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Gi 
 
 
 S] 
 
THE 
 
 GOOD CENTURION, 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PRBAOHBD BirORB THB 
 
 ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY 
 
 OF MONTREAL, 
 
 ®n Itumlraii, gmntlrer H 186^, 
 
 
 1 Ml-- S 
 
 B7 THB 
 
 REV. WILLIAM SNODGRASS, CHAPLAIN. 
 
 h-t' 
 
 He loveth our nation." 
 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 
 
 MONTREAL: 
 
 FRINTBD BY JOHN C. BECEET, GKKAT ST. JAUES STRBKT. 
 
8 E KM ON. 
 
 Loke tH. 6.— « He loreth o^r pftUpn." 
 
 This candid testimony to appreciated W(»th, voluntarily 
 proffered with the desire of obtaining an important favour 
 for its subject, indicates a case, which, according to our 
 estimation of the circumstances of its occurrence, muHt have 
 been an exceptional one. It is a tribute paid by Jews to 
 one who was not a Jew, but a Roman, — a phenomenon this, 
 so remarkable, that we at once feel the necessity of sqrae 
 explanation ; and the interest we readily attach to the inci- 
 dent is greatly enhanced by the fulness with which the desid- 
 erated particulars may be supplied. 
 
 When the Centurion arrived in the country, according to 
 the sentiment of Jewish nationalism which was still strong 
 and hopeful, though much disturbed and embittered, he 
 found himself placed towards its inhabitantji in the very un- 
 favourable relation of a Gentile foreigner. On this account, 
 his reception, we indagine, must have been such as the pride 
 of a conscious and exclusive superiority is wont to offer, — 
 cold, suspicious, slighting. But if this circumstance was 
 calculated to excite a feeling of haughty disdain, there was 
 another that was likely to provoke the more; formidable pas- 
 sion of malicious hatred, namely, his official military capa- 
 city. By this time, the glory of a separate, independent, 
 self-sustaining nationality had passed away from the Jewish 
 people. Their royal line had become extinet, in order that, 
 in fulfilment of Divine purposes, the way might be prepared 
 for the perpetual reign upon the throne of Israel, of King 
 David's Lord, who, as his kingdom was not of this world, 
 was not recognized by a worldly, carnal people, as its right- 
 ful heir. The country had been annexed, as part of a pro- 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
vincial dependency, to the Roman empire Its civil govern- 
 ment was such as the subjugating heathen power might 
 choose to dictate, and was conducted by such officials as it 
 was pleased to appoint. It is not in human nature, far less 
 could there be a disposition in the heart of the Jewish people, 
 to submit at once complacently to so humiliating a change, 
 and we may well believe that every circumstance and every 
 functionary, that visibly reminded them of the hated barba- 
 rian domination to which they were yoked, would . be a 
 most unwelcome presence. All military arrangements for 
 the maintenance of an unwilling subjection would be espe- 
 cially odious, as they supplied the additional demonstration 
 of the utter hopelessness of succeeding in any attempt to 
 regain lost independence and vanished glory, against the 
 immense resources with which the mistress of the world 
 could oppose and punish it. 
 
 These facts immediately suggest the magnitude of the 
 obstacles with which the Centurion, who is the subject of 
 the eulogium in the text, had to contend, if he seriously pro- 
 posed to himself the task of securing the favourable opinion 
 and cordial respect of the citizens of Capernaum, among 
 whom he and his garrison were stationed ; or they show 
 with what unlikelihood any personal gbod qualities he pos- 
 sessed would produce their natural fruits in so unpromising 
 a sphere, and meet with suitable appreciation and acknow- 
 ledgment. Yet such was the excellence of his character, 
 and such the urbanity of his conduct, and above all, such 
 the proofs which he gave of his interest in the religion of the 
 Jews and his respect for its ordinances, that these disadvan- 
 tages were entirely overcome. He won his way to the 
 hearts of a people who were disposed to regard him as an 
 enemy. He stood high in their affectionate esteem. And 
 whea an occasion occurred, on which their leading citizens 
 could be of service to him, they spontaneously gave their 
 commendation of his worth. 
 
 He seems, indeed, to have been a truly good man, ingen- 
 
uous, humane, generous, and humble. With a mind open 
 to salutary influences, from whatever quarter they might 
 come, he gladly received any benefit that could be derived 
 from his intercourse with the Jews. Instead of using the 
 authority with which he was clothed as an instrument of 
 insolence or oppression, he divested it of its hatefulness by 
 the remarkable forbearance and respectful consideration 
 which he manifested. Instead of standing aloof from his 
 fellow-men, whom he might have seen reason to despise, 
 and waiting only for opportunities of official interference, he 
 actively identified his own interests with those of the place 
 in which he lived and of the people among whom he 
 resided. This course resulted largely to his profit, and he 
 was not slow to acknowledge his obligations in the most 
 liberal manner. These circumstances sufficiently show how, 
 notwithstanding every probability to the contrary, it never- 
 theless came to pass, that the elders of the Jews spoke to 
 Jesus of this Roman officer in the laudatory terms of the 
 text. He loved their nation. They felt assured of that, and 
 advanced the most notable evidence of it : " he hath built 
 us a synagogue." This destroyed the enmity of their 
 hearts, and yielding to the resistless power of the sentiment 
 they praised, they cheerfully declared that they were sen- 
 sible of it. 
 
 But now, let us not forget, that besides the relation which 
 he thus improved and adorned, the Centurion su^(ained 
 another which was an older and a stronger one. He w is a 
 Roman by birth. His native home lay somewhere within 
 the limits of the Imperial State ; a spot that was surely 
 fairer in his estimation and dearer to his heart than any 
 other upon earth. Sojourning in a remote dependency, 
 thither, throughout the period of his separation, his thoughts 
 "Would often turn. The beauty of Judaean scenery might 
 minister delight to his spirit, but sweeter and deeper 
 would be his gratification when recalling the land of his 
 sires and the surroundings of his childhood. Animated 
 
 m 
 
 H 
 ■1 1 m 
 
 
 ^l 
 
 W^::-^ 
 
 m 
 
with a gfenerond love to the Jewish nation, his heart still 
 glov^ed untder the pow«r and purity of (Mitriiotfe sympathies ; 
 in fact we ratty recOgAize in the latter the natural stem upon 
 which the fotmet t<ra9 grafted, for he who loves his own 
 country well will ever be ready to share and eneoumige the 
 sentiments of the patriot in every land. Between the iden- 
 tification of himself with lotfal interests and his honra-foorn 
 attachments there was no inoompatibility, but a beautiful 
 anfd noble cohsisteiiicy. He wis moreoveir a Roman by al- 
 legiance, specially sworn and commissioned to assert the 
 rights and tiphold the dignities of his governments Whenever 
 they wete endangered or opposed. This was a relation the 
 clftims and responsibilities of Which were of necessity al- 
 ways present to his mind. But he found he could both 
 carry ihe sword as Coesar's representative and promote the 
 wellbeing of the community in which he lived. In truths 
 whether he made it a matter of study or not, he pursued the 
 very course which virsls at once the dictate of patriotic in- 
 spiration and the most likely means of securing respect to 
 his authority, submission to his government, and reconcilia- 
 tion to their altered civil relations among his Jewish fellow- 
 subjects. 
 
 . Hear then. My Countrymen, in the character and conduct 
 of this noble Roman soldier while fulfilling his appointment 
 to a term of provincial service, we have an admirable ex- 
 emplification of i^hat may be called, the proper deportment 
 of patriotic colonists, such as We this day publicly avow 
 ourselves to be. And if, following the i^ketch which I have 
 given of it, we have remarked any points of resemblance 
 between oiir own situation aiid that of the Centurion, let us 
 not be ashamed to take sUch practical suggestions as they 
 offer, iii regard to the dUe upholding of the relations we sus- 
 tain, the interests involved in them, and the responsibilities 
 which they impose, — ever remembering that if the dear old 
 land, from which we or our fathers have come by voluntary 
 expatriation, has peculiar claims upon our lifelotig love atld 
 
f 
 
 till 
 
 dutifol oommemomtion, the land in which we live has also 
 clftimai upon us which we can neither wisely nor safely 
 neglect. We are not patriots because we are Scorch men ; 
 but if there dwells in our bosoms the true spirit of Scottish 
 patriotism^ which rejoices in the progress of social virtue, 
 manly independence, enlightened civilization, and all the 
 humanizing arts of peace wherever they are cultivated, then 
 not Scotland alone, much as we love and have reason to 
 love her, but also Britain, and especially this great depen- 
 dency of the British Crown, will occupy an exalted place in 
 the loyalty of our hearts, and in the honest, upright, judi- 
 cious, and, let me say, prayerful endeavour of our lives. 
 We may therefore profitably advert to a few of the more 
 general similarities alluded to. 
 
 I. Our situation is one of separation from the Father- 
 land. At the call of doty or from some less disinterested 
 consideration, such as a romantic love of change or a desire 
 to improve bur temporal condition, we have transfened our- 
 selves hither from the place of our birth. All the leagues of 
 the Atlantic lie between us and the realities of our first, 
 Aiost unrestrained familiarity. That which it was once the 
 office of sight to do, it is now the function of memory to 
 perform ; and the exercise is sometimes grateful, sometimes 
 sAd, as we recall the scenes of former days, when the 
 family group was yet unbroken by death and unscattefed 
 by change, and live betimes in a sort of reflective absorption 
 upon the natural objects and social institutions with which 
 our first-begotten associations are connected. We still feel 
 interested in the companions of our youth, our mates at 
 school and competitors at boyish games, often rejoicing at 
 the eminent usefulness and illustrious distinction to which 
 some of them have attained, and as often wondering how 
 it has fared with others in the pilgrimage and battle of life. 
 A gush of tenderest emotion swells our bosoms as we let 
 our spirits dwell on more sacred things — the hallowing still- 
 ness of the Scottish rural Sabbath, when all the noise of 
 
 
 \i I ■ 
 
 ''' 4' 
 
8 
 
 worldly toil is hushed, and the air is filled with the glorious 
 harmony of pure sweet notes, with which it is nature's pre- 
 rogative on the holy day to express her channs and im- 
 prove her admirers, as she celebrates her Creator's praise — 
 the house of prayer to which a parent's hand first conducted 
 us, and wiiere our earliest impressions of the reality and im- 
 portance of religion were, through the solemn administra- 
 tion of word and ordinance, realized — the old churchyard 
 where the dust of bygone generations is heaped, and where 
 the ashes of dearest friends and nearest relatives repose. 
 Diverting our recollections to another track, we minister to 
 our instruction by summoning before us those hoary monu- 
 ments of the stirring events of Scottish history, with which 
 every corner of the land is enriched ; or find pleasure in 
 the mental rehearsal, now of the legends and traditions 
 which have been floated down the current of story from an- 
 cient times, and now of amusing anecdotes which have 
 originated with the real celebrities of modern days. Nor 
 do we fail to think with satisfaction and reverence of the 
 valuable contributions which some of Scotia's sons, eminent- 
 ly gifted with the resources of genius and the spirit of in- 
 dustrious application, have made to every department of 
 literature, science, and art, thereby communicating a whole- 
 some and elevating tone to the higher educational institu- 
 tions of our native land, and even exercising a most bene- 
 ficial tendency upon the thoughts and sentiments of the 
 population at large. 
 
 Under a combination of manifold influences such as 
 these, our love of country was born and bred. We may not 
 be able to assign a date to the first movements of the prin- 
 ciple within us. Unconsciously, it may be, it took shape, 
 acquired expansion, and matured its growth ; for, like other 
 sentiments and capacities of our nature, it is the better of, 
 if it does not need, a time of trial to prove its existence and 
 determine its character. As with the youth going forth into 
 the world from his father's house, so with the emigrant 
 
quitting his native shore, he may never have realized how 
 much he loves it until the hour of parting comes. As to 
 the result, it need hardly be doubted that among the great 
 mass of settlers in this new world, notwithwtanding the ad- 
 mission of numerous advantages from the change, there is 
 a more intense love of country than among those who remain 
 at home. Many illustrations of this fact readily occur to us 
 all. It is this which leads to the formation of such Societies 
 as that whose anniversary we are celebrating — not the need 
 of an institution to remind us of our origin and preserve our 
 nationality, but the desire for an opportunity of uniting to- 
 gether in the expression of our common feelings of attach- 
 ment to the mother country. How often does the home-sick 
 immigrant, who has been scarcely a day among us, bitterly 
 regret the course of events which has brought him hither ! 
 How often does the colonist, even after many years of pros- 
 perous settlement, sigh for an opportunity of visiting the 
 place of his birth, believing that if he only saw once more 
 its hills and streams, he could live more contentedly and die 
 more peacefully ! How few are thoroughly reconciled to 
 the prospect of never again treading their native soil ! How 
 great and prompt is the power of occurrences which in 
 other circumstances would be deemed most trivial — the 
 naming of an old companion, the meeting of fellow villagers, 
 the hearing of a Scottish song or proverb — in stirring our re- 
 collections and feelings about home. 
 
 And if parting furnishes the trial by which the strength 
 of our attachment is discovered, continued separation en- 
 ables us to judge of the extent to which it remains and the 
 manner in which it is affected. Our love for the Fatherland 
 is not only not diminished by a long absence from it, but it 
 also asserts its supremacy over all predilections subsequent- 
 ly acquired, in spite of the most favourable comparisons^ 
 Though we are prepared to avow of the lot which has fallen 
 to us, that it is both goodly and pleasant ; though we look 
 upon a clearer sky and breathe a purer air ; though we have 
 richer fields and more majestic rivers ; our preferences still 
 
 
 
 S' ■ "i 
 
unmistakahly cling to the country whence we come ; «acI 
 whatever be the arguments and demonstrations we may Itave 
 occasion to resist, none of them can equal in force and elo- 
 quence the simple reply with which we meet them all-^" It 
 ifi our own, our native land." 
 
 11. Our situation is one of advantage to our social and 
 personal interests. There are some respects in which we 
 have lost nothing by the change. Our position, rights, and 
 privileges as British subjects are not impaired. Our expa- 
 tiiation has not Asmoved or estranged us from the Empire 
 of which Scotland is territorially but a little part. We en- 
 joy all the unspeakable advantages of civil and religious 
 freedom, and the fault will be our own if we do not trans- 
 mit them in their integrity to our children. We have easy 
 access to the purest and most substantial productions of liter- 
 ary effort ; we can avail ourselves of all the applications of 
 the discoveries and developements of modern enterprise 
 to the useful and liberal arts; we are blessed with an 
 abundance of educational institutions of every grade ; we 
 lack none of the facilities for cultivating and perpetuating 
 the amenities of social life. The inhabitants of this Pro- 
 vince, whether native-born or otherwise, are our fellow-sub- 
 jects, and we have reason to congratulate ourselves on the 
 prevalency amongst them of a sentiment of loyalty that vies 
 with our own, in the characteristics of enlightenment, 
 soundness, and determination. The British Government 
 generously extends to us the patronage of its favour and the 
 shield of its protection, while devolving upon our own 
 shoulders the responsibilities connected with constitutional 
 authority and local legislation. Victoria — whom may God 
 preserve "long to reign over us !"— isour Queen, and we 
 need yield to none of her subjects as regards the place which 
 she holds in our merited admiration, fond affection, aud 
 prayerful wishes. _ 
 
 There are some respects in which the apparent disadvan- 
 tages of expatriation are relieved. In this land the Scotch- 
 
11 
 
 man has frequent opportunities of meeting with countrymen, 
 and so, of enjoying in grateful converse his recollections of 
 the past, and of lessening whatever may be disagreeable in 
 his present lot by the interchange of common sympathies and 
 mutual encouragements. \^herever he chooses a home for 
 himself he generally finds a considerate disposition to 
 welcome and assist him, on the part of those whose expe- 
 rience qualifies them to act as advisers ; and it gratifies him 
 to see the readiness with which colonists of every origin 
 strive to make common cause with him, in the novelty and 
 strangeness of his situation. Another alleviation is the ac- 
 tual proximity of Canada to Britain. We are really not far 
 away from home — not farther, in point of travelling time, 
 than some parts of Scotland were, not very long ago, from 
 one another. Such is the efficiency and frequency of our 
 postal communication by various lines, that we can have 
 letters from friends and acquaintances much oftener than 
 we have the time or care to answer them ; such is the prac- 
 tical application of that most marvellous of modern discov- 
 eries, the electric telegraph, that we receive all public news 
 of any interest when only a few days old ; and such the 
 enterprize, energy, and capital devoted to the provision of 
 an inexpensive and comfortable sailing accommodation 
 across the ocean, that it is fast becoming as much an affair 
 of pleasure as of business to pass from shore to shore, and 
 there are few but feel that, whether to gratify a desire or 
 obey a call of duty, we might easily and speedily revisit 
 Scotia's strand. These are facilities which have a powerful 
 effect in reconciling us to separation, whensoever we may 
 be tempted to regard it as a hardship ; and as we reflect 
 upon the amazing progress with which in recent years they 
 have been furnished, we are prepared to consider them as 
 but the beginning of manifold greater achievements with 
 which the future is pregnant. 
 
 There are some respects in which our separation is a 
 positive gain. With the vast multitudes who annually 
 
reach our shores as immigrants, the principal object is the 
 impiroverheht of their temporal estate ; and in the <!ase of 
 honest, §f6ady, and industrious Scotchmen' there U no doubt 
 that, saving it rhay be a little temporary hardship at the 
 commencement of their career, disappointment is but the 
 exceptional result, while of many it is true that they have 
 risen to circumstances of comfort, independence, and even 
 affluence, of which they had no expectation in their bright- 
 est visions of worldly success. Thousands of our counliry- 
 men have thus, with the blessing of a beneficent Providence, 
 benefitted themselves and their families much more abun- 
 dantly than they could ever hope to do in their native land. 
 Inhere is also an intellectual and moral gain which most 
 of us will cheerfully acknowledge. Emerging from some 
 limited sphere, breaking loose from the hampering routine 
 of unchanging pursuits, casting off the yoke of ordinary 
 commonplace ideas, and then, as it were, stepping out into 
 the great world and coming in contact with its enlarged 
 realities, there has been a consequent expansion of the mind 
 through personal observation and independent effort, there has 
 been a more thoughtful realization of the significance of human 
 relationships, there has been a freer exercise of the great sen- 
 timents and sympathies of a benevolent interest in the frailties, 
 needs, and strivings, which mark the progress and affect the 
 destiny of our common brotherhood. And to these I do not 
 hesitate to add an actual gain of a spiritual kind with a reli- 
 gious tendency. For who that thinks of it, and it is a thought 
 which frequently recurs to reflecting minds — that this self- 
 expatriation disturbs the delusive idea of an abiding home, 
 which the more settled conditions of old country life are apt 
 to encourage, — but is ready to testify with those of old who 
 ** confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
 earth " — an experience this, which should serve to check all 
 inordinate attachments to things and places here below, and 
 give to our better desires a steadier aim towards the celes- 
 tial home of eternal union, purity, and bliss ? " ; •''' 
 
III. Our situation is one which devolves upon us all very 
 grave responsibilities and duties. It is not required of us to 
 attempt the impossibility of forgetting the land of our birth ; 
 but, while preserving a grateful and affectionate remem- 
 brance of that land, and cherishing an undying in- 
 terest in whatever concerns her national character and 
 affects the welfare of her people, we ought not to enervate 
 our energies for present usefulness, by giving way to the 
 foolishness of a mere romantic doting. There are consider- 
 ations sufficiently legitimate and powerful to animate us to 
 a wiser course, and to direct and stimulate our endeavours 
 to follow it. That our lives may be truly profitable, we 
 must circumscribe the range of our activities within man- 
 ageable limits. The wider relations we sustain are most 
 honourably upheld by a faithful attention to such as are 
 more immediate. If there be anything in the position and 
 character of our nation to justify in tis a feeling of honest 
 pride, let us demonstrate our sense and appreciation of it, 
 by cultivating here a strict adherence to the principles of 
 honour and virtue \vhich constitute the only true foundation 
 of it. If we have any faith in the distinctive characteristics 
 of Scottish individuality, let us be jealously watchful against 
 whatever may tend 1o impair them or throw discredit upon 
 the name we bear. If we have been taught to reVere all 
 noble and manly qualities, let us not nullify the instructions 
 of our youth, by giving way to indiscretions and follies in 
 maturer years. If our love of country has been nurtured to 
 robustness amidst wholesome influences, let the fruits it 
 should be producing now be as the seed which, by its fall, 
 propagates the goodly plant. The land in which we live 
 and the community of which we are members are the field 
 which shall hereafter show, to what, if any purpose, we have 
 imbibed the spirit of patriotism, and improved the legacy of 
 a generous self-reliance inherited from our fathers. This 
 country has claims upon our devotion to its weal which we 
 cannot dare to repudiate, without proving ourselves to be un- 
 worthy of our origin. Here, the bountiful God whom we 
 
 
 '^: ) 
 
 i i^; 
 
14 
 
 worship, the God of our Fathers, has visited and blessed us 
 with many tokens of his favour, and it is but the part of 
 filial dependence and gratitude to acknowledge our indebt- 
 edness, by acquitting ourselves in every way most likely to 
 glorify his name, and promote the well-being of our fellow* 
 citizens. This is the birth-place and home of our children, 
 and for their sakes we should feel the importance of such an 
 exemplary discharge of all life's duties, as they may have 
 pleasure and profit in imitating. In the mingling of nation- 
 alities and the diversity of creeds, by which the present 
 slate of this country is singularly characterized, there is room 
 for the exercise of a respectful Christian forbearance, but 
 such is the degree of amity that prevails, that there is no- 
 thing to shake, but much to warrant, the expectation of 
 speedy and enduring results for the public good, from the 
 maintainance on the part of individuals of all that is best in 
 human character. Whatever be the direction and way in 
 which these varied circumstances open out to us the path of 
 duty, let us follow the course which, with the approval of 
 our consciences, they indicate to be the worthiest ; let us do 
 so with a temperate and prudent zeal for all the interests in- 
 volved, social, moral, civil, and religious; and so, it shall be 
 seen by the generations which are to come, that Scotchmen 
 have not lived in Canada in vain, but that they have wisely 
 co-operated with other nationalities in shaping and forward- 
 ing the progress of Provincial prosperity. 
 
 Finally, if your love of country especially prompts you 
 to be interested in the welfare of your countrymen, let me 
 remind you that from year to year many of these land 
 upon our shores but poorly qualified for the difficulties and 
 hardships of the settler's life. It is a good and blessed 
 work to direct and assist them in their laudable project of 
 self-improvement, to send them rejoicing on their way to 
 the place of their destination in the vast interior, and thus 
 be the means of causing them to feel that they are not thrown 
 altogether among strangers, but that the sympathy of their 
 countrymen is ready to extend to them an encouraging 
 
Id 
 
 welcome and a helping hand. That, together with the 
 relief of the Scottish poor resident in this city, is now'the 
 principal, as it is certainly a most appropriate object of the 
 active operations of this Society. During the last year, as 
 your Charitable Committee has reported, ** The St. An- 
 drew's Home " has been of essential service in the accom- 
 modation, for longer or shorter periods, of many persons who 
 would otherwise have been exposed to much suffering and 
 temptation, and, thanks to the generosity of its numerous 
 friends and benefactors, a very large amount of pecuniary 
 aid has been dispensed in connection with it. Let me 
 earnestly commend to your continued regards and liberal 
 support this active and valuable charity, which is entitled 
 to our fullest confidence because of the care and judicious- 
 ness with which it is conducted. And if, in pressing this 
 matter upon your attention, I may take any other argument 
 from the history of our Institution since last Anniversary, 
 let it be the impressive fact which the altered state of our 
 membership presents, for an unusual number of deaths for 
 a single year has occurred, occasioning the removal, from a 
 list by far too small, of the names of some of the earliest 
 friends of the Society, and some of the most unostentatious 
 but liberal contributors to its funds. Like them, we all 
 must soon resign the post of usefulness and duty to other 
 occupants. While now we have the opportunity and the 
 means, let us honour the claims of a patriotic. Christian 
 benevolence. 
 
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 11 
 
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 ^'1 
 
 JOHN C. BECKBT, PRINTEK, 38, GBKAT ST. JAMES SPRBST.