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Selections from the Writings of the Rev. John Wesley

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Selections from the Writings of the Rev. John Wesley JOHN WESLEY. "The noblest portrait of all. SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF THE Rev. JOHN WESLEY, M.A. SOMETIME FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD COMPILED AND ARRANGED WITH A PREFACE BY HERBERT WELCH OF THE NEW YORK EAST CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH New York: Eaton & Mains Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham Copyright by EATON & MAINS, 1901. CONTENTS. PAGE Preface 5 Sermons : Divine Providence II The More Excellent Way 21 The Duty of Reproving Our Neighbour 35 The Danger of Riches 45 Charity 63 God's Vineyard 78 Treatises : A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists 93 A Short History of Methodism , 121 Thoughts upon Methodism 127 An Earnest Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion 131 A Letter to the Rev. Mr. Downes 158 A Letter to a Clergyman 171 A Letter on Preaching Christ 176 Thoughts concerning Gospel Ministers 181 An Address to the Clergy 184 Farther Thoughts on Separation from the Church 209 The Character of a Methodist 213 A Letter to a Roman Catholic 225 A Plain Account of Genuine Christianity 234 Thoughts upon Liberty 250 Thoughts Concerning the Origin of Power 266 Thoughts on the Power of Music 275 Letters : To His Brother Samuel 280 To His Brother Charles 286 To Mr. Richard Tompson 290 To Mr. John Trembath 291 4 Contents. Letters— Continued. PAGE To Lady Maxwell 293 To the Rev. Mr. Venn 297 To Mr. Thomas Rankin 301 To Mrs. Emma Moon, of Yarm 303 To Mr. John Mason 304 To Mr. Joseph Benson 305 To Mrs. Crosby 307 To a Young Disciple 308 To the Rev. John Fletcher 310 To Mr. George Shadford 312 To Miss Bolton 313 To Samuel Sparrow, Esq 315 To Mr. John King 316 To a Member of the Society 316 To Mr. 320 To Bishop Lowth 321 To Mr. 323 To the Commanding Officer in Lowestoft 324 To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and Our Brethren in North America 325 To the Rev. Freeborn Garrettson 327 To Dr. Adam Clarke 329 To the Rev. Peard Dickinson 330 To the Rev. Francis Asbury 331 To Mrs. Adam Clarke 332 To Robert C. Brackenbury, Esq., of Raithby, Lincolnshire... 334 To the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, of Philadelphia 335 To a Friend 336 Index 337 PREFACE. The religious revival of the eighteenth century in England was more than an incident ; it was an epoch. Its connection not sim- ply with theology and church organization, but with literature, ed- ucation, philanthropy, social reform, and national temper, gives it significance for all students of their own and the preceding gener- ations. In this revival the central personage is not far to seek. " We do not, of course, forget that Wesley was but one of a number of re- ligious teachers and reformers whom we identify with the move- ment towards what we may call ' vital religion.' But when all is said and done, John Wesley remains the one supreme and towering figure, a characteristic product of England, and one of the noblest and most saintly of her sons." * The people called Methodists are clearly not alone in their high appreciation of their founder's work. Passing over the better known words of Macaulay and Buckle and Lecky, of Southey and Stanley and Green and Huxley, we may note two recent tributes. " England, as a whole, is as truly interested in Wesley as in Shakes- peare ; and it may well be doubted whether in the long course of her history any one person has ever influenced her life in so direct, palpable, and powerful a way as John Wesley."! " You cannot cut him out of our national life. No single figure influenced so many minds, no single voice touched so many hearts. No other man did such a life's work for England. "J This book is an attempt, not to characterize the man or his work, but to let him speak for himself. To a degree not common even among literary men, we may discover in Wesley's writings his opinions, his peculiarities, his methods of life, the sources of his power. He was not only an omnivorous reader, but a writer, the quantity and range of whose output were astounding. Burdened as he was with details of administration, taxed by immense ministerial labors in travel and preaching, he still maintained his. studious and meditative habit, and found time for the exercise of his inher- ited taste for literary pursuits. Coke, Fletcher, Benson, and Clarke, all made contributions of value to the literature of the church ; but it was Wesley who stood in the forefront. From A Col- * Wesley's Services to England (editorial), in The Spectator (London), July 13, 1899. Mbid. % John Wesley\ by Augustine Birreil, in Scribner's Magazine, December, 1899. 6 Preface. lection of Forms of Prayer, in 1733, t0 The Arntinian Magazine for 1 791 his publications, original, edited, or abridged, were un- ceasing. In the latest and most accurate list,* 371 such publica- tions are named, besides a score more of Charles Wesley's books which probably received his brother's editorial oversight. Of the total 391, 14 are musical, 62 poetical, and 315 prose. In 30 of these, John and Charles Wesley seem to have shared the labor, or at least their work cannot be distinguished ; the other 341 are to be credited to John Wesley alone. Of these, 233 are original works. Only 15 publications, including & Kempis and some sermons and devotional books, appeared before 1740. Then began a freer use of the press. From 1740 to 1750, and beyond, came the defenses of Methodism ; from 1740 to 1760, many controversial and theolog- ical works; beyond 1760, a larger number of letters. In 1768 the first of the political tracts was printed. After 1780, except the Minutes and The Arminian Magazine, there are only a few pub- lications of importance. Sermons, Hymns, and Journals appeared at intervals all through this half century of literary activity. The character of these publications varies widely, from A Chris- tian Library, in fifty volumes (containing extracts, with notes, of theological writings from the apostolical fathers to the eighteenth century), and The Arminian Magazine, in fourteen volumes (a monthly devoted especially to the defense of " universal redemp- tion "), to tracts addressed to smugglers, swearers, drunkards, and bribe-takers. They include prose and poetry, in English and Latin. Among them are sermons, letters, biographies, devotional manuals, polemical pamphlets; grammars of the English, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages ; treatises on logic, medicine, literary criticism, theology, philosophy, and public affairs ; histories of Rome, England, and the Christian church ; a comprehensive, though concise, system of natural philosophy ; commentaries on the entire Scriptures ; and The Complete English Dictionary. The ventures into so many fields of learning did not, in this case, imply the gross egotism that might be suspected. Popular litera- ture was then unknown. It was highly desirable to teach and train the converts of the Methodist preachers, and to defend the Metho- dist doctrine and practice. Under the urgency of friends or the pressure of circumstances, Wesley undertook literary tasks to which he felt himself unequal in knowledge and in time, but for which no other man was available. His ambition was to meet a need of the hour, to produce a literature simple enough for plain men to un- derstand, cheap enough for poor men to buy. Two thirds of his publications up to 1756 were for sale at less than a shilling each, and more than a quarter of them at one penny.t * The Works of John and Charles Wesley ; a Bibliography, by the Rev. Richard Green. London : C. H. Kelly, r8i)6. t Stevens, History of Methodism, ii. 494. — — Preface. 7 This desire to produce cheap and plain publications naturally de- termined the style of their composition. Wesley tried to avoid dulness, verbosity, and obscurity.* He loved brevity, and regarded " a great book as a great evil," remarking once, " I believe if angels were to write books, we should have very few folios."t He culti- vated a somewhat Puritan simplicity. In the preface to his Ser- " mons (1746.— Works, i, xviii) he said : Nothing here appears in an elaborate, elegant, or oratorical dress. ... I design plain truth for plain people : therefore, of set purpose, I abstain from all nice and philosophical speculations ; from all perplexed and intricate reason- ings ; and, as far as possible, from even the show of learning, un- less in sometimes citing the original Scriptures." And in publish- " ing the later Sermons (1788.— Works, ii, iv) : I dare no more write in a. fine style than wear a fine coat. Let who will admire the French frippery ; I am still for plain, sound English." His language, especially in the earliest period, lacks flexibility and richness. Formed on classic models, his style seems sometimes stiff and stilted. Practice, however, made him more nearly perfect. From being like the fencer whose regard is for the handling of his weapon and the rules of the play rather than for the disarming of his opponent, he came into the ease and energy of the later days. He is not wanting in imagination and picturesqueness ; but the distinctive traits of his best writing are still his careful and correct English, his apt use of words, his compactness of statement, his clear and logic- " al method. Mr. Leslie Stephen remarks : We admire his [Wes- ley's] sense and his sincerity. He remains on the plane of terse, vigorous sense. But it is also true that his eloquence never soars above the ground ; if there is no bombast, there is little more rhetoric than may be found in a vigorous leading article ; and if he wins our respect, he does not excite our admiration, or add to the stores of English rhetorical prose." J But Mr.
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