and stiffness, much unfitting me for conversation, but more especially for the government of a college.' This description of his mental conformation is curious, physiologically, as an anatomy of a mind so remarkable for its faculty of abstraction. May we not say, that this very poverty of constitution, this sluggishness and aridity, this feeble pulse of life, was the very secret of his extraordinary power of analysis? The supposition leads to speculations concerning the physical conditions of the mind, which must not here be pursued; but it may be remarked, in passing, that it must be from the copious collection, and right use, of facts of this sort, that progress will be made (if ever) in the science of mind.

"But, notwithstanding the apparent coldness of his temperament, Edwards was manifestly susceptible, and in no common degree, of those emotions which are rarely conjoined with the philosophic faculty. Let an instance be taken from his Diary. There seemed to be, as it were, a calm, sweet cast, an appearance of divine glory in almost every thing; God's excellency, his wisdom, his purity, and love, seemed to appear in every thing; in the sun, moon, and stars; in the clouds and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water, and all nature, which seemed greatly to fix my mind. I often used to sit and view the moon for continuance, and in the day spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky, to behold the sweet glory of God in these things; in the mean time singing forth, with a low voice, my contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer. And scarce any thing among all the works of nature was so sweet to me as thunder and lightning; formerly nothing had been so terrible to me. While thus engaged, it always seemed natural to me to sing or chant forth my meditations, or to speak my thoughts in soliloquies with a singing voice.'

"That Edwards, by constitution of mind, was more than a dry and cold thinker, might be proved by many passages even in his 'Essay on Free Will,' as well as his less abstruse writings. He was master, in fact, of a simple eloquence of no mean order; 'Holiness, as I then wrote down some of my contemplations on it, appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm nature, which brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, and ravishment to the soul. In other words, that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant flowers; all pleasant, delightful, and undisturbed, enjoying a sweet calm, and the gently vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christian, as I then wrote my meditations, appeared like such a little white flower as we see in the spring of the year, low and humble, on the ground; opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of the sun's glory; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture; diffusing around a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of other flowers round about; all, in like manner, opening their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun. There was no part of creature holiness that I had so great a sense of its loveliness, as humility, brokenness of heart, and poverty of spirit; and there was nothing I so earnestly longed for. My heart panted, after this, to lie low before God, as in the dust, that I might be nothing, and that God might be all, that I might become as a little child.'

"These sentiments were not the exuberances of a youthful, melancholic ardor, but gave tone to the character and conduct of the man through life. To accomplish the will of God on earth was the ruling motive of his soul; and to have sought his own glory, he would have thought an enormous departure from true virtue. If his definition of true virtue be liable to objection, his exemplification of it showed him to have understood practically the secret of all substantial goodness.” *

If these paragraphs have appeared long to the reader, let it be recollected that they express the opinion of one eminent man concerning another, still more eminent, whose character is worthy of being closely studied, and which, unless it be thus studied, will never be adequately appreciated.

The judgment of the celebrated Dugald Stewart concerning one, whose writings hold so important a place in the philosophy of the human mind, will be regarded with respect by all competent. critics. That distinguished man, after having spoken at large of the systems of Locke and Leibnitz, of Berkeley and Condillac, expresses himself thus concerning President Edwards; "There is, however, one metaphysician, of whom America has to boast, who, in logical acuteness and subtilty, does not yield to any disputant bred in the universities of Europe. I need not say that I allude to JONATHAN EDWARDS."

The Reverend Dr. Ashbel Green, one of the successors of the subject of this memoir in the presidency of New Jersey College, presents the following high estimate of the character of Edwards. "His own sentiments," meaning those of himself, the writer, "in contemplating the life and labors of President Edwards, are those of profound and affectionate veneration; so much so, that he knows not, that he has ever read or heard of a man, of whom he has been disposed to say, with more truth and ardor than of Mr. Edwards, 'I would wish to be such a man.' He was certainly the possessor of a mighty mind. As such, his reputation has been steadily advancing ever since his death; till at length the British writers, notwithstanding their tardiness in duly accrediting American genius and talents, have classed him

among the great masters of reasoning. But the highest excellence of his character was, that his great powers of mind were deeply sanctified, and unreservedly consecrated to the glory of God, and the good of mankind. He was, in the estimation of the writer, one of the most holy, humble, and heavenly-minded men, that the world has seen since the Apostolic age.

"His learning was not various. Having early devoted himself in the most unreserved manner to the service of God in the Gospel ministry, his studies always had a reference, either direct or collateral, to theology. But, thus employed, such a mind as his could not fail to acquire science and erudition, to a considerable extent; while, in its favorite pursuits, eminence of the first distinction would certainly be reached. In knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, and in every thing relating to theology, he had few equals. In reasoning on theological subjects, he had, in the day in which he lived, no superior. By saying this, the writer does not mean to subscribe to every conclusion in theology at which this great man arrived, any more than, in expressing his admiration of the powers of Mr. Locke, he would be understood to adopt all that is said in the 'Essay on the Human Understanding.' Mr. Edwards's manner or style of writing has no claims to elegance. His language is not select; he is utterly regardless of any