Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) was an academic: nine years the President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and thirty-nine years the first Professor of Princeton Theological Seminary. But he was also an author that aimed to take his great learning and bring it down to the level of the people. One of the last volumes he published in his lifetime (Practical Sermons, 1850) , and a volume published posthumously (Practical Truths, 1857), are proof. The former was written for families to use in family worship, and the latter was a "Collected Writings" that contained "about forty articles written by Dr. Alexander in the latter years of his life, for the American Messenger; seven standard Tracts on high evangelical themes, for the Tract Society's general series; six small books written in simple style, and issued in large type, to gain the attention of common readers; selections from his cheering correspondence with the Society, and brief sketches of his life and character" (from the Preface).