Wesley Corpus

Who fanaticized his own followers, and de prived them of their senses? Whose societies (by his own con fession) run over in shoals to Moravianism forty or fifty at a time? Would they have split upon this rock, if they had not been first Methodists? Lastly: Where is the spawn of Mora vianism so strongly working as in the children of Methodism?” Sir, you run very fast. And yet I hope to overtake you by and by. “Mr. Wesley,” you say, “has preached against the Moravians, since he quarrelled with them.” Sir, I never quarrelled with their persons yet: I did with some of their tenets long ago. He “gives them a box on the ear with the one hand, and embraces them with the other.” That is, I embrace what is good among them, and at the same time re prove what is evil. “Who first brought over this wicked generation?” Not I, whether they be wicked or not. I once thought I did; but have since then seen and acknow ledged my mistake. “Who made a Moravian his spiritual guide?” Not I; though I have occasionally consulted several. “Who fanaticized his own followers, and deprived them of their senses?” Not I. Prove it upon me if you can. “Whose societies (by his own confession) run over in shoals to Mora vianism, forty or fifty at a time?” Truly, not mine. Two and-fifty of Kingswood society ran over to Calvinism, and, a year before, part of Fetter-Lane society gradually went over to the Moravians. But I know none of ours that went over “in shoals.” They never, that I remember, gained five at a time; nor fifty in all, to the best of my knowledge, for these last ten years. “Would they” (of Fetter-Lane) “have split on this rock, if they had not first been Methodists?” Undoubtedly they would; for several of them had not first been Methodists. Mr. Viney, for instance, (as well as several others,) was with the Germans before ever he saw me. “Lastly: Where is the spawn of Moravianism working so strongly as in the children of Methodism?” If you mean the errors of Moravianism, they are not working at all in the generality of the children of Methodism; the Methodists in general being thoroughly apprized of, and fully guarded against, them.