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Biographical Sketches <*f some of his Contemporaries: by Mr. John Foa?y of Plymouth.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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PTTTHE names and characters of some JL I have conversed and been acquainted with since 1712 .
Mr . NATHANIEL HARDING . This gentleman was born in Ireland . His father was a Dissenting Minister in that kingdom . He was called Nicademus . From the quaintness of the name , and the notions and disposition
which his son brought to England with him , I apprehend he was of the Puritan kind , and very str ict and formal in his way . But I do not affirm this , having learnt nothing of his temper or manners from his son , who never
affected in any conversation with me , to say any thing about him . It was by an accident fas I have heard ) that Mr . Harding I now speak of came to Pl ymouth . He went on board a ship in Ireland to see some f riends who had
embarked themselves for England . While he was there , the wind sprung fresh and fair , and he was persuaded by his friends to take the tour with them . In short , he came with them , and afterwards to Plymouth , where a large congregation of Dissenters had some time before lost their minister ,
to whom he was desired to preach , which he did to such good purpose , that the people immediately fell in love with him , and elected him their pastor All this , from the time of his going on board the ship in Ireland , was looked
on as a particular providence , and has often been talked of as such , both by him and several of his congregation who were alive at that time . Before this he had lived in Ireland under the tuition of one Dr . Carr , who had the character of a proud , sour man , and of
a very good Grecian . Where he stuped besides , I can't say ; 'tis certain he settled very young at Plymouth , where he brought all his notions in divinity with him , which he very notably retained and vindicated to the last . I believe it can be aaid of very few who voh
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constantly read and studied as he did , that they never saw cause , in above 50 years' time , to alter one common notion , or to think that they had been guilty of any one considerable mistake in speculation . And this is certainly the more remarkable , because his notions were
all of the old stamp , and had in the best of his time been examined and exploded by learned men with great strength and clearness . I sat , myself , many years under his ministry , arid
the general run of his preaching was eternally upon the darling mysteries of Christianity , and on such things as election , adoption , sanctification , &c . ; and I never understood from such as
heard him before or after I did , that he ever entered on any other method of preaching than this was . His behaviour in the pulpit was very suitable to his way of thinking ; for he made a most monstrous disagreeable noise , especially when he grew angry , as he
often did , when he happened to be confuting of any opinions he did not like . I can remember myself , that he was once very near throwing a quarto Bible upon the head of the minister who sat in the desk under him , and that at another time he with much
difficulty recovered his wig , which he had almost jerked from his head by the violent agitation Iris body was in at an argument he was offering against Dr . Clarke . He was much more
disagreeable in prayer . He was never at a loss , indeed , nor guilty of tautology ; for he composed his prayers and learnt them by heart , as he did his sermons ; and being , by the help of a vast mechanical memory , perrect master both of the words and matter he committed
to it , he always went on with ease and fluency ; but then he had so strange a way of uttering , especially in the beginning of his prayer , that persons not used to him could seldom understand him . He had always the art of keeping great authority over his hearers ; the external sanctity which he ever carried
Biographical Sketches ≪*F Some Of His Contemporaries: By Mr. John Foa?Y Of Plymouth.
Biographical Sketches <* f some of his Contemporaries : by Mr . John Foa ? y of Plymouth .
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No . CLXXXV / j MAY , 1821 . [ Vol . XVI .
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THE
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. xvi . 2 l
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1821, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2500/page/1/
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