South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865 · scan page 43

Searchable source text

MINISTRY  OF  DR.  STILES,  35
"  These  illustrations  formed  but  a  small  part  of  his  dis-
courses, and  were  always  such  as  to  administer  to  the  great
end  aimed  at.  They  were  not  introduced,  as  by  some  inferior
men,  to  relieve  the  stupidity  of  a  sermon,  and  to  cover  up
grievous  deficiencies  in  argument  and  substance,  by  some
captivating  narrative.  I'he  illustration  was  itself  calcu-
lated to  impress  some  valuable  thought,  to  point  an  argu-
ment, or  ren'er  some  truth  overpowering.  It  has  been  my
good  fortune  to  hear  j\Ir.  Stiles  many  times  since,  but  the
impressions  made  by  those  discourses  in  Oxford  have  never
been  modified;  and  I  can  easily  imagine  the  power  of  such
a  preacher  in  his  early  manhood,  when  addressing  vast  au-
diences, such  as  in  revival  seasons  waited  on  his  ministry
in  Georgia  and  Kentucky.  He  had  all  the  elements  of
power  for  a  southern  audience.  He  was  a  most  manly  man
in  the  pulpit,  and  in  all  the  social  relations  of  father,  broth-
er, friend  and  pastor;  his  piety  was  unquestioned,  his  pray-
ers not  merely  ai)i)ropriate  but  subduing,  his  emotions  of
the  warmest  and  most  generous  character,  his  zeal  apos-
tolic, his  mind  logical  and  analytical,  his  imagination  bold,
and  his  view  of  his  business  as  a  preacher  such  as  Paul
had,  'woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel !"  Withal,  he
had  a  perfect  freedom  from  all  the  trammels  of  manuscript,
and  at  times,  when  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  gifts,  seemed
almost  choked  with  the  burning  words  which  struggled  for
utterance."
We  have  copied  the  above  as  a  truthful  description
of  Dr.  Stiles'  preaching  and  praying,  from  a  source
less  likely  to  be  suspected  of  partiality  than  the  pres-
ent writer  ;  who  nevertheless  may  say,  as  he  deeply
feels,  that  %vhocver  has  had  the  opportunity  of  listen-
ing to  such  a  preacher,  not  only  on  one  occasion,  but
for  some  years,  has  incurred  a  weight  of  responsibil-
ity which  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate.  But  if  some
were  unprolited  and  unblessed  by  his  ministrations,
through  prejudice  or  other  causes,  many  received  the

Cite this page

Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P004-0043. South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865, printed page not verified, PDF page 43. Hallock, Gerard, 1800-1866; digitized copy contributed by University of California Libraries https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthco00hall/page/n45/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

Historic U.S. publication before 1931; public-domain assessment based on publication date. Internet Archive does not necessarily provide an explicit license. Preserve publication and digitizing credits.