Arminian Magazine (1785–91)1 [Baker list, #376–84] Editorial Introduction: In 1778 John Wesley began publishing the Arminian Magazine. He had witnessed the success of Calvinist journals like the Christian Magazine and Gospel Magazine, and wanted to provide an alternative monthly publication that would affirm and defend God’s universal offer of salvation. Each monthly installment of the Arminian Magazine had three major sections. First came a prose section that included sermons, spiritual biographies, excerpts from theological tracts, and the like. This was followed by a selection of letters (most written to Wesley) that were judged to be spiritually edifying. The concluding pages of each issue were devoted to poetry. In the first year, as he sought to highlight the distinctive emphases of the Arminian Magazine, John Wesley reprinted nine of Charles Wesley’s polemical poems against predestination from the Hymns on God’s Everlasting Love (1741/42), and one other in this vein from HSP (1740), 136–42. He also began to publish (without attribution) a series of other poems by Charles that had not appeared in print before. Nor was Charles the only family member to appear in the initial volume. The very first item of verse was Samuel Wesley Sr.’s extended piece “Eupolis’s Hymn to the Creator” (1:39ff). A bit later John inserted a poem by Samuel Wesley Jr. honoring their father (1:141–42). And he also included six poems by their sister Mehetabel (neé Wesley) Wright; one of which was being published for the first time (see 1:186ff). In addition to items by family members, John Wesley inserted in the early volumes of the Arminian Magazine several poems that had been long-time personal favorites, drawing them from transcriptions in the manuscript Poetry Miscellany he collected during his student days at Oxford. He also reprinted scattered favorite items from prior published collections (shown in the table of contents in blue font). In particular, starting in volume 9, he reprinted several items from his three- volume Collection of Moral and Sacred Poems, to make them more widely available. Wesley drew on a range of other sources for the poetry he inserted in the Arminian Magazine, sometimes replicating several items from a single source. We have annotated all prior published sources that could be located. As the magazine became established, some of Wesley’s friends and followers appear to have supplied him with manuscript items to publish as well. Unfortunately he does not typically give enough details to identify these authors with certainty. It is clear that Wesley controlled which poetry was included in the initial volumes of the Arminian Magazine, and he likely retained primary responsibility for such decisions until near his death. Given the possibility of some backlog in his recommendations, we include in this collection the poetry sections through the end of 1791, with the recognition that Wesley was surely not responsible for selecting many of the items in the last volume (such as those on his death). In order to maintain manageable size, our transcription of the sections of poetry in Arminian Magazine during Wesley’s life are divided into two sections: 1778–84 and 1785–91. The table of contents for each grouping appears at the beginning of that file. 1This document was produced by the Duke Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition under the editorial direction of Randy L. Maddox, with the diligent assistance of Aileen F. Maddox. Last updated: March 21, 2018. Table of Contents Volume 8 (1785) To Lord [Hervey] by Lord [George] L[yttelto]n 8:59–61 Rural Happiness [Mary (Whateley) Darwall] 8:61–64 A Prayer for one Grievously Tempted [Charles Wesley] 8:64 To Mr. Poyntz, Ambassador at Soissons [George Lyttelton] 8:116–17 To the Earl of Oxford. By Dean [Jonathan] Swift 8:118 On a late Shipwreck on the Coast of Cumberland 8:118–20 To the Rev. Dr. Ayscough by Lord [George] Lyttelton 8:169–73 Bishop Richard Corbet to his Son Vincent Corbet, two years of age 8:174 English Doggerel. An Epitaph 8:174 The Three Warnings: a Tale. By Mrs. [Hester Lynch Salusbury] Thrale 8:225–28 A Midnight Hymn [Isaac Watts] 8:228–29 To Silvia [Anne Steele] 8:229–30 To Sickness: An Elegy. By Mr. [John] Delap 8:281–83 On Chance and Predestination [Catherine Jemmat] 8:283 Hymn to Solitude [Mary (Whateley) Darwall] 8:284–86 Spring and Autumn [Anne Steele] 8:286 Lord Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane Gray [Elizabeth Singer Rowe] 8:337–39 A Summer Landskip of Dunstar Castle 8:339–40 A Ship in a Storm. By a Sailor [Rev. Duval] 8:341–42 The Tulip and the Violet [Anne Steele] 8:396–97 Trusting in the Mercy of God with Humble Submission and Hope [Anne Steele] 8:398 An Epitaph on an Infant found dead in a field [ Rev. O—] 8:398 An Elegy on the Death of Mrs. Margaret Johnston 8:439–42 A Highland Fragment [Gentleman of Scotland] 8:442–44 The Comforts of Religion [Anne Steele] 8:444 To the Memory of Lady Littleton [George Lyttelton] 8:492–500 Desiring a Firmer Affiance in God under Afflictions [Anne Steele] 8:500 Charity, Part I [William Cowper] 8:554–56 Lines on a Pane of Glass [Jonathan Swift / Thomas Sheridan] 8:556 Charity, Part II [William Cowper] 8:610–12 A Letter to a Person in High Life 8:661–62 A remarkable Epitaph in Latin 8:663 The translation 8:664 An Elegy, written by a Father on the Death of his Child 8:665–67 The Benefit of Affliction 8:668 Volume 9 (1786) The Messiah: a Sacred Eclogue [Alexander Pope; MSP, 1:281–85] 9:60–63 Adoration [Edward Perronet] 9:63–64 The Juggler [John Gay] 9:116–18 The Vision: From the Fourth Chapter of Job 9:119–20 On Sleep [Edward Perronet] 9:120 Death: an Epigram [Edward Perronet] 9:120 On the Death of an Infant 9:173–74 A Paraphrase on the last Words of David [Phillip Doddridge] 9:175–76 A Letter to the Rev. Mr. ____, on the Faith of Assurance 9:229–31 To a young Lady on her Birth-Day [Samuel Wesley Jr.; MSP, 2:203–4] 9:231–32 The Weather Cock: an Epigram [Edward Perronet] 9:232 Written in May: After a Seasonable Shower of Rain [Anne Steele] 9:285–86 Written at Ociculum in Italy [John Dyer; MSP, 2:191–93] 9:286–88 A Thought on Life and Death [Anne Steele] 9:343–44 To Sylvia [Anne Steele] 9:344 On the Last Judgment [John Ogilvie] 9:399–400 Communion with God in Affliction. By John Murlin 9:460–61 To Sylvia, pensive [Anne Steele] 9:461–62 A whimsical Epitaph 9:462 The Explanation: an epitaph 9:463 An Unexpected Reward [James Robertson] 9:463–64 To Sylvia [Anne Steele] 9:519 Desiring a cheerful Resignation to the Divine Will [Anne Steele] 9:520 Elegy written in a Country Church Yard [Thomas Gray] 9:570–74 The Hermit [James Beattie] 9:574–75 Compassion [Thomas Moss] 9:575–76 The Progress of Life [William Shakespeare] 9:631–32 The Praise of Virtue [Edward Moore] 9:632 On Christ being bound to a Marble Pillar [Joseph Stennett] 9:632 Stanzas from the French of Malherbe [Alexander Pope; MSP, 1:279–80] 9:684–85 On the Monument of the Hon. Robert Digby [Alexander Pope; MSP, 1:291] 9:685 Wishing for real Pleasure [Anne Steele] 9:686–87 The Blind Man’s Petition [Anne Steele] 9:687 A Reflection on the Close of the Year [Anne Steele] 9:688 Volume 10 (1787) To Mr. Addison [Alexander Pope; MSP, 1:287–89] 10:51–53 Epistle to James Craggs, Esq. Secretary of State [Alexander Pope; MSP, 1:286] 10:54 The Happiness of God’s Children [Anne Steele] 10:54–56 An Ode [Thomas Fitzgerald; MSP, 2:142] 10:56 A Real Character 10:107–11 An Epitaph on an Infant [MSP, 2:165–66] 10:111–12 On the Death of Alexander the Great [MSP, 2:163] 10:112 Liberty, Part I 10:162–67 Contemplation on Night [John Gay] 10:167–68 Liberty, Part II 10:220–24 An Argument in Favour of the Immortality of the Soul [Edward Young revised] 10:224 A Paraphrase on Sleep 10:224 Hymn to Humanity [John Langhorne] 10:281–83 A Father to His Son [Emanuel Collins] 10:284 The Dove and the Ant [Thomas Marryat] 10:331–34 On Happiness 10:334–35 On Contentment. By [Stephen] Duck 10:335–36 The Forty-Third Chapter of Ecclesiasticus: paraphrased [William Broome; MSP, 2:95–99] 10:387–91 Hymn [Ode] to Adversity: by [Thomas] Gray 10:391–92 The Wish, by [James] Merrick 10:445–46 Hymn to Benevolence [Thomas Blacklock] 10:446–47 To the Memory of the Immortal Ptolemy 10:447–48 The Thracian [Samuel Wesley Jr. (?); MSP, 2:175–76] 10:448 Edwin and Angelina [Oliver Goldsmith] 10:500–504 Bedlam [Thomas Fitzgerald; MSP, 2:135–41] 10:555–60 The Fire-Side [Nathaniel Cotton] 10:610–12 The Miser and Plutus [John Gay] 10:613–14 The Lawyer’s Prayer [William Blackstone] 10:614–15 On the Shortness of Human Life [Francis Quarles (?)] 10:615–16 The Second Satyr of Persius. Translated by [John] Dryden [MSP, 2:35–38] 10:664–66 An Ode to the Memory of the Hon. Col. G. Villiers [Matthew Prior; MSP, 1:83–86] 10:667–70 Death and Eternity [Isaac Watts; MSP, 1:194–96] 10:670–71 An Ode from Second Book of Horace [William Congreve; MSP, 1:65–67] 10:671–72 Volume 11 (1788) Ode on the New Year, by [John] Cunningham] 11:51–53 The Hermit’s Meditation [George Huddesford; MSP, 2:187–91] 11:53–55 On Death [John Norris; MSP, 1:74–75] 11:55–56 Dr.