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