iv. 6 marked as preached in Northampton, May 1755, and in a book of plans

of sermons at least three notes of texts and doctrines of the same period marked as designed for Northampton. (F. B. Dexter, _The Manuscripts of Jonathan Edwards_, p. 8.)

145. =By which I became so obnoxious.= The excitement of the Great Awakening was followed by a period of laxity. In 1744 Edwards was informed that a number of the young people of his congregation, of both sexes, were reading immoral books, which fostered lascivious and obscene conversation. To check the evil, he preached a sermon, of the frankness of which we may judge from the published sermon on "Joseph's Temptation," from Heb. xii. 15, 16, and after the service communicated to the brethren of the church the evidence in his possession with a view to further action. A committee of inquiry was appointed to assist the pastor in examining into the affair at a meeting at his house. Edwards then read the names of the young people to be summoned as witnesses or as accused, but without discriminating between the two classes. When the names were thus published, it was found that most of the leading families of the town were implicated. "The town was suddenly all on a blaze." Many of the heads of families refused to proceed with the investigation; many of the young people summoned to the meeting refused to come, and those who did come acted with insolence. Edwards never thereafter succeeded in reestablishing his authority. For years not a single candidate appeared for admission to the church. See Hopkins, _Life of Edwards_ (1765), pp. 53 ff. Dwight, _op. cit._ pp. 299 f., copies Hopkins's account almost verbatim, but without acknowledgment.

146. =I have ... meet before him.= The company keeping and worldly amusements of the young people were an old grievance with Edwards. Writing of the period before the revival of 1734-1735, he says, "It was their manner very frequently to get together in conventions of both sexes, for mirth and jollity, which they called frolicks; and they would often spend the greater part of the night in them, without any regard to order in the families they belong to." How the young people amused themselves in these "conventions," we can only conjecture; it is certain that some, at least, of the parents saw no harm in them. But Edwards's idea of family government was very different. "He allowed not his children to be from home after nine o'clock at night, when they went abroad to see their friends and companions. Neither were they allowed to sit up much after that time, in his own house, when any came to make them a visit. If any gentleman desired acquaintance with his daughters, after handsomely introducing himself, by properly consulting the parents, he was allowed all proper opportunity for it: a room and fire, if needed; but must not intrude on the proper hours of rest and sleep, or the religion and order of the family." (Hopkins, _op. cit._ p. 44.) We have reason to think that some of the "other liberties commonly taken by young people in the land" were calculated to favor anything rather than refinement and spirituality.

149. =A contentious spirit.= History in a general way corroborates the following testimony of Edwards concerning the contentious spirit in the people of Northampton: "There were some mighty contests and controversies among them in Mr. Stoddard's day, which were managed with great heat and violence; some great quarrels in the church, wherein Mr. Stoddard, great as his authority was, knew not what to do with them. In one ecclesiastical controversy in Mr. Stoddard's day, wherein the church was divided into two parties, the heat of spirit was raised to such a degree, that it came to hard blows. A member of one party met the head of the opposite party and assaulted him and beat him unmercifully. There has been for forty or fifty years a sort of settled division of the people into two parties, somewhat like the Court and Country party in England (if I may compare small things with great). There have been some of the chief men in the town, of chief authority and wealth, that have been great proprietors of their lands, who have had one party with them. And the other party, which has commonly been the greatest, have been of those who have been jealous of them, apt to envy them, and afraid of their having too much power and influence in town and church. This has been a foundation of innumerable contentions among the people, from time to time, which have been exceedingly grievous to me, and by which doubtless God has been dreadfully provoked, and his Spirit grieved and quenched, and much confusion and many evil works have been introduced." Letter of July 1, 1751 to Rev. Thomas Gillespie. Cf. Trumbull, _History of Northampton_, Vol. II, p. 36.

Footnotes:

[1] See J. A. Stoughton, _Windsor Farmes_, p. 39 and p. 69 n. Students of heredity may perhaps here find a clew to the character of Edwards's brilliant, wayward grandson, Aaron Burr.

[2] See H. N. Gardiner, _The Early Idealism of Edwards_ in Jonathan Edwards: a Retrospect, pp. 115-160: Boston, 1901. Cf. J. H. MacCracken, _The Sources of Jonathan Edwards's Idealism_, Philos. Rev., xi. 26 ff. (Jan. 1902).

[3] That to the church at Bolton, Conn. But for some reason, not now apparent, he was never installed there. See S. Simpson, _Jonathan Edwards--a Historical Review_, Hartford Seminary Record. xiv. 11 (November, 1903).

[4] First printed by Dwight, _Life of President Edwards_, p. 114, and frequently reproduced. It has been compared to Dante's description of Beatrice, which in pure lyric quality it certainly equals, though it lacks the latter's sensuous coloring and imaginative idealization. The comparison is made by A. V. G. Allen, _The Place of Edwards in History_, in Jonathan Edwards: a Retrospect, p. 7; the contrast is pointed out by John De Witt, Stockbridge (1903), Oration, p. 45 (pub. by the Berkshire Conference).

[5] Solomon Clark, _Historical Catalogue of the Northampton First Church_, pp. 40-67 (Northampton, 1891), prints the list in full.

[6] See note, p. 179.

[7] It is impossible here to go into the history of this famous controversy. Something concerning it will be found in the notes, pp. 172 ff.; Dwight, _op. cit._, pp. 298-448, prints the documents from Edwards's Journal in full; the records of the church are silent. It should be stated, perhaps, in fairness to the Northampton people, that the pastoral relation was not then, as is sometimes supposed, regarded as indissoluble; six clergymen were "dismissed" from neighboring churches between 1721 and 1755. Moreover, Edwards, eminent as he undoubtedly was as a preacher, was to them only the parish minister; his great fame as a theologian was established later. Cf. Trumbull, _History of Northampton_, II, 225. It is also not unreasonable to suppose that the spiritual capacities of the people had been overstimulated. The later repentance of Joseph Hawley (see Dwight, _op. cit._, p. 421), Edwards's cousin, who had taken a leading part in the movement against him, concerns only the spirit of the opposition; it does not seriously question the wisdom, under the circumstances, of the separation.

[8] Aaron Burr, the Vice-President of the United States, who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, was their son.

[9] See, e.g., the incident recorded by Dwight, _op. cit._, p. 133, where the rapture lasts for about an hour, accompanied for the greater part of the time "with tears and weeping aloud."

[10] See F. B. Dexter, _The Manuscripts of Jonathan Edwards_, p. 7. (Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Soc., March, 1901.)

[11] As, e.g., in the great ethical sermon on the Sin of Theft and of Injustice from the text, "Thou shalt not steal." Works, Worcester reprint, IV, 601.

[12] Examples of this are found in the manuscript sermons on John i. 47 and John i. 41, 42, which are here taken as typical.

[13] Samuel Hopkins, _Life of Edwards_, p. 48.

[14] As illustrating the expansion in the printed sermon as compared with the manuscript prepared for preaching, see note p. 157.

[15] The next neighbor town.

[16] "If I am in danger of going to hell, I should be glad to know as much as possibly I can of the dreadfulness of it. If I am very prone to neglect due care to avoid it, he does me the best kindness who does most to represent to me the truth of the case, that sets forth my misery and danger in the liveliest manner."--Sermon on The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.

[17] As Professor A. V. G. Allen informs the editor in a letter, Jan. 23, 1904.

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.

Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=.

The original text includes several intentional blank spaces. These are represented by ____ in this text version.

The misprint "dont" has been corrected to "don't" (page 169).