Hosea Ballou

Hosea Ballou (April 30, 1771 - June 7, 1852) was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer. Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire. The son of Maturin Ballou, a Baptist minister, he was self-educated, and devoted himself early on to the ministry. In 1789 he converted to Universalism, and in 1794 became a pastor of a congregation in Dana, Massachusetts. He preached at Barnard, Vermont and surrounding towns in 1801-1807; at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1807-1815; at Salem, Massachusetts in 1815-1817; and as pastor of the Second Universalist Church in Boston from December 1817 until his death there.

17 Quotes

Brevity and conciseness are the parents of correction.

Hosea Ballou

Those who commit injustice bear the greatest burden.

Hosea Ballou

Doubt is the incentive to truth and inquiry leads the way.

Hosea Ballou

Exaggeration is a blood relation to falsehood and nearly as blamable.

Hosea Ballou

Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character.

Hosea Ballou

The oppression of any people for opinion's sake has rarely had any other effect than to fix those opinions deeper, and render them more important.

Hosea Ballou

A single bad habit will mar an otherwise faultless character, as an ink-drop soileth the pure white page.

Hosea Ballou

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit.

Hosea Ballou

Hatred is self-punishment. Hatred it the coward's revenge for being intimidated.

Hosea Ballou

Disease is the retribution of outraged Nature.

Hosea Ballou

The act of divine worship is the inestimable privilege of man, the only created being who bows in humility and adoration.

Hosea Ballou

Preaching is to much avail, but practice is far more effective. A godly life is the strongest argument you can offer the skeptic.

Hosea Ballou

Suspicion is far more to be wrong than right; more often unjust than just. It is no friend to virtue, and always an enemy to happiness.

Hosea Ballou

Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams.

Hosea Ballou

Theories are always very thin and insubstantial, experience only is tangible.

Hosea Ballou

Falsehood is cowardice, the truth courage.

Hosea Ballou

Never let your zeal outrun your charity. The former is but human, the latter is divine.

Hosea Ballou