more. Envy has ceased to rankle. That line of policy, and those principles, which seemed pregnant with evil, have gained the approval of all. Those, who have survived them, look back upon their career, forgetting all that was wrong and remembering only the good; and a returning sense of justice, prompts them to make amends for their past neglect, by meting out a late but full measure of praise.

That spirit, which bids us readily acknowledge those excellences, which we think we discern in our fellow men, cannot be too highly commended: and when, upon a further acquaintance with their character, either before or subsequent to their decease, when, after gaining an admission to its more hidden recesses, we discover that we have been deceived, and that what before appeared fair and beautiful, is only the exterior of the sepulchre; that frankness of feeling and independence of mind, which, in disregard of seeming inconsistency, prompt us boldly to avow the change in our opinions, also commands our sincerest admiration. But who can commend that monopolizing littleness of mind, that would check rising talent, lest it should encroach upon its own precincts; that malignant envy, that would obscure the splendor of another's name, that it may increase the relative brightness of its own; that slavish bowing to popularity, that would reject the most exalted principles and bring odium upon their author, because they have not yet received the approbation of the multitude? And, when the subject of such deep wrongs has passed beyond the pale of man's influence, how much can we praise those who have endeavored to repair their deeds of evil,-to appease the manes of the noble man,-by erecting to his memory a monument of posthumous fame?

We may, then, be permitted to trace some of the lineaments of Roger Williams' character, which, however agreeable to the eye may have been the original, and however faithfully it may have been drawn by later writers, was by his cotemporaries too often portrayed in faint and unattractive colors.

That he was one of those, who, about the beginning of the seventeenth century, differed from the English Church, on some points of doctrine and discipline; who, consequently, incurred her displeasure and suffered by her persecution, and who, finally, for the enjoyment of liberty of conscience, were driven to seek a then wilderness land, is too well known to need repetition. It is equally unnecessary to add, that he first disembarked and settled upon the shores of Massachusetts, from whence, on account of his peculiar civil and religious opinions, he was subsequently banished, by the public authorities, and compelled to fly to a region, which, under his auspices, came afterwards to be recognized as Rhode Island.

The extent and variety of his literary acquirements, the conspicuous position which he held as one of our early American writers, and the intrinsic value of his writings themselves, seem to require that we should first bestow a passing notice upon him as a man of letters. This obligation is strengthened by the consideration that his superior education contributed, in no small degree, to increase the usefulness and prolong the continuance of his valuable labors. He was a scholar by charity. The precocity of his genius recommended him to the favor of the celebrated Sir Edward Coke, under whose patronage he was permitted to enjoy the advantages of Oxford University. Upon the completion of his studies at that institution, he commenced the study of law, which, however, was soon laid aside to make way for a branch more congenial to his taste, that of theology. After taking orders, he was allowed, on account of his obnoxious puritanical notions, for a short time only, to discharge the duties of his sacred office; though in that short time, he acquired the reputation of being a popular and successful preacher. There are reasons to suppose that he wrote nothing for publication, before his departure from England. The first work, which he produced, as an American, was a treatise respecting the invalidity of the English claims to the Indian soil. It contains evidence of a mind original in its conceptions and bold to think, and advances doctrines whose soundness few, at the the present day, will be disposed to question. This treatise was soon followed by a philological work on the Indian languages, which evinced learning and genius on the part of its author. It attracted the favorable notice of the learned in England, and, after the lapse of two centuries, is considered as a work of such valuable original research as to warrant its republication. This was succeeded, in order, by three other large tomes, bearing the quaint, but significant titles: "The Bloody Tenet," "The Bloody Tenet Yet More Bloody," "The Hireling Ministry None of Christ's." These last mentioned books embody those great principles respecting toleration and the separation of church and state, which it was the grand object of the author's life to establish; and they are there stated with a clearness of order, and fortified with a severity of logic and a strength and elegance of expression, which would do honor to the more polished writers of a later age. The last work, that came from his pen, is the report of a public controversy, held between himself and some of the emigrant Quakers of New England, upon the orthodoxy of their faith. That some of the warmth, excited by the discussion should appear in the written report, is allowable, and cannot be considered as detracting from its general merit, characterized, as it is, by fullness of thought and force of style.

Not the least valuable evidence of the variety of his information and the value of his thoughts is to be found in that extensive cor

respondence, which he maintained with the leading men of the adjacent colonies, particularly with the enlightened Winthrops. In an author's published works his thoughts appear under the restraint of method, and dressed up, as it were, for show; but in a friendly, epistolary correspondence they come out in an every-day garb and wear a natural look. His letters treat, in an easy style, of a great diversity of topics, and are embellished by frequent classical quotations and allusions. Indeed, his knowledge of language was of no common kind, or he never would have been selected, by Milton, to impart to himself a knowledge of the Dutch, in return for instruction in other tongues, with which the bard reciprocated the favor. If we compare the general style of his writings with the modern criterion of correctness, we shall find much that is faulty. For these faults, however, the author is not censurable, but the age in which he lived. He unfortunately caught his style from the English standard, when that standard was just upon the eve of a thorough purgation and renovation. Had he left his native land thirty years later, we should observe in his writings less which we would wish to alter. Yet, with all his imperfections, his periods have been favorably compared with those of Bacon and Milton. His tone of thought is, for the most part, pure and elevated. The convictions of a powerful mind are first clothed in the attractions of an active and vigorous, though chastened, imagination, and then boldly spread before us. If he neglects the subordinate parts of a subject, it is because he is satisfied with having presented to us the prominent and commanding points. He had one of those happily constituted minds, which are alike fitted to busy themselves with details and unimportant particulars, or to comprehend, illustrate and apply great principles; and, whether he is engaged in pointing out the derivation of an Indian word, or in wielding gigantic arguments in the defense of religious liberty, he appears equally at ease, neither having, in the one case, a subject too small, nor, in the other, one too vast, for his comprehension.

That Williams, with so gifted and well furnished a mind, should have been capable of holding some erroneous opinions, which have been ascribed to him, would be almost incredible, were it not true, that men of the loftiest intellect and the most ample information have been known to entertain views most inconsistent

with the dictates of sound reason. Happily, however, those opinions were of such a character that none felt their influence but himself. They were interwoven with his personal views of religion, respecting which a few words may not be inappropriate; for they are the views of one whose principles emancipate all religion from the shackles of human authority, and surrender it to the dominion of conscience alone. He early experienced a change of heart, and, while yet a boy, cherished a confident hope

of salvation. After his arrival in this country, he declined uniting with the church at Boston, because they were unwilling to confess the sin of having communed with the English Church. In this place he advanced an opinion, which, as it was then, so is it now deemed untenable: that an oath is a part of God's worship; and that for civil purposes it cannot be taken by an unregenerate man, without violating his own conscience and transgressing the sacred law. Afterwards, a colleague of the minister at Salem, his doctrine of religious liberty drew upon him the hatred of the neighboring churches, and he was persecuted from the place. A colleague of the pastor of Plymouth, a fearless advocacy of the same doctrine was productive of the same results, and he was again compelled to retire before a rabid persecution. Received again at Salem, the barbed darts of persecution were hurled in upon him thicker and faster than before. Finally, summoned before the General Court, by the sentence of a blinded and bigoted magistracy he was cruelly banished. Having found an asylum upon the Narragansett shores, he was baptized by a layman, then himself administered this sacrament to others and gathered the first Baptist church in America. After a membership of four months, his investigations led him to the erroneous conviction, that since the days of the apostles there had existed no ministers authorized to preach to the unconverted; that he himself had been baptized by unsanctified hands; and that it was incumbent upon him to close his ministration and dissolve his connection with the church. This done, like Cromwell and Milton, he remained to the close of his life unconnected with any religious society. Cherishing these errors, he was yet tolerant of the opposite views of others. With these few blemishes upon his christian character, it was in all other respects pure and untarnished. He entertained the fundamental truths of Christianity with a firmness of belief that was never shaken. The impulsive warmth of his own feelings imparted to the virtues a living energy, and kept them in ceaseless action. He was a man of the purest morals, consistent in conduct and opinions, forward in the discharge of the kind offices of life, richly deserving, and is rapidly gaining, a better name than many have been disposed to allow him.

Not among the least of his claims to be honorably mentioned by those who live after him, is that example of disinterestedness, untiring zeal, and inflexible integrity, which is presented in his political career. The contentions for royal prerogative, which he had witnessed under James I, made him a confirmed infidel in the doctrine of divine rights, and inspired him with a love of popular government. His scrupulous observance of the rights of the people was signally manifested in the first political step which he was led to take in America. Being by right of purchase sole owner of a great portion of his own state, having an opportunity to establish a

proprietary government, to enrich himself and gather into his own hands the reins of political power, yet by instituting an equal division of lands, and by conferring equal political privileges, he generously sacrificed all these advantages to the cause of democratic principles. He was not covetous of power; and, when he might have drank deeply, he put from him the "tempting beaker" of dominion, choosing rather to share his domains with others upon an equality of rank and privilege, than be counted their superior in aught but native worth. When new accessions of territory and population made it expedient, both for the preservation of internal quiet and the prevention of aggressions from without, to obtain from England a formal recognition of their governmental privileges, Williams was selected by his fellow citizens, as the best fitted to perform this delicate and important business. His representations before the Foreign Committee, seconded by his personal friend Sir Henry Vane, enabled him to accomplish the object of his mission, and he returned bearing the first charter of Rhode Island. When, at a subsequent period, a powerful faction arose, who by artful misrepresentations succeeded in obtaining from the mother government an independent title to a part of the colonial soil; and who threatened to divide the territory, and subvert the existing government of the state; he was again deputed to visit the English court, and, by the aid of his former coadjutor, he gained the favor of the Council of State, and again were his efforts crowned with success. The intrusive title was annulled, the faction divested of its power, and the angry tones of discord hushed to rest. It was while he was absent in the performance of this service that his integrity was put to the test. A request came from home that he would have himself appointed governor by the English authorities. His influence with Cromwell and the leading members of the Long Parliament was amply adequate to the procurement of this appointment; and nothing was wanting on his part but a willingness to submerge the interests of his constituents in his own, by elevating himself to office, and subjecting them in his successors to the authority of royal minions. That honor, which it would have been the height of imprudence to have conferred upon him in this manner, was twice given him by the suffrages of his fellow citizens. It is emphatic evidence of the confidence reposed in his political principles, that he once held the office of representative and repeatedly that of senator in the legislature, and was twice elevated to the supreme magistracy of Rhode Island. With him politics were not a trade, in which the dearest interests of his fellow citizens were bandied about to increase the gains of the trafficker. He considered his talents to be a trust for which he was responsible; and that when the exigencies of the state called for their exercise, he could discharge that responsibility only by