Wesley Corpus

Upon the same principle that I still preach and endeavour to assist those who desire to live according to the gospel, about twelve years ago I published proposals for printing 'A Christian Library: Consisting of Extracts from and Abridgements of the Choicest Pieces of Practical Divinity which have been published in the English Tongue.' And I have done what I proposed. Most of the tracts therein contained were written by members of our own Church; but some by writers of other denominations: for I mind not who speaks, but what is spoken. On the same principle, that of doing good to all men, of the ability that God giveth, I published 'Primitive Physick; or an Easy and Natural Method of Curing most Diseases'; and, some years after, a little tract entitled Electricity made Plain and Useful. On the same principle I printed an English, a Latin, a French, and a short Hebrew Grammar, as well as some of the Classics, and a few other tracts, in usum juventutis Christianae. ['For the use of Christian youth.'] This premised, I now proceed to the queries:-- Q. 1. 'Why have you not cleared yourself of those reflections that you stand charged with by a learned author' I have throughly cleared myself in the three letters to that learned author which were published immediately after his tracts. Q. 2. 'Can you constantly charge your people to attend the worship of our Church and not Dissenters' meetings 'I can: this is consistent with all I have written and all I have done for many years. 'But do you not call our Church a mere rope of sand' No: look again into the Plain Account, [See letter in Dec. 1748, Sect. l. II, to Vincent Perronet.] and you will see (if you care to see) that those words are not spoken of our Church. Q. 6. 'But do you not hold doctrine contrary to hers' No. 'Do you not make a dust about words' No. 'Do you not bewilder the brains of weak people' No. Q. 11. 'Do you not in print own Episcopacy to be jure divino' Not that I remember. Can you tell me where But this I own; I have no objection to it--nay, I approve it highly. Q. 16. 'But are you not guilty of canonical disobedience to your Bishop' I think not. Show me wherein.