Powell, William Samuel, an English divine of remarkable ability, was born at Colchester Sept. '27, 1717; was admitted to St. John's College. Cambridge, in 1734; and. having taken the degree of bachelor of arts in 17.!.s |i. was elected fellow of it in March, 17-10. In 1741 he was taken into the family of lord Towns- hend as private tutor to his second son, Charles, after- wards chancellor of the Exchequer; was ordained dea- con and priest at the end of the year, and instituted to the rectory of Colkirk, in Norfolk, on lord Townshend's presentation. He returned to college the year after, began to read lectures as an assistant to the principal tutor; but became himself principal t utor in 1744. lie took the degree of bachelor of divinity in L749, and of doctor in L756. In L765 he was elected master of his college, obtained the archdeaconry of Colchester the year after, and in 1768 was instituted to the rectory of freshwater, in the Isle of Wight lie died Jan. 19,
177."'. He published. Defend of tin Subscriptions re- quired in the Church of England (Lond. 1757, Ito): Observations on Miscellanea Analytica (1760 mom <ni l Cor. i. 23, 24 (1767, tto): Chargt (1772, 8vo; 1773): — Discourses on Various Subjects (published with Life by Thomas Bulguy, D.D., 1770. 8vo). Dr. Powell's and Thomas l'awcett's Discourses, thirty-four
in all. delivered before the University of Cambridge, were republished in 1832 (8vo) in Divines ofth Church
and. 4'hcse discourses of Powell, says bishop Watson, "are written with great BCUteneSS and knowl- edge of the several subjects." " It would be impossible to produce a more eminent instance of the happy alliance of taste and genius with learning and good sense than
in the sermons and charges of l>r. Powell; of whom, in- deed every account, the whole society over which
he presided might justly join with me in Baying, 'Sem- per honos, nomenque tuum, laudesque manebunt' " (Prof. Mainwaring). Powell's discourses are also highlj com- mended b\ Malhias. See Pursuits nf' I it, rutin; (ed.
1822), p. 2*25, :;7l ; Allibone, Diet of Brit, mid Am,,-. Authors, s. v.; a, n. Biog. Diet, s. v.
Power, or the ability of performing, is in an essen- tial degree an attribute of Deity: God is emphatically styled All-powerful. Power signifies sometimes a right,
POWER
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privilege, or dignity (John i, 12) ; sometimes absolute authority (Matt, xxviii, 18); sometimes the exertion or act of power, as of the Holy Spirit (Ephes. i, 19), of angels, or of human governments, magistrates, etc. (Rom. xiii, 1), and perhaps it generally includes the idea of dignity and superiority. So, the body " is sown in weakness, it is raised in power" (1 Cor. xv, 43). The " prince of the power of the air" (Ephes. ii, 2) is a figurative representation of Satan (q. v.). See Aik.
Power, Francis Herron, a Presbyterian minis- ter, was born in Alleghany County, Pa., July 14, 1829. He received a careful academical training ; graduated at Washington College, Washington, Pa.; studied theology in the Western Theological Seminary, Alleghany City, Pa., and was licensed by Redstone Presbytery. Being deeply interested in the efforts of the government to suppress the rebellion, he became a delegate of the United States Christian Commission. Joining the "Ar- my of the Cumberland," he was zealous in his efforts in the hospitals and in the field to administer to the per- sonal and spiritual wants of the sick and wounded of the Republic ; but the extraordinary exposure to which he subjected himself broke down his system, and he died in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn.,"Oct, 17, 1863. Mr. Power was never ordained, but he was an earnest and faithful missionary. Forgetful of self, in his zeal for the good of others he sacrificed even his life to a work that had enlisted his whole soul. See AVilson, Presb. Hist. Almanac, 1864, p. 190. (J. L. S.)
Power, John H., D.D., a noted minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born in Montgom- ery Co., Ky., March 15, 1798; was converted at a very early age •, united with the Methodists in 1819 ; was licensed to preach two years after, and joined the Ken- tucky Conference, where his appointments were, Mount Sterling and Hinkston circuits, in Kentucky; Little Kanawha, Charleston, and Parkersburgh. in Virginia; Columbus, Salt Creek, Brush Creek, Chillicothe, and Deer Creek, in Ohio; Burlington Circuit, Old Zion, Muscatine, and South Burlington, in Iowa — embracing a period of eighteen years. As presiding elder, he served on Norwalk, Wooster, Mount Vernon, Delaware, and Mansfield districts, in Ohio; Burlington, Musca- tine, and Keokuk districts, in Iowa— filling up twenty- eight years. In 1848 he was elected assistant agent of the Western Book Concern, where he remained until 1852. Failing health then necessitated rest, and he maintained a supernumerary relation until 1856, when he resumed the pastoral work by transfer to the Iowa Conference, and there held appointments (as above mentioned) until his death, which occurred Jan. 19, 1873. In manner Dr. Power was reserved. He shrank instinctively from that, general acquaintance and no- toriety in which persons differently constituted find pleasure. His friendship, though not demonstrative, was strong and enduring. As a preacher he was suc- cessful: enlightening the mind, directing the judgment, and influencing the will of his auditors — thereby win- ning souls to Christ. He was a prudent legislator, and as an administrator of discipline he had but few equals. Notwithstanding the exhaustive labors of an itinerant fifty years ago, at the age of forty-two he had acquired a liberal education, including Greek and Hebrew, so as to make the original available in the literal rendering of the Word of Life. He had also completed a course in law, with the view of meeting every demand that might be made upon him as a servant of the Church. As an author he holds a reputable place. His writings (On Universalism : — Doolittle and Power ; a discussion on the same subject : — Domestic Piety : — and Letters to Br. Smith on Slavery) are all attractive in style, and are models of logical clearness. See Minutes of Annual Conferences, 1873, p. 103, 104. (J. H. W.)