their sisters, who became connected with the Society, John and Charles stood alone during their lifetime, so far as their relatives were concerned, and the majority of those who have since borne their name have adhered staunchly to the Church of England. This is as John himself would have had it, for he was no Separatist, though he could not stop the movement of which he was the mainspring; nor did he wish to do so, but he did not see that it would necessarily lead to secession. Blood, however, will tell, and a vast amount of talent and energy are still manifested in all the descendants of the Epworth family. Impetuous and quickwitted, and, perhaps, not overmuch given to take thought for the morrow, they must all be up and doing, and in these characteristics they vindicate their lineage, and the vigour of that original strain which is still so far from being worn out.-CLARKE, ELIZA, 1886, Susanna Wesley (Eminent Women Series), p. 238.

His wise catholicity and broad and liberal sympathies are exemplified in the admiration which, at a time when the name excited detestation and disgust, Wesley expressed for Ignatius Loyola. Yet Wesley may, in some respects, be called the Loyola of the eighteenth century.

a

Like Loyola, Wesley was inflamed by an ardent zeal for religion; like him again he saw keenly the evils of the time and framed a remedy that could never be a panecea. His systematic mind was gifted with a peculiar power of giving permanent form to the excitement or enthusiasm of the moment. He began his career with no other project than that of raising up "a holy people;" but as his work grew beneath his hand, his intellect proved comprehensive enough to conceive gigantic plan, and yet sufficiently minute to grasp the smallest details. And his organizing capacity was not greater than his administrative power. The structure of his Society was admirable, and his management of the machine in all the earlier years of his life showed a happy union of tact, firmness, and flexibility. He was not a dogmatic theologian, and he took no pleasure in philosophical speculation. PROTHERO, R. E., 1891, John Wesley, Good Words, vol. 32, p. 195.

Of that work, it has been well said, Methodism itself is one the of least significant

results. True, at his death in 1791, his followers were counted by the thousand, and to-day are counted by the million. But even they were the least result of the Methodist revival. For its effects were felt far and wide in other directions. The Church of England awoke once more from its apathy and sloth, and its clergy roused themselves from lifelessness and contempt to a practical religious energy of which we still feel the force. And in the nation at large appeared a new moral enthusiasm which, rigid and pedantic though it often seemed, was still healthy in social tone, and whose power was seen in the partial disappearance of the open profligacy which disgraced the early Georgian era. Philanthropy, and social reform generally, received a fresh stimulus among the mass of the nation, a stimulus whose effects were afterwards seen in an amelioration of our penal code, more humanity in our prison life, and a feeling of indignation against negro slavery. Wesley helped also, we believe, very largely the growth of the national consciousness of the English people, by giving men something more to think about than their own individual aims and their own individual life. Especially was this the case among the poorer people, and it is curious to note how many leaders of the working classes have sprung from the ranks of Methodism.-GIBBINS, H. DE B., 1892, English Social Reformers, p. 92.

If Whitefield was the most persuasive and eloquent preacher of the early Methodists, John Wesley was incomparably the greatest man. He was a trained scholar, as well as an effective preacher, and he was an organizer, in this respect on a level with the most renowned leaders of the mediæval monastic orders.-FISHER, GEORGE PARK, 1896, History of Christian Doctrine, p. 390.

He came to see that the Spirit of God was not merely in the Bible, but in the souls of living men, giving light and life to the men of the eighteenth century as to those of the first. If this was fanaticism, it was fanaticism that for more than fifty years bore the strain of one of the most strenuous and perfectly organised lives ever lived.-BROWN, J., 1896, Social England, ed. Traill, vol. v, p. 237.

The Oxford methodists were assiduous in study (in 1731 John and Charles Wesley

began a lifelong practice of conversing with each other in Latin); every night they met for consultation before supper; they relieved the poor, and looked after the clothing and training of school children; they daily visited the prisoners in the castle, read prayers there on Wednesdays and Fridays, preached there on Sundays, and administered the communion once a month. Their religion was formed on the prayer-book; next to the bible in point of doctrine they valued the books of homilies. Nor did they deny themselves recreation; it would be unjust to charge their temper as morbid; their philanthropy kept them in touch with real life; Wesley's strong sense, his cheerfulness (he did not disdain game of cards, as his private accounts show), and his knowledge of human nature, gave a manly tone to their zeal. The marked divergence of their subsequent careers, while showing

reaction in some cases from an ideal overstrained, proves also that the discipline of strictness was not ruinous to the independence of individual minds. Wesley himself was little of an ascetic; to be methodical and exact was with him an essential part of happiness. He rose at four to cure himself of lying awake at night. At five, morning and evening, he spent an hour in private prayer. His diary and accounts were kept with constant precision. One day a week he allowed for friendly correspondence.-GORDON, ALEXANDER, 1899, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. LX, p. 304.

Few men have more genuine claims to greatness than John Wesley, a many sided man, but in all things the reformer. That really was his great work, although usually he is thought of only as the leader of an evangelistic movement, the preacher and crusader who founded the Methodist church. As a preacher, a critic, a teacher, and an organizer, Wesley was truly remarkable. Measured by what he accomplished, he was colossal. He was true to his own ideals, and his capacity for work is not to be measured by ordinary standards. Wesley earned two hundred thousand dollars by his writings, which is the smallest part of what he did in his long life. He gave away every penny of this. Spurgeon said of him: "When John Wesley died he left behind him two silver spoons in London, two in Bristol, a teapot,

and the great Methodist church." This church, with its seven million membersnine tenths of them in America-and its mission work extending throughout the world, is the magnificent monument of the great man who founded it.-JOHNSON, J. WESLEY, 1900, The Last of the Great Reformers, Munsey's Magazine, vol. 23, p. 757.

GENERAL

He never wrote merely to please, or to get money. His object constantly was, to inform the understanding, and mend the heart to discourage vice, and promote virtue. virtue. He never published anything with

a view to promote a party-spirit. A great degree of candor and liberality runs through all his publications; and in matters of mere speculation, he endeavored to show the necessity of christian love, and mutual forbearance among those who differ bated opinions, not men. in opinion. In his controversies, he comAnd this he

did, in general, with great moderation. He maintained, that even right opinions, make but a small part of religion: that, a man may hold the truth in unrighteousness, and therefore perish with the greater condemnation. But, a man whose heart, from a living faith in Christ operating as a practical principle, is influenced to the love of God and man, and whose life is correspondent to it, cannot err dangerously, though he may hold some erroneous opinions. And he thought, that we ought to contend for this christian temper and practice, much more earnestly, than for any speculative notions, not essentially necessary to obtain them. This made him earnest to contend for practical truth; and had a happy influence on all his writings. Mr. Wesley's treatise on "Original Sin, is, perhaps, the most labored performance that he published. He knew, and respected the abilities and character of Dr. Taylor, his opponent. He bestowed much time and attention in a careful investigation of the subject; but avoided entering intominute metaphysical disquisitions. He knew that nothing could be affirmed in this way of reasoning, however true, but what another might deny with some degree of plausibility. His treatise therefore is, an animated defence of the orthodox doctrine, in a deduction from the actual state of morality in all ages, and under every kind of restraint from evil that has been imposed

on mankind; or, as he expresses it, "from Scripture, reason, and experience. WHITEHEAD, JOHN, 1793-96, The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, Some Time Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.

As a logician he piqued himself, as we have seen, on his skill; and it must be allowed that his writings in general are distinguished by a remarkable force, acuteness, and vivacity of conception and expression. Yet, it is also remarkable that the doctrines which he most anxiously insisted on through life, were not only incapable of being moulded into any consistent system, but were, many of them, in direct opposition to each other. His tenet of assurance was decidedly Calvinistic; and one which could not, without great violence to common sense, be separated from the notion of absolute election.

His doctrine of Christian perfection had as direct a tendency to make men Mystics or Antinomians; for what can be the use of ordinances to him who needs no further grace; and what is law to him who cannot sin? Yet Wesley was too good a logician to be a Calvinist; he was too pure and holy to fall into the Antinomian errors, and he had too cool a head to remain long a Mystic. How strange that he did not perceive that his eclectic, divinity could not stand by itself, and that if he went thus far he must go farther! Nor is it easy to apprehend how his powerful mind, while it honestly lamented the disorders and vices, the pride, envy, and slander which prevailed in his societies, should not have perceived that the details of his discipline were of themselves calculated to generate such a spirit, and to undo, in a great measure, in the minds of his followers, the good which his preaching and example had produced in them. HEBER, REGINALD, 1820, Southey's Life of Wesley, Quarterly Review, vol. 24, p. 53.

Mr. Wesley was a voluminous writer; and as he was one of the great instruments in reviving the spirit of religion in these lands, so he led the way in those praiseworthy attempts which have been made to diffuse useful information of every kind, and to smooth the path of knowledge to the middle and lower ranks of society. WATSON, RICHARD, 1831, The Life of the Rev. John Wesley.

Wesley ["Journal"], you will find

pleasant to dip into, I think: of course, there is much sameness; and I think you will allow some absurdity among so much wise and good.-FITZGERALD, EDWARD, 1868, Letters, vol. I, p. 317.

Whether men like Methodist doctrine or not, I think they must honestly concede that the old Fellow of Lincoln was a scholar and a sensible man. The world, which always sneers at evangelical religion, may please itself by saying that the men who shook England a hundred years ago were weak-minded, hot-headed enthusiasts, and unlearned and ignorant men. The Jews said the same of the apostles in early days. But the world cannot get over facts. The founder of Methodism was a man of no mean reputation in Oxford, and his writings show him to have been a well-read, logical-minded, and intelligent man. RYLE, J. C., 1869, The Christian Leaders of the Last Century, p. 104.

His own poetical powers were considerable; his verses are sometimes melodious, and often vigorous; but far above the trammels of art is their bold and grand sincerity. Music and poetry were to him only the means of expressing the joys and triumphs of faith.-LAWRENCE, EUGENE, 1872, John Wesley and His Times, Harper's Magazine, vol. 45, p. 119.

When one looks at his travelling, he may well wonder how Wesley found time to write; when one looks at his writings, the marvel is how he found time to do anything else.-GUERNSEY, ALFRED H., 1874, John Wesley, Galaxy, vol. 17, p. 212.

Wesley's was a singular blending of strength and weakness. His strength lies almost entirely in the sphere of practice. He shows remarkable literary power; but we feel that his writings are means to a direct practical end, rather than valuable in themselves, either in form or substance. It would be difficult to find any letters more direct, forcible, and pithy in expression. He goes straight to the mark without one superfluous flourish. He writes as a man confined within the narrowest limits of time and space, whose thoughts are so well in hand that he can say everything needful within those limits. The compression gives emphasis and never causes confusion. The letters, in other words, are the work of one who for more

than half a century was accustomed to turn to account every minute of his eighteen working hours.-STEPHEN, LESLIE, 1876, History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century, vol. II, p. 409.

The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley extend through ten volumes, edited lately with scrupulous care by Dr. G. Osborn. Such a demand as he thus imposed on his own poetical powers was too extensive even for a great poet to have met; but in his case the difficulty was aggravated partly by the nature of the subject, partly by his own deficiencies.

Nevertheless there are two sources of inspiration from which hymn-writers in general and John Wesley in particular have derived a fire which makes it impossible to overlook the claims of the Wesleyan hymnology to be ranked as part of our national literature. First, however prosaic might be the soul of John Wesley himself, he had sufficient appreciation of the grandeur of the gift in others to appropriate it in some degree for his purposes. Such are some beautiful passages adopted or adapted from Gambold the Moravian and from George Herbert.

STANLEY, ARTHUR PENRHYN, 1880, English Poets, ed. Ward, vol. III, pp. 255, 258.

As a poet, John Wesley, though correct and classical, does not compare with his brother Charles. While in college, he indulged in versification as a recreation, but confined himself almost exclusively to translations from other languages.-HATFIELD, EDWIN F., 1884, The Poets of the Church, p. 663.

The very last thing of which John Wesley was ambitious was literary fame. In nothing does the intensely practical character of his mind come out more strongly than in his writings. Whether it is long treatise or short tract, whether it is prose or poetry, whether it is original composition or the reprinting or abridging of the works of others, whether it is a simple school-book or one on controversial divinity, whether it is a sermon or a commentary or a journal, it is all the same; he has always some immediate practical end in view; and in almost every case we can trace the reason of his writing what he did write in the particular circumstances which were at that particular time before him. It would, of course, be absurd to contend that anything which

John Wesley wrote is of the same calibre as the great works of his contemporaries, such as Butler or Waterland; but if we are content to ignore his writings as obsolete works out of which all the virtue is gone, we are ignoring a very vivid and complete picture of the times, as well as a very life-like portrait of one of the most interesting and influential men of those times. So that merely from the historical, to say nothing of the religious, point of view, it would be a great mistake to be satisfied with regarding Wesley as he appears when filtered through the mind of any critic or biographer, however able, without contemplating him as he appears in his own pages.-OVERTON, J. H., 1891, John Wesley (English Leaders of Religion), pp. 169, 170.

His mind was not without something of the mysticism that dominated Law; it has a strain of melancholy which does not lessen our interest, and he presents the rare spectacle of a scholar who dreaded lest his own scholarship might interfere with the popular work which was the supreme aim of his life. There was a certain Puritanism in the conscious simplicity of his style; but he could not divorce himself altogether from that literary sympathy that linked him to his age, and that made him the friend of one with whom he stands in many respects so much in contrast as Johnson.-CRAIK, HENRY, 1895, ed., English Prose, Introduction, vol. IV, p. 5.

There is a peculiar interest attached to this hymn. (“Thou Hidden Love of God"). John Wesley is said to have translated it in Savannah, in the United States, where he suffered much and was grievously tormented by his ill-starred passion for a certain Miss Sophy. It was with special reference to the continually obtruding thoughts of this Miss Sophy that the Rev. John composed the verse "Is there a thing beneath the sun?" It seems to have been efficacious, and the lovelorn poet came home to meet a worse fate at the hands of her whom, for his Karma, he was allowed to make Mrs. Wesley. The Hymn has helped thousands who never knew of Wesley and his ill-fated loves to acts of consecration and self-sacrifice from which they would otherwise have shrunk. -STEAD, W. T., 1897, Hymns that Have Helped, p. 191.

Where the reader of the journal will be shocked is when his attention is called to the public side of the country-to the state of the jails-to Newgate, to Bethlehem, to the criminal code to the brutality of so many of the judges, and the harshness of the magistrates, to the supineness of the bishops, to the extinction in high places of the missionary spirit. No man lived nearer the centre than John Wesley. Neither Clive nor Pitt, neither Mansfield nor Johnson. 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. As a writer he has not achieved distinction, he was no Athanasius, no Augustine, he was ever a preacher and an organizer, a laborer in the service of humanity; but happily for us his journals remain, and from them we can learn better than from anywhere else what manner of man he was, and the character of the times during which he lived and moved and had his being.-BIRRELL, AUGUSTINE, 1899, John Wesley, Scribner's Magazine, vol. 26, p. 761.

PERSONAL

He soon appeared what I have ever since found him, a very elegant Genius, of a most affectionate grateful disposition, a modest backward temper, accompanied with that delicate Pride, which so naturally attends Virtue in Distress. His great Moderation and Frugality, along with the Generosity of a few persons, particularly Dr. Stevenson and Provost Alexander, had hitherto enabled him to subsist. All his good qualities are diminished, or rather perhaps embellished by a great want of Knowledge of the World.HUME, DAVID, 1754, Letter to Joseph Spence, Oct. 15; Spence's Anecdotes, ed. Singer, p. 351.

He never could dictate till he stood up; and as his blindness made walking about without assistance inconvenient or dangerous to him, he fell insensibly into a vibratory sort of motion with his body, which increased as he warmed with his subject and was pleased with the conception of his mind. SPENCE, JOSEPH, 1754, Life of

Blacklock.

Doctor Blacklock belonged to a set of critics, for whose applause I had not dared to hope.-BURNS, ROBERT, 1786, Letters.

All those who ever acted as his amanuenses agree in this rapidity and ardour

of composition which Mr. Jameson ascribes to him.-MACKENZIE, HENRY, 1793, Life of Thomas Blacklock.

Through the genial society of Edinburgh, with its vigorous speaking and drinking, its stalwart race of men of letters, law, and fashion, flits the somewhat pathetic figure of the gentle and helpless Dr. Blacklock. He was to be seen led along the crowded High Street, every one making way respectfully for the blind man, and led carefully up the slippery staircases, whose dirt and darkness could might afflict his acuter sense of smell. not vex his sight, though the odours In the best company he was welcomed, and all forgot the plainness of that pockpitted face in the amiable expression that gave it charm. In the Meadows friends would find him in the forenoon, leaning on the arm of Robert Heron, the discarded assistant to Dr. Blair-a versatile liter

ary hack, a threadbare taper, who, after an evening's debauch on a meagre supply of potatoes and green peas, with large potations of whiskey, had risen from his garret bed to take his venerated friend out for a stroll. Blacklock's reputation was considerable for genius and for fine literary judgment. To-day we must deny him genius, but may allow him taste.