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Hugh Lenox Scott — son William McKendree Scott, and grandson of Charles Hodge — who became a famed U.S. military officer, once wrote that
I was brought up a Presbyterian of the Presbyterians in Princeton within a stone's throw of Princeton Seminary, the very essence of Presbyterianism in America.
When he graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1876, his grandfather gave him a Bible inscribed with the following message:
Dear Lennie,
Never pass a day without reading the Bible and calling upon God in prayer.
Learn to pray always. The Lord Jesus is ever near you. It does not take long to pray: “Lord preserve me: Lord help me; Lord keep me from sin.” We need to say this a hundred times a day.
Never gamble.
Never drink intoxicating liquor.
Never use profane language.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.
Never incur debt.
Live peaceable with all men.
Never be afraid to confess Christ.
Let your last words every night be: “I take Jesus Christ to be my God and Saviour.”
May the blessing of God be upon always and everywhere.
Your loving grandfather,
Charles Hodge
Princeton, Sept. 15, 1876
Source: Paul C. Gutjahr, Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy, p. 320
