Wesley Corpus

“Mankind,” says he, “in its younger years, before it is capable of proper moral action, discovers the principles of iniquity and the seeds of sin. What young ferments of spite and envy, what native malice and rage, are found in the little hearts of infants, and sufficiently discovered by their little hands and eyes, and their wrathful countenances, even before they can speak!” You answer, “Our Lord gave us different ideas of them, when he taught his Apostles to become “as little child ren.’” (Pages 77-82.) Not at all. They may be imitable in some respects, and yet have all the tempers above described. And it is certain they have; as any impartial observer will be convinced by his own eyes Nor is this any way contradicted 328 ThE DOCTRINE OF by St. Paul's words: “In wickedness,” caciq, “be ye children,” (1 Cor. xiv. 20,)--untaught, unexperienced; or by those of David, “My soul is even as a weaned child.” (Psalm crxxi. 2.) “But we discover in them also the noble principles of reason and understanding, with several tempers which are capable of improvement, whereby they may be trained up in a good way; and numbers in all ages of the world have risen to very con siderable degrees of excellence.” All this is true; but it is not at all inconsistent with the account of them given above; by which it clearly appears, that they are strongly inclined to evil, long before any ill habits can be contracted. “THERE are three passages from which Divines infer the excellency of Adam’s state and nature above ours: 1. “And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multi ply, and replenish the earth. (Gen. i. 28.)” (Page 84.) With this I have nothing to do; for I infer nothing from it, with regard to the present question. “2. ‘Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 3. ‘God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him.” (Verse 27.) From these three particulars they deduce the superiority of Adam’s nature above ours. But the very same marks of excellence are more expressly pronounced by God upon the human nature, when the race of mankind was to be propagated anew from Noah and his sons.” (Page 85.) 1.