BX 
 
 7731 
 
 .F68 
 
V 
 
 <^ OF Pll^%^. 
 
 JAN 30 1S18 
 
 BX 7731 .F68 
 
 Fox, Joseph John. 
 
 The Society of Friends 
 
AN ENQUIRY 
 
 I>-TO THE CAUSES OF THE 
 AS A 
 
 CHEISTIAN CHUECfl. 
 
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS; 
 
 ENQUIEY INTO THE ClUsis ' * ""^ 
 
 OP 
 
 BY y 
 
 JOSEPH JOHN FOX, 
 
 rELLOW OF THE STATISTICAL SOCIETT. 
 
 "OKA ET LABORA." 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 A. W. BENNETT, 5, BISHOPSGATE WITHOUT. 
 1859. 
 
PRINTKD rOK 
 W. BENNETT, BISHOPSGATE STEEET WITHOUT, 
 LONDON, E.C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The church universal of the Christian world is, in the 
 present day, made up of many separate churches. Of 
 these, the Society of Friends forms one — conspicuous, 
 not for its numbers, but for the simplicity of its views, 
 and the position its members have held in modern 
 civilization. 
 
 Its weakness as a church will be admitted by many 
 who are not prepared to acknowledge its "decline." 
 Indeed, comparison with former generations will rather 
 suggest the idea that it is undergoing a revival. There 
 is much to encourage this conviction in the present 
 aspect of the Body ; and the twelve months that have 
 elapsed since the following Essay was written, have 
 afforded some cheering evidence that the Spirit of the 
 Great Head of all Christian churches still dwells among 
 this section of its children. 
 
vi 
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 Its future, as a constituted body, is uncertain ; but it 
 is the aim of Essays like the present, while pointing out 
 its errors, to gather together what scattered elements of 
 strength yet remain to it. 
 
 With this animating hope the following pages have 
 been composed. They were penned amidst the pressure 
 of constant professional engagements, and, owing to 
 long ill-health, have not undergone the subsequent 
 revision that the writer would wish to have given 
 them. 
 
 Stoke Newington, 1859. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 I. Introduction. — Complexity of tlie causes that enter into 
 
 human economy and histoiy, — still more into the history 
 of the church. — Diversity of churches due to national 
 and individual chai'acter ; — difficulty of the subject, in 
 spite of the origin of the Society being so well known, 
 and its literature so abundant 
 
 II. ClECUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE SoCTETY AROSE. 
 
 The Puritans. — Rise and establishment of the Society 
 class from which it sprang ; change in that class 
 within two or three generations, under the influence of 
 prosperity. — Depression of the Society in the eighteenth 
 century ; — symptoms of some revival at the close of that 
 epoch 
 
 III. Present State of the Society, as shown by Stattstics. 
 — Decreasing in number ; proximate causes of decrease ; 
 — 1. Excess of secessions over admissions; — 2. Excess 
 of deaths over births ; — this due to paucity and lateness 
 of marriages — These causes only proximate 
 
 IV. Present State of the Society as a Church; — numbers 
 not being an infallible test. — It is not altogether deserted 
 by the Spirit, — yet there ai-e evidences of languor in its 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 spiritual life. — Contrast between the social life of early 
 Friends and that of Friends of the present day ; — depen- 
 dence on external pleasures a feature of this age 13 
 
 V. Difficulty in thoroughly comprehending the Society. 
 
 — I. To those within it ; — 2. To those without ; — 
 reasons : — 
 
 1. The technical language of the Society. 
 
 2. Keticence on religious subjects. 
 
 3. Extreme spirituality, or " mysticism" of its doc- 
 
 trines 16 
 
 VI. Causes of the Decline are Numerous, and in many 
 if not most cases, are also symptoms or " effects." 
 — Cause and effect intertwined. — Important to dis- 
 tinguish such causes as arise as much from error as 
 from spiritual weakness ; — these are more susceptible of 
 cure 18 
 
 VII. Doctrine of the Society. — Matters of doctrine in- 
 capable of complete comprehension, and therefore of 
 complete expression ; — hence they are susceptible of lati- 
 tude in representation by language. — Two opposite ten- 
 dencies visible in the Society ; one developing the other 
 — have led to important schisms. — Inference that the 
 Society has held its doctrines without material change. — 
 Decay of churches due more to their application of 
 doctrines to practical life, than to the doctrines them- 
 selves 20 
 
 VIII. Assertion that the Cause is Want of the Spirit 
 OF Christ. — This explains nothing; — Grace of God 
 bestowed in proportion to man's obedience.— Assertion 
 that lack of individual dedication is the cause ; — true, 
 but does not solve the question 26 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IX. The Ministry in the Society of Feiends. — The 
 Friends' yiew of ministry — It is at present feeble ; — 
 two modes in which the low spiritual condition of the 
 Society affects its ministry. — Excess of female ministiy ; 
 — defect of ministry among men, especially men of 
 intelleciual cultivation ; — causes of this ; devotion to the 
 things of the world 27 
 
 X. Religious Instruction of the Young ; — no provision 
 
 made for it. — Reasons ; — Effect. — Some improvement in 
 Scriptural teaching ; — great need of the action of the 
 church in the religious teaching of early manliood. — 
 Scripture-reading meetings ; — the use of the Scriptm*es 
 in meetings for worship 31 
 
 XI. The Discipline of the Society; — principles that regulate 
 it. — Two matters alleged against it. — On the whole, its 
 action is successful 37 
 
 XII. Birth-right Membership, — believed by many to be a 
 great cause of the Society's decline. — Slow gi'owth of rules 
 in a chiirch, especially in the Society of Friends; — 
 creation of distinct membership in the early pait or 
 middle of last century ; — reasons that induced the Society 
 to give membership to the children of members. — What 
 is a chm-ch ? — Childi-en belong to the church of Christ. — 
 111 effects of nominal membership, but the abolition of 
 birth-right membership would not obviate it. — Necessity 
 for " a church " to include large proportion of members 
 
 of " the chm'ch," in order to prosper 41 
 
 XIII. The Discipline of the Society as regards Marrl\ge. 
 — Loss of members by disownment for marrying contrary 
 to the rules, very considerable. — Difficulties that the 
 subject of maniage has presented to the Society ;— views 
 of Friends on the nature of maiiiage, — and successful 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 realization of them in practice. — New difficulties; — 
 springing up of intercourse between Friends and others ; 
 — consequent marriage connexions ; — practice of disowii- 
 ment for marrying others ; — complexity of the question, 
 from there being no mode in which such unions could 
 take place, accordant with the doctrine of the Society. — 
 Such unions undesirable, but not morally wrong ; — their 
 great number is evidence of want of attachment to 
 Friends' principles among the young. — Suggestions re- 
 specting the action of the church 49 
 
 XIV. Defects in the Practical Life of a Church, more 
 important as causes of its decline. — Accumulation of 
 WEALTH. — Injurious effects of wealth, in its pursuit, — and 
 in its possession. — Circumstances that fostered the " com- 
 mercial spirit" among Friends. — Love of Christ essen- 
 tially antagonistic to love of money. — Different conditions 
 of society ; — value of men of leisure ; — common objec- 
 tion to withdrawing from business, met. — Importance of 
 cultivation of mind. — Effects of a wealthy class upon the 
 church 60 
 
 XV. Outward Peculiarities of the Society. — Peculiarity 
 of dress. — No peculiar costume contemplated by the 
 Founders. — Principles that should regulate attire, — 
 modesty and simplicity ; — add to these, a protest against 
 the fashions of the world. — Growth of peculiarity in the 
 second or third generation from the origin. — Arguments 
 in its favour, on the ground of expediency, — and objec- 
 tions brought against them seriatim : — 1. A protection to 
 the young against temptation; — 2. A protest against 
 fashion; — 3. A healthful exercise of self denial; — 4. An 
 open profession of Quakerism. — Injm'ious effects ascribed 
 to it : — 1. That it favours hypocrisy ; — 2, Fosters spiritual 
 pride ; — 3. Tends to place religion in externals. — ^Fifth 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 FAGB 
 
 argument in its favour, that those who discard it often 
 go further; — the fact admitted in degree, but not the 
 inference. — On the whole, it has inflicted more injury 
 than benefit. — Man has no right to make an artificial 
 distinction from his fellows. — Great care requisite in 
 dealing with this subject. — Suggestions for its gi-adual 
 disappearance. — The Society as a church has raised it 
 into importance, to the great detriment of its sphitual 
 life 69 
 
 XVI. Peculiarities of Speech, — rest on different grounds 
 from peculiar dress ; — viz., a protest against idolatry and 
 flattery. — Do they answer these ends? — Christian com*tesy, 
 a sound and necessary principle, — but may be abused 
 into flattery. — Difficulty and un desirableness of dictating 
 a particular course in the matter of speech and beha- 
 viour. — Peculiarities, as such, hurtful. — Safer to inculcate 
 principles, than to determine what others should do ; — • 
 necessity for mutual tolerance in this matter 86 
 
 XVII. Summary and Conclusion. — Eecapitulation of the 
 several causes that are alleged; — and selection of the 
 three most important. — The influence of the Society 
 has been great, — but these causes are crippling it. — 
 Necessity of regulated Christian action for the well-being 
 of a church ; — and for the judgment to be cultivated and 
 employed. — In the Society, as a church, it has been 
 deficient, — ^little or no care being taken to develope it, — 
 and the Society consequently suffers.— Uncertainty of 
 the future 94 
 
I 
 
 ORA ET LABORA. 
 
AN INQUIEY 
 
 INTO THE CAUSES OE THE 
 
 Jcdme 0f t\it Sorictg of Jfrkittrs 
 
 AS A 
 
 CHEISTIAX CHUECH. 
 
 1. It has ever been the high prerogative of Providence 
 to shroud the workings of its agents in a veil of apparent 
 mystery — 
 
 " He moves in a mysterious way 
 His wonders to perform." 
 
 In the Divine mind, the complex working of events — the 
 slow influence of multiform causes — is doubtless a con- 
 nected scheme, ruled by the laws that regulate the 
 development of the universe, whether material or 
 spiritual, and foreseen, too, from the beginning, by Om- 
 niscience. Not so to the imperfect apprehension of man. 
 To his feeble vision, the mutual relations of cause and 
 effect seem almost inextricably interwoven. He can 
 hardly advance a step in the chain of causation, without 
 the greatest danger of reasoning in a circle. The con- 
 currence of so many causes to produce one simple effect 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is SO great as almost to defy his analysis. Nothing but 
 the conviction, which Revelation and experience unite 
 in compelling, that the progress and highest interests of 
 the human race, as well as the physical world, are sub- 
 ject to law,* would encourage him to persevere in so 
 important an inquiry. And important it is for him to 
 seek to understand the laws of his mental constitution ; 
 important, by rigidly questioning the past, to ascertain 
 the circumstances that have been associated with human 
 progress, or human decline ; important, too, by strict 
 examination of his present state, to learn wherein he has 
 transgressed the laws of healthy development — wherein 
 he has foregone the privileges that it had pleased the 
 Divine Beneficence to confer. 
 
 If we apply these thoughts, first, to the investigation 
 of the material world — the Kosmos of the philosopher ; 
 then to the physical constitution of man, and his relations 
 to the external world, on which he depends for health 
 and subsistence; ascending another step, to his social 
 and political economy, or the laws that regulate his 
 existence and well-being in society ; and finally, to the 
 economy of that organization which should be the acme 
 of any attained upon earth, higher than any organization 
 merely social or political — the organization of a Christian 
 church ; — if to these successively be applied the maxims 
 of sound inductive inquiry, we shall, I believe, find that 
 difi*erent as they are in their nature — dealing as they do 
 with varying orders of the interests and capacities of 
 
 * It may be desirable to remind some readers, that the term 
 " law" is used only in the sense of " comprehensive fact," embrac- 
 ing a multitude of particulars, and is identical with the Will of the 
 Omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. 
 
DITERSITY OF CHTRCHES. 
 
 3 
 
 man — they are, each of them, fields open to his investi- 
 gation, and each of them will yield to that investigation, 
 if conducted in humble consciousness of its limited 
 powers, fruits apt to edify and sustain. The history of 
 the Christian church, its foundation in blood, its pre- 
 servation amid barbarism, and its diverse manifestation 
 among sects and churches, has always been a theme of 
 admiring interest to the student. In it he sees not 
 merely the stupendous gift from God to man; but he 
 sees also the evidence of Divine Providence guarding and 
 sustaining it. Nor is this all. He cannot but notice 
 that it has pleased the Divine Giver to entrust his 
 precious boon to the charge of erring man — a treasure 
 in an earthen vessel. The human faculties are sanctified 
 by religion ; human frailties obscure and impede it. 
 Admitting to the full extent the abstract unity of Chris- 
 tian truth, we must recognize in Christian churches as 
 they now exist, and perhaps have ever existed, a large 
 leaven of humanity, to wdiich they owe their varied 
 character in different ages and different climes. Not 
 merely do w^e nowhere see Christianity perfect, but we 
 nowhere see it uncoloured by peculiar character, either 
 national or individual. If, then, Christianity as mani- 
 fested in the world partakes of the minds of those imbued 
 with its spirit, what wonder that Christian churches 
 should vary, when we reflect on the complexity of the 
 human faculties, and almost infinite variety of human 
 character ! What wonder, too, that the investigation of 
 causes should be so difficult, when we take into account 
 the action and re- action of man's weaknesses and imper- 
 fections upon the Christian society of which he forms a 
 part I What wonder that, in the progress of time, when 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH 
 
 a church has undergone mutations — it may be of pros- 
 perity — it may be of decline — the attempt to assign the 
 causes of those mutations should be a problem surrounded 
 with embarrassment. In the case of the Society of 
 Friends, we have the advantage of its being a church 
 dating only from modern times. The 17th century 
 is nearly as well known to us as our own, from the mass 
 of literature that has come down to us. The literature 
 of the Society is of itself copious enough to fill a library. 
 The doctrines, the discipline, and the practice of this 
 Christian church, both in its early and later times, are 
 tolerably known to us. In all three respects it has 
 differed from the Christian churches in which it dwelt, 
 preserving for two centuries, with more or less faithful- 
 ness, its distinguishing characters. And yet, when the 
 mind turns to the contemplation of its state, and seeks 
 the cause of its gradual diminution, so complex are the 
 influences at work, that it is impossible to give any other 
 than a hesitating answer. 
 
 11. Before entering on the consideration of the present 
 state of the Society, or adducing any evidence to show 
 its decline, either numerical, or in the conditions requisite 
 to a healthy church, we must dwell for a moment on the 
 circumstances under which the body was formed, and the 
 class that constituted its early members. Perhaps there 
 was no time in English history when the religious 
 element was more generally diffused in the middle and 
 lower classes of society, than was the case in the middle 
 of the 17th century. It is easy to cast ridicule on Puri- 
 tanism, and dwell merely on its extravagances, its hypo- 
 crisy, and its political violence. But these things are 
 
THE SOCIETY AROSE. 
 
 5 
 
 merely the excesses that indicate how much activity is 
 going on below ; as smoke is an evidence of fire. Some 
 few great names adorned the Established church, but 
 the zeal of the humbler classes was shown by the growth 
 of Dissent, amid the storms and trials of persecution. It 
 is probable that at the immediate epoch at which the 
 early Friends went forth on their mission, the state of 
 the Puritan church was corrupted by the ascendancy it 
 had just attained. There is something very striking, and 
 instructive too, in the calmer view which we are able to 
 take of the Puritans of the 17th century, than was 
 formed by our ancestors, who rose up amongst them, and 
 attacked them with aggressive unrelenting war. The 
 worthies of that day, in their zeal for the truth, used no 
 measured terms in denouncing the wickedness and blind- 
 ness of their contemporaries. Wickedness and blindness 
 there always have been, and always will be, but apathy 
 to religion was certainly not the characteristic of that 
 age of religious warfare. It was a season of intense 
 activity, when the minds of men were awakened to their 
 individual responsibility in religious matters ; at the 
 same time that the intellect, fostered by a more generous 
 education, and recently escaped from the trammels of 
 the church and mediaeval discipline, was fast attaining to 
 new discoveries, and applying them in politics and 
 science. This was the time when a few devoted apostles 
 appeared, bearing with them a message of purer gospel 
 than was preached by others in the turmoil of social and 
 religious life ; directing men, with the authority of evan- 
 gelists, to the Light of Christ revealed within their own 
 hearts and testified of in the Holy Scriptures. They 
 passed through the length and breadth of the land. 
 
6 
 
 CLASS FROM WHICH 
 
 everywhere gathering crowds to listen to them, every- 
 where meeting inquiring minds who fastened eagerly on 
 the doctrines they unfoldedj as if they had indeed found 
 the bread of which they were in search. Under Divine 
 Providence, the Society owes much to George Fox ; and 
 througli the Society, the world in general is indebted to 
 him. But he was only one of several, perhaps more 
 than those whose names have come down to us, who at 
 this epoch were separately led to this spiritual conception 
 of Christian doctrine. A bond of brotherhood was soon 
 established between them. Persecution helped to knit 
 them together. The other parts of Christian doctrine 
 and Christian practice flowed naturally from the sublime 
 principle to which Divine Providence had conducted 
 them, and on which their faith was fixed. Within a few 
 years, a system of church government was organized; 
 and in less than half a century from its origin, the 
 Society had passed through the struggles of its infancy, 
 and become recognized not merely by the public, but by 
 the law, as a distinct body of Protestant Dissenters. 
 
 It is important to recollect from what class of society 
 these early witnesses to the truth were raised up. A 
 few were men of wealth ; a few were men of learning ; 
 but the mass sprang from the humbler and uneducated 
 portion of the people. When we speak of the lower 
 classes in this day, we think of the masses in our large 
 cities — the pariahs of civilization — with whom religion 
 is a bye-word, and whose only education is an education 
 of vice. Two centuries ago, the social system was 
 different. A scantier population, more equally diffused 
 over the country, did not present such foci of contamina- 
 tion as now exist. The poorer classes of the small 
 
IT SPBANG. 
 
 7 
 
 towns and the followers of the plough formed probably 
 the bulk of early Friends ; perhaps not a degraded class, 
 but certainly one almost destitute of education and of 
 social refinement. 
 
 It is obvious that, within a single generation, this class 
 would materially alter its position. Even without any 
 systematic education, in the ordinary sense of the term, 
 the mere beloncrino; to a democratic church, like that of 
 the Society ; — the practice of self-denial requisite in 
 maintaining their testimonies against superfluous dress, 
 against flattering language, and against the frivolous 
 amusements of the world ; — and the habits of sobriety 
 and diligence which belong to the Christian character, 
 would soon raise their possessors from the lower to the 
 middle ranks of life, and convert them into what the 
 world terms a "respectable" body. The same causes, 
 longer continued, produced a wealthy body. For although 
 the devotion of the mind to religion is adverse to the 
 accumulation of wealth, yet, as zeal declined, there being 
 neither politics, nor science, nor worldly amusements to 
 occupy or dissipate the energies, they were concentrated, 
 and fatally so, on the management and extension of large 
 commercial undertakinofs.'^ The re-action of wealth 
 and social position, — and the consequent worship of the 
 crowd, — on the high concerns of vital religion are too 
 self-evident to be portrayed. We have here, if not a 
 cause, a concomitant of religious degeneracy. It was at 
 work during the whole of the last century. In the early 
 part, large numbers of the Society emigrated to our 
 colonies in America, where they have multiplied and 
 
 * It is said that the majority of the banking firms of the Metro- 
 polis have descended from members cf the Society of Friends. 
 
8 
 
 THE SOCIETY DUEING 
 
 formed, in 1853, about 283,000.* It is true that they 
 have been invaded by the fearful spirit of doctrinal 
 strife, and again and again rent in twain by heresy and 
 schism. Nevertheless, they are prosperous compared 
 with their English brethren, and seem to be expanding 
 with the increase of their country. 
 
 In England, the Society of Friends partook of the 
 lethargy that seems to have pervaded all religious 
 bodies, except the Wesleyans, in the middle of the last 
 century. Towards the latter part, it seems probable 
 that some little revival was experienced. This is 
 evidenced. 
 
 First, by some little increase in the registered num- 
 bers of births and marriages; though whether 
 this is due to real increase, or to more careful 
 registration, is difficult to say. 
 
 Secondly, by the attention that was given to the 
 subject of education, and the foundation by Dr. 
 Fothergill of that admirable institution, Ack- 
 worth School. 
 
 A third evidence of revival, in the latter years of 
 the century, is found in the fact of members 
 of the Society throwing their means and their 
 time into the noble cause of philanthropy. It is 
 possible we do injustice to those that preceded, 
 because their benevolence, not assuming an or- 
 ganized form, passes unnoticed in history. How- 
 ever that be, a spirit of action suddenly sprang 
 
 ^ British Friend, 1853 ; confirmed in 1856. This number pro- 
 bably includes the Hicksites, and all who claim the name of 
 Friends. The number of the recognized or " orthodox" Society in 
 America, in 1843, was estimated by John Candler between 
 eighty-three and eighty-four thousand. 
 
THE LAST CENTURY. 
 
 9 
 
 up in the Society, and its members took a fore- 
 most rank in founding and supporting, with the 
 co-operation of others, large associations for the 
 liberation of the slave, for the diffusion of the Bible, 
 and for promoting the education of the people. 
 Fourthly, it is some evidence of an awakening spirit 
 in the body, when religious controversy, of which 
 we have heard little for a century, revives. 
 This was the case about 1795, when Hannah 
 Barnard, a minister largely endowed, caused 
 much trouble to the Society. She preached doc- 
 trines, which were accepted by many, especially 
 in Ireland, but which, by the leaders of opinion 
 in this country, were not deemed accordant with 
 sound Christian faith. 
 These things prove that a little more activity was 
 excited in the Society. Although they are not sufficient 
 to demonstrate that the church was in a more healthy 
 condition, yet they render it highly probable ; and they 
 encourage us to believe that the torch of Christian 
 faith was burning more brightly. It is striking that the 
 same epoch witnessed the commencement of a similar 
 movement in the Established church of this country. 
 The names of Wilberforce and Hannah More, Simeon 
 and Henry Martyn, need only be recalled, to remind us 
 that there was a spirit of renovation abroad. We are 
 witnessing in this day the development, under different 
 forms, of a renewed life, which dates from about seventy 
 or eighty years ago. 
 
 III. Let us now give some attention to the state of 
 the Society in the present day. It will be well to treat 
 
10 
 
 STATISTICAL EYIDENCE 
 
 of the evidence as regards the numbers of the Society 
 quite distinctly from the subject of its healthy condition 
 as a church. In the first part, statistics supply us with 
 the means of forming a reliable opinion ; in the second, 
 they hardly give us any assistance. 
 
 The result of statistical inquiry into the numbers of 
 the Society may be stated shortly. For the evidence, 
 and for some matters of interest that arise out of it, 
 see a paper by the author on the " Vital Statistics of the 
 Society," in the Statistical Journal for June, 1859. It is 
 very clear from an enumeration in 1840, and another in 
 1847, that the Society is decreasing; and this conclusion 
 is borne out by the indirect testimony of other statistical 
 data. Between the years 1840 and 1847, the decrease of 
 the Society in England and Wales was at the rate of 133 
 per annum, out of about 1 6,000 members. And this, not- 
 withstanding the admissions of new members, which have 
 averaged forty- eight per annum during this century. It is 
 very likely that, since 1847, the decrease has been faster. 
 
 Forgetting for the moment that it is a Christian 
 church we are speaking of, what should we think of a 
 population that showed such a tendency to die out ? Of 
 course, we do not expect in an educated people, living 
 in some luxury, and almost exempt from the grosser 
 immoralities of tbe general world ; — of course, we do not 
 expect from such the rapid increase that marks the 
 population of a new country, or of a community where 
 the demand for labour is kept up by the continued 
 spread of commerce and manufactures. A stationary 
 state of population, such as exists in some of the cantons 
 of Switzerland, is not adverse to — nay, perhaps, rather 
 favourable, to social prosperity. And there is every 
 
OF DECREASE. 
 
 11 
 
 reason to think that, in the scheme of the world, intel- 
 lectual cultivation and luxury are two as potent pre- 
 ventive checks to over-increase of population, as any 
 that Malthus pointed out. But the Society of Friends 
 is not merely stationary, or very slightly decreasing ; it 
 is decreasing rapidly, and the decrease, there is reason to 
 fear, is augmenting. This simple fact, if we knew no 
 more, is a fact that requires explanation. 
 
 Although the true causes lie deep and are connected 
 with its prosperity as a churchy yet for its decline as a 
 population there are certain proximate causes, through 
 which the remoter causes operate. The decline in num- 
 bers takes place in two ways ; first, by the admissions 
 into membership not equalling the number of withdrawals. 
 Secondly, by excess of deaths over births. Either of these 
 alone would cause a given population to decrease, but in 
 this instance there is every reason to believe both are 
 concerned. We have stated that the admissions into the 
 Society average forty-eight per annum ; the secessions 
 from the Society are not returned, but they are very 
 numerous. They consist of voluntary resignations ; of 
 separations in consequence of marrying one not a member 
 of the Society (or, as it is termed, marrying contrary to 
 the rules) ; and lastly, of persons disunited by the body 
 for some delinquency either in doctrine or practice. It 
 would be very interesting, if we had the means of 
 distinguishing the numbers separating from the Society in 
 each of these ways. But we have not : we only know that 
 the disownments on account of marriage have been very 
 numerous. Some facts collected by a Friend at York, 
 which are given in the paper referred to, make it pro- 
 bable that there are more than sixty such cases in the year. 
 
12 
 
 PROXIMATE CAUSES OF 
 
 The second proximate cause, is the excess of deaths 
 over births. Owing to our not possessing returns of the 
 births for late years, we cannot directly assert that this 
 excess is now existing. But there is very little doubt of 
 it. The sum of the deaths, from the beginnino- of the 
 century to the middle of 1837, slightly exceeds the sum 
 of the births. If we look to each sex separately, we 
 find that the female deaths have exceeded the female 
 births throughout the thirty-seven years. This is the 
 necessary result of a law which is shown more fully in the 
 statistical paper ; and hence it happens that, as far as 
 decrease by excess of deaths over births is concerned, 
 the decline of a population begins earlier and goes on 
 faster in the female population than the male. This has 
 been the case in the Society of Friends between 1840 
 and 1847. Although we might suppose that the great 
 causes of separation, marriage, and delinquency — to 
 which may be added a third, emigration — would be more 
 active among the male than the female sex, yet it is the 
 latter that has sustained the greatest decrease. 
 
 Of course, the excess of deaths over births — or rather 
 the deficiency of births in proportion to population — is 
 due to the paucity and lateness of marriages. How far 
 the latter cause operates, we do not know ; but that 
 paucity of marriage is a large agent, is evident from the 
 simple fact that the marriages between 1780 and 1790 
 were 105 per annum, while from 1850 to 1855, they 
 were only 61 per annum. Although we do not 
 know what the population was at the first of these 
 epochs, there is little doubt that it has not decreased in 
 proportion to the enormous decrease of marriages in the 
 Society. And since the offspring of those disunited for 
 
DECREASE IN NUMBER. 
 
 13 
 
 marrying " contrary to the rules," are not born mem- 
 bers of the Society, the deficiency of births is at once 
 accounted for. 
 
 As we have said before, these are only the proximate 
 causes of decline of numbers. They are themselves the 
 result of deeper ones, which must be sought in other 
 considerations relative to the Society. Were it flourish- 
 inor as a Christian church, we might expect the regula- 
 tions as regards marriacre to work less disastrouslv : and 
 while there might always be some that would leave the 
 body from religious conviction, and some, too, from 
 accidental circumstances, combined with religious indif- 
 ference, yet the places of these would be amply filled by 
 the accession of new converts to the doctrines of the 
 Society. In this way, a fresh zeal would be brought 
 into it, likely to aid materially in developing its prin- 
 ciples into a healthy and life-sustaining practice. 
 
 IV. However grave be the fact of increase or decrease 
 of number, the consideration of the healthy or morbid 
 condition as a church is still more important. It is 
 not always safe to infer the spiritual vitality of a body 
 from its being in a state of increase ; nor, on the other 
 hand, to regard decrease as the evident sign of spiritual 
 torpor. If the first were true, Mormonism would be one 
 of the most healthy bodies of the day ; if the last, then 
 must Quakerism be indeed most inanimate and effete. 
 As, however, in the one case we cannot admit the con- 
 clusion, we must not be too hasty in our inference with 
 respect to the other. That the Societ}^ of Friends has 
 not lost its privileges as a Christian church, and been 
 deserted by the living Spirit of the Great Head of all 
 
14 
 
 SPIRITUAL LANGUOR. 
 
 Christian churches, must be evident to every one who 
 can free himself from the prejudices of blind admiration 
 on the one hand, and equally blind animosity on the 
 other. The religious spirit and brotherly harmony that 
 are largely manifested in successive yearly meetings of 
 the Society, — indeed, may be said, without much exag- 
 geration, to pervade them ; the general moral conduct of 
 the members, and their readiness in contributing their 
 time and their means, both in private benevolence and 
 public philanthropy ; these may be adduced as the 
 external signs that the Spirit of Christ has not altogether 
 deserted this section of His church. And yet it is not 
 as such a church should be. It is impossible to deny 
 that a languor pervades its spiritual life, of which the 
 frequent resignations and disownments, and paucity of 
 admissions, are only the outward and visible signs. 
 This languor is also shown by the scanty number of 
 recognized ministers, especially in the stronger sex ; — 
 by the departure from Christian simplicity in many points 
 of outward demeanour, which may be termed the exter- 
 nals of life ; — by the occasional (unfortunately not rare) 
 occurrence of instances of scandalous dishonesty in men 
 who ranked high in the Society's esteem ; — and lastly, 
 though not to the extent that has been supposed, by 
 weakness and inconsistency in the disciplinary action of 
 the Society. These are facts that not the warmest 
 advocate of things as they are" can deny ; nor can he 
 deny the conclusion that they indicate an unhealthy con- 
 dition of the church. It is probable, that if we could 
 bring before us the social life of our early Friends, and 
 realize their devout and humble walk in the fear of the 
 Lord, — conversing with those around them with the 
 
DEPENDEKCE ON PLEASURE. 
 
 15 
 
 gravity of earnest men, and the simplicity of Christian 
 brethren, — ever consecrating their all to the service of 
 their great Master, — it is probable that the contrast to our 
 experience of the same body in our own day, would 
 deeply impress and afflict us. Not that we can expect 
 the Christian life to manifest itself at all times in the 
 same outward mode ; not that we can expect the course 
 of two centuries to make no change in our manners, and 
 in the habit of our minds ; nor can we look for the same 
 devotedness and zeal in a later generation, as are mani- 
 fested by early converts to the truth. Yet, with all these 
 allowances, the contrast between this people and their 
 forefathers would, indeed, be a wide one. To them, this 
 life seemed only a passage to a better world ; and the 
 pleasures and allurements it afforded had no power to 
 charm them from the holy warfare on which they had 
 entered. To too many, in the present day, the things of 
 this world possess an absorbing attraction. Abstaining, 
 to a great degree, from hurtful or purely frivolous amuse- 
 ments, they have yet become too dependent on external 
 pleasures. It may be that these pleasures are innocent, 
 and even rational — nay, they are many of them gifts from 
 our Maker, and intended for the gratification of His 
 creatures. It is only the dependence on them for our 
 enjoyments, and converting them from the healthy re- 
 creation of man into his chief object of desire, that is at 
 once a symptom and a cause of spiritual decline. Un- 
 less centred on the highest object of love, the soul 
 becomes enamoured even of pleasures innocent in them- 
 selves, indulges in them to the injury of its capacity for 
 higher pleasure, and hazards its birthright for a mess of 
 pottage. 
 
16 
 
 THE SOCIETY ILL-UNDERSTOOD. 
 
 V. The Society of Friends is a religious body that is 
 not easily comprehended. It is natural that those brought 
 up within its pale should find difficulty in estimating the 
 sources of its strength and its weakness. They are im- 
 bued with veneration and love for their noble predeces- 
 sors ; and, in their eyes, even the blemishes of the system 
 handed down to them, are apt to take the appearance of 
 virtues. For the same reason, they may pass unnoticed 
 and make light of the very elements that constitute its 
 strength. It is only by rigidly weeding the mind of 
 prejudice, that those who have inherited the traditions 
 of two centuries can hope to place in their true light the 
 short-comings of the system in which they have been 
 brought up. If such be the difficulties to one within the 
 pale of the Society, those who view it merely from with- 
 out, are still more unable to estimate it aright. Of the 
 accounts of Quakerism that have appeared in the world, 
 many have been slanderous ; and it is not too much to 
 say, that most have been written in misunderstanding of 
 its doctrines and practices. On the other hand, a few 
 have erred in the opposite extreme, and with equal igno- 
 rance of the true bearing of its tenets, have treated it 
 with extravagant laudation. Of late years, these panegy- 
 rics on the Society have been not infrequent. They are 
 grateful to that instinct for approbation which is as strong 
 a passion in the aggregate, as in the individual man ; but 
 the misunderstanding that usually marks them, goes far 
 to lessen their value, and convert them from the honest 
 homage to truth and justice, into the pernicious language 
 of flattery. 
 
 Many circumstances have tended to make it difficult 
 for the rest of the world to comprehend the Society of 
 
TECHNICAL LANGUAGE OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 17 
 
 Friends. Not that any Christian body can expect to be 
 understood and appreciated by a world that knows 
 nothing of the Christian spirit ; to such a world, it must 
 always seem " foolishness." But in the case of Quaker- 
 ism, there are obstacles to its beincp known and valued 
 even by Christians of other churches. Many, of high 
 attainments, who have been able to embrace brethren of 
 various creeds in one wide spiritual unity, have failed to 
 realize the life that pervades, or has pervaded, the doc- 
 trines and practices of Friends, and consequently have 
 looked on them with disgust, or with complacent pity, as 
 circumstances have happened to determine. 
 
 1. One barrier of no small moment consists in the 
 technical language that Friends have almost invariably 
 employed from the origin of their Society. The growth 
 of this it is not difficult to explain. A copious expression, 
 whether literary or spoken, amongst a class of very 
 slightly educated men, is sure to generate a style too 
 verbose for clearness, and wanting that distinct applica- 
 tion of words to ideas, which mental training, or more 
 careful compression of thought, would have given. This 
 ambiguity of language, the outpouring of earnest men, 
 rules the early literature of the Society, with but few 
 exceptions. Unfortunately, the expressions — the style, 
 or the form of thought — have been handed down to us 
 almost as a technical language ; and although, in its 
 spoken form, it has yielded, as all language must, to the 
 influence of the age, yet it still subsists in the literature 
 of the Society, and greatly impedes its value among 
 those who are not educated to it. 
 
 2. From a very early period in its history the 
 Society ceased any efforts at active proselytism. Con- 
 
18 
 
 RETICENCE. 
 
 tent to do its quiet part in spreading the knowledge of 
 Christ on the earth, it abstained from seeking to add 
 converts to its own body. Nay, more, it has become 
 the practice of Friends to make but little profession of 
 their religious belief. Perhaps they are apt to regard 
 their outward appearance and language as testifying 
 their character, and rest satisfied with these as the con- 
 fession of their faith. It may be that it springs from a 
 healthy fear of being led into too much expression, and 
 thus acting the part of hypocrites to the great cause of 
 religion. Other causes may produce it ; indeed, it can 
 be the result of the most opposite motives. However 
 influenced, it is the fact that Friends are reticent on 
 religious subjects, and that reticence contributes to make 
 them less understood by Christians of other denominations. 
 
 3. There is a third cause for the ignorance of the 
 general public respecting Quakerism, which must not 
 be left unnoticed. It is probably an important one, but 
 it is inevitable, and no efforts of the Society can alto- 
 gether remove it. The doctrines of Friends belong to 
 that class that the world calls mysticism. Their views 
 on the mutual interpretation of the Christian scheme and 
 of our spiritual nature are such as the mere worldly 
 reason can hardly apprehend. They take a stand, — 
 however near it may be in its essence to the faith of 
 devout Christians of other churches, — yet certainly 
 remote in its formulae. No wonder, then, that it is only 
 the few who can enter with them into the ideas that 
 these formulae express, and appreciate the principles to 
 which they have attained. 
 
 VI. A very cursory glance at the present state of the 
 
CAUSE AND EFFECT BLENDED. 19 
 
 Society of Friends is sufficient to satisfy that no one 
 cause alone will account for its decline in numbers and 
 in prosperity as a church. Its weakness is intimately 
 associated with many circumstances, some of which cer- 
 tainly stand in the relation of cause, although nearly all 
 of them are in great degree effects of the weakness 
 itself. This is not inconsistent with their acting as 
 causes ; such reasoning in a circle, which would be fatal 
 to a logical or mathematical proposition, may be almost 
 said to be the law of social economy. If this were the 
 place, we might offer some hints towards a solution of 
 this apparent contradiction ; sufficient for the present to 
 notice the fact, and remark that of all the circumstances 
 attendant on numerical or spiritual decline, there is not 
 one that is not to a greater or less degree the result of 
 an unhealthy condition of the church. We hare to 
 distinguish between those causes which are nothing 
 more than the necessary results of spiritual decline ; 
 and those causes, on the other hand, which although 
 they might not have grown to such extent if the church 
 had been stronger, are yet directly referable to defects 
 in the machinery or action of the church. It is the 
 second kind of causes that it is so important to ascer- 
 tain, because on their discovery depends the hope of 
 restoration. If they can be rightly determined, and 
 attention drawn to their importance, it may lead to their 
 beinrr avoided or corrected. It will be seen in 
 the sequel, as we pass seriatim through the many 
 symptoms of unhealthy action, which are alleged 
 as causes of the disease ; that some of them aie 
 scarcely more than symptoms, while others have 
 a deeper significance, and are indeed existing im- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 DOCTRINE OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 pediments to the Society's acquiring a higher spiritual 
 life. 
 
 yil. There are some, perhaps, who attribute the 
 decline of the Society — both its want of spirituality 
 and its decrease by secessions — to a departure from 
 sound Christian doctrine. It is not impossible ; but let 
 us consider whether it is at all likely. The Society, 
 while holding from the first the belief in the great 
 Atonement for sin, in the offering of the Son of God, as 
 revealed to us in the Scriptures ; has also held as an 
 essential part of the Christian faith, that this Son of 
 God reveals Himself in the hearts of men, and will 
 guide them into all truth. He is not only the historical 
 Saviour, miraculously born into the world at Bethlehem, 
 baptized at Jordan, and sacrificed without the gates of 
 Jerusalem ; but He is the promised Comforter, the Light 
 that enlighteneth every man, conveying by immediate 
 Revelation the knowledge of Him, reconciling us with 
 the Father, and sanctifying us by the purifying influence 
 of His Holy Spirit. Doctrines so sublime as these are 
 beyond the power of human intellect to comprehend. 
 They may be assented to by the reason ; — nay, more, 
 they may be embraced by the heart with the full assur- 
 ance of faith ; — but when the human mind attempts to 
 develope them into their consequences — to show their 
 bearing on other points of Christian belief, and to trace 
 their effect on the wide circle of Christian life ; — then it 
 is that the fact of their being only imperfectly compre- 
 hended becomes manifest. Different minds, either by 
 birth or education, are endowed not only with different 
 powers, but with different modes of viewing the objects 
 
OPPOSITE TENDENCIES. 
 
 21 
 
 presented to tiiem. In every one some bias exists — 
 a capability of apprehending some class of ideas more 
 easily than others — and this bias communicates, like a 
 coloured atmosphere, something of its own tinge to all 
 the ideas that pass through it. Hence it comes, that m 
 writing or in speaking on the great truths of Chris- 
 tianity — truths which we have before said no human 
 mind in this transitory world can perfectly comprehend 
 — hence it comes, that even among those who agree to 
 the same principles as the foundation of their belief, there 
 will be some that lean to one side of the Christian 
 scheme, and some to the other. The whole course of 
 church history might be brought to illustrate this fact. 
 Sects and heresies from the earliest times have never 
 ceased to agitate the Christian body, and by exciting 
 unchristian animosities to retard the progress of Christ's 
 kingdom in the world. In the Society of Friends the 
 field open to difference of view is narrower than in the 
 larger sections of the Christian church. Nevertheless, 
 discrepancy in expression has always existed, and has 
 occasionally been magnified into doctrinal controversy. 
 
 As we might expect, two opposite tendencies have 
 always been manifest, and may be traced in the ministry 
 of the present time, probably as much as it has ever 
 been. To some, the great doctrine of Inward Revelation, 
 being that part of the Christian scheme which especially 
 distinguishes them from other Christian churches, pre- 
 sents itself so strongly as to lead to their passing lightly 
 over the o-reat evancrelical truths of the Atonement for 
 sin. The manifestation of the Saviour in the heart is 
 dwelt on far more than His outward appearance in the 
 flesh ; and consequently the Inward Light, as a i-ule of 
 
22 HA YE LED TO CONTROYEEST 
 
 faith and practice, claims more of their attention than the 
 record of our Saviour handed down to us in the Scrip- 
 tures of truth. The exaggeration of one tendency 
 leads directly to its opposite. It was the venturing on 
 the part of an Alexandrian bishop to express views on 
 the essence of the Saviour, which approached, if they 
 did not reach, the errors of Sabellianism, that led to the 
 divergence of Arius and his followers in the opposite 
 extreme. Even in the earlier centuries, J udaizing Chris- 
 tians were opposed by the Gnostics ; in each case, the 
 exaggeration of partial truths developing equally undue 
 exaggeration of other parts. So, in the Society of 
 Friends, the expression of views that have leant, perhaps 
 unduly, in the direction we have alluded to, has led 
 others to dwell almost exclusively in their preaching and 
 teaching on the doctrine of forgiveness of sin through 
 faith in the crucified Saviour. With this is connected 
 the designation of the Scriptures as an inspired rule of 
 faith. These are not views that can be considered ob- 
 jectionable in themselves. It is only their being dwelt 
 on to the exclusion of other considerations, without 
 which they form a part — not the whole — of the Chris- 
 tian scheme as acknowledged by Friends ; — it is only 
 their being dwelt on exclusively that marks a tendency 
 which exists in many of the Society to approximate to 
 what are termed the evangelical Christians of other 
 churches. During the last few years, these opposite 
 tendencies in the Society have existed without coming 
 greatly into collision. Some Friends regard that noble 
 volume, " Barclay's Apology,'' as conveying unsound 
 Christian doctrine, and regret that the Society continues 
 to give it its sanction by reprinting it. Others, on the 
 
% 
 
 AND SCHISM. 23 
 
 contrary, esteem the writings of the late Joseph John 
 Gurney as grossly defective in those parts of Christian 
 doctrine which particularly enter into the faith of 
 Friends. While, however, a spirit of love prevails — 
 while so much of the Christian spirit dwells within the 
 church as to overshadow minor differences of opinion — 
 so long are these discrepancies, the result of the colour- 
 ing of individual minds, prevented from attaining an 
 injurious growth ; indeed, they rather help the edifica- 
 tion of the body than otherwise. But it has not always 
 been so. Twice, at least, within this century has the 
 animosity of controversy been awakened; angry feel- 
 ings have been permitted to prevail above the uniting 
 influence of Christ's spirit ; and schisms have occurred, 
 which have inflicted severe blows on the Society. The 
 Hicksite separation in America, and subsequently the 
 Beaconite controversy in this country, which led to the 
 disownment and secession of a considerable number, are 
 examples of the opposite tendencies pushed to such 
 extremes that the Body thought it right to pronounce 
 them unsound, and separate the holders from religious 
 communion. There are who thmk such separation was 
 hasty. It is not easy for us to estimate the circum- 
 stances under which the leaders of a church have to act 
 in troublous times. Now that the temporary excitement 
 of controversy has died away, it is gratifying to witness 
 some symptoms of reconciliation on the part of large 
 bodies who bear the name of Friends ; and we may hope 
 that none but the most marked difference of sentiment 
 on points vital to Christianity will be allowed to prevent 
 a renewal of correspondence and restoration of Chris- 
 tian communion. 
 
24 
 
 INFERENCE. 
 
 That the Society has had opinions in both the opposite 
 directions to contend against, and that seceders have 
 either left it or been disowned for views not merely very 
 different, but opposed, at least in expression, on the 
 important points of Inward Revelation and the authority 
 of the Scriptures, — afford a fair presumption that it has 
 been able, itself, to hold with tolerable firmness to the 
 sound form of Christian doctrine, handed down from the 
 founders of the Society. In the opinion of some, it has 
 leant too much in one direction ; but in that of others, it 
 is into the very opposite direction that it has shown a 
 tendency to fall, if not actually fallen. Unless, therefore, 
 it has become latitudinarian, we may fairly allow" the 
 testimony of one party to be completely neutralised by 
 that of the other. That it is not latitudinarian, — or, at 
 least, was not so a few years back, — the evidence, sad 
 indeed, of wholesale separations must convince us. What 
 reason is there, then, to believe that the decline in the 
 Society's numbers and prosperity can be due to doctrinal 
 errors? She has met and combated the extremes of 
 both sides, and yet she retains within her pale a diver- 
 gence of sentiments, under the guidance of brotherly 
 love, and presided over by the spirit of Christian unity- 
 That the doctrines of the Quaker church, as delivered 
 by its founders, and as there is every reason to believe, 
 maintained by its ministers in the present day, may not 
 be the doctrines or symbolic form of Christianity most 
 adapted to make way in a world such as our nineteenth 
 century has produced, is a possible assertion, but a very 
 difficult one either to prove or disprove. Whatever be 
 the answer, it is very different from assigning to any 
 corruption of those doctrines an influence in causing the 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF DOCTRINES. 
 
 25 
 
 Society which professes them to sink from its prosperous 
 state, and decline both in numbers and in influence. 
 
 And, after all, it must be allowed that the vigour of a 
 Christian church depends Less on the special doctrines it 
 may hold, than on the mode in which it carries into 
 practical life the principles which those doctrines convey. 
 If faithfully carried out and acted up to, the church will 
 prosper ; if neglected, distorted, disobeyed, the church 
 will languish and decay. Let us not be understood to 
 assert that the doctrines of religion believed by man are 
 of no importance in influencing the character of his life ; 
 that it is immaterial what faith he may inherit or adopt. 
 Far from it ; unless the principles be pure, holy, and 
 true, how can the consequences that result from them be 
 other than corrupt ? The first and essential condition of 
 a living church is, that it be imbued with faith in the 
 Saviour, founded on scriptural views of His offices, 
 character, and scheme of redemption. The verbal 
 expression of these holy matters must admit of consider- 
 able latitude, and within that latitude the sound applica- 
 tion of Christian truth to practical life is of more import- 
 ance to the prosperity of a church than the character of 
 its creed. If we can bring our minds to the perception, 
 that expression very different from our own may be per- 
 mitted to others, without trenching on the real vital prin- 
 ciple of Christianity, which lies, perhaps, beyond the 
 reach of human language ; if we can embrace in a 
 tolerant spirit those who may clothe their convictions, 
 even in things that w^e deem important, in language 
 divergent from our ow^n, we shall be doing more to 
 enhance Christian unity, — more to advance Christ's 
 kingdom among men, — than if we spent our intellectual 
 
26 WANT OF THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST AS A CHURCH. 
 
 powers in combating expressions that did not seem con- 
 sonant with our idea, and seeking to impress our 
 particular formulae on the spiritual convictions of man- 
 kind. 
 
 VIII. Among the assertions that we hear around us, 
 which it is important to notice, — however little influence 
 we may deem them to have on the decline of the Society, 
 — are two that are nearly akin. It is said by some, that 
 the Society is falling into decay for want of the spirit of 
 Christ. A moment's reflection must show that this is no 
 solution whatever of the problem ; it is merely clothing 
 the fact in other words, — enunciating a truism. Were 
 the Society rich in the spirit of Christ, it would not have 
 to lament its present weakness. It is for us to seek the 
 causes of this religious decline ; the impediments that 
 have interfered with the growth of Christ's spirit amongst 
 the body, and thus hindered its welfare as a church. To 
 our belief that a measure of the holy anointing of His 
 presence is still graciously accorded to this section of the 
 universal church, we have already alluded. That it is 
 not poured out upon it in larger measure, so as to 
 quicken it into lively operation as a member of His 
 body, — growing in His grace, and working actively in 
 the promotion of His kingdom, — must be attributed to 
 circumstances in its history, its position, or its practices, 
 which it becomes us diligently to inquire. According to 
 the use we make of that which is imparted, is a larger 
 gift conferred upon us. We are not limiting the free 
 grace of God in noticing that its bestowal and with- 
 drawment are accordant with what we can conceive of 
 Divine justice and mercy. It is given partly in pro- 
 
LACK OF INDITIDUAL DEDICATION. 
 
 27 
 
 portion to man's need, but greatly in proportion to his 
 obedience to the Divine wilL It is impeded in its 
 operation, perhaps even withdrawn, when the spirit of 
 man seeks his pleasure and enjoyment in the things of 
 the outward world ; it vanishes when the soul becomes 
 entrapped in the subtle snares of hypocrisy or spiritual 
 pride. All the machinations of the unwearied enemy of 
 man are directed to overthrow the empire of grace in the 
 heart, and prevent its extension. The history of every 
 church displays the countless modes in which the spirit 
 of evil eflFectually works. 
 
 But it is also said that the Society is perishing for 
 lack of " individual dedication." Xo words can be truer, 
 but they teach us little. They show us a cause for the 
 decline of the Society, but a cause so close to the effect, 
 as to explain hardly anything. We have only to vary 
 the terms of the question, — to ask what are the causes 
 that there is such want of individual dedication in the 
 Society — and we have the self-same problem in other 
 words. Just as the deficiency of individual religion is a 
 cause of the weakness of the church, so the weakness of 
 the church is a cause of the lack of individual religion. 
 They re-act on one another ; but both must be due to 
 deeper causes which lie beneath, — remoter links in the 
 great chain of causation. Some of these we shall 
 endeavour to point out in the sequel. 
 
 IX. In approaching the next point, that of ihQ ministry 
 in the Society of Friends, we desire to treat it with sin- 
 cere respect for the principle on which the Society has 
 based it; that of true ministry being the result of imme- 
 diate moving by the Spirit of Christ, and not necessarily 
 
28 FEEBLENESS OF THE MINISTRY AMONG FRIENDS 
 
 requiring either human appointment or the preparatory- 
 training of study. It is thus a gift from Christ to His 
 churcli, and what we have said respecting the precious 
 gift of His spirit or grace, in the general sense, is appli- 
 cable to this endowment in particular. That in the 
 present day it is not shining forth amongst us, either 
 with the brilliancy that distinguished it in the days when 
 the Society made its voice heard in the land, or with the 
 steady light, teaching, confirming, and winning souls to 
 Christ, that should be its characteristic in a healthy 
 Christian church, is but too evident. Yet it is not 
 extinct. It has a force and value of its own, which no 
 one who has been privileged to partake of it, can alto- 
 gether ignore. In spite of its weakness, there is often a 
 precious solemnity in its simple utterings, brief, unpre- 
 pared, unadorned by art, contrasting strikingly with the 
 artificial eloquence too often heard in the pulpits of other 
 Christian churches. 
 
 There are two ways in which the unhealthy religious 
 condition of the Society affects the supply of the ministry 
 among Friends. In the first place, the less the spirit of 
 Christ is diffused among the members, the fewer will be 
 those called into His holy service. If the pleasures of 
 the world, or the pursuit of wealth, usurp that place in 
 the heart which should be given and gratefully given to 
 our Divine Master, there can be no call to preach His 
 name to others ; and better that it should be so than for 
 an unworthy instrument, engrossed with temporal 
 objects, to assume so sacred an office. A diminished 
 number of ministers is thus a direct consequence of 
 decline in spiritual growth ; but the same cause operates 
 in a second manner to the injury of the ministry. In a 
 
THE RESULT OF THE "WEAKNESS OF THE CHUECH. 29 
 
 State of health, the Society, both in its disciplinary meet- 
 ings of members and in its meetings of ministers and 
 elders of the church, exercises a beneficial control over 
 the ministerial gift, sanctioning it by the acknow- 
 ledgment of the Body in some cases; discouraging it, 
 or administering cautions, in other cases. In our own 
 time, this spiritual discernment has often been deficient. 
 Young persons, more especially young women — gifted 
 with natural flow of language — become seriously im- 
 pressed with the truths of religion ; emotions of various 
 natures are awakened in their minds, and under the 
 influence of what is really morbid excitement, instead of 
 the calm promptings of a higher Spirit, they conceive 
 themselves called upon to address the congregation. 
 These are the cases in which the care of elders is greatly 
 needed. Let the spirit of Christian love and sympathy 
 preside over the discouragement. But let it not flinch. 
 Let it put before the individual the necessity of patient 
 waiting to purify the mind and strengthen the judgment 
 in spiritual things ; and the result will be that many a 
 worthy man or worthy woman will be saved from 
 disaster in after life, — many a sincere-hearted young 
 female may be diverted from her imagined public career 
 to the safer and scarcely less useful one of a wife and 
 mother, — and still more, that the Society will be spared 
 the injury of having ministers gifted rather with wordy 
 fluency than with sound spiritual knowledge. Although 
 this is more applicable to women than to men, we do not 
 believe that the exercise of more careful discernment 
 would do away with or destroy a female ministry. We 
 have no rio-ht to limit to either sex the call to labour as 
 evangelists in preaching the Gospel, in dividing doctrine. 
 
30 
 
 DEFICIENCY GREATEST AMONG 
 
 or in exhorting or comforting the flock. Yet it may 
 safely be asserted that in a healthier state of the church, 
 the public preaching of females would form a much 
 smaller proportion than it now does in the ministry of 
 Friends. Instead of greatly preponderating over the 
 ministerial service of the stronger sex, as is now un- 
 happily the case, it would form a valuable supplement to 
 it, rich in qualities of its own — in some measure excep- 
 tional, though highly esteemed — adapting itself to the 
 varied needs of mixed congregations. 
 
 But the weakness of the ministry in the Society of 
 Friends consists far more in defect than in excess. 
 Whatever need there may be for the exercise of care in 
 the elders of the church to repress any forwardness 
 amongst the young men of the Society in appearing 
 publicly as ministers, there is much more reason to 
 lament that so few are coming forward. Perhaps the 
 scantiness of ministers among the men, has some con- 
 nexion with the large number among the women. But 
 female ministry, however laudable in itself, does not 
 supply the place of men. The Society has suffered in 
 recent times, and perhaps for more than a century, from 
 a deficiency in the Christian ministry. It is not very 
 difficult to account for this, by ascribing it to the same 
 causes, whatever they may be, that have led to the 
 Society's decline in spiritual fervour. To be blessed 
 with a real call to such high service needs, in the first 
 place, a growth in vital religion, so as to become in 
 reality, and not in name merely, a member of Christ's 
 church. But, besides this, it demands an entire dedica- 
 tion of heart to the service of the Lord, a dedication 
 which the outward claims of business, and the tempta- 
 
MEN OF CULTIVATED INTELLECT. 
 
 31 
 
 tions of the world, to say nothing of other influences, 
 tend seriously to impede. From these causes it has 
 happened that there have been so few consecrating their 
 powers in the vigour of their intellect, — aided by, though 
 not depending on, the diHgent study of Scripture and of 
 mankind, — bringing the whole man to bear on the great 
 work of glorifying God, and extending His kingdom. 
 The human intellect is fallible enough in itself, but is an 
 endowment for which man is responsible. The apostle 
 or evangelist is falling short of his mission, if he despise 
 any of the powers that have been given him, instead of 
 using them, not abusing them, — humbly conscious of their 
 weakness, — in the manifold exercises of his Gospel errand. 
 
 That the deficiency in the Christian ministry among 
 Friends has not so much been in its soundness as regards 
 doctrine, as in its strength, is probably the case. Yet 
 this deficiency in strength has had somewhat to do with 
 the low state of the Society, although itself resulting 
 from it. We have here that re-action of cause and effect 
 in so large a degree as to prevent our asserting it as a 
 prime or principal cause of the decline, seeing that it 
 results from the same causes to which the decline is 
 attributable. Other influences must, therefore, be at 
 work to produce, by their co-operation, the decay that 
 we have to lament in the prosperity of the church. 
 
 X. In reviewing the condition of a religious body, the 
 inquiry naturally suggests itself. What is the provision 
 for the education of the young ? Let us omit for the 
 present any consideration of merely secular education, 
 and limit our inquiry to the action of the church in pro- 
 moting the instruction of the young in scriptural know- 
 
32 
 
 RELIGIOUS INSTHTTCTION OF THE YOUNG. 
 
 ledge and Christian doctrine. It is not too much to say, 
 that the church has provided no machinery for this 
 purpose. Repeated advice to parents is to be found in 
 her records, to be diligent in training their children to 
 the practice of reading the Scriptures ; and the inquiry 
 into this point is made of some importance in the dis- 
 cipline. But, amid the excellent counsel given forth 
 from time to time by the yearly meetings of the Society 
 respecting the nurture and training of youth, there is 
 scarcely any reference to instructing them in the views of 
 Christian doctrine held by the Society of which the}' 
 are members. It is not difficult to see how this is so. 
 It springs from a solemn sense of the responsibility of 
 religious teaching, and a belief in the special influences 
 of the Divine Spirit being requisite, both in teacher and 
 hearer, not only to make that teaching profitable, but 
 any other than a mockery. 
 
 However we may respect the principle that has guided 
 the Society, it is well to see what the result of their 
 practice has been in this respect. Young persons in the 
 Society of Friends are certainly less informed of the 
 doctrines of their church, — which their parents profess, — 
 than the young of other religious communities. The 
 same might have been said of the knowledge of Scrip- 
 ture ; but, of late years, more care has been devoted to 
 the subject, and better scriptural instruction prevails. 
 In the public schools of the Society — schools, the con- 
 duct of which is on the whole most admirable — great 
 pains have been taken during the last few }ears to 
 explain to children, and impress on their minds, the 
 truths of the New Testament. In introducing this syste- 
 matic teaching into the schools, the late Joseph John 
 
CAUSES OF ITS DEFICIENCY. 
 
 33 
 
 Gurney took an active part. But those who have not 
 the advantage of being taught in these schools, have no 
 other scriptural teaching than what their parents may 
 provide. Besides the same feeling of high respon- 
 sibility, to which we have alluded, most parents are 
 oppressed with their own incompetence, and some, it 
 must be confessed, deterred by lukewarmness. Hence 
 this important duty is not performed as it should be. 
 The reticence on religious matters, to which we have 
 before alluded as characteristic of Friends, impedes still 
 more the right informing of the minds of the young. 
 The combined effect of these causes is, that they grow 
 into manhood hardly knowing what are the views that 
 they are nominally professing, — certainly not under- 
 standing fully the grounds on which they rest. hat 
 wonder that when they enter the world, and meet with 
 spiritually-minded persons of other religious professions 
 — and have what seems a new world opened to them, 
 in a consistent view of religious doctrine — that they 
 hastily leave the Body in which they were bom, and 
 cease to be that which they have never really been ! 
 Such is the career of a great many. ^Yith some it is 
 worse. But there is no occasion to show how the 
 neglect of religious training in the young leads to 
 indifference and revolt against reliofious restraint. More 
 important to put the question, whether this deficiency in 
 the Society of Friends — for deficiency it really is — is 
 necessary or accidental ? Is it not possible that the 
 Society, in holding to a valuable and holy principle, may 
 have erred in apphing it to practice, and thus omitted 
 one of its duties as a church ? 
 
 In reasoning on education, the distinction between 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 SCRIPTURE-EEADING MEETINGS. 
 
 childhood and early manhood has often been lost sight 
 of. Both require education, but their circumstances are 
 different. That which is adapted for the one, is entirely 
 unsuited for the other. For the stage of childhood, no 
 substitute is equal to right parental training, in which 
 authority and love are blended. For the stage of 
 adolescence, a larger field is required. The young man 
 comes into contactwith his fellows; his intellectual powers 
 are developing — he needs food for them ; and he needs 
 the guidance of a mind stronger than his own — enlight- 
 ened, it may be, from the highest power — at once to 
 govern and convince him. It needs only to glance 
 around us, to see how few parents are equal to the task. 
 Might not, then, the church step forward to advantage, 
 not superseding parental authority, but supplementing it 
 ' — and endeavour, by wisely directing the nascent facul- 
 ties — providing them with food fitted for their use — to 
 rear, not indeed spiritual children, for that transcends 
 their powers, — but vessels fit for the in-pouring of the 
 Holy Spirit, when it shall please the Great Teacher to 
 visit them? 
 
 In what particular manner this great end should be 
 met, we need not now stop to inquire ; it is sufiicient to 
 show that the deficiency exists, and to point to its being 
 one cause of declining numbers and general weakness in 
 the Body. Many members are alive to its importance, 
 but it does not yet seem to have attained the full consi- 
 deration of the church. In several of the large towns, 
 the practice has sprung up of young persons meeting 
 together at stated times, reading the Scriptures, and 
 conversing upon them. The writer is not aware of these 
 meetings being anywhere sanctioned by the approval and 
 
USE OF THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 35 
 
 encouragement of the Body to which they belong ; 
 indeed, by some Friends of influence they are looked on 
 with jealousy. This is very natural. A party of young 
 persons, meagrely informed, and with but small Chris- 
 tian experience, may do as much harm as good to the 
 cause of religion by discussing topics too high for them. 
 Crude notions are expressed ; the self-conceit of the for- 
 ward is gratified; and there is danger of the talk 
 out-running the knowledge, and creating doubts, instead 
 of edifying. If, however, they could be joined, in a 
 spirit of love, by matured Christians, — men not only of 
 spiritual experience, but acquainted with doctrine and 
 Scripture, — how much more might they not edify the 
 young, and how much less would be the risk of 
 injury ? 
 
 The fostering aid of fathers-in-the-church to the 
 efforts of the young at self-instruction in matters of 
 religion, is one of the modes in which the church might 
 act for the removal of this great defect. There are, 
 doubtless, other means as well. It is thought by many 
 that it would be beneficial to have the Scriptures regu" 
 larly read at meetings for worship. This has never 
 been the practice in the Society. Friends are strongly 
 opposed to the adoption of any formal liturgy in the 
 worship of God, believing that the misuse of prayers, 
 invocations, and solemn confessions, that must often be 
 the result, is opposed to the vital principles of Chris- 
 tianity. Greatly as this view of Divine worship differs 
 from that of almost every other Christian church, it is 
 accordant with the spirituality of Christian doctrine as 
 held by the Society. A belief in the necessity of the 
 motion of the Holy Spirit in the heart for every good 
 
 2 D 
 
36 
 
 IN MEETINGS FOB WOESHIP. 
 
 thought or deed, leads to the inevitable conclusion that 
 no acceptable act of worship can be performed without 
 His express operation. Waiting upon the Lord is, 
 therefore, nearly all that man in his own will can do 
 towards performing the solemn act of rendering homage 
 to his Creator. Accordingly, Friends have always 
 assembled themselves together, at stated times, endea- 
 vouring, by the encouragement of one another's presence, 
 to bring the mind into a quiescent state, waiting for the 
 operation of the Holy Spirit. Such is the conception of 
 religious worship held by the Society of Friends. It is 
 clear that the adoption of any form of prayer, or any 
 organized system of rendering praise to the Almighty by 
 psalm or hymn, appointed beforehand by the church, is 
 quite inconsistent with the spiritual theory maintained. 
 It does become a question, however, whether the cautious 
 introduction of the Bible into meetings for worship, 
 might not be attended with advantage. There seems to 
 be but little difference between referring to the volume 
 to read a passage that occurs to the minister, and quoting 
 it by his own unassisted memory. There is evidence 
 that in the early meetings of Friends a Bible was kept 
 in the meeting-house, and that the early ministers were 
 accustomed to read from it while solemnly addressing 
 the cong-regation. Under what circumstances these 
 ancient practices were disused, we do not know. Of 
 course, any revival of them would need care, lest in the 
 progress of what is thought improvement, any of the 
 real principles of the Society be infringed or suffered to 
 decay. Yet we cannot but think there is some ground 
 for returning to the use of the Sacred Volume in the 
 meetings of the Society as well as at their own homes ; 
 
DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 37 
 
 and perhaps, though the subject is a difficult one, it 
 might be profitable and safe to adopt the practice of 
 opening or closing the meeting hy reading a portion of 
 Scripture in regular order. It might have the effect, in 
 co-operation with other agencies, of lessening the igno- 
 rance of Scripture that is still too prevalent in the 
 Society ; and if so, of counteracting a very large cause 
 of the decay of vital religion. 
 
 XI. How far is any defect in the discipline of the 
 Society a cause of the Society's decline ? So much is 
 involved in this question that it cannot be answered 
 without some analysis. Let us defer, for a while, the 
 influence of some particular regulations, and inquire 
 merely whether the general mode in which the discipline 
 has been exercised has been prejudicial or not to the 
 Society. 
 
 A church government so simple as that of the Society 
 of Friends has rarely existed upon earth. It creates an 
 order of ministers, another of elders, a third of over- 
 seers, but submits all to the action of the general body, 
 collected in what is termed " a meeting for discipline." 
 In the determination of the body so collected — and 
 endeavouring to have their judgment enlightened by 
 Divine assistance — age and Christian experience will 
 always have considerable weight. Sad would it be 
 for the church if they did not. So diversely are 
 men's minds constituted, that difference of opinion will 
 always make its appearance when men meet for 
 the discussion of a common object. There is a ten- 
 dency of mind belonging to the young; another ten- 
 dency characteristic of the old. Each tendency 
 
38 
 
 ON THE WHOLE TERT EXCELLENT. 
 
 is well in its place; each tendency may be abased into 
 innovation on the one side, into conFervatism on the 
 other. When, however, these tendencies of men's 
 judgments are presided over by the higher influences of 
 Christian love, a condescension of brother towards 
 brother takes the place of the conflict of opposing sen- 
 timents ; and views may be held — may be freely stated 
 - — may be temperately impugned — not merely without 
 injury, but to the benefit of the church. It is manifest 
 that the successful action of such a system of govern- 
 ment must depend almost entirely on the continued 
 presence of Christ's Spirit. No animosities are more 
 violent than those termed " relimous." Almost infinite 
 have been the congregations of Christians swept away 
 by them since our Saviour appeared upon earth. The 
 Society of Friends has shared in them in degree, but 
 just now is spared from the affliction of their presence. 
 Difficult as are the questions that occasionally rise, it is 
 able to come to a conclusion, not indeed satisfying every- 
 body, but preserving the peace of the church. 
 
 The practical working of the discipline of the Society 
 is on the whole very excellent ; but two defects are said 
 to have existed, if not to be still existing. One is, that 
 the " meetings for discipline " are lax in taking notice of 
 derelictions on the part of their members that do not 
 amount to scandalous delinquency. It is said that mem- 
 bers may be notoriously launching into the pleasures of 
 the world ; not merely infringing the principles, or at 
 least the rules of the Society, but doing so to the great 
 damage of their highest interests as Christians ; and yet, 
 if no scandalous immorality in the eye of the world is 
 committed, that the Society ignores what is suspected if 
 
SOME DErECTS ALLEGED. 
 
 39 
 
 not generally known, instead of taking steps to inquire 
 into the fact, and carry out the discipline provided. We 
 fear this has not infrequently been the case. It is due, 
 no doubt, partly to a feeling of kincbiess for the young. 
 The fathers of the meeting are slow to proceed in a 
 course that would terminate A'ery likely in separating 
 from their body one who had the privilege of being born 
 among them, and may perhaps be the offspring of those 
 whom they have loved and valued. But it is also attri- 
 butable, in no small degree, to a consciousness of the 
 weakness of the body, and a sense that itself is hardly 
 in the condition to throw stones. Were there a stronger 
 faith, not only would there be fewer such cases in the 
 meeting, but they would perceive that in faithfully up- 
 holding the standard of Christian life, they would be, 
 with the Divine blessing, strengthening their hands, and 
 contributinfj to restore to the Body its former vicrour. 
 
 The other allegation with regard to the discipline con- 
 cerns the action of the Society in cases of commercial 
 failure. When one of these occurs, the " meeting " to 
 which the individual belongs takes notice of it, inquires 
 into the circumstances of the case, and if it deems that 
 there has been dishonesty or culpable negligence, is 
 accustomed to separate him from the church. It is said 
 that the Society is apt to deal too hardly with such indi- 
 viduals, and confound misfortune with misconduct ; and 
 that while speculation, if successful, passes unnoticed, 
 the same, 2insuccessful, subjects the speculator to the 
 censure of the church, and perhaps causes his separation. 
 There is some truth in this assertion. We believe there 
 are individuals who have afterwards felt regret at the 
 part they took in disowning a brother member. At the 
 
40 EFFECTS OF THE WEAKNESS OF THE BODY. 
 
 very time when sympathy and charity are so greatly 
 needed, the mind is apt, perhaps unconsciously, to be 
 biased, it may be by pecuniary injury, it may be by a 
 sense of the discredit brought on the Society; There is 
 a lower motive still, to which it is painful to have to 
 allude, and which we do not think operates much, if at 
 all, in the decision of cases of this nature. If an indi- 
 vidual be disowned, the Society is no longer subject to 
 the obligation of his maintenance, should he fall into 
 poverty. These are ignoble considerations ; but consti- 
 tuted as man is, their very existence calls for the greatest 
 care. It is right to uphold the standard of right and 
 wrong, and testify the Society's disavowal of dishonesty ; 
 but the Christian obligations of a church towards its 
 members must be exercised in the spirit of mercy and 
 love. 
 
 These defects in the exercise of the discipline, even if 
 they exist as largely as some suppose, are effects rather 
 than causes of the decline of the Society. The retention 
 of unworthy members, and the needless expulsion of 
 such as are not unworthy, contribute, it is true, to its 
 weakness. But they are not to be placed in the category 
 of large and important causes, since they would dwindle 
 into insignificance and almost disappear, were the Society 
 blessed in larger measure with the Spirit promised of old 
 by Christ to His church. That the church consists of 
 the congregation, and that the exercise of the discipline 
 should be under a feeling of Divine influence, according 
 to the promise, are essential points in the faith of the 
 Society. It is said that in the early part of last century 
 it was customary for the affairs of the meeting to be 
 managed by a few " selected Friends." It is difficult to 
 
BIKTH-RIGHT MEilBEBSHIP. 
 
 41 
 
 believe that there is not some misunderstanding here — 
 that it refers to some casual case, or merely to some 
 part of the " affairs " relating to the church. Certainly, 
 such practice is very different from that which has pre- 
 vailed in our own time. Most likely the custom of 
 younger members of Society attending " meetings for 
 discipline " is more general than it was a century ago. 
 Even now it is far from what it should be, especially in 
 the Metropolis and large towns. Some causes, to which 
 we have alluded under the last head, are connected with 
 this fact. But in part it is due to the meetings for 
 discipline " not possessing that measure of spiritual life 
 which should belong to a living church of Christ From 
 this cause thev are deficient in edification, and falling 
 into the management of few hands, cease to allure the 
 young to attend them. The injury to the Society from 
 this cause is considerable. It can only be met by an 
 increase in the vitality of the church, and by its atten- 
 tion to the training of younger members in a knowledge 
 of, and esteem for, the principles of the Society. 
 
 XII. Among the disciplinary arrangements of the 
 Society of Friends, there is none, perhaps, that has 
 excited more criticism than its rule of *• birth-right 
 membership." Indeed, there are many who look upon 
 it as the great cause — almost the only one — of the 
 Society's decadence. That this is an exaggerated view, 
 we trust to be able to show. 
 
 The formation of a distinct constitution for any church 
 is a work of time. It does not take a definite shape till 
 many years have elapsed from the first gathering to- 
 gether of the body. If some powerful mind exists, with 
 
42 
 
 GROWTH OF KULES. 
 
 a strong will and peculiarly fitted for legislation, the 
 growth of a compact church out of scarcely organized 
 congregations is accelerated. This was the case with 
 Methodism under the influence of John Wesley, — with 
 the Genevese church under Calvin. The Society of 
 Friends was even slower than most other churches in 
 forming for itself definite laws, to regulate its action in 
 various circumstances. This slowness naturally arose 
 from the theocratic form of church government to which 
 its principles conducted. Believing that the guidance of 
 the Spirit of Christ was accorded to His church, it was 
 feit less necessary, and indeed less suitable, to improvise 
 a scheme, under the name of rules, to anticipate future 
 emergencies. Nearly all that was done was to establish 
 meetings, which should be held in certain order and care 
 for the things of the church. This took place early ; 
 disciplinary gatherings from smaller districts, subordinate 
 to larger, and these again subordinate to meetings of 
 Friends throughout the nation, held in the Metropolis ; 
 all these were soon organized, owing greatly to the 
 fatherly care and prudence of George Fox. But few or 
 no definite rules were laid down. These were left to 
 grow as circumstances led to them ; developments of the 
 doctrinal principles that Friends professed. 
 
 A church that was really and literally the church of 
 Christ, could do well without rules altogether; His 
 Spirit, which is all wisdom, can know no error. Such 
 a church has never existed on earth, but the nearer any 
 church has kept to His guidance, the less has it needed 
 formal laws to regulate its action. The intermixture of 
 human elements, and the lessening of dedication to 
 Christ, as early zeal dies away, soon cause a church to 
 
CBEATION OF MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 43 
 
 decline from its high ideal, and to need the help of sys- 
 tematic rule. Well for it, if it take no larger a burden 
 of tliis material than it actually needs ; — enough to help 
 it on its way without crushing it, and extinguishing the 
 spirit beneath the incubus of formalism. Many churches 
 have fallen into this snare ; the Society of Friends, per- 
 haps, less than others. It is true, it has a formalism of 
 its own, deeply injurious to its growth ; but it is a for- 
 malism of practice, founded upon the custom of its 
 ancestors, rather than based on specific rules. Its rules 
 have been few, and slowly developed. The generation 
 that followed the founders of the Society, — under cir- 
 cumstances that were inevitable to their position, — had 
 to apply the great principles they held, in the shape of 
 regulations for the government of the church. At first 
 no distinction existed, equivalent to that between mem- 
 bers of the Society and those who attend their meetings. 
 The general term " professing with Friends " included 
 all. The relief of the poor, the permission to marry, 
 the registration of births and deaths, the exercise of 
 church supervision and discipline, appear to have been 
 extended generally to the whole congregation. How 
 long this state of things existed, it is difficult to say. 
 Gradually a line was drawn. The determining cause 
 seems to have been the necessity of placing under due 
 regulation, that which had been begun as a practice, but 
 now amounted to a claim, viz., the maintenance of the poor. 
 
 Membership is distinctly recognized in an important 
 minute of the yearly meeting of the Society, in 1737. 
 Whether that minute is merely the recognition of what 
 had been going on gradually in particular meetings 
 before that date, or whether it may be taken as the 
 
44 REASONS FOR CONFERRING IT ON BIRTH. 
 
 commencement of a new practice, does not seem clear. 
 Some Friends hold the latter view. The effect, how- 
 ever, of the change was to separate a distinct class of 
 members, to whom certain privileges attached; and from 
 that time, the attendance on meetings, and the permis- 
 sion to register births and deaths, did not, in the eye of 
 the Society — however they might in that of the law — 
 constitute a Quaker. 
 
 What were the motives that induced the Body, at that 
 time, to recognize a right of membership in the offspring 
 of those that belonged to the Society ? In the first place, 
 they were themselves, to a very large extent, the chil- 
 dren of early Friends ; and had, however much they 
 had come to love the doctrines and principles for their 
 own sake, derived their religious position from birth and 
 education. They were able to appreciate these advan- 
 tages. Besides which, the stage at which their Society 
 had arrived, as a Christian body, was such as to make 
 them take a rather different view of what constituted a 
 church, from the view that is apt to prevail among early 
 converts. It has always been a favourite dream among 
 Reformers, to make a church consist only of the pure 
 or regenerated souls. Witness, among other examples, 
 the schism of the Novatians, or, as they called them- 
 selves, Cathari, in the third century ; witness the efforts 
 of many of the most zealous of the German Reformers, 
 against whom Luther had to struggle. True, that in 
 the highest sense of the word church, it denotes the pure 
 believers in Christ, gathered out of every nation and 
 people— in part militant below— in part triumphant 
 above. But there must be admitted another sense for 
 the word church ; a sense in which it is used again and 
 
WHAT IS A CHURCH? 
 
 45 
 
 again in the Scriptures. It denotes a congi'egation, or 
 an assemblage of congregations, professing Clirist's name ; 
 gathered from the world, jet necessarily containing 
 human elements, and from the very earliest times (as in 
 the case of the apostles) numbering within it the ser- 
 vants of sin. Such a church is all that we expect to 
 form on earth. It is not " the church of Christ," using 
 the word in its noblest sense ; but it is its poor human 
 representative. Such a church the Society of Friends 
 was content to form. Not merely did it exercise Chris- 
 tian care over the children of its members, but it recog- 
 nized them as members themselves, not seeing fit to 
 exclude them, unless for obvious breaches of its Chris- 
 tian discipline. They grew up in its pale ; some making 
 really their own the sacred doctrines they inherited, 
 entering into the work of the church, and taking up the 
 burden that their fathers had borne ; while others, un- 
 fortunately not a few, as they grew into manhood, 
 remained associated with a Body whose principles they 
 were not only unable to appreciate, but whose doctrines 
 were to them a dead letter. 
 
 Such is the good, and such the harm, of birth-right 
 membership. Other churches partake of the same. 
 The church of England, in its practice of infant baptism, 
 attains the same result ; and is, in its proportion, discre- 
 dited, if not injured, by its merely nominal members. 
 
 But, after all, how can a church do otherwise ? Can 
 any one say at what age an infant is capable of becom- 
 ing a member of the true church of Christ — that king- 
 dom of heaven that the Lord Himself declared was 
 composed of such ? Shall, then, our church on earth 
 venture to exclude them ? Shall it say, — " Wait till 
 
46 
 
 WHAT WOTJLD BE THE EFFECT 
 
 you have attained * years of discretion,' and if you have 
 then become convinced of Christ, and accepted the rule 
 of His Spirit in your heart, we will receive you among 
 us ?" God forbid. It would be almost blasphemy thus 
 to limit the operation of Divine grace on the heart. 
 His power is above man's power. His Holy Spirit is 
 alike communicated to the heathen and to the child. 
 We have nought but to acknowledge this in all humi- 
 lity. We can do little good in attempting to stimulate 
 spiritual growth in the infant mind ; we may do much 
 harm. Let us, rather, by regarding him as one of us 
 — by prudent training — by sound and careful education 
 — at once keep open the door for the entry of Divine grace, 
 and do our best to prepare a worthy instrument, — 
 worthy, physically, and mentally, of being employed 
 hereafter in our Master's service. 
 
 Believing that the strong objection to birth-right mem- 
 bership is due, in great measure, to the theoretical view 
 that a church must consist only of converted believers, 
 it is yet worth while to consider what effect this arrange- 
 ment has practically had on the welfare of the Society. 
 It cannot be denied that the Society, for more than a 
 century, perhaps longer, has had a large proportion of 
 merely nominal members. Some tie of association, 
 kindred, reverence for the past — occasionally, perhaps, 
 the lower motives of self-interest and respectable name 
 — prevent them from separating from the Society, 
 although they do not unite in its principles, nor appre- 
 ciate its doctrines. In the second generation, these^^ies 
 generally become weaker, and the connexion is severed. 
 Meanwhile the existence of such members within the 
 pale is undoubtedly a source of weakness. The great 
 
WERE BIKTH-RIGHT MEMBERSHIP ABOLISHED ? 47 
 
 question is, how can it be avoided ? Would a different 
 system be likely to have other results ? Suppose birth- 
 ricjht membership not existincr. Let the church extend 
 her care to the children of members, providing for their 
 education in the Scriptures, and in the tenets of the 
 Society. Let it be the custom, if they wish for member- 
 ship, to apply for it at some specified age. If their 
 parents and the church have done their duty in the 
 training, this application for membership would be almost 
 universal ; if the duty has been neglected, they would 
 vanish from the notice of the church. For the young 
 mind has, as yet, had no experience ; knows, perhaps, 
 nothing of other Christian bodies, and certainly has not 
 yet a matured judgment to enable him to form his 
 belief. To this point of his life — saving the effect of 
 grace upon the heart — he is the creature of the cir- 
 cumstances by which his youth has been surrounded. 
 Let him then apply for membership. He has expe- 
 rienced the visitation of Divine grace, convinchig of 
 sin, and leading to repentance : he has known something 
 of a spii'itual hfe — since, from few, if any, rightly 
 trained, is such a mft altocjether withheld : he esteems 
 the principles of the Society, and would say that he 
 believes its doctrines. To such an one, could member- 
 ship be refused? And yet, both his religion and his 
 Quakerism are crude. He still has to go forth into the 
 world, — experience enlarging — other Chi'istian views 
 developing before him — powers of judgment gradually 
 unfolding, — all which, if, in mercy, they do not sap his 
 Christianity, may strangely modify his Quakerism. In 
 wliat, then, would the Society be better, than if it had 
 acknowledged his membership from birth ? 
 
48 
 
 VITALITY OF CHTJECHES. 
 
 These are the reasons that lead us to the conclusion, 
 that the weakness certainly arising from the church 
 embracing merely nominal members, must not be too 
 hastily attributed to membership by birth. Such is 
 man's weakness— such are his mutations — that a pure 
 church to-day would be a mixed and imperfect one 
 to-morrow. The vitality of Christian churches is a 
 question of degree ; and yet, in spite of their imperfec- 
 tions and short-comings, we have evidence that Christ is 
 mercifully pleased to communicate His presence. It is 
 promised to His church, and dwells with the faithful in 
 every Christian body. The more members of His holy 
 church militant any Christian congregation includes, the 
 more of Christ's Holy Spirit will it have dwelling within 
 it, and the stronger will it be as a church, — more capable 
 of guarding the flock and extending the boundaries of 
 Christ's kingdom. 
 
 This applies to any church, whatever be the form of 
 government it has adopted ; but it applies with peculiar 
 force to the Society of Friends, where the government 
 rests with the Body itself. How miserable is the con- 
 dition of that church, whence the Spirit of Christ has 
 departed, — where the members of His spiritual church 
 are few and weak, almost powerless, amid the spirit of 
 the world ! Like a body without the soul, it can hardly 
 be said to be alive, — the only life is that which hastens 
 to decomposition, taking new forms as the old tenement 
 vanishes into decay. Is it so with the Society of 
 Friends ? We think not. Sensible of its weakness — 
 conscious that its action is cramped and fettered by 
 causes we are endeavouring to point out — aware that 
 its numbers are decreasing — we yet think there is a 
 
MARRIAGE. 
 
 49 
 
 spiritual life extant within it; that the holy principles of 
 a pure Christianity are yet recognized and believed in ; 
 and there is fair ground for hope that it will still be 
 sustained by the life-giving presence of the Lord and 
 Master, and still be permitted to show forth the honour 
 of His name. ^ 
 
 XIIL In Considering the subject of marriage, as con- 
 nected with the decline of the Society, one cannot but be 
 conscious of the perplexities with which it is surrounded. 
 That the loss of members by their marrying out of the 
 Society is a large cause of the decrease in numbers, is 
 self-evident. Instead of there being one marriage to 
 every 122 of the population, which is the law in England 
 and Wales, those occurring between members are only 
 1 in 226 of the population of the Society. This enor- 
 mous difference is made up in degree by a number of mar- 
 riages, in which one party only belongs to the Society, 
 and loses his or her membership in consequence. We 
 have elsewhere given reason to think that marriages 
 of this description have amounted to more than sixty 
 per annum. No doubt, therefore, can exist of this 
 being a cause of decrease, and a very considerable 
 one. 
 
 The act of marrying one not a member, and in a 
 manner opposed to the principles of the Society, is 
 technically termed marrying contrary to the rules.'' 
 Each instance of the disownment of a member for 
 marrying " contrary to the rules," involves a double 
 action: — that of the Society, in establishing rules, and 
 disowning the member for their infraction, — that of the 
 member contracting the marriage. Each of these actions 
 
 £ 
 
50 
 
 EARLY SUCCESS OF 
 
 co-operates in producing the effect ; each must be sepa- 
 rately considered. 
 
 Of all the problems that the peculiar position of the 
 Society of Friends compelled them to solve, hardly any 
 has presented more difficulties than the subject of 
 marriage. It has undergone vai'ious phases in the 
 transit of two centuries, and in each has required the 
 careful handling of the church — to do so much and 
 no more in the application of its principles as should 
 preserve a holy sanction for so important an institu- 
 tion of society, without degenerating into sectarian 
 narrowness. 
 
 It has always been held by Friends that marriage is 
 a Divine ordinance. It is a solemn covenant between 
 two parties — entered into in the presence of Almighty 
 God, and acknowledging the need of His assistance — that 
 they will be faithful one to another while life is accorded 
 them. But while they have always held it to be a 
 religious institution, they have on the other hand con- 
 tended that the priest has no power in its performance. 
 Their objection is not merely to the paid ministry, but 
 to the assumption, by any man, of authority to join two 
 persons in marriage. They deem that no such eccle- 
 siastical office was either founded or intended in the 
 establishment of the Christian church by the apostles. 
 In the times of civil and religious commotion, when the 
 Society appeared, it seems to have been not uncommon 
 for marriages to be performed before the magistrate. 
 This did not satisfy Friends ; and they accordingly 
 established an order of their own, and put it into practice. 
 In doing so, they were careful to give no opportunity 
 for clandestine unions. Much care was taken to inquire 
 
THE SOCIETY. 
 
 51 
 
 into the circumstances of each case ; to obtain the consent 
 of parents, unless vexatiously withheld; and to make 
 suitable publication of the intention of the parties. This 
 was sometimes done at the market-place of the town 
 where they resided. These things being complied with, 
 to the satisfaction of the " meeting for discipline," they 
 were permitted to accomplish the marriage by appearing 
 in a meeting for worship, and, while taking each other 
 by the Land, going through a form of words expressing 
 their mutual covenant. A document was drawn up, 
 signed by the parties themselves, and attested by wit- 
 nesses, recording the fact. So excellent an order could 
 not but win the approbation of the world ; and though 
 a period of much inconvenience and suffering intervened, 
 before their marriages obtained the sanction of the law, 
 yet eventually this sanction was given to them. Such 
 was the solution of the first difficulty that the important 
 subject of marriage brought on the Society ; and that 
 solution was a most successful one. By steadily per- 
 severing in that which they felt to be accordant with 
 Christian principle — not courting obloquy and misrepre- 
 sentation, but firmly enduring them when they came — 
 they obtained from their fellow-countrymen the full 
 recognition of their practice. 
 
 But altered circumstances induced a new difficulty, 
 which has not been so successfully solved. Among the 
 first generation of Friends there prevailed a very exclu- 
 sive view of their position as a church. Assenting, in 
 the abstract, to the great fact of all who believed on the 
 Saviour and accepted His intercession for sin, being 
 members of His spiritual church, they yet looked on the 
 errors of religious bodies around them as so deep, and 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 MIXED MARRIAGES. 
 
 trenching so greatly on the vital principles of Christianity, 
 that they could not but regard the holders of those 
 errors as antichristian, instead of being sections of the 
 church of Christ. This was a natural view, but it 
 yielded to a more tolerant spirit as the excitement of 
 religious controversy abated. It is difficult, indeed, to 
 preserve a safe standing, between the extremes of exclu- 
 siveness that amounts to bigotry on the one hand, and 
 indifference to religious truth on the other ; yet the 
 middle ground, between and removed above each, must 
 be diligently and earnestly sought after ; its attainment 
 denotes the influence of Christian love, and is one of the 
 marks of Christian proficiency. Certainly, a milder view 
 of other Christian bodies before long prevailed among 
 Friends. Persecution having relaxed, the Society being 
 recognized by the law, and more than this, the Body be- 
 coming known to their fellow-countrymen by their success 
 in business, the result of sobriety and industry, some 
 degree of intercourse sprang up between Friends and 
 their neighbouring Christians. Sundry causes favoured 
 this intercourse, and it led to the circumstance we are at 
 present considering, that unions in marriage between 
 those within the Society and those belonging to other 
 bodies became not infrequent. To what degree they 
 prevailed, we have no means of ascertaining. It is pro- 
 bable that such marriages have irradiially become more 
 frequent. The change of the law that took effect in 
 1837 was likely to facilitate them, by giving the oppor- 
 tunity of effecting a legal marriage before the registrar, 
 without any priestly intervention. Before that time, 
 there was no other way of marrying, except according to 
 the rites of the Church of England ; but the liberal spirit 
 
PRACTICE OF DISOWMENT. 
 
 53 
 
 of recent times has not only given permission to the civil 
 marriage by the registrar, but extended to the Roman 
 CathoHc, to the Jew, and to the various bodies of Christian 
 Dissenters, under certain regulations, the liberty of 
 marrvino; according to their own views. 
 
 In what way has the Society dealt with these nume- 
 rous instances of members marrying beyond the pale? 
 It has established an almost invariable practice of dis- 
 owning them from its body. Until recently, there have 
 hardly been any exceptions to this rule, and the excep- 
 tions, even now, have been almost entirely among those 
 cases in which the marriage has taken place before the 
 registrar. Before membership was defined, towards the 
 middle of the last century, it is difficult to say what the 
 practice was. But since membership was established — 
 there being no other mode of such marriages being per- 
 formed except by the priest— the Society has deemed 
 this recognition of priestly power so antagonistic to its 
 principles, that it has had no hesitation in separating the 
 offender. It is unfortunate that there has been no other 
 mode of marriage accordant with the doctrinal principles 
 of the Society. Hence two things, perfectly distinct in 
 themselves, have, in every case, been confounded 
 together ; the intermarrying with a member of another 
 section of Christ's flock, and the marrying according to 
 the form of the Church of England. Now, the first of 
 these, however undesirable we may deem it to be, ought 
 not to be regarded as a fault. There is no moral delin- 
 quency in it. It may be advised against ; it may be 
 discouraged ; but we have no right to enter our veto 
 against it. We believe mixed marriages, as they are 
 termed, to be alliances, on the whole, hurtful to the 
 
54 
 
 DIFFICULTIES IN THE CASE 
 
 religious character ; tliere is danger of their inducing 
 indifference to religious conviction, both in the mind of 
 the party himself and of his offspring. On these grounds 
 the church can rightly charge its officers to dissuade the 
 young, on grounds of policy, from entering on such 
 unions. But here the action of the church should end. 
 It should be careful how it elevates its rules, however 
 wise be the policy they are founded on, into the position 
 of principle ; and for infractions, which are infractions 
 of disciplinary regulations only, and not infractions of 
 Christian doctrine, separate the offender from Christian 
 communion. 
 
 But, unfortunately for the offenders, and unfortunately 
 too for the church, the case has not been so simple. 
 Marrying by a priest of the Establishment was long 
 the only mode in which these unions could take place. 
 And the civil marriage, legalised of late years, is almost 
 equally discordant from the doctrine that Friends enter- 
 tain. In dealing with such cases, the Society has there- 
 fore had clear ground for maintaining that they have not 
 only married " contrary to the rules," but contrary to 
 the very spirit of Quakerism. Should they therefore be 
 cut off from membership? We do not now ask whether 
 it be wise, but whether it be necessary that disownment 
 should invariably follow? The fact of a marriage between 
 such individuals not being wrong, gives some force to 
 the plea in palliation that no other mode was possible to 
 them. And this plea has been practically admitted, by 
 the custom, which has not been infrequent, of disowning 
 an individual so offending, and almost directly receiving 
 him into membership again. This illustrates the unfor- 
 tunate position in which the Society has been placed. 
 
FROM ITS COMPLICATION. 
 
 55 
 
 If he be so much of a Christian and a Quaker as to be 
 received into communion, he was too much so to be 
 disowned. It indicates that, even in this infringement of 
 principle, palliating circumstances may be admitted. No 
 doubt, many of the instances of " marrying out " occur 
 in persons who have a merely nominal membership in 
 the Society ; who, if really Christians at all, have not 
 embraced for themselves the spiritual views that Qua- 
 kerism upholds ; these cannot complain if the Society, 
 on their openly infringing its doctrines, separates them 
 from its body. It is only doing what they should have 
 done for themselves, by resignation of membership. But 
 all cases have not been of this sort, and the exercise of 
 discrimination by the church, difficult as it might be, 
 was due both to itself and the party concerned. It is 
 easier to establish a practice, and abide by it ; but, in 
 the administration of a Christian church, it will often 
 be found safer, and more consonant with justice, to allow 
 each case to stand on its individual merits. The modern 
 mode of marrying before the registrar, although it is 
 viewed more leniently by Friends, is equally an infrac- 
 tion of their principles with marrying by a priest. 
 Several cases have occurred in which parties so marry- 
 ing have not been disowned. But it is difficult, when 
 we ascend to the highest ground, to see why the practice, 
 suitable for the one, should not be equally applicable to 
 the other. In the one case, an authority is recognized 
 which the Society believes to be antichristian, or, at least, 
 due to the corruption of Christianity ; in the other, the 
 name and responsibilities of the marriage covenant are 
 undertaken without that religious sanction essential, in 
 the view of Friends, to making it a Christian union. 
 
56 INEXPEDIENCT OF MIXED MAREIAGES. 
 
 Leaving, now, the action of the Society in disowning 
 members for marrying "in a manner contrary to the 
 rules," let us reflect a little on the fact of such marriages 
 having increased, and become of constant occurrence 
 among Friends. We have already expressed our opinion 
 that there is neither moral turpitude nor dereliction of any 
 Christian doctrine in marrying one belonging to a different 
 section of the fold of Christ. Yet it is eoapedient that 
 those united in so holy a bond as that of matrimony, 
 should be united in the same faith and hope. A differ- 
 ence of belief, to any material extent, is not suitable to 
 the oneness that belongs to wedded life in its perfec- 
 tion. A variance, on so important a topic as religion, 
 whether it manifest itself in open want of harmony, or 
 whether, by mutual consent, it be suffered to slumber 
 unexpressed, is not favourable to the religious growth of 
 either party. Being so, it is wise of every church to do 
 its part in discouraging such unions ; and, being so, it 
 is a mark of weakness in any church when such unions 
 become frequent. The rule of circumstances upon us 
 is so strong that we cannot expect such marriages to 
 cease. It is evident that the stronger the attachment of 
 the young to the principles of the Society, the less will 
 be the willingness to choose or accept a partner differing 
 from oneself in religious belief; and, the more thoroughly 
 those principles have penetrated the mind, the greater 
 will be the resistance to infringing them by taking part 
 in a religious ceremony to which they are opposed. We 
 are led, then, to the conclusion, that the training of the 
 young is the part in which the deficiency has existed. 
 For deficiency there must be, for that which we deem 
 religiously undesirable, to be common, instead of excep- 
 
CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 57 
 
 tional, in a church. It is usually attributed to another 
 cause— the mixture with the world. In the early days 
 of the Society, Friends probably lived much more to 
 themselves. Association was rare out of their own 
 body. But this practice cannot be defended. Living in 
 this world, having to earn their bread in it, and having 
 to act as citizens amongst their fellow-countrymen, 
 Friends have no right to reject altogether the association 
 of others. Within certain limits, we have a right to 
 choose our associates. We are called to exercise dis- 
 cretion in our dealings with our fellow-men. But we 
 cannot withhold ourselves from the association of brother- 
 hood with Christians of other denominations. The 
 attempt is impossible. All we can do is to avoid care- 
 fully the contamination of unchristian influences, and 
 seek to strengthen our own principles, so as to exist 
 unshaken among the conflicting opinions of brother 
 Christians. The same course will enable us to uphold 
 the great cause of our Master amid the temptations to 
 evil that surround us, whether our field of action be 
 small or be large. 
 
 If we sum up the conclusions to which our considera- 
 tion of the important subject of marriage has led us, 
 •we shall see that they indicate the following deficiencies, 
 to which the decline in our numbers from this cause is 
 chiefly, if not entirely, due. 
 
 1. That a greater degree of lively faith is wanting to 
 the Society ; that it has sunk into lukewarmness ; and 
 that, consequently, the attachment to its principles has 
 becdme grievously weakened among the young. Perhaps, 
 under Divine assistance, the church might effect some- 
 thing by a greater care in informing them of her doc- 
 
58 
 
 PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD GUIDE 
 
 trmes, and training them to love and esteem the 
 spiritual truths that have been committed to them. 
 This has been mentioned in a former part of this Essay. 
 It stands both as cause and effect of the weakness of the 
 Society. Every particular confirms it. 
 
 2. But the ill effect of these marriages beyond the 
 pale has been aggravated by the action of the Society. 
 It has had a peculiarly difficult task. It is too much to 
 expect that it should always have adopted the wisest 
 course. Constituted bodies are in danger of being too 
 much fettered by rules, instead of reverting to first 
 principles when cases of difliculty occur. How then 
 should they be met? What course of action, after 
 the cases have occurred, would be likely to lessen the 
 injury they inflict on the Society ? 
 
 First, Let the principle be maintained that marriage 
 with an individual belonging to another section of 
 Christ's church, however impolitic it may be, is not an 
 offence against Christian doctrine, and does not call for 
 separation from Christian communion. 
 
 Second. Let facility be given for the performance of 
 marriages independent of membership, in a manner ac- 
 cordant with the doctrine of the Society. Unfortunately 
 the law, as it now stands, places impediments in the way ; 
 but the zealous action of the Society might, in this, as 
 in other cases, overcome the difficulty. At present, any 
 such marriage, except between members of the Society 
 of Friends, is invalid; it is doubtful whether any 
 attempt to blend it with the civil marriage before the 
 registrar is not illegal. Surely the Society might afford 
 it its sanction, under certain regulations, where one of 
 the parties belonged to its body. This step would remove 
 
THE ACTION OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 59 
 
 one of the difficulties, without relaxing in the least 
 degree its view of the ordinance of marriage. 
 
 Third. In those cases where the ceremony has taken 
 place before the priest, or before the registrar, either of 
 which are infractions of the principles of Friends, let 
 each case be judged on its own merits. While the law 
 is as it is, much more as it was, a degree of compulsion 
 exists, to which the individual has yielded. It is for the 
 church to judge whether he is in principle a Friend, and 
 has yielded in weakness, or whether he is indiflferent to 
 the doctrines of the Society. If the first, the church, 
 by disowning him, would be vindicating its honour at the 
 expense of a member who might be valuable, although he 
 had erred ; if the second, the Society would not be 
 likely to benefit either itself or the member by retaining 
 him. But the consideration of benefit to the Society is 
 not the prime one. It has a duty to the ofi'ender, and it 
 has a duty to vindicate the truth. What oftences, by 
 the law of Christianity, demand the separation from 
 Christian communion, has never, perhaps, been exactly 
 determined. A latitude exists — and a wise latitude — 
 since it permits the holy principles of love to mingle 
 with the judgment of the church, and often to convert 
 that judgment into a blessing when it might be a curse. 
 
 In considering the subject of marriage, so important 
 in its influence on the Society, we have been led, from an 
 inquiry into causes, into reflections bearing on the prac- 
 tical treatment of the difficulties it presents. But it is 
 as a cause of decline that it comes within the scope of 
 this Essay. That the numerical decrease is very greatly 
 due to it is seli-evident. The weakness of the Society 
 as a church, and its diminished influence amonoj man- 
 
60 WEAKNESS DUE TO DEFECTS IN PEACTICAL LIFE. 
 
 kind, cannot so fairly be attributed to it. That the 
 Society has been unsuccessful in attempting to apply its 
 principles, the result only too plainly discloses ; and that 
 want of success, in a matter of importance, redacts hurt- 
 fully on the church. In this way it has been a source 
 of weakness. But, compared with other influences, its 
 action has been small and indirect ; and we cannot, 
 therefore, place it among those causes that have been 
 largely ccmcerned in the decline of the strength and 
 influence of the Society. 
 
 Xiy. But the weakness of the Society, as a Chris- 
 tian church, is due to defects in its practice more than 
 to errors of doctrine (if there be such), of worship, or 
 of discipline. The vitality of a body is seen in the suc- 
 cess with which its members carry into the daily walk 
 of life the principles they have learnt, either by inheri- 
 tance, or by individual conviction. If these principles 
 enable them to manifest a life accordant with the pre- 
 cepts and example of Christ ; being, not a mere theory 
 held by the intellect, but a vivifying power, pervading 
 the whole man, and directing him in the narrow way of 
 practical religion — then is that Christian body prosper- 
 ing. It is not fair to apply too high a test to any church; 
 but the professions of spiritual religion made by the 
 Society of Friends, render it just to measure their practice 
 by the standard they themselves have u})hpld. Esti- 
 mated by this standard, we cannot but look on their 
 church as having declined from its primitive vigour. 
 The early simplicity, honesty, and devotion to the cause 
 of Christ, have not been maintained. It still counts 
 within it many faithful servants of Christ, but, as a body, 
 
ACCUMULATION OV WEALTH. 
 
 61 
 
 it has lost the eminence in Christian virtues that it once 
 displayed. It is the object of this Essay to ascertain the 
 causes of this loss. They are to be found but to a very 
 small extent in the doctrine and discipline of the Society ; 
 they are more manifest when we come to its practical 
 Hfe. 
 
 The accumulation of wealth has been a very large 
 cause of the Society's decline in vitality and numbers. 
 In what way does wealth operate injuriously to religion ? 
 In the first place, the pursuit of wealth is hurtful. We 
 know that it is a tendency of man, in nearly all his 
 actions, to convert what is, at one time, only a means 
 towards an end, into an ejid itself. Almost every error 
 into which he falls may be traced to this cardinal weak- 
 ness. He begins by seeking money in order to live — ■ 
 he goes on to seek money for its own sake. At this 
 point is the danger. An unworthy object has usurped 
 his affections; and we know that the worthier and 
 holier ones must suffer in consequence. It is indeed 
 difficult to go on pursuing riches, without deadening the 
 soul to the influences of Divine grace, by which 
 alone can any of us be worthy members of Christ's 
 church. 
 
 But it is not only the pursuit of wealth, but its 
 possession, that is replete with danger to the spiritual 
 man. Our Saviour himself has embodied, in an eastern 
 proverb, the difficulty with which " a rich man shall 
 enter the kingdom of heaven." We see it too often 
 exemplified around us. The dwelling at ease in the 
 world — relieved, to a great extent, of this world's trials, 
 — worshipped, as man is for his wealth, by his brother- 
 men, — having no necessity for labour, and every incen- 
 
62 
 
 CAUSES THAT LED TO IT, 
 
 tive to yield himself to pleasure ; — are theSe the condi- 
 tions promotive of industry, of self-denial, of humility, 
 and the other virtues of the Christian character? Do 
 they not rather undermine, and almost destroy, the pre- 
 cious influence of grace on the soul ? 
 
 The position of the Society of Friends, in the first and 
 second generations after its foundation, was a very 
 peculiar and dangerous one. Sprung from the humbler 
 classes of the community, they had, through their habits 
 of sobriety and industry, risen to the middle ranks, and 
 become a respectable commercial body. From political 
 pursuits they were shut out ; and from professional 
 ones almost so. Science had not yet reached them. 
 The only objects of the world that were open to 
 them were comprised in buying and selling. In this 
 they were situated very much like the Jewish 
 nation throughout Europe. The result was very much 
 the same. What is called "the commercial spirit," 
 became largely developed among them. Success led 
 them on. Their undertakings swelled, and wealth was 
 the consequence. Now, alth ugh those who made the 
 wealth might frequently remain in the Society — might 
 be reckoned consistent members, or might even be able 
 to move forward, in spite of its load, and bear their 
 share of the burdens of the church — yet, with the 
 generation that followed them, it was different. The 
 wealth gave high social position — luxuries ensued, and 
 the membership became either a nominal one, or was 
 cast aside altogether. This has been the brief history 
 of many a family in the Society. It has contributed, 
 very largely, to the decrease of numbers, and is still 
 contributing, although, from the intervention of modify- 
 
ANTAGONISTIC TO EELIGION. 
 
 63 
 
 ing circumstances, it has probably less effect on the 
 numbers of the Society than it used to have. 
 
 The constraining influence of the love of Christ, which 
 indeed lies at the root of the Christian life, leaves 
 but little room for the love of the world. Under its 
 power, we come to regard this earth as our land of pil- 
 grimage, and look forward, with faith and hope, to a 
 better one. The desires of the soul, though not, by any 
 means, incapable of deriving pleasure from the gifts 
 of Providence in this world, are yet fixed upon the next. 
 And it is this steadfast gaze upon the world to come, 
 that enables the Christian to use, without abusing, the 
 things of the world that is. For we have a bodily 
 frame to which to minister, as well as a spiritual one, 
 and are united in corporeal bonds with our families, our 
 friends, and our brother-man. We have, with few 
 exceptions, to procure our subsistence with the sweat of 
 our brow ; we have to spend our labour to convert the 
 gifts of Providence into necessary clothing and food. 
 But it is so ordered — if not throughout the scheme of 
 human economy, certainly in the social state in which 
 we and our ancestors for tlie last century have dwelt — 
 that man has the power of doing more. He can not 
 only provide from day to day for daily wants, but by 
 industriously exerting more labour, more energy than 
 is actually necessary for that purpose, may, in many 
 cases, accumulate the reward of his labour, so as to be 
 able, when that labour is suspended, to supply his needful 
 wants. Three classes exist in society; certainly not 
 distinctly defined and separated one from the other — if 
 they were, they would not be natural classes. Yet their 
 types exist, and they mark three conditions in which 
 
64 
 
 DISTINCT CLASSES IN SOCIETY. 
 
 the influences of religion and society operate very 
 differently. In the first class are those who, by daily 
 labour of head or hand, earn sufficient to supply their 
 needful wants, but are compelled to labour for the 
 purpose. In the second, such as have realised by the 
 labour of the past — either their own, or that of their 
 ancestors — sufficient to supply them with all needful 
 things, without any necessity of additional work. The 
 third contains those who, by the accumulated labour of 
 the past, have not only no need to labour further, but 
 possess more than sufficient for needful wants. In both 
 the second and third cases, wealth is possessed, but the 
 term, in common parlance, is only applied to the third. 
 Of course it may be said that the words " sufficient" and 
 " needful," are used with wide latitude in practice. It 
 is so ; and no proposition in practical morals or social 
 economy can be applied with the rigour of a mathematical 
 formula. The judgment of the individual, the judgment 
 of the church, the general temper of the times, all enter 
 as disturbing causes, and qualify the name we may give 
 to any social or moral fact. Nevertheless, as there is a 
 right and wrong in morals, although it is often difficult in 
 any particular case to distinguish on which side it lies ; — 
 so in social state, the ideas of sufficiency and of necessity 
 exist, though we may often differ in opinion as to what 
 is either sufficient or necessary. And it is some help to 
 the understanding of concrete science, to have a firm 
 grasp in tlie mind, of the ideas of abstract science. 
 Although it would be a hopeless task for any census 
 commissioners to classify mankind according to the mode 
 we have indicated, yet the common observation of every 
 one must convince him that such classes exist. 
 
niPOETAyCE OF OF LEISURE. 
 
 65 
 
 As the world is constituted, the first must always 
 form the large majority. The predominance of the 
 second is a favourable feature in any Society. From 
 them come the men of leisure, who should be those to 
 stand forward and bear the weight of church affairs, 
 consecratincr their time and abilities to the advancement 
 of religion. The Society of Friends has been blessed 
 with many such ; that there have not been more, is 
 deeply to be regretted, both now and in the century that 
 has preceded us. It requires some firmness to stop 
 short at a competence in the pursuit of gain ; nor is it 
 ever seen, except where a higher object of desire has 
 taken possession of the mind. Often, this is literature, 
 or political action, or philanthropy, or it may be science ; 
 sometimes, but more rarely than it should be, it is the 
 love of Christ, leading to the consecration of all the 
 faculties to His ser\'ice. Were this love more preva- 
 lent in the churches, it would infallibly result in more of 
 these precious examples. Men would be found to devote 
 themselves to its service, before the vigour- of their 
 bodily and intellectual powers had faded. For this, 
 if for no other reason, might the practice be strenuously 
 encouraged amoncr Christian conorreo-ations. But, besides 
 this high motive, there is another reason for the church 
 to use its earnest endeavour to induce its members to stop 
 short in the pursuit of wealth, when a competence 
 sufficient for their needful wants is obtained. This is, — 
 the harm that otherwise accrues to the members them- 
 selves. Wealth is not obtained, unless pui'sued with 
 some ardour. That which is ai'dently pursued becomes 
 an object of love. The consequences cannot but be 
 hurtful to the Christian character. 
 
66 
 
 WITHDRAWAL FROM BUSINESS. 
 
 The common argument with which this is met is, that 
 the individual incurs the pains and penalties of idleness, 
 if he withdraw from his ordinary pursuit. His faculties 
 languish — his health suffers — because he has not his 
 shop or his office to resort to. We reply that, in the 
 first place, it is often not so much the employment that 
 is missed, as it is the excitement attendant on business 
 and money-getting. It is therefore an evidence that the 
 previous occupation has been more stimulating than is 
 wise, and makes it the more desirable, for the sake of 
 the spiritual health, to withdraw from it. And, secondly , 
 that employment, if earnestly sought, is not lacking 
 in this world. It is not every one, retiring from busi- 
 ness, that can hastily thrust himself into the affairs of 
 the church. He has no right to intermeddle with things 
 too high for him. A ministerial gift, or a gift of judg- 
 ment, may not yet be imposed upon him. But there 
 are abundant fields open. He may labour in the field 
 of benevolence ; may join others in more extended 
 concerns of philanthropy ; he may seek to benefit others 
 in literature, or he may, while benefiting himself, add 
 his small mite to the storehouse of science. It is 
 labourers, not work, that are wanting. True, that, 
 to appreciate these things, some enlargement of education 
 is required. Ordinary school instruction, of which the 
 Society has generally been careful, is only the ground- 
 work of that education by which the useful citizen is 
 trained. Here the Society has been deficient. The 
 higher classes of learning, which rightly directed give 
 power to the mind, have been almost overlooked. This 
 partly sprang from the commercial, or to speak more 
 plainly, the shop-keeping character of the Society in its 
 
NEED OF E>XAEGED EDUCATION. 
 
 67 
 
 early times, partly from the Universities being closed to 
 Dissenters, and partly from a dread of learning and science 
 themselves, on the supposition of their being worldly 
 and hostile to religion. Xevertheless, of late years, much 
 improvement has taken place in this respect. The founda- 
 tion of University College, and soon afterwards, of the 
 University of London, led the way for a higher educa- 
 tion among the Dissenting body in general. A large 
 number of the young men of the Society have partaken 
 of these advantages ; several members of the Society 
 have become known among the promoters of science ; 
 and altogether a more liberal feeling prevails as re- 
 gards the encouragement of these and other elevating 
 pursuits. It is for the Society, wisely guarding itself 
 against any narrow exclusiveness, to use its influ- 
 ence, directly on the young themselves, and indirectly 
 through their parents, so as to keep all secondary objects 
 in subordination to higher ones, — assured that the study 
 of the manifold branches of nature and of man, can 
 never, if undertaken and pursued in humility, be 
 tdtimately adverse to the cause of religion. 
 
 But whatever the care exercised by a church in dis- 
 couraging the pursuit of gain, wealth will creep in. 
 There will always be those who have not merely no 
 necessity to labour, but who possess so much as to give 
 them the command of luxuries, and place them in a 
 position of distinction amongst the fellow-Chiistians by 
 whom they are surrounded- We have already briefly 
 alluded to the dangers to which such persons are exposed. 
 The simplicity of the Christian life has a hard fight to 
 maintain, against the flattery and luxury with which 
 they are consciously or unconsciously surrounded. And, 
 
 f2 
 
68 
 
 DANGERS OF WEALTH. 
 
 in addition, the very wealth itself adds to their responsi- 
 bility. We are none of us owners of our possessions, 
 but stewards ; and of our stewardship we shall be called 
 to give an account. The larger the stewkrdship, the 
 heavier the responsibility. Whether inherited or ac- 
 quired, wealth entails this on its possessor. He holds 
 that which may be an instrument of evil or of good. 
 It is not needful to dilate on this. Although the fearful 
 fact, of earthly possession being a stewardship, may too 
 often be lost sight of, yet every Christian must admit it ; 
 every Christian church is bound to inculcate it. 
 
 Where the feeling of Christian duty is maintained, 
 and the stewardship of wealth accepted, its possession, 
 however perilous to the individual, is not necessarily 
 hurtful to the church. As we have recently stated, 
 abundant fields of action exist, in which its influence 
 may be exerted, and if that influence be used in the 
 Christian spirit, it may be an instrument of good to 
 society, if not to the church itself. In the Society of 
 Friends, the limited education of which we have spoken, 
 has helped to cramp the usefulness of wealthy individuals. 
 And, after all, the benefit they have conferred has been 
 far outweighed by the injury which the money-getting 
 spirit has inflicted. The first is merely temporary ; they 
 or their children soon quit a Society with whose prin- 
 ciples of simplicity a large expenditure is hardly com- 
 patible ; while the influence of their successful example 
 in the pursuit of riches fosters the wide-spread devotion 
 to commerce, and almost elevates money into a god. 
 No language can be too strong to express the injury that 
 the undue pursuit and accumulation of riches have 
 inflicted on the Society. 
 
PECULIAEITIES ; — COSTUME. 
 
 69 
 
 XY. In the practical life of tlie Society of Friends, 
 there are certain points that have long been looked on 
 by the world at large as characteristic of them ; and not 
 only the world at large, but Friends themselves, have 
 regarded them in this light. Both within and without 
 the Society, it has long been the custom to say of any 
 one who does not wear a particular costume, and speak 
 a particular language, that he cannot be a true Quaker. 
 There are some, even now, who may think this exagge- 
 rated, and, in a remote age of the Christian church, it 
 will hardly be believed, when handed down in history ; 
 yet it strictly represents the fact, perhaps not as it is, 
 but as it has, until recently, been. Let us first inquire 
 how these peculiarities arose, and came to be regarded 
 as characteristic of the Society ; and then consider their 
 influence on its welfare, whether favourable or otherwise. 
 As the two forms of difference from ,the world, — garb 
 and language, — do not stand exactly on the same basis, it 
 will be well to treat of each separately. 
 
 There is not the slightest reason to suppose that the 
 founders of the Society ever contemplated establishing a 
 peculiar costume. They held enlightened views on the 
 spirituality of religion, and those views were susceptible 
 of, and received from them, an extensive application to 
 the details of the Christian life. War, oaths, the non- 
 payment of ecclesiastical demands, are all examples of 
 the earnestness with which they sought to apply and 
 realize the principles they held. The same spirit was 
 carried into the subject of dress. They distinctly per- 
 ceived that modesty and simplicity should govern the 
 outward attire of the Christian; and they unflinchingly 
 cast off such things in the garb as went beyond these 
 
70 
 
 GROWTH OF PECULIAR DRESS 
 
 primary necessities. The swords, and frills, and ruffles 
 were discarded. But so far, however individuals may, 
 for their own reasons, have taken up something that was 
 singular, as in the case of the leathern garment of George 
 Fox, yet, as a Body, no peculiar costume was adopted. 
 The frivolity and vanity, attendant on the fashions of 
 the world, are inconsistent with the principles of modesty 
 and simplicity in dress. It was early seen by Friends that a 
 protest against following what they termed " vain 
 fashions," was incumbent on them as Christians. On 
 the mode in which they carried out this protest, a great 
 deal depended. Two courses were open to them. They 
 might lay down the principle that no change should be 
 made in dress ; " that form of clothing, in which we find 
 ourselves, we will retain, not merely for us individually, 
 but for our descendants, as long as they hold our princi- 
 ples." The other course was to see the distinction 
 between " vain fashions," and those changes which a 
 nation sloioly makes in its costume, for reasons of real or 
 fancied convenience. Such changes are in constant pro- 
 gress. It is they that, in a tolerably healthy state of 
 society, make the dress of the old man slightly different 
 from that of the young ; the former has retained the 
 garb he has been accustomed to, without imposing it, as 
 • a necessity, on the generation that is to follow him. We 
 have said that much depended on which of these alterna- 
 tives was adopted by the Society. To the first genera- 
 tion it made little difference. When, however, the 
 Society had reached its second or third generation, the 
 contrast between such as adopted the former course, and 
 those adopting the latter, became marked. The first, 
 holding, with more or less tenacity, to the principle of 
 
IN THE SOCIETT. 
 
 71 
 
 fixity of dress, had become peculiar in their appearance ; 
 the second approximated, more or less nearly, to the 
 aspect of the general world. Under these circum- 
 stances, the Society adopted the course of throwing the 
 weight of its influence as a church in favour of retain- 
 ing a costume that time had rendered peculiar. We do 
 not know the motives that influenced them, but may infer 
 that they deemed that, in this way, would the testimo- 
 nies of modesty, simplicity, and opposition to the fashions 
 of the world, be best maintained. However that be, 
 peculiarities, as such, received the sanction of the Society ; 
 not so much by express words, as tacitly, in the exercise 
 of the discipline. 
 
 Has this course, adopted by Friends of the second 
 or third generation of the Society, answered the ends for 
 which it was intended ? Does it serve to maintain these 
 important principles of the Society in their purity ? On 
 this point much difl'erence of opinion exists. And there 
 is room for difference of opinion. So complicate is the 
 effect of any particular practice, that it is often difficult 
 to say on which side the balance lies, whether on that 
 of benefit or injury. Let us see what are the arguments 
 of those who deem it of great importance to the Society 
 that a peculiar costume should be preserved. We 
 have already said that it sprang from a protest against 
 the changing fashions of the day ; but when established 
 as a system, it came to be supported, and still is supported, 
 by considerations of expediency, quite distinct from the 
 motives that led to its origin. It is supported as a pecu- 
 liarity — no such peculiarity being intended in the origin 
 of the Society — and the peculiarity itself being an acci- 
 dental result. It is said : — 
 
72 
 
 ARGUMENTS IN ITS FAYOUK ; 
 
 1. That the wearing a peculiar dress is a very great 
 protection, especially to the young ; serving as a " hedge" 
 to them against the evil that exists in the world. That 
 entering life so guarded, the}^ are saved from many of 
 the temptations that beset the inexperienced. 
 
 2. That it is, at once, a protest against the " fashion" 
 of the world, and a safeguard from its influence. 
 
 3. That it is a healthful exercise of self-denial to wear 
 a garb that exposes the wearer to the remarks of others, 
 perhaps even to their ridicule ; encouraging the general 
 practice of self-denial in the concerns of life. 
 
 4. That it is an open profession of our religion before 
 the world. 
 
 5. And lastly, that those who alter their dress, throw- 
 ing off that which is peculiar, generally go farther ; not 
 merely altering their dress, but launching into the 
 vanities and fashions of the world, and indulo^incj in 
 pleasure to such an extent as to be hurtful to their 
 religion. 
 
 To these reasons it is objected, considering each 
 seriatim : — 
 
 1. That although it may in many cases have been 
 blessed to the preservation of the young from temptation, 
 yet, in many more, such a " hedge" has proved most fal- 
 lacious. Nothing is easier than to throw off a peculiar 
 garb, when it is felt to be a hindrance to the indulgence 
 of pleasure. If put on as an artificial protection against 
 the seductions of evil society, it becomes irksome, and 
 is soon cast off, if not publicly, yet in the scenes of dissi- 
 pation. 
 
 Besides, if so valuable as a protection to the young, 
 how was it that it was not provided for by the early 
 
OBJECTIONS TO THE^I. 
 
 73 
 
 Friends ? ' Doubtless they felt that, under Divine Provi- 
 dence, the best protection consisted in the holy guar- 
 dianship of Christ's Spirit in the heart, which in itself led 
 to simplicity in outward appearance; and that, this 
 lacking, no artificial system was of any value in its 
 place. The modesty and simplicity distinguishing the 
 Christian are, in themselves, a protection of' more 
 value. 
 
 2. Undoubtedly it removes the wearer in great degree 
 from the influence of the fashion of the world. So 
 would plainness of dress, without any peculiar costume. 
 And the costume itself has undergone the mutations of 
 fashion. There is room for what is called " dandyism," 
 in the shape of the dress, and in the materials of which 
 it is made. This prevails considerably, both among the 
 young and the middle-aged, and no system, short of the 
 most rigid sumptuary laws, could exclude it. Now, 
 fashion in a peculiar costume, and fashion out of it, are 
 about equally hurtful to the religious character. More- 
 over, when the world sees vanity and pride, and luxu- 
 rious clothing under the Quaker garb, how greatly does 
 it weaken the force of Quaker principles on society 
 generally. 
 
 3. That self-denial is a Christian virtue, the practice 
 of which is to be highly encouraged, is very true. How 
 far it is beneficial, or indeed deserves the name of self- 
 denial, when unwillingly submitted to, on compulsion 
 from a parent or superior, is more than doubtful. A 
 willing obedience must enter into the act, to entitle it to 
 that character. Where this is wanting, the end is 
 defeated. Suppose, however, that the garb is worn 
 under the influence of filial love ; the blessing of obc' 
 
74 
 
 DANGER OF ARTIFICIAL SELF-DENIAL. 
 
 dience will doubtless rest on it. But is it safe for the 
 church to encourage the principle of the Christian's 
 taking on himself peculiarities, or inflicting unnecessary- 
 sufferings on himself, for the sake of self-denial ? Where 
 is the difference between such a practice, and that of the 
 Flagellants, Bare-footed Friars, and the thousand other 
 developments of the monastic life ? They imposed on 
 themselves austerities and sufferings, not for the sake of 
 benefit to others, but deeming they were pleasing God by 
 the exercise of self-denial. Pious, but erring men. It is 
 given to us to see, that in the Christian path through 
 life, there is abundant exercise for abnegation of self, 
 without creating expedients for the purpose. It is em- 
 phatically a warfare, waged from childhood to the grave, 
 against the assaults of the flesh and the Devil. He who 
 by God's grace has achieved self-conquest, must have 
 passed through many a conflict, and denied himself 
 many a temporary enjoyment. Such self-denial is 
 wholesome, nay, vital to the Christian ; to create artifi- 
 cial opportunities is dangerous. 
 
 4. The open profession of Quakerism, by wearing a 
 peculiar dress, has some advantages. It is right not to 
 be ashamed of our religion ; and it is well, if it can he 
 done in due humility, to remind others that we know and 
 value our religious privileges. That it leads to some 
 dangers, we will notice presently. But, assuming 
 Quakerism humbly and sincerely professed, what is the 
 effect of such an one coming into contact with others ? 
 As a body the Society is highly esteemed, but very 
 little understood. It is generally looked upon as an 
 incomprehensible phenomenon. It is known to have 
 peculiar views on peace, on oaths, and other important 
 
A PREMIUM ON HYPOCRISY. 
 
 75 
 
 points, but these views are looked on, not as belonging 
 to Christianity, but merely to Quaker belief. Even 
 Friends themselves, by long isolation, come to regard 
 them so. The external shell hides, instead of display- 
 ing, these precious treasures, which should belong to a 
 common Christianity. From this cause, one making the 
 external profession of a Friend does not carry that 
 weight, in conversing with a casual stranger, that he 
 would do if he met him on the broad ground of Christ- 
 ianity. He is a Friend, and his opinions are uncon- 
 sciously linked with his peculiarities. They share the 
 same fate — wondered at, but rarely convincing. This is 
 a very great cause of the decreased influence of the 
 Society, and a larger cause than they themselves suspect. 
 It materially cripples their opportunities of spreading 
 Christian truth among men. 
 
 Before stating what may be objected to the last argu- 
 ment for peculiar dress, we will enumerate some other 
 injurious eifects that have been ascribed to it. They 
 are: — 
 
 (a.) That it furnishes a premium on hypocrisy. To 
 assume any particular dress is so easy, and the advan- 
 tages, in this case, are so obvious, that the practice is, 
 unfortunately, by no means rare. The Society has stood 
 so high in the esteem of the world, that it has conferred 
 great commercial credit on an adventurer to be known 
 as a Quaker. He obtains a reputation where he has 
 done nothing for it, and the result is not infrequent that 
 disgrace and injury are inflicted on the Society. It may 
 be said that in every religious body hypocrites occur. 
 But the mere externals of dress and language are mat- 
 ters so easily put on, and, moreover, so patent to the 
 
76 
 
 PRODUCTIVE OF SPIRITUAL PRIDE 
 
 world, that both the facility and advantage of hypocrisy 
 are greater than in other religious bodies. 
 
 (b.) That peculiar costume is productive of spiritual 
 pride. It is sad to think that this is, indeed, very preva- 
 lent in the Society. An humble-minded Christian, 
 walking amid his fellow-men, conscious of his own 
 abundant sins and short-comings, has no cause for 
 exulting over them. While compassionating the weak- 
 nesses of some, he sees around him many who are ten- 
 fold better than he. The humble spirit of the Christian 
 man is far from glorying in any of his advantages. But it 
 is not so when the garb of high profession clothes one who 
 has not himself largely partaken of the Spirit of Christ. 
 Feeling himself different from his fellows, called by 
 another name, belonging to a Christian body that he 
 knows, or has heard to be a very favoured section of the 
 church, he is apt to forget that he is a mere babe. In 
 this state he is a prominent mark for the arrows of 
 Satan, and sorely do they wound him. Often and often 
 is the tender seed of Divine grace crushed and driven 
 out of the heart by such subtle temptations as these. 
 We can hardly over-estimate the mischief that accrues 
 to the church from this cause, sapping the foundations of 
 Christian life, and impeding its growth where it has been 
 permitted to take root. This is the real and principal 
 source of the large decline in the vital spirit of the 
 Society. It has exercised a deadening influence on the 
 religious prosperity of the church which those indi- 
 viduals compose. From age to age its poisonous influence 
 has been felt ; let us hope that the serious recognition of 
 their weakness, as a body, may nourish in Friends that 
 humility of spirit which is alone the antidote for so 
 
IN SOME NATURES. 
 
 77 
 
 fearful a poison. That spiritual pride has been largely 
 concerned as cause in the decline of the Society, will be 
 admitted by many who have not been accustomed to 
 connect the spiritual pride with a peculiar costume. 
 Yet, a little reflection will convince how an external 
 garb, identified in the popular mind with religion, and 
 separating the wearer from his brother Christians, must 
 open the door for its entry. Viewed aright, no peculiar 
 dress can be more holy than another. Yet, it is impos- 
 sible but that, in the popular mind, a certain sanctity, or 
 at least profession of religious sanctity, becomes asso- 
 ciated with the peculiar costume of a Christian church. 
 And the individual insensibly imbibes, unless strength- 
 ened by the highest influences, the opinions that surround 
 him. The tendencies of difl'erent minds are very dif- 
 ferent. To some, the fact of being peculiar in the world, 
 what is termed a " speckled bird," is a source of great 
 discouragement and sufl'ering. Notoriety is, to them, 
 repulsive. They shrink from the gaze of the world, and 
 have no temptation to glory in outward marks of sepa- 
 ration. Their dangers lie in other directions — not in 
 that of spiritual pride. But other minds are very dif- 
 ferently constituted. The quality of firmness gives 
 strength to the character, and enables it to hold on its 
 way when embarked in the right course. But its excess 
 is greatly to be dreaded. If unregulated by other 
 influences, it induces a hardness of character and a dan- 
 gerous self-reliance. To such as these, the wearing a 
 peculiar garb is but little, if any, mortification. They 
 are rather tempted to glory in their difierence from 
 others. And these diff'erences they make prominent, 
 with an energy that they call boldness for the truth," 
 
78 
 
 TEND TO PLACE CHRISTIANITY 
 
 when, too often, the secret spring is gratifying their lust 
 of distinction. Is it wise to create or to perpetuate cir- 
 cumstances which operate so fearfully ? Cases of this 
 nature are not rare ; the experience of every^ one must 
 have brought numerous examples before him. The 
 spiritual life is extinguished by an outward distinction, 
 which gratifies some of the hurtful passions of the soul. 
 
 (c.) Another important objection to the adoption and 
 maintenance of a particular costume, is that its tendency 
 is to place Christianity in externals. Such is the 
 phrase : let us see what is meant by it. No one who 
 reflects for a moment will suppose that any particular 
 dress, apart from modesty and simplicity, is essential to 
 the Christian man. Yet, if a special dress be insisted 
 on, as belonging to a certain section of Christ's church ; 
 if the earnest care of that Christian church be devoted 
 to the conservation of this particular costume ; if those* 
 who deviate from it have to encounter the coldness 
 of their friends, are set down, in the language of the 
 Society, as not consistent what wonder that the 
 world without, as well as the world within, come to look 
 upon the " badge " as meaning more than it originally 
 pretended to ? The simplicity and self-denial, which are 
 indeed the symbols of the Christian life, are lost sight of, 
 when a particular garb is so prominently and persever- 
 ingly urged upon the young. Nay, more; the great 
 truth that the essence of Christianity consists in the 
 yielding of the heart to the influence of the Spirit of 
 Christ, convincing of sin, and that the external symbols 
 of the Christian life must flow from the occupation of 
 the soul by Christ's Spirit — these leading truths of 
 practical religion are well-nigh forgotten and overlooked. 
 
IN OUTWAED APPEARANCE. 
 
 79 
 
 when the church seeks to impose on its members an 
 external uniformity. 
 
 Again, if those who wear the costume are looked on 
 with favour by their elder Friends, are encouraged to 
 come forward and take part in the exercise of the disci- 
 pline, it is almost impossible to help their associating the 
 garb with the Christian character. It has been so. It 
 is not so much the case now ; but in past years those 
 brought up in the Society have been brought up almost 
 in reverence for the coat. The infantile mind draws its 
 simple conclusions from the facts before it. It witnesses 
 the respect paid to the costume of Friends, and the 
 respect paid, within the Society, to those who adhere 
 most strictly to that costume ; it witnesses also, it may 
 be, a slighting manner towards, or slighting expressions 
 relative to, such as are not consistent Friends." It 
 draws the conclusion that this must, indeed, be a vital 
 point of Christianity. Although, in after years, as the 
 child grows into the man, he comes to understand that 
 Christianity consists not in externals, yet the early im- 
 pressions are so strong that they give a colour to his 
 opinions through life. A certain sanctity has become, 
 in his mind, attached to the coat, which, though his ma- 
 turer reason rejects it, materially influences his action 
 in the church. 
 
 5. The fifth argument, on the ground of expediency, 
 for retaining a peculiar costume in the Society, is that 
 the young who change their dress, and put on one more 
 conformable to that which is generally worn, seldom 
 stop at this point. In deference to the fashions of the 
 world, they overpass the bounds of Christian modesty and 
 simplicity. And, further, that it often leads to their 
 
80 
 
 ARGmiENT OF EXPEDIENCY MET 
 
 casting aside restraint, and partaking of pleasures hurtful, 
 both in kind and in degree. This argument has carried 
 considerable eight with Friends. It is not based on 
 any principle, but merely on that which is .expedient ; 
 and rests on the observation of what takes place around 
 us. It cannot be denied that there is much truth in the 
 fact alleged. Instances of individuals preservmg sim- 
 plicity of dress, while discarding peculiarity, have not 
 been very common ; and change of costume has fre- 
 quently been accompanied by launching into dissipation. 
 But a distinction exists between admitting the fact and 
 allowing the inference that is deduced fi'om it. In the 
 first place, there have always been some who have 
 retained simplicity of dress, and preserved a Christian 
 walk, without keeping to the peculiar garb of the 
 Society. The number of these is much greater than it 
 used to be, and almost daily increasing. The very 
 existence of such shows that deviation from Christian 
 simplicity and plunging into the pleasures of the world 
 are not necessary consequences. 
 
 Secondly, in a large proportion of those who throw off 
 the garb, and give way to indulgence in demoralising 
 pleasures, the first is not, by any means, the cause of 
 the second ; but the self-indulgence^ or, at least, the loss 
 of moral control, has preceded the alteration of dress. 
 
 Thirdly, the overpassing the bounds of simplicity, that 
 too often occurs when the dress is discarded, is a proof 
 that the true principles that should regulate the garb of 
 a Christian, have not taken root in the mind ; it shows 
 that, while the parents have taken pains to produce out- 
 ward conformity, they have not succeeded in implanting 
 the seeds whence a Christian practice is developed. And, 
 
COSTUilE NOT ABSOLriELT FNIMPOETANT. 81 
 
 therefore, it tells as iiiuch against, as in favour of tlie 
 expediency of enforcing the costume. These considera- 
 tions must greatly lessen the force of the inference that 
 has been di'awn by the Society, from facts that we cannot 
 but admit and deplore. And, besides, there is some- 
 thing especially undesirable in making any sudden 
 alteration in our outward appearance. Dress may be a 
 small thing in itself, but it is that by w^hich we are 
 known in the world. It bespeaks our station in society, 
 and it bespeaks, in great degree, the character of the 
 man. Any sudden change, therefore, attracts attention, 
 and may be incorrectly interpreted. These circum- 
 stances make the position of one who has altered his 
 costume an unsafe one. He is often misjudged, and his 
 perception of the erroneous estimation of others will 
 often have a prejudicial influence on his own career. 
 For these reasons, a sudden change is not to be 
 encouraged, and, for the same reasons, those who may 
 have felt it right for themselves to make a change, 
 should be looked on with the sympathy of their brethren. 
 
 We have now gone through the arguments that are 
 alleged for the maintenance of a peculiar costume in the 
 Society of Friends. It will be observed that they are all 
 arguments founded simply on expediency. As such, we 
 have to strike the balance, and consider whether the 
 system of peculiarity has inflicted more benefit or injury 
 on the church. We believe that an unprejudiced con- 
 sideration of that which has been said, will lead to the 
 decided conviction that the balance leans to the side of 
 injury. Its efi'ect in nourishing hypocrisy and spiritual 
 pride has done more to injure the Society, than it has 
 done good in promoting Christian simplicity and pro- 
 
 Q 
 
82 
 
 ARTIFICIAL DISTINCTIONS UNJUSTIFIABLE 
 
 tecting youth from temptation. This is the earnest 
 conviction of the writer. He feels that, in creating and 
 supporting a system of peculiarities, the Society exceeded 
 its duties as a church, and did that which has contributed 
 as much as any other cause to its decHne in numbers and 
 spiritual life. 
 
 There is yet another point of view in which to regard 
 peculiarities, which is worthy the attention of thinking 
 men. In the concerns of life, we are called on to mix 
 with our fellow-Christians. We regard them as 
 brothers, — children of the same Father, — worshipping 
 the same God, and trusting in the salvation of the same 
 Saviour. We haye no right to place an artificial dis- 
 tinction between them and us. Such distinction as 
 arises from our faithfully following the religious belief 
 to which we have attained, is justifiable and right. But 
 nothing short of conscientious conviction, justifies our 
 differing in outward appearance from our fellow- 
 believers. Christian simplicity, — abstinence from oaths, 
 and adulatory language, — will always cause the true 
 Quaker to differ from the world. These are matters 
 that he believes essential to the Christian character, 
 and part of Christian doctrine. But unless he 
 conscientiously believes a peculiar costume to be 
 part of his religious duty, he has no right, for motives 
 of expediency, to assume it, and thus create an artificial 
 distinction. There are, no doubt, many who con- 
 scientiously believe it their duty, either to put on, or to 
 adhere to, a peculiar costume. They are right in doing 
 so, and they claim our respect. Others may think their 
 conscientious conviction founded in error, that it is based 
 on imperfect conception of Christian duty. But we cannot 
 
SATE FOR CONSCIENCE SAKE. 
 
 83 
 
 judge one for another. Each Christian man must 
 endeavour humbly to act up to that which he feels to be 
 right. Only let him not seek to impose upon others that 
 which he may deem right for himself. Let him care- 
 fully search the grounds of his belief, — how far prin- 
 ciple extends, and how far expediency, — before he 
 inculcates on others the necessity or the importance of his 
 own practice. 
 
 Amid the diversity of opinions that prevail, it is diffi- 
 cult to act simply in accordance with what one 
 feels right for oneself Still more difficult, when an 
 earnest conviction is arrived at, to hold it without 
 infringing on the toleration due to the opinions of our 
 brethren. Yet the present state of the Society of Friends 
 calls for the most watchful care in both these important 
 respects. In advocating our own views, we must never 
 forget that we have the serious convictions of many 
 worthy Christians to meet ; on the other hand, we mus 
 not lose sight of the fact that the welfare of a beloved 
 church is bound up with the action of its individual 
 members. Believing, as we do, that the system of 
 peculiarity is founded in error, and prejudicial to the 
 interests of the Society, it becomes our duty to indicate 
 the course that to us seems most consistent with 
 Christian principles, in the special circumstances of the 
 church in which we live. 
 
 In the first place, let the strenuous care of the Body 
 be given to the inculcation of the great principle of 
 Christian modesty and simplicity, in apparel, as well 
 as in all outward concerns of life. 
 
 Secondly, It is neither desirable nor called for, that 
 those who have been long accustomed to a peculiar dress, 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 should change it for another. To them, long habit has 
 become a valid ground for retention. A change in per- 
 sonal appearance would neither benefit themselves nor 
 the church. 
 
 Thirdly f For the younger portion of society, no longer 
 under parental control, but who have been brought up 
 in peculiarity, — ^let each of them diligently consider, for 
 himself, the course it is his duty to piirsue. If his con- 
 scientious conviction be, that circumstances make it right 
 for him to adhere to the dress, let him do so, without 
 placing any burden on others. If he deem it right for 
 him to divest himself of peculiarity, let him do so gra- 
 dually, strictly preserving simplicity, and attracting as 
 little attention as possible to his outward appearance. 
 Tor, after all, dress is a small thing. It is only the 
 unfortunate circumstances in which he is placed, that 
 make it of so much importance. It is not his fault, but 
 his misfortune. Let him quietly and gradually assume 
 that dress that he thinks suited for him ; on the one 
 hand, not shrinking from the avowal of his views, on 
 the other, not courting observation, or drawing atten- 
 tion to a thing that is really of but little intrinsic 
 importance. 
 
 Fourthly, In the clothing of the young, let parents 
 endeavour to do all in their power to discourage vanity, 
 and inculcate the love of Christian simplicity. Guard 
 them against that love of ornament and finery, which 
 early invades the childish mind. But, when they enter 
 upon manhood, make no attempt whatever to enforce 
 their wearing garments, cut according to the pattern of 
 those their parents wear. Acknowledge that, in the 
 progress of time, the dress of a' nation changes, and let 
 
LET THE GARB INSENSIBLY VANISH. 85 
 
 tliem, as they go forth into life, use the costume of 
 Englishmen of the century in which they live. 
 
 By these means, without violent changes, peculiarity 
 will insensibly vanish. Avoiding mere decorations of 
 dress, and avoiding the temporary mutations of fashion, 
 a certain character will pervade the dress of the middle- 
 aged, another the dress of the old. This is as it should 
 be. It is consonant with true taste to observe an old- 
 fashioned costume on those advanced in life. There is 
 something repulsive, not merely in a Christian light, but 
 according to principles of taste, where those of elder 
 years are dressed in the newest style of the day. It is 
 quite possible to avoid this error, without creating a 
 peculiar costume. It is quite possible to wear the dress 
 of the English nation, without partaking of the vanities 
 and fashions of the world. And if we admit of gradual 
 mutation, as generation succeeds generation, the great 
 Christian principles we hold may be maintained in all 
 their purity, without the Body lapsing into peculiarity of 
 costume. 
 
 Hitherto, for more than a century, the Society has 
 tacitly regarded the peculiar costume as important. 
 We say tacitly, for there is no rule in which it is men- 
 tioned. One of the queries, regularly answered at 
 certain meetings for discipline, runs as follows : " Do 
 Friends endeavour, by example and precept, to train up 
 their children, servants, and those under their care, in a 
 religious life and conversation, consistent with our 
 Christian profession ; and in plainness of speech, beha- 
 viour, and apparel ?" The writer is not aware when this 
 query was composed, or what meaning was originally 
 assigned to it. Certainly it has been generally assumed, 
 
86 INJURY IT HAS INFLICTED ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 that hj plainness of apparel is meant that peculiar garb 
 belonging to the Society. In the language of the 
 Society, " the plain dress" means a peculiar costume, 
 and " the plain language" a peculiar mode of speech, as 
 if no other dress, no other language, could be " plain." 
 Thus, though not overtly expressed in the formulae of 
 the Society, it has become an almost essential part of 
 its practice and discipline. Persons admitted into the 
 Society, by what is termed " convincement," have 
 almost invariably put on the peculiar garb. It has 
 been quietly inculcated on the young. It has been 
 silently regarded as essential for office in the church. 
 Hence, though forming no part of the doctrine of Qua- 
 kerism, — forming no part of the practice of the founders 
 of the Society, — springing only, as an accidental result, 
 from the mis-interpretation of the principle of Christian 
 simplicity, — it has entered into the practical life of the 
 Body, and largely modified its character as a church. 
 Supposed to save it from some temptations, it exposed it 
 to others ; removing it from contact with the world, it 
 cut it off from fellowship with other Christians ; making 
 it conspicuous, — a phenomenon, — in society, it has done 
 much to damage its influence as a section of Christ's 
 church universal upon earth. So great is the effect of 
 an erroneous step in the policy of a Christian church. 
 Small as the matter of dress seems in the abstract, it has 
 contributed to mar the spiritual prosperity of the Body, 
 cramp its vital energies, and disenable it to wage the 
 holy warfare committed to its trust. 
 
 XVI. The Peculiarities of Speech, in the Society of 
 Friends, relate to three principal matters ; — the use of 
 
PECTJLIAEITIES OF SPEECH. 
 
 87 
 
 an antiquated form of tlie second personal pronoun in 
 the singular number (tJiou, thee, and thy, in the place of 
 you and your) ; the disuse of the common prefix to the 
 names of persons, written Mr. and Mrs, ; and, thirdly, 
 the use of names of their own for the days of the week 
 and months of the year. In one important respect, these 
 practices rest on a different basis from the peculiar cos- 
 tume we have just been considering ; viz., that they did 
 not grow up insensibly during the second or third gene- 
 ration from the origin of the Society, but were esta- 
 blished and inculcated by the founders. For this reason 
 they deserve our respect. But other grounds than 
 respect to our ancestors are requisite, in order that the 
 Society should preserve them in this day, and press their 
 observance, as a duty, on the conscientious convictions 
 of its members. Highly as we may esteem those who 
 have gone before us, and deeply as we may feel our 
 debt of gratitude to those zealous and devoted servants 
 of God, who, in an age of persecution, came out from 
 among the world, and left this church, as a precious 
 legacy, to us, — yet it behoves us to examine things for 
 ourselves, — try all things by the test of consonance with 
 the Divine principles of Christianity — and hold things, 
 not because they have been handed down to us, but 
 because, by their innate weight, they convince our 
 judgments and impress themselves on our consciences. 
 
 What are the grounds on which these practices rest ? 
 They are two : — They are a protest, or, as it is termed, 
 in the language of the Society, a " testimony," in the 
 first place, against flattering language to our brother 
 men ; and, in the second place, against the remnants of 
 idolatrous practices. 
 
88 
 
 A PROTEST AGAINST IDOLATHY? 
 
 It is clear, that both flattery and idolatry are heinous 
 sins : the latter, a crime against the majesty of God ; the 
 former, a violation of truth, and ministering to the 
 pride of man. It became, then, the Society' of Friends, 
 as a Christian people, and still becomes them, to avoid 
 any language that partakes of idolatry or flattery. Now 
 the days of the week, and several of the months, being 
 named after pagan deities, they conceived that, in using 
 the common appellations, they were giving a sanction to 
 the idolatry under which they were originally named. 
 With all respect for the excellence of their motive, we 
 cannot but feel that this was an error. They ignored 
 the great fact, which history teaches, that every nation 
 carries with it, in its institutions, its manners and cus- 
 toms, its language, and especially in its names, — the 
 record of the vicissitudes through which it has passed. 
 Heathenism leaves its stamp ; so do the mutations and cor- 
 ruptions that its Christianity has passed through. But 
 these marks of a past age are in two forms, — either that 
 of institutions exerting some influence, and bearing their 
 character, for good or ill, obvious on their front, — or of 
 mere names, whence the spirit has departed, yielding 
 their original meaning only to the historian or antiquary. 
 The first must be strenuously resisted; towards the 
 second, we stand in a different position. The latter are 
 abundant in every nation. Our common things, our 
 names of persons and of places, could be made to bear 
 testimony that our ancestors were heathen. Now the 
 attempt to eradicate such names is, in the first place, 
 impossible ; and, even if it were possible, would be vain. 
 Their meanings have disappeared from the popular view, 
 ■ — are only recalled by antiquarian curiosity ; — if ever 
 
AND AGAINST FLATTEET? 89 
 
 thought of, when actually using the words, they should 
 remind us of the gratitude we owe for dwelling in 
 times of gi'eater enlightenment. For all practical 
 purposes, they convey only the idea of the thing, 
 person, or place, to which we assign them. The 
 names of the days of the week and the months are 
 only a fraction of the many terms in constant use which 
 fall strictly in this category. They convey no idea of 
 idolatry now. They are part of oui' language, w^hich we 
 accept as the growth and concretion of successive ages. 
 In employing them, we are not sanctioning the purposes 
 for which they were originally applied; we are only 
 acknowledcrinor ourselves the far*off children of the 
 past. 
 
 The rendering flatterin cr homarre to our fellow-man 
 was that which the early Friends so earnestly protested 
 against in using the ancient form of the pronoun, and in 
 refusing to employ the prefixes to the name. This was 
 two hundred years ago, and the language and customs of 
 the nation were somewhat different from what they are 
 now. The use of the plural for the singular number 
 had, doubtless, originated in flattery ; it was then becom- 
 ing more common, but was still employed almost entirely 
 by inferiors to those above them. So, too, the titles of 
 sir and madam, master and mistress, were shaping them- 
 selves in society, and probably bore much more significa- 
 tion of social rank than they do at present. The impor- 
 tant point to us, is to consider their bearing in our owil 
 day. The English language has been altered ; whatever 
 causes may have led to it, " you " has now become the 
 recognized second person singular ; the archaic form 
 
 thou " being only preserved among the common people 
 
90 
 
 COUKTESY BETWEEN MAN AND MAN 
 
 in some districts of the country, and also as a species of 
 sacred language, in addressing the Deity. *'Thou" is, 
 of course, the language of the Scripture, being the lan- 
 guage of the time when the Scripture wa^ translated. 
 But " you " is the recognized language of the nation, 
 both spoken and written, and no longer conveys the 
 slightest idea of superior or inferior. Whatever may 
 have been the case two centuries ago, there is now no 
 flattery in addressing another fellow-man as " you." It 
 is true, there is a beauty and simplicity about the ancient 
 singular " thou," and " thee," that makes us wish they 
 had not been lost ; but the wish is vain ; language is 
 perpetually moving on, and any attempt to arrest it, for 
 the sake of beauty and simplicity, is hopeless. Even in 
 the Society, it will probably decline into a " lingua 
 domestica," used within families, as is the case in 
 France. 
 
 The use of the prefixes to the name and of certain 
 styles of address has now become so general throughout 
 society, as to convey little if any flattery, whatever may 
 have been their original signification. Any one who 
 reflects will soon convince himself how difficult it is to 
 distinguish between what is flattery and what is not, in 
 the ordinary language to one another, irrespective of any 
 particular forms of address. And why so ? Because 
 there is a principle of courtesy, honourable between man 
 and man, in no way opposed to the Christian spirit, but 
 springing up as one of its brightest developments. Sir 
 James Mackintosh defined " politeness " as " benevolence 
 in small things ;" and true politeness admirably fits the 
 definition. Christian courtesy leads us to do and say 
 that which will be pleasing to him we are addressing ; if 
 
A CHRISTLiN DriT. 
 
 91 
 
 we say that wliich is not true, or convert our actions 
 from tliose of respect to those of subservience, then we 
 are transgressing Christian coui'tesj, and committing the 
 sin of flattery. In the intercourse of society, courtesy is 
 a very precious quality. Without it, the relations of 
 man to man can hardly he maintained. In excess, it 
 degenerates into empty and lying flatteries. It is only 
 when fomided on the spirit of Christ, and springmg fi'om 
 the love of oui' neighbour, that it can be preserved from 
 falling to the side of defect or excess. The golden rule 
 must be its basis ; and that rule is all-sufficient to direct 
 us. Yet the outward manifestation of a courteous spirit 
 will take certain forms. Man's weakness requires them ; 
 and in every age, in every clime, under all circum- 
 stances, some forms are developed. Certain modes of 
 showing respect — certain terms used towards oui' fellow- 
 man — will occur, will be thought appropriate, and become 
 generally adopted. In the practice of the Society there 
 are abundant instances of this. Rejecting the forms 
 generally used, they have created forms of their own, 
 and sometimes forms to which much exception might be 
 taken. Xow, formula of speech and action are inevitable 
 to man, nor are they necessarily mischievous. Their 
 harm begins when they either convey a falsehood, or have 
 overgrown the simple purposes for which they were 
 originally intended. 
 
 Seeing, then, that it is part of our Christian duty to 
 exercise courtesy to all men ; and seeing that forms of 
 courtesy exist among men, the growth of past times — 
 some of them simple and harmless, others conveying a 
 meaning of subservience; and seeing, too, that there 
 exist different ranks of society, and that a Christian, 
 
92 ^ niPOSSIBLE TO DEFINE MODERATION. 
 
 without impugning the common brotherhood of man, 
 may recognize the existence of those ranks ; — how diffi- 
 cult does it not become to lay down any practical rules 
 that shall not encumber Christian simplicity, instead of 
 strengthening it. The use of the term Mr. to the name, 
 to designate a gentleman, or person, of Mrs. to designate 
 a married lady, of Miss to designate an unmarried one, 
 are forms that are now universal in society. Whatever 
 sense they may once have had, they now convey no 
 flattery, and only so much respect as is consistent with 
 Christian courtesy. Moreover, they have great practical 
 convenience. Perhaps the same might be said of some 
 other of the forms of society. However that be, as it is 
 a Christian duty to make moderation the rule of our 
 behaviour, so it is impossible for the church to define 
 wherein moderation consists, and unsafe to attempt it. 
 Better, then, to leave it to individual conscience to 
 employ such forms as each deems suitable, earnestly 
 urging the solemn religious duty incumbent on every 
 one, to preserve truthfulness, simplicity, and Christian 
 courtesy. 
 
 It would not be difficult to show in these matters of 
 speech, as in that of costume, that their maintenance as 
 peculiarities has been detrimental to the spread of the 
 principles of the Society. Much that we have said on 
 the subject of apparel, is equally applicable to language. 
 It is our belief that peculiarity, as such, is hurtful to the 
 church that adopts it ; and we deem that, in creating a 
 peculiar speech, the Society overlooked important points 
 in the human constitution, and too hastily applied to 
 human language, principles great and excellent in them- 
 selves. Both in churches and individuals we too often. 
 
THERE MUST BE LIUTUAL TOLEEANCE. 93 
 
 see errors arise, not so much from wrong principles, as 
 from the misapplication of those which are good. In the 
 practical development of any view, it is positively essen- 
 tial to take others into consideration ; if we do not, an 
 exaggeration is the result, even when the view on which 
 it is founded is absolutely correct. 
 
 In concluding these remarks on the outward pecu- 
 liarities of the Society, the writer feels how much safer 
 it is to recall and to impress the great principles that 
 should direct our action, than to attempt to dictate any 
 practical course. The first may be done firmly ; on its 
 results the mind may rest as incontrovertible ; the last 
 would be an infringement of Christian liberty. Each 
 must seek, in all earnestness, to apply in practical life 
 the holy precepts of the Gospel. Guided by these, a 
 willing and obedient mind will not go far wrong. The 
 enlightenmg influence of Christ's spirit will enable him 
 to act up to that which his judgment has convinced him 
 to be right. But it is not to be expected there should be 
 uniformity in the application of Christian principles to 
 practice. Different considerations will present them- 
 selves with varying force to different minds. If, how- 
 ever, united in the same Christian principles, this need 
 be no bar to Christian communion. Where it is made 
 a bar, there Christ's spirit, which is love, the very essence 
 of our religion, does not reign. And yet how fearful is 
 the danger, the history of the Christian church may warn 
 us. The passions of cruelty and human hatred have 
 been indulged in the sacred name of Christ. So it has 
 been m former ages. That we may not have a parallel 
 in our own, needs the earnest care of Christian men. It 
 is deeply incumbent on us, daily and hourly to inculcate 
 
94 
 
 STBIMAET OF CAUSES. 
 
 the duty of mutual tolerance. This is by no means 
 inconsistent with the firm avowal of our belief, and 
 courageously putting it into practice for ourselves. So 
 let it be with peculiarities. They may be more or less 
 esteemed by others. For himself, the writer holds that 
 they are dangerous to the individual, and hurtful to the 
 church. He trusts that without any violent changes in 
 society they may be allowed gradually to fade away, 
 and that the holy principles of the Christian life, on 
 which they have encrusted themselves, may again shine 
 forth with their former splendour for the benefit of man- 
 kind. 
 
 XVII. Having now passed under review the various 
 circumstances that are alleged as causes of the decline 
 of the Society, let us recapitulate the conclusions at which 
 we have arrived. It will be observed that, on several 
 points, the writer has held his opinion suspended ; more 
 time — more thought — more experience — are needed to 
 come to definite conclusions upon them. But where he 
 has felt justified in doing so, he has not hesitated in 
 forming a deliberate judgment, nor shrunk from ex- 
 pressing it with firmness. The conclusions at which 
 he has arrived are open to criticism ; but they are con- 
 clusions not hastily formed ; he trusts they will not be 
 contemned or hastily rejected. 
 
 1. As regards the doctrine of the Society: without 
 entering on the almost hopeless task of comparing that 
 now held by Friends with the doctrine of the founders 
 in the seventeenth century, other considerations lead us 
 to the fair presumption that it has undergone no material 
 change. If it be intrinsically the same, as there is every 
 
DOCTRINE. 
 
 95 
 
 reason to believe, we cannot impute the decline of the 
 Society to any corruption of doctrine. It may be sug- 
 gested that the doctrine itself, without supposing it to 
 have undergone corruption, is unsuited to maintain the 
 prolonged existence of a Christian church, especially in 
 these days of greater general enlightenment. This 
 is a difficult question — one opening a wide field of in- 
 quiry, on which the writer has hardly felt justified in 
 entering. He is inclined to answer it in the negative ; 
 relying on the success with which the doctrine was 
 preached in the early days of the Society, the warm 
 response it met from spiritually-minded persons of all 
 ranks, and the influence it has had on individual minds, 
 both of high and low cultivation, from that time to the 
 present. But, in seeking the cause of the Society's 
 decline, the writer has regarded, with scarcely any 
 exception, the doctrines and practices of the early 
 Friends as a standard to which to refer. With that 
 belief and those practices the church was prosperous ; — 
 it is to deviations from, and after-growths upon, those 
 circumstances of its primitive state, that we are to 
 look for causes of the decline. We believe there is 
 no reason to regard alteration of doctrine as one of 
 them. 
 
 2. The common assertion that the decline of the 
 Society is owing to a want of the spirit of Christ, whether 
 generally in the church, or individually among its mem- 
 bers, is little more than an assertion of the fact in other 
 words, and equally requires explanation. If it be a 
 cause, it is not the cause we seek, and does not relieve 
 us from further inquiry. As far as human means can 
 do it, the restoration of Christ's spirit can only be effected 
 
96 
 
 MINISTRY AND DISCIPLINE. 
 
 by ascertaining the impediments to its growth, and re- 
 moving them. 
 
 3. The ministry in the Society is deficient — especially 
 among men, and still more especially among men of 
 leisure and cultivated minds. There is no doubt this 
 acts injuriously upon the Society. But with the views 
 that Friends entertain on the Christian ministry, this 
 defect is due entirely to the spiritual weakness of the 
 church. Its causes must, therefore, be sought in those 
 circumstances which have made the church what it is, 
 and it cannot itself be placed among the primary causes 
 we seek. 
 
 4. Defective religious instruction of the young. This 
 we believe to be a large and important cause. It 
 belongs to quite a different category from the preceding 
 ones, inasmuch as it is a matter amenable to the direct 
 action of the church, and not due merely to spiritual 
 weakness. Too narrowly adhering to one principle, 
 precious in itself, the Society has overlooked other 
 principles which should modify its appHcation. 
 
 5. The general working of the discipline. This we 
 believe to be, on the whole, a very admirable feature 
 of the Society. We have alluded to some points on 
 which it has been liable to err, but do not deem these 
 deficiencies causes of great importance, in the decline 
 of the Society. 
 
 6. JBirth-rigJit membership. This is thought by many 
 to be a large and important cause. Such a view arises, 
 first, from a misconception of what constitutes a church ; 
 and, secondly, from supposing that " nominal member- 
 ship" results almost entirely from membership by birth. 
 Whereas, if the latter did not exist, we believe the 
 
PRACTICAL LIFE. 
 
 97 
 
 former would scarcely be less ; nominal membership 
 is indeed a symptom of spiritual weakness, and is due to 
 the same causes that produce it. But birth-right mem- 
 bership is, in our opinion, by no means important as 
 a cause. 
 
 7. The intermarriage of members with those not 
 belonging to the Society, and consequent disownment, 
 have formed a large cause of the Society's decrease in 
 numbers. Regretting, as we do, the almost invariable 
 practice of disownment, we yet cannot look upon it as, 
 to any considerable degree, a cause of the Society's 
 decline in spiritual life. The large number of such 
 marriages may perhaps be a symptom of spiritual 
 weakness, the result of other and more important 
 causes. 
 
 8. The undue pursuit and accumulation of wealth, form 
 a very large cause of the Society's decline, both in 
 numbers and in spiritual strength. All Christian 
 churches, in the present day, are suffering from this 
 cause, which may be almost called the especial tempta- 
 tion of our age; but peculiar circumstances, in the 
 Society of Friends, exposed them to its injurious in- 
 fluence from an early period. It acts hurtfuUy on the 
 Christian character of the individual, and, through him, 
 on the religious Society of which he forms a part. 
 
 9. The outward peculiarities of Friends, most of which 
 were not established at the origin of the Society, but 
 grew up at a later stage, we regard as having had a very 
 prejudicial effect. As soon as the principles of modesty 
 and simplicity, both in dress and language, became 
 stereotyped into peculiarity, they were, in effect, lost, 
 both to the individual, and to those by whom he was 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 THEEE PRINCIPAL CAUSES. 
 
 surrounded. The formula concealed and almost extin- 
 guished the principles on which it professed to be based. 
 We believe that peculiarity, as a whole, has acted 
 injuriously on the church by fostering hypocrisy, opening 
 the door for spiritual pride, and turning the attention 
 from the essence of the Christian life to an external 
 conventional mark. In these ways, it has not only been 
 dangerous, but actually hurtful, to a degree far exceed- 
 ing any small benefit it may have conferred. In the 
 opinion of the writer, it is amongst the most important 
 causes of the decay of vital religion, and consequent 
 decline of the Society. 
 
 This summary of the various circumstances that have 
 been alleged as causes of the low state of the Society, 
 will show that, amongst the many influences working 
 simultaneously, we have selected three as most important 
 and primary. The others either act in a minor degree, 
 or are merely secondary results. The three that we 
 regard as most important are, deficient religious instruction 
 of the young — undue pursuit of wealth — and the system of 
 outward peculiarities. The first and third of these must be 
 attributed to defective or erroneous action of the church; 
 the second, though more subtle in its operation and more 
 difficult to meet, claims greater attention than it has 
 received at the hands of the Society as a body. If, 
 as we believe is the case, these errors have indeed had 
 an ill eff'ect on the church, and interfered with its 
 continued healthy vitality, — so that the great principles 
 it seemed planted in the world to inculcate, have suffered 
 from the feel)leness of its advocacy ; if the valuable and 
 excellent truths, which the Society has maintained, have 
 suffered from the errors of the Body to wlxich they were 
 
THE INFLTIENCE OF THE SOCIETY HAS BEEN GEEAT. 99 
 
 entrusted, how important it is that those errors should be 
 ascertained, and every effort be made to correct them. 
 
 The great principles of the inconsistency of all war 
 with Christianity — of the sanctity of human life — of the 
 unchristian nature of slavery — of abstinence from oaths 
 — of practical resistance to the ramifications of the 
 priestly and hierarchical systems — of temperance and 
 simplicity in the outward concerns of life — these, in 
 addition to a spiritual view of Christian doctrine, have 
 been some of the great and holy truths embraced in the 
 mission of the Society. For two centuries they have 
 been upheld in this country and in America, and have 
 doubtless entered, as a leaven, into the civilization of 
 the world, developing, in spite of much that is opposed 
 to them, a measure of Christian enlightenment in 
 society. For much that is excellent in the social and 
 political life of our century, the world is indebted to the 
 Society of Friends. Never exceeding 40,000 in num- 
 ber — even when at its greatest extent, a mere fraction 
 of the nation — it is surprising, and at the same time 
 encourao-ino; to reflect how much of benefit to mankind 
 it has directly or indirectly been made the instrument of 
 conferring. Numbers are not the test of power when 
 truth is concerned. A living strength flows from the 
 sacredness and holiness of the principle, far transcending 
 the weakness of the instrument employed. Such is the 
 sublime lesson of history. 
 
 Yet it will be well for the Society of Friends, while 
 taking encouragement from the lessons of the past, not 
 to rest on the labours of their forefathers. Great as has 
 been the influence of the Society, it is very doubtful 
 whether this influence on the Christianity and civiliza- 
 
 H 2 
 
100 YET IS NOT EQUAL TO WHAT IT SHOULD BE. 
 
 tion of England and the world, has equalled or 
 approached what it might have been» The weakness 
 of the Body has crippled the force of its example — has 
 hindered the spread of its vivifying principles. And 
 now, when the circumstances of the nineteenth century 
 call for the earnest avowal and maintenance of a pure 
 standard of Christian practice, — although Friends, and 
 the descendants of Friends are, to a certain degree, 
 entering as actors into the history of the age, and bene- 
 ficially influencing it, yet the weight of the Society, as 
 a Christian church, is very small. Other churches, 
 whose views of Christianity, with all respect to them, 
 can hardly .be called so spiritual, have taken up the 
 front position in the Christian army, in its conflict against 
 the abundant wickedness and practical indifference of 
 the world. Each age has its temptations ; and in each 
 age the spirit of evil assumes new forms, against which 
 the Christian has to contend. In our own day, the 
 vicious developments of commerce — the unchristian 
 spirit in our dealings with less civilized nations — the 
 growth of fanaticism in new forms — these, and many 
 other fearful errors may be adduced, which demand the 
 zealous promulgation of Christian principles under the 
 guidance of Christian lore. If a church have so far 
 lost its spiritual life as to sit still and yield the conflict to 
 others, it cannot long be permitted to encumber the 
 Christian ground. To hold its place as a living member of 
 the church militant on earth, it must cast from it the impe- 
 diments that weigh it down; it must seek, and seek 
 earnestly, for enlightenment from on high ; must crave 
 wisdom from above to fructify and bless the efforts of 
 human understanding, so that it may grow in grace, 
 
NECESSITY OF LABOUK IN THE CHURCH, 
 
 101 
 
 gathering and enfolding its members as in a strong 
 tower, and training them into valiant soldiers, fitted for 
 the army of Christ. 
 
 Founded and sustained by the providence bf God, the 
 church is an institution into which human elements 
 enter. The analogy of our material and mental consti- 
 tutions will equally hold good in our relations as a 
 church. Under the wise and merciful ordering of the 
 Creator, we have to work to supply our daily wants ; so 
 have we to labour in the church, that ourselves and the 
 church may be fed. Contemplative mysticism — self- 
 communing quietism — though even these may have their 
 place in the church, will not supply the church's needs. 
 Faculties of the mind and faculties of the body must all 
 be given to the service. The reasoning power and the 
 judgment must be yielded up to the work, and if offered 
 in willing obedience, our Master will condescend to em- 
 ploy them. He will sanctify His instruments. He will 
 choose His metliods. But it is part of His scheme that 
 man, feeble as are his powers, should co-operate ; and 
 no less part of His scheme that this co-operation should 
 affect the character of His church. From hence come 
 the differences of Christian churches ; and from hence 
 come the losses those churches sustain in consequence of 
 the errors themselves have committed. Although our 
 Master has graciously promised ever to be with His 
 church, this promise does not excuse the neglect of our 
 human faculties. The church must employ them — must 
 examine the human constitution — must faithfully inter- 
 rogate history — must gather all the lights within her 
 reach, and make use of them in directing her action. 
 Only let her beware that they be employed in humility 
 
 H 3 
 
102 
 
 AND OF DULY CTJLTIYATING 
 
 and not in pride, and that their use be accompanied with 
 earnest entreaty that the Divine Spirit will aid them, 
 enlighten them, and sanctify the results. Thus, and 
 thus only, can a church move safely along the stream of 
 time, bringing its wisdom to bear on the external cir- 
 cumstances that arise, and preserving amid the changes 
 of the world an institution in some degree worthy of the 
 Divine founder. 
 
 Now, the dangers to which the Society of Friends has 
 been exposed, in its career of two centuries, have been 
 such as needed the very highest wisdom to guard 
 against. If we admit the conclusions of this Essay, we 
 must infer that the highest wisdom has not always guided 
 the action of the Society as a church. It has sometimes 
 fallen into error. If we believe, as we do firmly, that 
 God in mercy pours out His Spirit on the church, and 
 condescends to enlighten its judgment — how can this be? 
 The Holy Spirit is incapable of erring. But its bestowal 
 on the individual and on the corporate man is propor- 
 tionate to his obedience to the Divine will. Now, it is 
 part of that Divine will that all the faculties should be 
 employed. It is not for man to sit passive in his indo- 
 lence and expect that Divine grace will do everything 
 for him ; else why were his faculties bestowed ? It is 
 for him to preserve them in healthy action, obeying 
 their rational requirings, and subjecting them to the 
 influence of the Spirit. 
 
 We may be permitted, perhaps, to suggest, and we do 
 so conscious of the difficulty of generalizing on such a 
 subject, and the still greater difficulty of conveying our 
 meaning, and no more than our meaning, in words ; we 
 may perhaps suggest, that the errors to which the de- 
 
AND EMPLOTTNa THE HUMAN FACULTIES. 103 
 
 cline of the Society is attributable, and whicli occurred 
 in the eighteenth century — an age unfavourable to the 
 vitality of churches — have been greatly owing to undue 
 contempt of the human faculties and thein right intel- 
 lectual training. Sound judgment has not had its place 
 in the counsels of the church, nor has the care of the 
 Society been given to create and develope it. We speak 
 of a past age ; this remark is less applicable to our own. 
 Again, considerations arising out of man's physical and 
 mental structure, and his position in civil society and in 
 the political commonwealth, have not sufficiently entered 
 into the judgment of the church. She has hardly appre- 
 ciated, as she should have done, the elements out of 
 which society is constituted, those elements with which 
 she has to work. 
 
 We must not place too much reliance on any external 
 machinery, or deem that it can in any degree supply the 
 place of spiritual wisdom, the gift of God. Nevertheless 
 it may be observed, that where a church has prospered, 
 and preserved a continuous existence, it has been by 
 means of well-considered organization, tending to develope 
 in a healthy manner the functions of the mind, and con- 
 duce to growth in religion. Methodism is the most 
 striking instance, in our own day, of this principle being 
 acted on, perhaps to an excessive degree ; the Established 
 Church, on the contrary, has suffered grievously from 
 the absorption of all action in the hierarchy and clergy, 
 to the exclusion of lay Christian activity. It is well to 
 take warning by the example of others. Holy and ex- 
 cellent as are the principles of Christianity that Friends 
 profess ; yet, as a Body, they are composed of human 
 elements, and subject to the same temptations and weak- 
 
104 
 
 THE EXAJUPLE OF OTHER CHURCHES. 
 
 nesses that beset other churches. The degree only is 
 modified by the peculiar circumstances of each individual 
 church. Hence it is that one church may take a lesson 
 from another. Hence it is that they are, or should be, 
 united in mutual bonds, as children of one Christian 
 family. This would be the feeling of one church to 
 another, did the love of Christ prevail over the besetting 
 weaknesses of humanity. To this feeling we should all 
 aspire : on the one hand, cherishing our conscientious 
 belief ; on the other, recognizing a common brotherhood. 
 Great would be the gain of the Christian cause, could 
 these holy principles prevail ; and greatly would the 
 strength of the churches be enhanced, if mutual co-work- 
 ing against sin and infidelity could take the place of 
 antagonism. There is no doubt that Christian belief 
 would grow amongst mankind ; and Christian doctrines, 
 although less prominent as weapons of aggression, 
 would not be permitted to suffer. They would deepen, 
 as the Christian spirit became stronger in the flock ; and 
 that deepening, the result of higher spiritual attainments, 
 would conduce to their continued preservation. If, on 
 the other hand, instead of thankfully taking lessons from 
 the experience of sister churches, a church holds on its 
 way with a degree of proud isolation, creates peculiarities 
 of outward demeanour to separate it from other Chris- 
 tians — neglects to train its young into the knowledge of 
 its faith — suffers its strong men to become absorbed in 
 the demoralizing passion of money -getting — that church, 
 ,even with the most spiritual conceptions of its relation 
 to the Divine, will sink into a chill and degenerate 
 old age. 
 
 The sublimity and purity of its belief will not save it 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 105 
 
 from the common fate of decaying and effete institutions. 
 It has been jrifted with Divine truth, but has failed in 
 the application of it to practical life. Such, if God per- 
 mit, may perhaps in future times be the verdict on the 
 Society of Friends. But He may in His mercy lead 
 them to a knowledf^e of their short-comino^s, show them 
 the errors on which these depend, and grant them 
 strength to apply the remedies required. The spiritual 
 views of Christian doctrine that the early Friends un- 
 folded, and which we have every reason to believe their 
 successors maintained, are suited as well to one age of 
 the church as to another. It is not to be believed that 
 Providence will permit them to die out. But the preser- 
 vation and healthy existence of a church demands more. 
 It demands an ever fresh and living judgment, under the 
 guidance of Christ's Spirit, — to regulate its action in all 
 emergencies, — to meet the ever new and multiform 
 dangers by which it is surrounded, and fortify it against 
 the assaults of the enemy, varying from age to age. 
 
 Although the Society of Friends in this country is at 
 the present moment smaller, perhaps, than it has ever 
 been ; although it cannot boast of much spiritual life ; 
 yet there are signs that its Christian character is not 
 extinct. It is even a question whether it may not be 
 really in a healthier state than it has been for a century 
 past. There are evidences of a livelier zeal among the 
 young. Christian toleration has made some progress ; 
 and, certainly, a sense of its deficiencies as a church has 
 become prevalent within it. The study of the sacred 
 Scriptures has increased. The general advance of the 
 human mind has had its influence within the Society. 
 All these, though they may call for care, yet are sources 
 
106 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 of encouragement. They are not inimical to vital 
 religion. But the vital religion of individuals must be 
 the basis of healthy restoration. Whatever be the future 
 of the Society, it cannot prosper as an external institution, 
 unsupported by a large measure of real religion in its 
 members. There are who think it will continue to 
 decline, and disappear from among Christian churches. 
 There are who look to its taking up a new growth, 
 reforming its weak points, spreading among men, and 
 continuing to uphold a standard of Christian doctrine and 
 practice. Whichever of these results may be in the 
 ordering of the providence of God, we may trust that 
 He will so overrule all things that His holy cause shall 
 not suffer ; that He will continue to pour out His Spirit 
 upon men, raising them, under whatever name, to testify 
 of His truth, until His knowledge shall encompass the 
 earth, " As the waters cover the sea." 
 
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ESSAYS 
 
 OX 
 
 THE SUPPOSED DECADENCE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 I. 
 
 Post 8vo., cloth, price 5s. 
 
 Quakerism, Past and Present. By John 
 
 S. EowNTREE. Prize Essay. 
 
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 The Peculium. By Thomas Hancock. 
 
 Peize Essay. 
 
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 Crown 8vo., cloth, price 5s. 
 
 A Fallen Faith; being a Historical and 
 
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