The historjr of President Edwards cannot be fully understood without considering that both on the pa- ternal and maternal side he was allied with families belonging to the ecclesiastical aristocracy of New England. He was an only son, and had ten sisters, some of whom became the wives of eminent men. He was trained by his father and his four eldest sisters (all of whom were proticients in learning) for Yale College, which he entered in 1716, just before he was thirteen years of age. During the next year his fa- vorite study was Loclce on the Human Understanding. " Taking that book into his hand upon some occasion not long before his death, lie said to some of his select friends who were then with him, that he was bej'ond expression entertained and pleased with it when he read it in liis youtli at college ; that he was as much engaged, and had more satisfaction and pleasure in studying it, than the most greedy miser in gathering up handfuls of silver and gold from some new-discov- ered treasure." When about twelve years of age he wrote a paper which indicates that he had been thor- oughly interested in the question of Materialism. At about the same age he composed some remarkable pa- pers on questions in natural philosophj'. Having dis- tinguished himself at college as an acute thinker, and also as an impassioned writer, he took his Bachelor's degree in 1720, and delivered the " salutatorj^, which was also the valedictory oration."
When he was a boy, probably about the age of sev- en or eight years, he began to develop his religious cliaracter. He writes: '•! was then very much af- fected for nianj' months, and concerned about the things of religion and my soul's salvation, and was abundant in religious duties. I used to pray five times a day in secret, and to spend much time in re- ligious conversation with other boj's, and used to meet with tliem to pray together. I experienced I know not what kind of delight in religion. I, with some of m}' schoolmates, joined together and built a booth in a swamp, in a vciy retired spot, for a place of prayer; and, besides, I hid jjarticular secret places of my own in the Avoods where I used to retire hy myself, and was from time to time much affected. M}- affections seemed to be lively and easil}' moved, and I seemed to be in my element when engaged in religious duties." Reflecting on these fervid emotions, Edwards after- ward regarded them as no signs of genuine piet}'. He was keen in his anal3'sis of character, and was wont to encourage, not only in others, but also in him- self, the habit of severe self-examination, and of jeal- ous watchfulness against tlie influence of self-love. Altlioughfrom his earliest childliood he had been duti- ful, docile, and exemplar\'in his outward demeanor, yet he writes concerning his boyhood and youth : " I
was at times very uneasj', especiall}' towards the lat- ter part of my time at college, when it pleased God to seize me witii a pleurisy, in which he brought me nigh to the grave, and sliook me over the pit of hell. And j'et it was not long after my I'ecoverj' before I fell again into my old ways of sin. But God w'ould not suffer me to go on with anj' quietness. I had great and violent inward struggles, till, after many conflicts with wicked inclinations, repeated resolutions, and bonds that I laid myself under by a kind of vows to God, I was brought wholly to break off all former wicked wa}-s, and all waj-s of known outward sin, and to apply myself to seek salvation, and practice many religious duties, but without that kind of affection and delight which I had formerly experienced." With his characteristic fidelity in scrutinizing his motives, he looked with distrust on his seeking the Lord after this "miserable manner, which," he says, "has made me sometimes since to question whether it ever issued in that which was saving, being read}' to doubt wheth- er such miserable seeking ever succeeded." At length, however, but preciseh' at what period he does not state, he began to entertain an abiding confidence in his hav- ing been regenerated by the Holy Ghost. In the po- etic and fervid style which often characterizes his writings, he saj-s : "I began to have a new kind of apprehensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of re- demption, and the glorious way of salvation by him. This I know not how to express otherwise than by a calm, sweet abstraction of soul from all the concerns of this world, and sometimes a kind of vision, or fixed ideas and imaginations of being alone in the mountains or some solitary' wilderness, far from all mankind, sweetly conversing with Christ, and rapt and swallow- ed up in God." On one occasion "I walked abroad alone in a solitary place in mj- father's pasture for con- templation. As I was walking there, and looking upon the sky and clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of tlie glorious mujesty and grace of God as I know not how to express. I seemed to see them both in a sweet conjunction, majesty and meekness joined together ; it was a sweet, and gentle, and holy majes- ty, and also a majestic meekness, an awful sweetness, a high, and great, and holj' gentleness. After this my sense of divine things gradually increased, and be- came more and more lively, and had more of that in- ward sweetness. The appearance of every thing was altered; there seemed to be, as it were, a calm, sweet cast or appearance of divine glory in almost every thing. God's excellency, his wisdom, his purity, and love, seemed to appear in ever}' thing — in the sun, moon, and stars ; in the clouds and blue sky ; in the grass, flowers, trees ; in the water and all nature — which used greatly to fix my mind. I often used to sit and view the moon for a long time, and in the daj' spent much of mj' time in viewing the clouds and sky, to behold the sweet glory of God in these things, in the mean time singing forth with a low voice my con- templations of the Creator and Redeemer, and scarce any thing in all the works of nature was so sweet to me as thunder and lightning ; formerly nothing had been so terrible to me. Before, I used to be uncom- monly terrified with thunder, and to be struck with terror when I saw a thunder-storm rising; but now, on the contrary, it rejoiced me. I felt God, if I may so speak, at the first ajipearance of a thunder-storm, and used to take the opportunity at such times to fix my- self in order to view the clouds, and see the lightnings play, and hear the majestic and awful voice of God's thunder, which oftentimes was exceedingly entertain- ing, leading me to sweet contemplations of my great and glorious God. AVhile tlius engaged it always seemed natural for me to sing or chant forth my med- itations, or to speak mj' thoughts in soliloquies with a singing voice."