DEATHS OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. No. X. ARCHBISHOP PARKER*. (Died 1575.) prescribed and set down in writing, after what method and order things should be conducted at his death and funeral. He appointed his tombstone to be of black marble, and to be fitted up before his death, that he might look upon it while he lived, and that it might be ready to be laid DR. Matthew Parker was the second protestant upon his corpse when he should be buried. His archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Thomas Cranmer tomb also he procured to be made and erected having been the first. Dr. Parker was a man of while he was alive, the workmanship whereof was not exquisite but plain. It was his mindfulgreat piety and learning. Foreseeing his apness of his mortality and of the dreadful judgment proaching dissolution, he wrote to the lord treasurer, that he trusted that should be one of the that followed it, that made him choose that senlast letters which he should write to him. "And tence of scripture spoken by St. John, "Mundus it may be," said he, "whereas I have a great transit, et concupiscentia ejus," (the world passeth while provided for death, yet God will, perad-away, and the lust thereof), which he had very venture, have me continue awhile, to exercise myself in these contemplations of grief." His death was no surprise to him; for it employed very often his serious meditations. In his sermons he used frequently to exhort his auditory that death should not find them unprovided. And, being a man much loving order and decency, he From "Last Hours of Christian Men; or an Account the Deaths of some eminent Members of the Church of Eagland;" by the rev. H. Clissold, M.A. London: Society fa Promoting Christian Knowledge. No. 923. often in his mouth, and wrote in his letters; had it engraven round his coat of arms, and described on the walls of his house, and on the glass of his windows; whereby, in the midst of his worldly greatness, he called to mind his own brittle, frail condition, and the vanity of his own most pompous state; that he might be reminded to direct his thoughts upon a more stable and lasting inheritance, to be possessed in another world. And, to put him in mind of judgment as well as death, he had engraven on the seal of his see, the manner of the last judgment, where Christ sat gloriously and with majesty to judge the quick and the dead, uttering these words to his elect, "Venite, benedicti," (come, ye blessed), and to the reprobate, "Ite, maledicti" (depart, ye cursed). Here also the dead were represented rising out of their graves to receive their sentence; that by these remembrances he might quicken himself to do God's will, and discharge his high function; that he might have good hope against the time when God should call him to give account of his stewardship. This meditation of death and the day of judgment being deeply infixed in him, he had nothing else in his purposes or wishes. But, whether this troublesome race of human life were lengthened or shortened to him, contented therewith, as it should please God, he did wholly commit himself to the protection of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; whose honour and glory hath no end, and is extended to all eternity*. : Reflection By thinking upon death our minds are frequently very much oppressed with darkness, because we remember only the night of the grave, forgetting the light of heaven at the morn of the resurrection. SKETCHES. BY THE REV. DENIS KELLY, M.A., Minister of Trinity Church, Gough-square, Fleet-street, London. No. XLV. THE CHILDREN OF PIOUS PARENTS. "Or if he prove unkind (as who can say But being man, and therefore frail, he may ?) It were vain to dissemble the fact that eminently from an amount of wretchedness which it is fear- is the mistaken lenity of pious parents. The si Many reasons have been assigned for this. On of old Eli has been a common one amongst them Parental affection has blinded them to the fault of their children. Religion naturally softens an I am aware that I trench on delicate and tender slow either to think or to believe evil of any sweetens the spirit. It makes men lenient, gentle ground in touching upon a subject like this. It would rule by love. Now, this is all well wher may appear to lift the veil, and to invade the pri- pious children are to be governed. But, alas vacy of domestic life; but this be far from me, although I believe we may carry our reserve on some subjects too far. Concealments are often a prolific source of evil. I believe the misery that has in many instances resulted from concealment is far greater than is commonly imagined. I believe that the open and free and candid discussion of many subjects which were thought too delicate to touch upon would have saved many * Strype's Life and Acts of archbishop Parker, fol. 1711. 32 the children of pious parents are not always pious may require as strong a hand to check the stubborn will, and as vigilant and jealous an eye to penetrate their concealments and disguises, as any others in existence. What, then, are looks of tenderness and mild and gentle remonstrances with such? They are like the reproofs of Eli: "My sons, why do ye these things?" They add fuel to the fire. They literally foster and encourage the growth of all that is bad and vicious in the disposition. When they who require a prompt hand and a vigilant eye hear only the gentle, loving, bland accents of mild remonstrance, they only grow the more callous. They laugh at the silken bands with which mistaken paternal tenderness would bind them, and follow without check the devices and desires of their own hearts. But there is another cause of the evil in question, which is not sufficiently considered. I cannot but believe-for indeed we have scriptural authority for it, and the recorded experience of the holiest and wisest men in all ages-I cannot but believe that the enemy of human salvation has a great share in disturbing the domestic peace and happiness of eminently good and holy men. I believe (and surely that which thousands of God's servants gravely asserted as their deliberate conviction cannot be fictitious), that Satan does especially wound the servants of the Almighty through the sides of their families and children. They who do most injury to Satan's kingdom and to his cause are beyond question the object of his fiercest attack. Ah! the great enemy of mankind is something widely different from what the fashionable creed represents him-a shadowy, undefined sort of power, a sort of a poetical abstraction, "a principle of evil," a kind of a bugbear with which to frighten children. This is very different from the portraiture of him which the scriptures give us. They represent him as a reality, an actual being armed with immense power and subtlety and sagacity, filled with malice against the human race, employing every artifice to which the most sagacious and subtle adversary could resort; cognizant of all that is passing on this scene; laying his plans with the same deliberation and cunning as any human agent the most talented that ever guided the councils of man could do; adopting every means to strengthen his interest in a world where his infcence is so inconceivably great that an apostle styles him "the god of this world; equally availing himself of all manner of resources; making every effort to ally to himself numbers, influence, talents, wealth; using every art to blind, delude, deceive; and jealous of the slightest invasion of his kingdom. It was not of a mere poetical abstraction, an empty shadow, a principle of evil that the apostle spoke, when he wrote, "We are not ignorant of his devices:" on the contrary, had he been an actual reigning monarch upon earth, the apostle could not have made a more pointed personal allusion to him. It was not of a mere shadow Luther spoke, when he wrote: "The devil marcheth well armed, and in good array.' Nay; the prayers and the petitions which thousands of the best and holiest men upon earth have offered up this very day, prove that he is no mere abstraction. The most fervent of these petitions, a petition which Christ himself has put into their lips, is "to be delivered from evil;" from the machinations and snares of "the wicked one;" from the snares which he lays in their way, and from his buffetings and temptations. No, no; Satan is no mere visionary being, no mere abstraction, but a real, actual being, exercising an influence amongst men, as real, as actual as the influence which is possessed by any ruling power upon earth at this moment. And nothing is more certain from scripture than that he is influenced and swayed by the same considerations by which any rational agent amongst ourselves is influenced, and that, by consequence, they who do most injury to his cause upon earth are the objects of his especial malignant hatred. Upon them he will strive to be revenged. And, accordingly, with that subtlety and sagacious malignity which mark all his movements, he would wound such in the most vulnerable point. He knows that, if he can plant thorns there, where their heart most looks for repose and comfort, this is the most likely way to abridge and cripple their usefulness. If he can get the child over to his side, secure him in his interest; if he can make him a snare, a grief, a scandal, and stumbling-block to the pious parent, he has gained his point. And, alas! "thus has he often prevailed. Thus has he weakened some of the strongest hands, and unnerved some of the boldest hearts of the champions of the faith, and shortened-there can be no doubt of thisshortened their days, and drawn some from the field of action long before their time. Let it not be imagined that in these remarks I insinuate anything against domestic ties or intend anything derogatory to that estate which God himself instituted, honoured, hallowed, blessed, and held up to the approval of all. Did I do so, facts, undeniable facts, would shame the insinua tion; for there can be no question that many of the most eminent servants of the Almighty, nay, men who lived during the most tempestuous periods of the church's history, men who stood in the very breach in defence of religion, martyrs and confessors the Luthers, the Melancthons of their day-gathered much of that strength which made them such formidable champions of God's truth in the peace and in the quiet of the domestic circle. There cannot be a question that in the bosom of their families their great mental powers were nursed and strengthened and refreshed. There can be no doubt, either, that many of the most eminent of God's servants at the present day, on whom the mantles of these elder brethren seem to have fallen, owe much of their alacrity and cheerfulness and energy and strength to the comforts and refreshments and endearments of a happy home and domestic circle. Even the very cares of domestic life, by diverting their minds from dwelling too long upon the mighty themes which occupy them, may have a tendency to preserve those minds in a more vigorous and healthy frame. But the facts which I have mentioned do give a fearful emphasis to the apostolical injunctions addressed especially to believers, and, above all, to the ministers of the sanctuary, "to marry in the Lord." This is intended especially for them. They who are strangers to godliness are not likely to follow it. They can neither understand the injunction nor appreciate it rightly. They will be influenced by other considerations. It is scarcely to be expected that injunction, "to marry in the Lord." As" they have sown, so have they reaped." It is true the mistake made by a pious man may be providentially overruled in some way or another for ultimate good; and probably in no particular is the goodness of the Almighty-" his marvellous lovingkindness"- -so strikingly manifested as in rec deed the greater part of his dealings with them will be found to consist in his correcting the weak and foolish and wicked mistakes they have made), and even in bringing good out of evil. But surely none except the insane would take encouragement from this circumstance to rush into a similar danger. What man in his senses would fracture his limb because it might be most skilfully set again? And who but the madly presumptuous would in direct violation of God's own commandment rush into connexions which they had every reason to believe would be displeasing to the Almighty, and would issue in lasting wickedness, because the very blunder which they have made, and the long train of affliction which followed from it, might in some way be overruled for their good in the end? Who rather would not say, How much "trouble in the flesh" should they have spared themselves had they followed the counsels of Infinite Wisdom in taking a step that involved such momentous consequences! How much happier would they in all probability have been! how much more useful men in their generations! they will value in another the piety of which they | tural consequence, the violation of 'the apostle's are entirely destitute themselves. And, therefore, I believe that charitable allowance is to be made for such. "To whom little is given, of the same little will be required." And, accordingly, where they violate the divine injunction, we often see their mistake miraculously overruled; for we have observed many, who, having married when they were careless and ungodly, when sub-tifying the very mistakes of his people (and insequently they came under the influence of religion, have had their wives seriously impressed along with themselves in a remarkable manner. But the case is altogether different with men of decided piety. To them the injunction to "marry in the Lord" addresses itself with marked and solemn emphasis. With them the first of all considerations, in seeking a partner, should be the personal piety of the object of their choice; so that they may obtain one who shall be an auxiliary to them to strengthen their hands, and not an enemy in the camp, through whose sides Satan may vex their hearts and weaken their hands. There can be no doubt that many good men, eminently wise and holy men, have grievously erred in this matter. In taking that step on which their usefulness so much depended, they strangely neglected that divine injunction, which should have come with peculiar force and weight to them, "to marry only in the Lord." They, who were in all other matters men of the strongest judgments and of the most penetrating minds, herein abandoned themselves to be led blindfold. When they should have exercised all their sagacity and penetration to discover the true character of the individual whom they sought as a helpmate, they seem, on the contrary, to have acted with a thoughtless indifference, and an obedience to mere impulses, which would have disgraced the judgment of a thoughtless boy. They have been voluntarily blinded by the merest shallow pretence to religion. The flimsiest veil of a religious profession has been taken as an evidence of real piety. None are so easily deceived as those who wish to be deceived. We have seen sensible, judicious, penetrating men flatter themselves with the notion that they had selected a partner of piety, when all the world besides themselves saw in the individual selected the most deep-rooted love of the world, and pride and selfishness and vanity and selfconceit, and every quality which could make them a fearful hindrance instead of a help to a godly man. Hence consequences such as might have been expected followed. Pious children are not likely, in the natural course of things, to be the issue of such an union. The leading propensities, the moral habitudes of the parent descend to the child. And, if an inward dislike and contempt of godliness, a secret scorn of it as a weakness, however well they may be disguised by a show of religion, be the natural bias of the parent, the same will in all probability manifest itself in the child; for nothing is more hereditary than family propensities and prejudices, and the natural bent and bias of the mind. And hence it is that we so often witness a penalty follow, in the way of na Take the case of Hooker, e. g. the greatest name probably in the annals of our church, and so remarkable for his superior judgment and practical wisdom, that he is best known by the name of the "judicious" Hooker; and yet what a sad mistake did he make in this matter! He has been the jest of the world ever since. THOUGHTS FOR THE MEDICAL STUDENT*. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.-Well and wisely, in my opinion, may you congratulate yourselves on having undertaken a profession which will enable you to study mankind under peculiar advantages, and which must lead you to look kindly on their weaknesses, while it enlists your whole energies in their behalf. Thankful may you be, that you have embraced a profession wherein you will have constant opportunities of storing up peaceful recollections of benefits conferred on your fellow-creatures, by labour and skill in the path of your daily duties. A life of active usefulness lies before you; in which, if you choose, you may find the obligations of duty in constant accordance with the promptings of your better nature, no less than with the example of him, who was himself the great Physician, and who wrought the miracles that were to establish his doctrine, not to impart honour or wealth to man, but to heal his stricken body, to restore to him the blessings of health and life. The real and essential diguity of the healing art must ever primarily consist in the beneficence of its object. To remove disease and assuage pain, to re-animate the dying body and recall the wandering mind, must ever be an office truly noble, while the current of human life shall continue to flow in its present frail and easilyinterrupted channels; while the circumstances of man's condition are such as to expose to a thou * From "An Introductory Address, delivered at King's College, London, Oct. 1, 1851;" by William Bowman, F.R.S., F.R.C.S., Professor of Physiology in the College, &c. and causes of derangement that balance of the complicated movements of life, which we term health. And the sentence of the heathen orator will remain, except in one word, worthy of a Christian age: "Nihilo magis homines diis appropinquant, quam salutem hominibus dando." of THE CORNER-STONE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. -You cannot attain (professional) knowledge in its most genuine and useful form, and certainly you cannot apply it hereafter, as it deserves, to its legitimate objects, unless you plant the foundations now in integrity and uprightness, in honesty purpose, and an earnest Christian spirit; unless in this, the plastic period of youth, when your characters are being moulded, you acquire the mastery over yourselves, and resolve to be governed by pure motives of action. We are born into the world, let us remember, to glorify our Maker in the exercise of those functions with which he has endowed us; and not only in the exercise, but also in the cultivation and improvement of them to the utmost possible extent. AGAINST OVER-EXERTION.-Of our corporal powers I need not speak particularly, except to remind you that it is our duty, as well as our interest, to take care of our bodily health. It is a talent entrusted to us, and must neither be squandered nor permitted to rust. Any wilful disregard of the rules of health is in a degree culpable. Our duty and usefulness are interfered with by illhealth; and our bodily powers were not given us to be abused, to be over-wrought, or to be subjected to any wasteful excesses or besotting indulgences. Do not therefore forget, in the ardour of study, in the strong yearning for advancement in knowledge, that your corporal and mental capacities are limited by laws which cannot with impunity be broken, and which appoint to us natural terms of refreshment and rest. These require to be observed, if you would retain your youthful vigour, and accomplish what is before you. Be not impatient, or long for premature proficiency; but pursue with regularity, and within the limits of your physical ability, the work that lies before you; and be assured that you shall sooner, and with more certainty, attain the goal of your wishes, than if you recklessly disregard the measure of your strength, and draw upon it at random at the outset. APPLICATION OF LEISURE AND OPPORTUNITIES.-You have leisure which will never return. You have now time to lay a secure and lasting foundation: by and by you will be called on to raise the superstructure. There is a season for the ear to swell and the seed to ripen, as well as for the harvest and the in-gathering; and the one cannot take the place of the other, nor if one fail can the other prosper. Shortly will commence the active duties of life; and to learn what you have now to learn will then be too late. Then will come the cares and responsibilities of practice, with new relations and distracting engagements. These will certainly occupy the greatest portion of your time, and interfere much with study. When each day shall bring with it its own labours, and imperatively exact their performance, you will find it impossible to recover opportunities which you have now let slip; for with the time and knowledge lost or foregone will have been also lost much of the power of sustained application, of intense and regular industry; and you will be dispirited by a sense of what you might have been, had your pupilage been otherwise spent. Then you will begin to realize what depth of meaning lies under those brief and often neglected phrases, "the shortness of life," "the value of time:" and to realize it when too late for profitable use will bring a sense of abiding regret, if not still worse, a calious and death-like indifference. ... Now, too, you enjoy energy and elasticity of spirit; you have hope and trust in the future; you have freedom of mind and disinterestedness. All these will help you to labour aright. They are precious gifts, graciously committed to you, to be employed as the Giver has vouchsafed to appoint, and of which hereafter an account must be rendered. They leave you without excuse, if you neglect to avail yourselves of the aids they supply. CHOICE OF BOOKS FOR LEISURE HOURS.Some periods of leisure will remain, when medical studies are either concluded, or have wearied the mind; and it will then be wise in the student to refresh his powers, not by idleness, but by varying the subject of study. Let him turn to books, the solace and delight of the most excellent men in all ages, and a means by which he may adorn his mind, and store it with just and pleasing ideas, and render himself more fitted to associate on terms of equality with the scholar and the man of taste, in any community in which his lot may be cast. And, as the hours which he has to devote to the general cultivation of his mind in this way are, after all, comparatively few, let him be true to himself, and turn them to the best account, by a judicious selection..... I cannot help thinking that you will be unwise if you omit to choose among others, as companions of your leisure, the works of the "standard authors" of the world, whether of antiquity or of a later age, whether those relating to history, or philosophy, or poetry. If it be true that we should be almost as careful of the books we habitually read as of the personal intimacies we form, especially when their tone and character are such as to be likely to sway our moral being, then we cannot be too much on our guard as to the "bad," or the "partially bad," works which offer themselves, sometimes under enticing and pleasant forms enough, for our perusal. Sure I am that one cannot willingly peruse an impure or immoral work without being debased by it; it is touching pitch: one cannot be often reading frivolous, exciting novels without having our intellectual faculties weakened and our taste corrupted; nor without, at the same time, becoming indisposed for more wholesome and excellent fare. GENERAL EXHORTATION. Remem In conclusion, think nobly of your profession, and oy your own conduct make it worthy in your own persons of the standard at which you estimate it. ber that its end is beneficent, its studies ennobling and elevating, its ministrations an exercise of our best faculties, and in harmony with the whole constitution of our nature. To excel in it is an aim worthy of all your aspirations, of all your energies; but requiring mental and moral discipline, patient and sustained labour. Go forward in this path with diligence. Make of your diffi |
