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been taught and commanded, when we pray, to sayforgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us?"

These were not Wesley's deliberate opinions. He held a saner doctrine,* and the avowal of that doctrine was what drew upon him such loads of slanderous abuse from the Ultra-Calvinists. Yet he was led to these inconsistencies by the course of his preaching, and the desire of emptying men of their righteousness, as he called it. And if he were thus indiscreet, what was to be expected from his lay-preachers, especially from those who were at the same time in the heat of their enthusiasm, and the plenitude of their ignorance? The overstrained feelings which were thus excited, and the rigid doctrine which was preached, tended to produce two opposite extremes of evil. Many would become what, in puritanical language, is called backsliders, and still more would settle into all the hypocritical formalities of puritanism. "Despise not a profession of holiness," says Osborn, because it may be true: but have a care how you trust it for fear it should be false!"

The tendency to produce mock humility and spiritual pride, is one of the evil effects of Methodism. It is chargeable also with leading to bigotry, illiberal manners, confined knowledge, and uncharitable. superstition. In its insolent language, all awakened

* It was asked in the second Conference-Q. 9. "How can we maintain, that all works done before we have a sense of the pardoning love of God are sin; and as such, an abomination to him?-A. The works of him who has heard the Gospel, and does not believe, are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done. And yet we know not how to say, that they are an abomination to the Lord, in him who feareth God, and from that principle does the best he can.-Q. 10. Seeing there is so much difficulty in this subject, can we deal too tenderly with them that oppose us?-A. We cannot."

Dr. Hales, Rector of Killasandra, in Ireland, happened to tell Mr. Wesley, that when Bishop Chevenix, (of Waterford,) in his old age, was congratulated on recovering from a fever, the Bishop replied, "I believe I am not long for this world. I have lost all relish for what formerly gave me pleasure; even my books no longer entertain me. There is nothing sticks by me but the recollection of what little good I may have done." One of Mr. Wesley's preachers, who was present, exclaimed at this, 'Oh the vain man, boasting of his good works!" Dr. Hales vindicated the good old Bishop, and Mr. Wesley silenced the preacher by saying, "Yes, Dr. Hales is right: there is indeed great comfort in the calm remembrance of a life well spent."

persons, that is to say, all except themselves, or such graduated professors in other evangelical sects as they are pleased to admit ad eundem, are contemptuously styled unbelievers. Wesley could not communicate to his followers his own Catholic charity; indeed, the doctrine which he held forth was not always consistent with his own better feelings. Still less was he able to impart that winning deportment, which arose, in him, from the benignity of his disposition, and which no Jesuit ever possessed in so consummate a degree by art, as he by nature. The circle to which he would have confined their reading was narrow enough; his own works, and his own series of abridgments, would have constituted the main part of a Methodist's library. But in this respect the zeal of the pupils exceeded that of the master, and Wesley actually gave offence by printing Prior's Henry and Emma in his Magazine. So many remonstrances were made to him upon this occasion, that he found it necessary, in a subsequent number, to vindicate himself, by urging that there was nothing in the poem contrary to religion, nothing which could offend the chastest ear; that many truly religious men and women had read it and profited thereby; that it was one of the finest poems in the language, both for expression and sentiment; and that whoever could read it without tears, must have a stupid unfeeling heart. However, he concluded, I do not know that any thing of the same kind will appear in any of the following Magazines.

In proportion as Methodism obtained ground among the educated classes, its direct effects were evil. It narrowed their views and feelings; burthened them with forms; restricted them from recreations which keep the mind in health; discouraged, if it did not absolutely prohibit, accomplishments that give a grace to life; separated them from general society; substituted a sectarian in the place of a catholic spirit; and, by alienating them from the national church, weakened the strongest cement of social order, and loosened the ties whereby men are bound to their native land. It carried disunion and

discord into private life, breaking up families and friendships. The sooner you weaned your affections from those who, not being awakened, were of course in the way to perdition-the sooner the sheep withdrew from the goats, the better. Upon this head the monks have not been more remorseless than the Methodists. Wesley has said in one of his sermons that, how frequently parents should converse with their children when they are grown up, is to be determined by Christian prudence. "This also," says he, "will determine how long it is expedient for children, if it be at their own choice, to remain with their parents. In general, if they do not fear God, you should leave them as soon as is convenient. But, wherever you are, take care (if it be in your power) that they do not want the necessaries or conveniences of life. As for all other relations, even brothers or sisters, if they are of the world, you are under no obligation to be intimate with them: you may be civil and friendly at a distance." What infinite domestic unhappiness must this abominable spirit have occasioned !

Mr. Wesley's notions concerning education must also have done great evil. No man was ever more thoroughly ignorant of the nature of children."Break their wills betimes," he says: "begin this work before they can run alone, before they can speak plain, perhaps before they can speak at all. Whatever pains it costs, break the will if you would not damn the child. Let a child from a year old be taught to fear the rod and to cry softly; from that age make him do as he is bid, if you whip him ten times running to effect it. If you spare the rod you spoil the child. If you do not conquer, you ruin him.

*What an old writer says of the Independents in the time of the Commonwealth, is perfectly applicable to this worst part of Methodism,——— "They take all other Christians to be heathens. These are those great pretenders to the Spirit, into whose party does the vilest person living no sooner adscribe himself, but he is ipso facto dubbed a saint, hallowed and dear to God. These are the confidents who can design the minute, the place, and the means of their conversion :-a schism full of spiritual disdain, incharity, and high imposture, if any such there be on earth."--A character of England. Scott's Somer's Tracts, vol. vii. p. 180.

Break his will now, and his soul shall five, and he will probably bless you to all eternity." He exhorts parents never to commend their children for any thing; and says, "that in particular they should labour to convince them of atheism, and show them that they do not know God, love him, delight in him, or enjoy him, any more than do the beasts that perish!" If Wesley had been a father himself, he would have known that children are more easily governed by love than by fear. There is no subject, that of government excepted, upon which so many impracticable or injurious systems have been sent into the world, as that of education; and, among bad systems, that of Wesley is one of the very worst.

The rigid doctrine which he preached concerning riches, being only one degree more reasonable than that of St. Francis, prevented Methodism from extending itself as it otherwise might have done, among those classes where these notions would have been acted upon by zealous mothers. When Wesley considered the prodigious increase of his society, "from two or three poor people, to hundreds, to thousands, to myriads," he affirmed that such an event, considered in all its circumstances, had not been seen upon earth since the time that St. John went to Abraham's bosom. But he perceived where the principle of decay was to be found. "Methodism," says he, "is only plain scriptural religion guarded by a few prudential regulations. The essence of it is holiness of heart and life: the circumstantials all point to this; and, as long as they are joined together in the people called Methodists, no weapon formed against them shall prosper. But if ever the circumstantial parts are despised, the essential will soon be lost; and if ever the essential parts should evaporate, what remains will be dung and dross. I fear, wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion Therefore I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce

riches. But as riches increase so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its branches. How then is it possible that Methodism, that is, a religion of the heart, though it flourishes now as a green bay tree, should continue in this state? For the Methodists in every place grow diligent and frugal; consequently they increase in goods. Hence they proportionably increase in pride, in anger, in the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life. So, although the form of religion remains, the spirit is swiftly vanishing away. Is there no way to prevent this-this continual decay of pure religion? We ought not to prevent people from being diligent and frugal; we must exhort all Christians to gain all they can, and to save all they can; that is, in effect, to grow rich. What way, then, can we take, that our money may not sink us to the nethermost hell?— There is one way, and there is no other under heaven. If those who gain all they can, and save all they can, will likewise give all they can, then the more they gain the more they will grow in grace, and the more treasure they will lay up in heaven."

Upon this subject Wesley's opinions were inconsistent with the existing order of society. "Every man," he said, "ought to provide the plain necessaries of life for his wife and children, and to put them into a capacity of providing these for themselves when he is gone: I say, these-the plain necessaries of life, not delicacies, not superfluities; for it is no man's duty to furnish them with the means either of luxury or idleness. The designedly procuring more of this world's goods than will answer the foregoing purposes; the labouring after a larger measure of worldly substance; a larger increase of gold and silver; the laying up any more than these ends require, is expressly and absolutely forbidden." And he maintained, that whoever did this practically denied the faith, was worse than an African infidel, became an abomination in the sight of God, and purchased for himself hell-fire." How injurious, if such opinions were reduced to practice, they would prove to general industry, and how incompatible they were