The untutored mind will be sensual, dark, ferocious; even the highest degree of civilization, without the knowledge and the reception of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, will leave the mind a prey to corrupt, disquieting, desolating passions, as has been witnessed most deplorably in unbelieving, Catholic France, as well as in other countries of Europe and America.

As our Indians are now chiefly removed from the States of the Union, and congregated on the west side of the Mississippi, the intelligent benevolence, which seeks their highest welfare, will make strenuous efforts to give them competent schoolmasters and faithful preachers of the gospel. If circumstances shall soon compel them to be stationary, instead of migratory, they will become cultivators of the soil, and thus the instruments, employed for their good, will have tenfold power. As we have gained the rich lands, from which they have been removed, it is to be hoped, that our government, by its sense of justice as well of benevolence, will aim to promote the civilization and Christianization of the unhappy tribes of the West. Assuredly it must be in the power of our government to prohibit the introduction, from the States, of spirituous liquors amongst them, and to encourage their change of habits from the uncertain pursuit of game to the cultivation of the ground, which fails not to reward abundantly the toil that cultures it. A constant course of kindness towards them is demanded by a regard to the safety of the frontier settlers.

When experience had taught Dr. Wheelock the inexpedience of relying on his Indian pupils, unless accompanied in the wilderness, and superintended by white missionaries, he formed the plan of enlarging his school into a college, that he might rear up a multitude of young men, well qualified to execute his purposes of benevolence. If Dartmouth college has been a nursery of science and a blessing to our country, this must be ascribed to the pious zeal and enlarged views of Dr. Wheelock, seeking in the most effectual manner to advance amongst the red heathen the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus often has piety enriched the community with the most valuable institutions.

2. He adopted wise measures for the accomplishment of his plans. When his school commenced, he sought in every direction, from individuals at home and abroad and from the provincial governments, the charities, required for the support of the Indian youth. The sending of Samson Occom to Great Britain for the collection of moneys was a masterstroke of policy, although perhaps this was done at the suggestion of Mr. Whitefield, who also urged Dr. Wheelock himself to proceed to England. Lest his integrity should be questioned and the fountains of public benevolence be in consequence dried up, he procured the appointment of trustees, both in Connecticut and in England, who should inspect his accounts, and attest his disinterestedness. His correspondence was most extensive. His narratives, printed from time to time, made the world acquainted with his operations, with his receipts and expenditures, and the prospects of usefulness from his school. The establishment of a college was indispensable in order most effectually, in the wisest and best manner, to promote the objects, which he had in view. His school having been long a well-known institution, its removal to some other place and conversion into a college was a matter of deep interest to the settlers and owners of land in different parts of the country, which enabled Dr. Wheelock to obtain liberal offers from various towns for its establishment in them.*

Among his correspondents, whose letters are preserved, were John Thornton, Esq.; Rev. Messrs. Whitefield, Gifford, and Erskine; presidents Burr, Davies, Edwards, Clap, and Stiles; Rev. David and John Brainerd; governors Livingston and Wentworth; Gen. P. Lyman; Rev. Messrs. Buel, Bellamy, W. Tennent, Solomon Williams, T. Edwards, and S. Kirkland.

3. Dr. Wheelock was persevering, and incessant in labor. He early placed one great object before him, and on that one great object he kept fixed his undivided attention for nearly half a century. There was with him no vacillation, no wavering in his purpose, no distracting views to relax the energy of his zeal. It is not easy to describe the variety of his cares and the extent of his toils. In Lebanon for thirty-four years he had the charge of a parish. His school, in its various interests, required his incessant watchfulness and effort. Indians were to be drawn from the wilderness, and superintended in their daily conduct; a teacher procured; provision to be made for the supply of their wants from public or private charity from year to year; accounts to be kept and submitted to the trustees; missionaries to be educated, and sent out into the wilderness, and there supported. And when he removed to Hanover, his labors were doubled. The two institutions, the school and the college, were ever kept distinct; in both he was a teacher; of both he was the chief governor. He had houses to build, mills to erect, and lands to clear up and cultivate. He was also the preacher of the college and the village. It is no wonder, that under the weight of such labors and amidst the vexations of a multitude of minute affairs, he should sometimes find himself heavily oppressed. Yet he wished not for repose in this world. He desired to toil, so long as it should please his great Master to continue him on the earth, and then to enter into rest.

The occupa

4. He was an excellent and faithful minister and an eloquent preacher. Not that he was a writer of polished and elegant sermons. tion of his time by other cares would not allow of this. But he plainly and with almost unequalled success preached the great doctrines of the gospel for nearly half a century. Many were the converts, in different parts of the country, under his preaching. Thousands hung upon his lips. The testimony of Dr. Trumbull to his eloquence has already been quoted. Though he knew how to deal in terror; yet he had a most attracting, winning address, and his heart loved to dwell upon the grace and mercy

of the Redeemer, and to invite sinners to believe in his name and to accept his free salvation. The circumstance of his being followed in Boston from the meeting-house by a crowd of children, who begged him to give them a word of exhortation, is a most touching scene, and a proof that his manner was tender, affectionate, and most winning.

A learned and elegant writer on subjects of deep importance is to be regarded as a public benefactor; but much more so is he to be regarded, who with the tongue of eloquence toils incessantly to bring divine truth to bear upon the consciences and hearts of the ignorant, the sinful, and the perishing, and who establishes seminaries, in which are reared up the laborers, who shall toil in the wide field of the world, already "white unto the harvest."

5. Dr. Wheelock was of a cheerful and pleasant temper, and manifested much urbanity in his deportment. Yet the multitude and weight of hist affairs, combined with the occasional gloom of hypochondria, sometimes extorted from him groans. He had a most delicate sense of propriety. His numerous acquaintances he always received in the most cordial and hospitable manner. His friends were bound to him by the strongest ties. He used to say, that he abhorred that religious profession, marked with good manners."

"which was not

6. In his government of his school and college Dr. Wheelock combined great patience and kindness with the energy of necessary and indispensable discipline. It was no small labor to tame the ferocity of the Indian

youth and to reduce them to submission. When for a flagrant fault such a youth was to be corrected by his preceptor, Dr. Wheelock was usually present to witness the punishment, and to add his solemn and kind admonition. He was generally obeyed from affection; but he knew how, by severe rebuke, to overawe the offender. The incorrigible he removed, lest they should contaminate others.

7. In the last place, he was a man of faith and prayer.

He believed in God's word and relied on his promise. Amidst difficulties, he never desponded, for he was satisfied that he was engaged in a good work, which God approved, and he felt assured therefore of the divine blessing. He had an unshaken confidence in the great Jehovah. To him, in obedience to his command, he made continually his supplication, and sought his benediction on his labors. Before setting out on a journey, he always prayed with his family and students. He often set apart certain seasons for prayer. A concert of prayer, when two of his missionaries were going out to the Ohio, was proposed by him to them and his pupils,—that "beside daily remembrance of one another at the throne of grace, they might spend special seasons, Saturday and Sabbath evenings, between 6 and 7 o'clock, in prayer to God for his protection, presence, and blessing upon them, and on all missionaries, gone to proclaim salvation to the heathen."

Knowing the power of prayer, he says, at the close of his last narrative, in 1775,-"I believe I have found the benefit of the prayers of many of the lovers of Zion for this institution, and I earnestly bespeak the continuance of them, that God would graciously perfect what is yet wanting, and build it up for the glory of his own great name." For all colleges Christians may well incessantly pray.

His last act was an act of prayer, before uttering his final words, "Oh, my family, be faithful unto death." It cannot be doubted, that he was faithful, and has gone to inherit the promised reward in heaven. On his monument, as on that of the martyr, Polycarp of Smyrna, might well be engraven a circular wreath or crown of olive-leaves, to denote his immortal crown; and well may the words of Christ to the church of Smyrna come with force to the heart of every reader of this memoir,-" BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL give thee a CROWN OF LIFE!"

A BRIEF HISTORY

OF THE

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, AT PRINCETON.

[By Samuel Miller, D. D., one of the Professors.]

THE importance of the union of piety and learning in the holy ministry, is one of those radical principles of ecclesiastical wisdom, which the experience of ages has served more and more to confirm. If the priests' lips were of old to keep knowledge; if the ministers of the gospel are bound to feed the people with knowledge and with understanding; then nothing can be plainer than that ignorance, or small and indigested knowledge is, next to the want of piety, one of the most serious defects in a candidate for the sacred office. It is equally plain, that if this great concern be properly directed, especially if it be directed with order and uniformity, it must be attended to by the church herself. That which

is left to individual enterprise and caprice, may sometimes be well managed, but will seldom be managed in any two cases alike. Besides, unless the church take this matter into her own hands, she cannot inspect and control the education which her candidates for the holy ministry receive. Her most precious fountains may be poisoned without her being able to apply an effectual remedy. No church, therefore, which neglects the proper education of her ministers, can be considered as faithful, either to her own most vital interests, or to the honor of her divine Head and Lord.

Impressed with these solemn convictions, a number of the ministers and other members of the Presbyterian church, long before the establishment of their seminary, deeply lamented the want of such an institution, and saw with much pain the extreme disadvantages under which their candidates for the ministry labored, in pursuing their theological studies. They saw young men, with very small previous acquirements in literature and science, after devoting only twelve or eighteen months, and in some instances, much less, to the study of theology; and even for that short time, almost wholly without suitable helps, taking on themselves the most weighty and responsible of all offices.

They saw, at the same time, the "Reformed Dutch Church," the "Associate Reformed Church," and the descendants of the venerable Puritans in New England, all going before them in an honorable and successful career of exertion, to remove these disadvantages and to establish seminaries for the instruction of their candidates for the ministry: and they perceived, that, unless the Presbyterian church should imitate their example, while other denominations rose and flourished, and became the means of extensive blessings to their country, she must inevitably decline, and fall into a state of discouraging weakness, inferiority, and comparative uselessness.

Accordingly, after long waiting, and after much counsel and prayer, the proposal to establish a theological seminary for the Presbyterian church, was first introduced into the general assembly, during the sessions of that body in May, A. D. 1809. It was introduced in form of an overture or proposal from the presbytery of Philadelphia. This overture was so far countenanced by the assembly as to be referred to a select committee, who, after due deliberation on the subject, brought in the following report, which, being read, was adopted, and became the act of the assembly, in the following words, viz.

"The committee appointed on the subject of a theological school, overtured from the presbytery of Philadelphia, report,

"That three modes of compassing this important object have presented themselves to their consideration.

"The first is, to establish one great school, in some convenient place near the centre of the bounds of our church.

"The second is, to establish two such schools, in such places as may best accommodate the northern and southern division of the church.

"The third is, to establish such a school within the bounds of each of the synods. In this case, your committee suggest the propriety of leaving it to each synod to direct the mode of forming the school, and the place where it shall be established.

"The advantages attending the first of the proposed modes, are, that it would be furnished with larger funds, and therefore, with a more extensive library and a greater number of professors. The system of education pursued in it would therefore be more extensive, and more perfect: the youth educated in it would also become more united in the same views, and contract an early and lasting friendship for each other; circumstances which would not fail of promoting harmony and prosperity in the church. The disadvantages attending this mode would be, principally, those derived from the distance of its position from the extremities of the Presbyterian bounds.

"The advantages attending the second of the proposed modes and the disadvantages, will readily suggest themselves, from a comparison of this with the other two.

"The advantages which would attend the third, to wit, the establishment of theological schools by the respective synods, would be the following. The local

situation of the respective schools would be peculiarly convenient for the several parts of a country so extensive, as that for the benefit of which they were designed. The inhabitants having the seminaries brought near to them would feel a peculiar interest in their prosperity, and may be rationally expected to contribute much more liberally than to any single school or even to two.-The synods, also, having the immediate care of them, and directing, either in person or by delegation, all their concerns, would feel a similar interest and would probably be better pleased with a system formed by themselves, and therefore peculiarly suited to the wishes and interests of the several parts of the church immediately under their direction. Greater efforts, therefore, may be expected from ministers and people, to promote the prosperity of these schools, than of any other. The disadvantages of this mode would be, the inferiority of the funds; a smaller number of professors; a smaller library, and a more limited system of education in each. The students, also, as now, would be strangers to each other. "Should the last of these modes be adopted, your committee are of the opinion, that every thing pertaining to the erection and conduct of each school, should be left to the direction of the respective synods. If either of the first, the whole should be subject to the control of the general assembly.

"Your committee also suggest, that, in the former of these cases, the funds for each school should be raised within the bounds of the synod within which it was stationed. In the latter, they should be collected from the whole body of the church.

"Your committee, therefore, submit the following resolution, to wit:

"Resolved, that the above plans be submitted to all the presbyteries within the bounds of the general assembly, for their consideration; and that they be careful to send up to the next assembly, at their sessions in May, 1810, their opinions on the subject."

Agreeably to this resolution, the three alternate plans which it contemplates, were sent down to all the presbyteries, to be considered and decided upon by them.

At the meeting of the next general assembly, in May, 1810, the presbyteries were called upon to state what they had respectively done with respect to the recommendation of the last assembly, relative to the establishment of a theological school. The reports from the several presbyteries on this subject, having been read, were referred to a select committee to consider and report on the same. This committee made a report which being read and amended, was adopted, as follows, viz.

"The committee, after maturely deliberating on the subject committed to them, submit to the assembly the following results.

"I. It is evident, that not only a majority of the presbyteries which have reported on this subject, but also a majority of all the presbyteries under the care of this assembly, have expressed a decided opinion in favor of the establishment of a theological school or schools in our church.

"II. It appears to the committee, that although according to the statement already reported to the assembly, there is an equal number of presbyteries in favor of the first plan which contemplates a single school for the whole church; and in favor of the third plan, which contemplates the erection of a school in each synod; yet, as several of the objections made to the first plan, are founded entirely on misconception,* and will be completely obviated by developing the details of that plan; it seems fairly to follow that there is a greater amount of presbyterial suffrage in favor of a single school, than of any other plan.

"III. Under these circumstances, the committee are of opinion, that, as much light has been obtained, from the reports of presbyteries, on this subject, as would be likely to result from a renewal of the reference; that no advantage

Some of the presbyteries objected to a single theological seminary, for the whole church, because they apprehended that, if this plan were adopted, every presbytery would become thereby bound to send all their candidates to study in it, however inconvenient or expensive it might be. Others were fearful, that the professors, in such a seminary, if they were not formally empowered to license candidates to preach the gospel, might be clothed with powers out of which such an abuse would naturally grow, thereby endangering both the purity and peace of the church, and giving to a few men very dangerous influence. It was for the purpose of obviating these, and other objections to a single seminary, that the sixth, seventh and eighth resolutions, in a subsequent page, were adopted by the general assembly. 5

VOL. X.