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    criticism , and all tending to elicit truth , they should excite inquiry and undermine reputed Orthodoxy . To the silent but sure operation of these means they trusted for a gradual change in the public religious belief , for they avowed their fears that bolder

    measures and greater exertions would only excite prejudice and angry hostility , and thus prevent the good that was in progress . These fears pervaded not only our Presbyterian churches , but all the persons with whom I conversed at the time . However wise

    and prudent all this might be , it was far from satisfying my zealous feelings and the ardent temperament of my mind . I considered it little less than a direliction of duty , and a giving up of the vantage ground to the

    enemy ; I was for acting offensively , instead of remaining for ever ou the defensive . € t Why / 9 said I , " all this

    caution and worldly prudence ? What great good , or beneficial change , was ever effected or brought about by this passiveness and gentle waiting ? What has truth to fear ? The mind of man

    is naturally friendly to it ; truth requires only fair play—only to be heard and seen to be loved , and to be deemed worthy of all acceptation . We do not expect at this day that miracles will be wrought even in the cause of truth itself . It must be diffused by

    common , rational means . You must expose error , and oppose labour to labour , and energy to energy , and when you do this you must prevail . When you see your opponents so abundant in zeal and labours to

    establish the notions of * a faith without reason and a God without mercy / except to a favoured few , and yet that they are eminently successful ; what might you not hope for , by proving that true religion and reason are in

    * tnct agreement , and come from the same fountain of light ; by exhibiting the amiable perfections and boundless goodness of the great Father of all , and the universal , unpurchased love

    ana mercy proclaimed in * the glorious gospel of the Blessed God' ! Popular preaching seems to be the method by which divine truth can be most effectually promoted and implanted in the mind of man . Books

    may communicate knowledge and princ « pies ,.. but not to the same practical extent . For , many persons who have

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    derived much light from books , and entertain opinions not generally received , may reside in the same place , especially if it be large , for matiy years together without being acquainted With each other ' s views , though they may all the time be sighing" for

    the society of those like-minded with themselves , and for the open and practical avowal of their principles ' . But preaching not only communicates important truths , but also erects a standard round which such persons may rally and where they may become

    known to each other , concentrate their strength , and act upon their principles , to their own improvement , and for the promotion of their common cause . In a word , popular preaching was the apostolic plan . It pleased God , by means of preaching * , to save them that believed , and to establish

    the gospel dispensation in the world . It can adapt itself to all capacities and circumstances ; it can answer ques * tions , solve doubts , and remove difficulties which may arise in the mindV far better than books . The

    Methodists and others have discovered the great utility of the practice , and by their persevering and laudable application of it , have acquired the greatest strength and influence . They might

    have deluged the world with books , but would never by that method have gained the immense number of followers they have attracted by popular preaching . "

    This was my train of thinking , and manner of arguing , at that distant period , and which 1 repeatedly urged upon my estimable friend the Rev . C . JVellbeloved , whose kindness and irvdiligent attention to me then , I can never forget , nor his readiness upon all occasions to assist me with books ,

    &c \ But he thought that we were not yet ripe for such a great undertaking . My very excellent friends Mr . and Mrs . Cappe , with whom I had frequent conversation upon the subject , trusted , that truth was silently making its way , and contended

    that we were not ready for such open and decided hostility to established doctrines . Nothing daunted , however , I continued to urge my plea , until Mrs . Cappe requested me to commit my plan to paper . This I agreed to do , and , when finished , I carried it to her . Having perused

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    Mr . Eaton ' s Account of the Rise and Progress of the Unitarian Fund . 33 $

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1825, page 339, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2537/page/19/