Writings by Susan Dickinson: Society at Amherst Fifty Years Ago

what became of that old pulpit? I am not an idol worshipper, but that or any other
pulpit must be a sacred thing, ^{for which was} preached a a sermon by Dr / Swift of South Hadley --
from the text "I heard thy voice in the garden and was afraid". . His pronouncedly
spiritual physique and solemn manner emphasised the supernatural awe of the text
Adam's apology, -- not then dissected by a short process of reduction ad absurdam, or
through minute German scholarship ~~become~~ ? ^{pronounced a} careless rejoinder -- become the shrink
ing experience of of [sic] every listening soul, from the white ineffable eternal God
There was left only a wide, cold planetary space, void of all save sin and its con-
sequences at his close. The stillness and the sobs must have been minlged [sic] proof
of the power and excitment [sic] of his impassioned picture. ~~(presentation.)~~

Another remarkable sermon preached from that strange old pulpit, was from the text
"God is a spirit". Professor Warner, whose manner well set off his text, urged the
clarity and earnestness of a man's life from this formula, with such solemnity, -- that
it sounds clear in my ears today.

^{Among the few sermons clear as the Sun still in

my mind, was Prof Warner's "God is a Spirit" -- His

white earnest face as he urged the clarity and

earnestness of life from this formula has, stayed

with the years --}

H bMS Am 1118.95, Box 9


	Image reproduced by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. Transcription and commentary copyright 1998 by Martha Nell Smith, Laura Elyn Lauth, and Lara Vetter, all rights reserved Maintained by Rebecca Mooney <rnmooney@umd.edu> Last updated on January 25, 2008