Wesley Corpus

But a night's rest set me up again. On Monday and Tuesday I met the classes. I left three hundred and seventy-four in the society, and I found about four hundred : And I trust they are more established in the “faith that worketh by love.” While I was here, I talked largely with a pious woman, whom I could not well understand. I could not doubt of her being quite sincere, nay, and much devoted to God: But she had fallen among some well-meaning enthusiasts, who taught her so to attend to the inward voice, as to quit the society, the preaching, the Lord's Supper, and almost all outward means. I find no persons harder to deal with than these. One knows not how to advise them. They must not act contrary to their conscience, though it be an erroneous one. And who can convince them that it is erroneous? None but the Almighty. Mon. 17.--After preaching at Durham, I went on to Dar lington. The society here, lately consisting of nine members, is now increased to above seventy; many of whom are warm in their first love. At the love-feast, many of these spoke their experience with all simplicity. Here will surely be a plentiful harvest, if tares do not grow up with the wheat. Wed. 19.--I preached to my old, loving congregation at Osmotherley; and visited, once more, poor Mr. Watson, just quivering over the grave. Part of this week I read, as I travelled, a famous book, which I had not looked into for these fifty years. It was Lucian’s “Dialogues.” He has a good deal of humour, but wonderful little judgment. His great hero is Diogenes, the Cynic; just such another brute as himself. Socrates (as one might expect) he reviles and ridicules with all his might. I think there is more sense in his “Timon,” than in all his other Dialogues July, 1776.] JOURNAL. 79 put together: And yet, even that ends poorly, in the dull jest of his breaking the heads of all that came near him. How amazing is it, that such a book as this should be put into the hands of school-boys' Mon. 24.--I went on to Scarborough.