It  was  his  earnestness  and  force  that  made  him
what  he  was  and  not,  it  must  be  confessed,  any
outstanding  brilliancy  of  mind.  His  fellow-
citizen,  Doctor  Bushnell,  far  excelled  him  in
mental  power,  in  breadth  and  orginality  of
thought,  in  versatility  and  imagination.  In
Horace  Bushnell  was  always  something  of  the
poet,  much  of  the  mystic.  His  books  are  bought
today  and  his  name  remembered,  while  Dr.
Hawes,  except  in  his  old  church  and  city,  is  for-
gotten. Yet  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether,  con-
sidering Joel  Hawes's  early  difficulties  and  his
moderate  mental  equipment,  one  could  find  a
better  example  than  his  life  furnished  of  what
may  be  accomplished  by  a  man  who  cherishes  a
conviction  of  personal  destiny.  He  became  as-
sured that  God  intended  him  to  preach  the  gos-
pel and  he  proceeded  to  do  just  exactly  that  with
confidence,  single-mindedness  and  consequent
success  during  a  long  life.  His  last  sermon  was
delivered  three  days  before  his  death.
Here  is  his  theory  of  the  preacher's  mission:
'  Truth,  God's  truth  especially,  is  eternally,  and
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must  be,  interesting  to  the  mind  of  man;  and,  if
I  can  succeed  in  getting  that  truth  before  the
minds  of  my  people,  I  shall  not  fail  to  interest
and  instruct  all  classes  of  them,  be  their  cultiva-
tion  and  tastes  and  habits  ever  so  dissimilar.
This,  then,  shall  be  the  great,  leading  object  of
my  preaching:  I  will  get  as  much  of  God's  truth
into  my  sermons  as  I  can"  ....
