A SERIES OF SKETCHES OF DISTINGUISHED MEN WHO HAVE HELD AND ADVOCATED THE PRINCIPLES OF The Baptist Denomination. BY WILLIAM LANDELS, D.D. LONDON: BAPTIST TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY. CASTLE STREET, HOLBORN, E.C. PREFACE. THE HE Baptist denomination is rich in the memory of its distinguished men. During the last three hundred years, the men who have sprung up in connection with it, or on examination have embraced its principles, would suffice to shed lustre on any body of Christians. Not only did they take rank among others who had claim to greatness, but several of them attained to decided pre-eminence in the pursuits to which they devoted their powers; and in various departments of thought and effort there have been Baptists who, although less distinguished than the greatest of their brethren, will worthily compare with the members of any other denomination. The Author has long cherished the conviction that good service might be rendered, especially to the youthful members of our body, by laying before them, in convenient form and compass, some account of these great men's lives. A healthful stimulus might be derived from mental contact with such distinguished merit. Attachment to our denomination might be strengthened by acquaintance with an ecclesiastical ancestry of which any people might reasonably be proud. And among others our principles might be more favourably and candidly considered when they are shown to have commended themselves to men of such name and fame. As the result of this conviction, arrangements have been made for the publication of a series of sketches of our most distinguished men. Most of the sketches have already been delivered as Lectures to Young Men's Societies in different parts of the |