell, and the restoration of the frame to activity and con
sciousness ! " Why, O my fearful soul," he observes, " shouldst
thou be afraid of dying ? Why shouldst thou be frighted at
the dark shadows of the grave, when thou art weary with
the toils and crosses of the day ? Hast thou not often desired
the shadow of the evening, and longed for the bed of natural
sleep, Avhere thy fatigues and thy sorrows may be forgotten
for a season ? And is not the grave itself a sweet sleeping-
place for the saints, wherein they lie down and forget their
distresses, and feel none of the miseries of human life, and

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 677
especially since it is softened and sanctified by the Son of
God lying down there ? Why shouldst thou be afraid to lay
thy head in the dust? It is but entering into God's hiding-
place, into his chambers of rest and repose."
The domestic happiness which he had so long enjoyed,
rarely disturbed except by the recurrence of personal affliction,
experienced interruption from another quarter — the miscon
duct of some of his relatives — in the year 1746. This cir
cumstance, whatever might be its specific nature, was very
painfully felt: it destroyed for a season his equanimity:
unused to such a trial, and in a state of great debility, his
mind seems to have sunk for a time under the shock, and
Avith difficulty to have recovered its balance. By the kind
prudence of Lady Abney many of the particulars of this
unhappy affair were concealed from him. In August, while
under the pressure of this calamity, Dr. Doddridge visited
Stoke Newington, and gives the following painful description
of his aged friend: — " His nephew, once so gieat a favourite,
has done something to vex him, and his poor weak spirits
cannot bear it ; so that he is quite amazed, and even stupified
with it to such a degree as hardly to take notice of any thing
about him ; insomuch that, though he knew my chief reason
of coming from Bath Avas to see him, he hardly took any
notice of me ; and instead of those tears and embraces with
which he has often dismissed me, parted Avith me, though
probably for the last time, as coldly as he did with young
Mr. Lavington, Avho happened to be here, and who is
entirely a stranger to him* This really astonished me and
grieved me exceedingly." But the cloud that lowered in
threatening blackness over his mind had been removed Avhen
in the February of the following year Mr. Barker Avrote to
Doddridge as follows: — "The behaviour of Dr. Richard
Watts and the wretch Brackstone tOAvards Dr. Isaac Watts, is
a most marvellous, infamous* enormous wickedness. Lady
Abney, with inimitable steadiness and prudence, keeps her

678 Life and times
friend in peaceful ignorance, and his enemies at a becoming
distance; so that in the midst of this cruel persecution of that
righteous man, he lives comfortably; and when a friend asks
him hoAV he does, answers, ' Waiting God's leave to die.' "
That he sometimes felt impatience under his heavy afflictions,
is but saying that he was human : it was, however, in his
case more infirmity than error, induced by purely physical
causes. "Sometimes," says he, "I have been ready to say
within myself, 'Why is my life prolonged in sorrow? Why
are my days lengthened out to see further Avretchedness ?
Methinks the grave should be ready for me and the house
appointed for all the living. What can I do further for God
or for men here on earth, since my nature pines away with
painful sickness, my nerves are unstrung, my spirits dissi
pated, and my best powers of acting are enfeebled and
almost lost? Peace, peace, O thou complaining spirit.
Dost thou know the counsels of the Almighty, and the secret
designs of thy God and thy Saviour? He has many deep
and unknoAvn purposes in continuing his children amidst
heavy soitoavs, which they can never penetrate or learn in
this Avorld. Silence and submission become thee at all
times.' "
Much misapprehension has existed Avith reference to the
state of Dr. Watts's mind in his latter days. Stories of his
strange nervous affections, his wild and extraordinary fancies,
amounting to intellectual derangement, have been circulated
both in print and by common rumour. To give a narrative
of these reveries Avith one of his biographers would be a
worthless task, especially as the Avhole account is directly con
tradicted by Dr. Gibbons. " How it came to pass," says he,
"I know not, but that it has so happened is certain, that re
ports have been raised, propagated, and currently believed,
concerning the Doctor, that he has imagined such things
concerning himself, as would prove, if they were true, that he
sometimes lost possession of himself, or suffered a momentary

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 679
eclipse of his intellectual faculties. But I take upon me,
and feel myself happy to aver, that these reports Avere utterly
and absolutely false and groundless ; and I do this from my
own knowledge and observation of him for several years, and
some of them the years of his decay, Avhen he was at the
weakest; from the express declaration of Mr. Joseph Parker,
his amanuensis for above twenty years, and who was in a
manner ever with him; and above all from that of Mrs.
Elizabeth Abney, the surviving daughter of Sir Thomas and
Lady Abney, who lived in the same family Avith him all the
time of the Doctor's residence there, a period of no less than
thirty-six years. Can any evidence be more decisive ?"
The evidence of these persons must be preferred to that of
certain vague statements Avhich have continually changed
their colouring as they have floated on their course; state
ments originally propagated by an unknoAvn party, founded
upon no data, and confirmed by no responsible authority.
As the fabrications of the idle or the designing, the relations
in question, therefore, deserve no notice. It is at the same
time highly probable, that as Dr. Watts Avas subject to a ner
vous disorder, this, aggravated by the decays of nature, might
occasionally induce that morbid state of mind, which usually
manifests itself either in an unnatural elevation or a corres
ponding depression. This supposition is strongly confirmed
by Dr. Doddridge's affecting description of him beneath the
stroke of calamity — the picture of one suffering under an ex
treme degree of hypochondriacism. Cases of this kind are by
no means uncommon, and may co-exist with a perfect sanity
of the intellectual powers. The derangement of .the mental
economy by Avhich tbey are characterised, is the effect of a
diseased nervous system; and Avhen the physical causes are
counteracted or cease to operate, the mind preserves its equi
librium, its tone of health and vigour.
The temporary derangement attributed to him, and stated
so frequently as an undoubted truth, was then nothing more

680 LIFE AND TIMES
than a high degree of nervous irritability, in connexion with
great bodily weakness and frequent disease. That it occa
sioned alarm and anxiety in the minds of his friends, it is
only natural to conceive ; but the report of his complaint, like
all other reports, became gradually magnified the further it
removed from its source. The retirement in which his last
days were Spent — seldom seen in public, and rarely visited
but by those Avho were intimate Avith him — might be con
strued to sanction the most unfavourable conclusion. But
that Avhich gave most currency to the rumour, was the in
judicious and Aveak conduct of some of his former admirers,
Avho eagerly caught at the plea of mental distemper, to apolo
gise for the supposed heterodoxy of his sentiments upon the
trinity, and to excuse the high esteem they had once expressed
for the idol they now abandoned. To account still further for
the credit which this story has obtained it may be remarked,
that a dark suspicion rests upon the memory of his brother,
Dr.- Richard Watts, and his nephew, " the Avretch" Brack
stone, that for interested purposes they assisted to strengthen
and circulate it, and to confirm it by their own fabrications.
These efforts were happily frustrated, and the vagaries they
attempted to palm upon this holy and devoted man, before
tbe respectable testimony of Lady Abney, the family, and
Dr. Gibbons, fall to the ground. It must have been painful
for him to discover, that an impression bad been made upon
the public disadvantageous to his mental character — that the
soundness of his intellect Avas in any quarter suspected — and
yet that he had some intimation that this was the case, may
be gathered from the following passages. In the preface to
his "Ruin and Recovery," he remarks, "It is by no means
true, which some home imagined, that a retirement from the
world, and dwelling much among my own solitary thoughts
and old authors, have led me into these melancholy and dismal
apprehensions of mankind?' Again, in the preface to the
" Useful and Important Questions," it is observed, " He takes

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 681
the freedom to say, these papers are the product of that part
of life, when his powers of mind and body were in full vigour?'
But in the publications of his decline he nobly refuted the
calumnious representations of his enemies : among these may
be found some of his most learned, abstruse, and imaginative
performances ; furnishing incontestible evidence that his mind
was not impaired, for though occasionally affected and borne
down by the infirmities of its companion, yet it quickly re
gained its former elevation, and triumphed with untired wing
over the difficulties of its progress. His nervous paroxysms
were severe and distressing, but short in their duration and
infrequent in their occurrence ; they were momentary obscu
rations of the brightness of his genius, like clouds that swiftly
flit across the luminary of day, without injuring the face of
the orb or stealing a beam from his effulgence.
Though in his seventy-second year the aged invalid again
took up his pen, anxious to improve every moment for the
benefit of others. But his remaining productions offer little
that calls for elucidation or remark., In 1746 he published
an " Essay on the Freedom of Will in God and in Creatures,"
in which he argues in behalf of a liberty of indifference,
adopting the Arminian view of the subject. This piece,
which was published anonymously, is chiefly remarkable for
having called forth the powers of President Edwards, and
producing his noble work in refutation of it. His American
friend and correspondent evidently suspected him to be the
author of the essay, and the authority of his name procured it
that share of his attention which its intrinsic merits would
probably have failed to attract. The volume of " Evangelical
Discourses" appeared in the commencement of 1747, when
"under very declining circumstances of life," with an " Essay
on the Powers and Contests of Flesh and Spirit" appended to
it. This is dedicated to the church in Bury Street, and may
be regarded as their pastor's farewell benediction. Among
his affectionate advices on an occasion so solemn he says,
x x

682 LIFE AND TIMES
" Continue to be of one mind : live in peace : be careful to
practise all the duties of holiness and righteousness: keep
close to God by humble fervent prayer and dependence ; seek
his face for direction, and a blessing in all your affairs." He
acknoAvledges with gratitude the great harmony Avhich had
subsisted for more than forty-three years between him and
his Avorthy colleague, Mr. Price, and Avith the utmost confi
dence resigns his charge entirely to his care. " There," he
remarks, speaking of " that blessed book" from which he had
so often discoursed to them, " all my hopes of eternal life are
fixed, and in this hope I trust all of you Avill be found walking
steadfastly in the same faith, by the same rule, till you are at
length made happy partakers of the same salvation." His
last Avork is " The Rational Foundation of a Christian
Church," dated from " Stoke Newington, March 25, 1747."
This is designed to state and enforce the nature, duties, and
advantages of church membership, the obligations of believers
to unite in particular societies, and the terms of communion :
it contains also three discourses on the pattern for a dissenting
preacher, the office of deacons, and invitations to Christian
fellowship. There is much valuable and important matter
in this last treatise, which deserves to rank among the best
of his practical pieces: it proves in an able and judicious
manner the necessity and benefits of social religion; and
states in a candid spirit those principles of church government
and ecclesiastical discipline Avhich the scriptures appear to
support either by direct or inferential evidence.
Thus one year and eight months before his decease Dr.
Watts terminated the toils of authorship. His time Avas noAv
spent in devotional exercises, occasional correspondence,
arranging his papers, and receiving the visits of a feAV of his
most intimate friends. The Right Hon. Arthur Onslow,
Speaker ofthe House of Commons, who was on terms of cour
teous intercourse Avith the leading dissenting ministers,
sought an intervieAV Avith him in his decline. Dr. Gibbons

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 683
relates this circumstance, honourable to both parties, as fol
lows : " Not long before his death, taking Avith him Dr. Jabez
Earle and Dr. Joseph Stennett in his coach, he made a visit
to Dr. Watts at Stoke Newington, for the purpose of gratifying
himself with the sight of so great and good a man, Avhom he
held in the highest esteem, and, I might truly say, above the
common rank of mortals. The Speaker declared to me, that
when he saw him he thought he saw a man of God ; and in
the last visit but one I made Mr. Onslow, for I had the ho
nour of an intimacy Avith him, he mentioned the affair afresh,
and devoutly cried out, ' My soul where his noAv is !' "

FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
" Whitehall, March 2, 1745.
" Good Sir,
" I send this with my sincere thanks for the valua
ble present* which I have lately received from you. I have
already perused part of it, and find much satisfaction in ob
serving the true spirit of piety and zealous concern for souls
Avhich appear in every page. God knoAvs the present degene
racy and lukewarmness among Christians stand in great need
of such awakenings as to their future state ; and as it is the
duty of us all, in our several stations, to use our best endea
vours for that end, so I heartily wish and pray, that you in
particular, who have it so greatly at heart, may be blessed
Avith health and strength to pursue and perfect all your de
signs in that way. " I am, Sir,
" Your very faithful friend and servant,
" EDM. LONDON,"
* The " World to Come," Second Part.

684 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.
"St. James's, Westminster, March 20, 1745.
" Sir, " I heartily thank God that he hath restored you to
a better state of health, and should not have permitted your
letter, Avhich brought me that good neAVS, to continue un
answered so long, if more than ordinary business had not
sometimes put it out of my power, and sometimes out of my
thoughts, to make you my acknowledgments for it. The
civilities for which you thank me are no more than a very
imperfect return of justice for the great services you have
done to religion ; and you have made a valuable addition to
them in the book you have now been pleased to send me,*
particularly by what you have written in so strong and awful,
yet so compassionate and good-natured a manner, in defence
of the scripture doctrine concerning the duration of future
punishments. " I pray God to continue you long in a capacity of being
still farther useful, and am with great regard, Sir,
" Your obliged humble servant,

FROM THE REV. JOHN SERGEANT.f
" Stockbridge, Nov. 8, 1745.
" Rev. Sir,
" By the favour of the Rev. Dr. Colman of Boston
I was some months ago informed, that by your kind and cha
ritable interposition a collection of money was put into his
* The " World to Come," Second Part.
f Mr. Sergeant was long employed as a missionary among the Indians, under the
patronage of the Society in Scotland for promoting Christian Knowledge, and the
Corporation of Harvard College. At Stockbridge, the seat of his labours, his minis-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 685
hands, to forward the design of a more effectual method of
educating the Indian children, which instance of your benefit
cence, though late, I noAv acknowledge with great pleasure
and thankfulness. From the too little success of the ordinary
means of instruction and cultivation, the necessity of some
such method appears more and more every day. The most
promising hopes we have are frequently blasted, and national
ill habits still prevail against all the opposition Ave can make,
and the rising generation too easily leam to tread in the
wrong steps of those who go before them. All their seeming
repentance and resolutions of amendment are Aveak and inef
fectual, and rarely sufficient to withstand the force of national
custom and too general example. Where idleness is a national
habit, vice in every shape, it is to be feared, will always
prevail with fatal success. The grace of God can indeed
overcome all opposition, and without his blessing the best
means will prove ineffectual; but yet the means are to be
used, and it is a divine observation, ' Train up a child in the
way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from
it;' and in universal experience it is found, that open and
scandalous wickedness will be predominant where national
customs are not corrected by early discipline. The truth is,
try was particularly useful. One ofthe young Indians he had instructed, named
John Wauwaumpequunnaunt, acted for some time as Brainerd's interpreter. In the
journal of that indefatigable man Mr. Sergeant is frequently mentioned. They
studied the Indian tongue together, Kaunaumeek, where Braiuerd was stationed,
being only twenty miles from Stockbridge. Upon his removal to the Forks of the
Delaware, his Indians left their settlement to be under Mr. Sergeant's care.
"Spent some time," says he in his journal, "in visiting friends, and discoursing
with my people (who were now moved down from their own place to Mr. Ser
geant's), and found them very glad to see me returned. Was exercised in my
mind with a sense of my own uuworthiness.
"Lord's Day, April 29th. Preached for Mr. Sergeant both parts of the day,
from Rev. xiv. 4. These are they which were not defiled, t(c. Enjoyed some
freedom in preaching, though not much spirituality. In the evening my heart
was in some measure lifted up in thankfulness to God for any assistance." There
is a letter "from President Edwards to the Honourable Thomas Hubbard of Boston,
relative to the Indian school at Stockbridge, printed in the Collections of the Mass.
Historical Society, x. 142 — 154.

686 LIFE AND TIMES
Ave seem to labour almost in vain, unless we can have the
entire framing of their young ones in a well-ordered school,
Avhere industry and a regular manner of life may, by ex
ercise as well as instruction, be made habitual. Nor is it
easy for those Avho converse only Avith the politer part of
mankind to form any just notion of the degeneracy of those
Avho are brought up in the wild woods, and seem to learn
their manners from the beasts they hunt in the forests.
"As the design I have proposed is disinterested in its inten
tion, I hope it appears so to the world, and that in due time
that gracious Providence which provides for all will give it
effect. Your kind notice of it and encouragement to it is a good
omen of success. Your former beneficence has not I hope
been Avithout some good effect. Your Catechisms are taught
among us, and have learned to speak Indian.
"I long to see this proposed method of education put into
execution. Till that is done we have but a dull prospect of
success in all we can do for so wild and Avandering a people.
It would, I believe, meet with some encouragement in these
parts if the wars were happily ended. In the present situa
tion of affairs it is not thought adviseable to expend any
money, if we had enough to lay a foundation. If matters
may so be prepared now that we may be ready to enter upon
the execution of this design, as soon as it may be thought
convenient and safe to do it, it will be a great satisfaction to
me. Indeed we seem to gain ground so sloAvly in the present
method, that my resolution sometimes almost fails me, for the
expense and pains of their conversion seem almost labour lost,
so ineffectual their repentance and resolutions have hitherto
appeared. Of some few indeed, I thank God, I hope better
things. ToAvards them all it is my heart's desire and prayer
to God, that they may be saved, and my constant grief that
there are no more of whom I can hope well ; and if the method
proposed for their better education (if ever it be put into exe
cution) does not prove more effectual, we must I think con-

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 687
elude this people to be under some strange and awful curse of
heaven ; but till we have tried all that is in the power of hu
man means to do, we ought not perhaps to desert them as in
corrigible. If it shall please the great Saviour of the world
to make me instrumental to bring them into the fellowship
of the saints, and to the fulness of the stature of perfect men
in Christ, I shall esteem myself both honoured and happy.
"As your piety has already moved you to do something for
us, I hope in the midst of your other concerns you Avill still
remember this affair, and, as you have opportunity, recom
mend it to the notice and countenance of gentlemen of for
tune and piety.
"I heartily congratulate you, or the Avorld rather, upon the
recovery of your health, so as not to be only able to preach,
but to prepare and put things to the press, Avhich I hope Avill
be the means, by the blessing of God, to propagate that piety,
goodness, and candour, Avhich appear Avith so amiable a lustre
in your Avritings, from which (I speak it Avith thankfulness
to God, and to you his instrument) I myself and many others
have reaped so much benefit. When I hear of any thing of
Dr. Watts's coming abroad, I am impatient till I have read
it: nor will you, I hope, account it a flattery that I say with
many others, that I never read any thing of yours without
being made wiser and I hope better. That candour Avhich
shines in your writings is extremely Avanted in this day, at
least in this part of the world ; and, though I compliment
myself in saying it, it is Avhat gives me a peculiar relish for
your books, that with the strongest sentiments of piety to
God there is always joined the most extensive charity to men,
and an happy freedom from the bigotry of party opinions,
two things I hardly knoAV how to separate from the notion of
a truly Christian temper. I earnestly recommend myself to
your prayers, and am with great respect
" Your most obliged humble servant,
"JOHN SERGEANT."

688 LIFE AND TIMES
N.B. On the outside of this letter there is the following:
" Sir, "Two or three days past I wrote to you. This I
cover from Mr. Sergeaut, and it breathes his pious soul, and
will increase your esteem of him, as it does mine.
" Your affectionate brother and servant,
" BENJAMIN COLMAN."
FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
"Whitehall, Nov. 29, 1745.
"Good Sir,
"I am obliged to you for your favourable accept
ance of my Pastoral Letter. The tAvo things that may be
fairly pleaded in its favour are, that it was seasonable and
well meant.
" If it please God to deliver us once more from the terrible
judgment of popery, there will be a necessity of reviewing
the laws against it, and removing all appearances of rigour
beyond Avhat is apparently necessary to our OAvn future pre
servation. And when that is done, I think it may be very
right to enjoin the publication of them in the way you men
tion. At the same time, it will be highly fit to oblige papists
to renounce all such principles as are destructive of civil
society and of the government under which they live.
" I heartily wish you a better state of health ; and, consi
dering the great good you are doing out of the pulpit, you
may very Avell excuse yourself from going into it, under a
decay of strength, and with evident prejudice to your health.
I am with great truth,
"Sir, " Your faithful friend and servant,
"EDM. LONDON."

OP DR. ISAAC WATTS. 689
TO THE REV. PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D.D.
" Stoke Newington, Dec. 14, 1745.
"Dear Sir,
"I do not remember that I have yet given you
thanks for your Ordination Sermon at Norwich, with the
charge given to Mr. Tozer,* both of which are very pleasing
to me; and also the guard which you give to Mr. Tozer
against pernicious errors, though you express it, perhaps, too
tenderly. I am again engaged to thank you for your funeral
sermon for the brave Colonel Gardiner ; but you give me hopes
to see a much larger account of that great and good man's life
and conduct.
" I would hope the rebellion is near to its end ; and every
day we expect some decisive stroke.
"I should be glad if I could inform you of my better
health, for I cannot yet read or write but in a very imperfect
manner. May God long preserve your great usefulness,
though I cannot but fear your accepting too many trusts will
too much embarrass you, without a proportionable advantage.
" May the wisdom and grace of God be ever with you, is
the hearty prayer of, Sir,
" Your affectionate brother and humble servant,

FROM THE COUNTESS OF HERTFORD.
tev . _. "Percy Lodge, Nov. 15, 1747.
"Reverend Sir,
" The last time I troubled you with a letter, was to
return you thanks for your book on 'The Glory of Christ,' a
subject which can never be exhausted, or ever thought of with-
• Ordained co-pastor with the Rev. Thos. Scott over a congregational church in
Norwich in June, 1745.

690 LIFE AND TIMES
out calling for all the praise which our hearts are capable of in
our present imperfect state. My gratitude to you is again
awakened by the obligation I am under (and, indeed, the
whole Christian church) to you for giving Dr. Doddridge the
plan, and engaging him to write his excellent book of the
'Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.' I have read it
with the utmost attention and pleasure, and I would hope
with some advantage to myself, unless I should be so un
happy as to find the impression it has made on my heart Avear
off like the morning dew Avhich passeth away, which God in
his mercy avert.
"If you have a correspondence with him, I could wish
you would convey my thanks to him, and the assurance that I
shall frequently remember him in my humble (though weak)
addresses to the throne of Almighty Grace (and Avhich I
knoAV myself unworthy to look up to any otherAvise than
through the merits and sufferings of our blessed Saviour),
that he may go on to spread the knowledge and practice of
his doctrine, and that he may add numbers to tbe church,
and finally hear those blessed words, ' Well done, thou good
and faithful servant, enter thou into thy Master's joy.'
" I cannot help mentioning to you the manner of this book
falling into my hands, as I think there was something provi
dential in it. About four months ago my poor Lord had so
totally lost his appetite, that his physician thought it neces
sary for him to go to Bath. I Avas not a moment in doubt
Avhether I should attend him there, because I kneAV it was
my duty, and besides I could not have been easy to be absent
when I hoped my care might be of some use ; yet I under
took the journey with a Aveight upon my spirits, and a
reluctance which is not to be described, though I concealed
it from him. Since the great affliction* Avith Avhich it pleased
* The Countess appears to have felt severely the death of her son, to which she
here refers. When Duchess of Somerset she speaks of him in a letter, dated 1 754,
as " promising all that the fondest wishes of the fondest parents could hope; an

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 691
Almighty God to visit me by the death of a most valuable
and only son, I found myself happiest in almost an entire
retreat from the world; and being of a sudden called into a
place Avhere I remembered to have seen the utmost of its
hurry and vanity exerted, terrified my imagination to the last
degree, and I shed tears every time I Avas alone at the
thoughts of what I expected to encounter ; yet this dreaded
change has, by the goodness of God, proved one of the happi
est periods in my life, and I can look back upon no part of it
with greater thankfulness and satisfaction. I had the comfort
to see my Lord Hertford recovering his health by the use of
those waters as fast as I could hope for. I found it Avas no
longer necessary (as formerly, to avoid giving offence) to be
always or frequently in company ; I enjoyed the conversation
of tAvo worthy old friends Avhom I did not expect to meet
honour to his family, au ornament to his country ; with a heart early attached to
all the duties of religion and society ; with the advantage of strong and unin
terrupted health joined to a form which, when he came into Italy, made him more
generally known by the name of the 'English angel' than by that of his family. 1
know this account may look like a mother's fondness ; perhaps it was too much
so once ; but, alas ! it now only serves to show the uncertainty aud frailty of all
human dependence. This justly beloved child was snatched from us before we
could hear of his illness : that fatal disease, the small-pox, seized him at Bologna,
aud carried him off the evening of his birth-day, Sept. 11, 1744, on which he had
completed nineteen years. Two posts before I had a letter from him, written with
all the life and innocent cheerfulness inherent to his nature ; the next but one
came from his afflicted governor, to acquaint his unhappy father that he had lost
the most dutiful and best of sons, the pride and hope of his declining age. He
bore the stroke like a wise man aud a Christian, but never forgot nor ceased to sigh
for it. A long series of pain and infirmity, which was daily gaining ground, showed
me the sword which appeared suspended over my head by an almost cobweb thread
long before it dropped." Alluding to the death of both her husband aud son,
she observes, writing to Lady Luxborough, Sept. 9, 1750, "You are very obli
ging iu the concern you express for the scenes of sorrow I have passed through.
I have indeed suffered deeply; but, when 1 consider it is the will of God, who
never chastises his poor creatures but for their good, and reflect at the same time
how unworthy 1 was of these blessings which I now lament the loss of, I lay my
hand upon my mouth, and dare not repine, but hope 1 can with truth appeal to
him iu the following words : Questo afi'ano ei su che, non si oppoue al suo santo
voler : ch'io gemo e gli offero tutti i gemiti miei ch'io rango et in tanto benedico il
suonome in mezzo del' pianto." "Such sorrow is sent that none may oppose his
holy will. Let me sigh, and offer up all my sighs to him ! Let me mourn, and in
the mean time bless hisuame in the midst of my sorrow !"

692 LIFE AND TIMES
there ; and had an opportunity of renewing my acquaintance
with Lady Huntingdon, and admiring that truly Christian
spirit which seems to animate the whole course of her life ;
and as I seldom went out I read a great deal, and Frederick,
the bookseller, used to send the new books which he received
on the wagon nights, of Avhich I kept what I chose, and sent
back the rest. One night he sent me an account of some re
markable passages relating to the Life of Colonel Gardiner ;
as I had known this gentleman in his unconverted state, and
often heard with admiration the sudden and thorough change
of his conduct for many years, it gave me a curiosity to read a
book which seemed to promise me some information upon that
subject. I was so touched with the account given of it, that
I could not help speaking of it to almost every body I saAV ;
among others, the dowager Lady Hyndford came to make me
a visit in the morning, and as I knew she was of his country,
and had lived much in it, I began to talk to her of the book,
and happened to name the author. Upon Avhich she said she
would believe Avhatever he wrote, for he Avas a truly good
man, and had wrote upon the ' Rise and Progress of Religion
in the Soul,' in a manner which she was sure Avould please
me. She gave me the title in writing, and I bought the book
the day before I left Bath. I have now been at home three
weeks, and have already had the pleasure to engage several
others to read it, who I hope Avill think of it as I do. I would
not wish to trouble you to Avrite to me yourself, but a letter
from your amanuensis to let me know how you enjoy your
health, and whether you are still carrying on some work of
your pen, to the glory of our great Master, would be a very
sincere pleasure to me. Let me beg to be remembered in
your prayers, for I am every day more sensible of the imper
fection of my own, and yet I hope my heart is sincere in its
desire that it may be brought to a perfect conformity and sub
mission to the will of my heavenly Father.
" My Lord Hertford always mentions you with regard, and

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 693
will be glad of your acceptance of the assurance of his friend
ship. " I am, Avith an affectionate esteem, Sir,
"Your most faithful and obliged humble servant,
" HERTFORD."

FROM THE SAME.
"Percy Lodge, Dec. 3, 1747.
" Sir, " I have received the valuable book* you was so
good as to send me, and though I have from some necessary
interruptions been able to read only about half of it, I am so
much pleased with those admirable discourses, that I cannot
be easy any longer to defer my sincere thanks for the satisfac
tion I have already received from them.
"It is much to be lamented that the modern preachers in
our church indulge themselves and their hearers with cold,
though well-penned, essays of morality, as it were forgetting
that the only anchor of our salvation is the merits of Jesus
Christ, who laid doAvn his life to redeem us from the slavery
of sin and Satan. It is by this fashionable way of preaching
that I am afraid many serious people are led into the unhappy
mistake of trusting to their own righteousness, and find it a
hard lesson to rank themselves with the sinners of this world.
" My Lord desires to assure you of his sincere regards, and
I am with the most cordial esteem and gratitude, Sir,
" Your most obliged and faithful humble servant,
" F. HERTFORD.
" Sir Hugh Smithson and Lady Betty have been in town
some time, but I will let them know your kind remembrance
of them." • The " Evangelical Discourses."

694 LIFE AND TIMES
FROM THE REV. JAMES HERVEY.
" Weston Fa veil, Dec. 10, 1747.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" Pardon me if I take leave to interrupt your impor
tant studies for the good of mankind, or suspend for one mo
ment your delightful communion with the blessed God. I
cannot excuse myself without expressing my gratitude for the
present by your order lately transmitted from your bookseller,*
which I shall always value, not only for its instructive con
tents, but in a very peculiar manner for the sake of the author
and giver.
" To tell you, Avorthy Doctor, that your works have long
been my delight and study, the favourite pattern by Avhich I
Avould form my conduct and model my style, would be only
to echo back in the faintest accents what sounds in the gene
ral voice of the nation. Among other of your edifying com
positions I have reason to thank you for your Sacred Songs,
which I have introduced into the service of my church ; so
that in the solemnities of the sabbath, and in a lecture on the
week-day, your muse lights up the incense of our praise, and
furnishes our devotions with harmony.
" Our excellent friend, Dr. Doddridge, informs me of the
infirm condition of your health, for which reason I humbly
beseech the Father of Spirits, and the God of our life, to re
new your strength as the eagle's, and to recruit a lamp that
has shone with distinguished lustre in his sanctuary ; or, if
this may not consist with the counsels of unerring wisdom, to
make all your bed in your languishing, softly to untie the
cords of animal existence, and enable your dislodging soul to
pass triumphantly through the valley of death, leaning on your
beloved Jesus and rejoicing in the greatness of his salvation.
"The Discourses " On the Glory of Christ, as God-Man."

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 695
" You have a multitude of names to bear on your breast,
and mention with your lips, when you approach the throne
of grace in the beneficent exercise of intercession; but none I
am sure has more need of such an interest in your supplica
tions, none I believe can more highly esteem it, or more ear
nestly desire it, than, dear Sir,
" Your obliged and affectionate humble servant,
" JAMES HERVEY."

696 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XVIII.
1748.
DEATH AND CHARACTER.

STATE OF MIND. — REM ARKS OF DR. GIBBONS. — CONVERSATION WITH
LADY ABNEY, MR. PARKER, AND DR. STENNET — REPORTED INTER
VIEW WITH MR. WHITFIELD FALSE. — THE AUTUMN OF 1748. — MR.
PARKER'S LETTER TO DR. DODDRIDGE:— TO MR. ENOCH WATTS.—
VARIOUS PARTICULARS.— DEATH OF DR. WATTS:— FUNERAL IN BUN-
HILL FIELDS:— ORATION BY DR. CHANDLER.— DR. GROSVENOR.— MONU
MENTAL INSCRIPTION. — FUNERAL SERMON BY DR. JENNINGS. — PER
SONAL APPEARANCE:— ANECDOTE.— CHARACTER AS A WRITER:— DR.
JOHNSON'S ESTIMATE.— CHARACTER AS A PREACHER:— SUPERIOR TO
DR. FOSTER.— USEFUL TO HIS FATHER'S SERVANT. — HIS CONVERSA
TION.— HIS PERSONAL CHARACTER. — REMARKS OF DR. KNOX:— DR.
JOHN MILNER.— LINES BY REV. MOSES BROWNE AND REV. BENJAMIN
SOWDEN.

The closing scene of Dr. Watts's life was worthy of his
long and honourable career. While he exhibited the sus
taining influence of religion by his patient submission to
painful chastisement, he exemplified its sublime and exhila
rating hopes by his joyful confidence in the prospect of death.
As his day was eminently bright and useful, so the evening
was remarkably serene and happy. With a mind perfectly
composed he contemplated his approaching dissolution ; with
out the least anxiety he conversed about the event to those
around him, and calmly aAvaited the stroke that might be
daily expected. In " full age and hoary holiness" he was
ripe for the tomb and ready for the skies.
" I never could discover," says Dr. Gibbons, " though I
was frequently with him, the least shadow of a doubt as to his

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 697
future everlasting happiness, or any thing that looked like an
unwillingness to die. How have I knoAvn him recite Avith a
self-application those Avords in Heb. x. 36; 'Ye have need
of patience, that after ye have done the will of God ye may
receive the promise !' And how have I heard him, upon
leaving the family after supper and withdraAving to rest, de
clare Avith the sweetest composure, that if his Master Avere to
say to him he had no more Avork for him to do, he should be
glad to be dismissed that night ! I once heard him say," he
remarks further, " Avith a kind of impatience, perhaps such as
might in some degree trespass upon that submission Ave ought
at all times to pay to the divine Avill, ' I wonder Avhy the
great God should continue me in life, when I am incapable
of performing him any further service.' "* The exhaustion
of his animal spirits might prompt such an expression of
feeling as this ; but notAvithstanding, Dr. Jennings observes
in his funeral sermon, " the active and sprightly powerg of
his nature failed him for two or three years before his decease,
his trust in God through Jesus the Mediator remained unsha
ken to the last."t
To Lady Abney and the members of the family he Avould
frequently say, "I bless God I can lie down Avith comfort at
night, not being solicitous whether I awake in this world or
another." And again, " I should be glad to read more, yet
not in order to be confirmed more in the truth of the Christian
religion, or in the truth of its promises, for I believe them
enough to venture an eternity on them." When he Avas almost
worn out and broken down by his infirmities he observed, in
conversation with a friend, that he remembered an aged mi
nister used to say, that the most learned and knowing Chris
tians, when they come to die, have only the same plain promi-
sesof the gospelfor their support, as the common and uulearned ;
" and so," said he, " I find it. They are the plain promises of
* Gibbons' s Life. f Jennings's Sermon, p. 33'.

698 LIFE AND TIMES
the gospel Avhich are my support, and I bless God they are
plain promises, Avhich do not require much labour or pains to
understand them ; for I can do nothing now but look into my
bible for some promise to support me, and live upon that."
When he found his spirit tending to impatience, and ready
to complain, he would thus check himself: "The business
of a Christian is to bear the will of God as Avell as to do it. If
I were in health I could only be doing that, and that I may
do now. The best thing in obedience is a regard to the will
of God, and the Avay to that is to get our inclinations and
aversions as much mortified as we can." The following ex
pressions were minuted down by Mr. Parker from his lips :
" I would be Avaiting to see Avhat God will do with me. It is
good to say as Mr. Baxter, ' What, when, and where God
pleases.' If God should raise me up again I may finish some
more of my papers, or God can make use of me to save a soul,
and that Avill be Avorth living for. If God has no more ser
vice for me to do, through grace, I am ready. It is a great
mercy to me that I have no manner of fear or dread of death :
I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without ter
ror, this afternoon or night. My chief supports are from my
view of eternal things, and the interest I have in them : I
trust all my sins are pardoned through the blood of Christ. I
have no fear of dying ; it would be my greatest comfort to lie
down and sleep and wake no more."
Dr. Stennett called upon him a fe\v months before his death,
when his discourse was most devout and heavenly, and he par
ticularly spoke of our dependence on Christ, observing, that
"if we parted Avith hiin what would become of our hopes?"
About the same time, or nearer his dissolution, Dr. Gibbons
came into his study, fouud him alone, and sat down for con
versation with him. With high pleasure he spoke concerning
the scripture method of salvation. Not a Avord did he say of
what he had been or had done in life, but his soul seemed to
be swallowed up with gratitude and joy for the redemption of

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 699
sinners by Jesus Christ. " I have reason to regret," he states,
"that, upon leaving his company, I did not commit to Avriting
the very words in which he expressed himself, but my recol
lection sufficiently serves me to authenticate this anecdote ; and,
perhaps, in all his days he Avas never in a frame of mind in
which he more fully answered the description of the apostle
Peter, when he says, referring lo our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet.
i. 8), ' Whom, having not seen, ye love ; in Avhom, though
now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un
speakable and full of glory.' "
When confined to his room, no more to leave it but for the
o-rave, Dr. Gibbons, Avho visited bim, relates, " I found him
exceedingly Aveak aud low, the lamp of life very feebly glim
mering in its last decay, but he was still in the perfect pos
session of his understanding. He told me, in answer to my
inquiry whether he had any pain in his body, that he had
none, and acknoAvledged it as a great mercy. To my second
question, how it was Avith his soul, whether all was comfortable
there, he replied, it was, and confessed it to be a great mercy."*
The autumn of 1748 found him reduced to a state of great

"There is a relation in Toplady's Narrative, concerning the last hours of Dr.
Watts, which Dr. Gibbons pronounces a fabulous story. It is to the effect, that
"little more than half an hour before Dr. Watts expired he was visited by his dear
friend, Mr. Whitfield. The latter asking hiin how he found himself, the dying
Doctor answered, ' Here am I, one of Christ's waiting servants.' Soon after
a medicine was brought in, and Mr. A-Vhitfield assisted in raising him up upon
the bed, that he might with more conveniency take the draught. On the Doctor's
apologising for the trouble he gave Mr. Whitfield, the latter replied with, his
usual amiable politeness, 'Surely, my dear brother, I am not too good to wait on a
waiting servant of Christ.' Soon after Mr. Whitfield took his leave, and often
regretted since that he had not prolonged his visit, which he would certainly have
done could he have foreseen that his friend was but within half an hour's distance
from the kingdom of glory." "The whole of this story," says Gibbous, "is fictitious;
for Mr. Whitfield never visited the Doctor in his last illness or confinement, nor
had any conversation or interview with him for some months before his decease.
It were to be wished that greater care was practised by the writers of other persons'
lives, that illusions might not take place aud obtain the regards of truth, and
lay historians who come after them under the unpleasing necessity of dissolving
their figments, and thereby in consequence evincing to the world how little credit
is due to their relations."

700 LIFE AND TIMES
feebleness, accompanied Avith much pain of body. His last
illness commenced in the early part of November, and confin
ed him to his chamber for about three weeks. During this
period he Avas able to sit up almost every day three or four
hours, but had only strength to express himself at intervals.
Lady Abney and Mr. Parker, his amanuensis, assiduously
attended his dying bed, in tears on account of their loss, in
joy anticipating his gain. On the morning of Monday, No-1
vember the 21st, he wanted much to get up, but an hour ex
hausted him, and he lay down again for the last time. His
physician, Dr. Clark, was with him the next day, and re
marked to the family that he was going off apace.
" Through the goodness of God," Mr. Parker writes to- Dr.
Doddridge, Nov. 22nd, " he lay tolerably easy, and fell into a
doze, in which he spent the night. He Avould not receive any
cordial, but half a spoonful once or twice ; took no notice of
any body, yet ansAvered rationally when any question Avas
asked. I fulfilled your request last night at five o'clock ; he
took notice of it, but in such broken language that I cannot
inform you in what manner. I never knew his mind any
other than calm and peaceful; and so it will remain, I trust,
to the time of his departure, which Ave think must take place
in a feAv hours, at least before it is possible this can reach your
hands. And I doubt not he will have a triumphant entrance
into the heavenly kingdom of his Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, after almost fifty years of painful yet delightful and
successful labour for the gospel of Christ, and in the seventy-
fifth of his age.
" I can say no more, only I would request a letter from you
to my Lady, Avho cannot but be much affected, as we all are,
upon this melancholy occasion. I should be thankful if you
would put up one petition for me, who am so soon to be be
reaved of the best of masters and kindest of friends, whom I
have served upwards of twenty-one years, and have it noAv to

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 701
bewail that I have improved no more by such an uncommon
favour of Providence."
On Thursday the 24th he Avrote to Mr. Enoch Watts at
Southampton as folloAVS : — "I Avrote to you by the last post
that Ave apprehended my master very near his end, and that
we thought it not possible he should be alive Avhen the letter
reached your hands ; and it Avill no doubt greatly surprise you
to hear that he still lives. We ourselves are amazed at it. He
passed through the last night in the main quiet and easy, but
for five hours Avould receive nothing within his lips. I Avas
down in his chamber early in the morning, and found him
quite sensible. I begged he would be pleased to take a little
liquid to moisten his mouth, and he received at my hand three
tea-spoonfuls, and has done the like several times this day.
Upon inquiry he told me he lay easy, and his mind was peace
ful and serene. I said to him this morning, that he had taught
us how to live, and Avas noAv teaching us how to die by his
patience and composure, for he has been remarkably in this
frame for several days past. He replied, ' Yes.' I told him
I hoped he experienced the comfort of these words, ' I. Avill
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' He answered, ' I do.'
The ease of body and calmness of mind which he enjoys is a
great mercy to him and to us. His sick chamber has nothing
terrifying in it. He is an upright man, and I doubt not but
his end will be peace. We are ready to use the words of Job;
and say, ' We shall seek him in the morning, but he shall not
be.' But God only knows, by whose power he is upheld in
life, and for Avise purposes no doubt. He told me he liked I
should be with him. All other business is put off, and I am
in the house night and day. I would administer all the relief
that is in my power. He is worthy of all that can be done for
bim. I am your very faithful and truly afflicted servant,
"JOSEPH PARKIER."

702 LIFE AND TIMES
The next day, Friday, Nov. 25th, in the afternoon, aged
seventy-four years, four months, and eight days, Dr. Watts
bid farewell to the abodes of mortality, and peacefully resigned
his spirit into the hands of his Creator.* The intelligence
was communicated to his brother Enoch by Mr. Parker : —
" Nov. 26th. At length the fatal news is come. The spirit
of the good man, my dear master, took its flight from the body
to worlds unseen and joys unknown, yesterday in the afternoon,
Avithout a struggle or a groan. My Lady Abney and Miss
Abney are supported as well as we can reasonably expect. It
is a house of mourning and tears, for I have told you before
noAv, that Ave all attended upon him and served him from a
principle of love and esteem. May God forgive us all that
Ave have improved no more by him while Ave enjoyed him !"
Dr. Gibbons remarks, " May I take the liberty of adding,
that I saAV the corpse of this excellent man in his coffin, and
observed nothing more than death in its aspect. The counte
nance appeared quite placid, like a person fallen into a gentle
sleep, or such as the spirit might be supposed to leave behind
it upon its willing departure to the celestial happiness."
Dr. Watts in his willf directed, that his remains should be
interred in Bunhill Fields, deep in the earth, among the relics
of many of his pious fathers and brethren, whom he had
known in the flesh, and with Avhom he Avished to be found in
the resurrection. He ordered that the ceremony should be
performed with as little shoAV as possible, and expressly en
joined no rings to be given. In order that his grave might
read a lecture of that moderation which his life had exempli
fied and his pen had advocated, he desired that his funeral
* The event is thus recorded in the Gent. Mag. "Nov. 25, Isaac Watts, D. D.
a truly ingenious and accomplished person, as well in polite literature as divinity
and the sciences, of whieh his writings as well poetical as prosaic abundantly
testify, and no less exemplary for candour, piety, and solid virtue. He was a
a dissenting minister, but honoured by all parties." Obit.
\ Appendix J.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS 703
should be attended by two Independent ministers, tAvo Pres
byterian, and two Baptist.
On Monday, Dec. 5th, the body was laid in its final resting-
place, in the presence of an immense number of spectators.
The oration at the tomb Avas delivered by tbe Rev. Samuel
Chandler, D. D. and afterwards printed. " We here commit
to the ground," said the speaker,, " the venerable remains of
one Avho, being intrusted with many excellent talents by Him
who is the giver of every good and perfect gift, cheerfully and
unweariedly employed them as a faithful steward of the mani
fold grace of God in his Master's service, approving himself
as a minister of Christ in much patience, in afflictions, and
distresses, by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by
kindness, by love unfeigned, by the Avoid of truth, by the ar
mour of righteousness, by honour and dishonour, by evil re
port and good report; and who, amidst trials from within and
from without, Avas continued by the kind providence of God,
and the powerful supports of his grace, to a good old age,
honoured and beloved by all parties, retaining his usefulness
till he had just finished his course, and being at last favoured,
according lo his own wishes and prayers, with a release from
the labours of life into that peaceful state of good men which
commences immediately after death. O, how delightful is
that voice from heaven Avhich has thus pronounced, ' Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord : Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labours, and their works folloAV them !' "
In returning from the funeral Dr. Benjamin Grosvenor was
accosted by a friend as follows : " Well, Doctor, you have
seen the end of Dr. Watts, and must soon follow him. What
think you of death ?" "Think of it?" replied he; "why Avhen
death comes I shall smile on him, if God smile on me."
To prevent the laboured panegyric that partial friends might
have inscribed upon his tomb-stone, Dr. Watts composed his

704 LIFE AND TIMES
OAvn humble epitaph. This appears upon a handsome mo
nument over his grave :
il Isaac Watts, D. D. pastor of a church of Christ in Lon
don, successor to the Rev. Mr. Joseph Caryl, Dr. John OAven,
Mr. David Clarkson, and Dr. Isaac Chauncey, after fifty years
of feeble labours in the gospel, interrupted by four years of
tiresome sickness, was at last dismissed to his rest —
" In uno Iesu omnia.
" 2 Cor. v. 8. Absent from the body, and present with the
Lord. " Col. iii. 4. When Christ, who is my life, shall appear,
then shall I also appear Avith him in glory."
" This monument, on which the above modest inscription
is placed, by order of the deceased, was erected, as a small
testimony of regard to his memory, by Sir John Hartopp,
Bart., and Dame Mary Abney." There is also a monument
to his memory in Westminster Abbey.
As no directions were given by Dr. Watts with reference to
his funeral sermon, Mr. Price, his colleague, was requested to
undertake that service, but his feelings would not allow him
to venture upon it ; and Dr. David Jennings was, therefore,
solicited to improve the event. On Monday, Dec. 11th, he
preached to the congregation of the deceased in Bury Street,
from Heb. xi. 4 : "By it, he being dead, yet speaketh" — a
discourse which Avas printed at the request of the bereaved
church. " It is with peculiar propriety," says the preacher,
" that these words may be applied to the present occasion, and
I may say, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears;'
fpr he, Avhose death Ave are now called to improve, may be
considered as yet speaking to you, not only by the example of
his life, the instructive remembrance of which will, I hope,

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 705
be always dear to you, but also by his many excellent Avri
tings ; on account of which, if I am not greatly deceived, the
same thing will be said of him in far-distant ages that is said
of Abel in our text, that ' he, being dead, yet speaketh.' While
heisnoAV celebrating the honours of God and of the Lamb, in
the new songs of heaven, hoAV many thousands of pious wor
shippers are this day lifting up their hearts to God in the sa
cred songs that he taught them upon earth! Though his
' voice' is not any longer heard by us, yet his ' words,' like
those of the day and night, are ' gone out to the end of the
world.' America and Europe still hear him speak, and it is
highly probable they may continue to do so till Europe and
America shall be no more."
The personal appearance of Dr. Watts was not such as to
command attention ; though by no means disagreeable, it Avas
certainly not prepossessing. His stature was beneath the
common standard, perhaps not above five feet, or at most five
feet two inches, but without any thing like a deformity in his
frame. His body Avas spare and lean, his face oval, his nose
aquiline, his complexion fair and pale, his forehead low, his
cheek bones rather prominent. The expression of his coun
tenance was heavy in the absence of any exciting cause : an
indifferent spectator Avould never have singled out the man of
genius in the crowd. His eyes were small and grey, and, when
attentive or eager, piercing and expressive. The anecdote is
well knoAvn, that being once in a coffee-room Avith some
friends, he over-heard a gentleman remark contemptuously of
his appearance, "What ! is that the great Dr. Watts ?" With
admirable presence of mind and great good-humour he turned
round and repeated one of his own stanzas :
"Were I so tall to reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean with a span,
I must be measur'd by my soul —
The mind's the standard of the man.'1'
But whatever might be his personal deficiencies, they were

706 LIFE AND TIMES
amply compensated by his intellectual acquirements. The
natural strength of his genius he cultivated and improved by
an extensive range of reading and close application to study.
He had all the qualifications which usually insure success in
the acquisition of knowledge. His judgment Avas exact, his
taste discriminating, his industry indefatigable, his memory
retentive. He once repeated to Dr. Gibbons, when in ad
vanced life, some verses from Juvenal with the readiness of an
Etonian — a Avriter he acknowledged he had not read since
his younger days. In fine, the close thinking of the philoso
pher, was united to the rich fancy of the poet and the sober
and devout vieAvs of the divine. " Though that Avhich gave
him the most remarkable pre-eminence, was the extent and
sublimity of his imagination ; yet hoAV few have excelled or
even equalled him in quickness of apprehension and solidity
of judgment!" As a writer no man has a greater posthumous claim upon
the respect of his countrymen and the gratitude of the church.
In little more than forty years he produced fifty-two distinct
publications, some of them voluminous, and all, Avith one or
two exceptions, the result of great labour. It is not, however,
upon any one production of surpassing excellence that Dr.
Watts's fame as an author rests : his name derives its chief
distinction from the versatility of his genius, and the variety
of his attainments. His soul was too large and noble to be
confined Avithin narrow limits. He could not be content to
leave any path of learning untried, nor to rest in total igno
rance of any science, the knowledge of Avhich might be for
his oavii improvement, or might in any Avay tend to enlarge
his capacity of being useful to others. Hence, he investigated
theology in all its branches — he examined nature in all her
Avorks — and he pursued philosophy lo her profoundest mys
teries. He has Avritten for childhood, youth, maturity, and
hoary hairs — he has instructed the sage, the Christian, and
the " multitude who keep holy day" — he has benefitted all

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 707
ages, and been taught to speak in almost all languages. " I
question," says Dr. Jennings, " Avhether any author before
him did ever appear Avith reputation on such a variety of sub
jects as he has done, both as a prose writer and as a poet.
However, this I may venture to say, that there is no man now
living of whose Avorks so many have been dispersed both at
home and abroad, that are in such constant use, and transla
ted into such a variety of languages ; many of which, I doubt
not, Avill remain more durable monuments of his great talents,
than any representation I can make of them, though it Avere
to be given on pillars of brass." The estimate of his literary
character by Dr. Johnson is, upon the whole, as just as it is
beautiful : " Few men have left behind such purity of charac
ter, or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided
instruction for all ages, from those Avho are lisping their first
lessons to the enlightened readers of Malbranche and Locke ;
he has left neither corporeal nor spiritual natures unexamined ;
he has taught the art of reasoning and the science of the stars.
His character, therefore, must be formed from the multiplicity
and diversity of his attainments, rather than from any single
performance; for it would not be safe to claim for him the
highest rank in any single denomination of literary dignity ;
yet perhaps there was nothing in Avhich he would not have
excelled, if he had not divided his poAvers to different pur
suits." As a preacher he ranked high among his contemporaries;
his printed discourses establish his claim to eminence in this
respect. He carefully adapted himself to the meanest capa
city, yet never in such a Avay as to offend the educated and
refined. There was always a rich vein of good sense and
profitable instruction in his sermons, adorned with occasional
gleams of vivid imagination. Though the antinomians
raised against him the senseless cry of legality, yet he pro
claimed with unabated earnestness the duties as Avell as the
blessings of the gospel, and advanced the threatenings of the

708 LIFE AND TIMES
Lord with the free offers of his grace. He ever kept in
mind the great object of his office, " to feed the church of
God" — not to amuse the idle, to please the curious, or to
gratify the learned. " It is no Avonder," say Dr. Jennings,
"that a man so richly furnished Avith gifts and graces, was
an admired preacher: Avhen he spoke such strains of truly
Christian eloquence flowed from his lips, and these so ap
parently animated Avith zeal for God and the most tender
concern for souls and their everlasting salvation, as one
would think could not be easily slighted or resisted." He
had a highly respectable and very numerous auditory. The
congregation at Bury Street, Avhich Avas small at the com
mencement of his ministry, increased considerably under his
care, and many additions were made to the church of those
Avho were " his glory and joy."
In the pulpit he had none of the advantages of imposing
person, commanding voice, or elegant gesticulation. It
might truly be said, that his bodily presence was weak. He
made use of little or no action. His voice Avas rather too fine
and slender, but regular, audible, and musical. But in spite
of his low stature his appearance Avhen preaching is said to
have been remarkably dignified : his manner Avas unaffectedly
grave and solemn. He seldom quoted poetry, a habit gene
rally characteristic of indolence or mental poverty. His
enunciation Avas distinct, accurate, and easy, always pleasing
by its cadence, but impressive when the subject required it.
"I once," says Dr. Johnson, "mentioned the reputation
Avhich Mr. [Dr.] Foster had gained by his proper delivery to
ray friend Dr. HaAvkes worth, who told me that in the art
of pronunciation he Avas far inferior to Dr. Watts." His
general mode of sermonising was to prepare an outline of his
subject, which he took with him into the pulpit, and trusted
to his extemporary powers to fill up the sketch. In early
life he prepared with greater care, and almost entirely pre-
composed his discourses. At the close of his sentences, when.

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 709
any thing more than ordinarily important Avas treated of, he
frequently paused a little, to give his hearers opportunity for
reflection. With a boundless fertility of imagination, and
complete command of language, he Avas never hurried, seldom
vehement. He maintained a perpetual control over himself
and his subject. In younger life his periods were prolix
and involved, his style was too diffuse and luxuriant, but
these defects by a little care and attention he at length con
quered. Dr. Gibbons says, "I once asked him whether in his
preaching he did not find himself sometimes too much awed by
his auditory. He told me, that when such a man, mentioning
a gentleman of eminent abilities and learning, has come into
the assembly, and taken his eye, that he has felt something
like a momentary tremor upon him, but that he recovered
himself by remembering Avhat God said to the prophet Jere
miah, chap. i. 17: 'Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I
confound thee before them.' In prayer it might perhaps
be truly said, that he excelled himself. It was throughout
an address to Deity, not in florid expressions, but in easy and
unadorned language, and rather short and weighty periods.
There was an extent in his addresses to Deity, which com
prehended every proper subject, and at the same time such a
brevity, though not so as to be disagreeably or affectedly sen
tentious, in the representation of each of them, that at the con
clusion of his prayer a hearer might find himself at a loss to
conceive what more or less could have been said. The like
pauses between sentence and sentence were observed by him
in prayer which he observed in preaching, if they were not
rather longer."
" To stated and public instruction he added familiar visits
and personal application, and was careful to improve the op
portunities which conversation offered of diffusing and in
creasing the influence of religion."* When visiting his people
* Dr. Johnson.

710 LIFE AND TIMES
in the discharge of pastoral duty, he usually took Avith him a
number of religious tracts, to present to the younger members
of their families. The Rev. Mr. Kingsbury of Southampton
related the following to Dr. Gibbons, as he received it from
the mouth of the son-in-law of the person : — " Mr. Richard
Ellcock was a servant in old Mr. Watts's family. Dr. Watts
going to London after the last time of his visiting his father at
Southampton, Richard Ellcock was ordered to go Avith him a
day's journey. The Doctor entered into serious discourse Avith
him, Avhich made a deep and lasting impression on his heart,
and Avas the means of his sound and saving conversion. After
he came to London he wrote to his father, recommending the
servant to his particular regard, for that he doubted not he
would make an eminent Christian ; and so he lived and died,
leaving an honourable character for piety and uprightness be
hind him. This is attested by many."
Fond of studious retirement, and devoted to his books, in
the early part of his career he seldom went much abroad.
Affliction aftenvards frequently rendered it impossible. But
in his seasons of health and vigour, when thrown into com
pany, and drawn out in conversation, his society Avas ahvays
interesting and profitable. His conversation Avas such as in
all respects became tbe man of wisdom and the man of God.
As he never discovered any thing like a high opinion of him
self, so neither did he show any disposition to traduce or de
preciate others. He had his opponents, and those Avho en
deavoured to represent him in the most disadvantageous light ;
but it Avas never observed, hoAvever much their treatment
might be felt, that it dreAv from him any unkind reflections,
any hostile remarks. In his common conversation he never
appeared to be at any loss for thought or expression. " Indeed,
no person," says Dr. Gibbons, " Avith Avhom I was ever ac
quainted, spoke with more ease, readiness, and elegance than
he did ; and, as his discourse floAved like a clear full stream
from an inexhaustible fountain, so it was very instructive and

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 711
entertaining. I have collected some proofs of this kind, the
much greater part of Avhich are taken from the register of my
own memory : — He observed, ' I could Avish young ministers
in the country might be allowed by their people to read a part
of Mr. Henry's exposition of the bible, or repeat a sermon
from some good author, one part of the Lord's day, as it is cer
tainly too much for them to compose two sermons a week so
early in life. — One of the darkest mysteries in providence is,
that God should suffer a Avorthless and Avicked man to have
the absolute dominion over nations of mankind. — Never mind
spoiling a Avell-turned period if you may but have the hope of
reaching a conscience. Polished and harmonious language
is oftentimes like oil flowing smoothly over marble, Avhich
leaves no traces behind it. — Poor mankind are like feeble riders
set on wild horses. The multitude go in a track, non qua
eundum est, sed qua itur, not where they should go, but where
others go. — I had rather be the author of Mr. Baxter's Call
to the Unconverted, than the author of Milton's Paradise Lost.
— It seems quite reasonable and fit, that there should be a ge
neral diffusion and reign of the gospel, and that for some con
siderable continuance before the end of time, as there has been
such a general dominion of sin and misery for so many ages
in our world. — It is an excellent observation of Thomas a,
Kempis, that it does not require much ingenuity to be a
Christian. — Should a heathen be convinced of his sins, hum
bly and penitentially confess them before God, and implore his
mercy, he would, in my opinion, be accepted of him, as he
was prepared for receiving grace, and only wanted the object
of faith to be revealed to him. —I look upon the apostle Paul
and Cicero to be the greatest geniuses that ever appeared in
our world. — Dr. Owen excelled as an experimental, and Mr.
Baxter as a practical divine.' When speaking of that passage
in Job, xii. 18, where it is said of the crocodile, that ' his eyes
are like the eye-lids of the morning,' ' In the morning,' said
he, 'you may sometimes observe, upon the edge of the hori-

712 LIFE AND TIMES
zon, a bright opening of the day, and above it a black scowl
ing cloud. The bright opening of the day is not unlike au
eye, and the incumbent cloud is not unlike an eye-lid ; and,
hence, the poetic ground for the expression. — In that cartoon
of Raphael's, where St. Paul is represented preaching at
Athens, the apostle is draAvn stretching out his hands to their
utmost length towards heaven, Avhile the people are held in
the most devout and deep attention below : I will tell you,'
said the Doctor, ' Avhat St. Paul is saying — Behold, he comes !'
— Of Young's Night Thoughts he pleasantly observed, that
they had too much of the darkness of the night in them."
His character displayed numerous and striking excellences.
Though his temper was naturally hasty, and rendered him
quick of resentment, yet he so far mastered his passions as to
be gentle, modest, and inoffensive in his established practice.
His great sensibility made it impossible for him not to feel
poignantly when maligned and misrepresented, as was fre
quently the case ; but though he might occasionally express
himself sharply, he never cherished malevolence or harboured
ill-will. To the tale of sorrow he was ever alive; his soul
sympathised with the distresses of others, and was attracted
by the " still sad music of humanity." During his residence
in the Abney family he constantly devoted a fifth (Dr. John
son says a third) part of his income, which Avas seldom more
than an hundred a year, to charitable purposes. Dr. Jennings,
who knew him Avell, gives the following rapid sketch in his
funeral sermon: " It is hard to say, Avhat grace or virtue was
most conspicuous in him, and most characteristic of him.
Pure and undissembled piety was the settled habit and con
stant dress of his mind. And though he loved and enjoyed
much retirement, yet did he not thereby contract any thing
of an affected stiffness or monkish austerity ; but, on the con
trary, the satisfaction and pleasure that he found in commu
nion with God in solitude, made him more easy and cheerful
in his converse Avith men, and seemed to enlighten his very

OF DR. ISAAC AVATTS. 713
countenance. His humility was like a deep shade, if I may so
express it, that set off his other graces and virtues, and made
them shine Avith a brighter lustre. Hence, flowed that con
descension and goodness, that humanity and kindness, Avhich
could not but endear him to all Avho had the pleasure of con
versing Avith him, and which rendered him venerable in a
much higher degree than all the honours he received from the
world. In close connexion with this were to be seen his
candour and charity, for Avhich he Avas remarkably eminent.
The love that gloAved in his heart to his Saviour, constrained
him cordially to embrace all Avhom he esteemed to be his ge
nuine disciples ; and no party names, nor variety of senti
ments in matters of doubtful disputation, nor of practice in
modes of worship, could divide him in affection from such as
he had reason to hope loved our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
Accordingly he maintained a free and friendly correspondence
Avith Christians of different parties and denominations.
Though he judged the principles of the moderate noncon
formists most favourable to Christian liberty and the rights of
conscience, and their forms of Avorship most agreeable to the
simplicity of the gospel ; yet he had a high veneration for the
persons and Avritings of many in the established church, as
many of them, both in higher and lower stations, bad for him
and his writings. And I speak it to the distinguished honour
and praise of some very reverend personages of that commu
nion, as well as to his, that they frequently presented him
with their Avorks and accepted of his in return ; on which, as
well as on other occasions, very serious and affectionate letters
have passed between them, for the strengthening of each
other's hands in the cause of our common Christianity."*
The following extracts will serve further to illustrate his
character, and show the high esteem in which he was held
by his contemporaries of every communion.

* Funeral Sermon, 29— 31.
z z

714 LIFE AND TIMES
Dr. Vicesimus Knox, in his Christian Philosophy, has the
following remark concerning him : " For my own part," says
he, " I cannot but think this good man approached as nearly
to Christian perfection as any mortal ever did in this sublu
nary state; and, therefore, I consider him as a better inter
preter of the Christian doctrine than the most learned critics,
who, proud of their reason and their learning, despised or
neglected the very life and soul of Christianity, the living,
everlasting gospel, the supernatural influence of divine grace :
and be it ever remembered, that Dr. Watts was a man who
studied the abstrusest sciences, and was as well qualified to
become a verbal critic, or a logical disputant on the Scrip
tures, as the most learned among the doctors of the Sor-
bonne, or the greatest proficients in polemical divinity. I
mention this circumstance for the consideration of those who
insinuate that the doctrines of grace cannot be entertained
but by ignorant, as Avell as fanatical persons, by persons
uninitiated in the mysteries of philosophy."
Dr. John Milner, the author of a sermon entitled
" The Rest and Reward of good men at Death, preached at
Peckam, Surry, Dec. 11, 1748, being the next Lord's Day
after the interment of that eminent, faithful, and useful min
ister of Jesus Christ, Dr. Isaac Watts," expresses himself
thus in a prefatory letter to a friend : " Whilst Dr. Watts
lived, he Avas an honour to the dissenters. His uncommon
genius, his polite taste, his pious and useful labours, should
endear his memory to those Avho had the credit and benefit
of them. A Aveak constitution too often confined him from
appearing in active life, yet this he compensated by his dili
gence in the contemplative. He did not retreat to indolence
and ease, under the favour of an honourable friendship, but
fully employed himself in finishing those plans he designed
for the good of mankind. The number of his Avorks just
published, and those he left behind him in manuscript, show
that he Avas diligent in his retirement, and animated in his

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 715
compositions by generous and social affections. His works
generally met with acceptance, as he wrote with ease and
elegance, and could, from the richness of his imagination, en
liven the most common subjects, and add a lustre to the most
interesting. His charity was very extensive to honest men
in different sentiments from himself. He firmly adhered to
Avhat he took to be truth, and as freely condemned error ; but,
at the same time, Avas ready to make allowance for human
weakness, and to consider the different sentiments among
Christians, if they did not eclipse the distinguishing glories of
our holy religion, and destroy its practical power and influ
ence, I say he could consider them as monuments of our
imperfection, and trials of our charity to one another."
ToAvards the close of his letter Dr. Milner adds, " Such
was Dr. Watts's Christian temper, that it disposed him to
friendship Avith persons of different denominations. Such
were his abilities aud labours, that he has acquired to his
name a kind of immortality on earth. His name will be
mentioned Avith respect while true vital religion preserves its
authority amongst us, while liberty and the gospel shall be
the honour of Great Britain. When we come to instruct our
young friends at home, or to praise God in our public assem
blies, the name of this excellent man will be repeated, who
has furnished us with such agreeable helps for both ; neither
will his name or worth be unknown to the schools of philo
sophy."*

* Funeral Sermon. Pref. iii. iv. vi. Dr. Doddridge, in a letter to Dr. Samuel
Clarke, observes, " I am much better pleased with Sir. Milner's Funeral Sermon
for Dr. Watts than with Mr. Jennings's. Mr. Gibbous's Elegiac Poem has un
doubtedly some very striking beauties, but I think it had been better had
Gabriel spoken less." The poem referred to is dedicated to Lady Abney, and cer
tainly has no claim to attention but as a memorial of friendship. Raphael is
the chief spokesman, but the whole angelic host is intioduced descending to listen
to Watts's " tuneful praises," and wondering
" How a spirit, cramp'd in clay,
Can rival tlleir devotion and their bliss."

716 LIFE AND TIMES
To the preceding testimonies, the two following poetical
pieces are worthy of heing added :

TO THE MEMORY OF THE REV. DR. ISAAC WATTS:

By the Rev. Moses Browne, Vicar of Olney, Buckinghamshire, a name well known by its
connexion with those of Cowper, Scott, and Newton.
"Thy funeral honours weeping friends have paid :
Peace to thine hallow'd dust, paternal shade !
Our thoughts those mournful images employ,
O lately ours, whom angels now enjoy !

The archangel in his speech addresses, I suppose, Dr. Gibbons, who had seated
himself on Parnassus to inhale the breezes ofthe poetic mount, and catch inspi
ration for the task of embalming the virtues of his frieud in immortal verse. The
divine at once concedes the poiut of precedence to his illustrious visiter, who
thus commences his lay :
" I was the guardian-angel of the saint,
That crowns thy numbers, from his nalal day
Till death's o'erwbelmning shadow fllos'd his sight.
I watch'd him in the various tracks of life,
His public labours, and retiring hours ;
And half-sustained him in the dangerous field
Of soothing flatteries and infernal storms;
Aud when his fated sands of time were run,
1 spread my starry pinion, and convey'd
His spirit, tow'ring from its ruin'd earth,
In glorious triumph through the roads of light,
To take its dwelling in congenial skies :
And now commission^ from the Throne, I come
T' unveil the heavenly treasures of his breast,
And kindle thine ambition's strong resolve,
To heir a sacred portion of his soul.
Be all attention to my just applause,
And stamp his living image on thy heart.1'
The doctor accordingly remains during this interesting tete a tete, all eye and ear
to the aDgel ; and Raphael thus finishes his song :
" These were his honours ; but should I attempt,
Distinct to count them o'er, their train would rise
Like stars that gild the unclouded arch of heaven,
Or beams that dart from the meridian sum
And why should I recite what thou hast seen
Refulgent from the life? and Hfe should leave
Th' eternal stamp on thy receptive mind."

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 717
Still flows the tear, which wisdom bids us blame ;
Self-love its weakness hides with sorrow's name :
For thee so blest in life, in death so blest,
Should ev'ry tear be dry'd, and plaint supprest,
Faith should her triumph o'er weak sense display:
Death was, dear saint, thy coronation-day.
Shall saints above their acclamations show,
And sadness damp the pomp from saints below?
Souls of one temper, one fraternal race,
One in communion, tbo' disjoiu'd iu space;
Yet these, so happy now, their toils and fears
Once knew, bewilder'd iu this vale of tears,
Known too by thee, how late 1 while here below,
O gentle shade, just freed from mortal woe.
How vast thy transient change ! — I see thee now —
Light robes thy form, and glory wreaths thy brow :
And hark ! I hear thee. O thy tuneful tongue !
Round the Lamb's blissful throne thou breath'st his song.
Rest in thy bliss. — Be ours thy life's essay,
Thy bright example leading all the way.
Thy labour'd volumes noblest fame shall give,
And through each age for its instruction live :
In ev'ry character thy merits shine,
Admir'd in each — saint, poet, sage, divine :
To thee heav'u's largest trust of talents fell,
So humbly all possess'd, and us'd so well !
" Adieu — till thy short sleep be past—adieu !
Hope keeps assur'd thy waking hour in view :
Our eyes, which sorrowing o'er thy lifeless dust,
Saw the base earth receive its precious trust,
Again shall view from that dishonouring bed,
View thee in vernal glories lift thy head,
Mark thy bright way and see thee radiant rise,
Fair as a sun, to gild eternal skies,"

ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. DR. WATTS:
By the Eev. Benjamin Sowden, Minister of the English Church at Rotterdam.

"From earth remov'd, in ev'ry virtue warm,
Adieu ! bright seraph in an human form ;
Whose noblest lot indulgent heaven assign'd
Whate'er could charm, or edify mankind :

718 LIFE AND TIMES
Whom true poetic talents largely blest,
Whose tuneful vein not hoary age suppress'd ;
He, like some dying swan, beneath the reeds
Of rivers gliding through delightful meads,
In sweetest notes resigu'd his parting breath,
And sunk melodious in th' embrace of death.
"His much-lov'd muse, Urania, heav'nly maid,
With artless grief bewails her fav'rite dead.
Her bosom heaving with incessant sighs,
Stream the big sorrows from her melting eyes,
Whose graceful orbs, suffus'd their brilliant pow'r,
Look faint, as sun-beams shining thro' a show'r.
No more with harmony divine she sings,
Nor airs celestial warble on her strings :
Her once enchanting lyre, relax'd and broke,
Hangs now neglected on the blasted oak,
While, in the gloom of willows which o'erlook
The sable waters of yon silent brook,
Whose leaden stream ne'er mantles to the wind,
Fix'd iu dumb sadness, on her arm reclin'd,
With cheek all wan, and wild dishevel'd hair,
She lies a breathing statue of despair.
"Not causeless anguish this — her darling thou,
Illustrious shade ! while resident below :
While green iu youth she prompted thee to raise
In her exalted numbers virtue's praise,
To strike with matchless skill the vocal lyre,
And kindle in thy breast Pindaric fire.
Oh lost too early, tho' thy life was long ?
Who now shall rise renown'd in Lyric song ?
The harlotries of vice with verse control,
And pour instruction o'er the raptur'd soul ? r
"Nor weeps o'er Watts the Lyric Muse alone,
Fair Science hears her, aud returns the groan :
Beneath yon yew-tree's melancholy shade,
On the cold ground her form divine is laid :
Pensive and pale her speaking looks express
Beyond the force of words a vast distress :
So the fond mother mourus her infant- trust,
Her blooming offspring mingled with the dust.
"Well might thou weep, Parnassian virgin ! well
Lament to think in Watts what learning fell :

OF DR. ISAAC WATTS. 719
Nurs'd by thy care, and train 'd beneath thy wing,
He drank deep draughts of knowledge from thy spring,
And, when possess'd of an extensive share,
Rejoic'd to lead his fellow-mortals there :
He broke the subtle cobwebs of the schools,
Freed the young genius from uumeaning rules,
Led Reason safely thro' th' illusive maze,
Where wide from truth bewitchiug Fancy strays.
Small was his stature, but his mauly soul
Could grasp the globe, and reach the distaut pole,
With ease the vivid plauets' course could trace,
Thro' their wide orbits iu the fields of space.
But not the graces science can impart
Vied with his moral excellence of heart :
There unaffected goodness reign'd, and thence
Rush'd the strong tide of warm benevolence;
Easy of access, in the social hour
Censure grew dumb, aud envy ceas'd to lour,
Surpris'd to hear his copious accents flow,
Wise without art, and learn'd without the show.
" Say, ye his flock, his late peculiar care,
For whom he wrestled oft in fervent pray'r ;
What transports ran thro' all your mental frame,
Whene'er he made redeeming love his theme !
When he proclaim'd deliverance from sin
How eagerly ye drank the music in I
But, when he chaug'd the tender scene, and show'd
Th' awaken'd anger of an awful God,
Full in your ears all Sinai's terrors rang,
Flash'd from his eye-balls, thundered from his tongue :
Against himself his conscience rous'd iu arms,
The daring sinner trembles at th' alarms.
Just are the tears to such a pastor giv'n,
Who taught at once, and led the way to heav'n,
Whose life enforc'd the rules he urg'd on you,
And was himself the great, good man he drew."
These memoirs cannot close more appropriatelj than with
the words of the Roman historian, the eulogy of the hest
author upon the best governor of Britain : — " Whatever we
loved in thee, whatever we admired in thee, continues, and
will continue, in the memories of men, the revolutions of ages,

720 LIFE AND TIMES OF DR. ISAAC WATTS.
and the annals of time. Many, as being inglorious and
ignoble, are buried in oblivion; but Watts shall live to all
posterity, for, as the Greek poet, has it, 'Virtue is beyond
the reach of Fate.' "

N. B. Dr. Watts^s Sermon on the death qf Mr. Pickard, mentioned Page 224, is omitted, on
account of this volutne having already extended beyond the limits originally intended. It has
been forwarded to the Congregational Magazine, and inserted August, 1834.

APPENDIX.

A
Mr. Morton, p. 81.
A list of Mr. Morton's students is given by Dr. Toulmin at the close of his
History of the Protestant Dissenters. It is much to be regretted that the records
of the early dissenting academies have not been more carefully preserved.
B.
The Calves'-head Club, page 86.
The work referred to, entitled "The Secret History," &c, rapidly passed
through several editions, with some variations in the title. It consists of impro
bable stories, dull poetry, low wit, and the common cant of the times, dealt out
in very coarse language. It was patronised by Sacheverell, Leslie, and Luke
Milbourne, " a clergyman of yearly fame." In all probability it was manufac
tured by Ned Ward, the author of the " London Spy," who kept a public-house
in the skirts of the city, and devoted his powers to the service of the high party.
C.
Dissertation on Self-denial, page 116.
Dr. Gibbons gives this paper at length in his Memoirs of Watts, p.p. 49 — 58.
D.
Excitatio Cordis Calum versus, page 136,
Is translated by Dr. Gibbons, and inserted in the Memoirs.
E.
Rev. Samuel Say, page 136.
In the "Letters of John Hughes, Esq. and other eminent Persons," there is one
from Mr. Say to Mr. Duncombe, containing a Latin version ofthe introduction to
Paradise Lost.
Mr. Say also wrote in the Gentleman's Magazine an article, entitled "The Resur
rection illustrated by the changes of the Silk-worm," and some remarks upon
Auditor Benson's edition of Johnston's Psalms. Soon after his death his papers
were arranged and published iu a quarto volume, under the title of " Poems on
Several Occasions : and Two Critical Essays, viz. the first on the Harmony,
Variety, and Power of Numbers, whether in prose or verse ; the second on the
Numbers of Paradise Lost: by Samuel Say, Lond. 1745." The editor of this pos
thumous publication was William Duncombe, Esq.

722

APPENDIX.

Pastors of Bury Street, page 199.
Mr. Wilson gives the following plan of the predecessors and successors of Dr.
Watts at Bury Street. Those marked with * were ejected ministers.

Names.

As Pastors.

A

From

To

Fron

* Joseph Caryl, M. A 

1660

1673



 •



16

* John Owen, D. D 

1673

1683







16

1682
1687

* Isaac Loeffs, M. A 
168
1689

* Isaac Chauncey, M. D. . .
1687
1702

* Edward Terry, M. A 


16
1702
1748
1698
1713
1756
1703
f Meredith Townshend . . . .
1742
X Sam. Morton Savage, D.D.
1753
1787
1747


17


1765
1788
18
—
As Assistants. To
16
16
16971702 1713
1746
1753 1764
17
First version of Psalms in New England, page 424.
Mr. Neal observes in his History, " One of the first books printed (at Harvard
College) was 'A New Version of David's Psalms ;' the ministers, it seems, were not
+ Mr. Townshend settled afterwards at Hull, and removed finally to Stoke Newington. He
was highly esteemed by the church in Bury Street for his talents and piety.
t Mr. Savage was the direct lineal descendant of John Savage, the first Earl of Rivers of that
family : he never claimed the title, which consequently became extinct. Owing to Dr. Watts's
encouragement and assistance, to whom he had introduced himself by a letter, he became a
student under Mr. Eames ; afterwards a tutor in connexion with Dr. David Jennings, which
uflice he resigned, along with his pastoral charge, to spend the evening of his days in retirement.
i Mr. Beck, who is still Hving, has withdrawn from Bury Street. The chapel having been
closed for some time, was enlarged and re-opened, Sept. 29, 1829, by the Rev. Henry Heap, the
present minister. It contains now a monument to the memory of Watts, with the following
inscription: " This tablet was erected when the chapel was enlarged in Sept. M.D.C.C.C-XX1X,
by the church and congregation, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Henry Heap, as a tribute of
their high veneration and sincere regard for the inestimable character of this eminent man of
God and incomparable sweet singer of Israel, whose praise is in all the churches.
" The Righteous shall be in everlasting Remembrance. Psalm, cxii. 6."
APPENDIX. 728
satisfied with Sternhold and Hopkins, not so much on account of their poetry,
as because they had perverted the text in a great many places ; they resolved,
therefore, on a new version, and committed the care of it to some of the chief
divines in the country, among whom were the Rev. Mr. Eliot of Roxbury, Mr.
Mather of Dorchester, and Mr. Wells, who, having compared their several per
formances together, printed the whole at Cambridge, in the year 1640. When
the book was published it did not satisfy the expectations of judicious men, for
being composed by persons of a different genius and capacity, it was far from
being of a piece ; and was, therefore, after some time, committed to one hand to be
corrected, and made a little more uniform. Mr. Henry Dunstar, President of the
College, was the man chosen to this work, who with the assistance of Mr. Richard
Lyon, tutor to Sir Henry Mildmay's son, then boarding in his house, reduced it to
the form in which it appears at present." Hist, of New England, i. 188. This
version and other subsequent attempts, were superseded in that country soon after
Mr. Neal wrote by Dr. Watts's Imitations.

Prefaces, page 550.
Besides the Prefaces to the works of others mentioned in this volume, Dr. Watts
wrote the following :
To the Life ofthe Rev. Mr. Thomas Halyburton.
To Ten Sermons preached before and after the celebration ofthe sacrament of
the Lord's Supper : to which are added Two Sermons preached upon occasion of
the Death of a Friend. By the Rev. T. Halyburton.
To the Rev. Mr. Bourne's volume of Prayers for Families.
To an Abridgment of the Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather's Life, by Dr. David
Jcnuings. To Dr. Samuel Clarke's, of St. Alban's, Collection of Scripture Promises.
To the Remains of the Rev. John Mason of Water Stratford.
To the Rev. Mr. Steele's Religious Tradesman.
An ode was published in the time of Queen Anne, by S. Cobb, M. A., entitled
the " Female Reign," alluding to Horace, B. iv. Od. 14, attempted in the style of
Pindar, occasioned by the wonderful success of her majesty's arms and her allies.
"This poem," says Dr. Watts, (in a note on the title-page ofthe copy he gave
Dr. Gibbous not many years before his death, with his emendations) "in my
opinion, is the truest and best Pindaric I ever read, yet I thought some parts of
it were capable of improvement ; I have, therefore, taken some pains, and much
liberty with it, to form it entirely to my taste." The ode with the alterations in
serted in it, and the original words of Mr. Cobb placed at the foot of every stanza,
the altered lines of which are marked, Dr. Gibbons has printed at length.
Memoirs, p. 276.

724 APPENDIX.

Last Sentiments of Dr. Watts upon the Trinity, page 604.
As much misapprehension has existed upon this subject, it may be proper to
examine briefly the evidence upon which his reported change of opinion rests. It
will be found that there is not the slightest reason to suppose that his views
altered in his latter years ; but that the amount of his departure from the senti
ments of the orthodox is fully expressed in his printed works. The Rev. S.
Merrivale of Exeter writes to Dr. Priestley at Leeds as follows :
"What I mentioned to Mr. Aikin concerning Dr. Watts I had from Dr. Lard
ner, who told it me as a thing known to few, though without enjoining me to se
cresy. Having mentioned iu the course of my correspondence with the latter, the
difficulty of fixing my sentiments with regard to the person of Christ, though I had
formerly thought the doctrine of his pre-existence sufficiently proved by Dr. Clarke,
Dr. Watts, and others, he replies : — ' 1 think Dr. Watts never was an Arian, to his
honour be it spoken. When he first wrote of the Trinity, I reckon he believed
three equal persons; but in the latter part of his life, for several years before his
death, and before he was seized with an imbecility of his faculties, he was an
Unitarian. How he came to be so I cannot certainly say, hut I think it was the
result of his own meditation on the Scriptures. He was very desirous to promote
that opinion, and wrote a great deal upon the subject; but his papers fell into
good hands, and they did not think them fit for publication !' " According to this
statement Dr. Watts became an Unitarian "several years before his death."
Now it is an undeniable fact, that his two most voluminous works_ upon the Trinity
and the person of Christ, were published within one year and a half of his decease :
it is incredible, therefore, that his Unitarianism should not have appeared in tliese
productions, especially as Dr. Lardner states, " he was very desirous to promote
that opinion."
Mr. Merrivale writes again to Dr. Priestley, " As there seemed some ambiguity in
the word Unitarian, though I knew veiy well in how strict a sense the Doctor
(Lardner) generally used it, and being aware that Dr. Watts in his later publica
tions quite gave up the notion of a three-fold Deity, (though he contended
earnestly for the pre-existence of Christ's human soul originally possessed of
powers superangelical, on which, however, he is silent in his ' Solemn Address to
the Deity,') I begged leave to be informed whether in his unpublished papers
he had appeared to have given up that point ; in answer to which Dr. Lardner
wrote :
" ' I question whether you have any where in print Dr. Watts's last thoughts upon
the Trinity. They were kuown to very few. My nephew Neal, an understanding
gentleman, was intimate with Dr. Watts, and often with the family where he lived.
Sometimes in an evening, when they were alone, he would talk to his friends in
the family of his new thoughts conceruing the person of Christ, and their great

APPENDIX. 725
importance; and that if he should be able to recommend them to the world, it
would be the most considerable tliingthat ever he performed. My nephew, there
fore, came to me and told me of it, and that the family was greatly concerned to
hear him talk so much of the importance of these sentiments. I told my nephew
that Dr. Watts was in the right in saying they were important; but I was of
opinion that he was unable to recommend them to the public, because he had
never been used to a proper way of reasoning on such a subject. So it proved.
My nephew being the executor had the papers, and showed me some of them.
Dr. Watts had written a good deal, but they were not fit to be published. Dr.
Watts's last thoughts were completely Unitarian.' "
This letter is exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory, and is destitute of that
accuracy and precision by which Dr. Lardner's writings are generally characterised.
It contains a positive assertion that Dr. Watts was an Unitarian, but no proof of
the fact, and not even, as Mr. Merrivale desired, a definition ofthe term. Had he
renounced the idea of Christ's pre-existence, Dr. Lardner would have observed it
in the papers to which he had access, and would readily have communicated it to
his correspondent. But he shuffles at the question proposed to him, and his
silence may safely be regarded as a proof that Dr. Watts had not given up that
point, and that, therefore, he could not be justly pronounced an Unitarian in the
common acceptation of the term.
"Mr. Merrivale," as Mr. Palmer remarks, "might properly' have asked the
Doctor further, whether any thing appeared in Dr. Watts's papers to prove that
he had given up his former opinion concerning the personal union of Jesus Christ
with Deity, so as at last to consider him as being merely one of the human race,
who had no more claim to Divinity than Moses or any of the prophets or apostles.
I would further ask," says he, "whether it appeared in these unpublished papers,
that he had renounced and approved the doctrine which he had all his days so
strenuously maintained, of the atonement for sin by the death of Christ. If he
had become a 'complete Unitarian,' and had he been ' very desirous to promote that
opinion,' he would have been very explicit iu renouncing his former opinions on
these points, and very full in stating his objections against them: indeed, as an
honest man, he should have given positive orders to his executors to publish what
he had written on these his new sentiments ; which it is plain from his will he
did not. If any thing of this kind had appeared in his manuscripts, certainly
Dr. Lardner must have kuown it, and would have been very ready to have
acquainted his inquiring correspondent with it."
The following is a list of Dr. Watts's MSS. referred to by Dr. Lardner. The
papers were disposed of in covers or cases under these titles, viz.
I. Psalmody.
II. Of the Trinity: a Modest Defence of Inquirers into Truth.
III. Two Essays on the Lord's prayer.
IV. Essays and Remarks on Texts of Scripture: 1. The Words in which we

726 APPENDIX.
should confess our Faith. 2. The Diamond Painted. 3. Of Catechisms. 4. A
Case of Conscience. 5. Figure of a Cherub.
V. Essays relating to the Trinity, viz. An Inquiry into the Scriptural Represen
tation of the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. 2. Of the proper Athanasian
scheme of the Trinity. 3. The Holy Spirit the true God. 4. The ill effects of
incorporating the divine doctrine ofthe Trinity with the human explications of it.
VI. Remnants of Time employed, in prose and verse; or, Short Composures on
Various Subjects, viz. 1. Of Human Knowledge, and the various kinds of it. 2. The
Rake reformed in the House of Mourning. 3. An Apology for enlarging Dr.
Young's description ofthe Peacock. 4. Justice and Grace. 5. Bills of Exchange.
6. The ever-blessed God. 7. Vanity inscribed on all Things. 8. The Day of
Grace. 9. God and Nature unsearchable. 10. The Repeal. 11. The Saints
unknown in this World. 12. Complaint and Hope, u Poem. 13. Heathen Poesy
Christianised. 14. General Song of Praise to God. 15. To Amyntas, an Ode to
Lady Sunderland. 16. To Philanthropus. 17. The Windmills. 18. A Sinner
tempted to despair. 19. Redemption, a Poem. 20. Of Confinement to set Forms
of Worship. 21. Appendix to foregoing essay.
VII. A Faithful Inquiry after the ancient and original Doctrine of the Trinity
taught by Christ and his Apostles : in two Parts. The first part inquires so far
as is necessary to salvation. The second part so far as may improve our Christian
knowledge and establish our faith; and the objections of both are answered in a
plain and easy manner, derived only from the word of God.
VIII. The Improvement ofthe Mind, Second Part.
The preceding pieces marked in italics were published in the first editiou of
Dr. Watts's works, in 1 753, under the care of Dr. Jennings : the remaining manu
scripts were destroyed. It was not because these papers contained any renuncia
tion of former sentiments that they were suppressed ; but because both Dr. Jen
nings and Mr. Neal, with whom also Dr. Lardner concurred, judged them not worthy
of publication. It is much to be regretted that this step was taken ; for it gave
rise to unfounded rumours as to the contents of the manuscripts, which their pre
servation would at once have contradicted.
That the destroyed papers expressed the same views of the deity of Christ and
the Spirit as the published pieces, aud contained nothing further heretical, appears
from the following considerations :
1. The time of their composition. This was evidently several years before the
decease of the author. In proof of this there is a letter written by Dr. Jennings to
Dr. Doddridge, in which he says, " I believe we shall not have near so much trouble
in publishing the Doctor's manuscripts as I expected when he acquainted me with
the design of committing them in part to my care, which was three or four years
ago ; for since then he has published most of the manuscripts he designed for the
press, so that, as I learn from Mr. Parker, there is little if any thing more remaining
of that sort than the second part of the ' Improvement of the Mind.' " The sup
pressed papers were, then, composed at least four years before Dr. Watts's death ;

APPENDIX. 727
for Dr. Jennings was informed of their being committed to his care " three or four
years ago,'' (1748): now, as the "Useful and Important Questions," and the
" Glory of Christ as God-Man," were published only one year and a half before his
decease, it is not to be supposed that the unpublished papers should have contained
any thing materially different from, much less contrary to these two treatises, pub
lished at least two years after tbe former were written. It is utterly incredible, that
what was printed in 1746, should materially differ from what was written in 1744.
If he was, as Dr. Lardner asserts, "a complete Unitarian," and "desirous to pro
mote that opinion" in 1744, he would most certainly have seized the opportunity
to propagate his new opinions when he was actually publishing two voluminous
works two years afterwards.
2. In the titles of the unpublished papers, in the preceding list, there is no ap
pearance of any design to propose aud defend any new sentiments; there is no
intimation that any novel dogmas are discussed ; the phraseology is exactly such as
if he meant only to illustrate and maintain his former opinions.
3. There is the most satisfactory evidence, that it was the design ofthe suppressed
manuscripts to vindicate Dr. Watts's views maintained in his printed works, and
not to propose any new tenets.
The manuscript mentioned in the List No. VII, " A Faithful Inquiry after the
ancient and original Doctrine ofthe Trinity," <5>c,was actually printed in 1745,
while the author was living, but for certain reasons suppressed: A copy op this
very piece has, however, been recovered, and a new edition published in 1802.
The discoverer and editor of the tract, Mr. Gabriel Watts, (no relation of the Doc
tor's), gives the following information respecting it :
"The copy from which this is taken, was accidentally found in a collection of
old books, in a bookseller's shop in Southampton, in tbe year 1796. The author's
name, &c. with the date 1745, were written at the bottom of the title-page. It is
probable that this copy had formed a part of a collection of books belonging to
some member of the author's family who resided at Southampton, which had re
cently been exposed to sale ; for in a blank leaf of » small work which was lying
by it, was written, apparently in his own hand, ' To my dear Sister Mrs. Mary
Watts.' It appears, from internal evidence and collateral circumstances, to be tbe
work of that eminent and popular author whose name it bears. Its similarity in
style and sentiment to his other trinitarian tracts, together with the remarkable
caution, diffidence, and perplexity of mind, which are observable in it, and, above
all, the unaffected humility aud piety which pervade the whole, mark it emphati
cally as his own."
The editor observes further, " In a blank leaf of the original work was written in
a fair hand the following sentence verbatim : ' The Doctor printed off only fifty
copies of this work, and showed them to some friends, who all persuaded him that
it would ruin his character in his old age, for publishing such dotage, and at length
he was prevailed on to barn them; so the whole impression of fifty was destroyed

728 APPENDIX.
without publication, except this single copy of it, which by an accident escaped the
flames.' "
We have now, then, the means of ascertaining whether Dr. Lardner's representa
tion of Dr. Watts's sentiments from his unpublished papers, was well founded or
not. The manuscript of this curious piece, let it be remembered, was among the
manuscripts which the executors destroyed. From the following extracts it will be
seen, that the suppressed papers assert precisely the same doctrines that the author
had for years maintained, and that he expresses himself in the same characteristic
manner. He here asserts the pre-existence of Jesus Christ — his intimate union
with Deity — and his atonement for the sins of men — sentiments decidedly adverse
to the Unitarian scheme. He also asserts the doctrine of the Trinity, which
Unitarians deny in every form of it.
" Of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
" He was born as a man here on earth, he lived and died as a man, having a
human body with a rational soul; yet it must be acknowledged, that there is some
part of the constitution ofthe complete person of our Lord Jesus Christ which existed
through all ancient ages, for he had a glory with the Father before the foundation
ofthe world. God the Father created tlie world by Jesus Christ: by him all
things were created. He had an existence, therefore, early enough to create this
world, and to enter into councils of peace with God the Father for the recouciliation
of fallen man to God.
" It is evident, also, that he is often called God in scripture (John, i. 1, &c.) ; aud
since he is true God as well as man, we have plain directions from scripture to
suppose, that this second person, or this man Christ Jesus, has the true Godhead
united to him, or dwelling in him, in a peculiar manuer ; so that they are often re
presented as one complex person. It may properly be called a personal union,
since many personal actions are ascribed to these two Spirits, the human aud the
divine united. He is said to have all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily
in him. He is called God manifest in the flesh. He is ofthe race of the Jews
concerning the fiesh, and he is also God over all blessed for ever: Rom. ix. 5. In
the Old Testament, as well as in the New, he is called both God and man. Isa. ix. 6 :
a child born, a songiven, yet called the Mighty God. And Jer. xxiii. 6 : the Lord
our righteousness ; and Emmanuel, or God with us.
" The benefits which we are to receive from Jesus Christ, are pardon of sin through
his full atonement, of satisfaction for which the dignity of his person is sufficient, as
he is one with God. The dignity of this union spreads itself over all that Christ
did and suffered, and makes it divine and all-sufficient. This union enables him
to raise his church out of this world, to change the hearts of men and turn them to
himself; to give his presence to his people in their worship ; to preserve his church
from all their enemies, to rule and govern the nations, to raise the dead, and to
judge the world.
" The duties we are required to perform to him are, to honour him as we honour

APPENDIX. 729
thcFather ; to trust in him; to obey him ; to pray to him as dying Stephen did,
•Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,' or as Paul, 2 Cor. xii. 8; to give praises to him
and doxologies, as Paul often does, and as the whole creation does, Rev. v. 12, 13,
'Every creature in heaven and earth said, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power be to him that silteth upon the throne and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.'
"Sect. III. Ofthe Holy Trinity.
"The doctrine of the blessed Trinity, or of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, with their peculiar characters and offices, is a special doctrine of the Chris
tian religion. This sacred Three in the Trinity are plainly represented in scrip
ture, and have been generally represented by Christian writers, like three persons,
or three distinct personal agents, as acting diffierent parts and sustaining different
characters in the affairs of our salvation ; and yet it seems to be abundantly evi
dent also in scripture, that they are all Three represented as having true and proper
Deity some way belonging to them, aud that the names, titles, attributes, and ope
rations of Godhead are ascribed to the Three in the Old Testamentand in the New.
This is the substance ofthe doctrine itself, as revealed in the Bible, and the writers
on the Trinity have so often proved it, that I need not repeat tbe proofs here. Yet
there are sufficient guards in the New Testament, that the ancient doctrine of the
eternal unity of God must have no inroad made upon it by Christianity."
These extracts will sufficiently establish the coincidence between the suppressed
manuscripts of Dr. Watts and his printed treatises ; and show how little ground any
zealous Unitarians have to triumph in the fond supposition, that they have the
GREAT AND GOOD DR. WATTS ON THEIR SIDE.
See " Dr. Watts no Socinian. A Refutation of the Testimony of Dr. Lardner,
as brought forward in the Rev. T. Belsham's Memoirs of the late Rev. Theophilus
Lindsey, 'That Dr. Watts's last Sentiments were completely Unitarian,' in a
series of Letters to the Rev. Joseph Smith, of Manchester. By Samuel Palmer.
'Your glorying is not good:' 1 Cor. v. 6."

J.
WILL OF DR. WATTS,
Extracted from the Registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
" This is the last will and testament of me, ISAAC WATTS, of Stoke Newington^
in the county of Middlesex, doctor in divinity, made this twenty-third day of July,
in the year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred, and forty-six. And, First, as
becomes a professor and preacher of the Christian faith, I resign my soul to God
who gave it, hoping for his mercy through the obedience, death, and intercession
of Jesus Christ, his Son, my Lord and Saviour, knowing in whom I have believed ;
and my body I leave to be committed to the grave with as little funeral show and
pomp as possible, humbly expecting a joyful resurrection, according to the promi-
A a a

730 APPENDIX.
ses of the blessed gospel. And as for the worldly estate that God hath given me,
I direct the disposal of it in the following manner: — I will that all my debts and
funeral expenses be, in the first place, fully paid and satisfied ; and I desire that
Lady Abney, of Newington aforesaid, and Mrs. Elizabeth Abney, her daughter,
will accept of twenty guineas a-piece for mourning, with my most grateful acknow
ledgment of the generous and lender care shown me by her ladyship and her family
in my long illness many years ago (when I was capable of no service), and also of
her eminent friendship and goodness during my continuance in the family ever
since. I also desire Lady Abney and Miss Abney to accept of such books and
pamphlets out of my library as they shall think proper for their own use, and
of all the paintings, prints, tables, maps, and mathematical instruments of every
kind which belong to me ; and also of such household goods or furniture which I
shall be possessed of at the time of my decease that her Ladyship may think con
venient should remain in her house. In the next place I declare it to be my will,
that such debts as shall be owing to me at the time of my decease be with all con
venient dispatch got in, and received by my executors ; and that such of the lega
tees, hereinafter named, as maybe indebted to me, do respectively discharge those
debts to my estate before they respectively receive their legacies. And although
the providence of God hath blessed my brother Dr. Richard Watts with wealth
and plenty above the rest of my relations, yet, to testify my sincere good-will to
him and his family, I give to my said brother fifty pounds, and to his wife and
daughter the sum of ten guineas a-piece for mourning. Item : I give to my bro
ther Enoch Watts, and my sister Sarah Brackstone, aud to the survivor of them,
his or her executors and administrators, eight hundred and eighty pounds, being
all my share and interest in the capital stock of the Bank of England : and I give
the said Enoch Watts the further sum of fifty pounds. I give one thousand pounds,
being all my share and interest in the three per cent annuities of the year 1726, to
my nephew Joseph Brackstone, and my three nieces Mary, Sarah, and Martha, the
children of my sister Sarah Brackstone, to be equally divided between them, share
and share alike : provided that if any or either of them my said nieces die in my life
time without issue, that then the share or shares of him, her, or them so dying,
shall go to the survivor or survivors of them ; but if any or either of them die in my
lifetime leaving issue, that then the share or shares of her or them so dying shall
go to her or their respective issue. I give to my executors, hereinafter named,
one hundred and fifty pounds' stock, part of my share and interest in the capital
stock of the South-Sea Company, in trust, to pay the dividends thereof to, or permit
the same to be received by, my niece, Mary Chaldecott, of Lincoln, for and during
the term of her natural life, for her separate use ; and the receipts of the said Mary
Chaldecott only, whether under coverture or not, to be a sufficient discharge to my
executors for the same : and from and after the decease of the said Mary Chalde
cott, I give the said one hundred and fifty pounds, South-Sea Stock, to my nephew
Thomas Watts, of Chichester, his executors and administrators, for his and their
own use. I also give to my said nephew Thomas Watts one hundred and fifty

APPENDIX. 781
pounds South-Sea Stock, further part of my share and interest in the capital stock
of the said company, to and for his own use, to be transferred to him within three
months after my decease. And I give to the said Mary Chaldecott the further sum
of twenty pounds. Item : I give to my dear and faithful friend, and companion in
the labours of the ministry, Mr. Samuel Price, twenty pounds, and the further sum
often pounds for mourning, as a small testimony of my great affection for him on
account of all his services of love dun ng the many harmonious years of our fellow
ship in the work of the gospel; aud if lie had wanted it I would have given him ten
times as much. I give to my honoured and worthy friend, Sir John Hartopp, Bart.
ten guineas for mourning. I give to Mrs. Jane Davenport (Lady Abney's own ser
vant), ten pounds, and to her sister Anne five pounds. And I give the further sum
of twenty pounds to and amongst the rest of Lady Abney's menial or household ser
vants who shall have lived a year with her ladyship before my decease, to be dis
tributed amongst them in such proportions as Lady Abney shall think fit. I give
to my trusty and diligent servant, Joseph Parker, fifty pounds, and all my wearing
apparel of every kind. I give to Mr. Samuel Price, Mr. George Streatfield, Mr.
Thomas Hart, Mr. Nathaniel Field, Mr. John Woodcock, aud Mr. 
Jacobson, or to such of them as shall be living at the time of my decease, the sum
of one hundred pounds, in trust, that they or the survivors or survivor of them dis
pose of fifty pounds, part thereof, within five years after my decease, amongst such
poor persons of the congregation meeting in Bury Street, in such proportions as
they shall think fit; and the fifty pounds, residue of the said snm of one hundred
ponuds, I desire may be applied for or towards securing that meetiug-house for the
use ofthe said congregation for a further term of years beyond the present lease.
But if the said last-mentioned fifty pounds is not or cannot be laid out for the pur
pose afore-mentioned within the space of five years after my decease, then I direct
that the same, as soon as conveniently may be after the expiration of such five years,
be disposed of and distributed in like manner as I have directed touching the first-
mentioned fifty pounds. Item : I give the sum of twenty pounds to poor Protestant
dissenting ministers, to be distributed at the discretion of my executors and of Mr.
Samuel Price. I give seven pounds to poor Protestant dissenters of the town of
Southampton, five pounds, part thereof, to be distributed at the discretion of my
afore-named brother and sister, Enoch Watts and Sarah Brackstone, and two pounds,
residue thereof, at the discretion of the Rev. Mr. Francis, the dissenting minister
there. I also give the like snm of seven pounds to poor persons of the same town,
who usually worship God in the Church of England, to be distributed at the discre
tion of my said brother and sister, Enoch Watts and Sarah Brackstone, and of my
good cousin Richard Tanton, Esq. ; but I desire no part of the two last-mentioned
charitable legacies may be given to such persons as do not statedly attend on public
worship, unless prevented by bodily indisposition. I give to my executors the sum
of fifty pounds, to be laid out by them after the rate often pounds a-year, with the
approbation of Mr. Samuel Price and Mr. David Jenuings, in buying such books as
follows, viz. Scripture History, Revival of Religion, The Redeemer and Sanctifier,

732 APPENDIX.
The Ruin and Recovery of Man, Orthodoxy and Charity, The Harmony of Religions,
Questions for Students, Dr. Mather's Life abridged, with Mr. Jenuings's Of Preach
ing Christ, Dr. Doddridge's Sermon, preached October 15, 1741, his Rise and Pro
gress of Religion and Family Expositor, to be lent or given to youth educating for
the ministry ofthe gospel amongst the Protestant dissenters, at the discretion of
my said executors, and of the said Mr. Price and Mr. Jennings ; and it is my request,
that the said books be at first only lent to read, and not absolutely given to such
students till the aforenamed distributors, or some of them, or the tutor who has the
care of their education, are or is satisfied that the students have carefully perused
the same, and are likely to make good use of them. I give ten pounds to the Orphan
House, near Halle in Germany, now or lately under the care of Professor Frank, to
be paid to Mr. Mic_hael Ziegenhagan, the German minister at Kensington or near
St. James's. And I also give ten pounds to the Society in Scotland for the Propa
gating of Christian Knowledge in the Islands and Highlands, to be paid to the trea
surer or secretary for the time being of the Corresponding Society or members in
London. Item : after Lady Abney aud Miss Abuey have made such choice as is
before mentioned, I empower Mr. Samuel Price and Mr. David Jennings to choose
any book or books in my library, for their own respective uses, to the value of forty
shillings to each person, and also two or three volumes of the pamphlets in blue co
vers, whether bound or unbouud ; and all the rest of my library, together with such
presses or cases in my study as belong to me, 1 give, together with my books, to my
three nieces, daughters of my sister Sarah Brackstone, to be equally divided between
them share and share alike. Aud as to all the copies of books that have been printed
by me in my lifetime (not having sold or disposed of any of them, except my book
of Hymns and Spiritual Songs), I have, by a deed or writing execnted by me or
which I intend to execute, directed the disposition of them, which disposition I
hereby ratify aud confirm. Item : as to all my household goods aud furniture that
Lady Abney or Miss Abuey shall not choose to keep (if any such there be), I give
the same to my brother Enoch Watts for his own use. And as to all my manu
scripts of every kind, I give the same to the afore-named Mr. Jennings and the
Reverend Dr. Philip Doddridge, in order that they may publish such of them as I
shall by any paper or memorandum signify my desire should be published; and
as to the remainder, either to publish or suppress them, as they shall judge best.
But I desire that such as shall be published may have the attestation of their names
prefixed, to satisfy the world they are genuine : and I empower my executors to
make them such acknowledgment and recompense out of my estate for their trouble
in revising and publishing such manuscripts as they shall think proper. And all
the rest and residue of my estate, of what nature or kind soever, uot hereinbefore or
by the deed or writing last mentioned disposed of, I give to my afore-named nephew
Joseph Brackstone, and my three nieces, Mary, Sarah, and Martha, the daughters
of my said sister Sarah Brackstone, and over aud above what I have before given
them, to be equally divided between them share and share alike. Provided, never
theless, that if any or either of my said neices die in my lifetime without issue,

APPENDIX. 783
that then the share or shares of her or them so dying, shall go to the survivors or
survivor of them my said nieces ; but if any or either of them my said nieces die
in my lifetime leaving issue, that then the share or shares of her or them so
dying, shall go to his, her, or their issue respectively. And I appoint my brother
Enoch Watts, and Mr. Nathaniel Neal, executors of this my last will and testa
ment; and I desire Mr. Neal will accept of twenty guineas as an acknowledgment
for his trouble as one of my executors. — IN WITNESS whereof, I, the said Isaac
Watts, have to this my last will and testament, contained in three sheets of paper,
set my hand and seal, viz. my hand at the bottom of each of the two preceding
sheets, and my hand and seal to this last sheet, the day and year first above written.
" ISAAC WATTS.
"Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the above-named testator, Isaac
Watts, as and for his last will and testament, in the presence of us, who, at his
request aud in his presence, have subscribed our names as witnesses thereto.
"GEORGE GRAY,
"JNO. WRIGHT,
" THOMAS HEACOCK.
"I, ISAAC WATTS, give and bequeath to my brother Enoch Watts and
sister Sarah Brackstone, and to the survivor of them, the additional twenty pounds
capital Bank Stock, by me purchased since the signing and sealing of my last
will and testament, as above. Witness my band this second day of April, one
thousand, seven hundred, and forty-seven. "ISAAC WATTS.
" I hereby revoke and annul the legacy of fifty pounds by me given to my
brother Richard Watts, in my last will, dated 27th July, 1746, and instead
thereof I give him ten pouuds; and also I give unto my sister Sarah Brackstone
the sum of forty pounds, besides what is above given her, because she most needs
it,. And [I confirm and ratify all aud every other part of my said will and testa
ment. Dated at Stoke Newington, the third day of April, 1747.
"isaac wArrs.
"Witnessed by " ELIS NEAL,
"H. NEAL.
" I give all my capital Stock in the Bank of England, at the time of my decease,
to my brother Enoch Watts and sister Sarah Brackstone, and the survivor of
them; and I appoint this a codicil to my last will. November 17th, 1747.
" ISAAC WATTS.
"Witness "THOMAS HEACOCK,
"JOSEPH DRAKE.

784 APPENDIX.
" Proved at London with three codicils, sixth day of December, one thousand,
seven hundred, and forty-eight, before the Worshipful Robert Chapman, Doctor of
Laws and Surrogate, by the oaths of Enoch Watts and Nathaniel Neal, the executors
named in the said will, to whom administration was granted, having been first
sworn duly to administer. "CHARLES DYNELEY, }
"JOHN IGGULDEN, V Deputy Registers."
"CHARLES BEDFORD, \

FINIS.

PRINTED BY THOMAS RICHARDSON, DERBY.

006S 1-9980 2006 :