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he was presented by Sir Francis Burdett . Through the kindness and interest of the present Earl of Dartmouth ' s grandfather , he also obtained from Bishop Lowth a prebend of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , which , though for many years of little value to
him , Was happily the means of securing him , to an ample degree , otium cum dignitate , in the decline of his life . He was thtfs indebted for all his preferment to the affection of private friends ; for though he was animated by fin ardent , but liberal and enlightened , attachment to our Civil and Ecclesiastical
Constitution ; though he was distinguished by unparalleled learning , by gigantic strength of intellect , by the most unblemished morals , and by profound unaffected piety , —he was never patronised bythe Government of his country . This is a circumstance which many will perhaps consider explained by his own words in his
admirable work on the Character of Mr . Fox , in which he truly states of himself , that 4 < from his youth upward , he never deserted a private friend , or violated a public principle ; that he was the slave of no patron , and the drudge of no party ; that he formed his political opinions without the smallest regard , and acted upon them
with an utter disregard , to personal emoluments and professional honours . " He further adds ( what his friends must rejoice at ) , " that although for many and the best years of his life he endured very irksome toil , and suffered very galling need , he eventually united a competent
fortune with an independent spirit , and that , looking back to this life and onward to another , he possessed that inward peace of mind which the world can neither give nor take away . ' * Nor will this be wondered at by those who know that his long residence at Hatton was spent by him in diligently performing all the duties of a Parish Priest , in assisting and
advising and befriending the poor , in the exercise of a generous hospitality , in encouraging and patronising merit , in communicating knowledge , whenever required , from his own inexhaustible stores , in contributing , by a most extensive correspondence , to the general illumination of the literary world , in manifesting by his words and deeds that he cultivated a
spirit of unbounded philanthropy as the practical essence of our holy religion , and in endeavours to promote from the pulpit and the presa whatever is most conducive to the public and private welfare of mankind . It need not be added , that such a man was venerated for his wisdom and
beloved for his goodness by all who had the happiness of knowing him . He accordingly died as ; i righteous man ought to die , in peace and charity with all men , and in n firm reliance on the precious
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promises of the . Gospel ; nor can it be doubted that , by those who are capable of appreciating true greatness of character , he will ever be considered not only as an ornament to , this county , but an honour to his eonntry , and to the human race .
To this tribute of respect , we are peculiarly happy to add another , namely , the Conclusion of a Sermon preached by Mr . Yates , at the New Meeting-house , Birmingham , on Sunday , March 13 / & , on occasion of the death of the Rev . Dr . Parr .
"To the views which I have set before you ( on the evils of Sectarian Animosity , ) my own mind has been led by the feelings of solemn and affectionate reverence for the character of that distinguished minister of religion in the Church of England , whose life diffused instruction
and delight amongst us , and whose death has occasioned a general regret throughout this neighbourhood . I need not apologize for introducing to a Dissenting congregation the praise of a man , whose extensive attainments and wonderful energy of character and understanding , joined to the most manly independence and the
noblest virtues , rendered him an ornament to the Christian Church , to his country , and to mankind . But , since his philanthropy was bounded by no sectarian prejudice , and extended its vital warmth and beneficial influence far beyond the circle af his own denomination it becomes us to remember him as he would have
wished us to remember him—as our friend and brother . This Congregation more especially owes to him a large debt of gratitude and admiration . Let me recall to your memory those dreadful times when the spot where we are now
assembled was covered by a heap of ruins . How nobly did he then come forward to vindicate your body from unmerited reproach , and at the same time to preserve them by his earnest and affectionate entreaties and his solemn
and powerful admonitions , from rashly exposing themselves to a repetition of the same evils under which they were still suffering : and , when the upright Christian philosopher , to whom this bereaved congregation then looked with
sorrowing anxiety , was assailed from every side by the shafts of misguided rage and cruelty , how equitable , how kind , and how courageous was the support which he received from the same nervous and discriminating pen !* Dr .
The allusion is here more particularly to one of the most beautiful and eloquent of Dr . Parr ' s compositions , his " Letter from Irenopolis to the Inhabitants of Kleutheropolis , A . D . 1792 !/ ' and to the admirable remarks upon the character of Dr , Priestley in that publication-
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184 Obituary . —Dr . Parr .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1825, page 184, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2534/page/56/
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