A Christian in search of religious freedom

Southern Quarterly, Winter 2003 by Aiken, David

In 1847 Simms delivered the oration "Self-Development,"which is largely an expansion of ideas expressed in his earlier poetry. While Southern Passages and Pictures provides a glimpse of Simms's call to poetry, "Self-Development" reveals that, in Simms's mind, the call came directly from God. In this oration Simms connects "call" to "mission" and suggests that the accomplishment of any life purpose depends on faith and will, which he maintains "are two great essential agencies" (6).

God, Simms asserts, "summons none to his service, without endowing them with the necessary faculties" (18). What is needed in life is "that faith which recognizes a peculiar destiny and duty for every individual." Endowment, a word Simms uses in his earliest poetry, is at the heart of his oration on self-development. Both the endowment and the call come from God, not from man. Thus the individual who chooses a life work based on money or position in society, rather than on calling, has failed to meet his obligation to do God's will.

Once the individual has acquired a "conviction of individual endowment and individual obligation, the mind rises to a glorious consciousness." At this point, Simms states, "man is thus made to co-operate with God, in working out the grand scheme of indefinite progress, which constitutes the eternal life of nature" (9). Simms then expresses the bedrock beliefs of his Christianity:

It was to elevate man to this consciousness, and to prepare him for his share in this performance, that we owe the Divine Mission of Jesus Christ! His mission taught this individuality by his recognition of the personal gifts of the man, in utter disregard of the hostile influences of a convention which had only toiled for their degradation. He overthrew the authority of sects and parties. He raised the individual man into position and consequence. (10)

Therefore man is "no longer the mere constituent of a mass, subject to an hereditary priesthood." He can now "transfer his examination, from the world without, to the more populous world within himself." Man, Simms said, has "by the passion and resurrection of the Savior" become free "to exercise his endowment, not only according to the decree, but under the immediate cognizance of God," and man's accountability is "rendered direct to Heaven" (10). Elsewhere in the oration Simms discusses the need for complete obedience to the will of God. He argues that the size of one's endowment is unimportant. The most humble service, done in obedience to God's will, is equally important to that of a greater service. He further contends that endowments, being unique to each individual, are not equal. What makes men equal in the sight of God is the claim each has on God's care, protection, and justice.

The public statements expressed in this oration are bold. They are not the expressions of a shy Christian. They are clear and direct, and with Simms's permission they were published for the benefit of an even wider audience. Followed, as they were, by the publication of Sabbath Lyrics in 1849, they might completely assure us of Simms's essential Christian convictions.