The works of the Rev. William Thom, late minister ... - waughfamily.ca

! ledge,ItainlyLETTERS, TRACTS, Wl.33_^"But a very little refle£lion convinced us of tlie contrary.Had we needed any further degrees of know-the reverend mhiifters of this city would cer-have told us about it. They are our fpiritualphyficians, and they certainly know bed when it isproper to give us any frefh recruits of knowledge,which is faid to be the food of fouls.We liAve heard, indeed, that thi;5 fcli^me for an a-cademy has been commended by feverai country miniflers.But can the phyficiaii of an infignificant^ country village be expected to have the fame knowledgein bufinefs with his wealthier brethren whopra6tife in large and populous cities ? Can a countryniinifter, the fpiritual phyfician perhaps of fome moorlandcongregation, be expe6led to know what fpiritualregimen is proper for the inhabitants of Glafgow,the mercantile part of the nation ? beings,, one mayfay, of a fuperior order to the creatures with whomhe ufually converfes. Knowledge of every kind, too,,has always, with great jufhice, b sen valued accordingto the money that is made by it. A country minifter,who earns only fifty pounds a-year by his knowledge,cannot be fufpected to have any confiderablequantity of it.^ No fober perfou will ever comparehis underftanding to that of a city minifler, whogains triple the fum by his knowledge. The countryminifter's knowledge can be neither very deep norextenfive, v/hen it brings him in fiicli a fmail portionof money..We mention thefe things, Brethren, that you maycontract no favourable imprelhons of this academyfrom the opii-ion of thefe country niiniitcrs. Theminiilers of this opulent city have never exprefledany liking to it; they have never made any,naotiontoward getting it erefted ; we are therefore fully fatisfiedthat it. has a very dangerous tendency.Let us now examine the advantages of the academyas they are fet forth in that pamphlet.F f 2