COTTOIIIIOfItCf.
THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE RE-
FORMATION,
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE REFOR
MATION IN. THE NETHERLANDS.
BY Is 7. M. S
Luther was put under the ban of the
empire in May, 1521. The magnani
mous Elector, Frederick of Saxony, who
might have been emperor in place of
'Charles, if he had cared for the honor,
caused Luther to be seized and hurried
sway to a place of concealment and
safety, where he remained two years.
The Emperor followed up his decree
with placards, describing Luther's errors,
and warning all persons against harbor
ing the man, reading his books or adopt
ing his doctrines. In those placards,
Luther is declared to be not a human
Creature, but a devil in the figure of a
man and cloaked in the habit of a monk,
to enable him the better and more easily to
bring the race of mankind to everlasting
death and destruction. Referring to
the Pope's 411, he says that Luther is
cut off as an obstinate and hardened
schismatic and ' a notorious and open
heretic, and therefore he expressly com
mands that no man hereafter shall be so
bold and presumptuous as to receive,
protect, support or encourage the said
Luther, by word or deed, charging all
people to seize and apprehend him and
bring him to condign punishment as an
obstinate heretic. He also most strictly
orders that no person, of what state or
condition, authority or dignity soever,
do buy or sell, keep, read, write, print,
-or maintain and defend any of the books,
writings or opinions of the said Luther,
whether in Latin, Flemish or in any
other modern language ; not only those
already condemned by the Pope, but
others already composed or that may be
composed hereafter by the said Luther,
his disciples and favorers ; even though
it should happen that in said books,
there might be contained or interspersed
some good and Christian doctrines, the
better to impose on simple people. Our
will, therefore, is, said Charles, that all
the said books shall be accounted every
where as universally forbidden, And as
such burnt itnd entirely destroyed. From
thence forward, on the forfeiture of life and
estate, no bookseller, printer, or any other
person whatsoever, should presume to
print, or cause to be printed, any book
or writing in which mention was made
of the Holy Scriptures, or, any interpre
tation of it, however so little, without
permission of the spiritual authorities
and the approval of 'the faculty of the
nearest university.
All offenders against these orders
•were to be counted guilty of high trea
son ; every one was required to seize
ipon their bodies and goods, and put in
execution against them all the penalties
'directed by civil and ecclesiastical law.
It was accounted a feature of special in
justice and evil omen, that those who
had never been accused might be examin
ed by the authorities on mere suspicion.
All that was odious in the Inquisition
-seemed threatened in that single sen
tence.
These placards were scattered through
,out Germany, and when the Emperor
learned that Luther's writings were
spreading in Holland, he sent them into
that country also, with orders to the local
authorities to publish them there. They
dared not refuse so mighty a ruler as
Charles, although they saw in his com
mand a glaring violation of those ancient
privileges which their fathers had known
in their childhood, and which Charles's
ancestors, eighty years before, had be
gun to trample in the dust. In those
days of ancient and honorable freedom,
no count of Holland ever made a law of
importance without consent of nobles
and people ; but Charles had sent forth
this sweeping and pestilential edict on
his own authority, with no word to the
'States of the land, except the command
to publish it to the people.
On the heels of the edict came an in
quisition. In the following year the
Emperor empowered his counsellor in
Brabant, Master Van der Huist, to make
strict inquiry into the opinions and be
-lief of the people in religious matters
throughout the Netherlands. This Van
-der Hulst is declared by Erasmus to be
a wonderful enemy to learning, and he
describes his associate as " a Carmelite
monk, a madman with a sword put into
-his hand, who hates me worse than he
-does Luther.° If Erasmus dreaded
-martyrdom, he was certainly consistent
in hating all inquisitors and persecutors.
And while the land of,Eratmus furnish
the first martyrs, it is remarkable that
one of, Erasmus's 'dear, friends; `e'follower
-of literature like himself, a secretary of
the city 'of Antwerp at the time, is the
first person, so far as,we know, who was
molested by these book-hating inquisi
tors.
This was Cornelius Graphens, a man
•of uncommon learning and a good
poet, who was seized, not for any con
nection which he had with Luther, so
far as appears,, but for the preface which
•he had written to a book called " The
•Liberty of the Christian Religion,"
which had appeared 'several years before
the Emperor's placard. So :sharp was
'the scent o+ these . heresy hunters, and
430 eager and unscrupulous were they for
game. We should judge, from a letter
of this Graphens, dated Nov. 18, 1552,
which has been preserved to us, • and in
which he deplores most piteously the
injustice done him by a. .long imprison:.
ment and by a sentence forbidding him
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, -THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 15, 1866.
to engage in his former puisnits, and in
which he apologizes most humbly for
the errors of the offending preface, that
he was a man pretty much of the stamp
of Erasmus, and that the Reformation
was not greatly embarrassed by inter
fering with the liberty and the pursuits
of such whining confessors as he.
Erasmus seems to have cherished an
abiding sympathy for his unfortunate
friend. He bequeathed him fifty gold
florins and forty-seven Rhenish guilders,
saying that he doubtless stood in need
of them and deserved a better fate.
But the first true confessors of the
doctrines of the Reformation in Holland,
were not of 'the class of literary dille
tanti who followed Erasmus. They
were men whose souls drank in the
grand announcements of Gospel truth
and the fearless denunciations of the
corruptions and errors of the Church,
which they found 1n the proscribed
writings of Luther. The Augustine
monks, to whose order Luther and some
of his early and godly friends and coun
sellors belonged, and among whom his
writings had great acceptance and suc
cess, had an establishment in Antwerp.
The prior himself, named Henry of Zut
phen, and, many of the monks, received
with gladness the writings of their bro
ther monk at Wittenberg. So general
was the interest felt in this establish•
ment that the whole society was sus
pected of Lutheranism. - In the same
year, 1522, the persecution ordered by
Charles broke out against these monks.
Some of them, as might have been ex
pected, were alarmed and drew back.
Some had never felt any deep, saving
interest in the truth. When thrown
into prison, they recanted. Others re
mained firm, and to them belongs the
honor of leading the glorious blood
stained roll of the martyrs of the Refor
mation.
The prior, named Henry of Zutphen,
was brought to Brussels and imprisoned.
Luther, who followed these proceedings
with the deepest interest, has left a letter
dated Dec. 19, 1522, in which he tells a
friend how the heroic women of the city,
not fearing the great Charles, rose up and
liberated the prior from his prison, only
to be slain, however, two years after
ward by a mob of peasants at Ditmarsch.
It is from this letter we learn that the
monks were driven from the monastery
at Antwerp, that all the vessels of the
monastery were sold, the sacrament
carried away with much pomp as from
a place desecrated . by heretics, and the
building ordered to be destroyed as if
infected with the plague. This had been
done in October, and it shows how deep
was the hatred felt even for the stones
and timbers, which had sheltered the
monks, while reading for themselves
the word of God, and receiving the truth
in its purity into their souls.
On the Ist of July, 1523, two of the
monks who remained faithful, named
HENRY VOES and JOHN Eson, were
burned in Brussels sooner than deny
Christ. They deserve to be written in
capitals on every Protestant heart. They
are the first who perished in the long
and bloody and vain assault of the Pope
upon Protestantism. They are the
Stephens--the protomartyrs—of the Re
formation. From them begin the dark
est, saddest, shamefulest pages of his
tory, teaching us the truth of the Bible
doctrine of the total depravity of man ;
yet showing us not this alone, but also
the wonderful power of Divine grace in
sustaining his dear children under the
sorest trials; in making the weakest
and youngest of them' greater heroes
than the most famous conquerors of his
tory, and in maintaining the knowledge
of the truth in its purity, and in saving
and handing down to our day, a pure,
a strong, and an evangelical Church, a
kingdom that cannot be moved, against
which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
The manner in which these devoted
men met death, made them worthy to
lead this glorious roll. They went to
the stake with all cheerfulness, exclaim
ing with a loud voice that they died as
Christians. As the flames were gather
ing around them, they repeated the
twelve articles of the creed in concert ;
then they sang the Church's great an
them of praise, Te Deurn Laudamus,
verse by verse alternately, till the flames
choking their voices here, released them
to sing the Hallelujahs of heaven amid
the choirs of angels. Great must have
been the rapture of their spirits. It is
said of one of them, that - when the fire
was kindled under his feet, he said, " It
seems as if they strewed roses in my
way I"
We may be sure that Luther's great
heart was moved from its depths, when
he heard of these first martyrdoms. Fortu
nately, we have the outpourings of that
heart, in a letter written to the Chris
tians of Holland and Brabant soon after
it occurred. In a wonderful and almost
apostolic- manner, he sorrows and re
joices, he congratulates and commiser
ates the believers in those countries
upon their lot. " To you," he exclaims,
"before all the world, it is given not
merely to hear the Gospel and to know
Christ, but to be the first to suffer shame
and loss, pain and want, imprisonment
and danger for Christ's sake ; and to be
so faithful and so strong as to bedew
that Gospel with your blood and to in
vigorate it with new strength. With you
it was, that those two precious jewels of
Christ, Henry and John, at Brussels
counted not their lives dear unto them,
that Christ and his word might be ex
alted. 0, how shamefully were those
two souls executed ; but in what glory
and eternal joy "will they return with
Christ at his coming, and judge right
eously those by whom they have been
unrighteously eondemned. God be
praised and blessed forever more, that
we have lived to see righteous saints and
real saints, after canonizing and worship
ping so many false ones. For ourselves,
we have not yet been counted worthy
to be so dear and precious an offering
for Christ, though many of our members
have not escaped persecution. There
fore, dearly beloved, be confident and
joyful in Christ, and let us be thankful
for the great signs and wonders he has
begun to work among us."
But even this ardent letter was not
enough to tell his feelings. Re composed
one of his beautiful hymns in their honor,
commencing with the words, nines
Lied wir heben dz." One of the verses;
is thus translated :
Their ashes will not silent lie,
But scattered far and near,
Stream, dungeon, bolt and grave defy,
Their foeman's shame and fear.
Those whom, in life, the tyrant's wrongs
To silence could subdue,
In death shall chant their joyous songs,
Which in all languages and tongues
Shall fly the whole world through.
These executions had the result which
almost invariably follows such deeds of
wrong and cruelty. Erasmus says of
them : " Two were burnt at Brussels,
from which time Luther's doctrine be
gan to be in request in that town." In
fact, from all we can learn, persecution
was the chief instrumentality used in.
public for spreading the doctrines of
Luther in the Netherlands. Few, if any,
preachers traversed the country; the
churches were in possession of the priests;
books could be circulated only in secret,
under the most terrible penalties. It
was persecution which aroused the curi
osity of the people to know these doc
trines, and which created sympathy with
the Lutherans. If the churches had been
thrown open and the doctrines of Luther
allowed undisturbed dissemination, they
could scarcely have spread more rapidly
than now, when fire and sword sought
to stop their progress.
FEMALE EDUCATION.
Report of the Examining Committee ofElmirm
College to the Synod of Geneva.
Elmira Female College stands the
exponent of certain distinctive truths in
female education.
1. The mission of woman demands
the highest culture. Her sphere, duties
and trials, call for the strength and self
reliance of a disciplined and liberalized
mind. The mother is the legitimate
teacher of every human being the first
twelve years of - life. She gives direction
to all minds entering the career of 4,itne
and eternity. Her sentiments and Erpirit
are planted deeper in the soul, do more
in its guidance and destiny than all
other human influences. Woman is not
a mere toy, " a fair defect." Home is
her throne; domestic influence and social
life her domain—her sceptre, mightiest
of the mighty. Her duties demand the
highest culture.
2. The female mind, though different,
is not inferior to that of the other sex.
It can receive, it invites discipline, finish,
polish. Severe, protracted study *ill
strengthen, sharpen and adorn the one
as well as the other. The intellect
of woman needs the same symmetry
'and thoroughness of education. The
young man who proposes a liberal edu
cation, begins his Latin, his Mathema
tics, and pursues a well-defined course
till he is fit for college.. He enters,
draws on from one study to another,
strengthening, developing each faculty
in the right order and proportion, till
one complete and rounded impression is
left upon his matured poWers; He. has
gained a vantage ground for life.
Now, why should the education of a
young woman be fragmentary and hap
hazard—a little study in one place
,and
a little in another ; now Botany, then a
term in French, another in Latin; three
months in Music, all liberally sandwich
ed with frivolity and rag literature ?
Such snatches are termed fashionable
education; a proficiency in the fine arts.
It is a burlesque, a sham.
There must be order and continuity
in profitable study. Mathematics and the
study of the languages discipline to con
secutive thought, elegance and discrimi
nation in writing and conversation. Dis
cipline is before ornament. The steel
must be forged and hardened before it is
polished. What worker in silver would
begin to burnish first? Silver, well
hammered, has not only firmness and
elasticity for service, but will take on
the highest lustre. It is the purpose of
Elmira Female College so to proportion,
harmonize, and pack the studies of the
course, that every faculty shall, be met,
and strength and beauty be stamped
upon every mind, just as the clear, full
`imprint of the die stands out upon the
gold eagle that drops new from the
Mint..
3. It is a basis truth of this Institu
tion that God has joined together religion
and educ,ation- , --that Christ is the 'Mas
ter of the school as, well as of the dhurch„
The cord of union between them; like
that of the Siamese twins, is vital to
both. The intellect is closely allied to
the heart and conscience. They serve
each other. The development of the
one, to the neglect of the other, is a de
formity. To the question, "is a teacher
less prepared to instruct the rpople in
letters, because, to the learning of the
schools and the wisdom of men, he
adds divine teaching and the word
of God ?" we answer frankly, No. We
build the college for Christ - and the
Church. We inaugurate the Bible. We
invoke the presence of the Holy Spirit
to pour light upon the understanding, to
breathe through the daily devotions, to
fill every room and inspire every heart
with prayer and praise. By the charter,
this Institution is under Christian patron
age and control. Though averse to
sectarianism, it is not so liberal as to
expel vital piety. The divorcing of re
ligion from education, has been signally
rebuked. Girard College and the Uni
versity of Virginia shut out Christ from
their halls, but without religious re 7
straint they failed to govern reckless and
depraved minds. As a silent police in
their government, they were obliged to
invite back the influences they had,con
temned. Is not all truth connected ?
Do not all her lines centre in God ? The
truth as it is in Jesus, is the warp and
woof of all truth. To tear it out is to
leave the fabric in shreds. To separate
religion from education is as unphilo
sophical as it is profane.
4. This Institution pleads that higher
education may be made accessible to
every mind having the ability to receive,
and the desireto obtain it. The common
school is open to all. 8,,q this primary
culture, the gifted minds of every com
munity- are stimulated to a thirst for
farther acquisition. Often the choicest
pearl is found in the roughest shell.
How shall jewels of the mind be' brought
up, cut and polished ? As the common
schools open up to intellectual day, so
should the academy and college afford
the steps to further advancement. Indi
gent young men, if gifted and deter
mined, can push their way into our best
universities. Heretofore, female learn
ing has been too costly for the poor.
Institutions of real merit, the expense of
which shall not exclude the indigent
girl whose talents are adequate, and
whose soul cries out for knowledge as
for hidden treasures—such institutions
are as yet a desideratum. Poor, but
intellectual and meritorious young women
should have access to the college or
higher seminary as they now haVe to
the common school.
France makes the education of her
soldiers a gratuity. England has her
endowed centres, where she may edu
cate her royalty and her aristocracy.
Modern Rome provides schools for her
priesthood. In all this there is no respect
to the elevation of the individual. The
soldier, the aristocrat, the priest, are a
State necessity, essential to the govern
ments they severally represent. But the
free Protestant Church in Democratic
America, should have respect to the capa
cities and wants of the soul. Our doctrine
is 'that governments are made for man,
not man for governments: The primary
end of education, as of the Gospel, is to
elevate man. Says the great Milton,
" The end of.learning is to repair the
ruins of our first
_parents by regaining
to know God aright, and out of that
knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him,
to be like Him." A wiser than Milton
has said, " That the soul be without
knowledge is not good." The body
must have food, the lungs air, the eye
light. So there is truth for the intellect,
beauty for the imagination, duty for the
conscience, virtue for the heart, and all
this irrespective of earthly rank.
Now to the Church is committed the
work of educating and elevating mind.
She is God's great educational machine.
It is the command of her risen Lord,
"Feed my lambs." The Church is to
see to it, that education is so popular-.
ized, that:every mind eager for truth, ex
pansion, discipline, shall be helped to
them. The intellect, moral nature, influ
ence and destiny of the poor, call for
these higher opportunities no less than
though they had the wealth to command
them. As in Christianity, so in el:ldea
tion, there is a divine Democracy.
How shall Elmira Female College
open her doors to every daughter of
Western'and Central New York, rich or
poor, wito has the' mind to spring to
such privileges? God has deposited the
money for this purpose, in the coffers of
his people. •He has executed a just and
equitable draft + upon them. Will they
honor it ? Let the poor from their
penury, and the rich from their abun
dance, cast into the treasury. Let them
endow this God-honored institution, and
it will become a commanding light, send
ing its rays to the cottage and the man
sion. It will develope obscured talent
and desponding worth. It will bring
up jewels which, cut and polished, will
shine as instructors in ' our primary
schools, and shed a mild radiance over
future homes. It will evolve genius in
t s
music, painting and writing. It ' I
raise up authors who will furnish so
and literature for our Sabbath-sch i ols
and periodicals. It will send mission
aries to teach the freedmen of the South,
to plant the Rose of Sharon on the slopes
of the Rocky Mountains, to scatter the
darkness of heathen lands, and to re
construct. and bless the world. Let the
money of the Church be turned. into
`educated minds and devoted hearts—
purses emptied into brains. The ex
.change - will pay. Leta the means of
education be enlarged and adjusted to
the wants of the people, the whole peo
ple, ' and it will no longer be stung of
depressed and discouraged genius,
" But knowledge, to their eyes, her ample page,
Rich with the spoils of Time,'did ne'er un
roll,
Chill Penury repressed their noble rage,
And froze the genial current of the soul.
" Full many a gem of purest ray serey,
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
Elmira Female College was chartered
in 1855, with all the powers and privi
leges granted to other colleges in the .
State. It extends to woman opportu
nities of the highest culture. The build
ding, twO hundred and thirty feet long
and four stories high, stands on a slight
elevation, central to the valley, but a little
north of the city of Elmira, and looking
out upon a beautiful landscape, encircled
by distant hills. The faculty consists of a
President and twelve other teachers as
sociated with him. The principles and
purposes of this institution should elicit
the prayers, patronage and benefactions
of thoSe who value thorough female edu
cation. One individual has bestowed
$50,000. How would the surplus wealth
of good men and women set this college
a counterpart to Yale, where the rich
and the poor can meet and drink together
at the, same fountain of science and re
ligion.
MINISTERIAL PIETY TWO . HUNDRED
YEARS AGO.
HOW TO -RECEIVE A CALL
"Having preached on the Sabbath, I
gave myself on Monday to' fasting and
prayer, to seek of the Lord a right way
in regard to a call I had received.
Three/things were suggested to me
which prompted me to seek for light. ,
" 1. 'Unless I be sure of my call to
be from the Lord, how will I stand
against the discouragements I will meet
with there?
2. How can I think of profiting
them if the Lord do not send me to
them ?
" 3. How will I stand with them be
fore the tribunal of God, if I attempt to
preach to them without a call from Him••
self?
" 4. Having read Ezra ix. and x., I went
to prayer, and poured out my soul be
fore the Lord. Thereafter ; I read the
written confession of sin which I had
previously prepared, and also made an
additional one in writing. Which done
I thought on my sins and heart-mon
sters, till my soul was more humbled in
me. After that, wanting to renew the
covenant with God, and subscribe it
with my band, I drew it up in writing.
Which done, I prayed, the Spirit blow
ing on me, and I was greatly helped to
resoluteness for Christ, resolving, if I
perished, I should die at his door."
AFTER PREACHING.
"In the evening, while I sat musing on
what I had been preaching, viz : That
the soul that has got, a true discovery
of Christ, will be satisfied with him
alone, I proposed the question to
myself, Art thou content with Christ
alone? Wonldst thou be satisfied with
Christ as thy portion though there were
no hell to be saved from ? And my
soul answered yes. I asked myself
further, wouldst thou' be content with
Him though thou shouldat lose credit
and reputation, and meet with trouble
for his sake? My soul answered yes.
Such is my hatred of sin and love of
Christ."
BEFORE COMMUNION
" Two or three days before the com
munion, I endeavored to examine my
self thus :—They that have a sincere
desire of union and communion with
Christ, have true faith, (Matt. v. 6 ;
.Cor. viii. 12,) and such are those who, -
" f. Choose and desire Christ with-
out any desire to retain sin.
.
"2. Who desire a .whole Christ, as
well for sanctification as justification.
" 3. Who esteem Christ above all.
" 4. Who make suitable endeavors after
Christ.
"But I, as God is my judge, have
such a desire. For,
" 1. I desire Christ without exception
of any sin or the cross.
"2. I desire a whole Christ, and
would as fain have sin subdued and
mortified, as guilt taken away.
"3. I esteem Christ above all. Give
me Christ and take from me what thou
wilt.
"A. Sin is a batten to me." E. EL N
POPLAR GROVE CHURCH.
A few miles from Petersburg stands
Poplar Grove Church. It was built
during the last year of the war by a
portion of General Meade's army, and
that officer's headquarters were close
beside it. The church, which is large
and very beautiful, is constructed of the
boughs of trees, and roof, walls, and
spire, have a graceful, airy appearance,
which suits well the fair landscape that
stretches for miles around. At the
same time, its foundations are broad and
strong, and this sanctuary in the camp
might hold with ease a large and rever
ent assembly of worshippers.
Such an assembly it has held many
a time, during the warlike months of
the past. Standing in this shady porch,
beneath the whispering poplar trees, one
might then have heard the hurrying tramp
of men, the shrill tones of command, the
silvery blast of the bugle, or the deep
bass of the drum. Perhaps the hoarse
thunder of the cannon, or the sharp rat
tle of the musket, or the fiendish whiz
of the shell, might often have reached
the ear. Sometimes at , nightfall, the
glowing campfires may haVe thrown
their lurid light upon groups of blue
coated veterans, who met around the
genial blaze to tell their stories and sing
their songs of home. And as far as
the eye could reach, it might dwell on
a white shimmer of canvas, and the
ever shifting, ever changing scenes of
army life.
To-day, how chiinged ! A mighty
Congregation is gathered within sight of
Poplar Grove Church, but through all
its vast ranks there is neither sound
nor motion. Rank upon rank, row upon
row, regiment upon regiment, all resting
on their arms, in the still, soft. slumber
of death. Never - mote, shall morning
wake this' dreamless army with its rosy
fires. Never more shall trumpet rous e
them, till the last trump shall sound,
and the dead, small and great, shall com e
forth to stand in the presence of God.
Most appropriately the Governmen t
has selected this spot as a National
Cemetery. From the vast extent of
ground, where our men fought and
marched, and died, their remains are
being gathered and brought here for
honorable sepulture. A Burial Corps
has been engaged since September Ist,
in the work of removal and interment,
and already 4761 bodies have bee n
laid to rest in the graves. Buried hastiiv
where they fell, by the wayside, or is
the red field of strife, many of the poor
fellows have left no trace, and over such,
and there are hundreds, this brief epitaph
is inscribed, " Unknown U. S. Soldiers,
from -- farm or fort," etc. To us,
this seemed most touching. Over many
graves are placed the name and regi.
ment of the deceaSed, and these of
course can be removed, if friends desire,
to graves among their kindred. Nearly
3000 more soldiers will : be laid here
before the work is , completed.
As we rode back to Petersburg fro!:
the little church and , the.great congrega
tion, the light of the setting sun slanted
down on the October landscape. Ai:
was quiet, but in broken fences, and
bare fields and rains, where had once
been stately homes, we realized that here
had been the harsh hand of war. Stiil
more did we realize it, when the nest
morning, standing in the crater where
the mine explosion occurred, we were
told that from beneath our feet, nine
hundred mutilated bodies had been
taken, and, lo ! as we looked among the
remains of canteens, haversacks, boots,
etc., we beheld two ghastly skulls, that
seemed to stare in our faces. Sadly we
turned away, thankful that we still have
a country, but lamenting that the flower
of the land had fallen in the strife.
M. E. M
LETTER FROM. lOWA.
"Young Folks"—Need of Christianity
Want of Ministers—Some of the Causes
Reasons for Cheerful Perseverance-7h
State University—Education in the We
Mu. EDITOR :—One of the observa.
ble features of the West'-is absence of
" white locks." It is a " young Ameri
ca ;"—all the , more need of sending
abroad the principles of Christianity.
There seems, however, to be a great
" want of men?' and of " means" to
carry on the work.
Many causes, no doubt, as secondary
contribute to this result. As respects
the home field in the West, one of these
causes is the multiplication of churches,
in the same field, and even in the same
denomination. The fact of denomina
tions is a strikingleatire of Christiani
ty at the present day. We do not re
gard it, however, as essentially evil that
there, should be many phases of the out
ward form—for they all have more or
less of truth--and most of them, it is
to be hoped, the vital truth. They are
furthermore incident to a free govern
ment, free thought and discussion. It
is the formative period of our grea t
country, and of the Church in her out
ward structure. But as there may be
such a thing as too much church au
thority, (witness the Middle Ages,) so
there may be danger of too great diftr,
siveness and scattering of our forces is
our Christian warfare.
This evil is seen in the western
towns, where each denomination, and
sometimes each phase of the same de
nomination, seeks to s' lay the founda
tions for all coming time."
There are, to my certain knowledge.
many villages demanding• no more than
one or two churches, which have six or
eight, and many of them aided by home
missionary funds. To some- extent this
is- unavoidable, but not to every es
tent. By reason of this undue compe
tition, none of these churches very sees
become strong—some of them die out
—none make that impression they
othe l liwise would as spiritual powers
in the communities, while other des
titute fields are suffering for want 0 . 1
men.
But the Church should not be dis
couraged. Christianity is a great move
ment. There is no resisting medium is
the divine movement of which Christ is
the centre ; nothing that can constantly
or regularly retard or finally arrest the
divine arrangement ; nothing more than
certain pertubations producing inconsia
erable oscillations, for Christ is amid it
all, " the way, the truth and the life."
Young men are turning their atten
tion to business in these days. Educa
tion is now more and more regarded by
young men as a means to make money.
The spirit of spectdation, , not in met
aphysics, is rife. It will not last always.
The time of more earnest thought will
come. This leads me to say a word of
the State University, located in this
place. There are' no* : about five bun
dred students, of both sexes, in attend
ance. , The new chapel ,room, beautiful
ly finished with 'frescoes, and stained
windows, and capable of holding sere 3
hundred or more, has just been COo"
pleted, and dedicated. I was "too near
the speaker" to judge df the dedicatory
address. The building cost thirty-fire
thousand dollars. A fine laboratory
and other rooms are on the first float
This, with three other large buildings
(one of them the former capitol, et
lowa marble,) situated in the midst
of oaks and maples, together with an
able corps of professors and teachers ,
renders this an important and pleasant
institution of learning. G. D. A. IL
lowa Crry, Nov. 1, 1866.