Wesley Corpus

You cite one more instance from my Fourth Journal: ‘The many-headed beast began to roar again.’ So your head is so full of the subject, that you construe even poor Horace's bellua multorum capitum [Epistles, I. i. 76: ‘A many-headed beast.’] into the devil! These are all the combats and conflicts with Satan which you can prove I ever had. O sir, without more and greater conflicts than these, none shall see the kingdom of God. II. In the following sections you are equally out of your element. The first of them relates to ‘spiritual desertions’ (sect. viii. p. 75, &c.); all which you make the subject of dull ridicule, and place to the account of enthusiasm. And the case of all you give in the following words: ‘We may look upon enthusiasm as a kind of drunkenness, filling and intoxicating the brain with the heated fumes of spirituous particles. Now, no sooner does the inebriation go off, but a coldness and dullness takes place.’ 12. As wildly do you talk of the doubts and fears incident to those who are ‘weak in faith’ (sect. ix. p. 79, &c.). I cannot prevail upon myself to prostitute this awful subject by entering into any debate concerning it with one who is innocent of the whole affair. Only I must observe that a great part of what you advance concerning me is entirely wide of the question. Such is all you quote from the First and a considerable part of what you quote from my Second Journal. This you know in your own conscience; for you know I speak of myself during the whole time as having no faith at all. Consequently the ‘risings and fallings’ I experienced then have nothing to do with those ‘doubts and fears which many go through after they have by faith received remission of sins.’