BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 297
the world,” delighting in his “horses, and in feats of bodily agility and vigour.”
He was first led to the serious consideration of religion on being requested to
take the sacrament at his College; and from that time he became not fnly
strongly impressed with the truth and efficacy of divine revelation but displayed
the sincerity of his conversion by devotedly attaching himself to the service of
religion.
Having been elected a Fellow of King’s College, he was ordained a deacon
in the Cathedral Church of Ely in 1782 ; and his first sermon in Trinity Church,
to which he had been appointed minister, was delivered the following year.
Like most of his contemporaries in England, whose exertions were conspicuous in
the advancement of religion during the last half-century, Mr. Simeon experienced
his own share of the contumely which then attached to all who were zealous
for purity in the church and piety in the people. The opposition he met with was
considerable ; and he was abandoned by all who, from community of profession,
ought to have been his warmest supporters. Some of the principal persons of
his own parish joined the clamour against him, not only refusing to attend themselves,
but locking their pew-doors that others might not occupy them.
Thus persecuted, Mr. Simeon steadily maintained his course with all the vigour
and fortitude which his native energy of character and a good cause could so well
inspire, while his fame as a preacher extended far beyond the limits of his locality.
His acquaintance and favour were earnestly sought by the more serious ; and
among Dissenters he was regarded as one assimilated to them in all but in name.
In 1796 he was induced to visit Scotland for the first time, making a tour
through the more populous districts of the country. In Edinburgh he preached
in various of the established churches: and was attended by immense audiences.
Several instances are recorded of the awakening power of his eloquence. When
about to leave Mouh, the horses of the party being actually saddled, (‘ he was
induced, from unusual fatigue, to defer his departure. This led to his spending
a Sabbath there, which happening to be the sacramental occasion, he preached
and assisted in administering the ordinance, himself serving, as they express it,
one of the tables.” In reference to his ministry on that occasion, the Rev.
(afterwards Dr.) Alexander Stewart has the following observations :-“ I cannot
omit mentioning in this connection the blessing I enjoyed in the preaching, the
prayers, and the conversation of that much-favoured servant of Christ, the Rev.
C. Simeon. He was a man sent from God to me, and was my guest for two
days in June 1796 ; preached in my church ; and left a savour of the things of
God which has remained among us ever since.”
Liberal in principle as he was, however, and maintaining as he did a friendly
intercourse with sectarians, more particularly in the earlier part of his career,
Mr. Simeon continued steadily within the pale of the Church of England, apparently
more anxious to distinguish himself by re-animating the old fabric than
A hint uttered by Mr. Simeon on one of these occasions, led to the formation of the “Leith Female
Society for relieving Aged and Indigent Women”--sn institution which has been the means of effecting
signal benefit to many whose age or infirmities incapacitated them for labouring for their own support.
VOL. IL 2 Q
298 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in becoming the leader of a new denomination. But while he laboured for the
purity of the Church, and exhibited the fervency of his zeal by engaging with a
liberal hand in the scheme of purchasing advowsons, in order to secure the
presentation of efficient clergymen, yet his philanthropy extended. to all classes
of Christians.
Possessing considerable wealth and extensive influence, Mr. Simeon, as may
be augured from his character, was an active and generous promoter of all societies
which had for their object the propagation of the gospel, and the welfare of
mankind. For the conversion of the Jews he seemed particularly solicitous,
and took a prominent interest in the Society established for that purpose. Towards
erecting a Chapel at Bethnal Green he subscribed two hundred guineas,
and engaged in many extensive tours throughout England and Scotland in their
behalf. In 1818, on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, he preached at
Amsterdam for the benefit of the Society ; and again at Paris in 1825.
The life of Mr. Simeon was one of continued activity, mental and corporeal.
His printed works, besides occasional publications, extend to twenty-one large
octavo volumes, and contain a series of two thousand five hundred and thirtysix
discourses, from Genesis to Revelation. Many of these are of great merit ;
and immense as the labour expended in their production must have been, it
appears doubly augmented when we are told by his biographer, that in the
manuscripts before him " several of the outlines are written over four, five, and
even six times, till he could bring them to that point of precision and force in
which he so much delighted. Many preachers labour for quantity, and some for
splendour ; Mr, Simeon laboured for brevity and effect. He rarely preached
more than thirty or thirty-five minutes; and his problem seemed to be, Iww
much useful truth he could condense into the shortest possible time, with the greatest
possible efect upon the heart and conscience. On the Monday, as he told the
writer of these lines, he employed perhaps as much as eight hours more in
writing them fairly out for the press, with the enlargements that had occurred
to him in preaching, and his latest improvements. So careful was he in his
preparation for preaching, that he sometimes read his sermon jive times over in
private, and twice as nearly as possible with the tone, attitude, and manner he
purposed employing in the pulpit."
It would be surprising if the private life of such a man as Mr. Simeon did
not at least equal his public character. While ample testimony is borne to
his many virtues, it must be admitted that he possessed a warm and somewhat
irritable temper, and was not without a due share of the imperfections of
human nature ; but these were checked and held in abeyance by the constant
action of more noble qualities of the mind. The besetting, and probably
the most unconquerable of all the human passions with which genuine piety
has to contend, is the love of approbation. However much mere human praise
may be condemned, few indeed are superior to its influence. In this assailable
point Mr. Simeon does not appear to have been more impregnable than
others. By way of illustrating his personal piety, it is related that " besides