Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1842-12-21

by MIR Bellows in memory of Doctor CLAIMING.
1t is by the fundamentally that he has
created, that the pal pable influence of DR..
CLAIMING must be measured. He stands
alone in the regard and gratitude of many
men, equal among themselves in greatness
and usefulness, and none of them second
to any but him. He is class by himself,
both in the mode and kind of his influence.
1t is of higher order and prolounder
depth. Yet it is nearer the centre of mo-
raj motion. 1t is this which accounts for
the nature Of his reputation, which is as
great abroad as at home, and no greater, if
as great in his own city, than all over the
Christian world. His influence is not d.
minished by distance, because its seat is the
| mind and the soul Of all who receive his
spirit There is 10 more enthusiasm abou.
him, shown by those who knew him, than
by those who intelligently read him, be-
cause his greatness resides in the grandeur
of the truth. and is embodied alike in his
writings and his character. You do not
| need to be assured in words that he is what
| he processes, for the truths he reveals, the
emotion he awakens, attest their own high
origin, and not only leave you without
weapon, but without thought Of him.
| His presence neither disjoints nor height
ems your ideas Of the man. You expect to
see one of uniform elevation of mind and
dignitied simplicity of manners, and he is
such. He d;scourses about things always
with reference to principles, and the same
principles. His conversation is as great as
his writings, and as if a part oft them. Both
are simple, grand and inspiring. | have
said that he did not run the course or ca
reer of an author. Except an occasional
sermon or review, he published nothing I'M
| til within a few years, and not till his per-
sonal reputation had been established. His
literary fame grew Of few essays, publish
ed at intervals, in the Christian Eraminer,
which attracted the attention Of the world.
This is remarkable instance ofthe imme-
diate influence Of great mind, exhibited
in few disconnected papers, neither ad-
dressed 10 fame nor widely circulated. But
the plain reason is that every thing this
man writes is full of him-full ofthe great
I and important principles with which he was
! identified. He writes nothing that does not
| develope, enforce and sustain the great fun
damental truths which it is his mission to
| plant and revive in the human heart. 1t
matters not how secular his theme, he is
never false to his sacred views, nor incon-
sistent with them, nor ever momentarily
forgetful Of them. Nay, all that he has
written, in the way of criticism or politics,
has been only in his application of his reli-
! gious and spiritual principles to his views
of life. Thus he sits in judgment, as Ma
polean, with something of the solemnity
and responsibility of the Final Judge. He
writes Of Milton as though pronouncing up
on him the ultimate verdict of posterity,
according to the unchanging principles Of
Divine justice. There is a decisiveness and
authority in these, and in almost all the
writings of this man, which indicate the
arrival at such clearness of vision and per-
ception Of primary truths, that he has rath-
err to punish what he knows than what he
thinks; and this is the popularity of all his
writings. They seem hardly to come from
fallible source. We think intuitively, as
it were, Of Jesus saying, 81 speak not my
own words, but the words of him that sent
me-" He views all things from the unim-
passioned, serene height Of the moral ma
ture. He speaks not from an uncertain
understanding, but from the pure reason,
not to the feeble apprehensions of the mind
but TO the common heart; his writings have
so little dsputation, ingenuity or variable
ness about them. There is no subtle rea-
soning, no close logical distinctions, no ar
guments addressed to the predjudices or pas
sions, or based upon the weaknesses Of
| those whose errors he strove to correct
His controversial writings are rather strong
and convincing statements of truth than
searching examinations of opposite errors.
| There are few great writers from whom SO
| few splendid passages could be selected
| His writings press rather than strike. They
are characteristic rather by gravity than
| by the electric fluid. His style is so trans
parent, ard the writer himself SO carefully
| Withdrawn, that nothing but the naked truth
appears in what he says. You think al
most as little of the literary execution of
his works as in the case Of the sacred wri-
tings. 1t is only when your attention is
drawn TO the subject that you notice how
faultless they are in this respect. 1t is i'm
| possible not TO say that the love Of fame
| has not given birth to these productions.
| You see that it is not the literary world that
! is addressed. 1t does not enter into COM
petition with other aspirants for reputation
before the tribunal of critics. He address,
es man and every man. He appeals to his
brethren throughout the world. 1t is nei-
| Their for money or reputation, nor amuse-
ment, for the sake of combating this theo-
ry or that opinion, but to teach the world
to say what ought to be said on u vital sub
iect. He is not literary man. He is a
public teacher. He is a moral savior and
guide He does not devote his time to
books or 10 authorship but to doing good
! He is a constant and laborious observer of
the world, for the worlds sake. A hearty
and deep sympathiser in all human con-
Germs: an anxious and earnest friend Of
| .,aar HiS LEO md f.ortuno nrn idnntifind