Allfather

“ I shall no more be able to pray with you, to advise, or to direct you. But, my children, I leave with you a brother, who will perform to you the part of a father; I leave him in my place; it is my command, that he tread in my steps, as far as I have proceeded in the path of justice; and, my dear children, I conjure you to attend to his directions. The eldest son was, of old, the priest in the family of his father; and if you love me, if you love your mother, if you would prove your love to God, or even to yourselves, contribute all in your power to strengthen the hands of your brother. ”

“ In sooth, he might; then, if he were my brother's, My brother might not claim him; nor your father, Being none of his, refuse him. This concludes: My mother's son did get your father's heir; Your father's heir must have your father's land. ROBERT. Shall then my father's will be of no force To dispossess that child which is not his? BASTARD. Of no more force to dispossess me, sir, Than was his will to get me, as I think. ELINOR. Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge, And like thy brother, to enjoy thy land, Or the reputed son of Coeur-de-lion, Lord of thy presence and no land beside? ”

“ If they wish to stop our play, they say, 'Stop! you will give your uncle the headache.' If we handle anything we should not, they say, 'Hands off! that belongs to your uncle the canon.' If we ask for a peach, they tell us, 'No! it is from the garden of your uncle the canon.' If they give us a hug or a kiss, when we have done well, they say, 'Oh, your uncle the canon will be so pleased with you!' Was I not right? Is not our uncle the canon beyond all others? ”

“ Fair son, well beloved, it behoveth me presently to die, and thou shalt abide and be thine own master. Now firstly, fair son, keep thou the commandments of God; the chivalry of Jesus Christ do thou. Keep thou faith to thy lords, and give aid to thy fellows and friends. Defend the widows and orphans. Uphold the poor and needy: and all days hold thy last day in memory. Forget not the fellowship and friendship of the son of the Count of Alverne, whereas the Apostle of Rome on one day baptized you both, and with one gift honoured you. ”

“ I suppose because I have known the growth of his character so intimately. I called to mind a letter he had written me of what we had expected of our fathers. The ideal father, the profoundly wise, provident, divinely tender and benign, he is indeed the God of the human heart. How solemn this moment of being called to prepare the way, to make way for another generation! What fulfilment does it claim in the character of a man, that he should be worthy to be a father! — what purity of motive, what dignity, what knowledge! ”

“ Father is waiting to welcome you. I wrote him of you and he wrote me that if I did not bring you with me I might stay away myself. You will like father. He is fierce, like yourself, and tender-hearted, too—like yourself. Ah! Yes! You will like him and you will like Alabama. ”

“ By appointing brother Oliver to this position, I think he will be under his father's care, and where he can get the wisdom his father possesses. And I will say to the credit of the people here, they have done well. And brother Lorenzo Snow, who has had charge of you, has set the best example for the literal building up of the kingdom of God of any of our presiding Elders. There is one man in the South who I think will come up to this standard, and continue on. ”

“ Uncle William, and Uncle Joshua, and of all the good and noble men I had ever seen or heard of in my life; but still—that wasn't quite like a father, was it? I thought a father must be much, much better than anything else in the world! He must be brave, he must be beautiful, he must be good! ”

“ Shall we ever feel the cares of His hand and hear His voice, not in a figurative sense, but in reality."
"Now brother"—said Uncle Gilbert again.
"Don't interrupt. You do not need to answer my questions—you couldn't if you wanted to. Listen. What do you think of this: God is our Father, in reality as we naturally understand it—Father of our spirits. We are, therefore, His children. That is our relationship. Consequently we are of a family of Gods. Admit that our Father is God, and that we are His children, the conclusion is absolute. ”

“ That Great Father has sent me here to-day to pay you for your lands, to provide for your children, to see that you are fed, and that you are cared for. Your Great Father wishes you to be happy, to be friends to each other. The Great Father wants you and the whites to be friends; he wants you to have a house of your own, to have a school where your children can learn. He wants you to learn to farm, to learn to use tools, and also to have a doctor. ”

“ Nevertheless, cruelly forsaken in my last misfortunes, I have found in a stranger only, the compassion assistance, and tenderness of a father Without renouncing him who has rejected me. I have thought myself at liberty to adopt him whose virtue and beneficence render him worthy of such a sacred title. The father I have chosen is in obscure and needy circumstances; he is neither distinguished by family nor fortune, but he is virtuous and sensible. ”

“ If, therefore, you give way to this melancholy, how will you be able to perform your duty towards me, in cheerfully obeying my commands, and endeavouring, by your lively prattle and innocent gaiety of heart, to be my companion and delight? Nor will you be fit to converse with your brother, whom (as you lost your good papa when you were too young to know that loss) I have endeavoured to educate in such a manner, that I hope he will be a father to you, if you deserve his love and protection. ”

“ Happy these children, who in its fullest sense could understand the word "father!" to whom, from the dawn of their little lives, their father was what all fathers should be—the truest representative here on earth of that Father in heaven, who is at once justice, wisdom, and perfect love. ”

“ One who stands as a spiritual parent to another is his “father,” e.g. godfather, or in the title of bishops or archbishops, Right or Most Reverend Father in God. The pope is, in the Roman Church, the Holy Father. In the Roman Church, father is strictly applied to a “regular,” a member of one of the religious orders, and so always in Europe, in English usage, often applied to a confessor, whether regular or secular, and to any Roman priest, and sometimes used of sub-members of a religious society or fraternity in the English Church. ”

“ I remember it,’ Frank replied. ‘And can it be, uncle, that my heavenly Father is as well pleased with me when I pile wood as when I read the Bible?’
“His uncle replied, ‘To perform any duty with the spirit of obedience is pleasing to your heavenly Father. “To obey is better than sacrifice,” and great knowledge of the Scripture without practising it cannot make a Christian any more than great knowledge of geography can make a voyager of one who never leaves his home. ”

“ Christ said of His brotherhood, "One is your Master, even Christ and all ye are brethren.... One is your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 23:8,9) . We find here the great principle laid down that there can be no true brotherhood without a common fatherhood. Christians are brothers because they have a common "Master" and "Father" hence they seek to do good not only to the members of the brotherhood but to all men, because God is the Father of all. ”

“ I shall consult Uncle, and endeavor to be all that my father was in his time. Is that a worthy ambition, dear?”
“Oh, Gerald, let me tell Mamma. It will make her so happy. You are her idol, and to hear you say these things, to see you look so like dear Papa, would do more for her spirits than all the doctors in England.”
“Wait till I prove what my resolution is worth. When I have really done something, then I’ll surprise Mamma with a sample of my work.”
“Of course you’ll tell Lucia?” ”

“ A poor man had so many children that he had already asked every one in the world to be godfather, and when still another child was born, no one else was left whom he could invite. He knew not what to do, and, in his perplexity, he lay down and fell asleep. Then he dreamt that he was to go outside the gate, and ask the first person who met him to be godfather. When he awoke, he determined to obey his dream, and went outside the gate, and asked the first person who came up to him to be godfather. ”

“ To be a father is much; but to be a grandfather so infinitely nobler—and less trouble.”
The more I thought over it, the more I became impressed. My imminent paternity became almost an obsession with me. My marriage had surprised me. No time had I to embroider it with the flowers of fancy, but this was different. So engrossed did I become with a sense of my own importance that you would have thought no one had ever become a father before. In my enthusiasm I told Lorrimer of my interesting condition, but the faun-like young man rather damped my ardour. ”

“ But is not my uncle William coming down to see us? He promised to do so, and it made you quite happy—, Papa, for two days. I hope he will not disappoint you; and I am sure that it is not his fault if he ever seems to neglect you. He spoke of you to me, when I saw him, in the kindest and most affectionate manner. I do think, my dear father, that he loves you very much. ”

“ Besides, if the Eldest Son, after having in his Father’s lifetime done Homage to the Chief Lord for his paternal Inheritance, should die before his Father, there is no question but that his Son shall be preferred to the Uncle. ”

“ The great truth of the Fatherhood of God implies the correspondingly great truth of the brotherhood of man, and universal brotherhood depends upon the universal Fatherhood. You cannot have this brotherhood of man, except by getting them to kneel together and say “our Father.” The link that binds men together is the possession of a common Father. When we address God by that sweet name, we awake to the fact that we are all members of one great family, bound to one another by the strongest and dearest of ties. ”

“ By the Lord, in truth, Uncle—
UNCLE.
In truth would a served, cousin, without the Lord.
FLOWERDALE. By your leave, Uncle, the Lord is the Lord of truth. A couple of rascals at the gate set upon me for my purse.
UNCLE.
You never come, but you bring a brawl in your mouth.
FLOWERDALE.
By my truth, Uncle, you must needs lend me ten pound.
UNCLE.
Give my cousin some small beer here.
FLOWERDALE. Nay, look you, you turn it to a jest now: by this light, I should ride to Croyden fair, to meet Sir Lancelot Spurcock. ”

“ Do not you live in ease, in plenty, and happiness?”
“And do the poor and the unhappy thank Him too, uncle?”
“No doubt; every human being glorifies Him, for having been made a rational creature.”
“And does my aunt and all her card-parties glorify Him for that?”
The dean again made no reply, and Henry went on to other questions, till his uncle had fully instructed him as to the nature and the form of prayer; and now, putting into his hands a book, he pointed out to him a few short prayers, which he wished him to address to Heaven in his presence. ”

“ Asking a Gentleman to be Godfather. T——, March 10, 19—.
Dear Mr. Graham:—
I cannot tell you how much we should be gratified if you would consent to be godfather to our little son. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson have promised to be the other sponsors, and the christening is to take place on the 23d of April, at St. Mark's Church. We intend having a luncheon party on that day in honor of the event. Should you be too much engaged to be present, my husband would represent you at the church, and perhaps you would be able to look in at the luncheon. We should be much pleased to see you. ”

“ Every father of a family, in the normal and healthy state of society, is his own priest as well as his own king. In religion and morals, as well as in all domestic ordinances, he is absolute and supreme; and the functions which necessarily belonged to him as supreme administrator in his own family would, under the influence of family feelings, naturally be conceded to him when the family grew to a clan, and the clan to a kingdom. ”

“ I therefore beg my dear papa to be gracious to me; and can here say that, after long reflection, my conscience has not accused me of any the least thing with which I could reproach myself. But if I have, against my will and knowledge, done any thing which has angered my dear papa, I herewith most submissively beg forgiveness, and hope my dear papa will lay aside that cruel hatred which I can not but notice in all his treatment of me. ”

“ I feel sure,” said Uncle Alfred, with a doubting eye fixed upon his niece, “I feel certain that you appreciate your good fortune to the full. And I am equally sure, my dear niece, if you will allow an old man to speak a word in season, that you will remember from Whom all blessings flow. Take no credit unto yourself for those things which are Cæsar’s. And remember that I am prepared to enter into an arrangement with you, Rose, at any time, should you wish to return here when your boy has gone to school.” ”

“ And we are brought back to the point that in so far as the family group more or less may have resembled the Cymric gwely, and is approached from this point of view, it must be regarded as the group of descendants of a common grandfather or great-grandfather, who is, in the Archbishop’s phrase, the paterfamilias. While he is alive the landed rights are vested in him. ”

“ My grandfather, a descendant of the French nobility whose family had ridden the tumbrils of the Revolution, tended her fragile body and spirit with the same loving care given rare, brief-blooming flowers. ”