Note 71 — {55} NOTES68

That I may not be misunderstood, I beg leave to remark, that I intend no reflection on those who may have been educated solely with a view to the ministry, and of whose habits we cannot expect an alteration. It is an evil attending the present system, that while men of very moderate talents, and judging by their conduct, who have made no great advancement in the christian life, who possess a few superficial qualifications which captivate the ignorant and unthinking, are living in luxury, there are men of fine talents, and transcendent virtues, who are living in comparative poverty. The grand error is the mechanical transformation of youths into ministers at seminaries, instead of their being brought up to some trade or profession in which their independence might rest on themselves.

I have, on this subject, expressed myself more at large in the MEMOIRS OF ROBERT ROBINSON, prefixed to his Works. See also an excellent Sermon in his incomparable VILLAGE DISCOURSES, entitled, "Any one who understands Christianity may teach it." And another in the Posthumous volume of his works, entitled, "The Corruptions of Christianity."—B. Flower.