spondents bear the impress
of a cultured mind, in the grasp of the great doctrines which were
under discussion, and the nervous strength, simplicity, purity and
dignity of the language in which they are couched. The saddle, the
open road, and the clear sky were his permanent study, and he read
with the keen instinct of a student, whose hours were limited, as he
had other work to do, and he must furbish his brain, and warm his
heart by contact with the masters of literature who came at his call.

He was a constant reader of Wesley's Journal and sermons. When he was
travelling to the General Conference at Baltimore, he spent his time
on the vessel in study, as he writes: "Most of my time since I came on
board has been occupied in reading, chiefly Flavel's Treatise on the
Soul, Littleton's Roman History and Knox's Essays. Lord let none of
them prove improfitable!" For spiritual growth he was accustomed to
read religious biography, which is an excellent study, and he found
much comfort and food for serious reflection in the Lives of John
Fletcher and Whitefield. But he was not forgetful of the benefits of
the solid studies which are needful for the Christian minister, and he
applied himself with splendid energy to the Latin and Greek languages
and works on theology. Matthew Richey who was well qualified to speak
on the subject, because of his own training, and his acquaintance with
William Black says: "During the time of our personal acquaintance with
him, he possessed a critical knowledge of the New Testament in the
original, which must have been the result of many years' application.
In studying the Greek Testament, Parkhurst's Lexicon was his favorite
thesaurus, and he knew well to discriminate the sound learning and
theology with which that inestimable work abounds, from the fancies
and eccentricities both etymological and philosophical, with which
they are sometimes associated." It was his custom for many years to
read Thomas a Kempis Imitation of Christ at family prayer in the Latin
tongue, his wife reading the translation while he followed her in the
original, and Matthew Richey adds that while he "carefully studied the
Greek Testament, he was not forgetful of the Latin language, in which
his attainments were very respectable." We have no record of the books
he read or any account of his studies, but his Journal and letters
show, that he was a student all his life, reading theology, history,
biography and essays in l