Page:Neatby - A history of the Plymouth Brethren.djvu/91

Rh in him a combination of fine and great qualities. His conversion, we have no reason whatever to doubt, was real and sincere. He is capable of much devotion to the Lord’s cause, and he has given striking proofs of it. He is a man of indefatigable activity, and at the same time of great originality and independence of mind. If he had taken a different turn, he might have rendered eminent services to the Church.

“Moreover we must distinguish in him, up to a certain point, the teacher, the head of a movement, and the simple Christian. Christian charity requires us to make such a distinction. Essentially our charge against him is that these three characters are not found in perfect harmony in him. From the point of view of his general Christian character he deserves the most honourable witness. His sermons, as well as his pastoral activity, in so far as they relate to what really belongs to the Christian life, are also worthy of great praise; Mr. Darby can edify very well when he wishes; he excels in treating certain thrilling truths of the Gospel; and both by this means and by his pastoral care he has done many people good, and has been, under God, the means of the conversion of some. But when in his teaching he broaches ecclesiastical questions, when he appears as head of a party, and when he endeavours to unite under his banner souls already converted, then he decidedly falls below his own level. Our criticism relates almost exclusively to his ecclesiastical system, and to his position and his proceedings as director of a particular society.”

It would be difficult to overpraise the sagacity that enabled Herzog to form such an estimate of Darby. Darby’s career was still in an early stage. By far the larger half of his public life, and by far the more sensational, was yet to come. With the information that later years and a closer acquaintance afford, we can see, if I mistake not, that both the light and the shade in Herzog’s picture require to be intensified; but in its broad outlines, the picture remains still a most authentic and impressive portrait. If Herzog was sometimes