THE FIRST SNOW-FALL.

BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

THE snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway
With a silence dead and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock,
Wore ermine too dear for an earl;
And the poorest twig on the elm tree
Was ridged inch-deep with pearl.

From sheds, new-roofed with Carrara,
Came Chanticleer's muffled crow;
The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down,
And still fluttered down the snow.

I stood and watched by the window
The noiseless work of the sky;
And the sudden flurries of snowbirds
Like brown leaves whirling by.

I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn,
Where a little headstone stood,
How the flakes were folding it gently,
As did robins the babes in the wood.

Up spoke our own little Mabel,

Saying, "Father, who makes it snow?" And I told of the good Allfather

Who cares for us all below.

Again, I looked at the snow-fall,
And thought of the leaden sky,
That arched o'er our first great sorrow,
When that mound was heaped so high.

I remember the gradual patience,
That fell from that cloud-like snow;
Flake by flake, healing and hiding
The scar of that deep-stabbed woe.

And again to the child I whispered,
"The snow that husheth all,
Darling, the merciful Father
Alone can make it fall!"

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her,
And she, kissing back, could not know
That my kiss was given to her sister,
Folded close under deepening snow.

WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

INAUGURATION OF WILLIAM S. PLUMER, D.d.

THE importance of a Theological Seminary for the Western Churches was early felt. The Synod of Pittsburgh, at their Sessions in 1820, passed the following resolutions:

"1st. Resolved, That it is expedient for this Synod to take measures to establish a Theological Seminary within their bounds. "2d. Resolved, That the said Seminary shall be located in the borough of Washington, Pennsylvania, upon the following conditions, viz., 1st. That the Board of Trustees of the Colleges of Washington and Jefferson shall enter into an agreement to unite the said colleges, with a stipulation that the united literary institution shall be established at Canonsburgh. 2d. That the united college shall agree to appropriate the college premises and building thereon erected in Washington, and also the funds, or a proportion thereof, for the use of a Theological Seminary, or professorship or professorships to be therein established, with the concurrence of the Synod."*

A committee was appointed to confer with the Boards of Trustees of the two colleges, which committee reported to the Synod, in 1821, that a union between the two institutions could not now be effected. Whereupon the Synod resolved that measures be taken for the formation of a Theological Library, "to be located at present in the edifice of Jefferson College, Canonsburgh, and placed under the care of the Rev. John M'Millan, D.D., Professor of Theology in that seminary."

In 1822, the Synod of Pittsburgh again took action on the subject. "The Rev. Messrs. William Speer, Obadiah Jennings, Francis Herron, Samuel Ralston, and Robert Johnston, were appointed a committee to inquire into the expediency of establishing a Theological Seminary, at some convenient place in the western country, in conjunction with the Synods of Ohio and Kentucky, and to report as early as practicable."†

This committee presented an interesting report, urging immediate action; but the Synod appointed another committee, consisting of Drs. Herron, Jennings, and Swift, to confer on the subject with the Synod of Ohio. Nothing was done, however, except to appoint the same committee, in 1823, to correspond with the Synod of Ohio, and to take advantage of the meeting of the next Assembly to see the commissioners. Dr. Smith, in his Inaugural Discourse at the installation of Dr. Plumer, states what occurred at the meeting of * Minutes, p. 167. † Minutes, p. 188.

the Assembly in 1825. "Thirty years ago next May, the speaker, seeking, as we stood in the church on Washington Square, and on the first day of the sessions of the General Assembly, the co-operation of an excellent and eminent brother* of the Synod of Pittsburgh, long since deceased, we successfully applied to Doctors Green and Miller, then in the Assembly, to favour the establishment of a Western Theological Seminary. On their recommendation, a meeting for consultation was held at Dr. Green's, and he consented to bring forward the overture, and Dr. Miller to support it. The proposal was adopted, and a Board was chosen, scattered from Alabama and the Mississippi to the shores of Lake Erie (Dr. Campbell, then of Tennessee, being one)."

Dr. Green was Chairman of the Committee appointed by the Assembly, to draw up a plan for the Seminary, and the plan was adopted on the 27th of May, 1824. The following persons were appointed commissioners to recommend a suitable site for the Seminary, viz.: ANDREW JACKSON, Tenn.; BENJAMIN MILLS, Ky.; JOHN THOMPSON, Ohio; OBADIAH JENNINGS, and ANDREW WYLIE, of Pa. These Commissioners were required to make their report to the Board of Directors of the Seminary, composed of twenty-one ministers and nine laymen; and the Board were required to recommend a location to the next Assembly. Accordingly, the Directors reported to the Assembly of 1826, that by a vote of eight to five, they considered Allegheny Town the proper site. The question of location was, after much debate, referred to the decision of the next Assembly. In 1827, the discussion was renewed; and finally the roll was called, and "each member was allowed to vote either for Allegheny Town or Walnut Hills." The decision resulted in favour of Allegheny Town,† and according to tradition by a majority of one vote. Dr. J. J. Janeway was elected Professor of Theology; and Dr. John M'Dowell, Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government. The latter did not accept; and Dr. Janeway resigned shortly after.

The Western Seminary, like most of our theological and literary institutions, has had to struggle with many difficulties. But brighter days are at hand. Its endowment is now nearly completed, and the number of its students has been, of late years, more steady than at most of our other Seminaries. A career of increasing usefulness, it is hoped and believed, is now before the institution, notwithstanding the increase in the number of Theological Seminaries.

The recent inauguration of Dr. Plumer, as Professor of Didactic and Pastoral Theology, was an occasion of unusual interest. Our readers will be glad to read portions of the addresses delivered before the Board of Directors. Dr. E. P. SWIFT delivered the charge to the Professor, and selected as the foundation of his very able address, "The requisites to the successful cultivation of Chris• Dr. Obadiah Jennings.

† Assembly Minutes, p. 122.

tian Theology." His train of thought will be seen in the quotations, which we now make.

The occasion is an affecting and eventful one, not only to yourself, but to this Board, and this large assembly-and, indeed, to all who love the church of the living God, and would cherish a holy interest in those educated, devoted young men who, from year to year, and from class to class, are here to come up to qualify themselves for active ministerial service in the vineyard of the Lord. The particular department of instruction to which you have been appointed is Didactic and Pastoral Theology. This is the science of God-and of man, as a rational and moral being-and of true religion, as it is made known to us by a divine revelation, and as it is perceived and understood by a divine faith. It differs from all other sciences in the loftiness and utility of its objects, the vastness and eternity of its principles, the source of its elements in the inspired record, and the supernatural illumination of the human soul which it implies. No employment, therefore, draws a created mind into higher communion with God, and the objects of the invisible world, and into loftier and holier contemplations, or is in itself more honorable and blessed. The Bible is the source of all our theological knowledge; and its doctrines, and facts, and moral laws we receive as divine, on the naked authority of God. Reason, as an instrument of knowledge, is legitimately employed in discovering and weighing the proofs and vouchers of its being indeed a divinely inspired and unerring revelation, and then interpreting its contents according to the rules of language, and stating, proving, and defending it against all the world, and all that is sceptical in our own hearts.

That form of theological truth which you are expected to impart, and no other, is comprehended in the Confession of Faith. The church believes, indeed, that "the Bible" without tradition, the authority of councils, or the sanction of men or angels, "is the religion of Protestants;" and it is because she believes that this Confession embodies the very mind and meaning of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, she will have no other teaching, since she will have no other Bible.

She expects you, then, out of the depths of your own conviction, ably, faithfully, and thoroughly to state, illustrate, and defend this system; and by research, meditation, prayer, and the help of the Holy Ghost, to bring "out of the law and the doctrine of the cross, those wonderful things in truth and righteousness, by which your pupils may be thoroughly furnished as able ministers of the New Testament. What form of doctrine this is in detail, the occasion will probably lead you more appropriately and ably to express, than I can do; and I shall therefore, confine my observations to a notice of some of those things which seem to be required in the successful cultivation of sound theology, and the professional training of the ministry.

In the Apostolic age the doctrine and discipline of Christianity was pure and true in its simple unclassified elements; but, like our sinless mother in the primeval garden, its innocence and purity stood unprotected from those encroachments which the sin and folly, the pride and weakness of Christian men, might intentionally and unintentionally make upon it. If Jewish dogmatists had so marred, before the time of Christ, the ancient laws and theology, that Moses, if he could have re-lived, would scarcely have known his own system, it is no matter of surprise that before the close of the first, and during the second, third, and fourth centuries, men's views of the doctrines of Revelation had become false and corrupt. The first departures from primitive simplicity were not, indeed, mainly doctrinal; but in that and the succeeding periods, down to the present time, almost every conceivable form of divergence has occurred; so that Didactic Divinity itself travels through the circles of almost every science and the question which I propose is, how she can best attain the objects of this journey? And,

First-If Theology is a revelation of the glory and righteousness of God, and a convincing knowledge from him of man's necessities and ruin, and heaven's unspeakable gift, need I say that it cannot be expected to unlock its treasures, and reveal its mysteries to an unrenewed and unhumbled mind.

*

Secondly-The auspicious cultivation of sound theology demands varied and profound acquisitions in scriptural knowledge, earnest study, and unwearied investigations, not only in Biblical and Oriental attainments, but in all the departments of science.

Thirdly-The auspicious pursuit of systematic Theology must have a constant reference to it as one complete and indivisible revelation; one edifice with many dependent parts; and its aim must be to give each its just proportions and appropriate place.

Fourthly-The successful cultivation of theology demands accuracy of thought and judgment, and the power of separating on every subject, its intrinsic from its extrinsic elements, blended with inflexible rectitude of heart.

Fifthly-Allow me to mention, as a still higher requisite to the successful cultivation of Theological Science, the constant spirit of dependence upon the Great Teacher. I have already referred to the necessity of personal piety; but alas! many pious, able, and learned men have seemed to forget that theology is a thrice holy and heavenly science, and have been tempted to rely more upon their genius and mental powers, and scholarship, than the aids of the Holy Spirit. What is man! as he stands as the expositor of the high and awful mysteries of his God and Saviour? It is remarkable, that in the Theology of Witsius and Watson, and in the university lectures of Leighton, while there is no great learning or originality, there is a scripturalness and a practical pathos which elevates and invigorates the reader's mind. Sometimes (as I now recollect), when Dr. Alexander had heard his class, and had ably explained some topic of divinity, he would seem to pause, and painful anxiety to be stamped upon his countenance, as though he were ready to say, I fear the Heavenly Teacher is not here! let us lay aside our helps, and repair to him. Alas! how does the history of Protestantism, its Biblical studies and expositions, theories and speculations, express in mournful utterance the frequent absence in its full power of this most vital conviction of human imbecility.

Sixthly I shall add but one further requisite to the healthful growth of theological science, and it consists in the union of disinterestedness with benevolence. In nothing, perhaps, was the apostle Paul, and, in an humbler sense, I may add Edwards, more remarkable than for this trait of character. The Epistle to the Romans, composed, perhaps, in a heathen jail-and the treatise on the will, written in the woods of Stockbridge, among the Indians-how does the simple hope and desire to be useful to man in all generations, and glorify the truth of God, shine out in these powerful productions! By disinterestedness, I mean a freedom from all desire to be accounted great, wise, and learned by men, or to build up the fame of a particular denomination-but the profession of one ruling aim to honour Christ, and to bless the Church and the world with purer, holier, and mightier conceptions of Christian doctrine.

While our Church anticipates from her theological seminaries the able and rich productions of high biblical, and historical, and theological learning, and research and spiritual excellence, it is to be especially remembered that our future ministry are here to be trained up for the service of Christ, and that in this land, and in these stirring times, she demands rather a practical, well-disciplined, and devoted, than a learned ministry. She would, indeed, have good and thorough scholars in all the branches of philosophy, chemistry, geology, mathematics, and natural and civil history, and the ancient languages, and able expositors of God's word, and men mighty in the Scriptures; but above this she wants judicious, prudent, and faithful pastors, deeply humble, experimental, and ardent men, whose lips have been "touched with a live coal from off the heavenly altar," thoroughly acquainted with the inward struggles and searching anxieties of a renewed heart and a holy life, and embodying the gospel and its experience in their own personal history, turning its precepts into moral laws, and its glorious doctrines into living principles of precious truth. It will be unnecessary for me to dwell upon these important and, perhaps, sometimes painful duties which you and your associates will be called to fulfil.

It still remains for me to refer to by far the most difficult and solemn part of