Wesley Corpus

5. You say, ‘With regard to subtlety, evasion, and disguise, you now would have it thought that you only found this “in many of them; not in all, nor in most”’ (Second Letter, p. 80). ‘You now would have it thought’! Yes; and always, as well as now. For my original charge was, ‘I have found this in many of you -- that is, much subtlety, much evasion and disguise’ (Journal, ii. 492). But you add, ‘Let the reader judge from the following passages whether you did not charge the Moravians in general with these crimes: “I had a long conference with those whom I esteem very highly in love; but I could not yet understand them in one point, Christian openness and plainness of speech. They pleaded for such a reservedness and closeness of conversation. Yet I scarce know what to think, considering they had the practice of the whole Moravian Church on their side.”’ True, in pleading for such a reservedness of conversation as I could not in any wise approve of; but not in using much subtlety, much evasion and disguise: this I dare not charge on the whole Moravian Church. Those words also, ‘There is darkness and closeness in all their behavior, and guile in almost all their words,’ I spoke, not of all the Moravians, nor of most, but of those who were then in England. I could not speak it of them all; for I never found any guile in Christian David, Michael Linner, and many others. 6. ‘We are next to see how you get over the objection I made good, in three several particulars, that you have prepared the way for spreading of these tenets. The first you say nothing to here; the second you quote very partially thus -- “By countenancing and commending them.” And why would you not add,“And being the occasion of so many of them coming over among us”’ Because I was not the occasion. I was, indeed, the first Englishman that ever was at Herrnhut. But before I was at Herrnhut (I find on later inquiry) the Count himself had been in England.