to others, and to himself also, the use of language, for persevering in which, after the intemperance of his enthusiasm had abated, there can be no excuse, seeing that all he intended to convey by the obnox ious term might have been expressed without offending the judicious, or deluding the ignorant and indis

creet.

Wesley was not blind to the tendency of these doctrines. "The true gospel," said he, "touches the very edge both of Calvinism and Antinomianism, so that nothing but the mighty power of God can prevent our sliding either into the one or the other." Many of his associates and followers fell into both. He always declared himself clearly and strongly against both; though at the expense of some inconsistency, when he preached of a sanctification which left the subject liable to sin, of an assurance which was not assured, and of an imperfect perfection. But his real opinion could not be mistaken; and few men have combated these pestilent errors with more earnestness or more success. He never willingly engaged in those subtle and unprofitable discussions which have occasioned so much dissention in the Christian world; but upon those points in which speculation is allowable, and error harmless, he freely indulged his imagination.

It was his opinion that there is a chain of beings advancing by degrees from the lowest to the highest point,-from an atom of unorganized matter, to the highest of the archangels; an opinion consonant to the philosophy of the bards, and confirmed by science, as far as our physiological knowledge extends. He believed in the ministry both of good and evil angels; but whether every man had a guardian angel to protect him, as the Romanists hold, and a malignant demon continually watching to seduce him into the ways of sin and death, this he considered as undetermined by revelation, and therefore doubtful. Evil thoughts he held to be infused into the minds of men by the evil principle; and that "as no good is done, or spoken, or thought by any man, without the assistance of God working together in and with those

that believe in him; so there is no evil done, or spoken, or thought, without the assistance of the Devil," who worketh with energy in the children of unbelief. And certainly," said he, "it is as easy. for a spirit to speak to our heart, as for a man to speak to our ears. But sometimes it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the thoughts which he infuses from our own thoughts, those which he injects so exactly resembling those which naturally arise in our own minds. Sometimes, indeed, we may distinguish one from the other by this circumstance: the thoughts which naturally arise in our minds are generally, if not always, occasioned by, or, at least, connected with some inward or outward circumstance that went before; but those that are preternaturally suggested, have frequently no relation to, or connexion (at least none that we are able to discern) with, any thing which preceded. On the contrary, they shoot in, as it were, across, and thereby show that they are of a different growth."

His notions of diabolical agency went further than this: he imputed to it many of the accidents and discomforts of life,-disease, bodily hurts, storms and earthquakes, and nightmare: he believed that epilepsy was often, or always, the effect of possession, and that most madmen were demoniacs. A belief in witchcraft naturally followed from these premises; but, after satisfying his understanding that supernatural acts and appearances are consistent with the order of the universe, sanctioned by Scripture, and proved by testimony too general and too strong to be resisted, he invalidated his own authority, by listening to the most absurd tales with implicit credulity, and recording them as authenticated facts. He adhered to the old opinion, that the devils were the gods of the heathen; and he maintained, that the words in the Lord's Prayer, which have been rendered evil, mean, in the original, the wicked one," emphatically so called, the prince and god of this world, who works with mighty power in the children of disobedience."

One of his most singular notions was concerning the day of judgment. He thought it probable that its duration would be several thousand years, that the place would be above the earth, and that the circumstances of every individual's life would then be brought forth in full view, together with all their tempers, and all the desires, thoughts, and intents of their hearts. This he thought absolutely necessary for the full display of the glory of God, for the clear and perfect manifestation of his wisdom, justice, power, and mercy. "Then only," he argued, "when God hath brought to light all the hidden things of darkness, will it be seen that wise and good were all his ways; that he saw through the thick cloud, and governed all things by the wise counsel of his own will; that nothing was left to chance or the caprice of men, but God disposed all strongly, and wrought all into one connected chain of justice, mercy, and truth." Whether the earth and the material heavens would be consumed by the general conflagration, and pass away, or be transmuted by the fire into that sea of glass like unto crystal, which is described in the Apocalypse as extending before the throne, we could neither affirm nor deny, be said; but we should know hereafter. He held the doctrine of the millennium to be scriptural; but he never fell into those wild and extravagant fancies, in which speculations of this kind so frequently end. The Apocalypse is the favourite study of crazy religionists; but Wesley says of it, "Oh, how little do we know of this deep book! at least, how little do I know! I can barely conjecture, not affirm, any one point concerning that part of it which is yet unfulfilled."

He entertained some interesting opinions concerning the brute creation, and derived whatever evils inferior creatures endure, or inflict upon each other, from the consequence of the Fall. In Paradise they existed in a state of happiness, enjoying will and liberty their passions and affections were regular, and their choice always guided by their understanding, which was perfect in its kind. "What,” says

Set

he, "is the barrier between men and brutes-the. line which they cannot pass? It is not reason. aside that ambiguous term; exchange it for the plain word understanding, and who can deny that brutes have this?

We may as well deny that they have sight or hearing. But it is this: man is capable of God; the inferior creatures are not. We have no ground to believe that they are in any degree capable of knowing, loving, or obeying God. This is the specific difference between man and brute-the great gulf which they cannot pass over. And as a loving obedience to God was the perfection of man, so a loving obedience to man was the perfection of brutes." While this continued, they were happy after their kind, in the right state and the right use of all their faculties. Evil and pain had not entered into paradise; and they were immortal; for "God made not death, neither hath he pleasure in the death of any living." How true, then, is that word, "God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good."

But as all the blessings of God flowed through man to the inferior creatures, those blessings were cut off when man made himself incapable of transmitting them, and all creatures were then subjected to sorrow, and pain, and evil of every kind. It is probable that the meaner creatures sustained much loss, even in the lower faculties of their corporeal powers: they suffered more in their understanding, and still more in their liberty, their passions, and their will. The very foundations of their nature were turned upside down. As man is deprived of his perfection, his loving obedience to God, so brutes are deprived of their perfection, their loving obedience to man. The far greater part flee from his hated presence; others set him at defiance, and destroy him when they can; a few only retain more or less of their original disposition, and, through the mercy of God, still love him and obey him. And in consequence of the first transgression, death came upon the whole creation; and not death alone, but all its train of preparatory evils, pain, and ten thou

sand sufferings; nor these only, but likewise those irregular passions, all those unlovely tempers, which in man are sins, and even in brutes are sources of misery, passed upon all the inhabitants of the earth, and remain in all, except the children of God. Inferior creatures torment, persecute, and devour each other, and all are tormented and persecuted by man. But, says Wesley, will the creature, will even the brute creation always remain in this deplorable condition? God forbid that we should affirm this, yea, or even entertain such a thought.-While the whole creation groaneth together, whether men attend or not, their groans are not dispersed in idle air, but enter into the ears of Him that made them. Away with vulgar prejudices, and let the plain word of God take place! "God shall wipe away all tears: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." This blessing shall take place; not on men alone, (there is no such restriction in the text,) but on every creature according to its capacity. The whole brute creation will then undoubtedly be restored to all that they have lost, and with a large increase of faculties. They will be delivered from all unruly passions, from all evil, and all suffering.And what if it should then please the all-wise, the all-gracious Creator, to raise them higher in the scale of beings? What if it should please Him, when he makes us equal to angels, to make them what we are now, creatures capable of God, capable of knowing, and loving, and enjoying the author of their being?"

Some teacher of materialism had asserted, that if man had an immaterial soul, so had the brutes; as if this conclusion reduced that opinion to a manifest absurdity. "I will not quarrel," said Wesley, "with any that think they have. Nay, I wish he could prove it; and surely I would rather allow them souls, than I would give up my own." He cherished this opinion, because it furnished a full answer to a plausible objection against the justice of God. That justice might seem to be impugned by the sufferings to which brute animals are subject; those, especially,