Wesley Corpus

To William Robarts Date: FROME, September 12, 1782. Source: The Letters of John Wesley (1782) Author: John Wesley --- I was much concerned when I saw you last; and as ‘life for delays no time will give,’ especially my life, which is far spent, I take the first opportunity of speaking once for all. You are in a large way of business, wherein I suppose you dear one (if not two or three) hundred a year. Over and above that you have an estate which, if you gave above thirty years' purchase, is an hundred a year. You have neither son nor daughter; and yet you cannot afford sixpence a month for the Magazine! Nay, you could not afford to give a guinea in a pressing case, viz. at the instance of an old tried friend! Are you, then, in more debt than you can pay Or is your trade gone, so that it will no more than keep your house Do you clear nothing in the year If so, you may still lay up the annual income of your estate. (What you could sell it for is nothing to the purpose; you do not need to sell it.) Are you not, then, ‘laying up treasures upon earth’ And how is this consistent with Scripture Surely no more than living in adultery or habitual drunkenness. Those words of St. Paul have for some time past been much impressed on my mind, ‘If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, with such an one, no not to eat.’ Now, I cannot dear you of covetousness, deep, uncommon covetousness, such as I very rarely meet with. I do not know that in forty years I have asked a guinea of any other man that has denied me! So I have done! I give you up to God. I do not know that you will any more be troubled with Your former Friend. [Wesley was mistaken in his judgment, as the following reply from Robarts on September 16 shows. He was evidently using all possible economy that he might escape failure in business.]