Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Henry Walcott Boynton, Reader's History of American Literature

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[16] At twenty-two, as assistant to his distinguished father, he had entered the pastorate of the North Church of Boston, in which he remained until his death in 1728. All that was most acute, most pedantic, most rigid in the Puritan faith and practice appeared to be embodied in him. He fasted, he forced himself to incredible feats of mental endurance, he deliberately cultivated a habit of decorating the simplest experiences of life with pious reflections: “When he washed his hands, he must think of the clean hands, as well as pure heart, which belong to the citizens of Zion.” . . . “Upon the sight of a tall man, he said, ‘Lord, give that man high attainments in Christianity; let him fear God above many.’ ” More characteristic than either of these instances, perhaps, is his remark on the occasion of “a man going by without observing him, ‘ Lord, I pray thee help that man to take a due notice of Christ.’ ”

He was an extraordinarily voluminous writer. He published fourteen books in one year, and a list of his known publications contains three hundred and eighty-three titles. Most of these titles, like — a large part of his writing, are fearfully and wonderfully made: