THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION: 1863 memorial sermon with reminiscences of Clement C. Moore

Herein I am pleased to give the complete text of the sermon preached in Newport, Rhode Island by Oliver Sherman Prescott (1824-1903) the Sunday after the funeral of Clement C. Moore, as printed in 1863 with accompanying tributes in letters from Episcopal bishops Horatio Potter of New York and William Rollinson Whittingham of Maryland. As reported in the Church Journal, "the venerable and beloved Dr. Moore" had died "after a brief illness" on Friday, July 10, 1863 at his summer residence in Newport. His funeral took place on Monday the 13th in Trinity Church, Newport, where on Sunday, July 19, 1863 Rev. Prescott delivered the memorial sermon titled, The Power of the Resurrection.

Although quoted by Moore's biographer Samuel W. Patterson in The Poet of Christmas Eve: A Life of Clement Clarke Moore, 1779-1863 (Morehouse-Gorham Co., 1956) at pages 98 and 159; and alluded to passingly in Patterson's later article 

“The Centenary of Clement Clarke Moore—Poet of Christmas Eve.” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 32, no. 3, 1963, pages 211–220 at 213. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42972989

the rarity of this hard-to-find item has unfortunately limited its potential reach and appreciation. WorldCat locates copies in only two libraries, the Boston Public Library and Keller Library of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. 

Both copies have been consulted while making the transcription offered below. With generous professional assistance from Melissa Chim, Scholarly Communications Librarian with Excelsior University and former Reference Librarian and Archivist at General Theological Seminary (GTS), I was able to examine scans of the printed version kindly provided by the Boston Public Library. Evidently the printed edition of Rev. Prescott's 1863 sermon on the Power of the Resurrection was not among the rare works transferred from GTS to Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) in 2024, "selected due to their enduring scholarly and teaching value to the seminaries and The Episcopal Church, as well as their market value" according to a press release in February 2025 concerning the Future of the Keller Library Collection. As revealed in the same announcement,

"The remaining rare books that were not transferred to VTS have been purchased by James Cummins Bookseller."

Earlier this month I acquired from James Cummins Bookseller the printed sermon long restricted to the Rare Book Room of the General Theological Seminary Library. 

Presumably this was the copy that GTS librarian Niels Henry Sonne consulted and duly cited on page 379 of his enlightening essay

"‘The Night Before Christmas’: Who Wrote It?” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 41, no. 4, 1972, pp. 373–80. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42973358. 

*** 

The Power of the Resurrection.

A 

SERMON

PREACHED IN

TRINITY CHURCH, NEWPORT, R. I.

ON THE

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 1863,

BEING THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE FUNERAL OF 

CLEMENT CLARK MOORE, L.L.D.

by

REV. O. S. PRESCOTT 

CHARLES E. HAMMETT, JR, NEWPORT, R. I.

1863.

***

LETTERS.

NEW YORK, 33 WEST 24TH STREET,

June 20, 1863.

MY DEAR DR. MOORE:

     I have often reproached myself that I have seen so little of you since I have been in the Episcopate, and that I have never given any adequate expression to my feelings of gratitude toward you for your kind services to me when I was your pupil in the General Theological Seminary, and for all your services to the Church through that Institution. During my recent absence from the city, on a visitation, I resolved that, when I returned to town, I would no longer delay to testify, however imperfectly, my gratitude, esteem, and veneration. But Dr. Beach, whom I met in a train, informed me that you were already gone to your summer retreat at Newport. Pardon me, then, dear sir, for intruding upon your repose and quiet. It will be little to you, but it is a great solace and relief to me to express — what it is always hard for me to express — what a grateful and tender recollection I have always retained of your kindness, of your gentle, yet admirable instruction, and of your lovely Christian character.

     God bless you, dear Dr. Moore, and give you fulness of peace and comfort, and enable you to enjoy many, many days yet on earth his ever present love and goodness. Asking your prayers and blessing, but not meaning to trouble you for a reply, I remain,

Most affectionately yours,

HORATIO POTTER.

DR. CLEMENT C. MOORE.

      P. S.— My departed son often spoke of the kindness he received from your son and daughter, in Paris. 

***

NEW YORK, 33 WEST 24TH STREET,

July 3, 1863.

MY DEAR DR. MOORE:

     It becomes my duty to intrude once more upon your  quiet retreat. A few days after my former note, that is, on the forenoon of the 24th of June (Wednesday), the Alumni of the General Seminary had an early service and communion at St. Paul's Chapel, and afterwards a social breakfast at the Astor House. The meeting was distinguished for warmth and cordiality, and by many affectionate references to the friends and benefactors of the Seminary. The Rev. Dr. Coxe was charged to communicate to the Bishop of Maryland and to Hugh Davy Evans, a testimony of their sympathy and grateful regard; while, by a unanimous and earnest resolution, I was requested to convey to you an expression of their gratitude for your many and important services to the Seminary, of their veneration for your character, and of their affectionate interest in your health and happiness. I need hardly say how happy I am to be the honored representative of the Alumni for communicating sentiments in which I most heartily concur.

     On our return to town in the autumn, I promise myself the pleasure of paying my respects to you.

Ever most faithfully yours,

HORATIO POTTER.

TO CLEMENT C. MOORE, LL. D. 

*** 

BALTIMORE, July 15, 1863.

DEAR PRESCOTT: 

     Thirty years, almost, have dimmed my personal recollections of my dear old friend, Dr. C. C. Moore. Since 1840, I have not chanced to meet with him five times, nor then to converse with him for more than five minutes at a time. 

     As a pupil, resident graduate, and librarian of the Seminary, I was sharer with all his other pupils of the free, gracious urbanity and generosity which distinguished his intercourse with them. His pure, simple, gentle modesty, and unaffected diffidence in displaying the ample store of learning which he was nevertheless well able to bring forth on fit occasions, secured for him the profoundest respect of those even who were disposed to complain of the absence of a dogmatical authority to which they would have felt it an advantage to themselves to have been brought more under subjection. Those who obtained closer access to him (and none were debarred by inaccessibility on his part), soon learned to love him as a father or elder brother, and found rich enjoyment in drawing out the treasures of his various reading, seasoned continually with the gentle flow of his quiet, sparkling humor. 

     Afterward, he became associated with me, during my rectorship of St. Luke's Church, as one of the Vestry of the Parish. In that body he took full part in all its deliberations and doings, bringing his clear perceptions of Christian duty and high sense of gentlemanly honor to bear upon every transaction in which he had voice or part. In every possible way, he and his family contributed to the common service and work of the congregation. Quiet and retiring as he was, his promptness and punctuality in every duty, and spontaneous readiness in every charity, made him unconsciously preëminent in the loving band of Christian brothers then bound together by the ties of parochial association in "St. Luke's, Greenwich." His personal attention and liberal communication of his means were never wanting to any reasonable undertaking for the advancement of true religion, or the alleviation of human misery.

     Again for several years it was my privilege to sit with him in the Faculty of the Seminary, once more associated in the pursuits to which his kind labors and attentions had so largely contributed to introduce me. The same translucent simplicity of character and childlikeness of inoffensive and unsuspecting goodness still manifested themselves in the Professor at the Board, and in all the mutual relations of our happy little community, as strongly as they had in earlier years to the youthful student. I still revered and loved him with affections intensified, not changed, by the lapse of time and alteration of relations.

     If you have time to consult Drs. Seabury and Haight, and Floyd Smith, Esq., of New York, I think you will be likely to obtain from them reminiscences of Dr. Moore more fresh and particular than my hurried recollections have been able to afford. They have been associated with him in much the same relations as I, but I think more intimately in some respects, and certainly more recently.

     The Church can ill afford to part with such a son, even at the ripe age at which he has been called home. He was "an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile," and our unhappy times furnish too few examples of that rare character to be able to lose them without a poignant sense of deprivation.

     It has not tended to lessen my sense of personal loss by the death of Dr. Moore, that only the day before the announcement of his decease appeared, I had seen that of the death of another of my dear old associates in church work of forty years' standing — Mr. C. N. S. Rowland, many years Treasurer of the Diocese of New York, and, like Dr. Moore, one of my Vestry at St. Luke's Church, New York, 1831-5.

I am,

Faithfully and affectionately yours,

W. R. WHITTINGHAM.

REV. O. S. PRESCOTT.

***

SERMON.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.—John xi. 25, 26. 

The titles of our Blessed Lord are not barren honours, but names of real Powers. They witness of Him as He is, and declare what He is. They are full of hidden meaning and mysterious grace, for they are outward and visible shadows of an inward and divine substance; and this because the Lord is our God; because the Son of man is the Son of the Everlasting Father, and so the Son of the Father, that He is One with Him in all that He is, and whatever is true  of the Father as relates to the Godhead, is true also of Him, and as the Father is in His Divine Essence all that He claims to be and all that His attributes attest that He is, being not only wise, and just, and loving, and orderly, but Wisdom itself, and Justice itself, and Love itself, and Order itself; so is the Son all that He calls Himself, and all that He is called by those "who worship him in sincerity and truth." This is what is meant when it is said that His titles are names of Powers, are outward shadows of a divine substance; and both of these, the shadow and the substance, being claimed, possessed, used by Christ, are, in Him, made full of meaning and full of grace to all who put their whole trust in Him. These titles may be every-day words with us, as are those of our text; we may speak them thoughtlessly or lightly, may confine them within narrow and straitened limits, but this will affect not Him Whose they are, but ourselves alone, for no disrespect or damage, wilful or unwitting, done toward Christ can ever reach Him; like the prayer of the self-righteous pharisee, it remains with ones self, it ends where it begins, bringing loss and punishment upon the perpetrator, and upon him alone. 

Christ says, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." There is no need to do more than indicate very briefly the circumstances under which these words were spoken. There lived at Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, a family, consisting of a brother and two sisters, with which, in His journeyings to and fro, the Son of Joseph and of Mary was accustomed to stay. The brother fell sick and died and was buried. Word had been sent to his friend Jesus, but He had, to  all appearance, disregarded or forgotten it, for we read that He remained "two days in the place where He was." Lazarus had lain four days in the tomb, and his bereaved sisters wept at home, when news arrived that the Master was approaching. He entered not into the village, but first went to the place where Lazarus was laid, and there the sisters with their sympathizing friends gathered around Him. On the way the words were spoken, "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall live; and whosoever liveth and believeth  in Me shall never die." That there was in this utterance no idle arrogation of power, the verses following prove. The Divine Speaker added, "Lazarus come forth!" and immediately the dead one, closely wrapped in burial clothes, bound hand and foot, so that had he been living he could not have moved, heard the living words and arose, and at Christ's further bidding they loosed him from his bonds and he took his place again among the dwellers upon earth. These words and this event were the first corner-stone in the foundation of the great system of Christianity as it is in philosophy. From so slight an event, in men's eyes, as the visit of a friend to a friend's grave, grew the enunciation of the grandest dogma of the Christian faith. It was preached by word and deed, and by these two witnesses was established; and ever since, when Christ's ministers and messengers have laid to rest and commended unto God those who have been sealed with Christ's seal in their foreheads, the same glorious and comfortable words have been spoken, and testimony has been borne to the power of Christ's titles, and He has been proclaimed, as He proclaimed Himself, forever and forevermore, the Resurrection and the Life. 

I. Mark now the expression, the Resurrection and the Life. He does not limit or confine His claim to the simple ability to raise the dead, or to give life to whom He will; but He declares that He Himself— He, the Man there standing and weeping over a friend's grave; He, the son of a carpenter of Galilee and the poor woman that carpenter had espoused; He, who was often the guest  of Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary,—is Himself, in deed and in truth, the very Resurrection and the very Life; that is, He is the cause, source, origin of these, and that without Him they would not, because they could not be. Place yourselves in imagination among that sorrowing and awed company; think of these words, not made familiar by use, not assented to from habit or education, but as uttered for the first time and for the first time heard, and they will take on their full and startling strangeness. It is no wonder that men received them not, but crucified the Speaker of them. They would do so now under similar circumstances. This He knew, and knew that by their proclamation He was helping to affix the seal to His own death-warrant, for it was His teaching in regard to the Resurrection which brought upon him the charge of blasphemy, for which He was condemned to be crucified. This may help you to account for the solemn character of the gospel history of Lazarus' recall to life and for the Blessed Master's weeping. He foresaw the revolution He was working, the bitter opposition His truth would excite, and the suffering through which man was to pass to the joy that was to be born out of suffering, and to the triumph of Life over death and of the Resurrection over the grave. He was man, it is true, very man, but who can doubt, listening to this record, that He was God also? He saw the end from the beginning, and He was doing all things well. He was the Resurrection and the Life. He had come, the Light of the World, to bring life and immortality to light through His Gospel. From the exile of Adam from Eden mankind had dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death, and now the time was come when, in the Providence of God, the clouds were to be scattered, and the sea smoothed, and the sun to shine. He had come, Who had worked hitherto and Who worketh still, Who was all-manifold in operation and all-fertile in resource. As had been foretold of Him from afar, "He did not strive nor cry, neither was His Voice heard in the streets," but the revolution was accomplished; slowly and gradually, day after day and week after week bringing their silent additions and contributions, without shocks and without violence upon his part the work progressed, till, finally, He died upon the Cross seemingly giving the lie to His own words, but in reality establishing them, for the third day He came forth from the grave at midnight and in silence, raising Himself from the dead, strong and glorious, as one refreshed with sleep, and appearing to His followers a vision of beauty, too intense for apprehension or belief. Then there came suddenly upon the earth a great calm. The Lion of the tribe of Judah had prevailed, death and hell were conquered and taken captive, the Holy Ghost was poured out, the Church of Christ was quickened into being, and the faith of Jesus was proclaimed to man. Out from Jerusalem began the preaching of the Gospel of the Resurrection; its blessed influence was shed abroad, and the idols and mummeries and sacrifices of paganism passed away and became as though they had never been, before the establishment of the heavenly worship and the Pure Oblation of the religion of the Cross. Looking back upon the past, we behold Christianity,— the fellowship of Christ with the Resurrection, for such the living Church of God is — rising and increasing like the sun in its splendour. It was majestic, it was beautiful, it was soothing to man's grief, it was grateful to his needs, it was satisfying to his hopes, it was welcome, it was thrilling because it was the Body of Christ and the Power of the Father. It rescued man; it uplifted him; it saved him from the devil's service and the devil's doom, and it set him up to dwell with angels. 

II. These titles are not synonymous. Christ is the Resurrection and the Life — the Resurrection of the dead, and the Life of all that live. He is, as His great Apostle says, the Head of the Church and the Saviour of the body, the living Head of all souls in every place in earth, in paradise, or Heaven; and the Saviour of all bodies built up into and forming his own mystical Body, wherever they may be, beneath the sod or beneath the waters, and which at the Resurrection shall hear His Voice and awake. He came into the world in the substance of our flesh to make all things new, to abolish and put away death by His Life and the grave by His Resurrection. Hiding His Divinity in His Passion, He carried captive His captivity, and, as the sun from the clouds, He passed out strangely from the closed sepulchre, leaving its stone unmoved, and its seal unbroken, and its guards undisturbed, and shed abroad the light of a new and supernatural life. Before He came, the world was full of "darkness and cruel habitations." Inspired men among the Jews may have caught far-off glimpses and faint shadowings of the glories of the Resurrection, as when Elijah, passed to life without seeing death, or when they read of the Redeemer who should stand at the latter day upon the earth; but with these exceptions the veil of uncertainty and doubt was before all faces. An idea of immortality for the soul was the highest and best the most virtuous attained unto, and this seems to have been born out of intense love of life, but for the masses there was no hope; they saw that the wise and prudent passed away and ceased to be as well as the ignorant and foolish, and so they cast off all restraint and abandoned themselves as brute beasts, and followed their own lusts, and maddened themselves with strange desires, making gods of their own pleasures and falling down and worshipping them. All this Christ came to change thoroughly and absolutely. His work was different but not less complete than when in the beginning light was separated from darkness and the first day was ushered into being. He died upon the Cross for the redemption of all mankind, and He rose from the dead for the justification of them that believe in Him; for we are what we are, in privilege and in promise, because He is what He is, and He is now our Resurrection and our Life. This is the great verity of Christianity; the light of God and the Lamb in the midst of the temple, the central point around which all else revolves, and to publish which all else was done. His preaching of this brought Him to the Cross. His followers, iterating it, turned the world upside down. For this He witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate, and St. Paul was called in question before kings and courts. To this the glorious company of the Apostles were witnesses, and out of it grew the noble army of Martyrs. 

The Resurrection and the Life came into our dead and darkened world and did His work, His strange work, and death became a sleep, and the grave a place of rest. Before Him faded away old philosophies and cruel superstitions, and savage sacrifices, and strange witchcrafts, and gods of wood and stone, and ignorance of one's origin and doubt of one's destiny; and around Him,— for He is the Centre of all real religion,— there grew up the holy Church with its supernatural life and supernatural ways, made by Him His kingdom, and intended by Him to be forever like Himself, One, Mighty, Holy and Eternal. At His Birth the Angels sang glory to God on high and on earth peace, good will to men, and ever since, day after day, and in the silent night, in populous cities and over quiet plains, on bleak sides of mountains and under leafy meadow shades, as constantly as sun and moon and stars go forth in heaven, so steadily the stately march of Christian services and Christian truth has held its way, and Heaven has been let down to earth most wondrously, and the evil spirits of paganism have been chased back to the darkness whence they came.

III. There is another consideration connected with the titles of our Divine Lord. They are not sterile honours, but fruitful Powers,— not dead words, but living and lively things. They bring to others and bring others unto that of which they witness and are the pledge. Because He is the Resurrection and the Life, therefore he that believeth in Him, though he were dead yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall never die. He would not only that we should be with Him but that we should be like Him, and therefore He giveth Himself to us with all that He is and all that He hath. For this reason St. Paul, who knew the power of His Resurrection, writes: "If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the Right Hand of God." Through His Risen and Glorified Humanity come to us all gifts of salvation and forgiveness and overcoming of sin and restoration unto holiness and victory over the grave and vanquishment of death and oneness with God. In It are bound up all treasures of wisdom and mercy, and pardon, and charity, and saintliness. All that He is in Himself, that He  becomes in us by dwelling in us. On the Cross He died for us, and by the Resurrection He lives in us. He is the new and second Adam, and was made, not a "living soul" only, but a "Quickening Spirit," that through His Sinless Flesh life might pass to all who should be made the members of His body. Before he came, the multitude of men knew nothing of their origin or their destiny; to them death was a fearful leap out into darkness, and the grave was a blank horror. But when His work was ended, when He had passed up from the Hill of His Sublime Ascension, and the clouds had received Him out of sight, the stone which, since the death of Abel, had closed futurity from man's gaze, was rolled away and the fair angel of Hope sat upon it, and around was shed light and peace; for though we know not fully what we shall be, we know that he is the Resurrection and the Life, and that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 

We are led to-day to speak of death, and we begin by speaking of life, for the death of the Christian is an entrance upon life eternal. 

When we were last gathered together in this church, it was to celebrate the funeral of the venerable and venerated Dr. Clement Clark Moore. Full of years and full of honors, his pathway to the grave sloped by growing infirmities, and his shortening steps taken more and more tremblingly and slow as he lost his hold on life, and clung unto the earth whither he was returning, he has passed from our sight as a shock of corn fully ripe. You who have known him only in the frailness and feebleness of the extremest years of man's life, cannot well understand the important place he has filled and the important work he has done in and for the Church of which, in God's mercy, it is our privilege to be members. He has not left behind him, it may be safely said, among the faithful laity one whose departure will be so widely felt, and whose memory will be so fondly treasured. To his munificence the Church is indebted for her chief Theological School — the General Seminary in New York. Its entire landed estate in that city was his gift. For a long series of years he filled, and filled well, the chair of Hebrew and Oriental Literature, rendering his services modestly and unpretendingly, and for the most part gratuitously. He survived all those associated with him when he first entered upon his duties in connection with it. The hundreds who have been educated in that noblest Church Institution of this land, have reaped the benefit of his good deeds, and been recipients of his beneficence, and they bless his memory. 

This is hardly the place to do more than allude to his career as a man of polite letters. It is enough that his position is no mean one. He was a large-minded scholar and an open-handed Christian gentleman, and those qualities were wedded in him to a genuine simplicity and childlike modesty, as winning as they are rare. His whole character was formed and fashioned by religion; it was a Christian product, not to be found outside the limits of Christian influence, but rooted in the soil of the church, and bearing supernatural flowers and fruits blossoming and ripening in the light of the Resurrection and the Life. He gave much to the cause of Christ, in love, and labor, and money, and the Church — which is the embodiment of that cause — gave back to him a Christian training, a Christlike nearness, the high consolation of her heavenly gifts and the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection and the Life. He could say upon his knees, as a child, "But though, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders;" and he could strive like an hero to fulfil her law of loving his neighbour as himself. Modest, unpretending, retiring, always a learner, and ever looking out to be taught, he seems to have striven to live only, as has been said of one who laboured in another sphere, "to love and to be unknown." He did hard work for the education of the clergy in his generation and provided for its continuance forever, thereby opening a perennial spring of good to men. He prosecuted many labors and effected many religious undertakings, and all the while he was content to be overlooked by the world, and not to be known outside of his place. He did his work for God alone, with a single eye and a pure heart, undisturbed by inimical surroundings and undistracted by applause, making Christ his sole hope, and Heaven his sole aim, and seeking to lay up abiding treasure and eternal recompense in "the Land that is far off," but to be reached by all. 

While the General Theological Seminary shall remain, and while the blessed Christmas-tide shall be celebrated with Christmas rejoicings, — and this will doubtless be till Christ shall come again,— so long shall the name of the genial poet, and learned professor, and munificent benefactor live in the hearts of the Reverend Fathers and the innocent, loving children of our Holy Church. 

Such as he was he has passed away, and there is no one, to all appearance, with the heart or will to occupy his place. His departure severs another tie linking us with the past, and removes another of the masters to whom my brothers of the clergy have been accustomed to look up. We shall no more break for him or eat with him the Bread of Life. He has come for the last time to his place before the altar, and for the first time he felt no will to kneel at it. His body was met at the entrance of this churchyard with the words, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." They fell on ears closed to the sounds of earth. But while we commended his body to the ground, and baptized it with the baptism of the dust, in the hope of a glorious Resurrection, we doubted not that his soul was far away from the vexations and cares of this wicked and troubled world, with those he had loved, in joy, and felicity, and rest, in the Paradise of God. 

And now what remains for us but to thank God for the good example given us in our deceased brother, and to endeavor ourselves to imitate it. I have sketched it poorly and imperfectly, but lovingly and reverently, as one whose privilege it has been to sit at his feet and learn of him; and I have sought to bear in mind and not offend his keen and simple modesty and unaffected childlikeness. He was a rare man and a Christian gentleman. He has finished his labours, he has entered into rest, and he is blessed, for his works do follow him even while they remain with us as a praise throughout the churches.

And now let us lift up our hearts, and lift up our voices, and pray for ourselves and for all souls, that we fail not to attain unto the rest that remaineth for the people of God. Around us, while we are alive and remain in the flesh, are at best but fleeting and transient things. Old friends and faces, old homes and haunts, bright days and sunny hours pass by us and are gone; but before us is the kingdom of God and the Resurrection, and It is all enduring, all satisfying, all divine. There are no storms in Its firmament, and no clouds move across Its sky, there is no change, no vicissitude, no fading, or withering, or passing away. As we enter upon It, such we shall remain forever in It, growing nearer unto and more like Him Who is Chiefest among ten thousand and Altogether Lovely, yet never attaining unto Him because He is the very Resurrection and the Life. 

Related posts

• Moore's 1825 Lecture Introductory to the Course of Hebrew Instruction, full text
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-lecture-introductory-to-course-of.html

• Samuel H. Turner's 1850 dedication to Clement C. Moore
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/02/samuel-h-turners-1850-dedication-to.html

• "One of the best of men": Evert A. Duyckinck on Clement C. Moore
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/02/evert-duyckinck-on-clement-c-moore-one.html

• That ripe scholar and rare man
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/12/that-ripe-scholar-and-rare-man.html

• Santa Claus in Morristown, New Jersey on New Year's Eve, 1834
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2025/02/santa-claus-in-morristown-new-jersey.html 

• CHURCH JOURNAL obit for Clement C. Moore
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2018/01/church-journal-obit-of-clement-c-moore.html

• Obit by Frank W. Ballard in the BOSTON POST
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/10/clement-c-moore-1863-obit-by-frank-w.html

• Obit in the NEW YORK HERALD
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/10/new-york-herald-obit-of-clement-c-moore.html

Francis P. Lee casually mentions the poem by his Hebrew prof Clement C. Moore about St. Nicholas, dressed all in fur. New Year's Eve, 1834!

On New Year's Eve 1834, young Francis Prioleau Lee (1814-1847) attended a holiday party and fund-raiser at the Court Room in Morristown, NJ. The future Episcopal minister was visiting friends while on break from classes at General Theological Seminary in NYC. Jolly old St.… pic.twitter.com/wA0HZYA7Oh

— Scott Norsworthy 🇺🇸 (@Melvilliana) December 31, 2025

 

Clement C. Moore, teaching Hebrew in 1822-1823

Clement C. Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1822, to entertain his children. 🎅🎄 As everyone knows the famous Christmas poem was first published anonymously on December 23, 1823 in the Troy NY Sentinel. Besides composing "'Twas the night before Christmas," what else… pic.twitter.com/TcBmnsTL8i

— Scott Norsworthy 🇺🇸 (@Melvilliana) December 14, 2025

 

Santa Claus in the Morristown, New Jersey Court-house on New Year's Eve, 1834

On New Year's Eve 1834 the enterprising ladies of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey hosted a fun holiday fair at the splendid "Court room" occupying half the second story of the now historic Morris County Courthouse. Jolly old St. Nicholas himself made a personal appearance, possibly the first ever witnessed at an organized public event. 

As reported beforehand in the Newark Daily Advertiser (December 18, 1834): 

Newark Daily Advertiser - December 18, 1834
via genealogybank.com

"The Ancient patron-saint of children, St. Nicholas, is announced to attend the Fair of the Ladies of the Morris Episcopal Church at the Court room on New Years eve."

Courtroom #1 - Morris County Courthouse

More details of the festivities in store had been shared in the Morristown Jerseyman on December 17, 1834. For any readers who might have been unfamiliar with St. Nicholas as midwinter gift-giver, the local newspaper gave his better known alias, "Santaclaas."

Morristown Jerseyman - December 17, 1834
via genealogybank.com

A Happy New Year. 

The Ladies of the Episcopal Society will give a Fair at the Court Room, on Wednesday, 31st inst. at 4 o'clock P. M. A profusion of refreshments will be provided, with a variety of toys, books, and articles suited for New Years Eve. It is expected that St. Nicholas, commonly called Santaclaas, will honor the meeting with his personal presence, in ... to purchase various articles to be ... to the stockings of good children.

Should the weather prove unfavorable, the Fair will be postponed to the [next?] fine day.

Of all the seasons, this is peculiarly ... as to good cheer, social habits ... cultivation of liberal sentiment. ...foregoing notice it seems that...will be united at the Court house...last evening of this year. ...hope to see our fellow citizens ...y [of any?] age and sex, party and...ing in that direction at the appointed hour.

The meeting deserves public patronage for this additional motive; that its pecuniary profit is destined to aid in purchasing a Parsonage for the Episcopal Church in this Town. 

Besides the usual fun and games and the big draw, Santa Claus, attendees could look forward to "a profusion of refreshments" and plenty of attractive books, toys, and other items suitable for gifting to friends and family members. Back then Santa happily delivered on New Year's Eve. Really "good children" might expect to find their stockings loaded with presents the next morning, on New Year's Day, instead of or in addition to Christmas morning. Profits from this particular event, as explained at the end of the published announcement in the Morristown Jerseyman (December 17, 1834), would be donated to the fund already established for building a parsonage at the Episcopal Church. 

Undeterred by the furious snowstorm in Morristown on the 29th of December, St. Nicholas aka "Santaclaas" did in fact make his scheduled court date on New Year's Eve, 1834. Independent verification of Santa's appearance is provided in the manuscript diary of a young visitor named Francis Prioleau Lee (1814-1847), then a student at General Theological Seminary (GTS) in New York City. Lee, age 20, had been staying at the famous Ford Mansion ("once the headquarters of Gen. Washington") as a guest of his classmate and best friend Alfred Edmund Ford (1808-1893), a grandson of its builder Colonel Jacob Ford, Jr. There at "the White house," as Lee called it, prep for the upcoming fest and fundraiser began the day after Christmas. Lee's considerable literary skills were enlisted in composing versified predictions or "fortunes" to be offered for sale as unique New Year's gifts.  

"Friday 26.  Rained again. I read Miss Hannah Moore's Memoirs, and a part of Mrs. Jameson's works. The evening we spent very pleasantly around the center table making poetical fortunes to be sold at the approaching fair."

Party business continued to occupy Lee as a guest in the Ford household, right up to fair-day.

Francis P. Lee Papers; Francis P. Lee Diary, 1833-1835

Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Wednesday 31. Spent the day in helping to make articles for the fair and in the evening went to attend it. It was held in the court room and under the auspices of a figure called St. Nicholas who was robed in fur, and dressed according to the description of Prof Moore in his poem. Here I met most of my friends and passed a very pleasant evening.

New Years day. Thursday. Ford and I went out in the sleigh and paid 17 or 18 calls and then dined on venison at his Brother's....

Francis P. Lee Papers, Mss. 65 L51. Francis P. Lee Diary, 1833-1835; Box: 11, Folder: 2. William and Mary Libraries, Special Collections Research Center. https://scrcguides.libraries.wm.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/330840

Francis P. Lee's 1833-1835 diary is rich with intrinsic value as autobiography and cultural history. Quoted above, the entry for Wednesday, December 31, 1834 also provides strong documentary support for the traditional attribution of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("'Twas the night before Christmas....") to Lee's Hebrew teacher at GTS, Clement C. Moore. First published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823, the now classic Christmas poem had already been linked to Moore in print, through a cagey and allusive statement in the same newspaper by Sentinel editor Orville L. Holley:

Santa Claus.--A few days since, the Editors of the N. Y. Courier, at the request of a lady, inserted some lines descriptive of one of the Christmas visits of that good old Dutch saint, St. Nicholas, and at the same time applied to our Albany neighbors for information as to the author. That information, we apprehend, the Albany editors cannot give. The lines were first published in this paper. They came to us from a manuscript copy in possession of a lady in this city. We have been given to understand that the author of them belongs, by birth and residence, to the city of New York, and that he is a gentleman of more merit as a scholar and a writer than many of more noisy pretensions. We republish the lines in a preceding column, just as they originally appeared, because we still think of them as at first, and for the satisfaction of our brethren of the Courier, one of whom, at least, is an Arcadian.

-- Troy Sentinel for January 20, 1829; accessible online via NYS Historic Newspapers.

Holley had not explicitly identified the poet by name, although his 1829 remarks did contain a fairly obvious pun on Moore's surname, ranking him as "a gentleman of more merit as a scholar and a writer" than other pretenders (likewise unnamed) and revealing him to be a New Yorker "by birth and residence." In print, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" would not be formally ascribed to Clement C. Moore until Moore himself submitted it along with three other poems to Charles Fenno Hoffman for inclusion in the New York Book of Poetry (New York: George Dearborn, 1837). However, as the private testimony of Francis P. Lee casually discloses, Moore's authorship of "The Night Before Christmas" was already known to Lee and presumably other of Moore's students, friends, and faculty colleagues at the General Theological Seminary. 

While a college student at William & Mary, Sandra D. Hayslette first discovered Lee's previously unknown reference to the Morristown appearance of Santa Claus, "dressed according to the description of Prof Moore in his poem." Hayslette is duly credited for this wonderful find by Stephen Nissenbaum in a note to chapter 4 (page 345 note 85) of The Battle for Christmas (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996). For Nissenbaum, the importance of Lee's diary account lay in its early observation (perhaps the earliest on record) of a living Santa impersonator. At the time, Nissenbaum was naturally unconcerned with defending Clement C. Moore in the authorship dispute that would be revived and rehashed a few years later by supposed Literary Forensics Expert Don Foster in the last chapter of Author Unknown (Henry Holt and Company, 2000). 

Overlooked by Moore's defenders as well as doubters in subsequent considerations of the authorship question, the manuscript diary of Francis P. Lee merits a closer inspection. My first aim, herein accomplished, was simply to find the thing. Nissenbaum in the back of the Battle for Christmas pointed me to the archive at GTS library. These days even getting there virtually feels something like that scene in National Lampoon's Vacation where Chevy Chase and fam finally arrive at Wally World.

The Keller Library building and collections are currently closed.

Fortunately, however, excellent support is available "through the GTS affiliation with Virginia Theological Seminary." Vincent Williams, User Services Librarian with the Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary kindly informed me that the cited material was not currently inventoried in the GTS library holdings and referred me back to William & Mary. For generous assistance with locating it there, finally, and with obtaining scanned images of its contents, I am grateful to Carolyn Wilson, Research Assistant; and Kaitlyn G. Weathers, Digitization Specialist with the Special Collections Research Center in Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary Libraries. 

Here and now I can offer one correction and several words not supplied in the 1996 transcription by Stephen Nissenbaum: 

• Correction: Diary and advance newspaper notices of the event agree, the date of Lee's visit to the fair in Morristown was definitely Wednesday, December 31, 1834. New Year's Eve 1834, not 1833.

• Missing words: Ellipses in Nissenbaum's version indicate five omitted words: "in the court room and." Lee's word court in "court room" may have seemed difficult to decipher with confidence, and a strange place to put Santa Claus outside of Miracle on 34th Street. But court is right, as doubly confirmed in two different newspaper announcements, published in the Morristown Jerseyman on December 17, and the Newark Daily Advertiser on December 18, 1834. 

Numerous mentions of Clement C. Moore by name appear in the 1833-1835 manuscript diary of Francis P. Lee. Most of these (not counting the time Lee "missed Dr. Moore's" lecture on February 4, 1835) are short notations of studying and reciting Bible texts in Hebrew. Throughout the month of December 1834 (until the 23rd when Lee departed for Morristown with his "Chum" Alfred E. Ford) Lee briefly noted his coursework with Moore and other seminary professors including Bishop Benjamin T. Onderdonk, Bird Wilson, and Samuel H. Turner. For example:

• On Wednesday, December 3rd Lee "Recited Law's letter to Hoadley to Bp Onderdonk for 1 hour, and Hebrew to Prof. Moore one more." 
• One week later on the 10th Lee again recited from Law's Letters to Bishop Hoadley to Onderdonk and "Hebrew to Dr. Moore."
• On December 11, 1834 Lee "Recited Hebrew to Prof. Moore."

Early in the New Year 1835, Lee visited Moore in person after tea with "Mrs. Turner" (Mary Esther Beach Turner, wife of GTS professor Samuel Hulbeart Turner). As Lee recorded on Tuesday, January 20, 1835:

"I next called Prof. Moore and took tea again here had some delightful music from his daughter Margaret talked about female writers &c."

Next day, Jan. 21, Lee "Studied a lesson in Hebrew for Dr. Moore." At the end of the month Lee specifically resolved "to study Hebrew with more devotion." On Sunday Feb. 1, 1835 he extended this pledge: 

"I am determined at all accounts to be more attentive to my duties. How will this resolution be regarded a week hence?"

On the following Sunday, February 8, 1834 Lee felt reasonably satisfied with his turnaround:

"The resolution recorded page 138 has been in some degree persevered in. I have risen early and have studied Hebrew, both of them hard duties for me."

The manuscript diary of Francis P. Lee offers a valuable record of his youthful friendships and flirtations; one long and often frustrating romantic infatuation; his reading of Shakespeare and popular works like the Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Mrs. Hannah Moore, Scott's Peveril of the Peak, and Bulwer-Lytton's The Last Days of Pompeii along with assigned Bible chapters, sermons, and other religious texts; some of his travels and adventures during breaks; bouts with "the blues" and endurance of occasionally debilitating physical illness. For many reasons, and from many perspectives, the whole volume will doubtless reward further study. Thanks again to all the fine librarians and staff persons at William & Mary, Earl Gregg Swem Library for access to digital copies that make this ongoing research possible.

Title: Francis P. Lee Papers; Francis P. Lee Diary, 1833-1835
Series 2: Acc. 2011.285 Addition, 1827-1933
Author: Francis P. Lee
Volume/Box: Box: 11, Folder: 2

For one more sample in closing, here below is an excerpt from Lee's diary entry on Saturday, February 7, 1835 recounting his experience of Shabbat services in nearby Manhattan synagogues. After consecutive days of hard study during the first week of February, Lee "was examined in Hebrew" on Friday, February 6th. On Saturday, February 7, 1835 Lee 

"... went with Babbit and Germain [classmates Pierre Teller Babbitt and Reuben I. Germain] to the Jewish Synagogue near foot of Canal St. large room with galleries around 3 sides. The fourth occupied by a semicircular enclosure, with a vail hung before it. This contains their different Rolls of Parchment highly ornamented, dressed in satin with silver knobs and bells. We soon became tired of the monotonous tone in which the reader cantillated, and went up to Crosby street, where there is another in a much superior style. Tho there were the same arrangement in both. both having in the middle of the Room a raised platform, square, railed, contained a reading desk. This was of the Ionic order. The galleries were appropriated to Females, and under them were long parallel pews for the spectators, leaving a wide space between them and the central enclosure. The ceremony of depositing the Law soon commenced. A procession was formed from the central enclosure, led by a man bearing the Scroll; they proceeded by a motion so slow as to be imperceptible, and all the while the congregation chaunted. The voices were very musical, and I think I never heard such wild thrilling sounds in my life. They ring in my ears yet. A young man gave me his book and I followed them as they sang. My mind was deeply impressed, and it made me melancholy to see this relic of what once was so grand."

Crosby Street Synagogue Exterior
via Congregation Shearith Israel

Related posts

• Santa Claus comes on New Year's Eve
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/12/santa-claus-comes-on-new-years-eve.html

• Francis P. Lee on Moore's authorship of The Night Before Christmas https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/12/francis-p-lee-in-1833-on-clement-c.html

A Lecture Introductory to the Course of Hebrew Instruction by Clement C. Moore, full text

Codex Sassoon at ANU - Museum of the Jewish People
Photo: Itzik Biran

Almost three years after he made those wonderful and eventually world-beloved rhymes describing a flying Visit from St. Nicholas on Christmas Eve (originally composed "not for publication but to amuse my children," as he explained, decades later, in a printed letter to the editor of the New York American) Clement C. Moore gave the lecture transcribed herein, orienting new students and the public at large to significant challenges and rewards of learning to read the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew. The text follows the pamphlet edition of Moore's well-received discourse, issued soon after he delivered it by veteran printers Thomas and James Swords (New York, 1825). No illustrations appear in the 1825 publication; all images in the present article have been added for their educational value. 

I am grateful to Carolyn Wilson with the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary Libraries for expert help with locating this one of many choice items in the Nancy H. Marshall "A Visit from St. Nicholas" Collection, Call Number PS2429.M5 L4 1825. 

Permalink https://n2t.net/ark:/81220/w2f18sz04

A Lecture Introductory to the Course of Hebrew Instruction in the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, Delivered in Christ Church, New-York, on the Evening of November 14th, 1825. By Clement C. Moore, A.M. Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature 

via The New York Public Library Digital Collections

At a meeting of Trustees of the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, held in Christ Church, New-York, November 14, 1825—after the delivery of a public introductory Lecture by Professor Moore:— 

The Right Rev. Bishop Hobart being in the chair:—

Resolved, that the thanks of the Trustees be presented to Professor Moore for the Introductory Lecture delivered by him this evening; and that he be requested to furnish a copy of the same for publication.

H. U. ONDERDONK, Secretary.

LECTURE.

THE following discourse is intended to serve as an introduction to that department of study, in the Theological Seminary, which is committed to my care. But it is hoped that some gratification may, at the same time, be afforded by it to all who feel an interest in the advancement of sacred literature and in the concerns of our infant institution. 

The subject to which our attention is now invited is the volume of Hebrew Scriptures; a book whose antiquity, surpassing that of all others, should alone be a powerful title to the respect of mankind; a book which has, for ages, excited the liveliest interest and keenest curiosity, among the profane as well as the religious, among its opponents as well as its defenders; which affords to the curious rich treasures in various departments of literature, and which, even under all the disadvantages of translation, calls forth the admiration of the orator and the poet; a book which has been the subject of more discussion than any other in existence; which is almost as much encumbered by the friendly efforts of its commentators as harassed by the attacks of its foes; the history of whose editions forms, in itself, a distinct object of research, and displays a catalogue which would alone fill a volume. 

It is proposed, after noticing some of the objections urged against the study of this ancient volume, to make a few remarks upon the origin and nature of the Hebrew language, upon the most remarkable features of both the prose and poetry of the Hebrew Scriptures, and to conclude with some observations more especially intended for the students of the Seminary.

It is manifest that, upon an occasion like the present, we must confine ourselves to a mere glance at each of the topicks offered to our view.

The study of Hebrew is, by many, supposed to be one which cramps the intellect and renders the genius dull. The words of the satyrist have become almost proverbial:

"For Hebrew roots ——— are found

"To flourish most on barren ground."

Nor is this sarcasm without foundation in truth. The plodding after mere words, and the investigation of minute verbal distinctions, must have a tendency to lower the tone of the mind and to cloud the fancy, to draw the thoughts away from what is noble and elevated, and to turn them upon things comparatively low and trifling; to hinder the native aspirations of a generous mind, and to invest it with an air of stiffness and pedantry. But in the cultivation of this language there is no necessity to be always occupied in digging among the roots, and clearing away the weeds and brambles; to him who, after a reasonable toil, will look up among the foliage and branches, an abundance of fragrant flowers and delicious fruit will present itself—flowers and fruits which the loftiest geniuses have delighted to cull, and upon which even the glowing and poetic intellect of Milton loved to banquet.

Another objection to the study of Hebrew is included in the sweeping prejudice, not unfrequently met with, against a learned clergy. They are, by many, supposed to neglect the spirit of their profession for the dead letter of it; to become proud of their scholastic acquirements, and to abate of their fervour and piety. By those who reason in this manner, the panoply of knowledge is considered as great an incumbrance to the native vigour of the mind as the unwieldy armour of Saul was to the limbs of his youthful and inexperienced champion. In all this, as in almost every trite saying or opinion, a portion of truth is to be found; and indeed there is not a natural feeling, or passion, or endowment of man, which is not equally liable to be abused, and with equal justice to be interdicted. Were a person to go the round of all the rules and prohibitions laid down by pious and conscientious writers, and endeavour to confirm himself to their several views, he would run the risk of losing the enjoyment of every sense, and of being debarred the use of every faculty. To forbid the acquisition of knowledge, because it may render a man vain, presumptuous, or pedantic, or more devoted to the improvement of his understanding than to the cultivation of his religious sentiments, would be to forego a certain good through fear of a possible evil, to shut one's eyes and grope in the dark, because men sometimes stumble in the light. Every attainment in knowledge may be somehow useful, and, upon occasion, turn to good account. And the long catalogue of names which might be cited, would afford an ample refutation of the charge sometimes brought against learning, that it is not perfectly compatible with great piety. But, to view the subject in a different light, we may observe that, as society increases in population and improves in its condition; as it becomes more wealthy, more refined, and more intellectual, more able to support those who think as a class distinct from those who work, the clergy must unavoidably lose much of their respectability in the eyes of their fellow-men, and consequently much of their usefulness, unless by the cultivation of their minds and by their attainments in the various branches of useful knowledge, they go along with the general progress of the community of which they form a component part; unless they fall into that subdivision of employment which, both mental and bodily, always marks the advancement of a people in numbers and prosperity.

I shall notice one other discouragement to the acquisition of Hebrew. Nothing is more common than the question, Of what use is it to spend time in learning to read our Bible in the original, when we have so good a translation, and when the other aids to the knowledge of the Scriptures are so abundant? It is very true, and we ought to be most thankful for it, that in all which essentially relates to our faith and practice, the unlearned may be as well grounded as the most erudite. We may add, moreover, that all the various readings touch nothing of material consequence to the doctrines inculcated in the Bible. And, while speaking of translations, it is a gratification to have an opportunity of noticing the superlative merits of our English version. Its fidelity and elegance are indeed surprising. I doubt whether any translation of any other book gives so true an idea of its original. And it is probable that no work, in any country, has had so much effect in giving stability to the language in which it is written. Our most favourite English authors, in every department of literature, become, in some measure, obscure, after the lapse of years. But the language of our English Bible remains perfectly intelligible to every capacity. Its beautiful sweetness and simplicity are admired by all whose taste is not vitiated by false refinement. And, while it continues to be statedly read in our churches and daily studied in our schools, it affords the best security we can have for the permanence and incorruption of our vernacular tongue. But, with all the excellence of this translation, it cannot give the characteristic life and vigour of the original. And it is manifest, that to be able to consult that original is, not only highly satisfactory, but of the greatest utility. All questions of verbal criticism on any part of the Old Testament must be decided by a resort to the Hebrew; and this may, in many cases, be done without a deep knowledge of the language; and be of special use in answering the cavils of the dishonest or the ill-instructed. But, to the proficient in that language, the benefits are important which may result from his attainments. Upon a competent knowledge of it, the whole fabric of biblical criticism rests. Without this knowledge, the student of the Bible may learn upon the authority of others, but he can never thoroughly pursue the investigation of any part of it by means of his own resources. What may be called the internal evidence of a passage, can exhibit itself only to a person familiar with the style and idiom of the original; before whom a sense sometimes arises which, although  he may not be able fully to impart the evidence of it to others, appears to him so just and true, that it seems like a ray of light from a brighter region. The question, What necessity is there to learn the ancient languages, when we have faithful translations? is very difficult to be answered in such a manner as to satisfy the inquirer; because it is the result of the want of an intellectual sense, which can only be acquired by study and experience. The attempt to explain to a person ignorant of any language but English, why the Iliad of Homer has a greater charm in Greek than in the elegant translation of Pope, would be like endeavouring to give an idea, by means of verbal description, of the sound of a musical instrument to one who had never heard it, nor any thing like it. It is not a part of our present business to enter into a philosophical investigation of the reasons why no translation can give an accurate idea of its original; yet it is a fact so well known to all who are conversant with different languages, that I may, without fear of contradiction from any but the ignorant, rank among the advantages to be derived from a competent knowledge of Hebrew, the great satisfaction afforded to the mind by reading the Old Testament in its original tongue. What the enjoyment must have been of those to whom the lofty effusions of Isaiah, the divine strains of the royal Psalmist, and the unrivalled imagery of the book of Job, were addressed in their native language, is beyond my conception; but, even with the imperfect knowledge to which we can now attain, the perusal of those compositions in the original, at times excites a pleasure in the mind, so pure and elevated that it cannot fail to impart to the intellect something of higher worth than mere enjoyment. 

The Hebrew, in its purity, is nowhere to be found but in the Old Testament. And those parts of it which are not in this tongue, are in the Chaldee dialect; which so much resembles it, that they can scarcely be called distinct languages. 

Hebrew Lexicon (1809) by Clement C. Moore

A great diversity of opinion exists among critics with respect to the origin and antiquity of this language; and much has been written in favour of various and conflicting theories and conjectures. Some suppose that the Hebrew, as we now have it in the more ancient books of the Old Testament, was the language first spoken by man, and that in which God conversed with him in the garden of Eden. It is, by the old writers, generally called sacred; and so far do some carry their veneration for it, as to imagine that it is the language used in heaven. Others, and particularly those of the school of Albert Schultens, deny to it the characters of antiquity and sanctity with which it is commonly invested. They suppose it, together with Chaldee, Arabic, and Syriac, to be derived from an original tongue now lost; and they style them sister languages. From this theory they infer the necessity of studying those cognate dialects, in order to obtain a thorough knowledge of Hebrew. A modern French writer* [* Fabre D'Olivet.] boldly maintains that this language is, in reality, the ancient Egyptian; and supposes that, like the Chinese and the Sanscrit, it is one of several original languages spoken by the first inhabitants of the earth. It is almost needless to remark, that the labours of the learned and the ingenuity of critics, when they thus travel out of the plain road of scripture history and ancient tradition, amount to little more than dark conjectures and unsubstantial dreams. Whatever may be the truth, this inquiry is one of mere curiosity to the antiquary and philologist, without, in the least, affecting the authenticity of the volume of Scripture. It would, indeed, be most grateful to feel assured that while we are reading the account of the creation of the world and of the formation of man, we use the very language in which God called the universe into existence, and in which he held converse with our first parents. But this would rather be a gratification of our feelings than a thing of any real importance to our knowledge or our faith. 

The proneness to theory which seems natural to man, is, perhaps, in nothing more manifest than in the attempts made by different authors to reduce the radical and derivative words in Hebrew to a regular system. One takes the Hutchinsonian philosophy as the basis upon which to build his structure, and supposes every root to have what is called an ideal meaning, indicative of the very essence of the thing signified; and takes it for granted, moreover, that, whenever a word expresses any operation of nature, it is to be explained by the philosophical theory of Mr. Hutchinson. Thus supposing, a priori, that this system of natural philosophy is true, and that the Hebrew language is so framed as to accord with it and to be explained by it. Another looks principally to the modern Arabic for assistance in cases of difficulty, and seems to consider that language as the great storehouse from which the deficiencies of the ancient Hebrew are to be supplied. Another pretends to have discovered a secret meaning in the characters of the alphabet. By him, it is supposed that each letter is a sort of hieroglyphick or symbol, expressive of a mystical sense; and that, in order to understand the true import of any word, the symbolical meaning of each letter must first be explained. I might go on to mention other fanciful opinions. But, what has been said is sufficient to show the various and widely diverging courses into which men are apt to run, when they depart from common sense and experience into the wilds of imagination and theory. With these profound and dark investigations the students of our seminaries are not expected to interfere. We shall consider the Hebrew simply as a language transmitted to us from men among whom it was in common use, and subject to the same changes, corruptions, and injuries of every kind that affect all things over which men have any control. 

The sound of this language, owing principally to it gutturals, is, at first, harsh to the ear of a learner. But it should be remembered that every foreign tongue requires some use to render it agreeable. The mere strangeness of the sounds of a language with which we are unacquainted, is apt to render it unpleasant to our ear. The Englishman laughs at the sound of French, and the Frenchman, probably with more reason, considers the sound of English as uncouth and barbarous. I am much inclined to think that, upon a fair comparison, no unprejudiced ear would give a preference to the harshness produced by our consonants crowded together, and sharpened by the continual recurrence of the sound of the letter s, over the full vocal breathings of the Hebrew, strengthened by the occasional roughness of a guttural, serving, like a discord in music, to render the other sounds more agreeable. 

The prominent characteristics of the language are conciseness, strength, boldness, and animation. It seems peculiarly adapted to the lofty and terrible, the deep and sententious. Its great simplicity renders it also capable of going at once to the heart and of expressing the most exquisite pathos. The adaptation of its sound to the sense is, in many instances, very remarkable. From the scanty number of writings which remain to us in this language, it must, of course, appear deficient in copiousness. Yet, even in the remnant which is still left, there is, frequently, an exuberance of expression which seems to argue that want of words was not its defect during its existence as a living tongue. But its characteristics will be more apparent by a transient view of the prose and poetry of the Old Testament; upon which it was proposed, in the third place, to make a few remarks. 

Those parts of the Hebrew Scriptures which are written in prose, are remarkable for the ease and clearness of their style, and their entire freedom from any thing like ambitious or unnecessary ornament. The descriptions to be found in them are like paintings whose lights and shades are in masses, and whose touches are few and bold. The effect produced by the Hebrew manner of relating, is, to place the objects and actions described immediately before the eye of the mind. The leading facts are seized by the author, and all attendant circumstances neglected. Thus a life and vigour are imparted to the descriptions and to the speeches quite peculiar to the scripture compositions. As, in the human countenance, more may, oftentimes, be conveyed by a flash of expression than by the most laboured words; so, in the Bible, a whole train of ideas is frequently awakened, or a most powerful effect produced, by some brief phrase or sudden exclamation. These writings possess a wonderful and unrivalled union of pathos and strength. In them every thing appears natural and unsought. And, with regard to the characters and conduct of persons therein portrayed, the most perfect candour and impartiality are manifest; their vices and crimes are related in as simple and unqualified a manner as their virtues and good actions. No false colouring appears to be thought necessary; all bears the stamp of truth and reality. But when we look attentively at the narrative parts of this sacred volume, we must be particularly struck with the view which it gives of the creature man; of the littleness and insignificance of all exterior circumstances, in comparison of what constitutes his real essence; how that breath of life breathed into him by his Creator, when unadulterated by vice, exalts him above all the accidents of time and circumstance. In naked purity in the garden of Eden—in the garb of a simple shepherd—of the cultivator of the soil—of the lowly servant of God—of the royal sage—of the triumphant conqueror—it is still the mind, the soul, the moral qualities of man which, in this holy volume, exhibit him in his real worth and dignity.

Kauffman Mishneh-Torah via the National Library of Israel

On the subject of Hebrew poetry, so much has been written that, even did time admit, it would be superfluous, on the present occasion, to enter minutely into a discussion of its merits. But the noble strains and sublime imagery of the Old Testament form such striking features in its composition, that they ought not to be passed over in total silence. We may observe, by the way, that much of what is generally styled poetry in the sacred writers, might, perhaps, with more propriety be classed under the head of oratory. But, without discussing the accuracy or inaccuracy of terms, we may remark that what is generally comprehended under the head of poetry, is easily distinguished from those parts, such as the historical books, which are undoubtedly prose. What may strictly be termed Hebrew poetry, is marked by a regularity of division in its sentences which makes an approach to metre. The selection of words appears to be more choice than in prose, and the language is generally of a more lofty character. Some critics also pretend to distinguish certain words which are peculiar to poetry. It may, however, be doubted whether we have enough of the language remaining to enable us to form any certain rules on this subject. But the blaze of magnificence displayed in the Hebrew poetry arises not from the selection of words or arrangement of phrases. It is due to the subjects treated of, to the imagery employed, to the feelings which are expressed and awakened, to the boldness of its flights, to the awfulness of the ideas it presents, and to the immensity of its range, "as high as "heaven"—"deeper than hell." The effect of this poetry upon the mind resembles that produced by the view of the great works of nature; it is irregular, but with an irregularity which could not be changed without destroying its effect. It is composed of features too great to be submitted to the strict canons of criticism. It is the voice of the thunder or of the whirlwind which strikes our ear; it is the expanse of the firmament which meets our eye:  all creation rises before us; it is the voice of nature inspired by nature's God. Let not the cold-blooded critic, who sees nothing but through the medium of books, who weeps and laughs by rule, and who can feel no admiration but with the permission of Aristotle; let him not come within the verge of this sacred domain; here is no school for him. The study of these compositions teaches us to contemplate the material universe unchanged by art, and the native feelings, emotions, and passions of men, unsophisticated by the artificial bonds of society and refinement. In the works of nature we may, here and there, be struck with appearances of regularity which remind us of the hand of man. So, in the poetry of the Hebrews, passages occur which  coincide with the rules of art. But, who that looks at a magnificent forest, planted by the hand of nature, would wish to see its trees growing in even rows and at equal distances? Who that beholds the starry firmament would desire to see the multitude of shining worlds, which now appear to be thrown into space without effort from the Creator's hand; who would desire to see them ranged in regular figures and disposed in parallel and equal lines? No! before that poetry criticism remains silent and abashed. We there walk abroad into the wide world, and view the mountains and the vallies, the stars of heaven, the flowers of the field, the desert wastes, and the peopled regions of the earth; and, as we proceed, a heavenly fire kindles all into life and motion; the mountains and the hills tremble; even hell from beneath is moved; the fir-trees and the cedars rejoice, and the desert blossoms as the rose; the morning stars sing together, and all the sons of God shout for joy. 

Such, my young friends, is the wonderful volume, to the study of which a large portion of the time to be passed by you in the Seminary is allotted. When the difficulties of its language are surmounted, it opens an abundant store of treasures to the antiquary, the historian, the  chronologer, the philologist, the grammarian, the orator, the poet, and the divine. Its entire freedom from every thing that makes the least approach to affectation; the unrivalled simplicity of its style; its admirable touches of pathos; the perfect picture of nature in its narratives and descriptions; the beautiful metaphors, allegories, and similes; the noble hymns of praise; the profound strains of penitence and prayer with which it abounds, added to its high and holy import, render it a work of a nature fitted, in every point of view, to excite the most intense interest, and to afford the most exquisite gratification. And I hope it is not presumptuous in a layman to dissuade you from being influenced by the practice of those bold critics who, by conjectural emendations of the original text, attempt to throw light upon such parts of it as the lapse of ages has rendered obscure. This volume is like a beautiful old picture which has come down to us in a state of extraordinary perfection. Some defects and blemishes, it is true, appear; but they materially hurt neither the design nor the colouring; and it is not for modern and obtrusive hands to attempt to repair the injuries done by time to such a venerable and matchless work. 

To those of you who are just entering upon the course of study in our Seminary, I think it right to state some of the difficulties which will meet you in your progress, in order to save you from disappointment, and to awaken you to forethought. It is a very general opinion, that Hebrew may be learned with great ease. It is true, that the language is simple in its structure; that the number of words is fewer than in less ancient languages; that the sentences are not long; and that the compound words are comparatively few. But its simplicity and brevity are often attended with great obscurity. The paucity of words, or rather of books containing those words, occasions uncertainty, as to the meaning of a considerable proportion of them. To a beginner, every thing in the language is new and strange. The appearance and sound of the letters, and the manner of writing them, are different from what we are accustomed to in the western languages. More than two thousand radical words, with their derivatives, must be committed to memory, and their various shades of meaning, rendered familiar. It is necessary to become acquainted with the characteristic modes of expression, of the language in general, and of each different author in particular. The obscure passages are to be examined; and, among the multitude of conjectures offered by various commentators, that which, in our estimation, is most probable, is to be selected; and, perhaps, after all our search, we may be able to find none upon which our minds can rest with entire satisfaction. In short, with  every aid which may be obtained for the acquirement of any branch of knowledge, if many things are to be imprinted on the memory, and if the powers of investigation are to be much exercised, no great proficiency can be made, except by very extraordinary minds, without much time and great diligence. 

I have thus set before you what appears to me to be the truth, without any endeavour to hide or disguise the impediments with which you will probably meet; for, in this world of false and vain shadows, truth is the most desirable of all things; and, though casuists may teach that it is not at all times to be disclosed, I am unwilling to suppose it expedient to make use of any thing towards you that approaches to dissimulation. I trust that no one who has a sincere desire of attaining to useful knowledge, and who is not deficient in spirit and ability, will for a moment hesitate to meet the difficulties just held up to view, if he reflect upon the advantages which are to be derived from the steady pursuit of his object; and, particularly, when it is remembered that those difficulties, like most others, continually dwindle away by being steadily encountered. 

It is to be observed, that a complete course of Hebrew would include far more than can be attained during the time allotted to this department in our Seminary. It, therefore, becomes necessary to devote particular attention to such parts as are the most natural introduction to higher branches; such as contain principles most generally applicable; such as promise to be most useful to those who may not have opportunities to pursue their studies after they leave this institution; such also as most require the aid of an instructor. In order to attain, as much as possible, these different ends, the principle kept in view, throughout the course, is, to avoid hypothesis, and to inquire after facts. In the study of this, as of other languages, there are, what may be termed, the theory and the art. In the theory are comprised the various speculations of learned men respecting the language, its antiquities, and its curiosities; which may be read and studied without obtaining any real knowledge of it; and which enable people to talk learnedly about it, without rendering them competent to translate or understand the most ordinary passage. The art, on the other hand, is conversant with the method of acquiring skill in the language itself; and requires much and constant practice and close attention. It is with the art, as distinguished from the theory, that the students of this Seminary are principally occupied. Some who enter the institution may, perhaps, expect to pursue their Hebrew studies by learning a few leading principles of the language, by making themselves acquainted with some passages of Scripture in the original, for the purpose of illustrating those principles, and by devoting the chief part of their time to attendance upon lectures, and to the hearing of discussions, criticisms, and entertaining conjectures relative to the various branches of oriental literature. All this is very well for those who have passed through the real study of the language. But we have little time for such luxuries in the present state of our Seminary. We are, as yet, what our name imports, a place where seeds are to be planted, and where, of course, much labour and industry are requisite before they produce fruit. It is hoped that no student will feel disappointed at finding the mode of learning there carried on in the old-fashioned manner. It seems to be by some imagined, that knowledge may be acquired without any other exertion than the trouble of listening; as though they were vessels capable of receiving and retaining information poured into them by others. I freely confess my entire ignorance of the manner of effecting this sort of inspiration. It will be expected of the students, directed by the experience of their professor, to acquire what they learn, by the exercise of their own faculties, and the exertions of their own diligence.

It is needless to speak of the benefits, which, in a religious point of view, must result to society from having a number of young men go into the world well acquainted with the sacred volume which has been the subject of the foregoing reflections. But the diligent study bestowed by you upon it, cannot fail, my young friends, of also having a most salutary influence upon the literary character of your country. The tendency of the present day, in all matters of taste, is false refinement and excessive ornament, to the neglect of what is useful and essential, in favour of what is merely exterior and accessary. The conscientious and diligent study of the Hebrew writings cannot fail, in some measure, to counteract this tendency. The frequent perusal of what is simple, natural, and unaffected, must impart to the mind somewhat of those qualities. The overwhelming importance of the subjects there embraced, must likewise, on a mind that is not vitiated, induce an habitual dislike to all meretricious ornament. No clergyman who feels the power of the truths he inculcates, can have an affected and unnatural manner. Where there are weight and interest in the subject, the style readily becomes simple and easy. And it should be impressed on your minds, that our Seminary, in particular, while yet in its infancy, depends mainly for its reputation, upon the efforts of its students. It has yet to struggle against the opposition of its enemies, the tardiness of its friends, and the indifference of the multitude. Much may be done by your diligence and industry towards raising the character of your profession, and towards rendering the Seminary an object of more importance in the eyes of your countrymen. If once it be found to grow more independent, more able to take care of itself, men will be more ready to help it forward. And it is my ardent hope, that, at least, some of you may live to see our institution grow to that condition at which every enlightened friend to our Church must pray that it may arrive. May you see it extended, honoured, and cherished; and, above all, may you behold it replete with that comprehensive wisdom of which it is said,—

"she is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; therefore can no defiled thing fall into her. For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all things; and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new; and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God, and prophets. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. For after this cometh night: but vice shall not prevail against wisdom."

THE END. 

New York Daily Advertiser - Tuesday morning, November 15, 1825

Professor Moore in Hebrew class, as remembered by his students 

William Croswell, writing home on October 30, 1826:

“We are yet in the very rudiments of the Hebrew, and our advances are perfectly snail-like and imperceptible. If Professor MOORE was not one of the most mild and unassuming men of learning in the world, he could never tolerate the stammering and blundering of such full-grown novitiates in the Hebrew horn book. But he is Clement by nature, as well as by name. It is related of HUTCHINS, that he once indulged his disposition for pleasantry by playfully translating a passage of Scripture, 'I love CLEMENT C. MOORE (clemency more) than sacrifice.’” 

-- A Memoir of the Late Rev. William Croswell, D. D. by his father Harry Croswell (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1853) page 32.

Clarence Augustus Walworth:

"Santa Claus himself could not be more welcome to children than was this odd and genial man upon his appearance in the Hebrew class. He was very particular in his ways; but one great feature of his peculiarity was, that he was utterly unartificial. He was droll, but unconsciously so. He never joked in the class, but always something made the classroom seem merry when he was in it. He was a true scholar in Hebrew. His knowledge of Hebrew words did not seem to be derived from the dictionary alone. He knew each word familiarly, and remembered all the different places where it occurred in the Hebrew Bible, and so could prove its significance in one place by the meaning which necessarily attached to it elsewhere."

--The Oxford Movement in America, Or, Glimpses of Life in an Anglican Seminary (New York: The Catholic Book Exchange, 1895) page 7. 

Francis Prioleau Lee (age 19) from his diary entry dated March 8, 1834:

" ... On meeting Her my sensations were very queer. This is the first blush I ever accomplished that I recollect. I blushed once since when I made a bad recitation in the lecture room of our Hebrew Professor (Dr. Clement Moore). These two blushes shall be immortal. I hope that I shall never have similar occasions for such displays."

Francis P. Lee Papers, Transcription of Francis P. Lee Diary, 1833-1835. William & Mary Libraries, Special Collections Research Center. 

A Compendious Lexicon of the Hebrew Language in two volumes (New York, 1809) by Clement C. Moore 

• Digital versions of both volumes are accessible online courtesy of 
  HathiTrust Digital Library:
  Volume 1: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101071974685
  Volume 2: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101071974693

Related posts 

• What Moore taught in 1823, and how
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/03/what-clement-c-moore-taught-in-1823-and.html 

• Early praise for Moore's 1825 lecture
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2024/11/early-praise-for-clement-c-moores-1825.html

• Clement C. Moore on Hebrew poetry and the Bible
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/03/clement-c-moore-on-hebrew-poetry-and.html 

• Samuel H. Turner's 1850 dedication
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2017/02/samuel-h-turners-1850-dedication-to.html

• I cannot pretend to judge of their piety - Moore vs academic inquisitors https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2016/02/i-cannot-pretend-to-judge-of-their.html

• Clement C. Moore on wine in the Bible
  https://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2018/01/clement-c-moore-on-wine-in-bible.html