Wesley Corpus

On Monday evening we left Darien, and on Wednesday, the 5th, came to Frederica. Most here were, as we expected, cold and heartless: we found not one who retained his first love. O send forth Thy. light and Thy truth, that they may guide them! Let them not yet follow their own, imaginations ! After having beaten the air in this unhappy place for twenty days 34 REV. J. WESLEY’S JOURNAL. [ March, 1737. on January 26th I took my final leave of Frederica. It was not any apprehension of my own danger, (though my life had been threatened many times,) but an utter despair of doing good there, which made me content with the thought of seeing it no more. In my passage home, having procured a celebrated book, (The Works of Nicholas Machiavel,) I set myself carefully to read and consider it. I began with a prejudice in his favour ; having been informed, he had often been misunderstood, and greatly misrepresented. I weighed the sentiments that were less common; transcribed the passages wherein they were contained ; compared one passage with another, and endeavoured to form a cool, impartial judgment. And my cool judgment is, that if all the other doctrines of devils which have been committed to writing since letters were in the world, were collected together in one volume, it would fall short of this: and, that should a prince form himself by this book, so calmly recommending hypocrisy, treachery, lying, robbery, oppression, adultery, whoredom, and murder of all kinds, Domitian or Nero would be an angel of light, compared to that man. Mon. 31.--We came to Savannah. Tuesday, February 1, being the anniversary feast, on account of the first convoy’s landing in Georgia, we had a sermon and the holy communion. Thursday, 24. It was agreed Mr. Ingham should go for England, and endeavour to bring over, if it should please God, some of our friends to strengthen our hands in his work. Saturday, 26, he left Savannah. By Mr. Ingham I writ to Dr. Bray’s associates, who had sent a parochial library to Savannah. It is expected of the ministers who receive these, to send an account to their benefactors of the method they use in catechising the children and instructing the youth of their respective parishes. That part of the letter was as follows :--