PREFACE. "Of making many books there is no end." Thus spake king Solomon, and if he had lived in this day, he probably would have seen no reason to alter this opinion. Has not this age somewhere been called a book-making age? Every one, however, who makes a book, whether from his own brain, or from other men's productions, has some motive or motives for doing so. The writer of this volume was actuated by certain motives in preparing it, which were entirely satisfactory to his own mind; but he does not apprehend that it will particularly subserve the cause of truth to make known to the public what these motives A* were. Therefore the readers of the Unique may ascribe to the author such motives as their good sense may dictate. If they give him the credit of good motives, he will be glad; if bad, he will be sorry; but yet not sorry that he wrote the book. If you say to a poet that a certain thing, in any of his productions, is improper, or inaccurate, or offends good taste, or find any kind of fault-he answers, "Oh, that is allowed by poetic license." Poetic license is a curious sort of a character. He throws the mantle of charity over many things that, otherwise, would suffer by exposure. The author of this work thinks that he ought to be indulged with a sort of poetic license; and that the fault-finders should all remember that the book is unique-a book of its own kind-unlike other books-and therefore great and charitable allowance should be made. He cannot see why he should not escape on the ground of an unique license, as well as the How poet on the ground of a poetic license. ever, as some may be unwilling to grant him any such license, he would say, that should any fastidious readers object to the language used by any of the characters that figure in this book, they must remember that it is unreasonable to make the author responsible for the language of every church member. He does not keep a school to teach them, and he did not deem it his duty to correct them. They must talk in their own way. Should any say, No man ever reasoned as foolishly as some in this book are said to have done, the writer would not contradict such, but, gently begging their pardon, would take the liberty to remark that they are mistaken. He knows of facts that would perfectly satisfy any ingenuous minded man, that some church members reasoned, or, more properly, talked, even more foolishly than any of the talkers in this book. Possibly, some may object to the representations herein contained, and say they do not fairly describe evangelical ministers, churches and Christians.* Two things the writer would request the objector to keep in kind remembrance. First, that he nowhere intimates that these representations are applicable to all cases. Second, that if the objector does not know of cases to which they are applicable, others may. The objector is not competent to decide this point, unless he is acquainted with all the evangelical ministers, churches and Christians in the United States. It may be a very easy thing for him to say, the picture is overdrawn, but it would be a very difficult inatter to prove it. It may be objected to the contents of the Unique, that they expose too many things in the religious world. Gentle objector, remember, worldly men know all these things, and complain that religious people try to cover them up. They certainly *It is possible for a man to be a Christian, and maintain a course not strictly evangelical. |