Preface

MANY Methodist experts have shared in the labor which has at last taken shape in this Standard Edition of John Wesley’s Letters. No pains have been spared to make it complete; but the way in which letters have recently come in from all parts of the world makes it probable that others may yet be added.

No letters, save some that may be styled controversial, are given in the edition of his Works which Wesley published in thirty-two duodecimo volumes in 1771—4. The second edition of the Works, for which Joseph Benson was responsible, appeared in sixteen volumes in 1809—13, and contained about 400 letters. Thomas Jackson, in his edition of the Works in fourteen volumes (1829—31), was able by well-directed effort to bring the number up to 900 [See his Recollections, p. 236.]; and the latest reprint (the fifth edition) increased the total, including a few added letters, to 955. The number available for this Standard Edition has mounted up to 2,670.

Dr. Priestley published in 1791 Original Letters by the Rev. John Wesley and his Friends, which had been given him by the Rev. Samuel Badcock, who received them from the granddaughter of Samuel Wesley, jun. Eleven letters from Wesley to his brother Samuel and one to his father are included. Dr. Priestley says Wesley was ‘very desirous of getting these letters into his possession,’ and it was ‘taken for granted that he would have suppressed them.’ We may be sure, from the way Wesley printed similar letters in the Arminian Magazine, that he would not have taken such a course; for the letters throw a flood of light on his own life at Oxford, and have much to say about the mysterious noises in Epworth Rectory.

The letters soon made their impression; and in 1816 appeared A Collection of Letters, Pastoral and Familiar, by the late Rev. John Wesley, A.M.; Extracted from the Sixteenth Volume of his Works in octavo, lately published in London. (Dublin: Printed for the Methodist Book-Room, 13 Whitefriars Styeet.) The volume had 385 pages, and was sold in calf at 5s.’ It has an address ‘To the Reader: Such a volume as the present, where Mr. Wesley is seen in his private and retired hours, was much wanted; and will, we have little doubt, become a very profitable and pleasing companion to the numerous admirers of that truly great and eminent man.’

Another compilation (Select Letters, Chiefly on Personal Religion, by the Rev. John Wesley, A.M.: with a Sketch of his Character by the Rev. Samuel Bradburn; and a short Preface by the editor, Thomas Jackson) is dated May 15, 1837. This contained 207 letters selected from the Works and the Methodist Magazine, and ran to 264 pages. A correspondent of the Methodist Recorder in 1869 suggested that the time had come to issue the unpublished letters in a volume for the use of the Methodist and general public.

The Rev. Richard Green, who was one of the founders of the Wesley Historical Society, set himself to gather together Wesley’s letters from his Works, from serial publications, and from unpublished sources. In 1906 he told the Rev. Thomas E. Brigden, who shared his labours for some years, that he had secured 1,600, which were ready ‘for the printer.’ He had traced above 500 original manuscript letters besides those in the Colman Collection. [W.H.S. Proceedings, xi. 13.]

The Rev. Dr. Watkinson, into whose care this Collection passed after Mr. Green’s death, took the keenest interest in the work. He was not able to undertake the burdensome task of editing them himself; but he was constantly watching for any opportunity to add to the Collection. In 1915 this had grown to 2,120 letters. The time was not then ripe for publication; but that event was never allowed to drop out of sight.

Thomas Jackson notes in his Recollections (p. 230) that he secured important family papers from Charles Wesley the musician; but Mr. Mason, the Book Steward, ‘being in doubt as to the real value of these documents, declined to advance any money towards the purchase.’ The Conference, however, gladly endorsed the purchase. Mr. Mason’s successors have been awake to the importance of Wesley’s letters; and large additions were made to the Collection by the Revs. Charles H. Kelly and Robert Culley, and especially by the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Sharp, whose far-sighted and liberal policy in securing autograph letters has materially increased the riches of these volumes.

In 1915 appeared Letters of John Wesley: A Selection of Important and New Letters, with Introductions and Biographical Notes, by George Eayrs (Hodder & Stoughton). The new or little known. letters number 70, and the volume contains a portrait and some effective facsimiles. That collection found much favor; and Dr. Eayrs freely placed all his stores and experience at the service of the present editor, though he was not spared to see the publication of this Standard Edition.

The Rev. Nehemiah Curnock’s experience in editing the Standard Edition of Wesley’s Journal enabled him to make valuable additions both to the number of the letters and to the completeness of many which had previously been published with significant omissions. Additions have also been made by purchase of original autographs; and friends and public institutions in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States, have sent copies of originals in their hands. We have been much encouraged by leading collectors in the United States. Dr. Bimey, Dean of the School of Theology in Boston University, wrote: ‘The idea you have in mind is certainly a splendid one, and would be of great value on both sides of the Atlantic.’ Bishop Candler, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in sending copies preserved at Atlanta, says: ‘Every study of Wesley reveals some new and striking characteristic. It seems to me not too much to say that no man has surpassed him since apostolic times.’ Dr. James, of Wesleyan University, Middletown, secured us photostat copies of nine letters in their library; others were supplied by Mr. G. S. Goddard, of the Connecticut State Library. President Tipple, of Drew Theological Seminary, gave us copies of various originals in his fine collection. Dr. Faulkner, of Drew, has constantly helped us by calling attention to letters and securing copies, notably of those in the Pierpont Morgan Library at New York. Two letters to Mrs. Barton were presented to Trinity College, Auckland, by Dr. Cleary, the Roman Catholic Bishop, who purchased them from Frank Denton, to whose grandfather Mrs. Barton gave them when he was a lodger in her house.

The invaluable Colman Collection (which largely represents the diaries and letters once in the hands of Wesley’s literary executor, the Rev. Henry Moore) has been freely placed at our service by the kindness of Mr. Russell J. Colman. The Rev. Dr. Edward H. Sugden, Master of Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, has been a constant ally; while to Mr. George Stampe of Grimsby, to Mr. Edmund S. Lamplough (into whose hands a large part of Mr. Stampe’s Collection passed), to the Moravian authorities in Fetter Lane and at Herrnhut, and to friends whom it is impossible to name individually, our debt is greater than we can express. Some of them have graciously given the originals to add to the store at City Road. We wish also to acknowledge the special kindness of Messrs. Maggs Brothers and the late Mr. Tregaskis in allowing us to make copies of some originals that have passed through their hands.

There are, no doubt, letters which we have not been able to include, and some to which reference is made may perhaps even yet be traced; but the Collection is as complete as unceasing effort and liberal outlay could make it.

The chief owners of autograph letters so far as can be ascertained are—The Methodist Publishing House in London, which has above 330; Mr. Edmund S. Lamplough, 162; Headingley College, Leeds, 55; the Wesley Museum, City Road, London, 75, including those bequeathed to it by Mrs. Alfred Hall, of Bristol; Dr. Tipple, formerly President of Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, 50; Emory University, Atlanta, 48; the Everett Collection, United Methodist College, Manchester, 44; the Moravian Archives, 44; Mr. Russell J. Colman, 39, and the invaluable set of Wesley Diaries and transcripts of letters; the Methodist Mission House, London, 34; Mr. G. Vanner Rowe, 23; the Pierpont Morgan College, New York, 21; Vincent Thompson, Esq., 17; the Misses Gamlen, 10; the John Rylands Library, 9; and Drew Theological Seminary, 9. All these Collections have been placed unreservedly at our service for this edition. A full list of owners is kept at the Methodist Publishing House.

The most valuable assistance in gathering together Wesley’s letters has been obtained from the Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society. Up to 1918 there had appeared in its pages ninety-five letters which had not been printed elsewhere. The number grows continually, and valuable notes are added which have often been of service in the preparation of this Collection. We are under deep obligation to the officers of that Society, who have freely put all their resources at our disposal; and to individual members, among whom the late Rev. Marmaduke Riggall was a constant and most helpful correspondent. To the Rev. Thomas E. Brigden, senior editor of the Society’s Proceedings, our debt is very great. He has supplied notes which light up the Oxford and Georgia letters, and has put his unrivalled knowledge of Wesley’s life and times at our service. Mr. Wallington did much to gather material from many sources. A heavy part of the preparation of the volumes for the press fell on the late Mr. G. A. Bartlett, my faithful Assistant at the Publishing House for twenty-five years; to whose technical skill and unwearying vigilance the accuracy and completeness of the work owe more than it is easy to express. His death, on June 20, 1930, robbed me of my chief helper. Special thanks are due to the British Museum and the Guildhall Library for valuable assistance and to the printers for their vigilance and helpfulness.

The letters are arranged in chronological order [A few discovered later appear at the end of vol. viii.]; so that after the Oxford period, for which they possess unique value, they march with events as recorded in the Journal. The controversial letters are sometimes of such length that it has been found more convenient to place them at the end of the volumes. In afl such cases the chronological position is indicated in its proper place. Special information is given in the headings concerning the correspondent and the circumstances under which a letter was written, and no pains have been spared to explain difficult or obscure allusions. Some of these still baffle us; but further light will no doubt be thrown on not a few. The letters are printed without the slightest omission. Many passages omitted in the Works have now been inserted, and wherever possible names which could not be printed at that time have been given. Any additions needed have been placed within square brackets. Throughout the Letters the Standard Edition of Wesley’s Journal and the fifth edition of his Works (14 volumes octavo) are those used for reference. The letters are divided into sections with a few principal dates prefixed and a tablet calling attention to some leading features of the letters.

W.H.S. is Wesley Historical Society and its Proceedings. A list of persons to whom the letters in it are addressed follows the Contents in each volume.

In such a work as this errors are almost unavoidable, and the editor will be grateful for any corrections or additional information that may be sent to him for later use.

DORKING,

1931.

Edited by Michael Mattei (2001).