Writings of Rev. William Bradford Homer ...

Preface

Soon after the subject of the following Memou* had been called from life, his friends expressed a unanimous desire that some of the fruits of his scholarship should be given to the pubhc. The parish over which he had been ordained, and the Association of ministers with which he had been connected, testified their regard to his memory by formally requesting bis sermons for the press. Candidates for the sacred office and clergymen who had but recently commenced their labors were especially earnest for the publication of his essays and discourses. It was often said that the writings of a young man are peculiarly attractive to scholars of his own age, that his excellence, whatever it be, engages more of their sympathetic interest and is therefore more readily imitated, than the excellence of a writer who is further removed from them in age and cultivation. There is sometimes an approach to perfectness in a model which discourages all attempts to equal it, and men are often less benefited by such a copy than by one which is less highly finished. Man has a tendency to imitation which cannot be entirely repressed. Whenever he may properly indulge it, he should look not merely for standards which are free from fault, but also for such as are imitable, and such as afford incentives to original exertion. It is not claimed that the writings of Mr. Homer furnish a model for the imitation of all, but it is thought that they exhibit some good qualities which are seldom found in the pulpit, and that thoy may stimulate the

IV PREFACE.

youthful preacher to attain those varied excellences which are called for by the various vrauts of the community. They shovv^ that in the esteem of a christian scholar there is no human composition so important or so dignified as a sermon, if it be a true sermon and not in the words of Bishop Andrews " called so by a charitable construction ;" that the pulpit is not only the " preacher's throne" but is raised far above any other station on earth, and that all attainments in ancient or modern literature may be properly subordinated to the work of " persuading men in Christ's stead to become reconciled to God." They show the influence of a minister's private character upon his public performances, that an orator must be a good man, and that virtue is profitable unto all things in this life.

It was with great reluctance that the editor of the present volume undertook to prepare it for the press. He well knew that Mr. Homer did not write for the public eye, that he dreaded the criticisms of the multitude and would have shrunk back from the remotest suggestion of printing his posthumous remains. " When I am gone," he once remarked, " I wish that nothing more than my name and my age may be told to those who survive me." Many of his compositions were written in haste, and but few of them had received the finish that he might have given. The editor was also aware that the volume ought to be issued sooner than he could hope for sufficient health even to commence the preparing of it, and he therefore endeavored to devolve the labor upon other hands, but in vain. Denied almost entirely the use of his eyes, he has been obliged to omit some correcting processes which he would gladly have performed ; and fearing to mar the individuality of Mr. Homer's writings, he has left unmodified some of the statements that seem to him not entirely accurate. No alterations have been made but such as leave unimpaired the identity of Mr. Homer's character and style, and such as when once suggested to him would probably have received his sanction. In delineating the character of Mr. Homer the editor has been much assisted by several fri^nda

PREFACE. V

of the deceased, and is happy to express his gratitude for their vahiable communications. He is also largely indebted to a few indinduals who have revised much of tJie copy for the press, and have corrected all the proof sheets. That the volume is not free from imperfections the editor is fully aware. It does not contain several of Mr. Homer's discourses and critiques which his friends have desired to see in press, nor his highly commended oration on the Harmony of the Professions, which he delivered at Amherst College when he took his degree of Master of Arts. In preparing the Memoir, also, the editor has fallen below the standard which he had set up, and has failed in delineating the character which he imderstood for himself better than he could describe for others. He dismisses the work, not with the •'li-igid tranquillity*' which Dr. Johnson speaks of, but with the reflection that under many disadvantages he has done what he could for the memory of one who deserves a better memorial.

TABLE OF CONTENTS,

MEMOm.

PAGE

Mr. Homer's Childhood . .14

Early Youth and Residence at Amherst College. ... 20

Activity in a Revival of Religion 27

Habits of Self-contemplation . 33

Residence at the Theological Seminary 41

Health and Physical Regimen 51

Results of Scholarship. 55

Character as a Friend. 56

Developments in Affliction 61

Religious Character. 70

Facetiousness. 78

Residence at South Berwick, Maine. 85

Character as a Preacher. . 93

Last Days • 118

Appendix to the Memoir 132

LITERARY ADDRESSES.

The Posthumous Power of the Pulpit 139

The Dramatic Element in Pulpit Oratory 146

DISCOURSES.

I. Influence Of Familiarity With Religious Truth Upon The Sinner

Matthew 13: 57, — A Prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house. ..... 159

Vlll CONTENTS.

THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS.

1 Corinthians 6: 3, — Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? 175

HI.

THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS.

1 Corinthians 6: 3, — Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? 189

IV.

THE CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE SINNER WHO IS NEARLY A CHRISTIAN.

Mark 12: 34, — Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. . 202

V.

FITNESS OF THE MEDIATOR TO BE THE JUDGE OF THE

WORLD.

John 5: 27, — And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man 217

VI.

Matthew 11: 29, — Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me : for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls . 234

vii.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A MAN FOR HIS INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS.

Genesis 4: 9, 10, — And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother ? And he said, I know not : am I my brother's keeper ? And he said. What hast thou done ? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. . . 245

VIII.

CHARACTER OF PONTIUS PILATE.

Luke 23: 24, — And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 256

CONTENTS. ft

IX.

THE NEGLECT OF DUTY AX OCCASIO>^ OF POSITIVE SIN.

Genesis 4: 7, — If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. 277

X.

THE CULTIVATION OF THE SOCIAL VIRTUES NO PROOF OF HOLINESS.

Matthew 8: 21, 22, — And another of his disciples said unto him. Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him. Follow me ; and let the dead bury their dead. . 289

XI.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND THE SOCIAL AFFECTIONS.

John 19: 26, 27, — When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son ! Then saith he to the disciple. Behold thy mother ! And from that hour that disciple took her into his own house. ......... 302

XII.

THE EXTENT AND BROADNESS OF THE DIVINE LAW.

Psalm 119: 96, — I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy commandment is exceeding broad. ..... 316

xm.

THE CHARACTER AND THE REWARD OF ENOCH.

Genesis 5: 24, — And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. ........ 331

XIV.

THE DUTY OF IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE TO THE DIVINE COMMANDS.

Psalm 119: 60, — I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. .......... 345

Contents

ABSTRACTS AND NOTES ON THE CLASSICS.

I.

Abstract of R. P. Knight's Preliminary Observations upon the Poems of Homer 363