The Father to the Son.
[XXXVII.] Schweidnitz, 17th May, 1787.
My DEAR SON,
God bless your residence in Halle. May His spirit preserve you from all evil, and His fatherly love draw you again to His Son, whom you have denied. Yea, this faithful Shepherd of souls will not Himself cease to seek for you, until, troubled and oppressed by your burdens, you shall turn back to our meek, and humble, and compassionate High Priest. I confidently hope, that the unsatisfactory nature of speculation, and the strength of your own corruption will anew render the crucified God dear to you.
Your two letters, as well as the one from your uncle, I only received a few days ago, so also one from 39, Reuss, together with a bill for fifty-five Saxon dollars, which I cannot, however, pay at present.
You will, no doubt at last, learn to see that even the most triumphant refutation of infidelity does not alone suffice to establish a tranquillizing and living faith in Jesus, but that this must be prayed for to Himself, as the author and consummator of our faith. In order to convince yourself of this, and also that you may learn whither pure speculation may lead you, I would recommend you to read a little book, entitled, Results of the Philosophy of Jacobi and Mendelsohn, published by Göschen, of Leipzig, in 1786, and likewise the little pamphlet, the title of which I enclose. If, after reading these, your fatal curiosity should still impel you to attend the exegetical lectures of the modern unbelievers, which are not only contrary to all faith, but also contrary to common sense, I will not forbid your doing so, because I wish to leave you full liberty to act for yourself; but as your father, I earnestly entreat and advise you not to do so; and in like manner, I entreat you not to associate with the evil-disposed, and not to confide too much in your own goodness. Whatever you would undertake, consult first with your dear uncle, and open your heart to him, and to your loving and affectionate father; and when you have thus learnt to see and feel that faith, trust, and love are the safest guides of an inexperienced soul—safer and more trustworthy guides than reason, blinded by pride and passion, can ever be—this may be to you a striking proof, that your invisible guide, the unfathomable love of the Most High, likewise encompasses you with faith and love, and through these, draws you nearer to Himself, and will at last unite you with Himself, because to Him you belong.
And now, farewell, dear son; seek the Lord with all thy heart; write to me fully and frankly, at least every six weeks. May the eternal love guide thee, and may thou be willing to follow, so as once more to give joy to the sorrowing heart of thy loving father.
[XXXVIII.] [No date.]
… . As you are now attending Eberhard’s lectures on metaphysics, I would recommend you at the same time to study and to weigh maturely Professor Kant’s Kritik der reinen Vernunft, and also his Prolegomena of Metaphysics, so that you may not be adventuring yourself into the boundless desert of transcendental ideas without some safe guide. And then as regards your private study of mathematics, I entreat you, dear son, do not allow yourself to be misled so as to conceive that you can apply the absolute certainty which can be arrived at in this science, as a standard of measure to theological truth; for the latter is of a very different nature, and is derived at one and the same time from historical and ethico-psychological evidence. During your hours of recreation and your walks, I recommend you a little book which is amusing, and at the same time instructive as a warning against enthusiasm; it is called Theobald, or the Enthusiasts, and is by the same author as Stilling. Though under feigned names, all the stories are strictly true, and one has come within my own experience, being the history of my late father, who appears in the second volume under the name of Darius. This, however, you must not mention to any one except your uncle; to him you may speak freely on this and all other subjects that I write to you about.
When engaged with the lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, give great attention to the motives which actuated the Apostles, and which are mentioned by Paul in the 2 Cor. v. 14. According to the Gospel of St. John iv. 10, 19, this love was, however, a love arising out of gratitude, out of the recognition of, or faith in, the greatness and depth of God’s love manifested in Christ, and in proportion to its sincerity expressing itself in action. Now the feeling of gratitude is so deeply implanted, and so ineradicable in the human heart, that even the most depraved cannot stifle it when once it is awakened; and, therefore, it is conformable with the general laws of the great Creator of the universe, the preservation, order, and beauty of which depend upon the simplest movements, to let the eternal bliss of his moral creatures also, which is equally for His glorification, spring from the simplest and most universal sentiment. Psalm 1. 23.
Give my best regards to dear Mr. N——, from whose society I hope a blessing and much advantage for you. For the conversion of your mind, however, I pray to God, who alone can bring it about, when you cease to strive against His Spirit; and then, like all those who have experienced the effects of His grace, you will eternally praise Him and glorify Him. Be tenderly embraced by Your faithful, loving Father.