NOTWITHSTANDING the warnings of philosophers, and the daily examples of losses and misfortunes, which life forces ⚫ upon us, such is the absorption of our thoughts in the business of the present day, such the resignation of our reason to empty hopes of future felicity, or such our unwillingness to foresee what we dread, that every calamity comes suddenly upon us, and not only presses as a burden, but crushes as a blow. There are evils, which happen out of the common course of nature, against which it is no reproach not to be provided. A flash of lightning intercepts the traveller in his way; the concussion of an earthquake heaps the ruins of cities upon their inhabitants; but other miseries time brings, though silently, yet visibly, forward, by its own, lapse, which yet approaches unseen, because we turn our eyes away; and they seize us unresisted, because we would not arm ourselves against them, by setting them before us. That it is vain to shrink from what cannot be avoided, and to hide that from ourselves, which must some time be found, is a truth, which we all know, but which all neglect, and perhaps none more than the speculative reasoner, whose thoughts are always from home, whose eye wanders over life, whose fancy dances after motions of happiness kindled by itself, and who examines every thing rather than his own state. Nothing is more evident than that the decays of age must terminate in death. Yet there is no man (says Tully) who does not believe that he may yet live another year; and there is none who does not, upon the same principle, hope another year for his parent, or his friend; but the fallacy will be in time detected; the last year, the last day, will come; it has come, and is past— The life, which made my own life pleasant, is at an end, and the gates of death are shut upon my prospects! The loss of a friend on whom the heart was fixed, to whom every wish and endeavour tended, is a state of desolation in which the mind looks abroad, impatient of itself, and finds nothing but emptiness and horror. The blameless life, the artless tenderness, the native simplicity, the modest resignation, the patient sickness, and the quiet death, are remembered only to add value to the loss; to aggravate regret for what cannot be amended; to deepen sorrow for what cannot be recalled. These are the calamities by which Providence gradually disengages us from the love of life. Other evils fortitude may repel, or hope mitigate; but irreparable privation leaves nothing to exercise resolution, or flatter expectation. The dead cannot return, and nothing is left us here but languishment and grief. Yet, such is the course of nature, that whoever lives long must outlive those whom he loves and honours. Such is the condition of our present existence, that life must one time lose its association, and every inhabitant of the earth must walk downward to the grave alone and unregarded, without any partner of his joy or grief, without any interested witness of his misfortunes or success. Misfortunes, indeed, he may yet feel, for where is the bottom of the misery of man! But what is success to him, who has none to enjoy it? Happiness is not found in self-contemplation; it is perceived only when it is reflected from another. We know little of the state of departed souls, because such knowledge is not necessary to a good life. Reason deserts us at the brink of the grave, and gives no farther intelligence. Rev elation is not wholly silent; "there is joy among the angels in heaven over a sinner that repenteth;" and surely the joy is communicable to souls disentangled from the body, and made like angels. Let hope, therefore, dictate, what revelation does not confute, that the union of souls may still remain; and that we, who are struggling with sin, sorrow, and infirmities, may have one part in the attention of those who have finished their course, and are now receiving their reward. These are the great occasions which force the mind to take refuge in religion. When we have no help in ourselves, what can remain, but that we look up to a higher and greater power? And to what hope may we not raise our eyes and hearts, when we consider that the greatest Power is the best? Surely there is no man, who, thus afflicted, does not seek succour in the gospel, which has brought life and immortality to light! The precepts of Epicurus, which teach us to endure what the laws of the universe make necessary, may silence, but not content us. The dictates of Zeno, who commands us to look with indifference on abstract things, may dispose us to conceal our sorrow, but cannot assuage it. Real alleviations of the loss of friends, and rational tranquillity in the prospect of our own dissolution, can be received only from the promise of Him in whose hands are life and death; and from the assurance of another and better state, in which all tears will be wiped from our eyes, and the whole soul shall be filled with joy. Philosophy may create stubbornness, but religion only can give patience. SAM. JOHNSON. For the Panoplist. LIST OF BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY DR. TAPPAN TO THEOLO GICAL STUDENTS. Messrs. Editors, WILL it not be grateful to those, who cherish the memory, and approve the sentiments of the late. PROFESSOR TAPPAN, to know the course of reading, which he re A Funeral Oration, pronounced in the chapel of Dartmouth University, on the death of ELIPHALET HARDY, a member of the junior class, who died at Hanover, Jan. 2, 1806, aged 19 years. By JOHN BURNHAM, a classmate. Hanover. M. Davis. 1806. Ir is the occasion of this oration, which renders it worthy of public notice. The young man, whose death is here deplored, was endued with remarkable intellectual powers, and engaged, with singular diligence and the most flattering prospect of success, in the pursuit of useful knowledge. His regular and amiable deportment, and the rapid progress he made in the various branches of learning, gained the love and esteem of all who knew him, and excited the hope, that he would be an ornament to the cause of virtue, and a great blessing to the world. The following paragraph in the oration, descriptive of the exercises of his mind in his last sickness, deserves particular notice; and leads us to entertain very favourable ideas of the theological views of the writer, as well as of the penitence and submission of his deceased class mate. "A short time before his death, the deceased was the subject of serious religious impressions. The influence of the Holy Spirit unfolded to his astonished view the ocean of depravity which exists in the human heart. Deeply impressed with a sense of the rectitude of God's holy law, he was convinced that the punishment of sinners was just. Brought at length to bow to the sceptre of Jesus, he gave satisfactory evidence to those around him, that he was the subject of regenerating grace. When the agonies of his mind had impaired the health of his body,...still he spake with the most profound reverence of God and religion; declaring repeatedly, he had no wish the divine law should suffer that he might be saved. Here was evinced that cordial submission to the decrees of Heaven, which constitutes the true Christian." The youth and inexperience of the writer must be an apology for some incorrect thoughts and expressions, for some uncouthness and harshness in his figures, and for the incoherence of the several parts of his oration. The Messiah's Reign, a sermon preached on the Fourth of July, before the Washington Society, by JAMES MUIR, D.D. Pastor af the Presbyterian Church at Alexandria. Snowden. Alexandria. THIS short sermon is founded on the following prophetic description of Christ's reign by the prophet Micah. "He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his figtree; and none shall make them afraid." The author's plan is to consider these words in their aspect to the Messiah's appear ance; to the tendency of the gospel; to the revolution which has taken place in this country; and to the events, which we have reason to believe are hastening forward to their completion. Under each of these heads we find very pertinent remarks. The author is so happy, as not to lose sight either of the text, or of the occasion. We observe a beautiful ease of language, which is natural to one who is blessed with ease of thought. The characteristic trait of the composition is a lively, forcible brevity. In some sentences there is a transposition approaching the air of poetry. The following specimen shows the author's manner. In the concluding address"Mankind are branches of the same family. Turn to the East or West, to the North or South; traverse the globe from pole to pole. Wherever you meet a human being, you meet a brother or a sister. This Christianity teaches and enforces in the strongest language. The heart of the patriot....glows with a warmth communicated from Scripture. That neglected, that despised, that persecuted book has scattered the seeds of patriotism, and cherished their growth. "All and each can do something for the benefit of society. Few, it is true, can enlighten the nation, or manage public affairs. Pretensions to this by those whose ignorance and weakness are too apparent to be Like denied, tend to confusion. Phaton, in the heathen mythology, who unwisely seized with his feeble grasp the reins of his father's fiery steeds, they bring themselves into danger, and expose their fellow-men to dreadful calamities. God fits men for different purposes. Let each know his place. He may be an expert mechanic and a useful farmer, who would prove a most miserable statesman." The author cannot close without seizing the opportunity to recommend the missionary ob however, with safety, until they had almost reached their homes, about 8 o'clock in the evening, when a heavy squall met them, as they were cross ject, and to solicit aid to the missionary fund. This may subject him to the censure of the partial critic, but will much endearing Rye-ledge, which instantly upset him to the heart of the fervent Christian. Two discourses occasioned by the sudden deaths of Joseph Brown, jun. Et. 23, and James Jenness, Et. 24; who were drowned near Rye-Beach, on the evening of 9th Sept. 1806: the former delivered Sept. 10th, at the time of interment; the latter delivered the Lord's day following. By WILLIAM PIDGIN, A. M. Minister of a Presbyterian Church in Hampton. Newburyport. E. W. Allen. 1806. THESE are plain, serious, pertinent and useful discourses, from the two following well chosen texts: Ecc. ix. 12. For man also knoweth not his time: As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare ; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. And Job xxi. 23, 24. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at case and quiet: His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. The melancholy circumstances, which occasioned these discourses, are briefly related in a note, as follows; 66 Joseph Brown, of Northampton, and James Jenness, of Rye, together with a man of colour, named Cæsar, had been at Portsmouth. While returning, which was late, in the day, the clouds collected, and appeared very black and threatening, attended with frequent lightning, and at length a free discharge of rain. Night came on, which greatly added to the gloom¡ness of the season. They proceeded, their boat. Cæsar kept his hold of the boat, and was saved, while the others were thrown from it, and at once perished in the deep. Their bodies were found early next morning, and interred the afternoon of the same day." A Discourse before the Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians and others in North America, delivered November 6, 1806. By THOMAS BARNARD, D. D. Minister of the North Church in Salem.. To which is added an Appendix. Charlestown. S. Etheridge. pp. 47. THE theme of this discourse is St. Paul's declaration, Phil. i. 18. "What then! notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached? and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." After a pertinent introduction, the preacher invites the attention of his audience to the three following observations. I. Permit me to observe the manner in which the Being, supremely powerful, wise and good, chose to propagate Christianity in the world, at the time of its introduction, and in the years immediately succeeding." II. "Inattentive to the authentic history of the time, we are disposed to think discordance of opinion with respect to the Christian doctrine, could not have arisen under the authoritative and infallible instruction of an holy Apostle; and without besitation attribute to its first preachers universally the highest purity and benevolence." III.There is no mode of action we can adopt, which will more dignify our characters, or more rejoice our hearts in the seasons of impartial reflection, than a persuasion that we are |