ABRAHAM LINCOLN[73]
While the fate and future of the Christian1 religion in nowise depends upon the sentiments of Abraham Lincoln, yet the life and character of this remarkable2 man belong to the public, to tell for evil or for good on coming generations; and as the attempt has been made to impute3 to him the vilest4 sentiments, even to his dying day, it is fitting and just that the weakness and infidelity charged upon his later life should not go down unchallenged to posterity5. The latest biography of Mr. Lincoln, published under the name of Col. W. H. Lamon, but with the large co-operation of Mr. W. H. Herndon, concerns itself with the endeavor to establish certain allegations injurious to the good name of the illustrious man, whose tragic6 and untimely death has consecrated7 his memory in the hearts of a grateful nation. Two charges in this biography are worthy8 of especial notice and disproof,—the charge that he was born a bastard9, and the charge that he died an infidel. Mr. Lamon begins his pleasing task by raising dark and unfounded insinuations as to the legitimacy10 of his hero, and then occupies from twenty-five to thirty pages with evidence to prove that Mr. Lincoln was a confirmed infidel, and died playing a "sharp game on the Christian community"; that, in his "morbid11 ambition for popularity," he would say good Lord or good Devil, "adjusting his religious sentiments to his political interests." In meeting these insinuations and charges I shall necessarily have recourse to political[Pg 315] documents and papers, but it shall not be my aim to parade Mr. Lincoln's political opinions, further than to eliminate from his writings and speeches his religious sentiments.
As to the ungracious insinuation that Mr. Lincoln was not the child of lawful12 wedlock13, I have only to say that it is an insinuation unsupported by a shadow of justifiable14 evidence. The only thing on which Mr. Lamon bases the insinuation is, that he has been unable to find any record of the marriage Mr. Lincoln's parents. Just as if it would be any evidence against the fact of their marriage if no record could be found. If every man in this country is to be considered as illegitimate who cannot produce his parents' certificate of marriage, or find a record of it in a family Bible anywhere, there will be a good many very respectable people in the same category with Mr. Lincoln. Such an insinuation might be raised with as much plausibility15 in the case of multitudes of the early settlers of the country. It is a questionable16 act of friendship thus to rake "the short and simple annals of the poor," and upon such slender evidence raise an insinuation so unfounded. But I am prepared to show that if Mr. Lamon has found no record of the marriage of Mr. Lincoln's parents, it is simply because he has not extended his researches as faithfully in this direction as he has in some others. It appears that there is a well-authenticated record of the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, and, in the same connection, the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Lincoln. Hearing that the Hon. J. C. Black, of Champaign, Ill., a warm personal friend of Mr. Lincoln, had in his possession several papers given to him soon after Mr. Lincoln's death by a member of the family, and among them a leaf from the family Bible containing the record of the marriage of Mr. Lincoln's parents, I at once telegraphed to him in relation to this record, and have in my possession the following letter, which will explain itself:
Champaign, Ill., Jan. 8th, 1873.
J. A. Reed:
Dear Sir—Your telegram of the 7th reached me this A. M. In reply permit me to say that I was in possession of the leaf of which you speak, and which contained the record of the marriage of Thos. Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Lincoln. The leaf is very old, and is the last page of the Apocrypha19. It was given to me, with certificate of genuineness, by Dennis F. Hanks in 1866. I have sent both record and certificate to Wm. P. Black, attorney at law, 131 La Salle Street, Chicago, Ill., and duly by him delivered to the Illinois[Pg 316] Historical Association. Hon. I. N. Arnold called on my brother and obtained the originals for use in a revised edition of his life of Lincoln, and I understand that since then they have passed into the hands of Robt. Lincoln, Esq., where they were when I last heard from them. Hoping that what I have written may be of some use, I remain
Very truly yours,
J. C. Black.
Presuming that the first of Colonel Lamon's libels upon Mr. Lincoln's memory is thus sufficiently21 disposed of, I proceed to consider the charges against his religious life and character. The best refutation of these charges lies on the pages of the book in which they are advanced. However skeptical22 Mr. Lincoln may have been in his earlier life, Mr. Lamon persists in asserting and attempting to prove that he continued a confirmed skeptic23 to the last: that he was an unbeliever in the truth of the Christian religion, and died an infidel; that, while "he was by no means free from a kind of belief in the supernatural, he rejected the great facts of Christianity as wanting the support of authentic18 evidence"; that, "during all the time of his residence at Springfield and in Washington, he never let fall from his lips an expression which remotely implied the slightest faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God and the Saviour24 of men"; that "he was at all times an infidel." From twenty-five to thirty pages of evidence is produced in proof of this allegation.
But all this positive statement as to Mr. Lincoln's persistent25 and final infidelity is contradicted by the admissions of the book itself. It is admitted that there did come a time in Mr. Lincoln's life at Springfield when he began to affiliate26 with Christian people, and to give his personal presence and support to the Church. It is admitted that he did so plausibly27 identify himself with the Christian community that "his New Salem associates and the aggressive deists with whom he originally united at Springfield gradually dispersed28 and fell away from his side." Here is the fact, openly and squarely stated by Mr. Lamon, that Mr. Lincoln, even while at Springfield, did make such a change in his sentiments and bearing toward the Christian community, that "the aggressive deists and infidels with whom he originally united gradually dispersed and fell away from his side." He no sooner turned away from them in sentiment than they turned away from him in fact.
But how does the biographer attempt to explain this? How does he account for this admitted and observable change in Mr.[Pg 317] Lincoln's life, that relieved him of the presence of so much aggressive deistical company? Why, by means of an explanation that kills the accusation29 itself—an explanation that fastens upon Mr. Lincoln the very charge of hypocrisy30 against which he professes31 to defend him. He accounts for this admitted and observable change in the attitude of Mr. Lincoln towards the Christian community, not by supposing that there was any sincerity32 about it, but by affirming that he was trying "to play a sharp game on the Christians33 of Springfield!" It was because "he was a wily politician, and did not disdain34 to regulate his religious manifestations36 with reference to his political interests"; and because, "seeing the immense and augmenting37 power of the churches, he aspired38 to lead the religious community, foreseeing that in order to his political success he must not appear an enemy within their gates." And yet, if we are to believe Colonel Lamon, he was an enemy all the while at heart; and while attending church, and supporting the Gospel, and making Sabbath school speeches, and speeches before the Bible Society, he was at heart a disbeliever of the truth and an antagonist39 of the cause which he professed40 to be supporting. In other words, he was all these years playing the arrant41 hypocrite; deceiving the Christian community and wheedling42 it for political purposes; playing the role of a gospel hearer in the sanctuary43, and a hail fellow well met with profane44 fellows of the baser sort in the private sanctum of infidelity or "aggressive deism."
Strangely enough, however, Colonel Lamon and his companion in authorship not only praise Mr. Lincoln's greatness, but laud45 his singular conscientiousness46 and integrity of motive47 almost to perfection. Says Mr. Herndon, "He was justly entitled to the appellation48, Honest Abe"; "honesty was his pole star; conscience, the faculty49 that loves the just and the right, was the second great quality and forte50 of Mr. Lincoln's character." "He had a deep, broad, living conscience. His great reason told him what was true and good, right and wrong, just or unjust, and his conscience echoed back the decision, and it was from this point he spoke51 and wove his character and fame among us. His conscience ruled his heart." [See Herndon's letter in Carpenter's Life of Lincoln.]
In confirmation52 of this, Mr. Lamon goes on to show that Mr. Lincoln scorned everything like hypocrisy or deceit. In fact he makes his hero to be such a paragon53 of honesty and[Pg 318] conscious integrity of motive that he would not undertake to plead a bad cause before a jury if he could possibly shift the responsibility over on to some other lawyer, whose conscience was not quite so tender. He brings in the testimony54 of a most reputable lawyer of another place in confirmation of this, who states: "That for a man who was for a quarter of a century both a lawyer and a politician, Mr. Lincoln was the most honest man I ever knew. He was not only morally honest but intellectually so. He could not reason falsely; if he attempted it he failed. In politics he never would try to mislead. At the bar, when he thought he was wrong, he was the weakest lawyer I ever saw." "In a closely contested case where Mr. Lincoln had proved an account for a client, who was, though he knew it not, a very slippery fellow, the opposing attorney afterward55 proved a receipt clearly covering the entire case. By the time he was through Mr. Lincoln was missing. The court sent for him to the hotel. 'Tell the judge,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'that I can't come; my hands are dirty and I came over to clean them.'"
Page after page is thus taken to show Mr. Lincoln's singular conscientiousness and honesty, his incapability56 of hypocrisy or deceit, as a lawyer, a politician and a gentleman. And yet these consistent biographers go back on all this testimony of their own mouths when they come to explain the admitted change in his life when he began to lean toward the church, and the "aggressive deists" parted company with him. Then they find it convenient to call him a "wily politician," who is "playing a sharp game with the Christians"; "the cautious pretender who does not disdain to regulate his religious manifestations with reference to his political interests." They saddle upon him the vilest hypocrisy and deceit, and make him "act the liar's part," in order to send him down to posterity an infidel. On one page they reason that Mr. Lincoln could not have made any such admissions of his belief in the Christian religion as have been maintained, as such admissions would be contrary to his well-known character; on the next page they affirm that Mr. Lincoln could not act the hypocrite; and on a third they do not hesitate to attribute to him the very grossest duplicity, in their zeal57 to fasten on him the charge of permanent skepticism. They go back on their own logic58, eat their own argument, and give the lie to the very charge they are laboring60 with such considerable pains to establish.
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The book, therefore, I repeat, bears on its own pages the best refutation of the charge it makes against Mr. Lincoln. Surely, such serious inconsistency of statement, such illogical absurdity61, even, could hardly have escaped the notice of the biographers if some preconceived opinion had not prejudiced their minds and blinded their eyes. The animus62 of the book and the purpose for which it was written are only too apparent.
Perhaps it might suffice to rest the refutation of this charge against Mr. Lincoln's religious character on the internal evidence of Colonel Lamon's volume with which I have thus far been occupied. But there is something to be said concerning the authenticity63 and accuracy of the testimony by which the charge seems to be supported.
I have been amazed to find that the principal persons whose testimony is given in this book to prove that their old friend lived and died an infidel, never wrote a word of it, and never gave it as their opinion or allowed it to be published as covering their estimate of Mr. Lincoln's life and religious views. They were simply familiarly interviewed, and their testimony misrepresented, abridged64 and distorted to suit the purpose of the interviewer, and the business he had on hand.
The two gentlemen whose names are most relied upon, and who stand first on the list of witnesses to establish the charge these biographers have made, are the Hon. John T. Stuart, and Col. Jas. H. Matheny, of Springfield, old and intimate friends of Mr. Lincoln.
Hon. John T. Stuart is an ex-member of Congress, and was Mr. Lincoln's first law partner,—a gentleman of the highest standing65 and ability in his profesion, and of unimpeachable66 integrity. Mr. Lamon has attributed to Mr. Stuart testimony the most disparaging68 and damaging to Mr. Lincoln's character and opinions,—testimony which Mr. Stuart utterly69 repudiates70, both as to language and sentiment, as the following letter shows:—
Springfield, Dec. 17th, 1872.
Dear Sir—My attention has been called to a statement in relation to the religious opinions of Mr. Lincoln, purporting71 to have been made by me and published in Lamon's Life of Lincoln. The language of that statement is not mine; it was not written by me, and I did not see it until it was in print.
I was once interviewed on the subject of Mr. Lincoln's religious opinions, and doubtless said that Mr. Lincoln was in the earlier part of[Pg 320] his life an infidel. I could not have said that "Dr. Smith tried to convert Lincoln from infidelity so late as 1858, and couldn't do it." In relation to that point, I stated, in the same conversation, some facts which are omitted in that statement, and which I will briefly72 repeat. That Eddie, a child of Mr. Lincoln, died in 1848 or 1849, and that he and his wife were in deep grief on that account. That Dr. Smith, then Pastor73 of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, at the suggestion of a lady friend of theirs, called upon Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, and that first visit resulted in great intimacy74 and friendship between them, lasting75 till the death of Mr. Lincoln, and continuing with Mrs. Lincoln till the death of Dr. Smith. I stated that I had heard, at the time, that Dr. Smith and Mr. Lincoln had much discussion in relation to the truth of the Christian religion, and that Dr. Smith had furnished Mr. Lincoln with books to read on that subject, and among others one which had been written by himself, some time previous, on infidelity; and that Dr. Smith claimed that after this investigation76 Mr. Lincoln had changed his opinion, and become a believer in the truth of the Christian religion: that Mr. Lincoln and myself never conversed78 upon that subject, and I had no personal knowledge as to his alleged79 change of opinion. I stated, however, that it was certainly true, that up to that time Mr. Lincoln had never regularly attended any place of religious worship, but that after that time he rented a pew in the First Presbyterian Church, and with his family constantly attended the worship in that church until he went to Washington as President. This much I said at the time, and can now add that the Hon. Ninian W. Edwards, the brother-in-law of Mr. Lincoln, has, within a few days, informed me that when Mr. Lincoln commenced attending the First Presbyterian Church he admitted to him that his views had undergone the change claimed by Dr. Smith.
I would further say that Dr. Smith was a man of very great ability and on theological and metaphysical subjects had few superiors and not many equals.
Truthfulness81 was a prominent trait in Mr. Lincoln's character, and it would be impossible for any intimate friend of his to believe that he ever aimed to deceive, either by his words or his conduct.
Yours truly,
John T. Stuart.
Similar testimony, to the extent of a page or more of finely printed matter, Mr. Lamon attributes to Col. Jas. H. Matheny, of Springfield, Ill., an old acquaintance of Mr. Lincoln, an able lawyer and of high standing in the community. Mr. Matheny testifies that he never wrote a word of what is attributed to him; that it is not a fair representation of either his language or his opinions, and that he never would have allowed such an article to be published as covering his estimate of Mr. Lincoln's life and character. Here is what this gentleman has to say, given over his own signature:—
Springfield, Dec. 16th, 1872.
Rev. J. A. Reed:
Dear Sir—The language attributed to me in Lamon's book is not from my pen. I did not write it, and it does not express my sentiments of Mr. Lincoln's entire life and character. It is a mere82 collection of[Pg 321] sayings gathered from private conversations that were only true of Mr. Lincoln's earlier life. I would not have allowed such an article to be printed over my signature as covering my opinion of Mr. Lincoln's life and religious sentiments. While I do believe Mr. Lincoln to have been an infidel in his former life, when his mind was as yet unformed, and his associations principally with rough and skeptical men, yet I believe he was a very different man in later life; and that after associating with a different class of men, and investigating the subject, he was a firm believer in the Christian religion.
Yours truly,
Jas. H. Matheny.
It is unnecessary that I occupy more space with the rest of the testimony, as there is none of it given over the signature of anybody, save that which is given over the signature of W. H. Herndon. All aside from this bears evidence of having been manipulated to suit the purpose for which it is wanted, and is either contradictory83, or fails to cover the whole of Mr. Lincoln's life. Judge Davis, for instance, is made to say: "I don't know anything about Lincoln's religion, nor do I think anybody else knows anything about it." Of what value can the testimony be that is prefaced with such declarations of knowing nothing about the matter?
John G. Nicolay is made to testify, that "to his knowledge Mr. Lincoln did not change his views after he came to Washington"; and yet he states in immediate84 connection that "he does not know what his views were, never having heard him explain them."
Jesse W. Fell either testifies, or is made to testify, to Mr. Lincoln's skeptical notions. And yet Mr. Fell admits that it "was eight or ten years previous to his death" that he believed him to be entertaining the views of which he speaks, "and that he may have changed his sentiments after his removal from among us." All this would be strange kind of testimony on which to convict Mr. Lincoln of murder in the presence of a judge and jury. But with such evidence it is sought to convict him of infidelity.
We are enabled to see, therefore, in the light of this revelation, of what "trustworthy materials" this book is composed; how much Mr. Lamon's "names and dates and authorities, by which he strengthens his testimony," are to be depended upon; and what reason unsuspecting or sympathizing critics and journalists have for arriving at the sage85 conclusion that Mr. Lincoln "was, in his habit of thought, heterodox in the extreme to the close of his life, and a very different man from what he was[Pg 322] supposed to be." The evidence of this book, so far as the prominent witnesses are concerned, and so far as it relates to the later years of Mr. Lincoln's life, is not only utterly untrustworthy, but even an ingenious and romantic invention.
Having shown what claims Mr. Lamon's book has to being the "only fair and reliable history" of Mr. Lincoln's life and views, and of what "trustworthy materials" it is composed, I shall now give the testimony I have collected to establish what has ever been the public impression, that Mr. Lincoln was in his later life, and at the time of his death, a firm believer in the truth of the Christian religion. The infidelity of his earlier life is not so much to be wondered at, when we consider the poverty of his early religious instruction and the peculiar86 influences by which he was surrounded. Gideon Welles, formerly87 Secretary of the Navy, in a recent article in the Galaxy88, in accounting89 for the late and peculiar manifestation35 of faith which Mr. Lincoln exhibited, says: "It was doubtless to be attributed in a great measure to the absence of early religious culture—a want of educational advantages in his youthful frontier life." This, together with the fact that his youth and early manhood were spent chiefly among a rough, illiterate90 and skeptical class of people, is amply confirmed by Mr. Lamon's narrative91.
On the same authority it appears that Mr. Lincoln had in his former life read but few books, and that everything he had read, of an intellectual character, bearing on the truth of the Bible, was of an infidel sort. It does not appear that he had ever seen, much less read, a work on the evidences of Christianity till his interview with Rev. Dr. Smith in 1848. We hear of him as reading Paine, Voltaire and Theodore Parker, but nothing on the other side. The men by whom he was surrounded in his earlier life, it seems, kept him well supplied with their kind of literature. He was familiar with some of the master spirits of infidelity and theism, but had never grappled with the evidences of Christianity as presented by the great defenders92 of the Christian faith.
But then Mr. Lincoln's mind was of too much greatness and intellectual candor93 to remain the victim of a false theory in the presence of clear and sufficient intellectual testimony. And he no sooner, in the providence94 of God, was placed in possession of the truth, and led to investigate for himself, than he stood firmly and avowedly95 on the side of the Christian religion.
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In proof of this statement, I first of all produce the testimony of Rev. Dr. Smith, Mr. Lincoln's pastor at Springfield. In relation to Mr. Lincoln's opinion of Dr. Smith, it is only necessary for me to state that he stood so high in his esteem98, that he gave him the appointment of Consul99 to Glasgow. Dr. Smith was in Scotland at the time of Mr. Lincoln's death, and soon after this sad event, Mr. Herndon conceived the notion of collecting materials for his intended biography. He accordingly addressed a letter to Dr. Smith in Scotland, with the view of getting some information from so respectable a source to prove that Mr. Lincoln had died an infidel. In this however he was mistaken, to his evident chagrin100 and disappointment. I shall give some extracts from Dr. Smith's printed letter, which is to be found in the Springfield Journal of March, 1867, in which he gives his opinion of both Mr. Herndon and Mr. Lincoln.
East Cainno, Scotland, 24th Jan. 1867.
W. H. Herndon, Esq.:
Sir—Your letter of the 20th Dec. was duly received. In it you ask me to answer several questions in relation to the illustrious President Abraham Lincoln. With regard to your second question, I beg leave to say it is a very easy matter to prove that while I was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of v Springfield, Mr. Lincoln did avow96 his belief in the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures102, and I hold that it is a matter of the last importance not only to the present, but all future generations of the Great Republic, and to all advocates of civil and religious liberty throughout the world, that this avowal103 on his part, and the circumstances attending it, together with very interesting incidents illustrative of the excellence104 of his character, in my possession, should be made known to the public. I am constrained105, however, most respectfully to decline choosing you as the medium through which such a communication shall be made by me. [Omitting that portion of the letter which bears on Mr. Herndon, I give what is written in vindication106 of Mr. Lincoln.—J. A. R.] My intercourse107 with Abraham Lincoln convinced me that he was not only an honest man, but pre?minently an upright man—ever ready, so far as in his power, to render unto all their dues.
It was my honor to place before Mr. Lincoln arguments designed to prove the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, accompanied by the arguments of infidel objectors in their own language. To the arguments on both sides Mr. Lincoln gave a most patient, impartial108, and searching investigation. To use his own language, he examined the arguments as a lawyer who is anxious to reach the truth investigates testimony. The result was the announcement by himself that the argument in favor of the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures was unanswerable. I could say much more on this subject, but as you are the person addressed, for the present I decline. The assassin Booth, by his diabolical109 act, unwittingly sent the illustrious martyr110 to glory, honor, and immortality111; but his false friend has attempted to send him down to posterity with infamy113 branded on his forehead, as a man who,[Pg 324] notwithstanding all he suffered for his country's good, was destitute114 of those feelings and affections without which there can be no real excellency of character. Sir, I am with due respect your obedient servant,
Jas. Smith.
N.B.—It will no doubt be gratifying to the friends of Christianity to learn that very shortly after Mr. Lincoln became a member of my congregation, at my request, in the presence of a large assembly at the annual meeting of the Bible Society of Springfield, he delivered an address the object of which was to inculcate the importance of having the Bible placed in possession of every family in the State. In the course of it he drew a striking contrast between the Decalogue and the moral codes of the most eminent115 lawgivers of antiquity116, and closed (as near as I can recollect) in the following language: "It seems to me that nothing short of infinite wisdom could by any possibility have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code. It is suited to men in all conditions of life and includes all the duties they owe to their Creator, to themselves, and to their fellow-men."
J. S.
Mr. Lamon, aware of the importance of Dr. Smith's testimony, attempts to break the force of it by the argumentum ad nauseam. He alludes117 to Dr. Smith as a gentleman of "slender abilities for the conversion118 of so distinguished119 a person, and as having in his zeal composed a heavy tract101 out of his own head to suit the particular case, and that he afterwards drew the acknowledgment from Mr. Lincoln that it was unanswerable," and that he himself is the only man that can testify of such an admission on the part of Mr. Lincoln. This is all the gratuitous120 assertion of a man who is driven to the wall for evidence to prove his point. Now John T. Stuart has already testified to Dr. Smith's abilities as a theologian and a metaphysician having few superiors. He testifies to the fact that Dr. Smith's work was not written to suit Mr. Lincoln's case. It was written previously121, before Dr. Smith ever saw Mr. Lincoln. Nor is it true that Dr. Smith is the only one who can testify to an admission on the part of Mr. Lincoln of a change of sentiments. There are many residents of Springfield, both ladies and gentlemen, who can testify to this admission. I give one or two letters as a sample.
Springfield, Dec. 24th, 1872.
Rev. Jas. Reed:
Dear Sir—A short time after the Rev. Dr. Smith became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in this city, Mr. Lincoln said to me, "I have been reading a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity, and have heard him preach and converse77 on the subject, and I am now convinced of the truth of the Christian religion."
Yours truly,
N. W. Edwards.
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Springfield, Jan. 6th, 1873.
Rev. J. A. Reed:
Dear Sir—Not long after Dr. Smith came to Springfield, and I think very near the time of his son's death, Mr. Lincoln said to me, that when on a visit somewhere, he had seen and partially122 read a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity which had led him to change his views about the Christian religion; that he would like to get that work to finish the reading of it, and also to make the acquaintance of Dr. Smith. I was an elder in Dr. Smith's church, and took Dr. Smith to Mr. Lincoln's office and introduced him, and Dr. Smith gave Mr. Lincoln a copy of his book, as I know, at his own request.
Yours, &c.,
Thos. Lewis.
There are many others who can testify that Mr. Lincoln, both publicly and privately123 while at Springfield, made the admission of his belief in the truth of the Christian religion. He did it in most unequivocal language, in addresses before the Bible Society and in Sabbath school.
I next refer to the testimony of Rev. Dr. Gurley, Mr. Lincoln's pastor at Washington City. Even if, before his election to the Presidency124, Mr. Lincoln had entertained the sentiments attributed to him, after he had reached the pinnacle125 of political elevation126, there was certainly no necessity for him any longer to be "playing a sharp game with the Christians," and destroying his peace of mind by wearing the mask of hypocrisy. He was surely free now to worship where he felt most comfortable. But we no sooner find him in Washington than we find him settling down under the ministry127 of Dr. Gurley, a sound and orthodox minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr. Gurley was his intimate friend, and spiritual counselor128 and adviser129, during the most trying and difficult time of his life. He was with him not only in the hours of his personal family bereavement130, but when his heart was heavy and perplexed131 with the welfare of his country. Having been associated with Dr. Gurley in the charge of his pulpit for a time previous to his death, and being intimately acquainted with him, I have had the opportunity of knowing what his views of Mr. Lincoln's sentiments were. In the funeral oration132 which Dr. Gurley delivered in Washington, he says:
"Probably since the days of Washington no man was ever so deeply and firmly embedded133 and enshrined in the hearts of the people as Abraham Lincoln. Nor was it a mistaken confidence and love. He deserved it—deserved it all. He merited it by his character, by his acts, and by the whole tone and tenor[Pg 326] of his life.... His integrity was thorough, all-pervading, all-controlling and incorruptible. He saw his duty as the Chief Magistrate134 of a great and imperiled people, and he determined135 to do his duty, seeking the guidance, and leaning on the arm of Him of whom it is written: 'He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.'
"Never shall I forget the emphatic136 and deep emotion with which he said in this very room, to a company of clergymen who called to pay their respects to him in the darkest days of our civil conflict: 'Gentlemen, my hope of success in this struggle rests on that immutable137 foundation, the justness and the goodness of God; and when events are very threatening I shall hope that in some way all will be well in the end, because our cause is just and God will be on our side.'"
This was uttered when Dr. Gurley was not aware, as I suppose, that Mr. Lincoln had ever been charged with entertaining infidel sentiments. While sitting in the study one day with him, conversing138 on Mr. Lincoln's character, I asked him about the rumor139 of his infidelity then being circulated by Mr. Herndon. He said, "I do not believe a word of it. It could not have been true of him while here, for I have had frequent and intimate conversations with him on the subject of the Bible and the Christian religion, when he could have had no motive to deceive me, and I considered him sound not only on the truth of the Christian religion but on all its fundamental doctrines140 and teaching. And more than that: in the latter days of his chastened and weary life, after the death of his son Willie, and his visit to the battlefield of Gettysburg, he said, with tears in his eyes, that he had lost confidence in everything but God, and that he now believed his heart was changed, and that he loved the Saviour, and if he was not deceived in himself, it was his intention soon to make a profession of religion." Language to this effect Mr. Lincoln, it appears, used in conversation with other persons, and I refer next to the corroborating142 testimony of Noah Brooks143, Esq., now associated with the New York Tribune. This gentleman has already published most interesting testimony in relation to Mr. Lincoln's religious sentiments in Harper's Monthly of July, 1865. In order that his testimony may be fully17 appreciated, I will here state, on the authority of a mutual144 friend, that "Mr. Brooks is himself an earnest Christian man, and had the appointment of private secretary to the Presi[Pg 327]dent, to which office he would have acceded145 had Mr. Lincoln lived. He was so intimate with the President that he visited him socially at times when others were refused admission, took tea with the family, spending evenings with him, reading to him, and conversing with him freely on social and religious topics, and in my opinion knows more of the secret inner life and religious views of Mr. Lincoln, at least during the term of his presidency, than any man living." The following is a letter which I have received from Mr. Brooks in relation to his views of Mr. Lincoln's religious sentiments:
New York, Dec. 31st, 1872.
Rev. J. A. Reed:
My dear Sir—In addition to what has appeared from my pen, I will state that I have had many conversations with Mr. Lincoln, which were more or less of a religious character, and while I never tried to draw anything like a statement of his views from him, yet he freely expressed himself to me as having "a hope of blessed immortality through Jesus Christ." His views seemed to settle so naturally around that statement, that I considered no other necessary. His language seemed not that of an inquirer, but of one who had a prior settled belief in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. Once or twice, speaking to me of the change which had come upon him, he said, while he could not fix any definite time, yet it was after he came here, and I am very positive that in his own mind he identified it with about the time of Willie's death. He said, too, that after he went to the White House he kept up the habit of daily prayer. Sometimes he said it was only ten words, but those ten words he had. There is no possible reason to suppose that Mr. Lincoln would ever deceive me as to his religious sentiments. In many conversations with him, I absorbed the firm conviction that Mr. Lincoln was at heart a Christian man, believed in the Saviour, and was seriously considering the step which would formally connect him with the visible Church on earth. Certainly, any suggestion as to Mr. Lincoln's skepticism or infidelity, to me who knew him intimately from 1862 till the time of his death, is a monstrous146 fiction—a shocking perversion147.
Yours truly,
Noah Brooks.
The following extract I add also from Mr. Brooks's article in Harper's Monthly of July, 1865: "There was something touching148 in his childlike and simple reliance on Divine aid, especially when in such extremities149 as he sometimes fell into; then, though prayer and reading the Scriptures was his constant habit, he more earnestly than ever sought that strength which is promised when mortal help faileth. He said once, 'I have been many times driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient150 for that day.' At another time he said,
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'I am very sure that if I do not go away from here a wiser man, I shall go away a better man for having learned here what a very poor sort of a man I am.'"
Mr. Carpenter, author of Six Months in the White House, whose intimacy with Mr. Lincoln gives importance to his testimony, says that "he believed Mr. Lincoln to be a sincere Christian," and among other proofs of it gives another well-authenticated admission (made by Mr. Lincoln to an estimable lady of Brooklyn, laboring in the Christian Commission) of a change of heart, and of his intention at some suitable opportunity to make a profession of religion.
Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent151 of Public Instruction in the State of Illinois, a gentleman of rare literary attainments152, and of unquestionable veracity153, has given very important testimony in relation to one particular point, more especially, Mr. Lincoln's belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Both Mr. Herndon and Mr. Lamon persist in asserting that Mr. Lincoln never used the name of Jesus Christ except to deny His divinity, and that Mr. Bateman is "the sole and only man who dare say that Mr. Lincoln believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God."
Mr. Bateman testifies that in 1860, Mr. Lincoln in conversation with him used the following language: "I know that there is a God, and that He hates injustice154 and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and a work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it and Christ is God. I have told them a house divided against itself cannot stand; and Christ and reason say the same, and they will find it so," &c. This testimony was originally given in Holland's Life of Lincoln. Mr. Herndon, at first unwilling155 to impeach67 Mr. Bateman's veracity, suggests a doubt "whether he is correctly reported in Holland's history"; presently, however, summoning courage, he ventures the affirmation: "On my word the world may take it for granted that Holland is wrong; that he does not state Mr. Lincoln's views correctly." He then goes on to say that "between himself and Dr. Holland, Mr. Bateman is not in a very pleasant situation." We have seen, however, that Mr. Herndon's "word," in a matter where his prejudices are so violent and his convictions so obstinate156, is hardly a sufficient denial with which to oppose the deliberate[Pg 329] and unretracted statement of an intelligent and reputable witness. And Mr. Bateman has no need to be disturbed, so long as the "unpleasantness" of his situation is occasioned by no more serious discomfort157 than Mr. Herndon's unsupported contradiction. As the matter now stands, Mr. Herndon offers a denial, based on general impressions as to Mr. Lincoln's character, against the direct, specific, and detailed158 testimony of a careful and competent man as to what he heard with his own ears. Mr. Herndon simply did not hear what Mr. Bateman did hear; and is in the position of that Irishman on trial for his life, who, when one witness swore directly that he saw the accused commit the crime, proposed to put upon the stand a dozen witnesses who could swear they did not see him.
Mr. Lamon also states that Mr. Bateman is a respectable citizen, whose general reputation for truth and veracity is not to be impeached159, but his story, as reported in Holland's Life of Lincoln, is so inconsistent with Mr. Lincoln's whole character that it must be rejected as altogether incredible. Unfortunately, however, for Mr. Lamon, he has not so impressed us with the trustworthy nature of the materials of his own book, as that we can afford to distrust the honesty and integrity of either Dr. Holland or Mr. Bateman for his sake. If anybody's story of Mr. Lincoln's life and sentiments is to be "rejected as inconsistent and altogether incredible," the testimony thus far would seem to indicate that it is Mr. Lamon's story. At least that is the "unpleasant situation" in which we shall leave the matter, so far as Mr. Bateman and Dr. Holland are concerned in it.
But Mr. Bateman is not the only one who can testify that Mr. Lincoln did use the name of the Saviour, and believed him to be the Christ of God. I have given several instances already in which he used the name of Christ as his Saviour, and avowed97 that he loved Him. Moreover, he could not have avowed his belief in the truth of the Christian religion, as many witnesses testify, if he did not believe Jesus to be the Christ of God.
To the various testimony which we have thus far cited it only remains160 for me to add the testimony of his own lips. In his address to the colored people of Baltimore, on the occasion of the presentation of a copy of the Bible, Mr. Lincoln said: "In regard to this great Book, I have only to say, it is the best gift which God has ever given to man. All the good from[Pg 330] the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this Book."
To the Hon. H. C. Deming, of Connecticut, he said that the "article of his faith was contained in the Saviour's condensed statement of both law and gospel—'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.'"
Mr. Herndon affirms that Mr. Lincoln did not believe in the "Christian dogma of the forgiveness of sin": he believed that "God would not and could not forgive sin. He did not believe in forgiveness through Christ, nor in fact in any doctrine141 of forgiveness. In reading Mr. Lincoln's proclamations, however, we find that he does very distinctly recognize the doctrine of the forgiveness of sin on the part of God, and very earnestly implores161 the people to seek the forgiveness of their sins. In his proclamation of a fast day, August, 1861, are these words:
"And, whereas, it is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to acknowledge and revere162 the supreme163 government of God; to bow in humble164 submission165 to his chastisements; to confess and deplore166 their sins and transgressions167, in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to pray with all fervency168 and contrition169 for the pardon of their past offenses171, and for a blessing172 on their present and prospective173 action," etc.
Read also his proclamation enforcing the observance of the Christian Sabbath in the Army and Navy, and ask yourself, Could an infidel have done this?
The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and enjoins174 the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in the military and naval175 service. The importance for man and beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference177 to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand that Sunday labor59 in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of a strict necessity. The discipline and character of the National forces should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled, by the profanation178 of the day and the name of the Most High. At this time of public distress179, adopting the words of Washington in 1776, "Men may find enough to do in the service of God and their country without abandoning themselves to vice176 and immorality180." The first general order issued by the Father of his Country, after the Declaration of Independence, indicates the spirit in which our institutions were founded and should ever be defended: "The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."
Abraham Lincoln.
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Besides all this, we find Mr. Lincoln often using the very language of the Saviour, as not only expressing but giving the sanction of Divine authority to his own views and opinions. What a remarkable instance of it in the solemn words that fell from his lips in his last inaugural181, as he stood on the steps of the Capitol! Standing upon the verge182 of his grave, as he was that day, and addressing his last official words to his countrymen, his lips touched as with the finger of inspiration, he said:
"The Almighty183 has His own purposes. 'Woe185 unto the world because of offenses, for it must needs be that offenses will come; but woe unto the man by whom the offense170 cometh.' If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of these offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern any departure therein from those Divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope, fervently187 do we pray, that the mighty184 scourge188 of war may pass away. Yet if God will that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil189 shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn190 with the lash191 shall be paid with another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so must it still be said, 'The judgments192 of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
Thus it appears, that whether Mr. Lincoln was ever accustomed to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ or not, or whether he was ever accustomed to deny His divinity or not, as his defamers allege80, he is willing, in the last eventful days of his life, standing at the nation's Capitol, in the hearing of the swelling194 multitude that hangs upon his lips, to use the sanction of Divine authority to one of the most remarkable sentences of his official address.
Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, of Chicago, an intimate acquaintance of Mr. Lincoln, and who is engaged in a review of his work on Mr. Lincoln's life, writes me that "from the time he left Springfield, with the touching request for the prayers of his friends and neighbors, to the day of his death, his words were the words of a Christian, revering195 the Bible, and obeying its precepts196. A[Pg 332] spirit of reverence197 and deep religious feeling pervades198 nearly all the public utterances199 and state papers of his later life."
The following interesting testimony from Rev. Dr. Byron Sunderland, of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington City, gives us a little insight into the philosophy of Mr. Lincoln's mind and religious sentiments:
Washington City, Nov. 15th, 1872.
Rev. Jas. A. Reed:
Dear Bro.—It was in the last days of 1862, about the time Mr. Lincoln was seriously contemplating200 the issuing of the Emancipation201 Proclamation, that I, in company with some friends of the President, called upon him. After some conversation, in which he seemed disposed to have his joke and fun, he settled down to a serious consideration of the subject before his mind, and for one half-hour poured forth202 a volume of the deepest Christian philosophy I ever heard. He began by saying—
"The ways of God are mysterious and profound beyond all comprehension—'who by searching can find Him out?' Now, judging after the manner of men, taking counsel of our sympathies and feelings, if it had been left to us to determine it, we would have had no war. And going further back to the occasion of it, we would have had no slavery. And tracing it still further back, we would have had no evil. There is the mystery of the universe which no man can solve, and it is at that point that the human understanding utterly backs down. And then there is nothing left but for the heart of man to take up faith and believe and trust where it cannot reason. Now, I believe we are all agents and instruments of Divine providence. On both sides we are working out the will of God; yet how strange the spectacle! Here is one half the nation prostrated203 in prayer that God will help them to destroy the union and build up a government upon the cornerstone of human bondage204. And here is the other half equally earnest in their prayers and efforts to defeat a purpose which they regard as so repugnant to their ideas of human nature and the rights of society, as well as liberty and independence. They want slavery; we want freedom. They want a servile class; we want to make equality practical as far as possible. And they are Christians, and we are Christians. They and we are praying and fighting for results exactly the opposite. What must God think of such a posture205 of affairs? There is but one solution—self-deception. Somewhere there is a fearful heresy206 in our religion, and I cannot think it lies in the love of liberty and in the aspirations207 of the human soul.
"What I am to do in the present emergency time will determine. I hold myself in my present position and with the authority vested in me as an instrument of Providence. I have my own views and purposes, I have my convictions of duty, and my notions of what is right to be done. But I am conscious every moment that all I am and all I have is subject to the control of a Higher Power, and that Power can use me or not use me in any manner, and at any time, as in His wisdom and might may be pleasing to Him.
"Nevertheless, I am no fatalist. I believe in the supremacy208 of the human conscience, and that men are responsible beings; that God has a right to hold them, and will hold them, to a strict personal account for the deeds done in the body. But, sirs, I do not mean to give you a lecture upon the doctrines of the Christian religion. These are simply with me the convictions and realities of great and vital truths, the[Pg 333] power and demonstration209 of which I see now in the light of this our national struggle as I have never seen before. God only knows the issue of this business. He has destroyed nations from the map of history for their sins. Nevertheless my hopes prevail generally above my fears for our own Republic. The times are dark, the spirits of ruin are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us."
So did the President discourse210 until we felt we were imposing211 on his time, and rising we took our leave of him, confident that he would be true to those convictions of right and duty which were derived212 from so deep a Christian philosophy.
Yours truly,
Byron Sunderland.
The Rev. Dr. Miner, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springfield, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Lincoln, and visited him and his family in Washington previous to his death, has left most interesting testimony in reference to Mr. Lincoln's religious sentiments, confirmatory of what has been given, and which is preserved in the archives of the University of Chicago. Dr. Miner sums up his impressions of Mr. Lincoln as follows: "All that was said during that memorable213 afternoon I spent alone with that great and good man is engraven too deeply on my memory ever to be effaced214. I felt certain of this fact, that if Mr. Lincoln was not really an experimental Christian, he was acting215 like one. He was doing his duty manfully, and looking to God for help in time of need; and, like the immortal112 Washington, he believed in the efficacy of prayer, and it was his custom to read the Scriptures and pray himself." And here I would relate an incident which occurred on the 4th of March, 1861, as told me by Mrs. Lincoln. Said she: "Mr. Lincoln wrote the conclusion of his inaugural address the morning it was delivered. The family being present, he read it to them. He then said he wished to be left alone for a short time. The family retired216 to an adjoining room, but not so far distant but that the voice of prayer could be distinctly heard. There, closeted with God alone, surrounded by the enemies who were ready to take his life, he commended his country's cause and all dear to him to God's providential care, and with a mind calmed with communion with his Father in heaven, and courage equal to the danger, he came forth from that retirement217 ready for duty."
With such testimony, gathered from gentlemen of the highest standing, and much more that I could add to confirm it, I leave the later life and religious sentiments of Abraham Lincoln to[Pg 334] the dispassionate and charitable judgment193 of a grateful people. While it is to be regretted that Mr. Lincoln was not spared to indicate his religious sentiments by a profession of his faith in accordance with the institutions of the Christian religion, yet it is very clear that he had this step in view, and was seriously contemplating it, as a sense of its fitness and an apprehension218 of his duty grew upon him. He did not ignore a relation to the Christian church as an obsolete219 duty and an unimportant matter. How often do we hear him thanking God for the churches! And he was fast bringing his life into conformity220 to the Christian standard. The coarse story-telling of his early days was less indulged in in his later life. Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, and Mr. Carpenter, as well as Mr. Lincoln's physician at Washington, Dr. Stone, all testify that "while his stories and anecdotes221 were racy, witty222, and pointed186 beyond all comparison," yet they "never heard one of a character needing palliation or excuse." His physician, Dr. Stone, testifies that "Mr. Lincoln was the purest-hearted man he ever came in contact with."
His disposition223 to attend the theater in later life (if to anyone it seems to need apology) was not so much a fondness for the playhouse as a relief from his mental anxiety, and an escape from the incessant224 pressure of visitors at the White House. "It is a well-known fact," says Dr. Miner, "that he would not have been at the theater on that fatal night, but to escape the multitude who were that evening pressing into the White House to shake hands with him. It has been said that Mrs. Lincoln urged her husband to go to the theater against his will. This is not true. On the contrary, she tried to persuade him not to go, but he insisted. He said, 'I must have a little rest. A large and overjoyed, excited people will visit me tonight. My arms are lame225 by shaking hands with the multitude, and the people will pull me to pieces.' He went to the theater, not because he was interested in the play, but because he was care-worn and needed quiet and repose226. Mrs. Lincoln informed me that he seemed to take no notice of what was going on in the theater from the time he entered it till the discharge of the fatal pistol. She said that the last day he lived was the happiest of his life. The very last moments of his conscious life were spent in conversation with her about his future plans, and what he wanted to do when his term of office expired. He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see the places hallowed by the foot[Pg 335]prints of the Saviour. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem; and with that word half spoken on his tongue, the bullet of the assassin entered his brain, and the soul of the great and good President was carried by angels to the New Jerusalem above."
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1
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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impute
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| v.归咎于 | |
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vilest
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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legitimacy
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| n.合法，正当 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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plausibility
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| n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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apocrypha
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| n.伪经，伪书 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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skeptical
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| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
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skeptic
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| n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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affiliate
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| vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司 | |
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plausibly
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| 似真地 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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professes
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| 声称( profess的第三人称单数 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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augmenting
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| 使扩张 | |
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aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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arrant
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| adj.极端的；最大的 | |
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wheedling
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 ) | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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laud
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| n.颂歌；v.赞美 | |
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conscientiousness
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| 责任心 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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forte
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| n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的 | |
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51
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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incapability
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| n.无能 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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animus
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| n.恶意；意图 | |
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63
authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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64
abridged
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| 削减的，删节的 | |
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65
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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66
unimpeachable
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| adj.无可指责的；adv.无可怀疑地 | |
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67
impeach
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| v.弹劾；检举 | |
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68
disparaging
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|
| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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69
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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70
repudiates
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|
| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的第三人称单数 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
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71
purporting
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 ) | |
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72
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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73
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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74
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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75
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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76
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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77
converse
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|
| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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78
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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79
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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80
allege
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|
| vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言 | |
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81
truthfulness
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|
| n. 符合实际 | |
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82
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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83
contradictory
|
|
| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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84
immediate
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|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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85
sage
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|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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86
peculiar
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|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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87
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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88
galaxy
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|
| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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89
accounting
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|
| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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90
illiterate
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|
| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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91
narrative
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|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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92
defenders
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|
| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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93
candor
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|
| n.坦白，率真 | |
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94
providence
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|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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95
avowedly
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| adv.公然地 | |
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96
avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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97
avowed
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|
| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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98
esteem
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|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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99
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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100
chagrin
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|
| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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101
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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102
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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103
avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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104
excellence
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|
| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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105
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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106
vindication
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| n.洗冤，证实 | |
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107
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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108
impartial
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|
| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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109
diabolical
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|
| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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110
martyr
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|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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111
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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112
immortal
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|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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113
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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114
destitute
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|
| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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115
eminent
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|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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116
antiquity
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|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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117
alludes
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|
| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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118
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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119
distinguished
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|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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120
gratuitous
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|
| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
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121
previously
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|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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122
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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123
privately
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|
| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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124
presidency
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|
| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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125
pinnacle
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|
| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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126
elevation
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|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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127
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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128
counselor
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|
| n.顾问，法律顾问 | |
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129
adviser
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|
| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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130
bereavement
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|
| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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131
perplexed
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|
| adj.不知所措的 | |
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132
oration
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| n.演说，致辞，叙述法 | |
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133
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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134
magistrate
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|
| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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135
determined
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|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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136
emphatic
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|
| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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137
immutable
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|
| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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138
conversing
|
|
| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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139
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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140
doctrines
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|
| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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141
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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142
corroborating
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|
| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的现在分词 ) | |
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143
brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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144
mutual
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|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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145
acceded
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|
| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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146
monstrous
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|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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147
perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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148
touching
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|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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149
extremities
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|
| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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150
insufficient
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|
| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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151
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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152
attainments
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|
| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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153
veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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154
injustice
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|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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155
unwilling
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|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
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156
obstinate
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|
| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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157
discomfort
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|
| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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158
detailed
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|
| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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159
impeached
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|
| v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议 | |
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160
remains
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|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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161
implores
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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162
revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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163
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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164
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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165
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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166
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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167
transgressions
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| n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 ) | |
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168
fervency
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| n.热情的；强烈的；热烈 | |
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169
contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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170
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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171
offenses
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| n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势 | |
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172
blessing
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|
| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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173
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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174
enjoins
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| v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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175
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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176
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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177
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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178
profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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179
distress
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|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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180
immorality
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|
| n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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181
inaugural
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| adj.就职的；n.就职典礼 | |
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182
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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183
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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184
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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185
woe
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|
| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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186
pointed
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|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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187
fervently
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|
| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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188
scourge
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|
| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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189
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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190
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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191
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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192
judgments
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|
| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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193
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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194
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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195
revering
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|
| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的现在分词 ) | |
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196
precepts
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|
| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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198
pervades
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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199
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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200
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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201
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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202
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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203
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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204
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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205
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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206
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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207
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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208
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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209
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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210
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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211
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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212
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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213
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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214
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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215
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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216
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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217
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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218
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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220
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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221
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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222
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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223
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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224
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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225
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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226
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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