Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1818-03-05
nr,rnRY OF pE. cHALMERs.

orAroRY OF DE. CHALMERS.
BIN Z, Oqufr,cS 2 - Sc, III he OH of
Dsre,,l,er lq4t, we find he GLOWING ex-
,r,ct from the last rumbcr OF BLACK.
woop's Mag zinc. How eyal'ed mns'
DIR. Chalr..,s b, in the eStimatiou OF all
who believe that ,hs mimitahle character
here gwen OF him il c.TTec'!
T.~tU Tork Gazette,
In every ste, oil his prOgcts - he seems
20 dissolve by he topch Of his mage wand
that stony sleep of le'hargY in which some
noble feelings Of narure had Tor season
been entranCed. lie gives Us no new ar
gumentS, ~ new images. but ne scatte.s
the vivid RAYS Of poetic splend"ur, over
those which By the very Frequency OF
repetition. have ceased to have any pow
or either upnn apr -CaSOn ur our iarcY.
We are lbs; in vague maze ct wonder,
how il should hSPnen inst al these things
seemed 80 trivial ~ u bein-e-hoW argn-
ments so convincing should have appear
ed weak, Or images So appalling should
have passed tamely aud dImly before
our eyes.
Il arises NOT from +'e weakness. but
the will. OF Chalmsr,, ~'tt h" yer, seldom
keeps Us long at the summit Of this ele-
vatioa. He seems TO be iDSenSibe that
the sp'end1rs which he has revealed TO
Us are either new or dazzling. His ge-
MUS regards the universe as It's birth
right, and he has no undue par'iilitS Tor
the richer and more magnificent reg ous
Of his DOMAIN. With the same Overpow-
ering sweep Of skill, he brings US at once
FROM the Heaven 10 the earth, aud from
the earth TO the Heaven, and, however
majestic may have been his elevation, he
has not me air Of feeling any desradstinn
from his descent He cOmpels Us, in iced
to follow his Footsteps into the baSest
tracks II mortality, aud lays open tEs in
frmitics, the fra,Ilies, the errors, the VIE
ness, of our rSture, with The Ee"n IN
dignatiOn Of Jlvenal, no less willingly
than he has iuhamed aud ps rilled our spi-
rits with the arg'lic enthusiasm Of
Milton. But there is d;fISsd over the
humblest If bis representations redeem
ing breath ii christian ,ubiImitv, thnu-
sand times more ennobhDs than all The
stern and uHbenliHg dgpites ct the
Porch. He does not, like the phIlOso-
piers Of oil, couGne all grandeur TO
contsmplatiGa-he clothes with majesty
the most common pffi ,es ct hte, AMI
teaches that the meanest Of his christian
hearers NAV exert, in the bosom Of his
of painful labor, virtues more lofty and
divine thu were ever called up b. the
pure sprir ~ the Stagyrite. or ever float
ed upon the mystical or fnrsbodmg dreams
of Plato. These a"e things which hli
the waits of his Cnurch with crnwdS he
most mingled, yet tue most harmonious,
that were ever collected together fOr su-
cial enjoyment or social good. 1t is this
that makes the wise AMI the great come 20
have thrir souls led like infants By the
libe al hand Of his genius, and maze the
poor man aud the ignorant steal from the
nreciDus momentS "f his weekday toll,
tia his spi it may be sustained aud kin
dIed By the inspiring voice Of Chalmers.
He is not the preacher of any one class 1;
ha is tue common orator Of man.
Were GU hearts, indeed, a. dead and
a.cnld ~ monumental marble, they cou d
moi h,l tn sympa,hrse with such apresch-
Or. II has given up his soul to the full
sway of hi, emotions, and he summOns
from the depths of a conyused spirit
things more awful, as well as more love-
". tam could ever be dreamed by the
ordinary mind OF nan. We need only to
lo,k upon him TO see that his heart is
bursting with the deluge of his zeal. Ills
countenauce glares with the feeling Of I'M
utterabIe things his voice quiHers, aRd
his hnbs trouble aud we perceive that
he is in the agony Of inspiration.
Ii has. we know. been said by sore,
that Chalmers has in his noble AstronO-
mica DiscOurseS. all along combated a
nhautsm, and that those objections 10 the
trG'h OF Christianity have never been
raised, which it is their object to over
throw. On this very account are his dis
cOurSes invaluable. The objections which
he combat, are not So much the clear,
distinct, and decided ayerments OF inf
deIily, as they are the confused, glIm-
mering, and disturbing fears and appre-
tensions of noble souls bewildered among
the bundles masni6Cence Of the uni
YeTSr.