Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou Part 4

"My connection with the people of Portsmouth was very cordial and happy, until that gloomy war-cloud which brought on a conflict with England came over the land. The anti-war party was numerous, and very influential; and, as I could not consent that my country was in the wrong, a bitter spirit became manifested towards me, which so operated towards the close of the war, that I became satisfied it was my duty to stay in that place no longer; and as the society in Salem was without a pastor, I received an invitation, which I accepted, to remove to that delightful place."

This was by no means a solitary instance or evidence of the warm patriotic fire that ever burned brightly in his bosom. He was ardently attached to the republican principles of our government, and never failed, on every suitable occasion, to evince the most earnest attachment for his country. Though a constant and untiring student of divinity, yet he was by no means a novice in political economy; the basis of our inst.i.tutions, and their true spirit as set forth by the const.i.tution, the influences and natural results of our style of government, and the political soundness of the nation, were themes on which he was more than well informed, but yet he always carefully avoided mingling in party politics.

He removed to Salem in the month of June, 1815, where he found many cordial and true friends, whose memory and companions.h.i.+p he cherished to the close of life. While resident here he wrote a pamphlet in reply to one by John Kelley, A. M., ent.i.tled "Solemn and Important Reasons against becoming a Universalist." This review was comprised in a pamphlet of eighty pages, and is a strong and powerful argument in favor of the principles which the author believed, and which he advocated with such successful zeal. These minor publications of Mr. Ballou's, when now referred to, convey but a faint idea of the interest which they then produced. Their extended and immediate influence was evident. Vast numbers were sold; some zealous people, rejoicing at the joy unspeakable to which they had themselves attained through the author's writings and public communications from the pulpit, purchased them by wholesale, and distributed them gratis, far and near. His hearers, too, largely increased in numbers, and he was rewarded for his labors by witnessing the rich harvest that he was reaping in his Master's vineyard, and the number of souls he was leading in the paths of truth.

While resident in Salem, he also wrote a series of letters in reply to a series addressed to him by Abner Kneeland, inquiring into the authenticity of the Scriptures. The book formed of the letters referred to makes a volume of two hundred and fifty pages. The first edition was published in Salem, in 1816, the second in Boston, in 1820. The origin of these letters, which created no small degree of attention, at that period especially, was as follows: Rev. Mr. Kneeland having at various times expressed serious doubts and fears relative to the genuineness of the holy Scriptures, and the system of Divine revelation therein contained, solicited Mr. Ballou to enter into a correspondence with him upon the subject, in which Mr. Kneeland agreed to do his utmost to disprove the truth and authenticity of the Bible, while Mr. Ballou should take the opposite ground, and as strenuously defend it.

It was thought that this mode of discussion would be of mutual benefit to them, and at the time of its commencement was designed solely for their private use. But they were finally published, at the solicitation of friends, and with the hope that they might be productive of more extended good. These letters, which are somewhat lengthy, and indeed necessarily so on the part of Mr. Ballou, who a.s.sumed the laboring oar, were always written, as he has told us, at a single sitting. They are highly valuable, and were more particularly so at that period, as forming a powerful chain of evidence in favor of Christianity, and are characterized, on Mr. Ballou's part, by a vigorous accuracy and earnest desire after truth, which prepossesses the reader in their favor.

Mr. Ballou knew very well the misgivings as to the truth of the Divine revelations by which Mr. Kneeland's mind was exercised, and, notwithstanding other pressing duties and regular engagements, he consented to a discussion which must needs cost him many hours of study and labor, hoping thereby to lead one soul, at least, to a full and clear belief in the gospel of Christ. These letters reached the number of ten on either side before the correspondence was brought to a close, when Mr. Kneeland was compelled by the force of evidence frankly to acknowledge his entire satisfaction and conversion; and having found such joy in believing, such relief at being released from the iron thraldom of doubt and fear, he was exceedingly anxious to publish the entire series of letters.

It should be remembered that at the present day, when we have so many excellent books to consult, and can avail ourselves of the experience and research of so many able minds,--men who have fought the good fight of faith,--it is a very easy matter to sit down and defend the gospel against the arguments of the sceptic, the ground being already thoroughly canva.s.sed for us pro and con, and weapons keen and bright placed in our very hands. But Mr. Ballou enjoyed none of these advantages; his tools were wrought from the native ore, and skilled after the fas.h.i.+on of his own mind. Every line he wrote, every opinion he advanced, was the result of deep and careful study, without the a.s.sistance of any other book save the Bible itself.

"As 1815 was the year after the war closed," says Mr. Ballou, "all kinds of provisions were extremely dear, and my salary was so poorly paid, that I could not get money enough from my friends to meet my expenses; and during the two years and four months I tarried here, I was compelled to spend about three hundred dollars more than I received, of money which I had by me when I came to Salem."

While resident in Salem, he applied himself with unremitting industry and diligence to his studies, devoting his time wholly to writing upon the subject of his faith, and the exercise of his professional duties as a minister. His labors here were particularly blessed with success, and the converts to his church were many. The Salem society under his charge vastly increased in influence and numbers, and Mr. Ballou had reason to rejoice at the very evident success of his labors with this people. When he first came to Salem, his doctrine, even by professed Universalists, was thought to be too radical, too universal, in short _too good_; but ere he left them, they had fallen almost unconsciously into his mode of belief, gradually, step by step, though the pa.s.sage had been so easy that they had not realized the change until they found themselves already convinced.

It was not his practice to a.s.sail the unbeliever at once with blunt, open refutation of his principles, nor to stagger him by an array of unanswerable arguments, but realizing that a casual a.n.a.logy often convinceth when the mind will not bear argument, he adopted an easy and soothing course of reasoning, and thus gradually and easily sought his object. Thus was many an otherwise hopeless spirit turned from the darkness of error to the light of truth. Endeared to all his acquaintances by his unostentatious character, and by his mild, patient, and prudent habits, the separation from his society in Salem was mutually a hard task.

As soon as it was understood that Mr. Ballou had been talked of as pastor of the Second Universalist Society in Boston, Rev. Paul Dean, of respectable and influential standing in the order, and settled in Boston, strove by every manner of means to defeat this purpose. He feared the bold, unflinching, and manly style of preaching, for which Mr. Ballou had already become widely celebrated. Himself a man who avoided all sectional controversy in his preaching, he foresaw that the advent of Mr. Ballou in Boston would compel him to come out openly and acknowledge either that he was a Universalist or that he was not. He was not willing to risk his popularity in the matter, and therefore strove, by letters and orally, to dissuade Mr. Ballou from coming to Boston, and finally he declared to him that if he came hither he should consider it a breach of fellows.h.i.+p, and should ever after treat him accordingly.

Mr. Ballou was not one to be intimidated by threats; personal fear was a quality that he never realized. He came to Boston, and the sequel shows a result that is perfectly satisfactory to his friends. Mr. Dean was not prepared to make any great sacrifice for the sake of truth; it was not at that time popular for him to preach downright Universalism. The opinions of most men are governed by circ.u.mstances, quite as much as by truthful evidence; but Mr. Ballou, with a single eye to truth, never catered for the popular taste, never asked whether the promulgation of this or that great principle of truth would be acceptable and popular; he had no such policy in his composition, but dealt only in wholesome truths, and such as his own heart had baptized in the clear, welling waters of conviction.

The editor of the _Christian Freeman_, Rev. Sylva.n.u.s Cobb, not long since published an account of his first interview with Mr. Ballou, which we subjoin in this connection, as being applicable in placing the subject of the controversy, which is well known to have existed, between Mr. Ballou and Mr. Dean, in a proper light. In speaking of his first visit to the city of Boston, from his home in Maine, the writer says:--

"At this time the scheme was in vogue with a few brethren, among whom Brs. Turner and Dean were conspicuous, for a division of the denomination, and the erection of a new order, which it was calculated would be the leading order, nearly swallowing up the other, to be ent.i.tled 'Restorationists.' We impute no evil motive to any one; but those on whom we called before reaching Bro. Ballou, felt it to be their privilege to make the projected scheme the chief subject of conversation, and to express much of the feeling of dissatisfaction towards Bro. Ballou. We were made to feel quite unhappy; and as we had heard of Bro. Ballou as a stern and severe man, we expected to be even more hara.s.sed with a talk of 'troubles and difficulties' when in company with him. At length we were introduced to his presence, and took his friendly hand. He sat down by us, and with much interest and affection he inquired into our labors and prospects, and into the interests of the cause in Maine. We waited to hear him introduce the subject of the 'difficulties' but we waited in vain. At length we attempted to draw him out, by asking him of the nature of the 'difficulties' among the brethren here. 'I am ignorant,' said he, 'of any real difficulties.

Certain brethren are believers in a limited future punishment; but I cannot see that that is any occasion for difficulty. Certainly I know of no reason why I should have any trouble with these brethren, or esteem them any the less for their seeing cause to believe as they do. But if they require me to believe it as essential to the Christian faith, I feel that it is proper for me to call on them for the proof of the doctrine. We cannot see with each other's eyes; we must be willing to allow each other to judge for himself. I love those brethren, and wish them prosperity and happiness.' And tears started from his eyes when he spoke. We felt that he spoke from the heart. There was no envy, no scheming, no party spirit about him. He sought a knowledge of G.o.d's word, and would 'speak G.o.d's word faithfully,' and accord the same right to others.

"And such we have ever found him. We have lived in neighborhood with him twenty-four years, and have found him one of the most modest, una.s.suming, liberal-minded and true-hearted men we ever knew. He was always pained to see one crowding upon another. He would see all working and prospering, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity and happiness.

May his spirit be with us all."

We might dilate upon the subject of this controversy, but it is not a congenial theme. Suffice it to say, then, that the shafts of envy and ambition launched forth against Mr. Ballou, were as innocent and harmless, as it regarded him, as the summer winds. It is true that they caused him anxiety of mind, and not a little annoyance, in disproving the malignant charges brought against him; but, in the end, these tests only caused his purity of character to s.h.i.+ne out with more surpa.s.sing brilliancy.

CHAPTER VIII.

SETTLES IN BOSTON.

After a peaceful and happy residence in Salem, of a little more than two years, Mr. Ballou received a cordial invitation from the Second Universalist Society of Boston to become their pastor. The invitation was accepted; and, in the forty-fifth year of his age, he removed to this city, and was installed December 15, 1817, in the church which was built with the avowed purpose of obtaining his ministerial services; and here he continued to preach to the people for over thirty-five years.

His letter of acceptance, addressed to the society, is as follows:--

"SIR: The call of the Second Universalist Society, in Boston, inviting me to the labors of the Christian ministry with them, together with the liberal terms which accompany said invitation, have been duly considered; and, after weighing all the circ.u.mstances relative to the subject, so far as my limited mind could comprehend them, I have come to the conclusion that it is my duty to accept their call on the conditions therein stated. I largely partic.i.p.ate in the 'peculiar pleasure' afforded by the consideration of the unanimity of the society, and entertain an humble hope that, with the continuance of this harmony, we may long continue to enjoy all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

"The society's most humble servant in Christ, "HOSEA BALLOU."

"To JOHN BRAZER, Esq."

Rev. Thomas Whittemore, a devoted, constant, and consistent friend of Mr. Ballou, and who was also regarded by the subject of these memoirs almost like one of his own family, thus speaks of this period:--"This society had just finished their house, the present venerable structure, on School-street. They never for a moment had a thought of seeking any other pastor than the Rev. Hosea Ballou, if it were possible to obtain his services; and, accordingly, two months before the house was ready for dedication, a letter of inquiry was dispatched to him, to draw out his sentiments in regard to a removal to Boston. In the mean time the house was hurried on to completion. Rev. Messrs. Jones, of Gloucester, Turner, of Charlestown, Ballou, of Salem, and Dean, of Boston, were invited to join in the dedicatory services; Father Jones being invited to preach the sermon, and the others to arrange the remaining services at their discretion. The dedication took place on Wednesday, October 16.

Mr. Ballou was not present, as he was at the time in the country. On the following Tuesday a meeting of the proprietors was holden, and Mr.

Ballou was invited to take the pastoral charge by a _unanimous_ vote.

The salary was fixed, at first, at thirteen hundred dollars per annum, to which donations of fuel were occasionally made. He was installed on December 25, 1817. Rev. Paul Dean preached, on the occasion, from Acts 20: 24. He also gave the fellows.h.i.+p of the churches. Rev. E. Turner, of Charlestown, made the installing prayer, and gave the charge. Rev.

Joshua Flagg, who had succeeded Mr. Ballou at Salem, offered the concluding prayer.

"Thus was Mr. Ballou duly installed as pastor. The congregations that attended on his ministry were exceedingly large. He soon became widely known for his eloquence and boldness, and the novel nature of the subjects discussed by him. His preaching was of a controversial and doctrinal character. He explained, in his discourses, those texts which had been supposed to teach the doctrine of a judgment in the future state, and endless torment. He was repeatedly called on, by letter, from inquirers after truth, to preach from particular texts of this character; and, as he gave public notice of the time when he would explain such pa.s.sages, his audiences were immensely large. It was usual, from Sabbath to Sabbath, to see the meeting-house filled, in the forenoon, so that it was difficult to obtain a seat. In the afternoon, many would be obliged to stand, especially in the galleries, and around the head of the stairs; and in the evening the aisles would be crowded, above and below.

"For the last six or eight years preceding the rise of the Second Universalist Society, Universalism had produced little or no excitement in Boston. The First Society remained stationary. Mr. Dean, its pastor, preached little on those subjects on which he differed from other sects.

In the vicinity of Boston there was no movement in favor of Universalism. There were scarcely ten Universalist pastors in Ma.s.sachusetts. The cause was evidently languid. The rise of the Second Universalist Society in Boston, and the removal of Mr. Ballou thither, produced a new state of things. There arose a commotion among the elements; but the effect was to purify the atmosphere, and give men a clearer and more extended vision. New societies, holding Mr. Ballou's sentiments, soon began to arise around Boston."

On settling in Boston, he at once found a host of true and solicitous friends, whose interest in his ministry, respect for his character, and attention to his general welfare, enlisted in their behalf his warmest feelings of regard; sentiments which were ever cherished by him to the last, and frequently recurred to at his own fireside, and in the quiet of his family circle. Exercised by a realizing sense of this fact, the more keenly when he remembers that his father can give oral form to these feelings no longer, the author of this humble biography has at its commencement dedicated it to the subject's cherished friends.

We have thus given a memoir of Mr. Ballou's life up to the period of his settlement in Boston, where he was destined to operate upon a more extended field of action,--where his mental and physical powers, thoroughly trained and tested as they had been, were to be taxed more heavily still; and where he was destined to build for himself a name that will live in the grateful memory of future generations, and to erect for himself a monument that points further heavenward than eastern pyramids,--the savor of a truly Christian life.

Immediately on his becoming settled in Boston, in addition to the duties of his pastoral charge, and that of writing for two or three religious periodicals, Mr. Ballou was obliged to answer the frequent demands that poured in upon him, from every quarter, to lecture and to preach in the numerous towns within ten, twenty, and often fifty miles of the city, at a time when the means of communication were, at best, but very indifferent,--rendering it necessary for him to drive his own vehicle, in order to reach the desired point without loss of time. So frequent and urgent were these demands for his services, in towns and villages of New England, that week-days, as well as Sundays, were occupied in holding forth to the people, who came from far and near to hear him. Not unfrequently were several consecutive days thus employed; portions of the night even being improved in travelling between the several places when at a great distance apart, and sleep, or rest of any sort, being but sparingly indulged in. But so zealous was he in the glorious cause that filled his whole soul,--so thoughtless of self, and so wedded to his Master's business,--that his own labors seemed to him as nothing; and neither his energies nor his spirits were wearied for a single moment. The bow of his mind and body both seemed ever strung and bent, yet never to lose their elasticity. The amount of actual physical labor which he thus performed can hardly be estimated; but certain it is that he must have been almost miraculously sustained, to have endured so much fatigue without most serious injury.

"Soon after coming to Boston," says Mr. Ballou, "opposition to my Unitarian views, and to the way in which I explained many important pa.s.sages of Scripture, put on a serious aspect. Most of this opposition was exercised by professed Universalist preachers. There was much hypocrisy and low cunning set to work in order to check my success; but, though this was a source of much grief to my heart, it was the means of calling into action all my resources, which I found it necessary to put in requisition for the defence of the truth. All this resulted in good.

My editorial duties, my necessarily long sermons three times on every Sabbath, giving evening lectures at home and in the neighboring towns, tried to the utmost my physical powers of endurance. With all these engagements, I was writing and publis.h.i.+ng the two volumes of my Lecture Sermons, and my Select Sermons, which proved too much for my strength, and I brought on a weakness in my left side that has affected me for years."

The weakness here referred to was doubtless caused by sitting for hours together at his writing-table in his study, with only such brief intervals as were necessarily consumed in taking his frugal meals. At such times he partook very sparingly of any kind of nourishment, declaring, when solicited on this point, that his brain was clearer, his mind more vigorous, when he ate but little, than when he allowed himself fully to satisfy his appet.i.te. During the hours devoted to writing he was never disturbed; his children never for one moment forgot that he was thus engaged; and though they might pa.s.s through his apartment, still it was with a careful step and noiseless way, that showed their constant consideration for one whom they so much venerated. When he was thus engaged, for the last thirty years, having become relieved of the immediate domestic cares of her family, his wife always sat with him, sewing, knitting, or reading, but never interrupting him. Thus they grew, year by year, when he was in the house, more and more inseparable, and the tender regard of each seemed to increase for the other as year after year whitened their venerable locks.

Concerning the period of his early settlement in Boston, Rev. Sylva.n.u.s Cobb says:--"When Mr. Ballou entered upon his labors here, benignantly warring upon the hurtful errors which enslaved and paralyzed the common mind, and elucidating those prominent gospel truths which are the bread of life to the soul, there was an extensive movement of mind in the city, and in the region round about, far and near. When the Twenty-six Lectures, published by Henry Bowen, were in the process of delivery, the church was usually filled an hour before the set time of beginning, and mult.i.tudes would be going away who could not find entrance. He had done much before this, by his ministry in other places, and the publication of his Notes on the Parables, Treatise on Atonement, and controversy with Robinson, to advance the cause of truth; but he was now providentially placed at a commanding stand-point, a central position, the commercial emporium of New England, whence his influence went out through all the land. Business men, from different parts, who had occasion to be in Boston over the Sabbath, would go in at School-street church, become convinced by the able expounder's arguments, go home, taking with them some of his publications, and commence a work in their respective neighborhoods, which, in many cases, resulted in the formation of societies."

As a sample of the spirit he was forced to encounter, and the animosity felt against Universalists generally, and their teachings, by the clergy of other persuasions, we relate the following anecdote. Being in the town of Mattapoisett, Ma.s.s., during one of his short journeys into the neighboring country to fulfil professional engagements, Mr. Ballou found that he must stop there for the night. It was soon known in the village that he was to remain for this period, and he was at once waited upon by a committee chosen for the purpose, and informed that the town's people were exceedingly anxious to hear him preach, and that permission had been obtained for him to hold forth in the Orthodox meeting-house, if agreeable to himself. Mr. Ballou cheerfully consented to their wishes, and the people were notified accordingly. It is proper to state, that several among those who invited Mr. Ballou to preach here, were themselves large share-holders in the meeting-house, and in two instances members of the church. Notwithstanding all this, when Mr.

Ballou came to the meeting-house, not antic.i.p.ating the least opposition to his purpose, he was met at the door by the Orthodox clergyman then officiating here, and who positively forbade his entrance. In vain did Mr. Ballou attempt calmly to reason with him; still the excited pastor insisted most vociferously that he should not enter, although fully informed of all the circ.u.mstances. Nor would he yield until at length he was absolutely dragged away forcibly by his own friends.

Erasmus, the reformer of the fifteenth century, "who stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age," was not more strongly opposed by the bigoted Catholics of his day, who charged him with having "laid the egg that Luther hatched," than was Hosea Ballou by the partialists of his times. Particularly was this the case during the early and middle period of his public labors. The reformation begun by Luther has been well termed "an insurrection of the human mind against the absolute power of spiritual order." Its earliest fruit was the vigorous but narrow belief of Puritanism; then followed the more liberal creeds of the subsequent period; but it seemed to be left for Mr. Ballou to strike out and ill.u.s.trate the doctrine of perfect freedom through Christ, of entire impartiality and free grace, which the doctrine of universal salvation inculcates.

Relative to the bigotry and unreasonable spirit often evinced towards the subject of this biography, and the cause he advocated, we are reminded in this connection of another anecdote, which is authentic, and which the subject of these memoirs related to his family.

Not long after Mr. Ballou's settlement in Boston, he received a pressing invitation to visit the island of Nantucket. The inconvenience of communication between the island and the main land was considerable, but he consented, and pa.s.sed some ten days there, preaching every successive day and evening to large and interested audiences, creating a very earnest movement in the matter of religion. On his return, arriving at New Bedford, he took the stage coach for Boston, and in it found but one other person. Scarcely had the journey commenced, when his fellow-pa.s.senger opened the conversation by saying,--

"You are just from the island, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir," was the reply.

"Well, they say old Ballou is over there, preaching his heresy. Did you see him?"

"Yes, I saw him," was the calm reply.

"Well, he's a rough old fellow. I don't like him."

"Why not?" asked Mr. Ballou.

"Because he preaches that all men will be saved and go to heaven in their sins, and no man in his senses can believe that."

"But, sir, did you ever hear him preach?"