Author: John Ferguson

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2018-03-19

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780364996782

Excerpt from Memoir of the Life and Character of Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D. D: Formerly Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island, With an Appendix It is in this respect that the life of Dr. Hopkins, as written by himself, and edited by his friend, Dr. Stephen West of Stock bridge, appears to be defective. It is indeed an admirable work, and has been read with pleasure and profit by Christians of all denominations. The rare modesty of Dr. Hopkins, which is exhibited in it, and his deep and ardent piety, have been the delight of such devoted servants of God as Henry Martyn, and Levi Parsons, Mrs. Newell, and Mrs. Judson, and were often mentioned in their conversation or diaries. But although for an exhibition of simplicity and lowliness of heart, Dr. Hopkins' autobiography is eminently valuable, yet it does not clearly de lineate his whole character, so as to enable the youthful reader to form a true estimate of its loveliness and-excellence. Dr. West does indeed tell us, in his introduction, that his friend was a man of unusual candor, mildness, discrimination, and benevolence 5 but with the exception of a general appeal to his printed works, (where indeed the discerning reader can discover these traits, ) he has scarcely mentioned a solitary illustration of them. He does not, of course, furnish us with the necessary materials for comparing Dr. Hopkins' lowly opinion of himself with his high attainments when measured by the ordinary stand ard. The work is indeed Dr. Hopkins' confession, rather than his biography. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.