INTRODUCTION
THE greatest historian of the eighteenth century, who I has brought to
his task clear insight and unlimited resources of learning, has devoted one of his most interesting chapters
to “The Religious Revival.” He thus expresses his
deliberate judgment on the far-reaching results of Methodism
:—“ Although the career of the elder Pitt and the
splendid victories by land and sea that were won during his
ministry form unquestionably the most dazzling episodes in the
reign of George II., they must yield, I think, in real importance
to that religious revolution which shortly before had begun
in England by the preaching of the Wesleys and Whitefleld.”
• Mr. Lecky’s verdict is substantially approved
on all hands. The late lamented J. R. Green f says: “The
Methodists themselves were the least result of the Methodist
revival. Its action upon the Church broke the lethargy of the
clergy.
But the noblest result of the religious revival was the steady attempt,
which has never ceased from that day to this, to remedy the
guilt, the ignorance, the physical suffering, the social degradation
of the profligate and the poor.”
No one can tell what the fate of England would have been but for the Great
Revival. Mr. Lecky assigns to Methodism a prominent place among
those influences which saved this country from the revolutionary
spirit which laid France in ruins, and shows how “peculiarly
fortunate” it was that the vast extension of manufacturing
industry in the later part of the century had been “preceded
by a religious revival which opened a mainspring of moral and
religious energy among the poor, and at the same time gave a
powerful impulse to the philanthropy of the rich.”
Such considerations appeal to all students of English life. Mr. Lecky
has not forgotten another side of Methodism—its work in
the house of mourning and the house of death. Wesley’s
rejoicing, “Our people die well,” reminds us that
the influence on individual history is even more notable than
the influence on society at large. One indeed laid the foundation
for the other. Wesley was content to take the old method, the
salvation of the world soul by soul
Three names stand high above the rest of the Methodist company. Whitefield
was the orator, Charles Wesley the hymnist and preacher. John
Wesley was the central figure, “who embodied in himself
not this or that side of the vast movement, but the very movement
itself.” Whitefield died twenty years before Wesley, and
a large part of his strength was given to America; Charles Wesley’s
active itinerancy only lasted about eighteen years; but for
half a century John Wesley was the best-known man in England. He never ceased to devote himself to the work
with the same energy he showed at the beginning of the field-preaching.
Wesley is one of the most interesting figures in religious biography.
“Few things,” Mr. Lecky says, “in ecclesiastical
history are more striking than the energy and the success with
which he propagated his opinions. He was gifted with a frame
of iron, and with spirits that never flagged.”
Wesley’s life will therefore never cease to fascinate all readers,
as it fascinated Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He belongs to the
universal Church. One community bears his name; all Churches
have caught his spirit. Erroneous views of his character are
gradually losing ground. Southey himself was convinced of his
mistake in describing ambition as one of Wesley’s ruling
motives, and no one would venture to repeat the charge. Other
errors still hold their place. Miss Wedgwood speaks of Wesley’s
“cold self-sufficiency,” and says that his brother
Charles “was of a richer and softer nature” than
he. Others have represented him as harsh and austere. The tribute
of his friend Alexander Knox and the testimony of his niece,
Miss Wesley, show him, however, in the most attractive light—a
man born to love and to be loved. For him there was no happy
home, as for his brother; but if he had married Grace Murray,
Miss Wedgwood’s comparison would not have been possible.
As to the charge of self-sufficiency, we must remember that
Wesley was left done at an early stage of the Revival There
is abundant evidence that he yearned for congenial fellowship, but that also was largely
denied him. What could he do but brace himself for his mission?
Must his very fidelity be turned into an occasion of reproach?
In preparing this volume, no available source of information has been
neglected. The aim of the biographer has been to set the character
and work of one of the greatest benefactors of his country and
the world in a light which may attract general readers, and
lead others to catch the spirit which moved the great evangelist.
On disputed topics the writer has endeavoured to express his
own views in such a way as to give no cause of offence to reasonable
men of any party. Some important and interesting particulars
have been gleaned which are found in no previous Life of Wesley,
so that the book will not, it is hoped, be without interest
for all students of the Evangelical Revival. As far as possible,
obligations to other workers are acknowledged in their proper
place. The Rev. Dr. Rigg and Mr. G. J. Stevenson, author of
the “Memorials of the Wesley Family,” who have read
the proof-sheets and made many valuable suggestions, have laid
the writer under a debt which he can scarcely hope to repay.
Special thanks are also due to the Rev. Andrew Stone, of Lincoln
College, for some interesting facts about Wesley’s life
at Oxford.
