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tioB , and has imparted to man y a tn ~ llinpkaot jay in death ! What Wesley fays of the miracles wrought at the totoab of the Abbe Paris may fitly be applied here , —* In many of these instance § I see great superstition as well as strong faith , but God makes
allowance for invincible ignorance , and blesses the faith notwithstanding the superstition / Concerning the general and remoter consequences of Metho * dism , opinions will differ . They who consider the wide-spreading schism to which it has led , and who know that
the welfare of the country is vitally connected "with its Church Establish " ment 9 may think that the evil balances the good ; but the good may endure and the evil l » e only for a time . In every other sect there is an inherent
spirit of hostility to the Church of England , too often and too naturally connected with diseased political opinions ! So it was in the beginning , ahd so it will continue to be as long as those sects endure . But Methodism
y& free from this . The extravagancies which accompanied its growth are no longer encouraged , and will be altogether discountenanced as their real nature is understood . This cannot be doubted . It is in the natural course
of things that it should purify itself gradually from whatever is objectionable in its institutions . Nor is it beyond the bounds of reasonable , hope that , conforming itself to the original intention of its founders , it may again draw towards the Establishment from
which it has seceded , and deserve to be recognized aa an auxiliary institution , its ministers being analogous to the regulars , and its members to the tertiaries and various confraternities of the Romish Church . The obst&cifes
to this are surely hot insuperable , perhups not so difficult as they may appear . And were this effected , John Wesoley w < mld then be ranked , not only among the most remarkable and influential men of his age , but among tji $ 4 £ reat benefactors of Ids country aad kind /'
There was a time when Mr . Southey , deemtag the establishments , civil and ecclesiastical , << tf this country formiiteble barriers , to the progress of truth and' { freedom , was abotit to bury himteU in the wilderness of America ! Siriee rifoftt period light has burst upon Ws enraptured vision , and he has re-
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solved the public shall have the benefit of it . Be it so ; but the Poet ±£ * aure # may pause for * a moment , and inquire , whether institutions , once the theme of his reprobation , can in reaKty , whilst they remain unrefonned , contribute to die improvement of the human character , and of course to the amelioration of the world .
As to the Church of England , her Athanasian Creed , a prominent part of her service , holds forth no attractions . It contains nothing calculated to enlarge the understanding or to mend the iieart . It is indeed the
quintessence of repulsion . Its absurd doctrine and its damnatory clauses are alike subversive of the great end which Mr . Southey once professed to have in view throughout all his writings , that of forming mankind—to use his own
wordsinto one brotherhood , One universal family of love ! Infallibility belongs not to mortals , either in their individual or collective capacity . All churches * indeed , have erred both in faith and in practice . No religious bodies can be pronounced
models for imitation . Let all sects 9 patronized or unpatronized by the civil power , be " drawn towards * ' the moral excellence of the blessed Saviour , who declared , My kingdom is not of this world ! The prominent precept of his religion , enjoining his disciples to
love one another , even as he hath loved them , has never been realized to its full extent . Here is scope for the amplest emulation . The milk of human kindness cannot flow too copiousl
y under the auspices of the gospel dispensation . Away With mystery and priestcraft . Love to God and fore to man is the only test < rf scriptural Christianity . Its exemplification attracts the notice as well as commands
the admiration of mankind . It is at once the felicity of earth and the glory of the heavenly world . I conclude this letter in the words of Dr . Richard Watson , the tote Bishop of Landaff :
" I entreat you to consider whether we were not members of the Church of Christ before we were members of the Church of England , and again and again to reflect whether we can piromote the interests of the Ohiiroh of Christ , by stifling the arguments of those who
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664 Dr . J . Evans on Seuthey ' s Life of fFisley .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1820, page 654, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2494/page/26/
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