622 



RetrofpeSl of American Literature. — Theology. 



ef this fort, there is ample room for the 

 difplayof metaphyfical and logical dexte- 

 rity ; — but where is the tendency to make 

 belter Chriftians or better men ? 



The chara<9er of the Rev Dr. Eliot, 

 cf Bofton, has been long fo refpe£\ably 

 known to the public, that it is fcaicely 

 jieceflary to fay they have received with 

 high approbation " A Sermon delivered 

 hetore the Members of the Ncvv N >rth 

 Religious Socie'y, upon ths Completion 

 oF their Houfe of VVoiftiip.'" The ccca- 

 iion furnifiied an opportunity of giving an 

 hiftorical fketcii of tiiat church from its 

 firft eltablifliment to the prefcnt time.^ 

 Such a retrofpeil as this ferved to awaken 

 a crowd of vecolleflions in which the 

 hearts of his hearers were deeply intereft- 

 fA. The pathetic and imprefTive manner 

 )n which this tafk is executed refleits 

 equal credit on the heart and head of the 

 author, and fully fuftains the excellent re- 

 putation by which he is diftinguifhed 

 wherever he is known. 



The Rev. Mr. Tuckerman's "Ser- 

 mon preached at the Requcft of the an- 

 cient and honourable Artillery Company 

 of Boitoii on tlie Day of their Eleftion of 

 Officers," affords a refpeflable fpecimen 

 of pulpit-compofition. The' iernion is 

 chiefly dcfigned to illuftrate the influence 

 of Chriftian principles on general fociety, 

 on the political ftate of a nation, and on 

 the military charader. The plan which 

 the author had prefcribed to himfcif is 

 executed in a manner that defcrvcs com- 

 inendation. 



" Religion the only fure Bafis of Go- 

 vernment," a I'ermon preached before the 

 Genera! Court of the S;ate of Maflachu- 

 ietts, b^■ the Rev. Samuel Kendall, 

 is one of the elecSfion-difcourfes' which are 

 annually delivered before thelegiflature in 

 moll of the Nc"'- England ftates. Thefe 

 fermons are generally political ones, and 

 highly tinilured with the intolerant no- 

 tions of the dominint party. In that 

 portion of the United States the pulpit has 

 long been a powerful engine of party-po- 

 litics, 



" A Sermoo delivered at Plymouth 

 (MalTachufeits) on the Aiiniverfary of 

 the Landing of our Fathers in December 

 i6io, by the Rev. Aldhn Bradford, 

 A. M.," is the continuation of an old ha- 

 bit, by which the goo. I people of that part 

 ©f New-Enoland comniemorate the vir- 

 tues of their anceftors, the original fettlers 

 of that colony. A piincipal .bjectof the 

 ieimnn is to enforce the ncefli/y of eleft- 

 ing only Chriftians to offices of power and 

 truft. It is fcarcvly neccfTary to oUferve, 



in order to explain this, that the Oppofi- 

 tion to the prefcnt Adminifiration of the 

 United States have long been endeavouring 

 to prove that their political adverfaries 

 have no religion, and that dexterity in 

 wielding this party-weapon is conlidered 

 by mariy as the molt likely means of reco- 

 vering the power and al'ccndancy tliey 

 have lo(f . 



The Rev. Mr. Ei,y, paRor of a churcli 

 in L-banon, has been diligently employed 

 in delineating " The Wiidom and Duty 

 of Magiftrates," a fermon preached at 

 the general eleftion in Connedlicut in May 

 1804. Difcourfes of this kind, when 

 really defigned to imprefs on magiftrates 

 the right underft^anding and importance of 

 their duties, will always be reverently at- 

 tended to by communities which have a 

 proper fenfe cf religion and of itsobliga- 

 tiorjs. It is only when fuCpicion of the 

 finilfer purpofes of party is excited, that 

 men aie inclined to withhold any part of 

 the refpeft due to the labours of a pious 

 clergyman. The (uniiions of his facred 

 office (hould conltanily elevate him above 

 themifts of prejudice and faftior. 



The Rev. Mr. Gardiner's " Sermon 

 preached at Trinity Church, Bofton, on 

 the Death of the Right Rev. Samuel Par- 

 ker, D.D., Bifhop of the Proteftant Epif- 

 copal Church in the State of MalTachu- 

 fetts," exhibits a becoming teftimonial of 

 the refpefl due to the charafiler and memo- 

 ry of the deceafed. The excellence of Bi- 

 fhop Parker's charafferwas fuch as to ob- 

 tain univerfal refpecV, and therefore the at- 

 tempt to eulogize him was only to fall in 

 with public fentiment. There is little in 

 this fermon to impref* the reader either 

 powerfully or agreeably. The matter is 

 triviil and common-place ; the manner 

 fomctimes offends by aifetlation, fome- 

 time> by negligence. , 



Charity, though a threadbare fubjefl, 

 and on that account difficult to treat in a 

 manner calculued to arreit atteiuLon, finds 

 a refpedible advocate in the Rev. Dr. La- 

 THROP, in " A Difcourfe delivered be- 

 fore the Members of the Btafton Female 

 Al'ylum." Though this fermon is cha- 

 rafterized by no fpecies of ornament or 

 elegance, it exhibits indications of an 

 amiable and b-nevolent heart. 



In another " Chari y Sermon delivered 

 at Providence before the Female Chari- 

 table Sorie'y for the Relief of Intiigent 

 Widows and Chddren," we find the Rev. 

 Theodore Dehon, A.M., Redor of 

 Trinity Church in Newport, exerting hw 

 talents * ith a laudable deg'-ee of zeal and 

 earncffncfs. 



The 



