CHAPTER XXII. General State of the College.-Visit of the Rev. George Whitefield to New England. - Effects of his Preaching.- His Opinion of the College. Tutor Flynt's Opinion of Whitefield. Report of the Overseers, concerning the religious Excitement in the College. — A Day of Thanksgiving proposed. Tutor Flynt's Account of that religious Excitement. President Holyoke's Reply to Whitefield's Aspersions. Effect of religious Enthusiasm in Connecticut. President, Fellows, and Tutors of Harvard College unite in a Testimony against the Rev. George Whitefield."— He replies, persisting in the Truth of his Aspersions. - Dr. Wigglesworth replies to Whitefield. Controversy with Whitefield closed by President Holyoke. — An Opinion prevails that the Influence of Harvard College is unfavorable to Calvinistic Doctrines. Causes of this Opinion. - The Calvinistic Doctrines illustrated by the Writings of Jonathan Edwards; the Anti-Calvinistic, by those of Charles Chauncy and Jonathan Mayhew. Means adopted to strengthen and establish Calvinism at Yale College. XXII. THE general state of the College at this period is CHAPTER thus represented by the report of a visiting committee of the Overseers, in April, 1740. "The exercises required by law are statedly attended, and the body of laws lately made for the government of the College do, in a good measure, answer their end, and prove beneficial to the society; and at present there does not appear occasion for any new laws to be made, or any new proposals to be laid before the Overseers." The College was in this satisfactory state, when its quiet was disturbed, and its religious character assailed by a foreigner, through whose agency XXII. Whitefield's first arrival in New England. CHAPTER domestic discontent circulated calumnies, for which it was unwilling to be itself publicly responsible. In September, 1740, George Whitefield, the celebrated itinerant preacher, made his first appearance in New England; exciting, like other comets, terror in some, wonder in others, curiosity in all. By many Whitefield was hailed as a special messenger from Heaven, sent to awaken, alarm, and convert. By others he was viewed as an enthusiast, producing transient effects by means of a vivid imagination and theatrical eloquence. The clergy were not less divided than the people on the value of his ministrations. Some regarded them as the manifest outpouring of the Holy Spirit through a chosen instrument; others, as the natural result of a cultivated and well-managed oratorical talent. Whitefield, on this, his first visit to New England, was invited, with few exceptions, into all the pulpits. On the 24th of September he preached in the first church in Cambridge, where the students of the College attended public worship. In his Journal he represents himself as having been "treated and entertained very civilly by the President of the College," and as having "spoken with great boldness on these words, We are not as many, who corrupt the word of God,"" and, in the conclusion of his sermon, to have "made a close application to tutors and students." On another occasion, he writes, "Being at the College, I preached on the qualifications proper for a true evangelical preacher of Christ's righteousness. The Lord opened my mouth, and I spoke very plainly to tutors and pupils." From the topic and tenor of his eloquence on these occasions, it is obvious, that Whitefield had been instructed as to his course by those of the clergy, who XXII. of the were malecontent with the seminary, and who regard- CHAPTER ed the College as not sufficiently evangelical, and as "corrupting the word of God." In his Journal, Whitefield unequivocally asserts this fact. "The chief College," he writes, "in New England, has one President, four Tutors, and about a hundred students. It His opinion is scarce as big as one of our least Colleges in Oxford, College. and, as far as I could gather from some, who well knew the state of it, not far superior to our Universities in piety and true godliness. Tutors neglect to pray with, and examine the hearts of, their pupils. Discipline is at too low an ebb. Bad books are become fashionable amongst them. Tillotson and Clarke are read instead of Shepard and Stoddard, and such like evangelical writers; and therefore I chose to preach on these words, 'We are not as many, who corrupt the word of God."" Afterwards, in a more general way, writing concerning the religious state of New England, he adds, "As for the Universities, I believe it may be said, that their light has become darkness; darkness that may be felt, and is complained of by the most godly ministers." + At Cambridge, as elsewhere, the weak and timid were excited, and terrified, by the eloquence of Whitefield, and remarkable convictions, as they were carefully called, took place. The scholars of the College were said by many to be "in general wonderfully wrought upon." Others took a different view of these effects, among whom was Henry Flynt, * Whitefield's Seventh Journal, Edit. 1741, p. 28, + Ibid., p. 55. Boston Gazette, April 20th, 1741; June 29th, 1741. 6 XXII. CHAPTER a man highly esteemed for his piety and learning, who had been more than forty years a Tutor of the College. His opinions concerning Whitefield indicate great calmness and judgment, and are the more remarkable, as they were recorded at a moment when the whole vicinity was in a state of lively excitement from his eloquence, and could not have been influenced by subsequent occurrences. Tutor Flynt's Whitefield. Flynt writes; "October 12th, 1740. Having heard opinion of the preaching and had something of the conversation of the famous Mr. George Whitefield, who is about twenty-six years of age; very popular and affecting in his delivery and address; not rational or argumentative; nor useth much Scripture in confirmation of his points. He has the old New England and Puritanic way of thinking and preaching about regeneration, and conversion, and justification by faith alone, original sin, &c. He appears to be a good man, and sincerely desirous to do good to the souls of sinners; is very apt to judge hardly, and censure, in the severest terms, those that differ from his scheme. He seems to be a man not much acquainted with books, and indeed he has had but little time for it, which makes me wonder at his positive and dogmatical way of expressing himself in some things. He has a good deal of action, by lifting up and spreading out his hands in prayer and preaching; and his action well enough suits his zeal. He has preached in many meetinghouses and on the Common in Boston, to great auditories, and likewise in the country; and I hope to the benefit of many souls. It is certain, his Orphan House at Georgia will have great benefit by it, for it is reckoned he has collected contributions of money to the value of near twenty-five hundred pounds al XXII. ready, besides other gratuities; and the time and other CHAPTER charges in people's following his preaching, is valued by some at one thousand pounds per diem. He has been here a little above a fortnight. All sorts have attended his preaching and have contributed. He seems to me to be a pious, zealous man, of good natural parts, and style good enough; but over censorious, over rash, and over confident; in some things enthusiastical and whimsical. He has treated the great and good Bishop Tillotson injuriously and scurrilously. I think he is a composition of a great deal of good and some bad; and I pray God to grant success to what is well designed and acted by him.”* It is probable, that the opinions thus expressed by Flynt were in unison with those of the immediate government of the College; but there were individuals among the Overseers who attached a higher value to Whitefield's labors. In June, 1741, the visiting committee appointed by that board stated officially, "that they find of late extraordinary and Religious happy impressions of a religious nature have been among the made on the minds of a great number of students, by which means the College is in a better order than usual, and the exercises of the Professors and Tutors better attended." Upon the reading of this report, a vote was passed by the Overseers, "earnestly recommending it to the President, Tutors, Professors, and instructors, by personal application to the students under impressions of a religious nature, and by all other means, to encourage and promote this good work." The Overseers, not being satisfied with this vote, • Flynt's Diary. excitement students. |