History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

1750.] DISMISSAL OF REV, JONATHAN EDWARDS. 225
Pastoral Relations Mucli may be Said Oil both sides of this conuot
Indissoluble, trovovsy, and neither party can be deemed
entirely blameless. The ground has been
so thoroughly covered by other writers that it is needless
to enter largely upon the matter here. In those days the
dismissal of a pastor was by no means a rare occurrence.
The impression prevails that then clergymen were settled
for life. That was the understanding among pioneer
churches, and in the majority of cases, so resulted. Still
when a church and people found sufficient reasons for parting
with a pastor, they had no hesitation about dismissing
him. During a little more than thirty years—from 1721 to
1755—no less than six clergymen were dismissed within a
radius of twenty-five miles of Northampton, and within
the bounds of what then constituted the County of Hamp-
shire.
Extenuating cireum- Not a little severe and in some degree just
stances. criticism has been bestowed upon the peo-
ple of Northampton, for the bitterness of
their opposition to Mr. Edwards. Sharp controversy and
extreme partisanship were characteristic of the times. In/
a community where the clannishness of relationship largelji
prevailed, personalities were brought into every contest/
Letters to government officials concerning local disagreements,
to be found on file in the archives of the state,
amply prove this assertion. It will be remembered that
during the contest over the settlement of Mr. Breck at
Springfield, in which Mr. Edwards bore a conspicuous
part, so strong was the partisanship displayed, that the aid
of the County Court was invoked by one party to silence
their opponents. While there may be no sufficient apology
for the unchristian hatred which pursued Mr. Edwards to
his dismissal, there are still extenuating circumstances. Tof
the people of Northampton, the religious opinions byl
which they had been so long governed, were no less signifij
cant than were to Mr. Edwards the principles by which h'
sought to supplant them. The battle of methods wai
fought out on both sides with equal zeal and ability.
There is another consideration, which though it may be
deemed of slight importance in comparison with other