The Life and Letters of the Rev. George Mortimer, M.A. John Armstrong

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СКАЧАТЬ is truly vital, and his diction admirable. I have also finished the life of Judge Hale, by Burnet, and am now reading Mr. Fletcher’s Letters. I scarcely ever read a few pages without profit; the wonderful spirit of this excellent man frequently brings tears from my eyes; I stop and reflect, and would give all the world, did I possess it, could I enjoy the same spirit. I am well persuaded that no blessings, excepting these, considered merely in themselves, are worth our pursuit. Greek, Latin, and Mathematics, are but a poor portion, if we have nothing more; it is my constant endeavour, therefore, that these things should sit lightly on my mind, that, while conscientiously improving every particle of my time, I may still reserve my heart for God.

      The following extract is taken from the first letter of a correspondence with the writer’s endeared friend, which lasted almost without interruption during a period of twenty years, and, at distant intervals afterwards, until about two years before his death.

TO MR. J. ARMSTRONG.

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      Chobham House, Jan. 13th, 1807.

      My dear Friend,

      Mr. J. favoured me with a sight of the letter you wrote to him. It gave me great pleasure to find you in the first class, and to hear, also, that you are fagging for your next term; though, blessed be God, human science is no indispensable requisite, either for salvation or for a minister of the Gospel, yet it possesses innumerable advantages, and I doubt not but you will hereafter reap the fruits of your present exertions. Our greatest fear, my dear Armstrong, is that we should substitute learning for religion, and lest we should endeavour to regulate our conduct more by our present supposed circumstances than by the will of God; but I am persuaded your fears on this subject are similar to my own, and, therefore, I need not enlarge. As for myself, when I sometimes stand still, and consider how ardently I am engaged about trifles, and, as Young observes,

      “Wasting my strength in strenuous idleness,”

      I am quite ashamed, and I go making fresh resolutions of more devotedness to God and more zeal in his service: but, alas! how little ground do I gain after all! Assist me with your prayers, your constant daily prayers; and though we are distant in place, let us meet one another in spirit. My time of evening devotion is from six to seven; let us endeavour in simplicity of heart to meet one another at this time at the throne of grace; and may God pour on each of us that which will not only impart a present blessing, but diffuse a sacred tune of heavenly affection through the residue of our lives. Our employments necessarily require the exercise of thought, and very much tend to produce what the Methodists term “distraction;” but still the constant influence of the Divine Spirit, and a continued simplicity of intention, will enable us to be recollected, even in the midst of our studies. I was very much pleased lately in reading in the “Epistles of the Apostolic Fathers” a passage in one of St. Ignatius’ Epistles, somewhat to this effect; he is giving us some directions for our conduct in life, and adds, “But even the worldly things which ye do are spiritual, for ye do all things in Jesus Christ.” Oh that this may be the temper and spirit of our lives; may all our worldly things be offered upon this altar, which sanctifies the gift; and after this transitory scene of being is ended, may we with pleasure retrace a life entirely filled with God. I remain, my dear Armstrong,

      Yours, affectionately and sincerely,

      G. Mortimer.

      He was accustomed to spend his long vacations, during his residence at Cambridge, with a private tutor, who spent the time in some salubrious and pleasant part of the country. The following letter was written on one of those occasions, and is a proof of his taste for fine scenery, as well as of his great application to study.

TO HIS SISTER.

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      Dawlish, near Exeter, Aug. 12th, 1809.

      My dear Sister,

      You are, no doubt, returned from Broadstairs, and enjoying the pleasures arising from quiet and regular movements, and now and then, perhaps, in the midst of your retirement a thought wanders towards Devon, and you begin to wonder “what has taken the little fellow that he does not write.” I confess, time has glided on so insensibly, that I was not aware how long I had been here; I shall really feel sorry to leave my present situation, for I never spent five weeks so agreeably before. I lodge with good people, who do all they can to accommodate me. I make progress in my studies, which is another source of gratification, and I am situated in the midst of a country the most diversified and beautiful. As it is quite new to me, and I may probably never visit it again, I avail myself of the present opportunity of seeing everything worthy of notice, and since my purse will not allow me to enjoy any “leathern convenience,” I have commenced pedestrian, and frequently walk from fourteen to eighteen miles a day. I take a syllabus with me, and go over my subject in my mind, so that a peep now and then is all I require: by this method I lose no time, and combine profit with amusement. My stated walks, however, are much shorter, and devoted to relaxation only. But there is another source of gratification which I must mention, and which far exceeds all the rest; it is this, I feel I am advancing in the best of things; religion has an increasing and diffusive influence over my mind; it seems more and more my element, and I am enabled to live in that spirit which a friend of ours on a late occasion attempted to ridicule—I mean a spirit of recollection and prayer; not, indeed, so much so as I could wish, or as I ought to do, but still much more so than formerly. When my time for devotional exercises comes round, it is welcomed as the happiest of the whole day, and my Sabbaths are days of real pleasure and permanent good. May such in kind, though greater in degree, be the happy experience of my dear sister, and may no studies, no employments whatever, be prosecuted, but in subordination to those of a spiritual nature. Religion, I am persuaded, should be everything or nothing; here only a middle course is dangerous. If we profess to admire and to be influenced by heavenly objects, we should prize them above everything; and yet, alas! (O shame to our Christian profession!) to what poor and paltry considerations are they not daily sacrificed! Adieu, my dearest sister; may God preserve you pure and unspotted from the world until the day of his appearing!

      Yours, most affectionately and sincerely,

      Both in Christian and fraternal bonds,

      G. M.

TO HIS SISTER.

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      Cambridge, December, 1809.

      Study is, I am persuaded, at present my duty; but I shall be heartily glad when another year is over, and I shall be left to pursue the duties of the sacred office in peace and quietness, if it please God. … How often do I picture to myself these happy scenes, and “catch a momentary joy;” but, perhaps, this hand which now glides swiftly, along the page may soon forget to move. I may be summoned to another world in the midst of my academical pursuits, and may never have the honour granted me of building the house of God. Should this be the case, should your brother be called to the peaceful tomb before another revolving year, bear in mind, when he is gone, that his supreme wish has been unfulfilled, and that his studies and trifling successes have not so filled his mind as to call it off from the care of souls, and the earnest wish for their salvation. In this work I would gladly live and die; but the Supreme Disposer of events knows what is best, and in that I hope, not only to acquiesce, but СКАЧАТЬ