Views Of Religion; (1890)

There is no complete American edition of the works of Theodore Parker, and many of them are out of print. The American Unitarian Association publishes this volume of selections from his writings by permission of his friends. We hope that his entire works may one day be collected and published in this country, as they have been in England.

All of these writings, unless we except his translation of De Wette on the Old Testament, consist of occasional sermons, speeches, lectures, and essays in periodical works. In the pressure of such immediate demands, this most laborious of men never found time to compose an elaborate work. Always hoping to do so, and amply prepared with stores of thought and learning, the hour never came. In this, he resembled other eminent Americans, such as William Ellery Channing, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, and Edward Everett. There is both advantage and disadvantage in thus spending one's strength on special occasions. There is greater immediate impression, but less permanent influence. Eew care to read a volume of speeches delivered twenty or thirty years ago about matters which have lost their interest. The fame which comes from popular addresses, like that of a great actor, is remembered at last as a tradition; while, moreover, the style of such addresses tends to diffuseness, repetition, and the broad touches which please an audience.

From this tendency to oblivion Parker's writings are relatively saved by their learning and philosophy, and also because he made himself an integral part of two movements which have gone into history, — the antislavery movement in politics, and the broadening out of New England theology. The plan of this volume, as intended by the Publishing Committee, was simply to illustrate Mr. Parker's views of religion and theology. A more comprehensive selection would, of course, include examples of his method of treating public subjects, and show his interest in moral reforms and the practical qiiestions of the hour.

Theodore Parker, an ardent controversialist, and vehement in expression, was sometimes unfair to his opponents. But he was never intentionally so. He had the magnanimity which enabled him readily to retract any statement which he saw was unfounded, or which could be misunderstood. He did so in one instance at my suggestion, because I told him that one of his expressions had been misunderstood by good people. His tremendous philippics against the defenders of slavery, and against those who were willing to return fugitives to their owners, though very severe, were caused by his profound sense of the iniquity of the system.

The theology of Theodore Parker was at first thought to be very radical, and was much censured. He returned the condemnation in full measure, using sometimes very bitter language. But with all this acrid speech, his disposition was kind and affectionate. He never forgot a friendly action, for his heart was as large as his brain.

Time and death soften animosities. The Unitarians have forgiven and forgotten his sharp speeches against them, and — what is often harder to forgive—their own sharp speeches against him. To-day, they only remember his loyalty to truth, his devotion to humanity, his scholarship, intelligence, and loving heart. Few persons would subscribe to his

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theology. To many he still seems only partially to understand the work of Jesus, and to ignore some of the deeper experiences of the human soul. On the other hand, the current of what is called " advanced thought" has carried others far beyond his position. If he were living now, he would be thought by many to be much too conservative.

The work of Theodore Parker in theology was not essentially that of denial. He pulled down in order to build. He believed, with all his mind, heart, soul, and strength, in God, Duty, and Immortality. He could never accept in place of the living God any " stream of tendency," or " power not ourselves making for righteousness." To him God was personal Friend, universal Father, whose worship filled his mind and heart. An impersonal God was to him a contradiction in terms.

He was, in the profoundest depths of his belief, a tran-scendentalist. He never could suppose the idea of duty to be only a transformed sensation. To him it spoke with commanding voice as an innate idea, binding the soul to the law of universal righteousness.

Nor could he accept the sad doctrine that all of man ends with the present life. He saw in this life the beginning of perpetual development. He deemed this faith in immortality essential as a motive to endeavor, as a spring of progress, and as vital to a true view of the dignity of man.

The biography of Parker has been frequently written. The first and fullest, but without much arrangement, and poorly put together, is that by Weiss. The best is by 0. B. Frothi