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Jesus Christ whom he hath sent ;' knowledge which is invaluable ; which tends to comfort the heart and disperse those clouds of darkness , those mists of superstition , which attend the popular systems of theology ?
But besides my spiritual advantages , I enjoy many temporal ones . The capacity of being in some degree useful to my friends and neighbours , has produced many advantages of a worldly nature , which are likely to render my situation in life comfortable and
pleasant . My health i ? good , my mind is easy , and I am placed in a situation where I possess many means of improvement . I have lately arrived at this place for the purpose of entering upon the studies preparatory to the Christian ministry . This object is
one of the most important which cAn engage the attention of any mam By entering here , I become placed under many obligations and duties to which 1 have hitherto been a stranger , and am indeed exposed to an awful responsibility . Whether 1 consider the expectations of my friends and
relations , the obligations I am under to the supporters of this Academy , the necessity of doing credit to my worthy instructor , or the importance of the office I am preparing "to fulfil , the great variety of the knowledge I ought to possess , connected with the shortness of the time allowed for the
preparation , I feel my mind forcibly impressed with the absolute necessity of redeeming the time . May God assist me in this arduous undertaking , and whatsoever 1 do may it prosper ! If 1 seek in reality for the blessing of God , I shall without doubt find it :
but it is in vain to expect his favour and approbation unless I strive , by all the means of grace in my power , to increase in knowledge and virtue . " Mr , Goodier ' s conduct during his residence at the Unitarian Academy evinced the sincerity of these serious thoughts and pious aspirations . He
was a rare example of great rapidity of mind united to indefatigable industry . Such was his progress in every study he entered upon , that all his tutors derived the highest gratification from instructing him . Whilst devoting his hours to the acquirement of science . and of languages , the moral ends of these studies were never absent from his mind 3 nor did he content
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himself with gaining stores of knowledge , but already began to perform the duties of a Christian minister ; he occasionally filled" the pulpit , in va * rious places , in a very acceptable mu&t
manner , and many of our readers recollect with pleasure the good sense , piety and acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures , apparent in the speeches he made at the religious conferences carried on in the Lecture-room of the
Gravel-Pit Meeting . His conversation in private society was not less interesting and instructive 3 he seemed to think every moment lost that was not employed on some useful subject ; yet he had none of the harshness or pedantry which sometimes belongs to
the hard student ; he was constantly amusing as well as intellectual . He was equally admirable as a learner or a teacher : in company with persons whose judgment he revered , he would easily and unobtrusively lead to topics on which he hoped to gain information : when conversing with
young children , of whom he was particularly fonci 9 and who eagerly sought his society , he divested instruction of dulness ; and even wh £ n listening to the silly arguments of a
weak-minded disputant , he failed not to treat him with the patience and consideration due to every fellowcreature ; for if the ludicrous absurdity of some remark forced a smile into his countenance , that smile was
so full of candour and benignity , that it could scarcely hurt the feelings of him who had caused it . With all this gentleness and modesty , he possessed that manly independence of thought essential to the pursuit of truth : the writer of this article does
not remember , on any other occasion , to have seen him look so indignant as in repeating a conversation in which it had been taken for granted , from the attachment he had expressed for his theological tutor , that he had adopted some religious opinion because it was believed by that gentleman .
Whilst thus eagerly acquiring knowledge , and delighting himself with the prospect of a life of usefulness , this excellent young man was attacked by a disease , of which he had felt some symptoms before lie left hi& native county . Early in the summer of 1814 , he began to complain of a
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yo Memoir of the Rev . Benjamin Groodier .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1819, page 70, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1769/page/2/
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