Wesley Corpus

But I cannot admire, First, His intolerable prolixity in this history, as well as his “History of Charles the Fifth.” He promises eight books of the History of America, and fills four of them with critical dissertations. True, the dissertations are sensible, but they have lost their way; they are not history: And they are swelled beyond all proportion; doubtless, for the benefit of the author and the bookseller, rather than the reader. I cannot admire, Secondly, A Christian Divine writing a history, with so very little of Christianity in it. Nay, he seems studiously to avoid saying any thing which might imply that he believes the Bible. I can still less admire, Thirdly, His speaking so honourably of a professed Infidel; yea, and referring to his masterpiece of Infidelity, “Sketches of the History of Man;” as artful, as unfair, as disingenuous a book, as even Toland’s “Nazarenus.” Least of all can I admire, Fourthly, His copying after Dr. Hawkesworth, (who once professed better things,) in totally excluding the Creator from governing the world. Was it not enough, never to mention the Providence of God, where there was the fairest occasion, without saying expressly, “The for tune of Certiz,” or “chance,” did thus or thus? So far as fortune or chance governs the world, God has no place in it. The poor American, though not pretending to be a Christian, July, 1781.] JOURNAL. 211 knew better than this. When the Indian was asked, “Why do you think the beloved ones take care of you?” he answered, “When I was in the battle, the bullet went on this side, and on that side; and this man died, and that man died; and I am alive | So I know, the beloved ones take care of me.” It is true, the doctrine of a particular Providence (and any but a particular Providence is no Providence at all) is absolutely out of fashion in England: And a prudent author might write this to gain the favour of his gentle readers. Yet I will not say, this is real prudence; because he may lose hereby more than he gains; as the majority, even of Britons, to this day, retain some sort of respect for the Bible.