Wesley Corpus

If your French book is The Art of Thinking, the author is a very poor tool. But there is none like Aldrich. [Henry Aldrich (1647-1710), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, 1689. See Journal iii. 391, 459.] I scarce know one Latin writer who says so much in so few words. Certainly I shall not write much on Metaphysics or Natural Philosophy. My life is too far spent. But if you can tall me of anything (not stuffed with Mathematics) which is worth abridging, well. Hutcheson’s compendium is entitled Synopsis Metaphysicae Ontologiam et Pneumatologiam complectens. It is a masterly thing. I believe there is nothing yet extant in Natural Philosophy like the abridgement of the Philosophical Transactions. But an abridgement of that abridgement would be far better. Fight, Sammy, fight. If you do not conquer soon, probably God may send a French army [See letter of March 1 to James West.] to help you. -- I am Yours affectionately. To Richard Tompson [1] COLEFORD, March 16, 1756. MY DEAR BROTHER, -- My belief in general is this -- that every Christian believer has a divine conviction of his reconciliation with God. The sum of those concessions is, ‘I am inclined to think there may be some exceptions.’ Faith implies both the perceptive faculty itself and the act of perceiving God and the things of God. And the expression ‘seeing God’ may include both, the act and the faculty of seeing Him. Bishop Pearson’s definition [To which he had referred in his letter.] is abundantly too wide for the faith of which we are speaking. Neither does he give that definition either of justifying or saving faith. But if he did, I should prefer the definition of Bishop Paul. A clear conviction of the love of God cannot remain in any who do not walk closely with God. And I know no one person who has lost this without some voluntary defect in his conduct; though perhaps at the time he was not conscious of it, but upon prayer it was revealed to him. Your reasons for concealing your name were good. We cannot too carefully guard against prejudice. You have no need of any excuse at all; for you have done no wrong but rather a pleasure to Your affectionate brother. To Samuel Furly DUBLIN, Good Friday, April 16, 1756.