“A dead Ministry will always make a dead People. Whereas if Ministers are warmed with the Love of God themselves, they cannot but be Instruments of diffusing that Love amongst others. This, This is the best preparation for the Work where unto you are to be called. Learning with Piety will only render you more capable of promoting the Kingdom of the Devil. Henceforward therefore I hope you will enter into your Studies, not to get a Parish, not to be a Polite Preacher, but to be a great Saint. This indeed is the most compendious Way to true Learning; for an Understanding enlightened by the Spirit of God is more susceptible of divine Truths; and I am certain is the best Way to prove useful to Mankind: for the more holy you are the more God will delight to honor you. He loves to make use of Instruments like himself.”
George Whitefield
A Letter to the Students of Harvard and Yale, 1741