494 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL TEE AD WELL. 



the place of theology, in which only inductive, or, as it has been called, < concrete 

 evidence,' has real weight." In a letter to Dr. John Ware he writes : " Your kind 

 attention to ray faith deserves my gratitude. I consider the Christian's belief as of 

 more value than anything else he can possess in this world ; but from the peculiar 



construction of my mind, I sadly fear it is not a treasure for me. Now if I could gain 



this by asking, I should ask loud and often. Still, I hope you do not put me down for 

 an outright Deist, but merely a sceptic in religion. I would believe, because I admire 

 the character of Jesus Christ, and, more than all, because I think the immortality of 

 the soul cannot be proved by natural religion, and there is something inexpressibly 

 cold and gloomy in the bare idea of annihilation ; I could almost as comfortably think 

 of going to Purgatory as being annihilated." 



As the tendency of his mind was essentially experimental, it is not surprising that 

 in theological matters he had little respect for decisions or decrees of persons or bodies 

 claiming authority without the support of reasons satisfactory to himself. Although 

 he could not accept the prevailing theology of the time, he seldom spoke of his doubts 

 unless called out by others. He was unwilling, he said, to disturb the faith of those 

 who found in it so much hope and comfort. 



Dr. William Sweetser writes of his friend: — " I became acquainted with him, to the 

 best of my remembrance, when a medical student, about the year 1816. I knew him 

 as a profound thinker, close reasoner, a kind friend, noble, true, and generous in all 

 his impulses. He was critical by nature, but he always aimed at what he believed to 



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be truth and justice. For no advantage would he deviate one jot from what he viewed 

 the right and honorable path. Like others, he w r as ambitious, but his ambition was of 

 the worthiest character. The closer our intimacy with him, the higher did we esteem 

 him. Though he might sometimes appear cold and reserved to a stranger, yet to his 

 friends he was ever free and warm-hearted. At that early period, we, his friends, held 

 him in high esteem and respect for his great scientific attainments and his intellectual 

 superiority, which we did not hesitate to acknowledge. I became greatly attached to 

 him at that time, and that attachment has never met any interruption. I fully appre- 

 ciated, I believe, his high intellectual and moral character. He had warm affections, 

 and noble, generous impulses. But no one could surpass him for the strict justice 

 his character. Truth seemed a part of his nature. It may well be said of him, that 



of 



uld not flatter Neptune for his trident, or Jove for h 



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H 



lived to more than the common age allotted to man, and died honored and respected, 

 without a blot on the purity of his character." 



From early youth he was never physically strong. He was himself impressed with 

 the belief that he should, sooner or later, succumb to pulmonary disease. His health 



