Wesley Corpus

affirms, ‘all true, all agree able to the word of God,” then what are we to think of his other works? They must be an adulteration of man’s devis ing.” (Page 128.) “The same may be said of the Minutes: If these be truly orthodox, upwards of forty volumes of the Library must be throughly heterodox. And then there is great reason to lament, that so many poor people's pockets should be fleeced for what can do their souls no good.” Peremptory enough ! But let us examine the matter more closely: “Mr. W. affirms, that the Christian Library is “all true, all agreeable to-the word of God.’” I do not; and I am glad I have this public opportunity of explaining myself concerning it. My words are, “I have made, as I was able, an attempt of this kind. I have endeavoured to extract such a collection of English divinity, as, I believe, is all true, all agreeable to the oracles of God.” (Preface, p. 4.) I did bclieve, and I do believe, every tract therein to be true, and agreeable to the oracles of God. But I do not roundly affirm this, (as Mr. H. asserts,) of every sentence contained in the fifty volumes. I could not possibly affirm it, for two reasons: (1.) I was obliged to prepare most of those tracts for the press, just as I could snatch time in travelling, not transcribing them; (none expected it of me;) but only marking the lines with my pen, and altering or adding a few words here and there, as I had mentioned in the preface. (2.) As it was not in my power to attend the press, that care necessarily devolved on others; through whose inattention a hundred passages were left in, which I had scratched out; yet not so many as to make up “forty volumes,” no, nor forty pages. It is probable too, I myself might overlook some sentences which were not suitable to my own principles. It is certain, the correctors of the press did this, in not a few instances. I shall be much obliged to Mr. H. and his friends, if they will point out all those instances; and I will print them as an index expurgatorius to the work, which will make it doubly valuable.