As to those colleges and large establishments contemplated by Mr. Wolff, even could they be established on the comprehensive principle proposed by his zealous and ardent mind, I fear it would lead much more to the diffusion of universal scepticism than the eternal excellency of the truth of God; if, I say, it could be attained, but for many reasons I feel it cannot be attained. The liberality of the Christian public is not up to such undertakings, even though they saw the utility to be clear. One cannot help being struck with Mr. Wolff’s judging of others from himself; because he felt he was willing to make sacrifices, he promised for others as freely as for himself: but what has been the result even of the two schools he did establish, and promise to support from the funds of his patron and others? The burthen has rested on those who were persuaded through him of the willingness of others to co-operate. One is given up, and the other has dwindled down to about nineteen pupils, and these are educated on the native plan, so that, as far as divine light is concerned, it is in statu quo. The two colleges that were to be established at Aleppo and Tabreez, and towards which a beginning was made in promises and plans—nothing now is heard of them; nor do I think it is to be regretted. The object was too mixed for much of spiritual prosperity. The difficulty is not in getting houses and firmans: it is when you begin to wish to sit down and attack the strong holds of the enemy. The same with the letters of patriarchs and bishops: when the thing is new and they see not its bearings on their system, they are all friendliness—as among the heads of the Armenians, the Catholics, and other Bishops. But when they have seen the life-giving power of the divine word in the souls of two or three of their followers, under the instruction of such clear brethren as at Shushee, or the American brethren, all is changed, and when dear Zaremba was at Ech-Miazin the other day, and endeavoured to get the consent of the Armenian patriarch to the translation of the Scriptures, by Dittrich, his reception was every thing but kind; and they have actually dragged away one of their deacons from the dear brethren at Shushee, to try him at Ech-Miazin for heresy. I have also heard that the bishop of Ispahan, who superintends all these countries, even as far as India, has prohibited the reception of any tracts by his people, and would not let them have a school till the Roman Catholics appeared there and established one, taking away some of his flock, when he granted it. In fact, wherever the hierarchical spirit exists, there a spirit of domination and pride—there a spirit of Antichrist exists—whether in the Brahmin, the Mufti, or the Patriarch, there is a body of men who will not go in themselves, nor let others go in; it must be so, as Mr. Jowett justly observes, wherever the distinction between laity and clergy is kept up in opposition to the right and duty of each man to judge for himself. Mr. Jowett’s words are, I think, “The principal religious characteristic of Syria and the Holy Land, (and he might have added, of all the ancient churches, and too many of the modern,) that which is common to all its professors and sects, is that system of distinction between priesthood and laity, felt even when not avowed; according to which, it seems to be the interest of a few professed teachers to hold the rest of their fellow-creatures in darkness.” Those men, therefore, who, in a hasty visit, welcome you, and if you are well introduced, flatter you, no sooner see or feel your real design, than they become your enemies, and the missionary who should begin with any other expectation from present prospects, must be disappointed. For instance, had we been where there was a powerful clergy, we should have met with the greatest opposition in our school, because of our casting out of it the book which they so highly prize, called the Shammakirke. Yet no Christian teacher could conscientiously allow it—it was full of prayers to the Virgin, the Cross, &c. &c.; we therefore here succeeded, under God’s blessing, because the laity were strong and the priesthood weak, without any serious struggle; but their progress has been very different at Shushee.
The morals of the monks at Ech-Miazin are such that no parent in the country thinks himself justified in sending his child there to be educated. From such men, what can you expect? With them what can you do? I have for a long time been persuaded that the path for a child of God to pursue, is to follow his Lord, and not to ask the Sanhedrim’s leave to preach the truth; and never to take any notice of them till they take notice of us. Dark as the cloud seems to be now around these lands, and difficult as it seems even to live in them, much more to labour in them; yet I do not at all think, to one having patiently attained a thorough knowledge of the colloquial Arabic, and the other colloquial languages in use, that the door is barred to a travelling unsettled missionary, or even to one resident many months in a place: neither do I think he should be discouraged from attempting schools, for although they may not stand above a year or two, you may by the Lord’s blessing be the instrument of stirring up their minds to think and examine for themselves, and without violence lead them to question the truth of some of their dogmas; and when you have once dislodged the principle of implicit faith, you have at last opened the door for truth. I think it is much to be regretted that Mr. Wolff’s wishes about Bussorah and Bushire did not succeed. In the one there is a permanent British Resident, and in the other a permanent British influence, that would have much favoured a school, and even perhaps finally more extensive operations; and I do still hope he may yet find some of his friends, who are as able as willing to take the necessary charge of these places, for they are now more disheartened than when nothing had been promised them. At Tabreez also, I think a most interesting school might be established; but let it be as comprehensive as it can with a safe conscience be, without pretending to a principle that includes all. If, upon such terms Mohammedans come, your conscience is not entangled, and you can go on steadily with your work. If they go, they go; if they stay, they stay; but take care how you take any of the gentiles by solicitation; it will tie your hands, and hamper all your proceedings. It looks promising to see the names of Princes and great men connected with our work; but I am persuaded that it is utterly spiritual weakness. Better do ever so little work with the whole soul, than ever so much, trimming between the world and the Church, and all very comprehensive plans must involve this: besides, from the outset, the feeling of duplicity that always must result from inducing men to contribute to support institutions under certain partial representations, which they would not embrace if you stated your real design, and the full truth.
Besides these difficulties of money and principle, the unsettled state of these countries is such that learned orientalists would never come, even if they were in abundance; but the fact is, that even Europe is very scantily supplied with men who could direct such an institution, and if they could be found, unless the love of Christ were the spring of their actions—were they mere literary orientalists, their influence as it regards the kingdom of Christ would be worse than nugatory. For though you might hope to correct this evil by having others connected with the institution who might have the more immediate spiritual direction of the students, this would soon lead to strifes and divisions between the heads of the institution. That the spread of literature in the East will sap and finally overthrow Mohammedanism, I have little doubt; but this is the work of the men of the world, and the result, as it regards Christianity, very doubtful; but the missionary’s object is one and indivisible: if Christ be not glorified, he gains nothing; but if he be but exalted, he has his rich reward.
June 28. Thursday.—There seems just sufficient strength in this wretched country to destroy itself: it has long lost the power of attacking its enemies with success, it has also lost the power of resistance against their attacks, neither can it longer stand without external support: there seems just sufficient power left to commit suicide. In this pashalic, though the Sultan cannot without extreme difficulty remove the Pasha, yet he effectually destroys its prosperity;—he ruins the merchant, he encourages every species of robbery, so that frequently, as at present, not a shop dare be opened but for the simplest necessaries. Nor does it operate against the prosperity of this city only, but all the trade of which this was a sort of intermediate place of transit between India, Mosul, Merdin, Damascus, and Aleppo, as well as on the other side from Europe, is so far interrupted, for not a merchant will now venture his goods across the desert. All attachment too seems entirely destroyed between the head and the members of the empire. —— was with me to-day, who, speaking on the state of the Pashalic said, If the Sultan will let us have Daoud Pasha well, we neither want the Sultan nor a stranger; but we would rather put ourselves under the English, and let them govern as they do in Hindoostan. This feeling is exceedingly general, and in looking forward to the downfall of the empire, they seem quite to consider this country as the portion which will fall to England, and speak of it openly as a thing they desire. This arises from their hearing so much of our government in India.
June 29.—My dear little baby has had an attack of purulent ophthalmia, which gives me much anxiety; for three or four days she had been recovering a little, when this trying attack seized her dear little eyes; she was quite unable to open either of them.
My mind has been much exercised these two days by reflections on the ease with which the soul is taken off from living in Christ. In prosperity, we are occupied with plans; in adversity, with our sorrows; in missionary labour, in preparation for what we intend to do for the Lord, and even in our very times of danger we are constantly exposed to the temptation of looking for relief to circumstances, rather than to the Lord of circumstances—to the love of the Lord of life. May the Lord of his great goodness grant that my soul may reap a full harvest from these reflections, and determine not only in words to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, as the subject of preaching, but as the object on which my soul constantly dwells, so that growing up into his fulness in understanding and love, may be the business of my future life, and much, yea, very much more, the simple purpose of my heart than it has ever yet been. Nothing can be to me clearer than that the work of the Lord will really prosper in the hands of his servants, in proportion as these servants prosper in their nearness to him. May his love, his life, his words, his wishes be the abiding incentives in my soul to simply living to him and for him, and for his creatures through him. How easy it is for one person to make one class of sacrifices, and another, another; but how hard to slay the darling idol, and to tear away the cherished indulgence:—how easy it is to exercise those graces which accord with our natural constitutions, how difficult those which mortify and run counter to them.
May it be the labour and delight of my future life to see each cherished idol one by one fall prostrate, slain before my Lord’s love.
July 1.—There has just been a transaction passing which illustrates, in a striking manner, the very loose connections which bind the parts of this empire together. I have already mentioned the death of the Pashas of Mosul and Merdin. Ali Pasha, in support of whom they had professedly marched against Bagdad, sent his treasurer to Saleh Beg, to commend him for what he had done in thus preserving the city by killing these two Pashas, requiring at the same time for himself, the payment of his expenses, as well as a sum of money for the Sultan, and promising that if this were given him he would return to Aleppo. Thus, after nearly two years confusion, all parties will be worse off than they were before. My reason for thinking it probable this will be the case is, that the Khaznadar or treasurer of Daoud Pasha, has accompanied the Khaznadar of Ali Pasha to his camp, who evidently doubts the result of his attempt. Indeed, it seems very doubtful if in any case he can succeed; for if he obtains the Pashalic, I think it very probable from the history of former Pashas, who, as strangers to the Pashalic, have been forced into it, that he will not be allowed to retain it. The fact is, that almost all his opposing force consists of Arabs, who become in a moment the servants of the highest bidder. It was only two days ago the Pasha detached one tribe from them; and I have little doubt that if he does not spare money he may soon break up all the confederacy.[34] Yesterday the soldiers of the late Pasha of Mosul came to the gates of the town, but were driven back into their encampment with loss; and one hundred of their mercenary troops (Arnaoots) came over to this Pasha, changing a pay of forty-eight piasters a month to one hundred, or about a pound sterling a month.
Every kind of provision is becoming extremely dear, from double to ten times its usual price; and I confess I see no present prospect of improvement, for the inundation swept away the harvest, and the plague has extended so far, that there have been no hands to cut down even that grain which remained, and the things which they might have sown, and which might in some measure have supplied the place of grain they were prevented from sowing by the Arabs, who were at enmity with the Pasha, and therefore laid waste the country. In contemplating the perplexity and uncertainty of events, according to all human calculation, that surrounds us, the knowledge that our own Lord is ordering all things not only for his own glory but also for ours, comes home continually to my soul with inexpressible comfort; and notwithstanding the anxious thoughts that sometimes arise, I am generally enabled at last to roll my burdens on his holy head, and this I know will sustain them.
The dead weight about a missionary’s neck in the first years of his labour is the language. So difficult is it to hear so as to understand, or to speak so as to be understood; for not only is it necessary to use right words, but with right accents, or you may often convey the very reverse of what you mean. Certainly, if I were quite alone, the plan I should pursue, would be to go into some family or place where the language I wish to learn alone is spoken, as brother King did in Syria to learn Arabic:—this being attained, a missionary is certainly not without the most interesting opportunities of usefulness.