December 23, 1883.
... At the time your letter reached me we were holding our annual fair, and since then I have been much occupied with preparing for Christmas. To-day am home-bound by the snow,—it being knee-deep between our front door and the gate, and as I have to walk half a mile to take the street cars to the city, and as it is raining on top of the deep snow, concluded it was really too bad for me to venture. Have read myself out, and being very much occupied during the week, will take advantage of the holy-day to speak on a holy topic. You suggested that we send "papers representing Unitarian ideas rather than tracts;" but papers do not contain our doctrines so explicitly. Since your last letter, have mailed to you two tracts on "Inspiration" and "Incarnation" which I thought well answered the thoughts expressed in your letter.
You will see from them that Unitarians are little troubled about Inspiration and the Divinity, or the Deity of Christ as we prefer to state it. We do believe in his divinity, for we hold that all men are divine, while we deny his being Deity. We lay greater stress on the divinity of human nature, and therefore we do not feel that Jesus is degraded by calling him man, for we exalt man. If we considered man totally depraved, then to call Jesus a mere man might seem to lower him; but when we think of the possibilities of man, and that he has it within himself to reach up to the highest manhood, and to become in a measure a saviour of the world, then to compare him with Jesus—the most glorious of men—is not lessening the divinity of the Christ, it seems to me. Or, if we held Jesus to be God, a being different from man, and so far superior to us that we never could attain to his goodness, then we never could compare the two. Jesus is an example to us because we also are divine as he is; for he prays "that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us." If man had not been of the same nature as himself, would he have thus spoken? I advise you to send to the Western Unitarian Sunday School Society for Rev. William C. Gannett's Sunday School Lesson, "The Christmas Poem and the Christmas Fact," if you wish to understand how Unitarians of the present day understand Christ. Though you may not accept, you will have our idea of the birth legends in our Gospels.
December 24, 1884.
My reply to your letter, by postal, was written before talking with ——. She tells me that Harvard will be decidedly the better place if not too expensive. Meadville has the advantage in that respect,—less expensive; but being near Boston, Cambridge offers better opportunities for students to engage in work by which they can support themselves in the mean time. A correspondent of ours went to Harvard a year ago last September. Had a scholarship promised him. He found a set of books to keep, and studied.... I tell you of this case, as it may help you in your decision. Meadville is very thorough, but think the younger men all give preference to Harvard; I presume as much as anything on account of the opportunities which being near Boston affords them. I have written to Professor C. C. Everett of Harvard to please send you a catalogue and answer your inquiries. We shall be very glad if our little Cincinnati branch of the Women's Auxiliary Conference is the means of securing them another Divinity student. With many good wishes of the season from the Women's Auxiliary Conference,
Very truly yours, S. Ellis.
January 14, 1885.
Have been obliged to change my residence, and, temporarily, am with another brother. Just came here to-day, and, not having my things about me, have not your last letter to refer to, but having received a letter from our Harvard Divinity Student this past week, wish to tell you what he says of his surroundings, and his impression of Professor Everett. He writes as follows: "I enjoy the work of the Divinity School more than I had ever hoped. We have a noble corps of professors eminently fitted for their special departments, and personally most eminent examples of Nature's noblemen. In the light of what I am now learning, I consider my former ignorance phenomenal. Thanks to Professor Everett, my faith in God is clearer and stronger than ever before. He has enabled me to reduce my chaotic philosophy to something of a system, and has helped to furnish a steadfast basis for faith. His lectures are simply invaluable. To my mind he is not only the greatest man in the Divinity School, but the greatest man in Harvard University; and not only the profoundest thinker in the Unitarian Church in our country, but the profoundest thinker to be found in any American church." ... I feel that this will be of interest to you, who are contemplating going to the Divinity School. There is another thing I wish to speak of; that is, we have quite a valuable book, "The Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity," by Hugh H. Stannus, of England, showing how much greater cause there is for believing in the Unity of God than in the Trinity. You can have the book any time you wish, though I have just mailed it to a lady in this State. By the way, the daughter of James F. Clarke, with others, has planned a course of "Unitarian Studies at Home." The first year's course includes: 1. "The Unitarian Doctrine of Prayer," by J. F. Clarke; 2. "The Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity," by Stannus; 3. "Jesus and His Biographers," by Dr. W. H. Furness; 4. "Christ the Revealer," by Thom; 5. "Religious Duties," by Frances Power Cobbe. We have first, second, and fourth,—at least, are to have the latter. "Jesus and His Biographers" is out of print; but we are to have that loaned to us for two months, as three ladies here, with myself, are pursuing the course, and I have also induced a lady in this county to join us. We have received quite a number of encouraging letters from our correspondents lately, and have every reason to believe the Post Office Mission work is doing good. I mailed to you this week some arguments against the Trinity. Rev. C. W. Wendte's sermon, "Encouragement for Unitarians," in "Register," January 8, I read with much interest. We have such an interesting young convert, a Methodist, in Canada. His intention is to study for the Unitarian ministry, we having brought him out into the light. I thought with how much interest he would read that sermon of Mr. Wendte's.
April 19, 1885.
Was glad to hear from you again, and find you are in a larger field. [He had gone to a Pennsylvania city.] Perhaps you may draw into your church—take it for granted you have gone there to preach—Universalists and Unitarians.... We shall be glad to loan you books again as soon as you are ready for them. Have had added to the library lately "The Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity," by Hugh H. Stannus; "Christ the Revealer," by Thom (both English works), "The Power of the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Story of the Resurrection," both by Dr. W. H. Furness, of Philadelphia,—the latter just published, and he presented the two to us. Am not quite ready to loan the latter, as I've not read it myself. If you know or meet with any Germans in your vicinity, we are soon to have some Unitarian tracts in the German language.... Hope you read with enthusiasm the earnest appeal for ministers at the East, and also at Meadville, in the "Register" of April 9. We hope to have two of our correspondents go to Meadville in September, and hope you may succeed in your desire to get to Harvard. We had a very pleasant letter from one of our "boys," as he styled himself, a week since. He is still enjoying his privileges there.... Hoping to hear from you again, and wishing you success in your new position, whatever it may be, in which the Women's Auxiliary Conference join,
Yours truly, Sarah Ellis.
A gentleman in Mississippi, superintendent of schools in his county, writes of Miss Ellis as
"... One whose memorial I read with a saddened heart. A single request to her consequent upon an advertisement which I saw in a paper commenced a correspondence which continued uninterruptedly till the time of her death. Though just from the side of a dear sister whom she had left destined to a glorious immortality, she found time to write to us a letter of condolence on the great loss that we had sustained in the death of our son,—a young man just of age,—in which she blended submission to Him 'who doeth all things right,' with such words of comfort as could emanate only from a good, earnest, self-sacrificing instrument of our Heavenly Father. Than in her life of trials and troubles there has never been a greater instance of the victory of mind over matter. I am afraid that I do little good with the sermons, etc., among the people here, who, although they use the beautiful hymn, 'Nearer, my God, to Thee,' at their funerals, still look upon Unitarians as cultured heathens."