Eliza Clarke

“ He was a born leader of men, who went straight to his point, and carried it by force of personal superiority. He made a very effectual lieutenant of his brother Charles, who, had it not been for John, would probably have lived a peaceful, pious life, and been a diligently decorous parish priest with a spice of scholarly erudition like his father before him. Men like John are not born in every generation, and, when they do arise, are usually the outcome of a race which has shown talent in isolated instances, but has never before concentrated all its strength in one scion. ”

“ It appears that during the earlier part of the time at Epworth, Mr. Wesley's aged mother lived with him, and was, probably, a valuable assistance to the young wife, who always had a baby coming, and was frequently confined to her room and couch for six months at a time, though, as she rarely had more than one maidservant for all purposes, she must have managed the children even in her moments of greatest weakness, and it was this perpetual strain of mind and body that added so much to her feebleness. ”

“ Were it possible for any man to act the part of a universal priest, he would certainly deem it his duty to take care of the spiritual good of all mankind. In all his writings and actions he evinced a deep concern for all that bear the glorious image of their Maker, and was so apostolical in his spirit, that pains, labours, watchings, and prayers were far more delightful to him than honours to the ambitious, wealth to the miser, or pleasure to the voluptuous. ”

“ And when the will of a child is totally subdued, and it is brought to revere and stand in awe of the parents, then a great many childish follies and inadvertencies may be passed by. Some should be overlooked and taken no notice of, and others mildly reproved ; but no wilful transgression ought ever to be forgiven children without chastisement less or more, as the nature and circumstances of the case may require. ”

“ I insist on the conquering of the will of children betimes, because this is the only strong and rational foundation of a religious education, without which both precept and example will be ineffectual. ”

“ She nursed him devotedly in sickness, and when there seemed some possibility of their migrating to America and settling there in business, acquiesced in the voyage, cheerfully assuring her "most endeared heart" that she would joyfully go over to him, adding, "I do assure you, my dear, yourself alone is all the riches I desire; and if ever I am so happy as to have your company again, I will travel to the farthest part of the world rather than part with you any more. ”

“ But when this is thoroughly done, then a child is capable of being governed by the reason and piety of its parents, till its own understanding comes to maturity, and the principles of religion have taken root in the mind.
"I cannot yet dismiss the subject. As self-will is the root of all sin and misery, so whatever cherishes this in children ensures their after wretchedness and irreligion: whatever checks and mortifies it, promotes their future happiness and piety. This is still more evident if we farther consider that religion is nothing else than doing the will of God and not our own ”

“ Never were children in better order. Never were children better disposed to piety, or in more subjection to their parents, till that fatal dispersion of them after the fire into several families. In these they were left at full liberty to converse with servants, which before they had always been restrained from, and to run abroad to play with any children, bad or good. They soon learned to neglect a strict observance of the Sabbath, and got knowledge of several songs and bad things which before they had no notion of. ”

“ The armies of the Church Militant throughout the world were never commanded by a better general than John Wesley. The military instinct was strong in every fibre of his keen mind and wiry body, and his genius for organizing has probably had far more to do with keeping the hosts of Methodism in vigorous marching order for the last hundred and fifty years, than any of the tenets he inculcated. ”

“ For, notwithstanding some men of a singular complexion may persuade themselves, I am of opinion that as our Saviour's Kingdom is not of this world, so it is never lawful to take up arms merely in defence of religion. It is like the presumption of Uzzah, who audaciously stretched out his hand to support the tottering ark ”

“ Samuel Wesley had been from his youth a hard worker, and as the course of his education did not for many years take the direction he desired, he contrived to earn for himself the University training essential to a scholar. The foundation of a liberal education was laid at the Free School, Dorchester, where he remained till nearly sixteen, when his father died, leaving a widow and family in very poor circumstances. ”

“ It cannot, I think, be of service to anyone to know how I, who have lived such a retired life for so many years, used to employ my time and care in bringing up my children. No one can, without renouncing the world, in the most literal sense, observe my method; and there are few, if any, that would entirely devote above twenty years of the prime of life in hopes to save the souls of their children, which they think may be saved without so much ado ”

“ In the records of such a race there are sure to be certain foreshadowings of the coming prophet, priest or seer, and consequently the lives of his progenitors are full of the deepest interest. Boys usually reproduce vividly the characteristics of their mothers, so in the person of Susanna Wesley we should seek the hidden springs of the boundless energy and grasp of mind that made her son stand out so prominently as a man of mark among his fellows. ”

“ The parent who indulges it does the Devil's work ; makes religion impracticable, salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child body and soul for ever.
"Our children were taught as soon as they could speak the Lord's prayer, which they were made to say at rising and at bedtime constantly, to which, as they grew bigger, were added a short prayer for their parents, and some collects, a short catechism, and some portion of Scripture as their memories could bear. They were veiy early made to distinguish the Sabbath from other days, before they could well speak or go. ”

“ The Marquis of Normanby had in some way heard of the young divine and his straitened circumstances, and, in 1690, when the little parish of South Ormsby became vacant by the death of the rector, he mentioned Mr. Wesley to the Massingberds, who then, as now, were lords of the manor and patrons of the living. Their offer of it was at once made and readily accepted, and regarded as a step in advance. The stipend was fifty pounds a year ; there was a house to live in, though a very poor one, and, as the pastoral work was by no means onerous, there was the prospect of abundant leisure for writing. ”

“ Wesley's life which, though it rests on the authority of her son John, must be either a mistake or an exaggeration; and, as the circumstance related occurred before his birth, he, of course, repeated it only from hearsay, and not of his own personal knowledge. It is to the effect that Mrs. Wesley, never having viewed William of Orange as the rightful Sovereign of England, did not respond to the prayer for the King as read by her husband at their family worship. ”

“ It was the reaction of the frame of mind in which he had written squibs and lampoons on the opposite side of the question, and the scars of persecution and controversy were still too recent to enable the friends who had hitherto watched his career, to reflect that " our little systems have their day" and ultimately "cease to be." ”

“ Sixth, that propriety (the rights of property) be invariably preserved, and none suffered to invade the property of another in the smallest matter, though it were of the value of a farthing or a pin, which they might not take from the owner without, much less against, his consent. This rule can never be too much inculcated on the minds of children; and from the want of parents and governors doing it as they ought, proceeds that shameful neglect of justice which we may observe in the world. ”

“ And truly the success of our arms hitherto has no way justified our attempt; but though God has not much seemed to favour our enemies, yet neither hath He altogether blest our forces. But though there is often many reasons given for an action, yet there is commonly but one true reason that determines our practice, and that, in this case, I take to be the securing those that were the instruments of the Revolution from the resentments of their angry master, and the preventing his return and settling the succession in an heir. ”

“ He was a liberal and a large-minded man, and no stronger proof of it can be adduced than that his youngest daughter, before she was thirteen, was allowed so much liberty of conscience, that she deliberately chose and preferred attaching herself to the Church of England rather than remaining among the Nonconformists, with whom her father had cast in his lot. ”

“ In order to form the minds of children, the first thing to be done is to conquer their will and bring them to an obedient temper. To inform the understanding is a work of time, and must with children proceed by slow degrees, as they are able to bear it ”

“ Anne was a wit as well as a beauty, and married a rich man; Elizabeth, who married Dunton, the eccentric bookseller, was very pretty, sweet-natured, and perhaps as near perfection as any mortal can be. ”

“ He was never tried in the same way himself, as Mrs. Wesley survived him, but, judging from what we know of his character, it is more than probable that he would not have lived long without a wife had he had the misfortune to lose his faithful partner.
Most likely it was when Mrs. Wesley was first installed at Epworth that she faced the problem of education for her children. Had she not done so, her daughters would have grown up ignorant, for funds wherewith to send them to school would never have been forthcoming. Strenuous efforts would naturally have been made for the boys ”

“ In 1691 a little girl was born, and named after her mother, and in January of the following year Emilia made her appearance. In April 1693 the infant Susanna died, making the first break in the circle. In 1694 twin boys, Annesley and Jedediah, were born, but died in infancy, and a few months after their death came another girl, who was also named Susanna, and lived to a ripe old age. Mary, the last born at South Ormsby, through a fall became deformed and sickly ; so that it is evident that Mrs. Wesley's hands were always full and her strength sorely tried. ”

“ And it is almost incredible what may be taught a child in a quarter of a year by a vigorous application, if it have but a tolerable capacity and good health. Kezzy excepted, all could read better in that time than the most of women can do as long as they live. ”

“ Annesley had been a prominent man among the Puritan divines, whether he approved of the execution of the "martyred King or no, for he had been one of the commissioners appointed by the Act of Parliament for the approbation and admission of ministers of the Gospel after the Presbyterian manner. No doubt he would have liked to have retained his living and won the favour of the King, for his ancestral instincts were likely to make him Royalist rather than Roundhead. ”

“ Very few of her country men and women at the present day ever attain the art of reading aloud audibly and intelligibly, as may be observed by diligent attendance at church, where the average clergy mumble and murder both liturgy and lessons. ”

“ Susanna Wesley must have been an economical woman and a good housekeeper, for she and her husband lived for two years in London lodgings, during which time their eldest son Samuel was born, and managed to pay their way and keep perfectly free from debt on their small income. The young husband now entered into a literary project, which he hoped would add considerably to his resources. ”

“ Wesley contributed about two hun- dred articles to its pages, and it is from the pen of one of his fellow- workers, Charles Gildon who afterwards wrote a history of the "Athenian Society"-that we have the best sketch of what manner of man Susanna's husband was in his early prime.
"He was a man of profound knowledge, not only of the Holy Scriptures, of the Councils, and of the Fathers, but also of every other art that comes within those called liberal. His zeal and ability in giving spiritual directions were great. With invincible power he confirmed the wavering and confuted heretics. ”

“ This post, however, did not suit Samuel Annesley, and we speedily find that he quitted it and accepted the living of Cliffe in Kent, worth about four hundred pounds a year. This cure had been left vacant by the sequestration of the previous vicar for immorality, so that his appointment probably marks his acquaintance with John White, whose daughter he married in after years. But before settling at Cliffe he had espoused a young wife, who bore him a son, named Samuel after his father. ”

“ It need only be added that Lord Mornington, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Ker Porter and his sisters, the famous novelists, were among their kith and kin, to show that many and rare talents and a vast amount of energy were hereditary gifts. Samuel Wesley was the son of the Rev. John Wesley, sometime vicar of Winterborn, Whitchurch, in Dorsetshire, one of the ejected clergy, and a grandson of the Rev. Bartholomew Wesley, who married Ann Colley of Castle Carbery, Ireland, and was the third son of Sir Herbert Wesley, by his wife and cousin Elizabeth Wesley of Daugan Castle, Ireland. ”

“ They were so constantly used to eat and drink what was given them that when any of them was ill there was no difficulty in making them take the most unpleasant medicine; for they durst not refuse it, though some of them would presently throw it up. This I mention to show that a person may be taught to take anything, though it be never so much against his stomach. ”