*:-:%' Snpravrd /or Jty/andr Zi/? <?f Jfhrd. ^X & Coffrr sculp . \LF1EB the. -GEEAT Born at Wantage 84Q. Died in the Tear. Q00 . -/>om an antirnt jPtctarr in t/tr Ibfitssian o/'-DC th/sor,/ , "V*
THE LIFE and CHARACTER dF ALFRED the GRJEAT.
THE LIFE and CHARACTER O F ALFRED the GREAT, DRAWN From the more ample View of him in the First Volume in Folio of the BIOGRAPHIA BRITANNICA, With other AUTHORS. To which is annexed, A Head of Alfred, engraved by Mr. Trotter. . -> r . . ., -. .... . ' in ■ '«■■ ■ <m> * By JOHN R Y L A N D, A. M. - Of NORTHAMPTI L O N D O --Kt 4/ Printed for Charles Dilly, lit thfr Poultry ;. and John Stockdale, Piccadilly.
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DEDICATION. To the SOCIETY for CONSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION. Gentlemen*. EXAMPLES of wisdom, integrity, fortitude, and benevolence, have, in all ages, been the objects of admira tion and love ;. and those great and good men* who have set themselves up to pub lic regard by their valour and love of their country, ought to be considered as the best benefactors to mankind. The histories of the Greeks and Ro mans furnish us with amazing patterns of personal and social virtue, and the Sacred History exhibits that virtue as en nobled and adorned by true piety : the characters of Joseph, Daniel, and Mordecai, as statesmen, are most lovely A 5 and
vi DEDICATION. and alluring : the character of Joshua, of David, and of Joab, as warriors, strike us with astonishment and delight. If we descend to the history of our own country, we view a race of states men, lawyers, heroes, and philosophers, worthy of everlasting remembrance and imitation: the names of Raleigh, Hampden, Pym, Hale, Russel, Sydney, Locke, Newton, and Marlborough, can never be mentioned but with distinguished ve neration and esteem. Amidst all the shining characters of ancient and modern times, Alfred, the grandson of Egbert, the first monarch of England, holds a place of the greatest dignity and lustre : and we are bound by gratitude and justice never to let his name and virtues be lost in oblivion, as we owe to him all the great outlines of the good old British Constitution. That constitution which You, gentle men, are so laudably zealous to restore to its original purity, beauty and strength; and in these brave and generous efforts you have not only my ardent wishes and most
DEDICATION. vii most cordial approbation, but you have the concurrence of many thousands of the best Britons who have not yet joined your association. Having for many years made the vir tues and actions of Alfred the object: of my contemplation and delight, a love to the rising generation prompted me to publish this short sketch of his life and character. Neither the matter or lan guage, describing his life, is new : it was extracted from a work that is now out of print, and not known to one in a thousand of our young people. To give an easier and clearer concep tion of the whole, I have divided the life into thirty sections, and to which I have annexed my idea of his character, viewed in his natural powers, his moral virtues, his political and military talents, and his religious principles and practice. - "To You, gentlemen, I dedicate this little work ; to You it most peculiarly belongs : because, if I am not greatly de ceived, You have the true ancient British spirit ; You equally abhor anarchy and rebellion
viii DKDICJLTnom rebellion in the people, and despotism and tyranny in the prince;. You wistt to see the; crown as King George the Third shine with the most distinguished lustre, and You desire. to see the people in the utmost possession of all their natural, civil, and religious rights. Yon know as well as any men in Bri tain, that just and equal liberty is the birthright of every man all round the globe, and- that tyranny and oppression are the bane and pest of all private and public- virtue. A slave is capable of no thing great or goodj he is a disgrace to the rational nature derived to him from the fountain of light and truth ; he is a mere beast of burthen, to be bought and fold in the public market, and to be con sidered as a part of the live stock of the tyrant who holds the whip over his back. Go on, Gentlemen, to assert the; native rights of every rational creature which God has made: go on to diffuse light and truth, liberty and public spirit, thro? all the cities and counties of Great-Bri* tain : go on to assist the brave people o£ Ireland;
DEDICATION. ix Ireland in their noble efforts to regain their constitutional .rights to the utmost extient : go on to spread through all Eu rope, Asia, and Africa, the same princi ples and the fame spirit : go on to make> Your names and virtues immortal as Your existence, and dear to ages and ge nerations yet unborn. Live, while You live for the good of Your country, and die, when You die in the favour of that Infinite Being, who is the father of rea son, and the friend and patron £f Liberty. In this dedication of the Life and Character of Alfred the Great, to your society, I am the most perfect vo lunteer j it is entirely unsolicited by any, and unknown to all, but two of your worthy members. Nothing but an admiration of Your virtues, and an approbation of Your prin ciples and views, could have drawn from me this preface. I disdain the temper of a sycophant and a mercenary scribbler : a writer for hire in the cause of virtue, truth, and liberty, is a disgrace to letters, and the most odious and contemptible of
ac DEDICATION. of all characters. Let such writers al ways have the honour to appear on the opposite side of the question, and be the tools to tyrannical ministers to the end of the world. I am, With the sincerest veneration and esteem, - Gentlemen, Your faithful friend, And obedient servant, JOHN RYLAN0. Northampton, January io» 1784. . . ", ; 1 . . ; . . . . '..j .' . i . . 1 / ,-j ' ..' ' . . • ,. . ... . ) - . » ^ .. - .> 4 i . - '-..i , A.VIEW
VIEW of the CONTENTS Of the LIFE of ALFRED the GREAT. Sect. I. fT^HE birth os Alfred, m the year 849. II. jL He was crowned at Winchester, anno 871. III. His wars with the Danes. IV. Obliged to retire into obscurity, at the cottage of his cow-herd ; and to his castle in the Isle of Athelney. V. Assisted by the Earl of Devonshire. VI. He disguises himself in the character of an har per, and visits the Danish camp. VII. He restored London to more than its former glory- VIII. He loved liberty, and hated tyranny. IX. He divides Great-Britain into shires and hun dreds. X. Thieves deterred from robbery by his strict jus tice. XI. He advanced learning amongst his nobles and clergy. XII. He encouraged religion with Zealand wisdom* XIII. Honored all learned men. 3 XIV. H«
VIEW of the CONTENTS. Sect. XIV. He set up schools. and colleges. XV. He preserved military discipline with great pru dence. XVI. Assembled his parliament twice a year. XVII.. He laid the foundation of the English con stitution. This was solid glory and real greatness. ' , .. - XVIII. The beauty of hi* personal character. XIX. His rational and masculine piety. XX. His wife management of his revenue for the happiness of his people. XXI. He devoted half his time and revenue to Gocl. XXII. His prudent self-government and mercy to his enemies. « XXIII. His temper always chearful and serene in the most awful difficulties. XXIV. His honours and fame in all Europe, and his peaceful death. XXV. His noble character celebrated by many pens. XXVI. Milton's excellent display of his character* XXVII. account of his wife laws- XXVIII. • of Alfred'* improving his time, XXIX. —--—, stiles him the Mirror of Princes. XXX. Precepts and instructions of King Alfred. King. Alfred's preface to the Bishop of Lon don. The character of Alfred in his na tural povneis-"his moral virtues-rhis religious principles and practice, A view ot the principal writer^ of his Life, bosh ancient and modem* - ' An account of the fine Picture of Alfred hi , . . Stationer's Hall, . done by Mr.- West, at tie expence of Mr. Boydell. .' ,..,/.• • .....•:..(.-. .C-...1 "I .1 r ' •*/]" -
The LIFE of ALFRED the GREAT. SECTION I. The Birth of ALFRED, in the Year 849. THIS great King, justly esteemed one of the most illustrious monarchs that have adorned the British Throne, was born at Wantage, in Berk shire, (then a royal seat of the kings of the West- Saxons) in the year 849- Ethelwuif, his father, son of the great Egbert, who sirst gave this kingdom the name of England, reigned over the West-Sax ons, who were now the chief of the Heptarchy y of which, indeed, only the kingdoms of Msrcia and of the Northumbrians remained, and they were upon the decline. Ethelwulf was a man of singular piety ; to manifest which, he sent his youngest son Alfred, when but sive years old, to receive consirmation ; or, as others fay, regal unction, from the hand of the Pope : whether moved to ir, as some historians tell us, by admonitions from heaven, or from his discernment of superior genius in the child, we take not upon us to fay. Certain it is, Leo IV. anointed him, fliling him his son, and prognosticating his future greatness. Ethelwulf himself afterwards made a journey to Rome, and again took his sou thither, where he continued a twelvemonth. B SEC
4 The LIFE of ALFRED. S E C T I O N IT. He was crowned at Winchester, anno 871. Ethelwulf left four sons. The three elder regu larly succeeded to the throne, and resigned it, after short reigns, to Alfred, the youngest, who had given Ijery early and manifest proofs of his courage and ability, though his inclinations rather led him to the silent pleasures of literature, than the noisy tu mult of war. The times however called for activity, and, unwilling as he was, (well foreseeing the dan gers and difficulties) to ascend the throne, yet at the earnest importunity of the nobles and peop'.e, he took the reins of government, and was crowned at Winchester in the year 871, and of his own life the twenty-second. Young indeed, to wield so im portant a sceptre, and to guide the helm of an almost ship-wrecked government. SECTION III. His Wars with the Danes. The Danes had poured innumerable multitudes into the island ; and that very year eight battles had been fought between them and the Saxons. The strength' of the la'ter was almost wasted, while the former was constantly renewed, under every loss, by fresh shoals of their adventurous countrymen. Alfred was obliged to put on his armour, as soon as his crown ; and a bloody battle was fought at Wilton, in Wiltshire ; where, though the king was defeated with some loss, yet so great was the fame of his arms, and the dread of the Danes, that they made a treaty with him, and retired from his dominions info "those cf the king of Mercia, &c. Where prosecuting their conquests, and being the next year reinforced 3 ty
The LIFE of ALFRED. 3 by a strong body of their countrymen from the con tinent ; they at length, after various noble struggles oh the part of Alfred, so much prevailed, and so wearied out the Saxons, that they could no longer be persuaded to make head against them. Some re treated into Wales ; others submitted to the usurpers : Alfred himself was obliged to comply with the ne cessity, and therefore assumed a disguise the most likely to conceal him, not giving up either his hopes or courage ; but waiting for a proper opportunity to recover his throne, and restore liberty to his op pressed subjects. SECTION IV. Obliged to retire into Obscurity, at the Cottcge of his Cow-Herd ; and to his Cajlle in the IJle yAthelney. The King, after having properly disposed of his family, and settled a method of communication with his tried and faithful friends ; engaged himself in the service of his own cow-herd ; in which station, we are told, that one day he incurred the severe displea sure of his mistress ; who, having set a cake before the fire to bake, where the king was busily employed in trimming his bow and arrows, and finding it burnt, through his neglect of turning it, in her ab sence, (which she supposed he would have been care ful to do) she chid him very severely for his laziness; and told him, that though he could not turn a cake, he could eat it fast enough. This serves to shew how perfectly unknown he was. —However, ke soon left this station, and with his wife, and some of his valuable friends, found a safe retreat in the isle of Athelney, in Somersetshire ; which was secured by vast morasses around it, and accessible only by one, and that an obscure passage. The following story will convince us of the extremities to which Alfred . B 2 was
4 The LIFE of ALFRED. was reduced in his retreat to Athelney, as well as give a striking proof of his charitable disposition : a beggar came to his little castle there, and requested alms ; when his wife informed him, that they had only one small loaf remaining, which was insuffi cient for themselves and their friends, who were gone abroad in quest of sish and food, though with j ttle hopes of success. The king replied, " Give the poor Christian one half the loaf; he that could feed sive thousand men with sive loaves and two sishes, can certainly make that half of the loaf suf sice for more than our necessities." Accordingly the poor man was relieved : and this act of charity,which in a signal manner denotes the benevolence" of the king's heart, was recompensed by a providential store of fresh provisions, with which his people returned. SECTION V. Assisted and relieved ly the Earl of Devonshire. From this place of retreat, as well as from several others, the friends of Alfred and of liberty, fre quently sallied forth upon the Danes, and made dreadful havock of them-, but the bold attempt of Qdun, Earl of Devonshire, revived the courage of the English, and prepared the way for the total ex tirpation of the Danes. They came to besiege his castle : he and his followers sallied out upon them ; who, little dreaming of such an attempt, were routed with great slaughter ; flew Hubba, their chief com mander, and took their famous magic standard, the Raven, wrought by the sisters of Hinquar and HubSa, and revered as an hallowed ensign. These three sisters, as the tradition went, wrought the en sign, on puipose for this expedition, in revenge of their f'atl er Lodebroch's murder. It was made almost in an instant, being begun and finished in a noon-
The LIFE of ALFRED. 5 noon-tide, and was believed by the Danes to carrygreat fatality with it. The influence of superstition is prodigious, and it may be easily conceived, that the loss of this standard had no inconsiderable effects on both sides. SECT ION VI. He disguises himself in the Charatter of an Harper, end visits the Danish Camp, Encouraged, however, by this favourable success, Alfred determined to exert every effort. The junc ture was critical ; and, to improve it as much as possible, he resolved upon an exploit, equally hazar dous and important. He disguised himself like ail harper, and, under this character, had free admission, not only into the tents of the common soldiers, but into those of the chief Danish commanders. He continued three days strolling about the camp with his harp, observing all things with the utmost ac curacy ; and, perfectly well satissied with the infor mation he had gained, he retired again to Athelney ; thence dismissed his emissaries, and summoned, with ali privacy, his faithful subjects to meet him in arms at Brexton, in the forest of Selwood. They obeyed the summons of their beloved prince; and, sired with the hopes of liberty, marched towards the Danes ; fell upon them with incredible alacrity^cven when they had not tha least suspicion of a foe, and never imagined Alfred to be worthy their attention. The consequence was a complete victory. The Danes gave hostages, and'were obliged to submit to filch terms as Alfred should impose. He gave them their choice either to depart, upon oath, that they should never return ; or to embrace the christian re ligion, and be contented with such lands as he should appoint them. In short, he settle*! a firm B 3
6 The LJFJE of ALFRED, and hstjng peace; and, having delivered his kingr dom from its late miserable bondage, he applied him self, as a wife monarch, not only to secure the crown, but to cultivate his people, and to establish the most wholesome laws. SECTION VIL He rv/?$/v</ London to mor* than its former Glory. London had been almost destroyed by the Danes : Alfred restored it to more than its antient glory ; appointed it the place where the slates should asiemble twice every year, and declared it the metropolis of England. He also repaired and built several other cities and considerable towns. And, wisely considering, that it was not only much more easy-, but of much gi eater consequence to prevent the landing of his enemies, than to drive them back when landed ; he applied, with the utmost assiduity, to. the improvement of his navy. He was sensible of the natural advantages of this island, and he im proved those advantages. The destruction of se veral Danilh fleets sufficiently evinced his wisdom. He also regained all .the castles on the sea-coasts, and built a number of new fortifications. ... He loved Liberty, and hated Tyranny. . i : J £ . '} ' - 'j CJ - i it ►- 'A Oil J . -i r " :- . V No man; .could. be' a. more. absolute monarch than Alfred is^or besides, th,at^c' was the legal inheritor of tbe.aoijin^ he-had wop*fjt by his sword, and en- Jargedhis dofninipns beyond what any of his an cestors posst-fTed. But though thus absolute, he soon shewed, .th^ he desired. not to establish a tyranny» or to infringe the liberties of his people ; for the welfare of whom he proved himself eminently con- '" \ ' cerned,
The LIFE of ALFRED, cenied, by the laudable measures which he took to promote it.——Tha,t he might form the best body of laws possible, he consulted all the ancient laws, and from them composed a digest of such as seemed most equitable and proper for his people. To him we owe many of those advantages, which render our constitution dear to Us : for instance, trials by juries. If we rely on Sir John Spelman's conjec ture, his institutions were the foundation of what is called the Common Law : so stiled, either on ac count of its being the common law of all the Sax ons, or because it was common both to the Saxons and Danes. It it very observable, throughout his laws, how much a spirit of mercy discovers itself, and how great a regard is paid to the lives of his people. Recourse is not had to capital punishment for every minute offence ; a particular, well wor thy notice and imitation. It is also plain from his laws, that he looked upon himself as supreme head over the church in his own dominions; since he imposes such sines and punishments upon the clergy, as are inconsistent with a submission to the papal tyranny. SECTION IX. He divides Great-Britain into Shires and Hundreds. .But the kingdom was in a state of such confusion, that much more was necessary than the mere en acting of-llaws-: the discovery and prosecution of offenders were well nigh impossible. To remedy this, he divided the kingdom into Shires, Hundreds,' and Tythings. By which means the behaviour of every individual was known, .and every offender easily brought to justice. We cannot particularly explain all the laws respecting these divisions ; they ,-, t j ~ would
8 The LIFE of ALFRED would be too long for otir undertaking ; we must refer to the larger writers. The order of understieriffs, was appointed by him ; as also the use of writs, for the mean9 of just and ready prosecution of tight. SECTION X. Thieves deterredfrom Robbery by bisstrifl Justice. So strange and sudden a change, says Sir John Spelman, did these institutions produce in the king dom, that whereas before there was no travelling without arms ; there were soon, not only safe pas sages, but all places became so secure (as well they might, when the honsholders in every tything, or society of ten men, stood pledges to the king for the good appearance of themselves, and of all the head-boroughs in their tything) that when the king for experience fake, caused golden bracelets to be hung up in cross-ways, they seemed to deride the 5aflenger, for no man durst lay his hands on them. rirgias might safely travel anywhere alone. Nay, faith Ingulfus, if one left his money all night in the highways, he might come the next morning and be sure to sind it all untouched. A marvellous ef fect of a notable ordinance, and such perhaps as one would hardly believe either so suddenly to haveensued, or so far to have prevailed ! But who can imagine, that so exact a distribution of people, un der so strict a subordination of government, should produce less than an extraordinary effect ? In consequence of this division of his kingdom, he framed a book, called the Book of Winchester, which contained a survey of the kingdom, and of which the Doom's -day Book, still preserved in the Exchequer, is no more than a second edition. . - / SEC-
Thje LIFE of ALFRED. ' .9 SECTION XI He advanced Learning amongft his Nobles and Clergy. Notwithstanding the provision of good laws, and the division of his kingdom, by which the admini stration of justice was rendered easy; men were wanting, capable of administering justice ; and there was a fad dearth of such men, to the great chagrin and discontent of the king. Amidst the late devas tations and destructive wars, little regard had been paid to the cultivation of the mind : the high and low were almost equally illiterate. Hence a great part of the justice of the kingdom came, as it were, by appeal to be administered by the king himself : a burden which he bore with incredible patience and zeal; till, by due application, proper men were found to serve in the high offices of justice ; into which he never would admit any man, who was not reasonably qualified for them, or gave good hopes of future improvement. The consequence was happy : a harvest of able and worthy men sprung up, to the high honour of the king, and the hap piness of the subject. . . . ..-, s. '.s- r SECTION' XII. We encouraged Religion with Zeal and Wisdom. But his noble mind was not satisfied with endea vours for the external welfare of his people : he per ceived their manners greatly corrupt, and well know ing that the reformation is weak, which depends solely upon outward compulsion, he determined to . apply all his efforts towards enlightening their ig norance, and cultivating their minds. He very well knew, that this was to bc.done principally by instru ments
»o The LIFE or ALFRED, ments appointed to that end ; teachers of God's word, who by instruaibn, exhortation, and admO* nition, might bring about a perfect reformation.— But, alas » here again the good king was much at a loss. Religion was in no better a condition than the teachers of it. That was almost lost; these were almost universally ignorant. To apply, therefore* as early and as sufficient a remedy as the circum stances would admit, he himself commenced teacher, in a way which always hath been of eminent uti lity, amongst an uncultivated people. He composedj as weJl as collected, parables, fables, proverbs, moral and sacred songs. He was a poet of the first class for those times ; and, as the Monk of Malmsbury assures us, no less elegant in his compositions than in his delivery of them. The effect of his wife and pious care was eminent : his instructions were received with high satisfaction, and conveyed so pleasingly, that they made great impressions.' In somuch, that learning and civility, which had been long in contempt, became much in esteem, and ge nerally desired of every man. There is a collection of several of his precepts and instructions, in a ma nuscript of Sir Thomas Cotton's, which Sir John Spelman hath given us ; and which, though im perfect, cannot fail to be acceptable to the reader. SECTION XIII. He HONOURED Ull LEARNED MeN. But while the king was thus provided for the in struction of his people, he did not omit other me thods to promote learning, and encourage pious men. His liberality was great to such. He invited them into his kingdom from all parts ; and though, upon his accession to the throne, there was scarce a man in his kingdom. who could translate a Latin epistle,
The LIFE «f ALFRED. n epistle, or who understood the Latin service ; yet, in a few years, he furnished all his bishoprics with men, severa' of good learning, and, in general, com petently instructed and qualified for so great a charge. And for the promoting of good know ledge, as well as the preservation of it, he caused many parts of the scriptures, and several other use ful books to be translated into the vulgar tongue : nay, lie himself, (who, as he was the greatest, best, and wisest man in his kingdom, so he was the most learned) translated several pieces, and amongst the rest Gregory's Pastoral, concerning the duties of bishops and priests : a copy of which he sent to every bishop's son ; and in a preface to the bishop of London, recommends an exact attention to the work. This preface shall hereafter be given. SECTION XIV. He set up Schools and Colleges. The wisdom and piety of the king looked still fuither. He was desirous of a supply of good and able men to discharge the duties of church and state : and therefore he instituted schools, in various parts of the kingdom, and founded an university in Ox ford, sor the perfecting of his scholars in sound learning. Three halls were founded here, for the different branches of grammar, philosophy, and the ology; and a certain stipend settled for the main tenance of a professor and twenty-six scholars in each ; to be restricted under proper regulations, re specting their study and religious duties ; regula tions, which have constantly prevailed, and ren dered our English universities superior to those of different countries, where such pious decency, and Jsrlct regularity are not observed. But, not attentive only to matters of religion and literature,
il The LIFE of ALFRED, literature, he was no less careful to encourage in dustry. Artificers and manufacturers were invited from abroad, by the greatest encouragements : and his country was stored with men of abilities, in every trade and profession. By which means the wealth, and good order and felicity of his people, were remarkably advanced. SECTION XV. He preserved Military Discipline with great Prudence. His military discipline was no less admirable. We do not dwell upon it ; but we must not omit to mention the militia, which he formed, under such regulations, that -every single man, of his dominions, understood the use of arms ; and by means of bea cons placed' at proper distances, and lighted, upon any alarm, a body of well-trained forces, was ready to take up their aims, and assemble at the place of rendezvous, under the command of the lieutenant of the county, where the immediate service was re quired. His successes are a sufficient proof of his abilities in war. There have been few greater sol diers than Alfred. He fought fifty-six set battles, by sea and land ; and of these, eight in one year. Yet was he so far from being of a cruel, or ambi tious temper, that he never was the aggressor in any war, nor refused to grant peace, whenever it was tiesired. Nor was he less attentive to his naval than liis military force. He was the first English king •who seemed to assert the dominion of the sea, and .to be sensible of the happy situation of our island. As to the form of his ships, we are not quite cer tain. However, it is undoubted that he had vessels for traffick, as well as war. He traded to the East- Indies ; and, we are credibly informed, by authentic « • • records,
The LIFE of ALFRED. 13 records, that this enterprizing and sublime monarch even employed a person (Octher. a Dane,) to dis cover the north- east passage. Some account of his voyage remains to this day. SECTION XVI. Assembled his Parliament twice a Year. In the management of affairs of state, he made use of the great council of the kingdom ; consisting of Bishops, Earls, the King's Aldermen, and his chief Thanes, or Barons. These, in the first part of his reign, he convoked as occasion served : but, when things were better settled, he made a law. that twice in the year at least, an assembly should be held at London. As to extraordinary affairs, and such as would not admit of calling great coun cils ; the king acted therein, by advice of such bi shops, carls, and officers of the army, as happened to be about his person. section xvfr. He hid the Foundation of the English Constitu- T ion.—This wae solid Glory and real Greatness. Thus, great in war, and great in peace, he esta blished himself on the throne, and dispensed the most important blessings to his people. " Occu pied as he was, fays an historian, in this e;ieaC work of laying the foundation of the English Conr stitution ; his attention stooped even to the minutest circumstances of his people's conveniency. He in troduced the art of brick-making, and built his own houses of these materials ; which, being much more durable, sightly, and secure from accidents, than timber, his example was followed, first by his nobles, and afterwards by the subjects in general, C who
14" The LIFE of ALFRED. who vied with each other in expressing their reve rence and affection for this illustrious monarch. He was doubtless an object of the most perfect esteem and admiration ; for, exclusive of the qualities which distinguished him as a warrior and legislator, his personal character was amiable in every respect." . SECTION xvur. The BEAUTY of his PERSONAL CHARACTER. The pleasing business of representing this, still remains ; but the rational entertainment it will af ford, must be delayed till the next Section, when we (hall find, that his private virtues were not in ferior to his public ones ; and that, if few warriors have been moTe glorious ; few law-givers, more wife and successful ; few kings more great and ho nourable: few Christians have been more eminent and exemplary, for all the virtues which adorn their holy profession. SECTION XIX. His rational and masculine Piety. Alfred discovered, from his youth, the most se rious as well as studious disposition ; and his piety throughout his life was exemplary. He took care, as soon as he was established on the throne, not only to repair all the religious houses in his kingdom, but to erect and endow new ones, where he judged them wanting. " If we would reckon all, fays i>ir John Spelman, to which he was a benefactor, we must then reckon all that were then extant in this part of christendom, and in no small proportion neither." For having (as we shall by-and by shew) given the one-half of his yearly revenue to God, and so distributed it in parts, that one-fourth of it I should
The LIFE of ALFRED. -15 should be allotted for constant revenues to the mo nasteries of Æthelingey and Shaftlbury, of which he was the sole founder. He gave another fourth part to the relief chiefly of the religious houses of West- Saxony and Mercia; but in the second place to all such places in England, Wales, Ireland, and France, by turns, and as the most pressing need of any of them required. SECTION XX. His wist Management of his Revenue for tbf Happiness of his People. The reader must consider the state of religion in those times, and the excellent design of these hous.s in their first institution ; not the abuse of them, 111 their suture ages, to form a just notion of Alfied's ' regard to works of piety. Indeed, no one's religion could be more manly or rational, or more frees om the superstitious devotion which much prevailed in those days. He forsook not the world, nor the con versation os men ; but laboured incessantly for the advantage of the people, and was in all respects a burning and a ssiining light before them. Amidst all the storms and troubles of his state, he never shrunk from his holy resolutions, and the exact dis charge of his duty. He devoted to God one half of his annual revenue, to be employed in works of piety. And to this end, he caused his officers yearly to divide into two equal parts, by weight, the whole of his income ; and this done, to subdivide one of these halves, into four equal parts—the first of which he assigned to the relief of the poor in gene ral ; the second to the support of the monasteries he had built himself; the third to the maintenance of the schools, &c. which he had founded ; and the fourth to the general relief of all religious houses at C 2 home
j6 The L I FE of ALFRED; home and abroad, as we have mentioned above* The other half of his revenue was also divided into three parts, for three distinct uses ; for officeis, tees, "and wages ; for workmen and labourers' wages ; and forthe entertainment and reward of strangers. . We must not omit to mention, now we are speaking «f his revenue, that he was diligent in repairing all the royal palaces ; in founding towns and cities, and beautifying the kingdom. And being desirous of seeing his nobility about him, and keeping up a splendid and numerous court, he struck out a me thod of doing this without prejudice to the public* or his attendants, whose own affairs would not ad mit of their constant presence at court. He framed three different housholds, each under a separate Icrd-chanaberlain. These waited in their turns, a month every quarter ; so that in the year, each of the king's menial servants was four months at cpuit, and eight at home. In all other respects he was di ligent to keep up the dignity, lustre, and sobriety of his court ; where his own virtuous example, above all things, recommended the practice of sincere religion. SECTION XXI. He devoted half his Ti*me and Revenue to God. As he honoured God with his substance, so did he honour him no less with his personal service. We have two accounts of this matter, which arc easily reconciled. Aster, who lived with him, and wrote what he saw, asserts, that the king vowed, and accordingly dedicated, one half of his time, as well as of his revenue, to God. William of Malmstmry lays, that dividing the twenty-four hours into three parts, he devoted the first eight hours to God ; the lecond to the affairs of his kingdom ; and the third to
The L T F E ot A L F R E O. t? <o natural rest and refreshment. But as Asllr qua lisies bis account with telling us, that the king's vow was under many necessary restrictions, it bringsthe matter pretty near the other calculation. This division of his time was, as we have noted, in con sequence of a vow; and that vow was not made in the time of his distress, but immediately after he bad finished his monastery at Aithelney, when he was in full spirits, and the flower of his age.—The method he took for dividing his time was singular. As there were then no such things as clocks, or hour glasses,- in use, he caused fix wax candles to be made, each of twelve inches long, and of as many ounces weight : on these candles he caused the inches to be regularly marked,, and having found that one of them burnt just four hours, he committed them to the cafe of the keepers of his chapel, who from rime to time gave him notice how the hours went. But as in windy weather the candles were wasted by the impression of the. air on the flame, to remedy this inconvenience, he invented lanthorns,theTe be ing then no glass to be met with in his dominions. That part of his time which he dedicated to sacred, uses, he spent in healing the public offices of thechurch; reading the scriptures, and books of devo tion ; in meditation, and in writing. He always carried about him the Psalms, and the office of the day, with many blank leaves bound together with' them; in which he daily made collections of such divine sentences and portions of scripture, as served best to excite his devotion. And so 'much pleasu c did be take in this practice, that he called the litt'e hook, in which he wrote, his hand-book, because he had it, day and night, at hand with him. As to the public affairs of his kingdom; he assisted regularly at councils, and performed every tiling-, tiwt was incumbent upon him. At his leisure C 3, hooi*
i8 The LIFE of ALFRED. hours he confeired with men of learning. and such strangers as resorted to his court, of whom there were always not a few : or else he went to view his buildings ; or, as the season of the year directed, to partake of those innocent diversions, which were fit to recreate the mind of man, and were at the fame time not unworthy of a prince; such as hunting, hawking, and music, in all which he was well skilled, and took much delight. SECTION XXII. His prudent Self- Government, andMercy to his Enemies. In his very early youth, he watched over the ir regular appetites of his nature with the greatest at tention ; and as he was exercised with a weak frame and frequent infirmities, his mind was preserved in a continual dependance upon God. His devotion, which first lhewed itself in his youth, constantly accompanied all the actions of his life. Though! bred a man of war from his youth, the natural ten derness of his heart was nevsr hardened against his enemies. He ever sought to shew mercy to them, amidst their greatest provocations ; and wa never so truly pleased, as when he could bring the conclusion of the war to such terms, as to make an exchange of his own temporal victory for an eternal conquest of them to his Saviour. No wrong was so violent, no advantage against them of such consequence, but that all might be remitted, if once they offered to embrace christianity. The king's heart never ex ceeding moderation, but when religion over-softened it, in piety and ways of shewing mercy. SEC
The LIFE of ALFRED. 19 SECTION XXIII. His Temper always chearful and serene in the most awful Difficulties. In his private life, he was the most worthy, in dustrious, and amiable man in his kingdom : of so equal a temper, that after he had once taken the crown, he never suffered either unbecoming sadness, or gaiety, to enter his mind ; but appeared always of a calm, but chearful disposition : familiar to his friends; just and merciful to his enemies; kind and tender to all. His natural parts were strong and vigorous, as our brief account of him sufficiently proves. He was given from his childhood to be stu dious, to muse, and observe much ; by which we may conjectuie, that melancholy had the predomi nance in his constitution. It is said that he was twelve years old before he could read ; and, that then he was allured to it by the queen, his mother. She had a book of Saxon poems, which she often read to her sons ; and perceiving that they were mightily pleased with them, she promised to bestow it on him who could first get it by heart. This talk Alfred undertook, and performed wiihout in structor or assistant ; and gave thereby an early and wonderful proof of that zeal and industry in ac quiring knowledge, which his suture life so fully declared. It would be too long to rehearse what he performed as a man of learning. " If he had not been illustrious as a king, he would have been 'o as an author : as, on the other hand, if we had no memorials of his writings, he must have been ever" remembered as a protector of the muses." He was esteemed, fays Sir John Spelman, a profound scho lar for those times ; a grammarian, a rhetorician, a philosopher, an historian ; the prince of Saxon poets, well
90 Tub LIFE of ALFRED. well skilled in music, an excellent architect and geo metrician. . ; SECTION XXIV. His Honours WFame in all Europe, and bis peaceful Death. With these shining qualifications and exemplaryvirtues, it was no wonder that he was beloved of all the neighbouring princes, and honoured of all both far and near. He obtained, and justly, the surname of GREAT ; and having, as one expressesit, with a three-fold conquest—in his enemy, got the mastery of war— in his people, of vice— and in his own person, of human frailty' he died, uni versally lamented, as he had lived universally esteemed, after a glorious reign of upwards of twenty-eight years. in the month of October, 900,. aged fifty-two years. He was first buried in thenew abbey at Winchester -T but afterwards his body was taken up from thenGe, and buried in the abbey of Hyde, without the gates of Winchester. He married Ælwith, daughter of Earl Æthelred, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. Ed ward, his eldest, succeeded him in the throne: and, for the rest, he carefully provided by his will. His male descendants for ten successions wore the crown after him. And it pleased God, to shew such pe culiar favour to this king, that in every translation. of the crown, it hath fallen into families that have lineally descended, by the female side. from this first imperial founder of English monarchy. .. » . SECTION XXV. His noble Character celebrated by manyVtTSS.- Considering his actions and reputation, his true greatness and goodness, we might well expect, that many
The LIFE of ALFRED. 21 many writers should employ their pens on such a subject. And so it hath happened. But we shall not produce a variety of characters or encomiums. The following epigram, written by Henry of Hunt ingdon, which well describes his virtues ; and the character given of him, by Milton, in his history, will be sufficient. The former for the sake of the English reader, we give in the following translation, very little altered from that of Sir John Spehnan : Thy true nobility of mind and blood, O, warlike Alfred, gave thee to be good. Goodness industrious made thee : industry Got thee a name to all posterity. Thy hope with fear was evermore perplext, And all thy pleasure was with sorrow mixt, Tho' thou, this day, didst God for conquest bless, Next day thou didst dispute the last's success. O'ercome this day, next day, for all the blow, Thou giv'st or tak'st another overthrow. Thy brows from sweat, thy sword from blood ne'er dry, Shew us how great the load of royalty. The world cannot produce sp much as one, Who thro' the like adversities has gone; Yet found'st thou not the rest, thou fought'st for here, But with a crown, Christ gives it thee elsewhere. •; SECTION XXVI. Milton's excellent Display of bis Character. Milton's character of him is as follows : " He " was a person comelier than all his brethren, of "pleasing tongue and graceful behaviour; ready " wit and memory ; yet, through the fondness of " his parents towards him, had not been taught to " read
12 The LIFE of ALFRED. " read till the twelfth year of his age : bus the •' great desire of learning, that was in him, soon u appeared, by his conning of Saxon poems day *' and night ; which, with great attention, he heard " by others repeated. He was besides, excellent at " hunting, and the new art then of hawking ; but '* more exemplary in devotion, having collected " into a book. certain prayers and psalms, which he " ever carried with him to use on all occasions. ** He thirsted after all liberal knowledge ; and oft " complained, that in his youth he had no teachers, *' and in his middle age so little vacancy from wars " and the cares of his kingdom ; yet leisure he " found sometimeSj not only to learn much him- " self, but to communicate thereof what he could " to his people, by translating books out of Latin *' into English : Orosius, Boethius, Beda's history, " and others; and he permitted none unlearned to " bear office, either in court or commonwealth." SECTION XXVII. . Milton's Account of his wife Laws. ** At twenty years of age, not yet reigning, he *' took to wife Egleswitha, (or Ælswith) thedaugh- *' ter of Æthelred, a Mercian earl. The extremities " which beset him in the sixth of his reign, Neothan " the abbot told him, were justly come upon him, " for neglecting, in his younger years, the com- " plaints of the injured and opprefled,' who re- *' paired to him, as then second person in the king* " dom, for redress : which neglect, were it such in- *' deed, were yet excuseahle in a youth, through " jollity of mind, unwilling perhaps to be detained " long with fad and sorrowful narrations. But, '' from the time of his undertaking regal charge, " no man more patient in hearing causes, more " exact
The LIFE of ALFRED. 23 " exact in doing justice, and providing good laws, " which are yet extant ; more severe in punishing " unjust judges, or obstinate offenders, thieves espe- " cially. and robbers ; to the terror of whom, in " cross-ways were hung upon a post, certain chains " of gold, as it were, daring any to take from " thence ; so that justice seemed in his days, not " to flourish only, but to triumph." SECTION XXVIII. Milton's Account ^/"Alfred's improving hisTime. *4 No man than he, more frugal of two precious " things in man's life, his time and revenue ; no *' man wiser in the disposal of both- His time, *' the day and night, he distributed by the burning *' of certain tapers, into three equal portions; the " one was for devotion, the other for public or pri- " vate affairs, the third for bodily refreshment: how " each hour past he was put in mind by one who " had that office. His whole annual revenue, *' which his first care was should be justly his own, " he divided into two equal parts : the first he em- " ployed in secular uses, and subdivided those into - *' three ; the first to pay his soldiers. household ser- S** vants, and guard; of which divided into three - ". bands, one attended monthly by turn ; the second " was to pay his architects and workmen, whom " he had r;ot together of several nations, for he was " also an elegant builder, above the custom and *' conceit of Englishmen in those days ; the third " he had in readiness to relieve or honour strangers " according to their worth, who came from all parts *' to fee him, and to live under him : the other " equal part of his yearly wealth he dedicated to " religious uses, those of four sorts ; the first to re- " iieve the poor ; the second, to the building and " maintenance
24 The LIFE of ALFRED. " maintenance of two monasteries ; the third, of a " school, where he persuaded the sons of many no- " blemen to study sacred knowledge and liberal " arts, some fay at Oxford; the- fourth, was for the " relief of foreign churches, as far as India to the *' shrine of St. Thomas, sending thither Sigelm, ." Bishop of Sherborne, who both returned safe, «' and brought with them many rich gems and " spices ; gilts also, and letters he received from the " patriarch of Jerusalem ; sent many to Rome, and '.' for them received relics." SECTION XXIX. Milton stiles him the Mirror of Princes. *' Thus far, and much more might be said of his " noble mind, which rendered him the mirror of " princes. His body, diseased in his youth with *' a great soreness in the siege, and that ceasing of «' itself, he was tormented with another pain of un- »' known cause, which held him by frequent sits to " his dying day, yet not disenabled to sustain those " many glorious labours of his life, both in peace *' and war." We conclude his life with some lines by a mo dern poet, or his character in poetry— When Danish fury, with wide-wasting hand, Had spread pale fear and ravage o'er the land } In arms renown'd, for arts of peace ador'd, Alfred's the nation's father, more than lord, , Alfred arose ! and bade confusion cease, Bade order shine, and blest his isle with peace ; Taught liberal arts to humanize the mind, And heaven-born science to sweet freedom join'd, United thus, the friendly sisters shone, And one secur'd, while one adorn'd his throne. Amidst
The LIFE of ALFRED. SJ Amidst these honours of his happy reign, Each grace, and every muse compos'd his train, As grateful servants, all exulting strove, At once to spread his fame and share his love ! Having thus finished our account of the life of this great prince, we here subjoin, according to our promise, some of his precepts and instructions ; and his epistle to the bishop of London, prefixed Co his translation of Gregory's Pastoral. SECTION XXX. Precepts and Instructions es King Alfred. There fat at Siffbrd many Thanes, Many Bishops, many learned men, Wife Earls, and awful Knights, There was Earl Alfrich very learned in the lawj There was present Alfred, England's herd-man, England's darling. He was king of England, be taught them That cou'd hear him, how they ihou'dlead their lives. Alfred was a king of England that was very strong ; He was both a king and a scholar ; he loved well God's work. He was wife, and advised of his talk. He was the wisest man that was in all England. I. Thus, quoth Alfred, England's comfort; O that you would now love aud long after your Lord ; He would govern you wisely. That you might have honour in this world, And yet unite your fouls to Christ. Wife are the sayings of king Alfred. I mildly admonish thee my dear friend and beloved, Be'st thou poor or rich, that thou wholly dread l . . - D The
«S Thb LIFE of ALFRED. The Lord, Christ, love and delight in him, for He is Lord of Life : he is one God above all goodness. He is a bliss above all blessedness. He is one man, a mild master, he one common father, And comfort of all people ; he, one so wife and rich a Jcing, That he that in this world shall serve him, Shall not fail ought of his will. II. Thus, quoth Alfred, England's comfort; One can be no right ruling king under Christ himself, Unless we have learning, know the law, And understand the use of his writs, And be able by his own reading to inform him self how to govern his land according to law. III. Thus, quoth Alfred, England's comfort; The Earl and die Atheling are under the king, To govern the land according to law. The clergyman and the knight, must both alike judge uprightly, For as a man sows, So shall he reap : And every man's judgment comes upon him home to his own doors. IV. Thua, quoth Alfred : It behoveth the knight, Advisedly to look to provide. Against death and famine, and to have care of the military expedition that the church have Quiet, and the husbandman be in peace, His seed to sow, his meadows to mow, And to follow his ploughing to the behoof of us all-. This is the duty of the knight, to see that these things go as they should. V. Thus, quoth Alfred: Without wisdomt wialth is worth little. Though a man had an hundred and seventy acres sown
The LIFE of ALFRED. 27 sown with gold, and all grew like corn, yet were ail that wealth worth nothing, unless that of ao ene my, one could make it become his friend ; for what differs gold from a stone, but by discreet using of it. VI. Thus, quoth Alfred : A young man must never give himself to evil, though good befalls him not to his mind, nor though he enjoys not every thing he would ; for Christ can, when he will, give good after evil, and wealth after grace. Happy is he that is made for it. XIII. Thus, quoth Alfred : A wife child rs the blessing of his father. If thou hast a child, while it is yet but little, teach it the precepts that belong to a man, and when it is grown up it will follow them ; then shall thy child become such as shall recompence thee. But if thee letteft him go after his own will, when he cometh to age it will grieve him fore, and he. shall curse him who had the tuition of him ; then shall thy child transgress thy admonition, and it would be better for thee that thou hadst no child ; for a child unborn is better than one unbeaten. XXVII. Thus, quoth Alfred : ifthougrowest in age, hast wealth, and canst take no pleasure, nor hast strength to govern thyself, then thank thy Lord for all that he hath sent thee, for thy own life, and for thy day's light, and for ail the pleasures he hath made for man : and whatsoever beeometh of thee, say thou, come what come Will, <3od's will be welcome. XXVIII. Thus, quoth Alfred : worldly wealth at last cometh to the worms, and all the glory ©f it to dust ; and our life is soon gone. And tho"' one had the rule of all this middle world, and of the wealth in it, yet could he keep his life but a short while. All thy happiness would but work thy misery, unless thou couldst purchase thee Christ. D-2- Therefore
a8 The LIFE of ALFRED. Therefore when we lead otir lives as God hath taught us, we then best serve ourselves. For then be assured, that he will support us ; for so said So lomon, that wise man; well is he that doth good in this world, for at last he cometh where he findeth it. XXIX. Thus, quoth Alfred : my dear son, set thee now beside me, and I will deliver thee the tjrue instructions. My son, I feel that my hour is coming, my countenance is wan, my my days are almost done. We must now part. I shall go to another world, and thou shalt be left alone" in all ray wealth. I pray thee (for thou art my dear child) strive to be a father and a lord to thy people. Be thou the children's father, and the widow's friend. Comfort thou the poor and shelter the weak* and with all thy might, right that which is wrong. And, son, govern thyself by law ; then shall the Lord love thee, and God above all things shall be thy re ward. Call thou upon him to advise thee in all thy need, and so shall he help thee the better to compass that which thou wouldst. King Alfred's Preface to the Bishop ^London. Alfred, King, wishing greeting, to Wulfsig, Bishop, his beloved and friendlike, and I wish thee to know, that to me it cometh very often in mind, what manner of wise men long ago were throughout the English nation, both of the spiritual degree and of the temporal ; and how happy the times then were among all the English ; aiid how the kings, which then the government had of the people, God, and his written laws obeyed : how well they behaved themselves both in war and peace, and irt their home government ; how their nobleness was spread abroad, and how they prospered in knowledge and in wisdom. Also, the divine orders how earnest ^ they
THfc LIFE of ALFRED. 09 tbey were, as well about preaching a* about learn ing, and about all the services that they should do to God, and how men from abroad, wisdom and doctrine, here in this land sought ; and how we the same now, must get abroad if we would have them. So clean- is learning fallen among the English na tion, as that there has been very few on this side the Hurnber, that were able to understand the Eng lish of their service, or turn an epistle from Latin into English ; and I wot there were not many begond the Humber that could do it. There were so few, as that I cannot bethink me of one on the South side of the Thames, when I sirst came to reign. God Almighty be thanked that we have ever a teacher in pulpit now. Therefore, I pray thee, that thou do (as also I believe thou wilt) that wisdom that God hath given thee, bestow all about on them thou canst bestow it; think what punish ment shall for this world befall us, when as neither we ourselves have loved wisdom nor left it to others ; we have only loved the name that we are Christians, and very few of us the duties. When I minded all this, me thought also, that I saw (before all wa's spojfed and burnt) how all the churches through out the English nation stood filled with books and ornaments, and a great multitude of God's servants ; and at that time they wist very little fruit of their books because they could understand nothing of them, for that they were not written in their own language. So they told us, that our ancestors, that before us- held those places, loved wisdom •' and through the same got wealth and left it us. A man may hear, yet fee their swath, but we cannot en*quire after it, because we have let go both wealth and wisdom ; sor that we would not stoop with out minds to. the seeking of it. When I thought all this, then wondered I gr-catly, tkat'theirgbdly wise ly 3 men,
3<> Tfl* LIFE of ALFRED'. men, that were every where throughout the English nation, and had fully learned all those books, would turn no part of them into their own language ; but then, I again quickly answered myself, and said, they weened not that ever men should become so rechless, nor that this learning would so decay, therefore, they willingly let it alone, and wot that here would be more wisdom in the land, the more languages that we' understood. Then I called to mind, how that the law was sirst found written in the Hebrew speech, and after that the Greeks had learned it, they turned it into their own speech wholly, and also all other books : and then the Latin people, a little while after they had learned it, they translated-, all through wife interpreters, into their own lan guage, and all other christian people also have turned some part thereof into their own tongue. There fore me thinketh it better, if you so think, that wo also get some books that be deemed most needful for all men to understand, into that language turn, that we all know, and that we bring to pass (as we easily may with God's help,, if we have quietness) that all the youth of freeborn Englishmen (such as have wealth, that they may maintain them) be com mitted to learning, that while they no other note can, they sirst learn well to read English writing, afterward let men further teach in the Latin tongue, those that they will further teach, and have to a higher degree. When I minded how this learning vt the Latin tongue heretofore was fallen throughoat the English nation, though many could skill to read Englilh writing, then began I among divers and manifold business of this kingdom, to turn into Knglkh this book, which in Latin is named Paftoralis, and in English, the Herd-man's Book; some time word for word, some, understanding for un derstanding) <ven as 1 learned them of Phlegmond
The LIFE of ALFRED. 31 my archbishop, of Asler, my bishop, and Grimbald my priest, and John my priest. After that I had learned of them, how I might best understand them, I turned them into English, and will fend one to each bishop's fee in my kingdom, and upon each there is a stile that is of sifty marks ; and I com mand on God's name, that no man the stile from the books, nor the books from the minister take, feeing we know not how long there shall be no learned bishops, as now, God be thanked, every where there are. Therefore, I would they should always remain in their places, except the bishop will have them with him, or that they be lent some whither, until that some other be written out. ®
THE CHARACTER O F ALFRED the GREAT, DRAWN FROM HIS LIFE,' In the former PAGES, And the more ample VIEW of him in the First Volume, in Folio, of the BIOGRAPHIA BRITANNICA. DESIGNED AS A DEMONSTRATION OP THE GRANDEUR, BEAUTY, and IMMORTALITY of the HUMAN SOUL.
.THE CHARACTER OF ALFRED the GREAT. GOD, the great father ofspirits, in the first form- ?tion of this man, endued him with the noble faculties of understanding, imagination, memory, judgment, reason, will, taste, invention, consci ence, and passions. And these wonderful powers appeared in him in the vast variety and rapidity of their operations, all thiough his useful and glorious lift. He had a power of receiving a great variety of ideas from all external objects in the heavens and «arth and seas, aj well as > from the animal creation and mankind around him. He had a power of depositing his ideas in the store house of his memory for many years, even all the days of his life. He had a power of drawing out of his memory, a variety of ideas and facts, for his use and benefit, whenever his soul thought fit. He had a power of comparing his ideas, in order to fee their agreement or difference ; of arranging his ideas in a proper method : he had a power of asso ciating and combining kindred ideas, and of sepa rating those ideas that were opposite or dissimilar a to
36 The CHARACTER of ALFRED. to each other ; and he had a capacity to diversify his ideas in a great number of ways and modes. He had a power of reflecting on his ideas ; of me ditating on old ideas, and acquiring new ones every day of his life : he could reason on past facts, in order to direct his conduct for time to come. He had a power in his foul of attaining the liberal sciences and arts- in a far greater degree than that dark age could furnish him : he had the faculties of apprehending and grasping in his mind the whole circle of the sciences, and liberal arts. Had he pos sessed for his tutors, a Bacon, a Boyle, a Milton, a Locke, a Young, a Newton, a Rollin, a Fenelon, a Witsius, or an Hervey : what a prodigy of genius, learning, and taste would Alfred have appeared ! He had a power of creating the exquisite beauties and resined delights of glowing and sublime elo quence, or the language of ardent imagination and enlivened passion, if that barren age could have af forded him for a tutor, a Loncinus, an Attereury, or a Blair. He had a power of soul to carry on, through a long train of well-connected propositions, a variety of sublime speculations of great difficulty, depth, and grandeur ; and of pursuing those trains of thought into very remote regions and-conscquences. He had a power of mind to extract from a few plain axioms, or self-evident truths, demonstra tions of the most excellent doctrines of revelation, religion, and morality ; as well as in matters of go vernment and laws. If he had possessed the advantages of our age, he would have been a Witsius in divinity, a Bacon, or a Newton in philosophy, an Hale or a Talbot in laws and equity, a Pitt in eloquence, a Malborough in war, and a Pope in poetry : we sliould have seen at
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 37 at once, in one man, a father of his country, a phlosopher, a statesman, a warrior, a judge, and a divine; and all of the sirst magnitude and lustre. He had a power of understanding to penetrate in to every part of the material world : the air, the sire, the water, the earth, and minerals of all kinds ; the vegetable world of plants, trees, and flowers ; the animal world of birds, beasts, and fishes ; the hu man creation of bodies and souls. If he could Ime had proper tutors, he would have been the best na tural historian, the most accurate anatomist, and the most sagacious and found metaphysician in the world. He would have penetrated into the intellec tual system of the universe, and have ranged through the worlds of fouls, devils, angels, and the perfec tions of the Deity, with unbounded admiration and delight. He had from G o d a glorious power of understand ing, to conceive many wife designs and great works ; and not only to conceive them, but an inclination and capacity to contrive those works and an ardour of foul to carry into execution those noble designs of his great and generous heart. His whole life was silled up with wife and good designs for the glory and honour of God's perfections, and the happiness of the church of Christ, and his whole kingdom : the schools and colleges, the churches and courts of law, the cities and villages, the army and navy, all bear witness to his vast designs. N. B. If any person hath keen curiosity to know more of his astonishing designs, and works of all kinds, they must consult his life, with notes at large, in the folio Biographical Dictionary. The great Alfred had a power of turning hit eye inward upon the soul itself, and of surveying the glories of his soul in all its wonderful faculties and affections :—this is a power which has nothing like E y
3$ The CHARACTER of ALFRED, to it amongst all the millions of birds, beasts, and fishes ; they have nothing parallel to it, nothing that resembles it ; they never survey their own be ings, or review their own imperfect ideas. The great and good Alfred had a power of un derstanding to turn his eye to the invisible and eter nal nature of God : he had a capacity to conceive of the eternal duration of God ; and to survey his attributes, ideas, volitions, affections, and actions, in the worlds of nature and providence, and in the worlds of grace and glory. He had a power of surveying past facts, as high as the creation ; yea of rising higher still, and of view ing the grand transactions of God in the counsel of peace, before the birth of time, or the existence of angels. He had a power of revolving over all the mighty wonders of creation, providence, and grace ; and of surveying all the amazing actions of omnipotence, in the great train of miracles, of mercy, and ven geance, to that day; and from that time quite down to the burning of the world. He had a power of rolling down in his apprehen sions, into the latter day glory, with lively imagination and ardent passions ; and of viewing all the nations which roll at the foot of Christ's throne, as illuminated by his Spirit, washed in his blood, adorned with his righteousness, and enlivened by his love. Alfred was endued with a noble power of ob serving and regulating the grand movements of his own heart, and of resining and exalting the glorious passions of his foul, in sublime devotion to God. He had a power of bringing the soul itself by a pro per course of discipline and self-goverment, to bear with patience and fortitude the severest trials U and
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 39 and afflictions, even to the loss of his kingdom for a season. He hid, from the grace of Christ, such strength of mind, as to face, with intrepidity and daring firmness, the greatest dangers and trials, arising from the distracted state of his affairs, and the numbers and barbarous rage of his enemies. From his early youth, he practised the wisest selfgovernment, and restrained and conquered his most violent appetites and passions : he was a lovely ex~ ample of temperance and chastity, all the days of his life : and by this divine fortitude, he was able to resist and overcomi' all the most formi dable and alluring temptations of his three greatest enemies; the world, the devil, and the flesh. If ever there was a striking pattern in any king, of active and passive fortitude, Alfred was the man.* If we were to compare Alfred with all the good kings that ever lived in the world, and at the fame time consider the darkness and barbarism of that age, and the many sad disadvantages and discouragements he had to overcome ; his character must shine brighter on the comparison, and [except the in spiration of David and Solomon] we must pronounce him the greatest monarch that ever lived in the world ! E 2 Alfred * Dr. John Wilkins has excelled even himself in displaying passive fortitude ; Principles and Duties of Religion, 8vo. 1675" p. 239—285. Dr. Samuel Wright has given a ni3nly account of fortitude ; Human Virtues, 8vo. 1730. p. 57 -74. Dr. Watts describes active and passive fortitude in a most striking manner ; Sermons, vol. III. ijmo. Dr. Evans hath an admirable Ser mon on Fortitude, in his Christian Temper, voL I. serin. 19. Mr. John Mason, with his usual correctness and elegance, displa>s the beauties of fortitude, in his Christian Morals, vol. I. And Dr. Gilt follows them all with a most judicious dis course on fortitude; Body of Practical Divinity, vol. III. p. 190.' And Alfred's temper and conduct, through life, is * •bright exemplification of all these diiiaurses..
40 The CHARACTER of ALFRED. Alfred was possessed of such a noble spirit as to be willing to renounce, for the fake of conscience and duty to God, all thatthi- world had to give. He had a power of foul to abstract himself from all sinful enjoyments, and gross and sensual plea sures, that were incompatible with his duty to God, and hi kingdom. This,. when duly considered, is a wonderful power of our immortal fouls : no crea ture below man has a power to abstain from sensual gratifications, when urged by a keen appetite and. Unsual impulses ; and the more you consider it, the incu-e you will fee reason to admire the amazing su periority os a human soul. Did you ever hear of an hungry lion, a wolf, or a tyger, that refused his prey when a fair occasion offered ? No, not all the annals of natural history can furnish such an in stance. Alfred's glorious and immortal foul could live above the body, and enjoy the pleasures of contem plation and devotion, a? it were, out of the body ; he could contioulthe keenest appetites and fiercest passons : could a shark or a hyæna imitate this noble superiority to hunger. lust, and passion? No, it is impossible for any being, but one immortal, to do this ! See this finely displayed in Sir Richard Elackmore's noble poem on Creation, book VII. P- 342-345- 8vo- edit- I?12- Alfred had the glorious and immortal power to carry his views and hopes into the remotest future. ages ; and raise himself to the contemplation and love of God's attributes and actions, with all other divine and spiritual objeits in heaven. He had the power to^discern, admire, and love the eternity of God ; and ardently desire the everlasting fruition of his most glorious perfections ! What creature below man can be found possessed of these powers, or capa ble of these wonderful actions. The
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 41 The above thoughts naturally lead us, by an easy transition, to consider more minutely the moral and religious character of Alfred the Great. And how shall we begin : Shall we view the ori gin, the nature, and the properties of his religion, with its progress and termination in the bosom of God ? Shall we view his Christian temper towards God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; his temper to wards himself and all mankind ; his peculiar love to all serious Christians ; and his invariable justice to wards every subject in his kingdom, from the high est nobleman to the lowest beggar, with all the ge neral virtues of sincerity, tenderness, constanev, zeal, and prudence ; which ran through the whole of his excellent temper, and were the animating fire of all his graces. Shall we view him in his personal virtues of con sideration and self-furniture, of humility and selfvaluation, of meekness and self- vindication, of con tentment and self-possession, of prudence and selfmanagement, of fortitude or constancy and self-con sistence, os temperance in all its branches, ot chas tity or bodily continence. of diligence or bodily em ployment, of mortification or entire subjection of the body to reason and religion, of heavenly- mindedness or a holy taste and self-advancement? Shall we view him in his divine virtues, as he was blessed with a clear knowledge of God in his being and attributes ; an awful and delightful fear of his omnipresence ; an ardent love to his goodness ; a strong confidence and trust in hi faithfulness ; a chearful obedience to his laws ; an imitation of his moral perfections, and communion with him. in his works of creation and providence, as well as in his word, promises,_ and ordinances. No man was E 3 taoi^
f2 The CHARACTER of ALFRED. more punctual in his public and private devotion to- God, as we fee in the former memoirs of his life : lie divided all his time into three parts ; eight hours for food and sleep ; eight hours for the affairs of go vernment; and eight hours for,GoD? or reading the Scriptures, meditation, prayer, and" praise? Shall we view his Christian graces; his lively realizing faith in Christ as his Lord and his God, as well as his precious mediator; his ardent love to him, and delight in him, as his divine re deemer; his obedience to him, as his Lord and master; his learning at his feet, as his divine pro phet and teacher ; his imitation of him, as his glo rious pattern or example, in his temper and life ; his dependence on him, as his glorious priest, atonement, and intercessor ? Shall we view his social graces of love, jus tice, truth, and integrity ; his merciful temper to. the miserable ; his generous spirit of forgiving his enemies ; his beneficence, or incessant delight in doing good ! this was a brilliant part of his cha racter. Jn a word, he was the mirror of all excel lencies and perfections ; a pattern for all princes and all mankinds to the very end of the world ? In fine, if ever there was a prince or a nobleman in England, that was eminent for living soberly, righteously, and godly, all through his whole con duct, Alfred was the man. If ever there was a prince that lived incessantly in the ardent and sub lime contemp'a'.ion of God, in the most grateful ac knowledgment of his special providence, in the ex ercise of a strong faith and evangelical repentance, in the adoration or worship of ail God's natural and moral perfections, in an imitation of those per fections. he adored, in a deep self-resignation to thedivine will, a hope in the divine promises, and a delight in tas divine goodness, mercy, and grace* in
The CHARACTER, of ALFRED. 43 in a fidelity to the interest and kingdom of Christ in England, and in a daily waiting God's sum mons to attend him in another world, Alfred, king Alfred the Great and Good, was that man ! Come, ye kings and princes of Europe ; come, ye nobles of Great-Britain and Ireland ; come, ye ministers of state ; ye politicians, and members of parliament ; come, ye judges, and justices of the peace ; come, ye dignified ministers of religion, and all ranks and denominations of the Protestant clergy ; come, ye merchants and husbandmen ; come, all ye lower ranks of the people of England : come, and contemplate with wonder, attention, and imitation, this lovely character of Alfred the Good and the Great. Let your ambition be roused into an ardent flame, to copy this beautiful temper into your own life and conduct. Imitate him in his spirit of sublime religion and generous godliness; imitate him in his clear ac quaintance with God's perfections, and his lively repentance ; imitate him in his profound veneration, or fear of God's presence ; imitate him in his faith in God's truth and promises ; in his faith in Christ, as the great mediator; imitate him in his trust and confidence in God's providence; in his hope in his meicy ; in his love to all the sacred persons in the divine nature"; in his generous love to his coun try, and to all the world ; imitate him in his un bounded joy and delight in Christ, and in all the ' divine perfections shining with eternal splendor in him ; imitate him in the amazing serenity and chearfulness of his mind, in the very worst condition of his affairs, and in the most severe trials of his life; imitate him in his astonishing contentment in a state of great adversity ; imitate him in his fervent grati tude for all kinds of mercies and blessings } imitate him.
44 The CHARACTER of ALFRED. him in his deep humility and dependence on Christ, in the worst and in the best of circumstances ; imi tate him in his self-denial, for the glory of God, and the good of millions of men ; imitate him in his profound resignation to the divine dominion and pleasure ; in his patience, in waiting, in expecting, and working for God ; imitate him in his noble and invincible fortitude, both active in at tacking his temporal and spiritual enemies, and passive in beating, without despair, or even des pondency, the pressures of all sorts of troubles and afflictions ; imitate him in his zeal or ardour for God, and the gospel of Christ. No prince had ever greater difficulties to conquer, with respect to the instruction of his ignorant clergy, and the re formation of the rudeness and corrupt morals of his people; and, to our astonishment, he surmounted and triumphed overall opposition. Let not Great- Britain totally despair, but ardently pray that our sovereign may more and more resemble the character, and imitate the noble conduct of Alfred. Let all ranks imitate Alfred in his manly wis dom and prudence, at all times, and upon all oc casions. Let us imitate him in the truth and sin cerity of his heart; in the veracity of his lips, and the integrity and sidelity of his life and conduct. Let us all imitate him in his holy and heavenly mind, in his resined taste tor the sublime and the beautiful in religion ; let us imitate him in pre serving the peace, purity, and pleasures of a good conscience towards God and towards all men ; let us exercise ourselves daily to have a conscience void of offence in the sight of God and all mankind; and let us imitate this noble prince, in employing the best pait of our time, every morning and every Lord's day, in the most ardent contemplations and devotional exercises to God. Thus shall we an swer
The CHARACTER ©f ALFRED. 45 swer the great end of Providence in giving us such an example in the dark ages of religion and learning ; and thus shall we rife into the noblest dignity of man, in the resemblance and fruition of God, in the eternal and invisible world. Thus shall we recover England from the brink of ruin, disgrace, and misery; and be dear to God, and fa mous to future ages, as long as the British empire shall endure. The goodness of God was the source of all the natural, moral, political, and divine ex- . cellencies of the great and good king Al fred. Goodness infused into him his rational foul, and formed him with all his original powers of .reason, judgment, imagination, and taste : good- , ness gave him all those bright and beautiful quali ties of virtue and grace, which caused him to lhine out as the glorious intellectual and moral fun of i Britain ; and like .as the fun shines with vast ex- - tent ; and shines incessantly, as a great blessing to the world ; as the fun is the beauty of the creation, and is the great discoverer of hidden things ; as the fun blazes with immense sire, and is unboundedly useful in diffusing happiness through the nations : so Alfred lhone in the Britilh empire as the beauty of this kingdom , as the great searcher into,. and diicoverer of, all the hidden vices and virtues of his subjects ; and, like the fun, he was the great universal blessing to mankind. And thus he was a noble instance of the amazing goodness of God. It was the rich goodness of God that made his foul of more worth than thirty * thousand worlds * I mention thirty thousand, because the famous Heischell declares he has discovered so many stars with his improved telescopes. Of
46 The CHARACTER of ALFREDof dead matter : whatever degrading notions some modern philosophers may have of the human foul, I must beg leave to think Dr. Bentley is in the right, who, in his Boylean Lectures, asserts, that the foul of one good man is of more worth and importance than the fun and all the planets, with all the sixed stars in the universe. Serm. viii. The goodness of God raised the soul of Al fred above all the bad princes and wicked ministers of state that ever lived in the world ; yea, above all the bad philosophers, as well as noblemen and princes, that ever existed. Other monarchs, when compared With him, appear to be less than nothing, and woisc than nothing, and vanity. The goodness of God appears to have made Alfred for the happiness of England, and to have made the inhabitants of thi« island on purpose far Alfred ; that he might shew what one man can do for the welfare of millions. O ! how glorious is. that prince who thinks himself born to make a na tion happy ! and how lovely are that people who think themselves born to express their joyful feel ings under the reign of a wife and good prince. The goodness of God made the foul of Al fred happier than all the millions of wicked men, all round the globe, from pole to pole. He was not a miserable man when he was driven to such ex tremity as to hide himself at the co'tage of his cow herd : nothing could rob him of his virtue aud dignitv of foul ; nothing could take away that wisdom and fortitude, that patience and resignation, which God had infused into his heart, when he lay hid in obscurity at his little castle at Athelney ; and when he was disguised as a poor harper, in the Danish camp, he was the fame great and..good man as when he had triumphed over his enemies in war, and fat in peaceful dignity on his throne. God's GQOP-
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 47 goodness, in many actions, put more honour on Alfred than on the angels of heaven. The goodness of the divine Being made Alfred the most learned man in his kingdom. What is true learning f The clear knowledge of men and things. of facts and characters, and an acquaintance with God and the universe. What is knowledge ? The conception of ideas, and comparing them with each other in order to discern the agreement or dif ference of these ideas. What is a learned man in matters of science, but one whose mind has a treasure of ideas of speculative truths, to enable him to discourse accurately on sub jects of science. What is a wife man in matters of prudence, but one who by long and dear experience, is capable of judging of the certainty of events, and the conse quences of actions, by observing former occurrences and facts of the like nature, in the affairs and events of life; and governs himself accordingly, in all his business and converse with mankind. Now if this is learning, if this is knowledge, if this is prudence and wisdom, Alfred was most certainly a learned, a knowing, a wife, and prudent man. He was really wife and learned in the eye and esteem of God. The goodness of God inspired the noble soul of Alfred with the most invincible fortitude and sublime bravery, in all the dangers and difficulties of his whole life : in this part of his character, he appears in all the brightness and beautv of the greatest heTO ; and performed what angels could never do. His fortitude in the deepest distress in all his wars, and in all the various mountainous op positions, arising from the ignorance and wickedness of his nobility. of his judges, of his clergy, and the barbarous manners of millions of the vulgar herd, render
48 The CHARACTER of ALFRED. render him an object of admiration, of astonish ment, and delight ! God gave him a soul strong, active, vigorous, and indefatigable through all the labours of war, and the horrid difficulties of civil government; and made him absolutely victorious over every temporal and spiritual enemy, to the very day of his death. The rich and abundant goodness of Gon made his foul a dread-nought in the cause and interest of God and truth. He feared no dangers; he had no dread of bad consequences, whilst the light of God shone upon his path ; and at the fame time that he feared no dangers in the cause of God and the advancement of the happiness of his king dom, he was the most humble, meek, and sweet tempered man in the world ; it is a great mistake in the estimate we form of mankind, to think that none are valiant but the fierce. Alfred had a foul made up of gentleness and love ; even towards his cruel enemies, the barba rous Danes, when they were subdued by the power of his arms : perhaps the greatest objection that may be made against his softness and sweetness of temper, arises from his severity to the corrupt and venal judges of his kingdom ; these he put to death as the glorious evidence of his love and justice, and his zeal for the happiness of millions ; and in this light the objection vanishes, and the goodness of his character shines as bright as the meridian fun. The goodness of God gave him a most ge nerous and magnificent disposition : there appeared nothing sordid and selfish in his soul ; he was ge nerous to all the interests of religion, and its preachers and professors ; he was generous to the poor and miserable, aud took the best care for the permanent supply of their wants. and he prudently guarded all his goods and estates by frugality ; that he might practise a noble liberality, and avoid a foolish ex travagance,
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 49 travagance, in this he was a pattern to all princis to the end of the world. God's goodness gave him a chaste sou! in a chaste body : he was a pure and holy temple, con secrated to God in life and death. The goodness of God infused into the soul of Alfred an ardent love of Truth and Justice. Truth is the real existence and nature of things; this is natural Truth, and a conformity of our per ceptions and ideas to the nature of things, is ra tional or logical Truth; and a conformity of our, words to our thoughts is moral Truth ; in all these ' views Alfred was an honest lover and searcher after Truth. .' , . ].• . ' . Justice is an ardent regard to the fights of all beings, with a deliberate purpose to preserve those rights inviolate; and in this view Alfred was a lover of Justice. He had a fervent regard to all the rights of God and Man ; and he had a fixed de termination to preserve those rights inviolate all the days of his life. He was just in giving to God the glory due unto his name ; just in loving God with all his heart and foul and strength; and just in. loving his neighbour as himself, and doing to all. mankind as he would be done by : he was just in his regard to God's worship, and in the promotion of true religion amongst all the people of his king dom ; and with unfainting perseverance in zeal and devotion to God, and the good of his country, he persisted all through his illustrious life. Faith in God's existence, perfections, and pro vidence, was the grand spring of all his noble actions : he had a realizing persuasion of the being and omnipresence of God : he had a realizing per suasion of the truth and faithfuliiess of God in his promises. He took God at his word, and trusted him with all the grand affairs of his foul, his body, F his
So Th« CHARACTER of ALFRED. his family, and hJV kingdom, in the darkest seasons and the most pinching times of distress : his faith never failed ; it rose like a mighty lion, supe rior to all difficulties, and at last conquered all things : in this noble exertion of faith he is a pat tern to Christians of all ranks, and in all ages." His hope kept pace with his. faith, and was like an anchor sure and stedsast, and as an helmet of salva tion, to defend his head in the day of battle. I wiH now finish the Character of Alfred the Gri at, by shewing that his soul was an image of the natural and moral perfections of Goo. The ioul of man is the brightest image of God's perfections in our world. The self-existent Gob is much more and much better resembled by the soul or invisible part of man, than by any thing ex ternal, material, and sensible in the whole creation; and the attributes or perfections of God are more fully represented, and better understood, by being compared with the correspondent powers in the mind of man. Let us consider the mind or foul with respect to God's attributes of power, wisdom, and goodness, the perfection and infinitude of which we ascribe to the Supreme Being. We shall find in man not merely the effects of these attributes, such at are discernible in all the parts of creation, but likewise an image or resem blance of these glorious attributes themselves ; and a capacity in the mind of man to exercise these re semblances of God's perfections in a most astonish ing manner, but yet such as shews from moment to moment our immediate and incessant dependence on God. The soul it an image of the omnipotence of God ; it has a power of beginning motion like God ; it has a power of giving motion to millions of
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. 51 ©f bodies if in a proper position. The foul, in visible, actuates the body by the force of the will, like the invisible God who enlivens and actuates the whole world ; the foul acts with amazing, free dom and sovereign pleasure in numerous instances, when, and where, and how it will ; it chuses and refuses, accepts or rejects an object, in a resemblance to God ; and thus the soul of Alfred was an image of the omnipotence of God. ' The understanding of this great man was an Image of the knowledge and wisdom of God. The soul can reflect upon its own beincj, and survey its own ideas, and thus it is like to GoD.—• The soul can judge of the relations of things, and Can compare ideas to fee at once their agreement or difference : the soul can survey with great rapidity ten thousand objects in heaven, earth, and hell ; and thus it resembles God. The soul can judge Of things past, present, and to come, for thousands and millions of years ; it can fee into the future consequences of ac t-tons, and can sagaciously foretell what will be the necessary effects of good and bad actions : thus the soul of Alfred resembled the foreknowledge and omniscience of God. The soul has a vast capacity to propose the best; ends, and to suit the best means to attain those ends •n all occasions in the natural, moral, and religious life ; and thus it resembles God. 1 he soul has a power to act with design, or with a view to some great and honourable end ; and it can judge of the dignity and weight of those ends. There is a strength in the mind of man, when actuated by the Deity, to judge of the relations of means to ends, and the value of those ends ; and likewise a power to determine and fix its own choice agreeable to right views of means adapted to rig! t F z end?r
$2 The CHARACTER or ALFRED. ends, so as to secure itself from the worst conse quences, and attdin the best in time and eternity ; and such a power the goodness of God infused int» the soul'af Alfred the Griat. . This foul has a. power of considering the nature of causes and erTeits, and of contriving and beauti fying the several. departments in the liberal arts and sciences ; it can take a vast prospect.of the great em pire1 bf" hatural and divine knowledge, and range through all the kingdoms of science with unspeaka ble Admiration and delight ; and thus it resembles the unbounded knowledge of God. And; this no ble pi» section in the mind of man,, shone with con spicuous lustre in the foul of Alfred the Great. The soul is amazingly vivid and rapid in its mo tions through all the visible and invisible worlds ; the motions of a foul are quicker than the motion of f.re and light. The foul does not want local mo tion, or change of place to fly in a moment through the whole empire of God. The soul can represent to itself things at the utmost distance,, just with as much ease as if the utmost point of local distance was this moment present, and viewed by the soul in it-.. self. Thus did the soul of Alfred resemble the activity and omnipresence of God. The soul of this great man, was an image of the goodness of cod. Goodness in man tq man consists in such an high esteem, and value for man, on account of the nature and excellencies of his ra tional and immortal soul ; as shall dispose us not to deny him any of his just rights, or do him any in jury in his character, body, soul, or estate, but to have a cordial good-will to him, and to have an ac tive promptitude to make him happy, as far as we have a just call to it in all the beautiful exertions of bene ficence. No man in the world inthat age, or perhaps in any
The- CHARACTER of ALFRED. 53 any age, ever gave a brighter exemplification of thi* noble and godlike temper than Alfred. And tins disposition opened itself in a particnU* manner in four points of view, to oJFendess, to the poor, tomen in erroneous sentiments in religion, and to his enemies. The goodness of Alfred's heart and temper, prompted him to revive or mate good laws to pre vent crimes as much as pofEble, in his family, ia his court, in his camp* and in his kingdom. He pitied and spared poor1 men drawn into crimes, as faras the good of society would suffer him to do it-- He was ever contriving the best methods, and took the most wife steps to reform and restore offenders. He bore a long while with criminalsj till the good of the body politic, required ! hirer to cut them off ; he forgave many and great offences, and in all these instances, and a thousand more, he- imitated the boundless goodness of Gon; The great and generous foul of Alfred was good and merciful towards mankind, in their mistakes and errors concerning true religion. And this ap peared eminently towards his own subjects, as well as towards those savage pagan robbers the Danes. He kindly considered the difference of rational ca pacities and apprehensions concerning Gon and re ligion. He mildly considered the great want of edu cation in all the parts of his kingdom. He gene rously considered and made allowances for different degrees of divine impressions from the power and grace of God. He had too large a soul to deny men the liberty in non-eflentials of religion ; and he nobly considered, that there might be different modes and forms of external worship amongst truly good men, who shall surely all meet in a state of final happiness. He wisely considered that amongst good men, there was to be found different attainments in vital • F 3 religion i
S4. The CHARACTER ot ALFRED, ».• -. •-- a;• .' .f.;« - . .* • • religion; and his heart was so full of candour and sweetness, that he never pretended in a haughty and pompous manner to greater knowledge and learning to depress and insult other men: he had too noble a soul to be puffed up witha proud idea of his own importance, so far as to put others to pain and shame who were inferior to himself. He was so generously good to men, as not to de cide on the eternal state of their souls ; nor did lie assume the judgment seat of God, but ordered all his affections to an habitual moderation, and referred the final state of all men to the day of death and' the last ' judgmeht. •' " " •' The goodness of his heart shone brightly in his dispositions and actions towards the poor. 'and wretched through all his kingdom. He seriously considered the condition of the poor, andsearched out their distresses andwants. He car ried it most tenderly towards the poor in all his do minions, and he performed ten thousand kind ac tions to* relieve poor people in tlieir'bodies, souls, and estate. In the division of all his revenue, he always- had a fund ready to relieve the poor ; the miserable were sure \6 find with Alfred a bank stock to supply their necessities. "This great and generous man always loved the tune of contributing to the wants' of the poor ; he was delighted with acts of goodness, and felt an high gratification to have an opportunity to do good ; the time of giving pleased and rejoiced his heart. He did good for its own fake, merely for the fake of doing good ; he had a most unselfish and godlike temper ; he hoped for nothing again from the bulk of the poor to whom he was a benefactor. • He persevered in doing good with a resolute dehsrht: he was never weary of opening his hand to the poor,' although he met with ungrateful returns. Ingratitude could never bear down and destroy the »- "•: '5i 1 l rich - *:**(.
The CHARACTER of ALFR"EIX 55 rich and unwearied benevolence of his heart ; how glorious is the character of that man who was in defatigable in doing good all the days of his life : and thus he resembled the insinite God, whose good ness sustains the whole creation. , Alfred resembledjGoD in his goodness towards his enemies. „. This is the most godlike perfection of a human foul, and carries up his character as near to Deity as it is possible to attain in the highest advancements of true and vital religion. Thus he imitated that divine and best friend of man, who went about doing good ; thus he re sembled the Lord Jesus Christ in his good-, ness to his bitterest enemies ; who for them was born, for them he lived, hungred, thirsted, laboured, wept, prayed, bled, and died ; whilst we were ene mies Christ died for us. ... He spoke good words to his enemies, and warned them of the consequences of their evil actions : and so did his worthy servant Alfred, the Good ar.d the Great. Christ exerted good actions towards men, against their bad actions to him ; and thus si .d Alfred, his subject and servant. He, like his Master, was unwearied in his kind words and actions to his enemies. .. . . •. Alfred had a mind and foul so filled up with goodness by the grace of God, that he did not suffer the evil of. men's bad actions to get the power over him ; and when he pardoned a criminal, he re sembled God, who when he forgives, he never re tains his anger, or harbours a secret grudge against hispeople for their former bad tempers and proyoking actions. :\t .'. The sublime benevolence of , Alfred's ,; soul raised him above wishing evil, or doing evij to bis , enemies, ajthough they affronted him. by their vile
5$ The CHARACTER or ALFRED. incratitud*: arid in this disposition of heart lie was a glorious image or resemblance of God. Thus we have attempted to draw a few out-linesof this great and good man's character, but we feet the subject too great for our feeble pen to delineate. An able writer could go on to amplify the above thoughts, and shew, that Alfred's noble foul re sembled the spirituality, eternity, immutability, -life,and omnipiesence of God ; that he was an 'image of the omniscience, dominion, dignity, prerogatives, and taste of God ; that his passions resembled the love, the joy, the hatred, anger, zeal, and wrath of God ; and the prudence, grace* patience, and mercy of God, were most beautifully exemplisied in Al fred's temper and character; who was likewise an image of the moral rectitude, justice, troth, sincerity, veracity,, and faithfulness of God ; and in his whole life and conduct rejoiced in the absolute perfection and happiness of the Supreme Being ; and made his glory the ultimate end of his actions and his im mortal existence. Let us, in the conclusion, try to give an higher idea of the dignity and excellence of this great man. To recover and save his soul, God employed' His eternal thoughts in the council of peace : to re deem his soul, God came down to dwell in dust ; tocon vince and instruct his foul ; the Spirit of God wrought the miracles in the scripture, and fulfilled the divine predictions ; to cloath his soul, the righ teousness of God was wrought out; to wash his. foul, the blood of God was shed ; to adorn his foul, divine grace was incessantly given ; to com fort his soul, a thousand promises of Gon were made; to establish his soul, the oath of God was sworn ; to guard his soul, legions of angels were ever on the wing j to preserve his soul, all the perfections C of
The CHARACTER ®f ALFRED. 57 of God were hourly employed ; to serve the in» terests of his foul, the structure of the universe was built ; on the behalf of his foul, the Lord Jesus ardently prayed ; and to raise his soul to absolute perfection in holiness and happiness, eternal glory in heaven was generously prepared. A short View of the Principal Writers of the Life of Alfred. T»E first original author was Aster, who was continually a witness of his actions and character; to him we must add Roger Hoveden, Henry Hunt<ingdon, William of Malmsbury, Leland, Sir Henry Spclman's Life of Alfred; the parallel of Altred and Charles I. by Powel ; this should rather be stiled a contrast, for no two men were more opposite in principles and character; Granger'* Biographical History : Warton's History of Poetry; and Percy's Ancient Poetry. There is likewise a Life of Alfred, in octavo, lately published by Mr. Bicknell, but I am not yet acquainted with its merits. We have likewise short iketches of his life in Rapin, Smollet, and other Writers of the History of England. The best Life we have of Alfred is that in the sirst volume of the Biographia Britannica, in folio. I wish the proprietors of that excellent work would order that Life to be printed iu a sepa rate pocket volume ; this would give our British youth a larger view of his excellent actions and character. To stimulate and rouse the attention of the rising generation to consider this great man, t will con clude my little work with an account of the famous Panning, done by Mr. West; and I mail transcribe verbatim
$8 The CHARACTER or ALJFRED\ verbatim this account from the printed copy inr Stationers' Hall. Alfred the GrRaT Dividing Jhis Loaf with the Pilgrim, Painted by Benjamin West, Esq. Historical Painter to his Majesty, And presented to the Company of Stationers, 1779* ,. By Mr. John Boyds-li. While the Danes were ravaging all before them, Aitfred, with a small company, retreated to a little inaccessible island in Somersetshire, called Athelney, where his first attention Was to' build a fortress, Hither he afterwards removed his family, whoso security gave him the most pringent con cern. He had early married a lady, who, by her birth, accomplishments, and beauty, was worthy of rhe high station to which he had rarsedher. Alfred loved with the sheerest affection, and had the hap piness' to find his love returned with equal sincerity. Heaven too had; blessed him with- children. The principal inconvenience he laboured under in this forlorn situation arose from a scarcity of provisions. It happened one day, as he was reading, that he found himself disturbed by the voice of a poor Pilgrim, who with the greatest earnestness begged for somewhat to satisfy his hunger. The humane king (whose attendants had been all sent out in search of food) called to Els wi th a, and requested her to relieve the miserable object with a part of what little there remained in the fort. The queen finding only one Loaf, brought it to Alfred; but at the same time re presented to him the distresses that his family would
The CHARACTER of ALFRED. sn would be driven to, should the attendants prove unsuccessful. The king, however, not deterred, but rather re joicing at this trial of his humanity, divided the loaf, and gave to the poor Christian half of it, consoling the queen with this pious reflection, that he who could feed five thousand with sive loaves and two sishes, could make, if it should so please h i m , the half ofa has suffice for more than their necessities. The Pilgrim departed; the king resumed his studies, and felt a satisfaction that ever results from beneficent actions. His attendants returned with S vast quantity of fish, which greatly encouraged the king, and put him upon those glorious under takings which restored the lustre of the Saxon Diadem. N. B. Mr. Boydell has not only taken a Draw ing of this admirable Picture, hut he has likewise a very large and excellent Engraving of it, at the price of only one guinea. I have been informed that the original Painting cost him no less than two hundred guineas ; surely for perpetuating such a fact, and such a character, it was money wifely, as well as generously bestowed. FINIS.
Lately PubUJhedy- CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE • . • ... 1 BEAUTIES of CREATION, And the Principal Truths and Blessings of thft glorious Gcsi'EL. . » '. ' . » , < • ■ <• • -» In three Volumes, 8vo. Price 15s. in Boards. By John Ryland, A.M. of Northampton. Printed for, and Sold by C. Dila,?? in the Poultry. ;... .. ... .• ji ". • -T I : . Ai ... '•' •' *. ' - J . .; •--* v: