We well remember being present on a certain occasion when an intimate friend of Mr. Ballou's asked him,—"Do you not think that the life of a clergyman is far from being a desirable one, when you consider all the sorrow and grief that the discharge of the duty attendant upon the profession necessarily makes one acquainted with?" He replied, evincing the peculiar light that was ever emitted from his eyes when he spoke earnestly, "Were I to live my life over again, knowing what I now so well know, by more than half a century of experience, I would choose again the same profession I have followed so long. The humble and faithful servant of Christ enjoys an inward happiness that none but his Master may know. There is no employment more fitting for the human heart, more ennobling to the nature of man, than the study of God's word, and none from which so great and reliable happiness may be derived." These evidences of his experience were treasured by many who were accustomed to seek his society for the benefit and pleasure of his conversation. The brethren throughout the order, and indeed every one who knew him, seemed actuated towards him by a spirit which the universal title he bore served to indicate; they always called him Father Ballou. I do not think there was one minister in the numerous order of Universalists who did not acknowledge his preëminence in original talent, wonderful reasoning faculties, and unblemished moral excellence.
As illustrating this fact, we will let one of these brethren's remarks upon this subject speak for us here, by again quoting from the eulogy of Rev. Otis A. Skinner, delivered before his society in this city.
"But he was not merely our leader to the promised land; he entered it with us, and for more than half a century he continued with us, standing first in our esteem and affection, honored and beloved, with no effort to obtain authority, and no ambition to be a leader. The place which he occupied was voluntarily assigned to him; it was given in consequence of his true heart, his profound judgment, his undeviating attachment to principle, his entire freedom from art and management. Envy hurled at him its arrows, but they fell harmless at his feet; ambition sought to rise above him, but it sought in vain. There he stood like a father at the head of his family, content to exercise the sway which he obtained by his superior judgment, his commanding talents, and his devoted services. He never dictated; he was never impatient when opposed; he was never unkind to those who differed from him; he comprehended fully the true idea of religious liberty, and in no instance exhibited a desire to act the Pope. We doubt whether, in all the history of the church, an instance can be found in which a minister has had so high a rank in his sect, and yet manifested a less desire to bear rule.
"Nothing is more natural than for old men to oppose departures from their measures. All sects have had those who bitterly denounced every step taken beyond what they themselves had gone; but our honored father, when he saw movements for progress, when he saw new men proposing new plans of operation, placed himself on a level with the humblest, freely discussed the plan, and yielded with cheerfulness when convinced. Not only did he yield, but held his mind open to conviction, and on, several points he came in and worked faithfully for what at first he hesitated to sanction. He was not like some advanced in years, ever looking to the past, and talking as though all wisdom was concentrated in it; he believed that new discoveries were yet to be made; that progress was a law of the true church, and that measures must be suited to the times. Hence the most radical, those most desirous for reform, never felt that he stood in the way: for there was not a reform which engaged the heart of the philanthropist that did not have his sanction. He was a modern man, and lived in the present time, as much, almost, as the youngest in our ministry. Let us go forward, was his motto."
Such was the universal meed of honor that was accorded to him by his brethren in the ministry.
CHAPTER XII.
MR. BALLOU AS A CONTROVERSIALIST.
As passage after passage of scripture, which had heretofore been misapplied, was satisfactorily explained by his clear and far-seeing mind, thousands, who had before believed in a partial faith, were brought to a knowledge of Christ and the gospel. Mysteries were made plain, and dark ways were lighted, and the veil was thus removed from the eyes of the prejudiced, or those upon whom the force of education and early association had exercised supreme sway in matters of religion. "I have often been led to wonder," says Mr. Ballou, "forcible as is my own realizing sense of the evidence of impartial grace, that brethren, brought up and educated in a religion so diametrically opposite, should yield so readily, as they often do, to the arguments which we present to them, and not unfrequently being won to our belief and service with the least exertion on our own part. The reason of this is, that there are some independent minds, that boldly think for themselves; that acknowledge no blind obedience to the dogmas of the church, when those tenets of faith desecrate the rules of reason and justice. The very fact that it seems to be a part of the faith of partialists to give blind credence to the declarations of the church, and to consider it an actual sin to question the assertions of the minister relative to the signification of the Bible, has done much to keep the minds of men in darkness. My own youthful condition was an humble example of this fact. It was only by thinking for myself,—by receiving nothing without evidence,—that I at last came to that knowledge of Christ and the gospel which has since been to my life such a sustaining and precious legacy."