,,quaker ,,strongholds                  
,,by                          ,,caroline
 ,,emelia ,,stephen                     
,,author ,,of 8,,the ,,service ,,of     
,,the ,,poor0                           
,,philadelphia                          
,,henry ,,longstreth1 #gdj ,,sansom     
,,street                                
#ahia                                   
,,contents4        ,,chapter            
,,page     ,introduction                
#a    ,i4 ,organization                 
#f    ,,ii4 ,the ,inner ,light          
#bj    ,,iii4 ,worship                  
#ea    ,,iv4 ,free ,ministry            
#ia    ,v4 ,special ,testimonies        
#aah    ,,vi4 ,our ,calling             
#aeg     ,appendix                      
#aii                                    
,,quaker ,,strongholds4                 
,,introduction4      ,whether ,quakerism
 be1 as some ,friends believe1 destined 
to any  considerable revival or not1 it 
seems at least certain that any         
important revival of religion must be   

the result of a fresh recognition  and  
acceptance of the very principles upon  
which the ,society of ,friends  is      
built4 ,what these principles and the   
practices resulting from them  really   
are1 is a subject on which there is a   
surprising amount of  ignorance amongst 
us1 considering how widely spread is the
 connection  with and interest about    
,friends amongst the members of other   
persuasions4 ,one seldom meets any one  
who has not some link with the          
,society1 and yet it is rare to find any
 one not belonging to it at all         
accurately informed as to its point of  
view or its organization4 ,the          
notorious disinclination of ,friends to 
any attempts at proselytizing1  and     
perhaps some lingering effects of       
persecution1 probably account for  the  
very common impression that ,friends'   
meetings are essentially                
private--mysterious gatherings into     
which it would be intrusive to seek     
admission4 ,many people1 indeed1        

probably suppose 7if they think about it
  at all7 that such meetings are no     
longer held2 that the ,society is fast  
dying out1 and the 8silent worship0 of  
tradition is a thing of the             
past--impracticable1 and hardly to be   
seriously mentioned in these days  of   
talk and of breathless activity4        
,some such vague impression floated1 ,i 
believe1 over my own mind1 when1  some  
seventeen years ago1 ,i first found     
myself within reach of a  ,friends'     
meeting1 and1 somewhat to my surprise1  
cordially made welcome  to attend it4   
,the invitation came at a moment of     
need1 for ,i was  beginning to feel with
 dismay that ,i might not much longer be
 able  conscientiously to continue to   
join in the ,church of ,england service2
  not for want of appreciation of its   
unrivalled richness and beauty1 but     
from doubts of the truth of its         
doctrines1 combined with a growing      
recognition that to me it was as the    
armour of ,saul in its elaboration  and 

in the sustained pitch of religious     
fervour for which it was meant  to      
provide an utterance4 ,whether true or  
not in its speculative and  theoretical 
assumptions1 it was clear to me that it 
was far from true as  a periodical      
expression of my own experience1 belief1
 or aspiration4 ,the  more vividly one  
feels the force of its eloquence1 the   
more1 it seems to  me1 one must hesitate
 to adopt it as the language of one's   
own soul1 and  the more unlikely it is  
that such heights and depths of feeling 
as it  demands should be ready to fill  
its magnificent channels every ,sunday  
morning at a given hour4 ,the           
questionings with which at that period  
,i  was painfully struggling were       
stirred into redoubled activity by the  
dogmatic statements and assumptions with
 which the ,liturgy abounds1 and  its   
unbroken flow left no loophole for the  
utterance of my own less  disciplined1  
but to myself far more urgent1 cries for
 help4 ,thus the  hour of public        

worship1 which should have been a time  
of spiritual  strengthening and calming1
 became to me a time of renewed         
conflict1 and  of occasional exaltation 
and excitement of emotion1 leading but  
too  surely to reaction and apathy4     
,i do not attempt to pass any judgment  
on this mental condition4 ,i have       
described it at some length because ,i  
cannot believe it to be altogether      
exceptional1 or without significance4   
,at any rate1 it was fast leading  me to
 dread the moment when ,i should be     
unable either to find the help ,i       
needed1 or to offer my tribute of       
devotion in any place of worship        
amongst my fellow-,christians4 ,when lo1
 on one never-to-be-forgotten  ,sunday  
morning1 ,i found myself one of a small 
company of silent  worshippers1 who were
 content to sit down together without   
words1 that  each one might feel after  
and draw near to the ,divine ,presence1 
unhindered at least1 if not helped1 by  
any human utterance4 ,utterance ,i  knew

 was free1 should the words be given2   
and before the meeting was  over1 a     
sentence or two were uttered in great   
simplicity by an old and  apparently    
untaught man1 rising in his place       
amongst the rest of us4 ,i  did not pay 
much attention to the words he spoke1   
and ,i have no  recollection of their   
purport4 ,my whole soul was filled with 
the  unutterable peace of the           
undisturbed opportunity for communion   
with ,god1  with the sense that at last 
,i had found a place where ,i might1    
without  the faintest suspicion of      
insincerity1 join with others in simply 
seeking ,his presence4 ,to sit down in  
silence could at the least pledge  me to
 nothing2 it might open to me 7as it did
 that morning7 the very  gate of heaven4
 ,and since that day1 now more than     
seventeen years ago1  ,friends' meetings
 have indeed been to me the greatest of 
outward helps  to a fuller and fuller   
entrance into the spirit from which they
 have  sprung2 the place of the most    

soul-subduing1 faith-restoring1         
strengthening1 and peaceful communion1  
in feeding upon the bread of  life1 that
 ,i have ever known4 ,i cannot but      
believe that what has helped  me so     
unspeakably might be helpful to         
multitudes in this day of shaking  of   
all that can be shaken1 and of restless 
inquiry after spiritual good4  ,it is in
 the hope of making more widely known   
the true source and nature  of such     
spiritual help that ,i am about to      
attempt to describe what ,i  have called
 our strongholds--those principles which
 cannot fail1 whatever  may be the      
future of the ,society which for more   
than two hundred years  has taken its   
stand upon them4 ,i wish to trace1 as   
far as my experience  as a 8convinced   
,friend0 enables me to do so1 what is   
the true life and  strength of our      
,society2 and the manner in which its   
principles1 as  actually embodied in its
 practice1 its organization1 and1 above 
all1 its  manner of worship1 are fitted 

to meet the special needs of an         
important  class in our own day4        
,mount ,pleasant1        ,west ,malvern1
 #ahij4                                 
,,chapter ,i4                           
,,organization4      ,the actual        
organization of the ,society of ,friends
 is1 ,i believe1 by no  means familiarly
 known outside its own borders1 and a   
slight sketch of  it may be neither     
uninteresting in itself1 nor out of     
place as a  preliminary to the endeavour
 to explain our general position4 ,i    
propose1  therefore1 to give such an    
outline of our constitution as a        
,society1 so  far as ,i have become     
acquainted with it4 ,the fullest details
 respecting  it are to be found in the  
8,book of ,discipline10 which is the    
authorized  exponent of all such        
matters4    ,this book has been recently
 revised1 and the edition of #ahhca 7a  
large  octavo volume7 contains the      
latest regulations on all points of     
internal  government4 ,the ,yearly      

,meeting also publishes annually a      
volume of  ,extracts from its           
proceedings1 a full statement of        
accounts and  statistics1 and a summary 
of the reports received from the        
subordinate  meetings all over the      
country4    ,every 8particular meeting10
 that is1 every congregation meeting    
habitually for worship on the first 7and
 generally also on one other7  day of   
the week1 is one of a group of meetings 
for worship 7usually  about five or     
six71 which meet together once a month1 
for the  transaction of business and of 
discipline1 and which together form what
  is therefore called a ,monthly        
,meeting4 ,each ,monthly ,meeting1      
again1 is  one of a group of probably   
four or five ,monthly ,meetings1 which  
in like  manner unite to form a         
,quarterly ,meeting1 at whose quarterly 
sittings  matters of larger importance  
are considered1 and the eighteen        
,quarterly  ,meetings of ,great ,britain
 form in their turn the ,london ,yearly 

,meeting1  which is the supreme         
authority in the ,society4 ,it may in a 
certain sense  be said1 indeed1 that it 
is the ,society of ,friends of ,great   
,britain1  for every ,friend is a member
 of the ,monthly1 ,quarterly1 and       
,yearly  ,meetings to which he or she   
belongs1 and is entitled to a voice in  
all  their deliberations4 ,the ,yearly  
,meeting assembles in ,may1 and its     
sittings1 which are held1 as they have  
been from the first1 in  ,devonshire    
,house1 ,bishopsgate ,street1 last      
generally about a fortnight4  ,the      
actual attendance is1 of course1 small  
in comparison with the number  of       
members4 ,at the present time the       
,society in ,great ,britain consists of 
about fifteen thousand members1 and the 
annual gatherings in ,bishopsgate       
,street number perhaps from twelve to   
fifteen hundred4    ,the men and women  
sit separately1 or it would perhaps be  
more correct to  say that the men and   
the women ,friends have each a separate 

,yearly  ,meeting2 the women's ,yearly  
,meeting being of considerably later    
date  than the men's4 ,it was           
established in #agij1 and it deals in   
general with  matters of less           
importance1 or at any rate of more      
restricted scope1  than the men's       
meeting4 ,it is1 however1 not unusual   
for men ,friends1  8under religious     
concern10 to visit the women's meeting1 
nor for women  ,friends on a similar    
ground to visit that of the men4        
8,joint sittings0--meetings1 that is1 of
 men and women ,friends in one          
body--are also held occasionally1 when  
any question of special interest  to all
 the members is to be considered1 and on
 these occasions the women  are free to 
take their full share in the            
discussions4 ,these occasional          
combinations are the more easily        
practicable1 because1 strange as it may 
seem to most people1 no question is ever
 put to the vote4 ,from the  earliest   
times1 all decisions have been arrived  

at by what may be called  a practical   
unanimity4 ,the ,yearly ,meeting1 like  
every other meeting for  8business0 or  
8discipline10 has its clerk1 who1 with  
one or more  assistants1 performs the   
combined functions of chairman and      
secretary4  ,when any question has been 
fully considered1 it is the duty of the 
clerk  to interpret the sense of the    
meeting1 and to prepare a minute        
accordingly2 which minute1 being read to
 the meeting1 often receives a  certain 
amount of verbal1 or even of substantial
 modification1 in  accordance with the  
suggestions of individual ,friends2 but1
 when entered  upon the books1 is       
accepted as embodying the decision of   
the meeting4  ,should there be any      
considerable division of judgment upon  
any important  question1 it is usually1 
if possible1 adjourned till the next    
,yearly  ,meeting2 and this plan has1 ,i
 believe1 been almost invariably found  
sufficient to bring about the practical 
unanimity required for a final          

settlement of the question4 ,it is      
certainly a very remarkable fact that   
so large a body should transact all its 
affairs without ever voting1 to  the    
full satisfaction of the great majority 
of those concerned4    ,the ,quarterly  
and ,monthly ,meetings are1 in most     
respects1 repetitions on  a smaller     
scale of the ,yearly ,meeting4 ,the     
business of all these  subordinate      
meetings is transacted1 like that of the
 ,yearly ,meeting1  without voting1 and 
settled similarly through the action of 
the clerk  when a practical unanimity is
 arrived at4 ,each ,monthly ,meeting    
appoints  8representatives0 to the next 
,quarterly ,meeting1 and the ,quarterly 
,meetings in like manner appoint        
8representatives0 to the ,yearly        
,meeting4  ,these ,friends have no very 
definite function to perform1 but their 
names  are called over1 and their       
presence or absence noted at the opening
 of  each meeting to which they are     
sent2 and they are expected to serve in 

a  general way as a special medium of   
communication between the larger and    
the smaller meetings to which they      
belong4    ,in like manner1 upon any    
subject affecting the ,society at large1
 the  ,yearly ,meeting communicates with
 the ,quarterly ,meetings1 who in their 
turn diffuse the impulse through their  
own ,monthly and particular  meetings1  
till it reaches every individual member2
 and1 in return1  information respecting
 every meeting for worship is from time 
to time  given to the ,monthly          
,meetings1 to be by them in a condensed 
form  reported to the ,quarterly        
,meetings1 and so eventually presented  
to the  ,yearly ,meeting in ,london4    
,all these ascending and descending     
processes  are carried on with minute   
accuracy and regularity1 and are duly   
recorded at every stage in the books of 
each meeting4 ,there is thus a  complete
 system of circulation1 as of veins and 
arteries1 by which every  individual    
member is brought within reach of the   

,society at large1 and  through which   
information1 influence1 and discipline  
are carried to and  from the centre and 
the extremities4    ,the 8discipline0 of
 the ,society is a matter of extreme    
interest1 as to  which ,i cannot venture
 to say with any confidence how far our 
recognized  ideal is actually carried   
out in practice4 ,there is no doubt that
 of  late years considerable changes    
have taken place1 mainly in the         
direction of a relaxation of discipline 
with regard to comparatively  trivial   
matters4 ,certain 8queries0 have from   
the earliest times been  appointed by   
the authority of the ,yearly ,meeting1  
to be read and  considered at certain   
seasons in the subordinate meetings1 and
 to most  of these queries 7some        
relating to various branches of         
,christian  morality1 and some to       
regularity in attendance at meetings and
  conformity to established standards of
 simplicity in dress and language7  it  
was formerly the practice to require    

detailed answers from each  particular  
meeting1 to be in due course transmitted
 in a summarized form  to the ,yearly   
,meeting itself4 ,in #ahfa1 however1 the
 ,yearly ,meeting  issued directions    
that a certain number of these queries  
should be  merely 8considered10 but not 
answered4 ,in #ahge this method was     
adopted  with regard to nearly all the  
queries1 and at present those only which
  relate to the regularity of attendance
 at meetings for worship and  business  
are answered4#b ,this change has a very 
obvious significance1  and ,i believe   
that its effect is even more marked than
 would be  understood by any one not    
accustomed to the extreme care and      
gravity  with which these matters were  
formerly pondered and reported upon in  
each 8preparative meeting0 7i4e4 each   
particular meeting sitting  specially   
with a view to preparing the business to
 be transacted at any  approaching      
,monthly ,meeting71 and again at each   
stage of the progress of  the report    

towards its final presentation by the   
,quarterly to the ,yearly  ,meeting4    
,dress and language and other external  
matters are now  practically left       
entirely to the individual conscience1  
as is surely  wisest4 ,with regard to   
weightier matters1 such as strict       
integrity in  business1 sobriety1 and   
correctness of moral conduct1 etc41     
there is  still1 ,i hope and believe1 a 
considerable reality of watchful care   
exercised through specially appointed   
members4 ,in every ,monthly ,meeting    
there are ,friends holding the offices  
of elder and overseer4 ,the  business of
 the elders is to watch over the        
ministers in the exercise of  their     
gift2 that of the overseers to see to   
the relief of the poorer  members1 the  
care of the sick1 and other such        
matters2 to watch over the  members     
generally with regard to their          
,christian conduct1 to warn  privately  
any who may be giving cause of offence  
or scandal1 and in case  of need to     

bring the matter before the ,monthly    
,meeting1 to be dealt with  as it may   
require4 ,should the ,monthly ,meeting  
think it necessary to  disown a member  
for persisting in conduct not consistent
 with our  ,christian profession1 or for
 any other reason1 the member in        
question  may appeal to the ,quarterly  
,meeting1 and from its decision to that 
of  the ,yearly ,meeting1 which is in   
all cases final4    ,the ,london ,yearly
 ,meeting has two standing committees   
for the  transaction of such of its     
affairs as need attention more          
frequently  than once a year4 ,one of   
these represents the ,yearly ,meeting at
 large1  and has charge of its money    
matters and other general business2 it  
bears  the curious and suggestive title 
of the 8,meeting for ,sufferings10 from 
having been originally occupied mainly  
in relieving ,friends under             
persecution4 ,the other is a committee  
of the ,yearly ,meeting on ,ministry    
and ,oversight1 and is called the       

8,morning ,meeting40    ,meetings on    
,ministry and ,oversight are held in    
every ,quarterly and  ,monthly ,meeting 
as well as at the ,yearly ,meeting4     
,they are composed of  all the recorded 
ministers1 the elders and overseers of  
each meeting1  together with 7in some   
,quarterly ,meetings7 some ,friends     
described as  associate members1 who    
attend them as it were not officially1  
but by a  standing invitation4 ,these   
meetings are concerned1 of course1 with 
questions relating to the special       
offices exercised by their members4     
,the ministers are1 as is well known1   
not appointed or set apart by any  human
 ordination1 nor are any of them ever   
paid1 or liable to be called  upon by   
any human authority1 for any ministerial
 services4 ,by the word  8ministers0 we 
mean simply those1 be they men or women1
 who have  received a gift and call to  
minister1 that is to offer vocal        
service1 in  meetings for worship4 ,when
 any ,friend has exercised such a gift  

for a  considerable time1 in a manner   
which is recognized by the other members
  as evincing a true vocation1 the      
,monthly ,meeting proceeds to record the
  fact on the books of the meeting4     
,this acknowledgment is made merely for 
the sake of 8good order10 and is not    
supposed to confer any additional  power
 or authority on the minister           
8recorded40 ,the ministers are          
perfectly free to continue their        
ordinary occupations1 and many of them  
are1 in fact1 engaged in earning their  
own living in trades1 business1  or     
professions4    ,when a minister1 in the
 exercise of his or her gift1 feels     
called to  travel to any distant place1 
it is thought right that the 8concern0  
should be laid before the ,monthly      
,meeting1 and1 should it be an          
important or distant concern1 before the
 ,quarterly and1 in some cases1  even   
the ,yearly ,meeting also2 when the     
meetings in question will1 if  they feel
 8unity0 with it1 give the minister a   

minute or certificate to  that effect1  
which serves as an introduction and     
guarantee in whatever  meetings the     
minister may visit during that          
8service40 ,in such cases the           
ministers' travelling expenses are paid 
from one ,monthly or ,quarterly         
,meeting to another1 and it is usual for
 them to be welcomed into the  houses of
 some of the ,friends belonging to the  
meetings visited4 ,the  extent to which 
,friends do thus travel1 both in        
,england and abroad1 8in  the service of
 ,truth10 is something of which few     
people outside the  ,society have any   
idea4 ,between ,england and ,america    
there is a continual  interchange of    
such visits1 and the very copious       
biographical literature  of the ,society
 teems with the records of journeys     
undertaken 8under an  impression of     
religious duty10 and lasting sometimes  
for months1 or even  years1 before the  
,friend could 8feel clear0 of the work4 
,no limit is  ever set beforehand to    

such work4 ,it is felt to be work in    
which the  daily unfolding of the       
,divine ordering must be watched and    
waited for4    ,such is a general       
outline of what may be called the       
machinery of the  ,society4 ,it remains 
to state briefly its distinguishing     
tenets before  proceeding to consider   
the spirit and inner spring from which  
these  outward developments have arisen1
 and from which they derive all their   
significance and value4    ,i have      
already referred to the peculiarity     
which lies at the root of all  the rest2
 namely1 our views as to the nature of  
the true gospel  ministry1 as a call    
bestowed on men and women1 on old and   
young1 learned  and unlearned2 bestowed 
directly from above1 and not to be      
conferred by  any human authority1 or   
hired for money2 to be exercised under  
the sole  and immediate direction of the
 one ,master1 the only ,head of the     
,church1  ,christ the ,lord4 ,as a      
consequence of this view1 ,friends have1

 as is well  known1 refused as a matter 
of conscience to pay tithes1 or in any  
way to  contribute to the maintenance of
 a paid ministry1 and of the services   
prescribed by the ,established ,church4 
,closely connected with these views on  
ministry1 is our testimony against  the 
observance of any religious rites or    
ceremonies whatever4 ,neither  baptizing
 with water1 nor the breaking of bread  
and drinking of wine1  are recognized by
 us as ,divinely ordained institutions  
of permanent  obligation1 and neither of
 these ceremonies is practised by us4   
,we  believe that the coming of ,christ 
put an end to the old dispensation of   
outward observances1 and that the whole 
drift of ,his teaching was  against the 
attaching of importance to such things4 
,the passages  relating to ,his last    
supper with ,his disciples1 and those in
 which ,he  speaks of ,his permanent    
influence upon them under the images of 
bread1  blood1 etc41 seem to us much    
more intelligible and impressive when   

understood without reference to the     
sacramental theories which have been    
engrafted upon them4 ,the one baptism   
8with the ,holy ,ghost and with  fire10 
and the continual spiritual communion to
 be enjoyed in feeding on  the bread of 
life1 are felt by us to be of the very  
essence of true and  spiritual worship2 
but we believe them to be entirely      
independent of any  outward observances4
 ,we therefore feel that no other       
condition is needed  for the highest    
acts of worship than the presence and   
the right  spiritual disposition of the 
worshippers4    ,the rejection of any   
separate priesthood1 and of all outward 
observances1 is the main divergence     
between us and other ,christians4 ,we   
have always maintained a testimony      
against war as inconsistent with the    
full acceptance of the spirit of        
,christ1 and against oaths as distinctly
  forbidden by ,him4 ,we have also been 
led to abandon the pursuit of  changing 
fashions1 and to cherish a plainness in 

dress and language of a  marked         
character1 now fast changing its type1  
but not1 we trust1 really  disappearing4
 ,these minor testimonies are probably  
more widely known  than the more        
fundamental ones2 and though concerned  
with comparatively  trivial matters1    
they also spring from a deep root of    
principle4 ,it is a  remarkable fact    
that from time to time religious bodies 
have sprung up  in various parts of the 
world who1 without any communication    
with us1  have adopted similar views on 
many1 if not all1 of these points4 ,this
  fact1 as well as the continuance and  
the widely spread influence of our  own 
,society1 seems to show that its roots  
lie deep in some fundamental  principles
 of truth4    ,i am now about to attempt
 to deal with those principles1 not in  
the way  of analysis or with any attempt
 at precision of language1 but as a     
record of their practical working1 as   
gathered mainly from personal           
experience4 ,it is not1 ,i confess1     

without some anxiety that ,i1 as a      
new-comer1 enter upon this task4 ,in the
 preceding sketch of matters of  fact1  
it has of course been easy to guard     
against any serious  misstatements2 but 
in the following chapters ,i must deal  
with matters  less easily verifiable4   
,it seems to me in some respects hardly 
possible  that any one not born and bred
 in the ,society should be fully        
qualified  to unfold its principles and 
practices4 ,there is1 on the other hand1
 in  the very fact of having entered it 
from without1 a special qualification   
for the office of interpreting them to  
outsiders4 ,it will1 ,i hope1 be        
remembered that ,i have no kind of claim
 to speak in any sense in the  name of  
the ,society4 ,my object is to explain  
7so far as the experience  of ten years'
 membership may enable me7 the secret of
 its strength and  of its attraction for
 others2 and for this attempt one       
brought up  outside its pale1 and       
speaking in a purely individual         

capacity1 may well  feel a special      
freedom4 ,if ,i cannot pretend to       
possess the entirely  correct accent of 
a born ,friend1 ,i may be none the less 
intelligible to  those amongst whom my  
own ,christian principles were imbibed  
and  nourished until the years of       
maturity4                               
,,chapter ,,ii4                         
,,the ,,inner ,,light4      ,the one    
corner-stone of belief upon which the   
,society of ,friends is  built is the   
conviction that ,god does indeed        
communicate with each one  of the       
spirits ,he has made1 in a direct and   
living inbreathing of some  measure of  
the breath of ,his own life2 that ,he   
never leaves ,himself  without a witness
 in the heart as well as in the         
surroundings of man2  and that in order 
clearly to hear the ,divine voice thus  
speaking to us  we need to be still2 to 
be alone with ,him in the secret place  
of ,his  presence2 that all flesh should
 keep silence before ,him4    ,this     

belief may be more precisely stated1    
explained1 and as we think  justified1  
by those who are competent to deal with 
it in a philosophical  manner4 ,the     
founders of our ,society were not       
philosophers1 but spoke of  these things
 from an intense and abundant personal  
experience1 which led  them with        
confidence to appeal to the experience  
of all sorts and  conditions of men for 
confirmation of their doctrine as to the
 light  within4 ,and they were not      
disappointed4 ,the history of the sudden
  gathering of the ,society1 of its     
rapid formation into a strongly         
organized body1 and of the extraordinary
 constancy1 zeal1 and integrity         
displayed by its original members1 is a 
most impressive proof of the  trueness  
of their aim4#c    ,i have no ambition  
to clothe the fundamental doctrine of   
our ,society in  any less popular       
language than that in which it was      
originally preached4  ,i would rather1  
even did necessity not compel me1 be    

content to appeal1  as did the early    
,friends1 to common experience4 ,my aim 
is to explain for  practical purposes1  
and in modern as well as simple         
language1 the way in  which our whole   
constitution as a ,society1 and our     
various special  testimonies1 have      
resulted from this one main principle4  
,when questioned as to the reality and  
nature of the inner light1 the  early   
,friends were accustomed in return to   
ask the questioners whether  they did   
not sometimes feel something within them
 that showed them their  sins2 and to   
assure them that this same power1 which 
made manifest1  and therefore was truly 
light1 would also1 if yielded to1 lead  
them out  of sin4 ,this assurance1 that 
the light which revealed was also the   
power  which would heal sin1 was ,george
 ,fox's gospel4 ,the power itself was   
described by him in many ways4 ,christ  
within1 the hope of glory2 the  light1  
life1 ,spirit1 and grace of ,christ2 the
 seed1 the new birth1 the  power of ,god

 unto salvation1 and many other such    
expressions1 flow forth  in abundant    
streams of heartfelt eloquence4 ,to     
8turn people to the light  within10 to  
8direct them to ,christ1 their free     
,teacher10 was his daily  business4     
,for this purpose he and his friends    
travelled continually up and down  the  
country1 holding meetings everywhere1   
and finding a never-failing  response to
 their appeal1 as is proved by the bare 
numbers of those who1  within a very few
 years1 were ready to encounter         
persecution1 and to  maintain their     
testimony through long years of         
imprisonment and  sufferings4 ,in the   
earlier days of the ,society the        
doctrine of the inner  light was clearly
 one readily understood and accepted by 
the ordinary  ,english mind4 ,in our own
 day it is usually spoken of as a       
mysterious  tenet1 springing up now and 
again in the minds of isolated          
enthusiasts1  but indigenous only in    
,oriental countries1 and naturally      

abhorrent to  the practical common sense
 of our own people4    ,the difference  
arises1 ,i think1 from the fact that    
there are circles  within circles1 or   
spheres within spheres1 and that the    
light to which  the early ,friends bore 
witness was not confined to that        
innermost  sanctuary of whose very      
existence1 perhaps1 none but a few      
8mystics0 are  conscious2 but that1     
while proceeding from those deepest     
depths1 it was  recognized as also      
lighting up conscience1 and conduct1 and
 all the  tangible outer framework of   
life2 and that it was called 8within0   
not  alone in the sense of lying nearer 
the centre of our being than anything   
else1 but also in the 7to ordinary      
minds7 more intelligible sense of       
beginning at home--of being the reward  
of each man's own faithfulness1 of      
being independent of priests and        
ordinances4 ,the religion they preached 
was one which enforced the individual   
responsibility of each one for his  own 

soul2 it was a portable and verifiable  
religion--a religion which  required    
truth in word and deed1 plain dealing   
and kindness and  self-control1 and     
which did not require ceremonial        
observances or  priestly guarantees2 a  
religion in which practice went for more
 than  theory1 and all were expected to 
take their stand on one level1 and      
their share in the worship and the      
business of 8the ,church40 ,it is easy  
to see how such preaching as this would 
commend itself to ,english              
independence4 ,it surely commends itself
 to the unchanging sense of truth  in   
the human heart1 and will be welcomed   
whenever it is preached from  first-hand
 experience of its power4    8,that     
which you seek without you have already 
within you40 ,the words  which changed  
the life of ,madame ,guyon will never   
lose their power while  human nature is 
occupied with the struggle for a state  
of stable  equilibrium4 ,the perennial  
justification of ,quakerism lies in its 

energetic assertion that the kingdom of 
heaven is within us2 that we are  not   
made dependent upon any outward         
organization for our spiritual  welfare4
 ,its perennial difficulty lies in the  
inveterate disposition of  human beings 
to look to each other for spiritual     
help1 in the feebleness  of their       
perception of that ,divine ,voice which 
speaks to each one in a  language no    
other ear can hear1 and in the apathy   
which is content to go  through life    
without the attempt at any true         
individual communion with  ,god4        
8,the kingdom of heaven is within us40  
,no ,christian1 surely1 can dispute  the
 truth of this deep word of ,christ     
,himself4 ,but its interpretation  has a
 wide range4 ,in his own lips it was    
used in opposition to the 8,lo  here6   
and lo there60 for which he was         
preparing ,his disciples4 ,they were    
not to be hurried away into a search for
 ,christ in all directions1 but  were to
 remember that ,his kingdom 7surely     

implying ,his living presence7  is in   
the hearts of ,his people4 ,he ,himself 
makes none of those abstruse            
distinctions between consciousness and  
being1 accident and essence1  subject   
and object1 or even superficial and     
profound1 and so forth1  which it has   
been the delight of many of ,his most   
devoted followers to  interweave with   
this simple expression 8within you40    
,i think it is inevitable that the more 
deeply we penetrate into the  recesses  
of the human mind1 the more we should   
have a sense of  approaching an inner   
sanctuary1 and that there is a very real
 and deep  sense in which this word     
8within you0 may be understood as       
meaning  8above all in your inmost      
depths40 ,but this is not its original  
or its  obvious meaning4 ,in the        
teaching of our ,lord there is a        
frequent  reference to the distinction  
of inward or outward1 but the           
distinction  is drawn in a broad and    
simple manner4 ,it is oftenest a demand 

upon our  sincerity and thoroughness1   
not upon our powers of introspection--an
  appeal on behalf of the weightier     
matters of the ,law as compared with    
trivial and ceremonial observances4 ,it 
would scarcely1 ,i think1 be true  to   
say that the doctrine of an 8inner      
light10 as we understand it1 is         
explicitly laid down in the ,gospels1   
although1 to my own mind1 that  doctrine
 appears to be an almost inevitable     
inference from their  teaching4 ,i am   
not1 however1 attempting to deal with   
the question on its  merits4 ,i only    
wish to draw attention to the wide range
 of meaning  covered by such expressions
 as 8the light within10 and 8the inner  
light40    ,both by our ,master         
,himself1 and by the ,friends who       
originally preached  ,him as the ,light1
 the figure of light was used in a broad
 and popular  sense4 ,light is the most 
obvious and the most eternally          
satisfying  figure for ,divine truth4   
,it is1 however1 hardly more obvious or 

more  satisfying than the other figure  
so commonly1 and almost                 
interchangeably1 used by the same       
teachers1 of breath--inspiration4 ,i    
scarcely know whether it would convey   
most truth to say that the  cornerstone 
of our ,society was a belief in 8the    
light within10 or in  8immediate        
inspiration40 ,i doubt whether the two  
ideas are in all  respects altogether   
distinguishable4 ,belief in the fact to 
which they  both refer1 of an actual    
,divine influence communicated to every 
human  spirit1 is our real              
corner-stone4#d    ,the fact of         
inspiration is denied by no             
,christian--the full recognition  of its
 present and constant operation is in   
some degree a peculiarity of  ,friends4 
,it is not uncommon outside the ,society
 to hear expressions  implying that     
,divine inspiration is a thing of the   
past2 a quite  exceptional gift1        
familiar only in apostolic times4 ,it   
seems to me that  this limitation of its

 range amounts almost to a denial of its
 reality4  ,i can hardly understand the 
idea that ,god did occasionally long ago
  speak to human beings1 but that ,he   
never does so now4 ,it seems1 at any    
rate1 inconsistent with any worthy sense
 of ,his unchangeableness4    ,many of  
us have come to believe that one of the 
greatest hindrances to a  real belief in
 or recognition of inspiration has been 
the exceedingly  crude and mechanical   
conception of it as attributed to the   
letter of  ,scripture4 ,from this hard  
and shallow way of thinking about       
inspiration1  ,friends have generally   
been preserved in proportion as they    
have held  firmly the old ,quaker       
doctrine of the inner light4 ,some1 no  
doubt1 have  gone too far in the        
direction of transferring the idea of   
infallibility  from the ,bible to       
themselves4 ,but1 on the whole1 ,i      
believe the doctrine  of ,fox and       
,barclay 7i4e41 briefly1 that the 8,word
 of ,god0 is ,christ1  not the ,bible1  

and that the ,scriptures are profitable 
in proportion as  they are read in the  
same spirit which gave them forth7 to   
have been a  most valuable equipoise to 
the tendency of other ,protestant sects 
to  transfer the idea of infallibility  
from the ,church to the ,bible4         
,nothing1 ,i believe1 can really teach  
us the nature and meaning of            
inspiration but personal experience of  
it4 ,that we may all have such          
experience if we will but attend to the 
,divine influences in our own  hearts1  
is the cardinal doctrine of ,quakerism4 
,whether this belief1  honestly acted   
on1 will manifest itself in the homespun
 and solid1 but  only too sober morality
 of the typical everyday ,quaker1 or    
whether it  will land us in the mystical
 fervours of an ,isaac ,penington1 or   
the  apostolic labours of a ,john       
,woolman or a ,stephen ,grellet1 must   
depend  chiefly upon our natural        
temperament and special gifts4 ,the     
range of the  different forms taken by  

the doctrine is as wide as the range of 
human  endowment and experience4 ,a     
belief which is the common property of  
the  prophet and the babe will1 of      
course1 yield every variety of practical
  result4    ,it is a belief which it is
 hardly possible to inculcate by        
anything more  or less than a direct    
appeal to experience1 to the witness    
within2 and  there is the further       
difficulty1 that the experience to which
 we can  appeal only as sharers in it1  
must be expressed in language very often
  and very naturally misunderstood4 ,the
 assertion1 however guarded1 that  one  
has actual experience of ,divine        
inspiration in one's own person1 is     
very apt to sound like a claim to       
personal infallibility4 ,yet in reality 
nothing can be further from the mark4   
,the first effect of the shining of     
light within is to show what is         
amiss--to 8convince of sin40 ,it is not 
claiming any superiority to ordinary    
human conditions to say1 in  response to

 such an appeal as that of the ,friends 
just referred to1  8,yes1 ,i have indeed
 been conscious of a power within making
 manifest to  me my sins and errors1 and
 ,i have indeed experienced its healing 
and  emancipating power as well as its  
fiery purgings and bitter               
condemnations4 ,that which has shown me 
my fault has healed me2 the light  has  
led and is leading me onwards and       
upwards out of the abyss1 nearer  and   
nearer to its own eternal ,source2 and  
,i know that1 in so far as ,i am        
obedient to it1 ,i am safe40 ,what is   
such a reply but an acknowledgment  that
 8the light1 the ,spirit1 and grace of  
,christ0 have indeed been an            
indwelling1 inbreathing power in one's  
own heart8 ,if it be a claim to         
inspiration1 it is a claim which implies
 no merit and no eminence in him  who   
makes it2 it is made on ground common to
 the publican1 the prodigal1  and the   
sinner1 to ,magdalen and to ,paul4 ,it  
is the history of every  child returning

 to the ,father's house4    ,but it is  
not every one to whom it would be       
natural to describe this  experience in 
language so mystical as this1 nor would 
the mystic's  experience be likely to   
stop short at anything so simple and    
elementary  as the process just         
described4 ,and here we are confronted  
with the real  8peculiarity0 of         
,quakerism--its relation to mysticism4  
,there is no doubt  that ,george ,fox   
himself and the other fathers of the    
,society were of a  strongly mystical   
turn of mind1 though not in the sense in
 which the  word is often used by the   
worshippers of 8common sense10 as a mild
 term  of reproach1 to convey a general 
vague dreaminess4 ,nothing1 certainly1  
could be less applicable to the early   
,friends than any such reproach as      
this4 ,they were fiery1 dogmatic1       
pugnacious1 and intensely practical and 
sober-minded4 ,but they were assuredly  
mystics in what ,i take to be the  more 
accurate sense of that word--people1    

that is1 with a vivid  consciousness of 
the inwardness of the light of truth4   
,mysticism in this sense is a well-known
 phenomenon1 of which a multitude  of   
examples may be found in all religions4 
,it is1 indeed1 rather a  personal      
peculiarity than a form of belief2 and  
therefore1 although from  time to time  
associations 7our own1 for one7 have    
been based upon what  are called        
mystical tenets1 there can scarcely be  
anything like a real  school of         
mysticism--at any rate1 in ,europe4     
,mysticism1 as we know it1 is           
essentially individual4 ,it refuses to  
be formulated or summed up4 ,in one     
sense it is common to all religious     
persuasions2 in another1 it equally     
eludes them all4 ,we can easily         
understand what constitutes a mystic1   
but  the peculiarity itself is          
incommunicable4 ,their belief is an open
  secret4 ,they themselves have ever    
desired to communicate it1 though       
continually feeling the impossibility of

 doing so by words alone4 ,it is  the   
secret of light--an inward light        
clothing itself in life1 and living  to 
bring all things to the light4          
,mystics1 as ,i understand the matter1  
are those whose minds1 to their own     
consciousness1 are lighted from within2 
who feel themselves to be in  immediate 
communication with the central ,fountain
 of light and life4  ,they have         
naturally a vivid sense both of the     
distinction and of the  harmony between 
the inward and the outward--a sense so  
vivid that it is  impossible for them to
 believe it to be unshared by others4 ,a
 true  mystic believes that all men     
have1 as he himself is conscious of     
having1  an inward life1 into which1 as 
into a secret chamber1 he can retreat at
  will4#e ,in this inner chamber he     
finds a refuge from the ever-changing   
aspects of outward existence2 from the  
multitude of cares and pleasures  and   
agitations which belong to the life of  
the senses and the  affections2 from    

human judgments2 from all change1 and   
chance1 and  turmoil1 and distraction4  
,he finds there1 first repose1 then an  
awful  guidance2 a light which burns and
 purifies2 a voice which subdues2 he    
finds himself in the presence of his    
,god4 ,it is here1 in this holy of      
holies1 that 8deep calleth unto deep20  
here that the imperishable1             
unfathomable1 unchanging elements of    
humanity meet and are one with the      
,divine ,fountain of life from whence   
they flow2 here that the well of  living
 waters springeth up unto eternal life4 
8,the kingdom of heaven is within you40 
,personal religion is a real and a      
living thing only in proportion as it   
springs from this deep inward  root4    
,the root itself is common to all true  
believers4 ,the consciousness  of its   
8inwardness0 is that which distinguishes
 the mystic4 ,how it  should be that to 
some minds the words 8inward and        
outward0 express the  most vivid and    
continuous fact of consciousness1 while 

to others they  appear to have no       
meaning at all2 how it comes that some  
are born  mystics1 while to others the  
report of the mystic concerning the     
inner  life is a thing impossible to be 
believed and hardly to be               
understood2--these are psychological    
problems ,i cannot attempt to  unravel4 
,if1 however1 a certain correspondence  
between the inward and  the outward do  
really exist 7and this1 ,i suppose1 will
 hardly be denied1  whatever may be the 
most philosophically accurate way of    
expressing it71  the faculty of         
discerning it must needs be a gift4 ,i  
believe1 indeed1  that the power in this
 direction which distinguishes such     
mystics as1  e4g41 ,thomas  ,kempis1    
,jacob ,boehme1 ,tauler1 ,fnlon1 ,madame
 ,guyon1  ,george ,fox1 ,william ,law1  
,st4 ,theresa1 ,molinos1 and others1 is 
essentially the same gift which in a    
different form1 or in combination  with 
a different temperament and gifts of    
another order1 makes poets4 ,it  is the 

gift of seeing truth at first-hand1 the 
faculty of receiving a  direct          
revelation4 ,to have it is to be assured
 that it is the common  inheritance1 the
 8light which lighteth every man that   
cometh into the  world40 ,preachers like
 those ,i have just mentioned always    
appeal to it  with confidence as to a   
witness to be found in every heart4 ,and
 surely  experience confirms this       
conviction of theirs4 ,it is in degree  
only that  their gift is exceptional4   
,they may have the sight of the eagle1  
but  they see by the same light as the  
bat4    ,now1 the obvious tendency of a 
vivid first-hand perception of truth1 or
  light1 is to render the possessor of  
it so far independent of external       
teachers4 ,and we all know that in point
 of fact such illuminati always  have   
shown a disposition to go their own way1
 and to disregard1 if not  to denounce1 
traditional teaching1 which has brought 
them into frequent  collisions with     
ecclesiastical and other authorities4   

,those of the  ,church of ,rome have1   
with their wonted sagacity1 as much as  
possible  sought to turn this strange   
power to account1 while providing       
safety-valves for the unmanageable      
residue4    ,it is the easier to do this
 because of the two marked              
characteristics of  mystics--quietness  
and independence4 ,mystics are naturally
 independent1  not only of              
ecclesiastical authority1 but of each   
other4 ,this is  necessarily implied in 
the very idea of first-hand reception of
 light4  ,while it must always          
constitute a strong bond of sympathy    
between those  who recognize it in      
themselves and in each other1 it        
naturally  indisposes them to           
discipleship4 ,they sit habitually at no
 man's feet1  and do not as a rule      
greatly care to have any one sit at     
theirs4  ,mysticism in this sense seems 
naturally opposed to tradition4 ,no true
  mystic would hold himself bound by the
 thoughts of others4 ,he does not  feel 

the need of them1 being assured of the  
sufficiency and conscious of  the       
possession of that inward guidance1     
whether called light1 or voice1  or     
inspiration1 which must be seen1 heard1 
felt1 by each one in his own  heart1 or 
not at all4 ,but the duty of looking for
 and of obeying this  guidance is a     
principle which may be inculcated and   
transmitted from  generation to         
generation like any other principle4    
,its hereditary  influence is very      
perceptible in old ,quaker families1    
where a unique  type of ,christian      
character resulting from it is still to 
be met with4    ,quietness naturally    
accompanies the belief in this inward   
guidance1 not  only because in the      
,divine presence all that is merely     
human necessarily  sinks into silent    
insignificance1 but also because it is  
instinctively  felt that it is only in  
stillness that any perfect reflection   
from above  can be formed in the mirror 
of the human spirit4 ,the natural fruit 

of  mysticism is quietism4    ,i have no
 means of estimating the actual         
prevalence of mystical and  quietist    
principles in the ,society of ,friends  
at the present time4 ,but ,i  am sure   
that our ,society is the natural home   
for the spirits of all  those who hold  
them1 for it is the one successful      
embodiment of these  principles in a    
system of 8,church government40 ,every  
arrangement is made  to favour and to   
maintain the practice of looking for    
individual inward  guidance1 and to give
 the freest scope to its results4       
,everything which  tends to hinder      
obedience to it is abandoned and        
discouraged4 ,i shall  endeavour to     
trace the working of this aim in various
 special directions  hereafter4 ,i must 
now endeavour to explain as well as ,i  
can what it is  precisely that ,i       
understand by that inward light1 voice1 
or ,divine  guidance which we ,friends  
believe it our duty and our highest     
privilege  in all things to watch for4  

,i do not1 indeed1 claim that my own    
share in this deepest region of  human  
experience amounts to more than a faint 
and intermittent  glimmering of what ,i 
know to be possible4 ,i earnestly desire
 to explain  to others what to myself   
has been especially blessed and helpful 
in the  deepest unfoldings1 whether by  
word or in life1 of ,quaker principles2 
but ,i feel that the task would demand  
for its full accomplishment not  only   
greater powers than mine1 but also the  
assistance which can be  given only by  
something more than candour in the      
reader--by a real desire  to help out   
the stammering utterance1 and to supply 
the gaps left by  individual            
shortcomings4 ,to such a helpful        
auditor1 therefore1 ,i will in          
imagination address myself4             
,faithfulness to the light is the       
watchword of all who hunger and thirst  
after righteousness--of all seekers     
after the kingdom of heaven4 ,is this   
merely an equivalent for the more       

commonplace expression1 8obedience to   
conscience08 ,surely not4 ,conscience1  
as we all know1 is liable to            
perversion1 to morbid exaggerations1 to 
partial insensibility1 to twists  and   
crotchets of all sorts1 and itself needs
 correction by various  external        
standards4 ,conscience1 therefore1 can  
never be our supreme and  absolute      
guide4 ,whether it can ever be right to 
disobey it1 must depend  on the precise 
meaning we attach to the words          
8conscience0 and 8right10  and into this
 puzzle ,i have no intention of         
entering4 ,in a broad and  practical    
sense1 we all know that if there were   
nothing above  conscience1 conscience   
would assuredly lead many of us into the
 ditch2  nay1 that1 for want of         
enlightenment from above1 it actually   
has led  many there4 ,the light by which
 our consciences must be enlightened1   
the  light in obedience to which is our 
supreme good1 must be something purer   
than this fallible faculty itself4 ,it  

must be that power within us1 if  any   
such power there be1 which is one with  
all the wisdom1 all the  goodness1 all  
the order and harmony1 without us2 one  
with 8the power1  not ourselves1 which  
makes for righteousness20 one with 8the 
eternal  will towards all goodness40 ,it
 must be a power as all-pervading and   
immanent in the spirit of man as is the 
power of gravity 7or whatever  yet more 
elementary force gravity may be resolved
 into7 in the outer  world he inhabits4 
,it must be the power in which we live  
and move and  have our being--the power 
and the presence of ,god4    ,i do not  
attempt--idle indeed would be the       
attempt in such hands as  mine--to      
contribute anything towards the         
arguments in favour of ,theism4  ,to    
those who do not believe in the         
existence of the living ,god1 the  whole
 subject upon which ,i am engaged must  
be without interest or  significance4   
,and ,i leave it to others to reconcile1
 or to show that we  need not attempt to

 reconcile1 the existence of evil with  
the  omnipotence of ,god4 ,the mystery  
in which all our searchings after a     
complete theory concerning the ,author  
of our being must needs lose  themselves
 need not perplex1 though it may        
overshadow1 those practical  questions  
as to our own right attitude towards    
,him with which alone ,i am  concerned4 
,i assume faith in ,him and allegiance  
to ,him as the very  ground under our   
feet2 if this be not granted1 it is idle
 to go further4  ,my reason for going so
 far even as ,i have done in this       
direction 7the  direction1 ,i mean1 of  
inquiring into our fundamental          
assumptions7 is  that ,i cannot help    
thinking that our ,quaker faith         
respecting immediate  ,divine guidance  
rests upon a wider basis of common      
conviction than is  usually supposed4 ,i
 believe it to be the legitimate1 though
 by no means  the frequent1 result of   
any sincere belief in ,god1 however     
attained--not  merely an outgrowth from 

one peculiar form of ,christianity4 ,the
 coldest  and most cautious ,theist can 
say no less than that ,god does in some 
sense direct the course of this world   
and of all that is in it4 ,the most     
ecstatic mystic can bear witness to     
nothing beyond the fact that ,god  does 
in deed and in truth pervade and sway   
the inmost recesses of his  own being4  
,is not this the very same truth1 seen  
under the magnifying  and amplifying    
power of first-hand experience8    ,to  
me it seems idle to attempt to find any 
resting-place between  convinced atheism
 on the one hand1 and absolute          
self-surrender to the  indwelling       
influence of the ,divine ,spirit on the 
other2 the barrier1 if  there be any    
barrier1 is surely not so much a logical
 as a moral  hindrance4 ,believing in   
,god1 and worshipping ,him with one's   
whole heart1  trusting ,him absolutely  
and loving ,him supremely1 seem to me to
 be but  various stages in the growth of
 one seed4 ,i know1 alas6 but too well1 

that this growth is slow1 and that it   
meets with obstacles and checks at      
every moment4 ,i know that our faith has
 not only to struggle1 but to  struggle 
through the darkness1 and that it may be
 challenged at every  step by           
difficulties which it cannot solve4 ,but
 ,i cannot admit that  there is any     
consistency or reason in treading the   
path of faith  half-way4 ,i cannot admit
 that it is reasonable to believe in    
,god as the  ,supreme ,being1 and       
unreasonable to seek ,his living        
presence and  direction in the minutest 
details of our everyday life4 ,with     
,him1  surely1 our distinctions of great
 and small disappear1 and 8the darkness 
is no darkness at all40 8,whither shall 
,i go then from ,thy presence8 ,if ,i   
go down into hell1 and remain in the    
uttermost parts of the earth1 even      
there shall ,thy hand lead me1 and ,thy 
right hand shall hold me40    ,but many 
will say1 ,this may all be quite true1  
but how are we to  distinguish between  

the voice of ,god and the many other    
voices which  distract our attention    
from it8 ,how1 if ,god is everywhere1   
does the  practical result differ from  
,his being nowhere8 ,to the full extent 
of my  ability ,i recognize this great  
difficulty4 ,it seems to throw us back  
for  guidance upon those very powers    
whose insufficiency we have just        
recognized4 ,if ,i reply1 ,god is to be 
recognized in 8whatsoever things  are   
true1 whatsoever things are pure1 and   
lovely1 and of good report10  you may   
well retort1 ,and how1 except through   
our fallible consciences1  shall we     
discern truth1 purity1 loveliness8    ,i
 believe that the difficulty of         
distinguishing between the will1 or the 
voice1 or the light of ,god1 and the    
wills and voices and lights of a  lower 
kind from which it is to be             
distinguished1 is not only not to be    
ignored1 but that the very first step   
towards learning the lesson is to       
recognize that it is a lesson1 and a    

hard one--nay1 a lifelong  discipline4  
,but just as the child trusts           
instinctively1 absolutely1  helplessly1 
before it has even begun to attempt to  
understand its  parents1 so1 surely1 we 
may and must trust ,god first and       
unreservedly1  before we begin slowly   
and feebly1 yet perseveringly1 to       
acquaint  ourselves with ,him4 ,and as  
the trust of the full-grown son or      
daughter  is a nobler thing than the    
trust of the infant1 so the experience  
of  wisdom and prudence has doubtless a 
revelation of its own--a precious       
addition to that essential revelation   
which is made in the first place  to    
babes1 and to the wise only in so far as
 they too have childlike  hearts4 ,to   
have our senses exercised to discern    
between truth and  falsehood1 light and 
darkness1 order and disorder1 the will  
of ,god and  the will of the flesh1 is1 
,i believe1 the end and object of our   
training  in this world4 ,there is no   
royal road to it4 ,yet can we honestly  

say  that it is impossible8    ,if1     
then1 it is only by a slow and gradual  
process that we can rise to  anything   
like a true knowledge 7even according to
 our human measure7 of  ,god1 must it   
not be by a slow and gradual process    
alone that ,he can make  ,his voice and 
,his guiding touch distinguishable by us
 and intelligible  to us8 ,is it any    
wonder if those who do not attribute to 
,him so much as  the broad obvious laws 
by which we are all hedged in from gross
  wrong-doing and error1 should fail to 
recognize the reality or the            
significance of those delicate          
restraining touches by which the spirits
  which yield themselves to ,his care   
are moulded into some faint likeness  to
 the ,son of ,his love8 ,must not the   
first step towards entering into  the   
meaning of that which is personal and   
individual be the acceptance  of what is
 equally applicable to all8#f    ,that  
individual and immediate guidance1 in   
which we recognize that 8the  finger of 

,god is come unto us10 seems to come in1
 as it were1 to  complete and perfect   
the work rough-hewn by morality and     
conscience4 ,we  may liken the laws of  
our country to the cliffs of our island1
 over  which we rarely feel ourselves in
 any danger of falling2 the moral       
standard of our social circle to the    
beaten highway road which we can  hardly
 miss4 ,our own conscience would then be
 represented by a fence1 by  which some 
parts of the country are enclosed for   
each one1 the road  itself at times     
barred or narrowed4 ,and that ,divine   
guidance of which ,i  am speaking could 
be typified only by the pressure of a   
hand upon ours1  leading us gently to   
step to the right or the left1 to pause 
or to go  forward1 in a manner intended 
for and understood by ourselves alone4#g
    ,when ,i say ,i have been 8rightly  
guided0 to this or that step1 ,i mean   
that1 being well within the limits      
prescribed by morality1 by personal     
claims1 by the closest attention to the 

voice of conscience1 ,i have yet  felt  
that there was still a choice to be made
 as between things equally  innocent but
 probably not equally excellent--a      
choice1 perhaps1 between  different     
levels almost infinitely remote from    
each other--and that in  making that    
choice ,i have acted under an impelling 
or restraining power  not of my own     
exerting4 ,i generally mean1 further1   
that in making the  choice ,i have      
looked1 and probably asked1 for light   
from above1 and that  the results of    
such choice have tended to confirm the  
belief that my  action has been prompted
 by ,one who could see the end from the 
beginning1 who knew things hidden from  
myself1 and 8understood my path  long   
before20 in short1 that ,i have been led
 as the blind by a way ,i  knew not4 ,is
 not such experience as this witnessed  
to by multitudes of  ,christians1       
especially as they advance in life8 ,for
 it may take long  years of patience    
before the last pieces are fitted into  

the puzzle1 so  as to enable us to judge
 of the intention of the whole4    ,i am
 well aware that ,i am speaking of a    
region of experience in which  there is 
abundant room for self-deception4 ,i    
know that those who1 out of  the        
abundance of the heart1 speak very      
freely of these things with their  lips 
are apt not only to shock one's sense of
 reverence1 but to betray a  deplorable 
want of logic in the inferences they    
draw from trifling  facts--facts whose  
significance to themselves cannot       
possibly be conveyed  to others1 and may
 indeed very likely be in large measure 
fanciful or  even distorted4 ,i think   
that we are wrong when we attempt to    
found any  sort of proof or argument in 
favour of what is called 8a particular  
providence0 exclusively upon the        
occurrences of our own lives4 ,people   
forget that what is most convincing to  
themselves1 because it was within  the  
four walls of their own experience that 
it happened1 is for that  very reason   

least convincing to others--that is1 in 
the way of argument1  though the        
impression may1 of course1 be           
sympathetically shared1 and  may rightly
 have special weight with those who have
 reason to trust the  speaker4 ,but1 as 
a general rule1 ,i believe that         
reverence and reason  combine to demand 
that the personal and intimate dealings 
of ,divine  ,providence with each one   
should be mainly reserved for personal  
and  intimate use and edification4      
,proof or argument as to the general    
truth  that ,god does guide ,his people 
individually must be founded upon a     
wider  basis than is afforded by any one
 person's experience4 ,i believe that   
there are abundant reasons1 of a        
far-reaching and deep kind1 to justify  
each one in looking for the minutest    
individual guidance4 ,i cannot1  indeed1
 as ,i have already stated1 understand  
how those who believe in a  providential
 order at all can limit it to the larger
 outlines1 or1 as is  so often done in  

practice1 to the pleasing results of the
 ,divine  government4 ,if we believe1 in
 any real and honest sense1 that the    
ordering of all human affairs is in the 
hands of one supreme ,ruler1 how  can we
 stop short of believing that the       
minutest trifle affecting any  one of us
 is under the same all-pervading care8  
,it would1 ,i think1 be as  reasonable  
to say that ,god created animals1 but   
left it to each one to  develop its own 
fur or feathers4 ,and1 again1 if we     
attribute our  preservation from danger 
to ,him1 how can we flinch from the     
parallel  belief that by ,his ordinance 
also we were exposed to it2 yes1 and in 
some cases doomed to suffer the worst it
 can wreak upon us 8without  reprieve08 
,therefore ,i believe that1 before we   
can hope to enter into that intimate    
and blessed communion with ,god which   
transfigures all life1 two great        
conditions must be fulfilled4 ,we must  
have settled it in our hearts that      
everything1 from the least to the       

greatest1 is to be taken as ,his        
language--language which it is our main 
business here to learn to               
interpret--and we must be willing to    
face all pain as ,his discipline4    ,i 
know1 of course1 that these two         
conditions can be perfectly fulfilled   
only as the result of much discipline   
and much experience of the very         
guidance in question4 ,but their        
roots--docility and courage--are in some
  measure implanted in us long before we
 begin to think about such  questions as
 the government of the world or the     
ordering of our lives4    ,it is1 ,i    
believe1 in the last of these two       
demands of logic1 the demand  upon our  
courage1 that the moral hindrance to a  
full belief in ,divine  guidance mainly 
lies4 ,people cannot bring themselves to
 feel that the  infliction of pain can  
be the act of ,one whom they desire to  
know as  ,love4 ,yet this is the very   
central demand of ,christianity4 ,what  
is  courage but the willingness to      

encounter suffering1 the readiness to   
take up the cross8    ,in the strength  
of the ,spirit of ,christ1 the          
everlasting ,son of the  ,father1 we can
 rise to this victory of trust2 we can  
meet life without  flinching1 and read  
its darkest riddles in the light of the 
revelation  of ,divine love which ,he   
has won for us by ,his own suffering and
 death4  ,seen in that light1 it is1    
according to the universal testimony of 
the  saints1 a gentle1 though often most
 severe1 unfolding of depth within      
depth of heavenly wisdom--gentle beyond 
words in its methods1 yet  inexorable in
 its conditions4 ,at every step the     
fiery baptism must be  encountered4 ,the
 deep things of ,god cannot be reached  
except through the  very destruction of 
the perishing flesh4 ,it is through     
death that we  enter into life4 ,but as 
we do enter into it1 we can truly look  
back and  say that ,his ordering has    
been better than our planning--that ,his
  thoughts are high above our thoughts1 

as the heaven is above the earth4       
,our goal must be a heavenly one if we  
are to judge truly of ,his  guidance4   
,the home to which1 if we trust ,him1   
,he will assuredly lead us1  is no      
earthly home2 but ,zion--the heavenly   
,jerusalem2 the beautiful city  of      
peace1 which can be entered only through
 much tribulation4 ,those who  are      
looking for smooth roads and luxurious  
resting-places1 may well say  they      
perceive no sign of guidance at all4    
,the ,divine guidance is away  from     
self-indulgence1 often away from outward
 success2 through  humiliation and      
failure1 and many snares and            
temptations2 over rough  roads and      
against opposing forces--always uphill4 
,its evidence of success  is in the     
inmost1 deepest1 most spiritual part of 
our existence4 ,it is  idle indeed to   
talk of it to those whose faces are not 
set ,zion-wards4  ,it will bring them   
none of the results in which they have  
their reward4  ,those who know the voice

 of the ,divine ,guide1 and those who   
deny that it  can be heard1 are not so  
much contradicting each other as        
speaking  different languages--or rather
 speaking in reference to different     
states  of existence4    ,i have been   
speaking of 8light10 8voice10           
8guidance10 as almost  equivalent and   
interchangeable expressions for our     
consciousness of the  presence of ,god  
with us and in us4 ,in the expression   
8inspiration0 we  have further the      
symbol of ,his power--of the upbearing1 
purifying1  energizing gift of ,his own 
,spirit4 ,here words almost fail2 and   
fresh  care is needed1 whether in       
speaking or in hearing1 as we draw near 
to  those depths which 8cannot be       
uttered40 ,i pause on the threshold of  
the  inner chamber of the heart1 the    
holy place of true worship4             
,,chapter ,,iii4                        
,,worship4      ,our manner of worship  
is the natural 7as it seems to me even  
the  inevitable7 result of the full     

recognition of the reality of ,divine   
inspiration--of the actual living       
present sufficient fulness of           
intercourse between the human spirit and
 ,him who is the ,father of  spirits4   
,who that truly expects to hear the     
voice of ,god can do  otherwise than bow
 in silence before ,him8    8,devotion10
 says ,bishop ,butler in one of his     
sermons1#h 8is retirement  from the     
world ,he has made1 to ,him alone2 it is
 to withdraw from the  avocations of    
sense1 to yield ourselves up to the     
influences of the  ,divine presence1 and
 to give full scope to the affections of
 gratitude1  love1 reverence1 trust1 and
 dependence2 of which infinite ,power1  
,wisdom1  and ,goodness is the natural  
and only ,object40 ,no words could more 
fully  or worthily express the intention
 of a ,friends' meeting--of one of those
  8meetings for worship0 which are1 as  
is well known1 8held on a basis of      
silence10 but in which free course is   
allowed to whatever ,divine  influence  

may prompt of vocal prayer1 preaching1  
testimony1 or prophecy2  those meetings 
in which each one1 it is felt1 should in
 the first place  enter into the inmost 
sanctuary of his own heart1 and be alone
 with ,god2  being still1 that ,his     
voice may be clearly heard within1      
before the lips  can be rightly opened  
to show forth ,his praise or ,his       
counsels to  others4 ,from the depths of
 that stillness words do from time to   
time  arise--words uttered in simple    
obedience to the upspringing of the     
fountain from within4 ,this is what we  
mean by being 8moved by the  ,spirit10  
and ,i do not see how a worthier or a   
truer expression could be  found for the
 perfect ideal of spiritual worship4    
,that mysterious diversity which is     
interwoven with all our likeness1 and   
belongs to the very nature common to us 
all1 makes it impossible for one  to    
judge for another as to the manner of   
worship most likely to be  vitally      
helpful to him4 ,i cannot tell how far  

my own feeling about  ,friends' meetings
 may arise from an idiosyncrasy4 ,i do  
not pretend to  feel1 as did some of the
 early ,friends1 that all               
pre-arrangement is in  itself unlawful  
or sinful4 ,i can well understand the   
point of view of  those who believe that
 the majestic and time-hallowed words of
 such a  ,liturgy as the ,anglican      
afford the nearest possible approach to 
a worthy  manner of public worship4 ,i  
can even understand1 though with less of
  sympathy1 the feelings of those who   
dread lest the utterances of their      
untutored fellow-worshippers should     
disturb their own endeavours to  attain 
to a devotional frame of mind4 ,but     
though1 for these and other  reasons1 ,i
 am prepared to admit that the extreme  
of simplicity and  freedom maintained in
 our own meetings might not prove       
helpful to every  one1 and though ,i    
have no desire to conceal the too       
obvious fact that we  continually fall  
very far short of our ideal1 ,i yet must

 avow my own  conviction that that ideal
 of public worship is the purest which  
has  ever been recognized1 and also that
 it is practically identical with  that 
which seems to have been recognized in  
the days of the apostles4 ,i  further   
believe that there are many1 in these   
days especially1 to whom  it is the one 
manner of worship which is still        
practically possible1 as  being         
absolutely free from anything entangling
 to the conscience1 or  open to         
controversy4 ,i have already#i spoken of
 the indescribable  relief which it     
afforded to my own mind at a time when  
,i was sorely  harassed by              
difficulties--common to how many in     
these days6--as to the  sincerity of    
appropriating for my own use forms      
which1 however  beautiful1 are open to  
so much and such serious question4 ,what
 ,i felt ,i  wanted in a place of       
worship was a refuge1 or at least the   
opening of a  doorway towards the       
refuge1 from doubts and                 

controversies--not a fresh  encounter   
with them4 ,yet it seems to me          
impossible that any one harassed  by the
 conflicting views of truth with which  
just now the air is thick  should be    
able to forget controversy while        
listening to such language as  that of  
the ,book of ,common ,prayer4 ,it seems 
to me that nothing but  silence can heal
 the wounds made by disputations in the 
region of the  unseen4 ,no external     
help1 at any rate1 has ever in my own   
experience  proved so penetratingly     
efficacious as the habit of joining in a
 public  worship based upon silence4    
,its primary attraction for me was in   
the  fact that it pledged me to nothing1
 and left me altogether undisturbed  to 
seek for help in my own way4 ,but before
 long ,i began to be aware that  the    
united and prolonged silences had a far 
more direct and powerful  effect than   
this4 ,they soon began to exercise a    
strangely subduing and  softening effect
 upon my mind4 ,there used1 after a     

while1 to come upon  me a deep sense of 
awe1 as we sat together and waited--for 
what8 ,in my  heart of hearts ,i knew in
 whose ,name we were met together1 and  
who was  truly in the midst of us4      
,never before had ,his influence        
revealed itself  to me with so much     
power as in those quiet assemblies4     
,and another result of the practice of  
silent waiting for the unseen  ,presence
 proved to be a singularly effectual    
preparation of mind for the  willing    
reception of any words which might be   
offered 8in the name of a  disciple40   
,the words spoken were indeed often     
feeble1 and always  inadequate 7as all  
words must be in relation to ,divine    
things71  sometimes even entirely       
irrelevant to my own individual needs1  
though at  other times profoundly       
impressive and helpful2 but1 coming as  
they did  after the long silences which 
had fallen like dew upon the thirsty    
soil1  they went far deeper1 and were   
received into a much less thorny region 

than had ever been the case with the    
words ,i had listened to from the       
pulpit4    ,in ,friends' meetings also1 
from the fact that every one is free to 
speak1 one hears harmonies and          
correspondences between very various    
utterances such as are scarcely to be   
met with elsewhere4 ,it is  sometimes as
 part-singing compared with unison4 ,the
 free admission of  the ministry of     
women1 of course1 greatly enriches this 
harmony4 ,i have  often wondered whether
 some of the motherly counsels ,i have  
listened to  in our meeting would not   
reach some hearts that might be closed  
to the  masculine preacher4    ,but it  
is not only the momentary effect of     
silence as a help in public  worship    
that constitutes its importance in      
,quaker estimation4 ,the  silence we    
value is not the mere outward silence of
 the lips4 ,it is a  deep quietness of  
heart and mind1 a laying aside of all   
preoccupation  with passing things--yes1
 even with the workings of our own      

minds2 a  resolute fixing of the heart  
upon that which is unchangeable and     
eternal4 ,this 8silence of all flesh0   
appears to us to be the essential       
preparation for any act of true worship4
 ,it is also1 we believe1 the  essential
 condition at all times of inward       
illumination4 8,stand still in  the     
light10 says ,george ,fox again and     
again1 and then strength comes--and     
peace and victory and deliverance1 and  
all other good things4 8,be still1  and 
know that ,i am ,god40 ,it is the       
experience1 ,i believe1 of all those    
who have been most deeply conscious of  
,his revelations of ,himself1 that  they
 are made emphatically to the 8waiting0 
soul--to the spirit which is  most fully
 conscious of its own inability to do   
more than wait in  silence before ,him4 
,the possibilities of inward silence can
 be but  distantly referred to in words4
 ,the clearness of inward vision which  
sometimes results from it must be       
experienced to be fully understood2  the

 things revealed to that vision are     
rather to be lived in than  uttered4    
,but the fact that a strenuous endeavour
 to lay aside all  disturbing           
influences1 and to allow all external   
vibrations to subside1  is an important1
 if not an essential1 preparation for   
the reception of  eternal truth1 seems  
to be indisputable4 ,to be quiet must   
surely always  be a gain4 ,to rule one's
 own spirit1 and to acquire the power of
  proclaiming at least a truce within1  
must surely be recognized by the  least 
8mystical0 as a rational and wholesome  
exercise of self-control4    ,it is1 to 
my own mind1 a singular confirmation of 
the depth of truth in  the ,quaker      
ideal1 that it embraces in its          
application such widely  varying degrees
 of spirituality4 ,the 8inward silence0 
which to the  mystic means the gateway  
of the unspeakable1 the limpid calmness 
of the  mirror in which heaven's glory  
is to be reflected1 commends itself also
  to the sternest rationalist as the    

beginning of fortitude4 ,and the        
experience of some of us 7whom ,i may1  
perhaps1 venture to describe as         
rational mystics7 proves the exceeding  
value of the habit of seeking  after    
inward silence as a real                
life-discipline4 ,not only at the times 
set apart for definite acts of          
worship--though1 whether in public or in
  private1 it is from the heart of this 
stillness that the voice of  deepest    
prayer and praise springs up--but also  
in all the daily warfare  of the        
,christian life1 in encountering joy or 
sorrow1 temptation or  perplexity1 the  
first condition and the highest reward  
of victory is  equanimity4 8,be not thou
 greatly moved20 8,fret not thyself1    
else shalt  thou be moved to do evil40  
,there is no need to multiply the words 
of the  wise on this head4 ,we all      
surely have gone through times when 8he 
opened  not his lips0 expresses the only
 possible attitude in which we can hope 
to win through4 ,silence and resolution1

 indeed1 seem almost like  different    
aspects of the same thing4 ,and silence 
is assuredly an art to  be acquired1 a  
discipline to be steadily practised1    
before it can become  the instinctive   
habit and unfailing resource of the     
soul4 ,the wise ,roman  ,catholic       
teachers all enjoin this discipline upon
 those who desire to  learn             
8perfection40 ,friends inculcate it     
rather by example than by  precept1     
though abundant recognition of its      
importance is to be found in  ,quaker   
writings4 ,but ,i am specially concerned
 with the practical results  of our     
manner of worship2 and ,i am bound to   
say that1 to myself1 the  practice of   
quietness in life is markedly           
facilitated by the habit of  joining in 
a worship 8based on silence40    ,the   
connection between our practice of      
silence and our belief in  inspiration  
is1 ,i think1 obvious4 ,how can we      
listen if we do not cease  to speak8    
,how can we receive while we maintain an

 incessant activity8 ,it  is obvious    
that 8a wise passiveness0 is essential  
to the possibility of  serving as       
channels for any ,divinely given        
utterance4 ,on this subject of  being   
8moved by the ,spirit10 there seems     
often to be the strangest  difficulty in
 people's minds4 ,they imagine that     
,friends claim the  possession of       
something like a miraculous             
gift--something as baffling to  ordinary
 reason as the speaking in unknown      
tongues of the ,irvingites4  ,speaking  
under correction1 and with a sense that 
the matter reaches to  unknown depths1  
,i should say that this was quite a     
mistake4 ,what ,friends  undoubtedly    
believe and maintain is that to the     
listening heart ,god does  speak        
intelligibly2 and further1 that some    
amongst ,his worshippers are  gifted    
with a special openness to receive1 and 
power to transmit in  words1 actual     
messages from ,himself4 ,is this more   
than is necessarily  implied in the     

belief that real communion with ,him is 
not only possible1  but is freely open  
to all8    ,we do not regard those who  
have the gift of 8ministry0 as          
infallible1 or  even as necessarily     
closer to ,god than many of the silent  
worshippers  who form the great majority
 in every congregation4 ,we feel that   
the gift  is from above1 and that on all
 of us lies the responsibility of being 
open to it1 willing to receive it1      
should it be bestowed1 and to use it    
faithfully while entrusted with it4 ,but
 we fully recognize that to do  this    
perfectly requires a continual          
submission of the will1 and an          
unceasing watchfulness4 ,we know that to
 8keep close to the gift0 is not  an    
easy thing4 ,we know that the singleness
 of eye which alone can enable  any one 
always to discern between the immediate 
guidance of the ,divine  ,spirit and the
 mere promptings of our own hearts1 is  
not attained  without much patience1 and
 a diligent and persevering use of all  

the  means of instruction provided for  
us4 ,we recognize the value of such     
corrections even as may come through the
 minds of others2 for1 although  the    
servant is responsible only to his own  
,master1 and we desire  earnestly to    
beware of any dependence on each other  
in such matters1 yet  it has 7as ,i have
 already mentioned7 been thought right  
that some  ,friends should be specially 
appointed to watch over the ministers in
 the  exercise of their gift4 ,the      
8elders10 to whom this task is          
entrusted1 do  in fact often offer not  
only encouragement or counsel1 but at   
times  admonition and even rebuke1 when 
they believe it to be needed4 ,it is    
thus clear that the ,society has always 
held with the ,apostle ,paul that  8the 
spirits of the prophets are subject to  
the prophets40 ,the great  care and     
caution shown in all the arrangements of
 the ,society with  respect to ministry 
bear witness to its recognition of the  
deep truth1  that1 the more precious the

 treasure1 the more serious the risks to
  which the earthen vessels enclosing it
 are exposed4    ,the question is often 
asked1 ,how can you distinguish between 
a message  from above and the           
suggestions of your own imagination8#aj 
,the only  answer which can be given to 
this question is1 that to do so for     
practical purposes does indeed require  
all the heavenly wisdom and all  the    
humble sincerity of heart of which we   
are capable4 ,worship1 to those  who    
believe that ,god is1 and is indeed to  
be worshipped in spirit and in  truth1  
is surely the highest function of the   
human spirit4 ,to attain to  such a     
transparency of heart and mind as shall 
admit of our serving as  channels for   
the worship of others1 and for the      
,divine response to such                
worship--ladders1 as it were1 on which  
the angels of ,god may ascend and       
descend in the place of worship--is1    
indeed1 an aim which must transcend  all
 merely human power4 ,we need for it the

 continual renovation of ,him  who is   
,light--8the ,way1 the ,truth1 and the  
,life40 ,but dare any1 who call         
themselves believers on ,him1 doubt that
 such renovation is open to us8    ,i   
can understand those who think all      
worship idle1 or worse than idle2 ,i    
cannot understand those who think it can
 be acceptably performed without  the   
help of the ,spirit ,himself making     
intercession for us1 and with us1  and  
in us1 or that this help will fail any  
true worshipper4 ,yet1 if we  do believe
 this help is given1 are we not looking 
to be 8moved by the  ,spirit08 ,is the  
expectation peculiar to any one body of 
,christians8  ,surely not4 ,what is     
peculiar to us ,friends is the dread of 
limiting or  interfering with the       
immediate influences of the ,divine     
,spirit by the  use of fixed forms of   
words1 and by outward observances or    
pressure of  any kind4    ,as ,i have   
already said1 ,i do not feel that ours  
is the only lawful  manner of worship2  

,i do not even think it at all clear    
that it would be  for all people and at 
all times the most helpful4 ,but ,i do  
believe it to  be the purest            
conceivable4 ,i am jealous for its      
preservation from any  admixture of     
adventitious 8aids to devotion40 ,i     
believe that its  absolute freedom and  
flexibility1 its unrivalled simplicity  
and gravity1  make it a vessel of honour
 prepared in an especial manner for the 
conveyance of the pure water of life to 
many in these days who are  hindered    
from satisfying their souls' thirst by  
questionable additions  to the essence  
of ,divine worship4    ,i know that1 in 
,friends' meetings as elsewhere1 one    
must be prepared to  meet with much     
human weakness and imperfection2 many   
things may be heard  in them which are  
trying to the flesh--yes1 and perhaps to
 the spirit  also4 ,certainly many      
things may be heard which are open to   
criticism1  from an intellectual and    
literary point of view4 ,let no one go  

to  ,friends' meetings with the         
expectation of finding everything to his
  taste4 ,yet even mere taste1 if duly  
cultivated1 must recognize the value  of
 a certain weight and simplicity1       
arising1 no doubt1 from the habitual    
practice of inward silence1 by which    
they are often distinguished4 ,this  is1
 however1 a point upon which no one who 
is alive to the real  significance of   
such meetings as ours would care to     
dwell4 ,criticism  fades away abashed in
 the presence of what is felt to be a   
real1 however  faltering1 endeavour to  
open actual communication with the      
,father of  spirits1 and with each other
 as in ,his presence and in ,his name4  
,to my  own mind1 any living utterance  
of a human voice pleading for itself and
  for the objects of its love in words  
fresh from the heart1 has a power  and a
 pathos infinitely beyond that of the   
most perfect expression of  devotion    
read or recited according to an         
appointed order4#aa    ,it is an        

important peculiarity of our meetings   
that the responsibility  for their      
character is felt to be shared by all4  
,i do not mean that all  our members are
 in fact alive to their own share of    
this responsibility4  ,the service is1  
no doubt1 often far too much left to one
 or more willing  speakers4 ,but ,i do  
not believe that it would be possible   
amongst ,friends  for anything like the 
sense of dependence on one individual to
 arise  which seems naturally to result 
from the idea of a priestly order4 ,and1
  at any rate1 the idea is kept         
continually before us of a company      
coming  together on one level1 each of  
whom is free and encouraged to bring his
  individual offering of praise and     
prayer1 whether silent or vocal4 ,it is 
a familiar thought amongst ,friends that
 no one should expect in a  meeting for 
worship 8to eat the bread of idleness40 
,and the practice  which is so frequent 
amongst us of ministering ,friends      
travelling from  meeting to meeting in  

the exercise of their gift1 causes a    
stirring of  the waters1 and keeps up   
the sense of the freedom of all to take 
their  part whenever and wherever a word
 may be given them4    ,there is one    
other result of the absence of          
pre-arrangement in our  meetings which  
,i cannot altogether pass over4 ,it is  
that no shelter is  provided under cover
 of which one can remain in doubt       
whether one is or  is not actually      
engaged in worship on one's own account4
 ,a liturgy or a  hymn may bear along in
 its current many a vague half-formed   
tendency  towards worship2 and ,i dare  
not say that it may not thus sometimes  
fan  the spark into a flame1 or save the
 smoking flax from being altogether     
quenched4 ,but it does seem to me that  
it also often prevents our  recognizing 
our own poverty1 and stifles many an    
individual cry for  help1 which the     
sense of that poverty would tend to     
awaken4 ,at any rate1  the worst that   
can very well happen1 if a silent       

meeting fails to help1  is that it is   
nothing4 ,it would scarcely seem        
possible that it should  delude any one 
into a hollow sense of having been      
engaged in a religious  service4 ,but   
here ,i am aware of being near the      
treacherous ground of  idiosyncrasy1 and
 ,i do not wish to press the point4     
,hitherto ,i have been speaking of our  
meetings for public worship4 ,but1  as  
,friends love to say1 our worship does  
not begin when we sit down  together in 
our public assemblies1 nor end when we  
leave them4 ,the  worship in spirit and 
in truth is in no way limited by time   
and place4  ,the same idea of a waiting 
8in the silence of all flesh0 to hear   
the  voice of the ,lord speaking within 
us1 characterizes the ,friends' private 
times of worship2 or1 as the more       
cautious expression is1 of 8religious   
retirement40 ,friends are so possessed  
with the sense of our inability to      
offer acceptable prayer in our own time 
and will1 that where others  speak of   

family prayers1 and hours of prayer or  
devotion1 ,friends prefer  the          
expressions 8family reading0 and        
8religious retirement40    ,and not only
 in name1 but in method1 are these times
 marked with the  same peculiar         
character as our public meetings4 ,in   
,friends' families of  the old-fashioned
 type 7which are more numerous still1 ,i
 fancy1 than  many people suspect7 the  
family meeting consists simply of the   
reading  of a portion of ,scripture1 and
 then a pause of silence1 which may or  
may  not be broken by words of prayer or
 of testimony4 ,many ,friends formerly  
7and some1 ,i believe1 still feel the   
same7 objected on conscientious  grounds
 to their children's learning to use any
 form of prayer1 even the  ,lord's      
,prayer4 ,the children shared from the  
first in the united silence  of the     
family1 and could not fail to know what 
it meant2 but in some  families it was  
rarely or never broken by vocal prayer4 
,a silent pause  before meals is the    

,friends' equivalent for 8saying        
grace0--a practice  which ,i own ,i     
think has much to recommend it4 ,here1  
again1 there is1 of  course1 the        
opportunity for words1 should words     
spontaneously rise to  the lips of any  
of those present4    ,when we penetrate 
into the inmost chamber of private      
worship differences  of method can no   
longer be traced by human eye4 ,it is   
not possible for  any one to judge of   
the practice of others in this respect2 
nay1 there  seems an impropriety in     
following individuals into this sacred  
region1  even in thought4 ,sectarian    
differences must here be left behind4   
,but for  that very reason ,i may here  
appeal with the greater fulness of      
confidence to the sympathy of all who   
pray1 in the attempt1 from which ,i     
feel it impossible to refrain1 to       
explain the way in which a belief in    
present inspiration is1 as ,i think1    
inseparable from belief in the  reality 
and the rightness of prayer4    ,i trust

 that ,i shall not be thought           
presumptuous for entering upon this     
subject4 ,there are many qualifications 
for it which ,i do not possess4  ,but on
 matters of common and urgent interest  
the very absence of  distinguishing     
power or knowledge may give a certain   
value to the  results of actual personal
 experience1 as lessening the distance  
across  which the helping hand has to   
reach out4    ,i believe that the       
permanent effect for good or for evil of
 the present  shaking and upheaval of   
thought amongst us must be mainly       
determined by  its relation to prayer4  
,no immediate result of the outbreak of 
free  discussion of all things in heaven
 and earth during the last thirty  years
 has been so agonizing to devout        
persons1 nor so gravely threatens       
spiritual health1 as the paralysis which
 in many cases it has seemed to  bring  
upon the spirit of prayer4 ,we meet     
daily with open denials of the          
reasonableness of prayer--of the        

possibility of entering into any real   
communication with the ,divine ,being4  
,few amongst us can have altogether     
escaped the paralyzing influence of the 
flood of unsolved1 and  apparently      
insoluble1 moral problems1 and at the   
same time of new and  absorbingly       
interesting views of material things1   
into which this  generation has been    
plunged4 ,the mere demand on the        
attention is  powerful enough to drain  
away great part of the mental power     
formerly  employed in seeking after     
,god4                  8,it seems ,his  
newer will1    ,we should not think of  
,him at all1 but trudge it2    ,and of  
the world ,he has assigned us make      
,what best we can10    says ,a4 ,h4     
,clough2 and he utters1 ,i am sure1 a   
widely spread feeling4  ,people's very  
love of truth seems to themselves to be 
enlisted in  pursuing the streams which 
lead them away from the ,fountain of    
truth4  ,and the pursuit of scientific  
truth is assuredly in its place a       

contribution to our knowledge of ,god1  
though made by workers who may but  too 
easily themselves lose sight of ,him in 
their engrossing  preoccupation with    
,his works4    ,but the tendency to put 
prayer to silence is not merely thus    
indirect4  ,the one idea which seems at 
present more forcibly to have grasped   
the  popular imagination1 is that of the
 universal and inexorable dominion of   
unchanging law4 ,and the inference is   
not unnatural1 8,then it is useless  to 
pray40 ,the result is an awful          
silence--not of the flesh1 indeed1 but  
of the spirit4 ,men and women have come 
to feel themselves alone in a new  and  
fearful sense--alone as in the valley of
 dry bones1 with no  expectation of any 
,divine breath to cause them to stand up
 upon their  feet1 a united host of     
living servants of the living ,god4     
,i trust that ,i shall not be suspected 
of any intention of grappling with  the 
problem of free-will and necessity4 ,i  
know1 at least1 enough to be  aware that

 there is at the end of every avenue of 
human thought an  impenetrable mystery4 
,but ,i also know that the region in    
which  philosophers join issue upon the 
question of necessity lies far beyond   
the range of any such practical         
questions as ,i am engaged with4 ,i know
  that the controversy is not decided1  
and1 so far as we can see1 does not     
visibly approach towards a decision2 ,i 
know also that no conceivable  agreement
 of philosophers as to the most accurate
 way of stating facts  can alter the    
facts themselves with which we have to  
do4 ,i do not hope  to express myself   
with philosophical accuracy2 but ,i can1
 and will1  speak plainly and truly of  
my own experience in this matter of     
prayer4    ,there was a time when ,i    
myself was silenced by the paralyzing   
influences  of which ,i have            
spoken--when the heavens seemed as      
brass1 and to ask for  anything seemed  
like flying in the face of one vast     
foregone conclusion2  as though a moth  

should dash itself against an iceberg4  
,but ,i have come  to believe that the  
truth against which ,i had thus1 so to  
speak1  stumbled in the dark1 was not   
that prayer is unreasonable1 but that my
  ideas of prayer were unworthy4        
,that the will of ,god is unchangeable1 
is assuredly the very foundation  of all
 reasonable trust in ,him1 and is       
recognized by saints and  philosophers  
alike4 ,but does not the imagination    
easily confound  unchangeableness with  
immovableness8 ,are not the laws of     
motion as fixed  as those of space8     
,what can be more full of movement than 
the flames of  fire8 ,yet are they less 
unchangeable in their nature than a bar 
of iron8  ,is it not through a reliance 
upon the unchangeable properties of     
material things that we are able to     
change the whole face of the earth8     
,and should we not remember that the    
unchangeable order which all things1    
visible and invisible1 obey1 includes   
the mystery of perpetual  8variation10  

and even of life itself8    ,it seems to
 me that when our imagination smites    
everything with  rigidity1 it is really 
playing us a trick4 ,those who are at   
all  competent to expound the theory of 
necessity are earnest to show that it   
in no way contradicts the efficacy of   
effort in any possible direction4  ,they
 have need to be earnest about it1 for  
the imagination is but too  ready for a 
pretext to hoist the flag of despair1   
and the will to throw  up the game of   
life1 and to sink into the sleep of     
apathy4    ,if we are right in thinking 
of ,god as the ,fountain of life and    
thought1  the ,father of spirits--and to
 those who deny this it is idle for me  
to  address myself--it can surely not be
 unreasonable for the spirits ,he has   
made to seek to hold communion with     
,him4 ,what is often unreasonable is    
the nature of our requests1 and our idea
 of the possibility of their  being     
granted4 ,here it is that ,i have had to
 recognize the unworthiness  of many of 

my own thoughts and expressions about   
prayer1 and that ,i  continually meet   
with what seems to me unfit and         
inadequate in the  language of others4  
,it cannot be an unimportant thing that 
we should  endeavour to sift out what is
 untenable and unbecoming from our      
thoughts  and words on this subject4    
,two things have1 as ,i believe1 mainly 
tended to lower our idea of  prayer1    
until1 in minds where it is but a       
theory1 it has been shattered  against  
the hard facts of science4 ,we have     
narrowed it to the idea of  asking for  
things1 and we have thought of it       
chiefly as a means of  getting them4    
,this is surely a degradation of the    
idea of prayer1 even though the  things 
asked for be what are called 8spiritual 
blessings40 ,the word  8prayer0 may1 it 
is true1 be used in the restricted sense
 of making  requests2 but in that case  
let it be distinctly understood and kept
 in  mind that it is but a part--the    
lowest and least essential part--of     

worship or communion with ,god4 ,it is  
of prayer in the larger sense--not      
request1 but communion--that we may     
rightly and wisely speak as the very    
breath of our spiritual life2 as the    
power by which life is  transfigured2 as
 that to which all things are possible4 
,but this  distinction between request  
and communion is not habitually kept in 
mind by those who write and speak of    
prayer1 nor even by all those who       
practise it4 ,it seems to me as if many 
even deeply experienced  ,christians    
were using all their energy to encourage
 and stimulate above  all that part of  
prayer which has surely the most of the 
merely human  and carnal in it1 rather  
than to show forth that nobler part to  
which  this should be but the innocent  
and natural prelude4 ,if we fall back1  
as  we must perpetually do1 upon our    
,lord's own leading principle of using  
the human relation of parent and child  
as the highest and most  instructive    
type of the relation between ,god and   

the human spirit1 we  shall surely feel 
that the child1 in learning to speak to 
its father and  to understand his voice1
 has far other and larger hopes and     
purposes  than that of getting things   
from him4 ,the human parent may use the 
child's innocent and natural wishes as  
one means of attracting its  attention1 
but would surely be grievously          
disappointed if the child  never looked 
beyond the advantages to be reaped by   
the power of speaking  to its           
father--never rose to the perception    
that intercourse with him was  in itself
 the greatest of human joys1 not a mere 
means to an end4    ,and in the same    
sort of sense ,i feel that1 when people 
insist upon 8the  efficacy of prayer10  
they are insisting upon its very lowest 
use2 and  that the concentration of     
attention upon this lowest use creates a
  serious stumbling-block1 which hinders
 faith in two ways4    #a4 ,it suggests 
a test which is not and cannot be       
uniformly favourable4  ,whatever the    

power of prayer may be--and words1 ,i   
believe1 must wholly  fail to express   
it--particular requests are certainly   
not always granted4  ,our ,lord         
explicitly prepares us for the refusal  
of blind requests1 and  our own good    
sense and our daily experience combine  
to make it  abundantly clear that many  
requests are1 and must always be1       
refused4    #b4 ,and more than this1    
there is1 ,i believe1 nobility enough in
 every  heart capable of real prayer to 
cause a recoil from the idea of using it
  only for the purpose of obtaining     
advantages1 be they of what kind they   
may4 ,i believe1 that is1 that the      
modern perplexity about prayer arises   
not only from a difficulty in imagining 
,god as ,one who can be influenced  by  
our desires1 but largely also from a    
latent sense that1 even if true  in     
fact1 that is a very inadequate         
conception of ,him to whom our worship  
should be addressed1 and who must       
assuredly know better than we do what   

things we have need of--from a recoil1  
in short1 against the low and  coarse   
and unworthy tone of much that is urged 
on the other side4    ,therefore ,i     
think that in the long-run an           
immeasurable gain will result  to faith 
from modern outspokenness in recognizing
 the difficulties of  this subject4     
,prayer1 if regarded as an attempt to   
wrest favours from  our heavenly ,father
 by dint of mere importunity1 is doomed 
to many  disappointments1 and stands    
sorely in need of their purifying       
discipline4 ,prayer is not really       
prayer--that is1 it is not true         
communion with ,god--till it rises above
 the region in which wilfulness is      
possible1 to the height of 8,not my     
will1 but ,thine1 be done40             
,importunity may1 indeed1 prevail to win
 attention from a reluctant or  drowsy  
human ear4 ,our ,lord ,himself reminds  
us of this fact to reprove  the         
faint-heartedness which would allow     
itself to be discouraged by  delay4 ,but

 the ear of the ,father is ever open to 
our prayers4 ,we cannot  think that     
importunity is needed to rouse ,his     
attention4 ,the hindrance  when ,he     
refuses1 or delays to grant1 our        
requests must be of a very  different   
kind4 ,if once we recognize that ,he    
hears us always1 and that  in everything
 that happens we may hear ,his voice    
answering us1 we are  forced also to    
recognize that severe discipline is as  
truly a part of  ,his answer as tender  
indulgence4 ,both are welcomed by the   
childlike  heart2 both are part of the  
language we have patiently to learn to  
interpret4    ,but then comes the       
question1 ,what is there to convince us 
that we are  listened to at all1 if the 
answer is everything equally8 ,if it is 
in the  whole course of events that we  
are to look for the answer1 and that    
course is as often as not contrary to   
our prayer1 how are we justified  in    
saying that prayer is ever answered8    
,it is the answer to this question1     

,what is it that does1 in fact1  produce
 a reasonable conviction that we are    
listened to8 which1 ,i think1  involves 
that theory of inspiration which        
,friends1 more markedly than  any other 
body of ,christians1 have always avowed 
and acted upon4 ,but1 in  trying to     
reply to it1 ,i wish it to be distinctly
 borne in mind that ,i  am giving1 for  
what it is worth1 the result of my own  
personal exercises  of mind1 not        
undertaking to state recognized ,quaker 
doctrine4#ab  ,difficulties1 though     
probably in essence the same from       
generation to  generation1 come before  
each generation in a fresh form1 and    
need to be  freshly met by individual   
experience4    ,that which produces a   
reasonable conviction that prayer is    
answered  must1 surely1 be the sense of 
,divine guidance of which ,i have       
already  spoken in the last chapter4    
,the general grounds for our common     
belief in  ,god as the ,father of       
spirits are too deep and too wide for me

 to set  forth4 ,as ,i have already     
said1 ,i assume such a belief as the    
groundwork  of all that ,i am attempting
 to unfold4 ,that which enables each one
 of us  who believe in ,him to discern  
,his voice is1 as already suggested1 a  
touch as of a hand upon our arm--a      
dealing with our own spirit and life  of
 so personal and individual and         
significant a nature as that we cannot  
help feeling that 8the finger of ,god is
 come unto us40    ,if this be1 indeed1 
the right direction in which to look for
 answers to  prayer1 then the whole     
subject is withdrawn from the region in 
which  positive proof or disproof are   
possible4 ,our interpretation of such   
individual experiences is that upon     
which the whole controversy turns1  and 
this must of necessity result from the  
nature of our previous belief           
respecting much more general truths4 ,it
 will always be open to those who       
disbelieve in ,god to call ,his signs   
8mere coincidences40 ,it is surely  not 

therefore the less reasonable for those 
who do believe in ,him to be  on the    
watch for every possible faintest       
indication of ,his pleasure4  ,there    
must be in this1 as in all other        
matters1 a preparation of heart  and    
mind before any sign1 however eloquent1 
can take effect upon us4 ,in  point of  
fact1 we know that the sense of         
receiving a personal  communication from
 above is not always excited by the     
granting of a  petition4 ,after we have 
asked and received1 no less than when we
 have  asked and not received1 we are   
sometimes inclined to say1 8,after all1 
does my prayer make any difference8     
would not things have happened just  in 
the same way if ,i had not prayed80     
,this is a question to which1 in  truth1
 ,i believe that we must be content 7so 
far1 at least1 as regards  any          
particular instance7 to remain without  
an answer4 ,we can never  really know   
what would have happened if we had not  
prayed4    ,to say this is1 of course1  

by no means to deny that our prayer has 
made  a real though unknown difference4 
,it is1 on the contrary1 almost         
positively to assert the action of      
unmeasured and unfathomable  influences4
 ,we cannot measure the whole results of
 any action1 however  insignificant2 but
 the whole tendency of modern           
8scientific0 thought1  and of belief in 
8necessity10 at any rate1 goes to show  
that all things  are so interdependent  
that an action without results is almost
  inconceivable4 ,necessitarians1 of all
 people1 are bound to admit this4  ,the 
action of prayer cannot1 however1 be    
traced by human eyes1 and the  longing  
to know precisely what difference our   
prayer makes to the  course of events   
is1 ,i believe1 a longing which can     
never be gratified  in this world4      
,yet a power which we cannot precisely  
measure may make itself  continually    
felt1 and the power of prayer is in some
 lives a matter of  perpetually renewed 
if incommunicable experience4 ,the      

testimony of those  who can thankfully  
and reverently say that their prayers   
are answered in  a manner that is       
wonderful in their own eyes1 is too     
familiar and too  sacred to all of us to
 need insisting upon4 ,its weight is1 ,i
 believe1  strictly speaking1           
immeasurable4 ,but it is in a manner    
naturally veiled  from hasty or external
 observation1 and is1 therefore1 easily 
disregarded4 ,when fully considered1 it 
will be found to consist mainly  in     
combinations of circumstances by no     
means incredible in themselves4  ,it is 
not the accuracy of the facts recorded  
by those to whom prayer is  a reality1  
but the explanation of their            
combination1 which is generally  in     
question4 ,if ,i am right in supposing  
that we can never trace the  precise    
relation of cause and effect between    
prayer and the answer1 this             
difficulty--the difficulty1 ,i mean1 of 
exhaustively explaining  significant    
combinations of circumstances--is not   

surprising4 ,it is the  natural result  
of our being out of our depth4    ,but  
although the whole region into which we 
plunge when we begin to  speak of the   
answer to our prayers is of necessity   
unfathomable by us1  we may with        
advantage remember that there are some  
special difficulties  besetting any     
attempt to share with others the        
experiences which have  naturally and   
rightly most weight with ourselves2 and 
that by  disregarding these difficulties
 we convert them into stumbling-blocks4 
,one main difficulty of this kind lies  
in the fact that the outward  events of 
which we can speak most freely1 which we
 can1 as it were1  without impropriety  
call others to witness1 must be more or 
less public  in their nature2 such as1  
e4g41 the preservation of lives dear to 
us1  political or national events1      
favourable changes of weather1 and so   
on--things as to which it is not upon   
any theory reasonable to suppose  that  
they can be determined with reference   

only to the wishes or the  prayers of   
any one individual4 ,even if they went  
according to my  personal wishes and    
prayers1 there would be a manifest      
impropriety in  claiming them as having 
been thereby brought about4 ,if ,i pray 
that the  sun may rise to-morrow        
morning1 it does not need much faith to 
feel sure  ,i shall not be refused1 but 
it would be grossly improper to claim   
that  the event had occurred 8in answer 
to my prayers40 ,when the ,prince of    
,wales recovered from his fever1 there  
were many who would have thought  it    
impious to doubt that his recovery was  
actually caused by the many  prayers    
which were undoubtedly offered on his   
behalf4 ,other people were  and will    
remain convinced that he would equally  
have recovered in any  case4 ,who can   
attempt to decide between these opinions
 with any show of  authority8 ,indeed1  
it appears to me that both are          
presumptuous4 ,surely  it is enough for 
children to know that their desire is   

fulfilled1  without inquiring into the  
motives 7if1 indeed1 we should dare to  
attribute motives to ,god7 by which the 
parents' fulfilment of it was  prompted4
    ,in the case of many events 7such as
 battles1 weather1 and so on7 which     
must necessarily be unfavourable to the 
wishes of one side and  favourable to   
the other1 we know that some prayers    
must be granted while  some are refused4
 ,who will attempt to trace the         
proportion between  request and result8 
or to treat the influence of prayer in  
such matters  as admitting of either    
proof or disproof8    ,but when we come 
to the circumstances of each individual 
life1 the case  is very different4 ,we  
do not get rid of mystery even here4    
,our  knowledge1 even of our own lives1 
is altogether imperfect and             
fragmentary2 but to pretend to know no  
more about the ordering of them  than we
 do about the universe would be mere    
dishonesty4 ,we can trace a             
correspondence between our desires and  

their accomplishment when it  occurs in 
our own lives1 such as it would be mere 
impertinence to try to  trace between1  
e4g41 our desires and the history of a  
nation4 ,you may  call it superstition  
to say1 8,i prayed for strength and my  
request was  granted1 for strength was  
given me20 but you cannot accuse me of  
gross  impropriety in thus associating  
my prayer and the event1 as you would if
  ,i said1 8,i prayed that the sun might
 rise1 and my request has been          
granted40 ,it is within our own personal
 experience that we must look for  the  
answer which we can rightly appropriate4
    ,but1 then1 in proportion as the    
event is brought within the personal    
sphere of one individual1 it is         
necessarily removed from that of others4
  ,those parts of our personal and      
separate experience of which we can     
speak freely are almost necessarily     
superficial4 ,i do not doubt that  even 
trifles are a part of the ,divine       
language to individuals1 but  trifles   

cannot with propriety be appealed to for
 the purpose of  convincing others4     
,those personal experiences1 on the     
other hand1 which  are at once deep     
enough and individual enough to be the  
fittest subjects  of prayer 7in the     
sense of special request71 and to be met
 by responsive  8providences0 of a      
peculiarly impressive kind1 are almost  
always such  as1 for a very different   
reason1 we are unable to mention with   
much  freedom4 ,the whole cogency of the
 reasoning which is rightly conclusive  
to oneself1 in short1 generally depends 
upon facts of personal feeling1  and    
upon minute correspondences of events   
with intricate chains of  previous      
experience1 such as human language would
 fail to transmit1 even  did a right    
instinct of modesty not forbid the      
attempt4 ,we are1  therefore1 in this   
matter very much shut up 7and ,i think  
there is in the  fact a beautiful       
fitness7 to the individual and separate 
teaching of  life4 ,i believe that we   

cannot 7if it be true7 too clearly and  
unflinchingly make the assertion that   
our private experience has  convinced us
 of the reality of the ,divine response 
to prayer2 but also1  that we cannot be 
too cautious how we try to utter such   
experience  itself4 ,simple-minded      
people1 who live much in the practice of
 prayer1  and whose habitual expectation
 of a ,divine response is continually   
7and  to themselves often wonderfully7  
fulfilled1 are often exposed to the     
snare of making public what should be   
sacredly kept for themselves  alone1 or 
at least shared only with those who     
8have ears to hear40 ,much  mischief is1
 ,i fear1 often done by the too free and
 ready communication1  especially in    
print1 of 8remarkable answers to        
prayer20 of incidents  which1           
overpoweringly eloquent as they may well
 be to those whom they  concern1 are but
 an idle tale to strangers--a tale the  
telling of which  sometimes lends itself
 but too easily to the mere love of     

signs and  wonders4 ,they also often lay
 bare the most painful effects of       
unconscious self-importance--the most   
glaring tendency to refer  everything to
 oneself as the centre1 and to ignore   
the legitimate share  of others in the  
events referred to4 ,one is almost      
inclined to say of  such stories that1  
the more wonderful they are1 the less   
edifying they  are likely to be4    ,for
 it is not in such outward and tangible 
events as these1 not in the  things     
which can be passed from hand to hand   
like coins1 that the real  power and    
soul-subduing influence of a ,divine    
communication is most  unmistakably     
felt4 ,it is the still small voice which
 overcomes2 the  gentle combination of  
perhaps very ordinary circumstances1    
which1 when  combined1 acquire the      
significance of a distinct message4     
,just as when  we see letters brought   
together and placed under our eyes1     
which  together form a word replying to 
our thought1 we infer that they have    

been so arranged by some one who knew   
what was in our minds2 so1 to  those of 
us who habitually not only ask but watch
 for ,divine  instruction1 there occur  
again and again combinations of events1 
adjustments even of the minutest        
details1 which produce a quite          
irresistible sense that the finger of   
,god is pointing the lesson ,he  would  
have us learn4    ,it is idle to ask    
those who never listen whether and how  
,god answers  prayer4 ,the very         
possibility of discerning the answer    
implies docility  and willingness of    
heart4 ,the ,high and ,holy ,one that   
inhabiteth eternity  dwells with him who
 is of an humble and contrite spirit1   
and such only  can learn to know ,his   
voice4    ,to those who in any degree do
 know ,his voice1 it gradually becomes  
clear  that prayer and its answer are   
inseparable4 ,the answer is as the      
answer  of the atmosphere to the lungs1 
of light to the eyes4 ,the humble and   
contrite heart opens its doors to its   

,maker1 and is filled with ,his         
presence4 ,then1 indeed1 the light      
shines within2 then the very breath of  
our life is breathed into us by the     
,spirit of ,god4 ,inspiration--the      
inbreathing power from above1 by which  
alone all that is heavenly in us  is    
brought about1--this is the other aspect
 of worship4    ,true worship1          
therefore1 implies inspiration4 ,it is  
the inspired prayer  which transfigures 
life--which is mighty with the might of 
the ,fountain  from whence it flows4    
,while we separate worship and          
inspiration we can  never think worthily
 of either4 ,i do indeed believe that   
the very desire  of our heart is often  
granted to us in reply to our petition4 
,i do not  venture to speak confidently 
as to the precise relation of cause and 
effect which may exist between any      
petition and its fulfilment4 ,there     
must1 ,i believe1 be some such real     
relation2 but to my own mind it often   
seems more probable and more reverent to

 suppose1 where the  correspondence is  
very marked1 that the prayer has been in
 the nature of  a prophetic utterance1  
of a ,divine foreshadowing1 than that   
our wish  should have been allowed to   
become the efficient cause of the       
,divine  action4 ,a prayer which has    
been answered by the perfect fulfilment 
of  its requests shows1 ,i believe1 that
 the offerer of it was so far under     
,divine influence2 that his will was to 
that extent at least in harmony  with   
the ,divine will4 ,this is a word of    
blessed encouragement for the  one to   
whom it comes1 which it is not always   
wise or right to proclaim  from the     
housetop4 8,upliftings unto prayer0 7to 
quote one more of the  deep words of ,a4
 ,h4 ,clough7 are surely among the      
sacred things of which  we should not   
lightly lift the veil4 ,i do not think  
that those who have  any true and deep  
experience of what it is to hold        
communion1 however  faltering and       
intermittent1 with our ,god will be     

forward to attempt to  divest it of its 
mystery1 while yet they must earnestly  
desire to set  forth to others what they
 have learnt of its power and its       
blessedness4  ,for the sake of the many 
who honestly desire to know the truth   
upon this  deepest and most urgent of   
all common interests1 ,i think that we  
who  have some such experience are bound
 to seek to clothe it in fit and  worthy
 language4    ,let us1 therefore1       
recognize and avow1 when occasion       
serves1 that  prayer1 worship1 or       
communion with ,god is a larger1 deeper1
 fuller thing  than mere asking and     
having4 ,let us acknowledge that the    
simplest and  most inarticulate cry for 
help--the voice of the 8infant crying in
 the  night1 and with no language but a 
cry0--is as sure to enter the ear of    
the ,father of spirits as the deepest   
prayer ever uttered by saint or  martyr4
 ,let us remember that1 according to the
 teaching of our ,lord  ,himself1 the   
one voice which is more sure 7if degrees

 of sureness there  can be7 than any    
other of being listened to by the good  
,shepherd1 is the  voice of the one who 
has strayed the furthest from the fold1 
and is the  most deeply conscious of    
being afar off--the voice of the lost   
sheep over  whose first turning towards 
home the very angels in heaven rejoice  
with  a special joy4 ,but let us never  
forget that in the homeward path there  
are heights beyond heights2 that as any 
spirit is drawn upwards by the          
,father's love and care1 it becomes more
 and more filled with the light  of ,his
 countenance1 more interpenetrated by   
that light which shines  clearest in the
 dark places through which every        
upward-tending spirit  must assuredly   
pass4 ,let us not forget that the reward
 of faithfulness  in that which is least
 is the call to enter into that which is
  greater--deeper and higher and fuller 
of ,divine significance2 that those     
8influences of the ,divine presence0 to 
which it is the essence of true  worship

 to 8yield ourselves0 must penetrate    
into the inmost recesses of  our being1 
and bring every thought into subjection 
to the law of  ,christ--that law of the 
,spirit of life1 by which all that is of
 the flesh  is gradually purged away as 
by a consuming fire--and that to live in
 the  spirit of prayer is to live more  
and more continually and intimately in  
the presence of ,him before whom the    
angels veil their faces1 and who is  of 
purer eyes than to behold iniquity4 ,so 
that it may well be1 or rather  it can  
only be1 in fear and in trembling that  
this wonderful salvation  of entrance   
into ,his presence can be worked out4   
,the prayers which are  owned by ,him   
are not prayers which can be offered in 
the will of man1 or  which can be used  
as a means of gratifying the desires of 
the flesh or  of the reason2 they are   
the breathings of the spirit struggling 
to  return to ,him who gave it1 or      
rejoicing in the light of ,his          
countenance4  ,the spirit which is being

 made free from the law of sin and death
 cannot  look backwards towards the     
things of earth4 ,its path is onwards   
and  upwards1 ever 8into light10 and its
 breathings are the vibrations          
communicated to it from the ,source and 
,centre of light2 they obey a law  as   
unchangeable as the laws of light       
itself1 and their function is to        
destroy and to consume away the         
perishing1 worn-out raiment of the      
spirit1 to free it from defilements and 
hindrances1 and to bring it  forth in   
the fulness of time 8into the glorious  
liberty of the children  of ,god10 the  
rightful 8inheritance of the saints in  
light40 ,surely we  may with reverence  
say that1 in a true and a deep sense1   
,god ,himself is  the ,answer to prayer4
                                        
,,chapter ,,iv4                         
,,free ,,ministry4      ,our ministry   
may be said to be free in several       
distinct senses4    #a4 ,it is open to  
all4    #b4 ,its exercise is not subject

 to any pre-arrangement4    #c4 ,it is  
not paid4    ,we believe that the one   
essential qualification for the office  
of a  minister is the anointing of the  
,holy ,spirit2 and that this anointing  
is  poured out without respect of       
persons upon men and women1 upon old and
  young1 upon learned and unlearned4    
,the gift is1 we believe1 a purely      
spiritual one1 as much beyond our       
control as the rain from heaven2 yet  as
 unfailing1 as abundant1 as necessary to
 fertility4    ,our views of this matter
 differ from those of other ,christians1
 not in  the fact that we recognize the 
free gift of this holy anointing1 not   
even in the fact that we repudiate the  
idea of its being purchasable by  money1
 but in the fact that our idea of       
ministry refers exclusively to  the     
offering of spontaneous spiritual       
ministrations4 ,all would surely  agree 
that it is impossible for any one to    
offer acceptable prayer1 or  to sow in  
other hearts the living seed of the     

kingdom1 without a  distinct gift from  
above4 ,it is obvious that we cannot    
give what we have  not received4 ,it is 
also surely undeniable that what we have
 freely  received we should freely give2
 that the gift of ,god cannot be bought 
for money1 nor restricted in its        
exercise to humanly prepared channels4  
,no one who believes in the reality of  
the gift of 8prophecy0--of  speaking1   
that is1 from the immediate promptings  
of the ,spirit of  ,truth--would dare to
 seek either to purchase or to restrain 
such  utterances4 8,where the ,spirit of
 the ,lord is1 there is liberty40 ,our  
doctrine of a free ministry1 of course1 
supposes a real belief in the  continual
 inbreathing of that ,divine ,spirit1   
giving both light and  utterance through
 ,his own chosen vessels for the help of
 all4 ,it also  goes a step further1 and
 regards such spiritual ministrations as
  all-sufficient4 ,here is the real     
point of divergence between us and our  
fellow-,christians4 ,the vast majority  

of them regard something more than      
these purely spiritual ministrations as 
essential to a full allegiance  to our  
common ,lord4    ,other ,christian      
bodies have from very early times       
recognized a  distinction between clergy
 and laity1 and have regarded at least  
two  sacraments as having been          
instituted by ,christ ,himself1 and as  
being in  some sense or other 8necessary
 to salvation20 and the greater number1 
or  at any rate the largest1 of these   
bodies have habitually adopted the use  
of liturgical forms of public worship4  
,at the root of our abstinence from all 
these generally accepted  practices1    
there lies the one conviction of the    
all-sufficiency of  individual and      
immediate communication with the ,father
 of our spirits2  and a profound belief 
that by ,his coming in the flesh our    
,lord ,jesus  ,christ did1 in fact1 open
 a new and living way of access to ,god1
 which  superseded and blotted out the  
former dispensation of rites and        

ceremonies1 investing all believers with
 the function of 8kings and  priests0   
7calling them1 that is1 both to exercise
 dominion and to offer  acceptable      
sacrifices in ,his name71 and enabling  
them to show forth the  nature and      
results of that worship in spirit and in
 truth1 which was no  longer to be in   
any sense confined to temples made with 
hands1 and of  that kingdom which is    
8not meat and drink1 but righteousness  
and peace  and joy in the ,holy ,ghost40
    ,it was a bold thing indeed for the 
early ,friends to break loose at once   
from the whole ecclesiastical system1   
with its venerable and  long-established
 claim to be the divinely ordained      
channel of spiritual  nutriment4 ,in    
doing so1 they no doubt took up an      
attitude of hostility  towards the      
8hireling priests10 and their           
8steeple-houses0 and  8so-called        
ordinances10 which1 however             
comparatively intelligible it may  have 
been at the time1 was yet not only      

highly obnoxious1 but would even  seem  
to have led them into some degree of    
injustice4    ,after sixty or seventy   
years of severe persecution1 however1   
borne with  extraordinary patience as   
well as constancy1 their right to carry 
out  their own manner of worship was    
fully allowed2 and by a strange result  
of changes1 partly within the ,society  
itself and partly in the  surrounding   
mental atmosphere1 ,friends1 from being 
regarded as  peculiarly pestilent       
heretics1 came to be looked on as the   
most harmless  and least obnoxious of   
,nonconformists4 ,i believe1 however1   
that this can  be the case only as long 
as we are content to acquiesce in a     
purely  passive and dwindling state4    
,any attempt to promulgate our peculiar 
views must necessarily give offence4 ,we
 may1 perhaps1 no longer think it  a    
duty to denounce the institution of a   
separate clergy1 and the  observance of 
8so-called ordinances10 as positively   
unlawful or sinful4  ,but to say plainly

 that we consider them as superfluous1  
requires hardly  less boldness1 and is  
scarcely likely to be more palatable4   
,the fact1  however1 cannot be          
disguised2 and in spite of the pain     
which1 in these  days of free and lively
 interchange of sympathy1 is involved in
 taking  up any clear ground of         
separation1 no true ,friend would desire
 in the  slightest degree to disguise or
 to veil our ancient testimony against  
outward observances and their           
accompanying institution of a paid      
ministry4    ,it is1 however1 a great   
help in doing so to be able to point to 
the very  remarkable fact of the        
existence during more than two centuries
 of a  body of people whose lives bear  
abundant witness to the reality of their
  ,christian profession1 amongst whom   
these 8ordinances0 have been  altogether
 disused4    ,for my own part1 ,i would 
rather leave that fact to speak for     
itself than  attempt to trace all the   
inferences which may1 ,i think1 be      

fairly drawn  from it4 ,yet the question
 whether the clerical and sacramental   
system is  indeed an essential part of  
,christianity1 or a human accretion1 is 
too  profoundly important to the future 
of ,christianity itself to be lightly   
passed over4 ,are there not many1 in    
these days especially1 who would        
willingly listen to the ,christianity of
 ,christ ,himself1 could they but  find 
it disentangled from the enormously     
8developed0 ,christianity of the        
dominant ,churches8    ,i am far from   
venturing to claim that the ,society of 
,friends does  actually exhibit a       
perfect living instance of what has been
 called  8primitive ,christianity       
revived10 but ,i do believe its ideal to
 be the  true1 and the only true one2   
that of a ,church1 or 8gathered people10
  living with the one object of obeying 
the teaching of ,christ ,himself to  the
 very uttermost--,his own teaching1 not 
that of those who have spoken  in ,his  
name1 even though they be apostles1     

except in so far as they  speak in      
accordance with it4 ,to live the ,sermon
 on the ,mount1 and the  rest of the    
gospel teaching1 and in all things to   
listen for the living  voice of the good
 ,shepherd1 watching constantly that no 
human tradition  divert our attention   
from it1--this is our acknowledged aim  
and bond of  union as a ,society4 ,our  
conviction of its sufficiency is the    
ground of  our existence as a separate  
body4    ,we believe that neither the   
division of ,christian people into      
clergy and  laity1 nor the use of       
sacramental ceremonies1 were enjoined by
 ,christ  ,himself4 ,it is clear that   
both these practices quickly arose      
amongst the  early ,christians2 but     
remembering that the early ,christians  
were but  fallible human beings like    
ourselves1 and that they were undeniably
 far  from clear what rites and         
ceremonies were to be observed1 we do   
not feel  that their practice is to be  
our guide4    ,the institution of a     

separate clergy and that of the         
sacraments form1 of  course1 essentially
 one system4 ,the early ,friends went to
 the root of  the matter when they      
abandoned at once the whole of what they
 called  8mountain and ,jerusalem       
worship10 as opposed to the worship in  
spirit  and in truth1 which is not      
limited to any time or place4    ,i have
 not the slightest intention of taking  
upon myself the attempt to  show that   
they were right in doing so4 ,the       
grounds of their action are  fully set  
forth and defended with undeniable      
vigour and ability by  ,robert ,barclay1
 in his famous 8,apology40 ,my humbler  
endeavour will be to  describe the      
perplexities which prepared my own mind 
thankfully to  accept what to myself    
appears to be a thoroughly satisfactory 
disentanglement of essential            
,christianity from whatever can be      
honestly  regarded as unintelligible1   
and unworthy of its lofty and spiritual 
character4    ,i must own at the outset 

that ,i have never been able clearly to 
understand the grounds upon which the   
8ordinances0 in question are  regarded  
as essential parts of ,christianity1 nor
 have ,i ever found it  possible to     
arrive at a thoroughly satisfactory     
explanation of their  precise 7supposed7
 effects4 ,i am1 of course1 not ignorant
 of the general  nature of those grounds
 or supposed results4 ,but a broad space
 of  obscurity seems to separate the    
actual transactions out of which the    
8ordinances0 arose from the earliest    
known records of the institutions       
themselves2 and it is notorious that    
theologians differ very widely in  their
 views of the spiritual results produced
 either by ordination or by  a due      
participation in the sacraments1 and    
also of the conditions  necessary to    
their 8validity40    ,it is here that   
the practical pinch of the system is    
felt4 ,were the  matter one of purely   
speculative interest1 how gladly would  
,i and other  unlearned people have left

 it in the hands of those better        
qualified to  deal with it6 ,but it is a
 question of urgent practical           
importance1  which1 as regards at least 
one of the sacraments1 no devout person 
can  escape4 ,every adult member of the 
,church of ,england 7every one1 that is1
  who is so in a religious sense7 is    
confronted with a solemn challenge to   
do1 or to leave undone at his peril1 an 
act involving vast and  mysterious      
consequences for good or for evil to his
 spiritual welfare4  ,no middle course  
is possible1 and the ,church            
,prayer-book promises no  safety either 
in its performance or omission4 ,to     
8partake unworthily0 is  represented as 
involving vague and awful               
dangers--dangers possibly1  though not  
clearly1 greater than those which would 
be incurred by  omitting an act         
8generally necessary to salvation40 ,but
 how to be sure  of partaking worthily8 
8,a true penitent heart and lively faith
 444 a  lively and steadfast faith in   

,christ our ,saviour 444 and perfect    
charity  with all men10--if these are   
the necessary preparations for being    
8meet  partakers of these holy          
mysteries10 failing in which we do but  
8eat and  drink our own damnation0 by   
venturing to partake of them1 is it any 
wonder if the troubled heart is held in 
a state of continual uneasiness1  and   
shrinks almost equally from the act and 
from its omission8    ,such1 at least1  
was my own painful and long-continued   
experience4 ,the  injunction to 8examine
 one's self0 as a safeguard against     
unworthy  participation did but increase
 the perplexity and distress4 ,for how  
can  self-examination fail to increase  
the sense of unworthiness8 and how is   
it possible for any one to imagine      
himself competent to be judge in his    
own case8    ,i do not forget that the  
,prayer-book suggests 7not to say       
prescribes7 a  refuge from such         
perplexities in an application to 8some 
discreet and  learned minister of ,god's

 ,word0 for 8absolution1 and ghostly    
counsel and  advice40 ,i quite recognize
 the consistency of this suggestion1    
which  seems to me to confirm the       
obvious remark already made1 that the   
sacerdotal and sacramental system hangs 
together1 and must be adopted or        
rejected as a whole4 ,in my own case1   
,protestantism was too strong to  allow 
of my accepting this legitimate         
corollary of the ,church of ,england    
doctrine respecting the ,lord's ,supper4
 ,to have recourse to confession  and   
absolution was an impossibility to me1  
as ,i believe it to be even  yet to the 
great majority of ,englishwomen1 and as 
it is assuredly likely  always to be to 
,englishmen4 ,but ,i doubt whether any  
satisfactory  resting-place short of it 
is to be found for those who fully adopt
 the  ,anglican view of sacraments4     
,i do not mean to represent the         
perplexities and scruples ,i have spoken
  of as having constituted the whole of 
my experience in this matter1 or  to say

 that ,i was quite unable to meet them  
in a manner more or less  provisionally 
satisfactory to myself4 ,it is true that
 out of  perplexities and scruples      
sprang doubts and questionings 7with    
which1  indeed1 the very air ,i breathed
 was thick71 so that during the twenty  
years in which ,i was a regular         
communicant in the ,church of ,england1 
,i  was never able to feel that my own  
practice was based upon thoroughly      
clear and solid ground of ascertained   
truth4 ,yet in spite of1 or rather      
alongside of1 all scruples and          
questionings as to the real intention of
  our ,lord--if1 indeed1 ,he had any    
intention at all--with regard to any    
special commemoration of ,his death by  
the use of bread and wine1 ,i did       
earnestly1 throughout those years1      
according to the measure of my  ability1
 endeavour to solve the problem in      
practice--to make the act of  outward   
8communion0 a real occasion of renewed  
self-dedication1 and of  inward and     

spiritual feeding on the bread of life4 
,such times were1  indeed1 often        
occasions of deep spiritual blessing2   
but ,i never could  discern that they   
were so in any other sense than that in 
which every  real act of prayer1 of     
penitence1 of self-dedication1 and of   
thanksgiving must necessarily be so4    
,the whole blessing appeared to me  to  
be of a spiritual kind1 and due to      
spiritual causes4 ,the connection       
between the use of bread and wine and   
these spiritual sources of  blessing    
never became clear to me4 ,the more     
profound the blessedness of  communion  
with ,christ and with ,his people1 the  
less conceivable did it  seem that it   
should depend upon the official         
performance of an elaborate  rite4      
,the ,bible1 to which in this           
,protestant country we are always       
referred  for the solution of the       
difficulties as to which ,catholics     
consult their  priests1 appeared to me  
to afford no help whatever in defining  

the  conditions necessary to a right    
participation1 nor in directing one's   
choice between the various sacramental  
theories to be met with in our  days4   
,all schools of theology equally appeal 
to it1 and it is obvious  that a book   
cannot decide between rival             
interpretations of itself4 ,it  did1    
however1 distinctly help me towards the 
conclusion that there might  be no need 
to choose between these various theories
 at all4 ,to my  unassisted reason it   
appeared that the effect of comparing   
any1 even the  mildest1 modern          
eucharistical theory with the accounts  
to be found in  the ,new ,testament of  
our ,lord's parting supper with his     
disciples1 was  chiefly to show that a  
vast and unexplained addition to1 or at 
the least  development of1 the original 
idea had taken place since these        
accounts  were written4 ,the whole form 
of words used in the ,communion ,service
  seems to me to convey meanings almost 
immeasurably different from  anything   

which ,i could myself have extracted    
from the one brief  expression1 8,do    
this in remembrance of me40 ,left to    
myself and to  ,scripture1 the ,gospel  
narratives would never have suggested   
the idea of  any intention to institute 
a ceremony at all1 far less to invest   
its  observance with possibilities so   
awful both for good and for evil1 not   
only in case of omission1 but even in   
case of inadequate observance4 ,to  my  
own mind1 the narratives of the ,last   
,supper in ,matthew and ,mark1  which   
contain no allusion to any possible     
repetition of the feast1  appeared quite
 as complete1 quite as significant1 as  
that of ,luke1 which  gives the         
addition1 8,do this in remembrance of   
me40 ,the allusions in the  ,epistle to 
the ,corinthians to some disorderly     
practices in that ,church  certainly    
make it clear that they had adopted a   
practice of meeting to  8show the       
,lord's death till ,he come0 by eating  
bread and drinking wine2  and the       

apostle's reference to a ,divine        
communication to himself of the         
circumstances of the ,last ,supper      
certainly seems to show that he         
believed them to have sufficient ground 
for doing so2 but1 on the other  hand1  
the words which he there ascribes to    
,christ1 8,do this1 as oft as  ye drink 
it1 in remembrance of me10 have always  
seemed to me to be  distinctly          
incompatible with the idea of a command 
to eat bread and  drink wine in order to
 commemorate ,his death1 and would      
rather suggest  a reverent remembrance  
of ,him on all social occasions1 and    
perhaps  especially when meeting for the
 ,passover or any other religious       
feasts4  ,i was thus fully ripe for the 
view so vigorously put forth in         
,barclay's  8,apology10#ac as held by   
,friends4    ,i have allowed my thoughts
 to fall into a somewhat                
autobiographical  form1 because the     
appearance of egotism seems to me       
preferable to the  real presumption of  

going beyond one's knowledge1 and also  
because ,i am  anxious to show how      
unavoidably 7and at the same time1 ,i   
believe1  innocently7 one may become    
entangled in questions too deep and too 
perplexing for ordinary minds1 in the   
mere honest endeavour to obey at  once  
the teachings of ,jesus ,christ and of  
the ,church4    ,to myself it was the   
greatest relief1 at a time when ,i had  
thus been  driven to choose between     
obedience to my own conscience on the   
one hand1  and outward communion with my
 fellow-,christians on the other1 and   
when ,i  had for two years1 with pain   
and grief1 excommunicated myself        
accordingly--it was at that moment the  
greatest relief to find a body of       
,christians who held the simple1 and1 to
 my mind1 the one worthy view of        
,christianity1 as a dispensation        
entirely spiritual in its nature2 a     
state of enlightenment and true worship 
in which forms and shadows had  passed  
away1 and the substance alone was to be 

laboured for4 ,it was in  the quiet     
meetings already described that ,i      
myself first learnt the full  meaning of
 the words1 8baptizing into the ,name   
444 and the communion of  the body of   
,christ40 ,the outward observances by   
which these 8holy  mysteries0 are       
typified in the devotions of other      
bodies had been to me  rather a         
hindrance than a help4 ,i cannot help   
suspecting that they are  so to many4   
,for if not a help1 they must be a      
hindrance4 ,it may1 to people in some   
stages of education1 or in some         
countries1 be a natural and real way of 
receiving or expressing truth1 to       
perform ceremonial acts4 ,i cannot      
think that it is the spontaneous        
language of intelligent devotion in our 
own time and country4 ,to my own mind   
the great crowning lesson imparted  by  
our ,divine ,master1 in the solemn      
farewell hours of ,his last evening     
with ,his disciples1 is lowered and     
eclipsed when considered as the         

institution of a ceremony1 and shines   
out again in its fulness of  majestic   
pathos when regarded as an embodied or  
acted parable4 ,his  repeated warnings  
to ,his disciples against their         
inveterate tendency to  take ,his words 
literally1 and to interpret them as     
referring to the meat  that perishes    
instead of as being spirit and life1    
sound in one's ears  when one feels     
oppressed by what 7forgive me the       
irrepressible truth7 to  some of us     
seems the unintelligent practice of     
continually repeating a  form used by   
,christ once for all to show forth the  
central truth of ,his  life-giving life 
on earth4    ,it is the fear that1 in   
wrapping the 8words of eternal life0 in 
a  garment of superstitious usage1 they 
are being inevitably buried out of  the 
reach of those who need them the most1  
which prompts me to speak  thus boldly4 
,whatever lowers our religion to a      
matter of outward  observance1 whatever 
seems to give to unreasoning            

participation in  outward acts a place  
on the same level with that inward      
continuance in  the ,word of ,christ    
which makes ,his disciples free1 is     
surely a human and  a grievous barrier  
in the homeward path which ,he came to  
open to all4    ,those who feel as we do
 about the meaning of our ,lord on the  
occasion of  ,his last supper with ,his 
disciples1 will naturally incline to    
take a  similar view of ,his meaning in 
the few references made by ,him to the  
subject of baptism4 ,the word is        
obviously used in the ,new ,testament in
  several different senses4 ,if we      
believe 7as is at least suggested by the
  words of the ,apostle ,paul7 that     
there is but 8one baptism10 we must     
surely suppose it to be that baptism    
8with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire0   
which ,john foretold as the office of   
,him for whom he himself1 with his      
8baptism with water10 was preparing the 
way2--,he who was to increase as  ,john 
decreased1 and who said of ,himself1    

after ,he had 8fulfilled all            
righteousness0 by submitting to ,john's 
baptism1 that ,he had yet 8a  baptism to
 be baptized with0--assuredly not an    
outward one4    ,with the observance of 
rites and ceremonies1 the need for a    
separate  priesthood passes away4 ,it   
is1 ,i believe1 undisputed that the word
  8priest0 is used in the ,new          
,testament only with reference to the   
high  calling of all believers2 the     
calling to offer themselves as living   
sacrifices1 holy1 acceptable to ,god4   
,it appears to us that this priestly    
office of all believers is greatly      
obscured1 and the sense of religious    
responsibility weakened1 by the         
delegation to a separate and official   
class of persons of the function  of    
conducting the devotions of the         
congregation4 ,the exclusive  employment
 of one man as spokesman for the whole  
congregation must of  necessity quench  
in others any impulse to offer vocal    
ministrations1 at  any rate during the  

time of public worship2 and in regard to
 daily life1  the idea of a 8cure of    
souls0 seems equally inconsistent with  
the ,quaker  idea of 8watching over one 
another for good10 as being a duty      
resting  more or less on all the members
 of a meeting4    ,there are1 of course1
 many other ,church offices besides the 
essentially  priestly one of offering   
the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
 which  are fulfilled1 and often nobly  
fulfilled1 by the clergy of the ,church 
of  ,england4 ,these other offices1 such
 as teaching1 visiting the sick1        
attending to the relief of the poor1    
etc41 are surely in no way  inseparable1
 though they are popularly              
undistinguished1 from that claim  to the
 priesthood against which ,friends have 
always protested4 ,it may be  an open   
question whether all the civilizing1    
softening1 philanthropic1  and          
beneficent influences exercised by the  
clergy could be brought to  bear with   
equal effect upon the population1       

especially of country  districts1 if the
 idea of an essential distinction       
between them and the  laity were        
suddenly obliterated4 ,the question what
 would be the  practical result of such 
an obliteration1 or1 in other words1 of 
the  adoption of ,friends' principle of 
a free ministry1 is at any rate         
scarcely within the visible horizon4 ,it
 would certainly be impossible to  any  
candid person in these days to speak    
without respect and admiration  of the  
clergy generally1 and without deep      
reverence of many amongst  them4 ,the   
days are long past when such phrases as 
a 8hireling ministry0  could have been  
indiscriminately used concerning a body 
of men whose  lives are in innumerable  
instances so visibly and nobly          
disinterested4  ,it is an obvious1      
though too common mistake1 to confound  
the conditions  of any service with the 
motives from which it is undertaken4    
,but it is  nevertheless a very grave   
question what effect the fact that      

ordination  to the clerical office opens
 to any young man of ordinary abilities 
and  respectability the gates of an     
honourable profession1 by which he may  
lawfully earn his bread and maintain a  
family1 is likely to have upon  the     
spiritual character of the ministerial  
office4 ,surely the ,quaker  principle  
that no spiritual ministrations should  
ever be subject to  payment is at least 
one that must commend itself as ideally 
the highest4  ,it may1 however1 very    
naturally be asked whether in practice  
it admits  of a sufficient provision    
being made for the instruction and      
edification  of congregations4    ,and  
here there is1 of course1 a deep-seated 
divergence of feeling and  thought at   
the bottom of the difference in practice
 between ,friends and  other ,christian 
bodies4 ,we ,friends believe that it is 
not necessary that  each congregation   
should be placed under the spiritual    
care of a pastor4  ,we believe that it  
is the right and the duty of each       

individual  ,christian to approach the  
,divine presence in his own way--to sit 
under  the immediate teaching of ,christ
 ,himself1 and to be ready to take his  
share1 if at any time called upon by the
 one ,head of the ,church1 in  offering 
prayer1 praise1 thanksgiving1 or        
exhortation1 for the help1  comfort1 and
 edification of all4 ,should no vocal   
services be offered in  any meeting1 we 
do not therefore feel that it has failed
 of its effect  as an occasion of united
 worship4    ,some small meetings are   
frequently1 if not habitually1 held     
entirely in  silence2 in all our        
meetings there is some space left for   
that worship  which is beyond words4    
,the responsibility for the lively and  
healthy  state of each meeting is1 or   
should be1 felt to rest upon all its    
members1 both collectively and          
individually4    ,it is obvious that a  
ministry so jealously guarded as ours   
from all  external pressure can be kept 
in vigorous exercise only as the result 

of  a deep and widely diffused religious
 experience4 ,serious1 though by no     
means insuperable1 difficulties do      
undoubtedly arise in the practical      
application of this fundamental         
principle of our ,society4 ,our         
faithfulness to it is being severely    
tested by modern conditions2 and  upon  
that faithfulness our very life as a    
,society must1 ,i believe1  depend4     
,there is in the comparatively          
aggressive attitude we have  assumed of 
late years1 as well as in the great     
pressure upon time and  strength exerted
 by modern activities of all kinds1 a   
constant  temptation to adopt methods   
less pure1 less severely disinterested1 
than  those to which we are pledged by  
all our traditions4 ,unless we have     
faith and patience enough to maintain   
the freedom of our ministry even  at the
 cost of some sacrifice of popularity1  
,i believe that our light  must         
inevitably be extinguished just when it 
is most urgently  needed4#ad    ,the    

admission of the ministry of women seems
 naturally to flow from the  disuse of  
all but spontaneous spiritual           
ministrations4 ,for such  ministrations 
experience shows women to be often      
eminently qualified4    ,the whole of   
the ,quaker view of ministry depends    
upon the frank  disregard of outward and
 visible signs in favour of the inward  
and  spiritual grace4 ,to make both     
essential1 or each essential to the     
other1  seems necessarily to land one in
 impenetrable intricacies1 if not in a  
vicious circle4 ,if one of the two alone
 is essential1 there can of  course be  
no question which it is4 ,whether inward
 and spiritual graces1  in other words1 
holiness1 can flourish without the use  
of outward  observances1 must ultimately
 be a question of experience and        
observation4 8,by their fruits ye shall 
know them40 ,it might perhaps be        
difficult for one born and bred in the  
,society to appeal explicitly to  this  
test4 ,but having entered it within the 

last few years1 ,i may  perhaps without 
impropriety say that ,friends need      
surely not shrink from  the inquiry     
whether the practical standard of       
holiness amongst their  members is on a 
level with that of other ,christians4   
,if it be so--if  love1 joy1 peace1     
long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1   
faith1 meekness1  and temperance be not 
lacking amongst us--surely we may well  
ask1 ,wherein  does our free ministry   
fail of its due effect8    8,it fails10 
some would no doubt reply1 8not in the  
quality1 but in the  quantity of its    
results4 ,however excellent the results 
in the life and  conversation of        
,friends individually1 they are not a   
growing body1 and  therefore not a      
healthy branch of the ,church at large40
 ,i shall deal  elsewhere with the      
subject of our long dwindling in former 
times1 and  our present slow increase in
 numbers4 ,i will content myself here   
with  the obvious reply that the        
numerical increase or decrease of a     

denomination can never afford a         
satisfactory test of the spiritual      
fruitfulness of its ministry2 mere      
numbers being always affected by many   
other causes1 some of which have but    
little connection with spiritual        
health4 ,it even gives but a very       
doubtful measure of the mere numbers to 
whom the influence of the preaching in  
question may extend4 ,it must1 no       
doubt1 be admitted that the personal and
 the numerical tests are apt to  yield  
conflicting results2 that the purest    
form of religion is rarely  the most    
popular1 though it is likely to have the
 most lasting1 and1 in  the end1 the    
most widely spread1 influence4 ,but if  
purity and popularity  are in any sense 
incompatible1 can we hesitate as to the 
direction  towards which we should      
lean8#ae    ,i have said that our       
corner-stone and foundation is our      
belief that ,god  does indeed           
communicate with each one of the spirits
 ,he has made in a  direct and living   

inbreathing of some measure of the      
breath of ,his own  life4 ,that belief  
is not peculiar to us4 ,what is peculiar
 to us is our  testimony to the freedom 
and sufficiency of this immediate       
,divine  communication to each one4 ,the
 ground of our existence as a separate  
body is our witness to the independence 
of the true gospel ministry of  all     
forms and ceremonies1 and of all humanly
 imposed limitations and  conditions4   
,we desire to guard this supreme        
function of the human spirit  from all  
disturbing influences as jealously as   
the mariner guards his  compass from    
anything which might deflect the needle 
from the pole2 and  for the same        
reason--that we believe the direct      
influence of the ,divine  ,mind upon our
 own to be our one unerring ,guide in   
the voyage of life1  and that the       
faculty by which we discern it is but   
too easily drawn  aside by human        
influences4 ,there is1 surely1 a very   
deep significance  and value in the     

,protestant instinct of independence in 
this deepest  region4 ,the ,quaker      
tradition of 8non-resistance0 has       
attracted a degree  of popular attention
 which is1 ,i think1 out of all         
proportion to that  bestowed on the     
profound and stubborn independence of   
,quakerism--its  resolute vindication of
 each man's individual responsibility to
 his  ,maker1 and to ,him alone4 ,the   
supreme value assigned by ,friends to   
consistency of conduct--to strict       
veracity and integrity1 and other plain 
moral duties--has1 ,i believe1 an       
intimate connection with their          
abandonment of all reliance upon outward
 observances1 or official  support and  
absolution4 8,the answer of a good      
conscience0 comes into  prominence when 
all extraneous means of purification are
 discarded4 ,and  when outward          
ordination is seen to be insufficient to
 enable any one  effectually to minister
 to the deep needs of a troubled spirit1
 then  that ministry which is truly the 

outcome of the fiery 8baptisms0 of      
,divinely appointed discipline assumes  
its true dignity in our eyes as  the    
only real qualification for reaching the
 witness in other hearts4    ,i doubt   
whether any other ,protestant sect      
recognizes the preciousness of  the     
discipline of suffering as it is        
recognized by ,friends4 ,that it is     
only through deep experience1 both of   
inward exercises and of outward         
sorrows1 that any one can become fully  
qualified to hold forth the ,word  of   
life to others1 is signified by the     
familiar ,quaker expression1 8a  deeply 
baptized minister40 ,so strongly have   
some ,friends felt this  necessity that 
they have come to distrust1 if not to   
condemn1 whatever  appears to them      
8superficial0 or easily produced in     
ministry4 ,a holy  awe1 deepening at    
times1 ,i believe1 into even too anxious
 a restraint1  has ever surrounded the  
exercise of our emphatically 8free0     
ministry--free from all human and       

outward moulding1 precisely in order    
that it may be the more sacredly        
reserved to the ,divine and inward      
moulding and restraining as well as     
impelling power4    ,the danger of our  
profoundly 8inward0 ideal is1 of course1
 in its  liability to generate scruples1
 and a degree of morbid                 
introspectiveness1 especially in the    
exercise of this particular gift4       
,recognizing fully the deep truth that  
many 8baptisms0 have to be passed       
through by those to whom the priceless  
gift of ministry is entrusted1  and that
 peculiar trials are apt to precede     
every special replenishing  of the      
sacred vessel1 ,friends have sometimes  
gone on to hold it almost a  profanation
 to speak in meetings for worship except
 as the immediate  result of some such  
painful exercises4 ,it is easy to see   
the danger of  any such limitation of   
the manner in which the ,divine pleasure
 may be  intimated to individuals4 ,it  
seems both probable and agreeable to    

experience that a truly spiritual       
ministry should vary greatly both in    
its form and in its degree of depth1 in 
various minds4 ,there is  obviously a   
childlike as well as a profound         
utterance of prayer and  praise1 and    
surely of 8testimony0 or 8prophecy0     
also4 ,but to recognize  this diversity 
is not in the slightest degree to lower 
our idea of the  indispensableness of a 
,divine warrant for utterance4 ,the     
scrupulous  jealousy which would limit  
all ministry to one type is a very      
different  thing from that spirit of    
holy fear which must in this matter1    
above  all1 be the beginning of wisdom4 
,i think that those who are the most    
ready to accept with reverence whatever 
is offered in simple obedience1  the    
most desirous themselves to learn simply
 to obey1 will also be the  first to    
feel that no one should venture to break
 the silence in which  inward prayer may
 be arising from other hearts except    
under the  influence 7to use the        

time-honoured ,quaker expression7 of 8a 
fresh  anointing from above40 ,the      
nearest approach to a description of    
what we  hold to be a right ministry    
would seem to be--words spoken during1  
and  arising from1 actual communion with
 ,god4                                  
,,chapter ,v4                           
,,special ,,testimonies4      ,there are
 certain points of ,christian practice  
upon which we have been  accustomed to  
lay a degree of stress amounting to     
peculiarity1 although  our 8testimony0  
in regard to them does not involve any  
opposition to the  beliefs of other     
,christian bodies1 as does that which we
 have just been  considering respecting 
the freedom of the ministry and the     
disuse of  ordinances4 ,the idea of     
8testimony10 or practical               
witness-bearing to a  stricter obedience
 to the teaching of ,jesus ,christ than 
is thought  necessary by the mass of    
those who are called by ,his name1 has  
been  strongly impressed upon ,friends  

from the very outset1 and the           
persecutions which it brought upon them 
did but burn it irrevocably into  the   
,quaker mind4    ,the preaching of the  
early ,friends was1 above all things1 a 
preaching of  righteousness4 ,i think ,i
 cannot be wrong in saying that a       
greater value  has from the first been  
attached by ,friends to practice1 as    
compared  with doctrine1 than is the    
case with most other ,christian bodies4 
,obedience to the light which convinces 
of sin was the sum and substance  of    
,george ,fox's preaching1 and through   
his epistles and other writings  there  
runs a vigorously practical tone which  
seems to have been  responded to with   
equal vigour by those whom he addressed4
    ,the early ,friends certainly did1  
as a rule1 wonderfully practise what    
they preached2 and their character for  
integrity was very quickly1 and  has    
been permanently1 recognized4 ,it seems 
to myself inevitable that the  appeal to
 the witness in each heart should reach 

deeper1 and bring forth  correspondingly
 better fruit of obedience1 when        
disentangled from all  reliance on      
external passports to ,divine favour4   
,not only the idea of  any possible     
8efficacy of sacraments0 as apart from  
righteousness of  life1 but also the    
idea of 8substitution0 as distinguished 
from actual  experience of the          
transforming power of the righteousness 
of ,christ1  were vigorously rejected by
 the early ,friends2 and in this        
insistence  upon the identity of        
righteousness with salvation lay1 as ,i 
believe1 the  main secret of their      
strength4 ,at any rate1 there has been a
 remarkably  steady endeavour to        
maintain a high and definite standard of
 ,christian  morality1 partly by means  
of the discipline of the ,society1      
partly by  family tradition1 discipline1
 and example4 ,certain 8testimonies10   
i4e4  practices conscientiously adopted1
 inculcated1 and watched over1 have     
been handed down from generation to     

generation with a jealous care  which1  
though sometimes overshooting its mark  
and tending to produce  reaction1 has   
nevertheless moulded the very inmost    
springs of action1  and produced and    
maintained a distinct and somewhat      
singular type of  ,christian character4 
,the essence of ,quaker 8testimony0 is a
 practical witness-bearing--a  lifting  
up in practice of the highest possible  
standard of  uncompromising obedience to
 the teaching of ,jesus ,christ1 both as
  recorded in the ,gospels1 and as      
inwardly experienced as the ,light--the 
,spirit of ,truth4 ,friends have1 as a  
matter of fact1 felt certain things  to 
be inconsistent with this teaching      
which1 by the great body of those  who  
profess and call themselves ,christians1
 are not regarded as being  so4 ,they   
have attacked these things not so much  
in words as by enjoining  and observing 
a strict abstinence from them at any    
cost1 in a spirit not  unlike that of   
the ,rechabites of old4 ,the original   

,quaker idea was  before all things to  
have 8clean hands20 to stand clear of   
evil in one's  own person1 but to       
abstain in silence unless specially     
called to  speak4#af    ,it is1 of      
course1 impossible to abstain on        
conscientious grounds from  what is     
freely practised by others without      
giving some offence4 ,any  singularity  
of this kind will inevitably be         
understood as casting some  shade of    
disapprobation1 if not of actual blame1 
on the common practice4  ,i do not see  
how we can avoid this offence unless we 
are content to sink  to the level of    
least enlightenment4 ,we must1 ,i       
believe1 nerve ourselves  to endure the 
giving of it1 remembering that the      
disciple is not above  his ,master1 and 
that there was a time when our ,master  
,himself had 8no  honour in ,his own    
country40 ,if they have heard ,his word1
 they will hear  ours also4 ,meanwhile  
we may take heart from the knowledge    
that conduct  destined to have permanent

 influence must often displease for a   
time4    ,the early ,friends1 or        
8children of light10 as they sometimes  
called  themselves1 seem to have been   
drawn together in a kind of spontaneous 
unanimity on the main points in which   
their view of ,christian duty           
transcended that of those about them4   
,the ,yearly ,meeting1 which was not    
constituted till #afgb 7or twenty-four  
years from the date of ,george  ,fox's  
beginning to preach71 finding the       
8testimonies0 against war1  oaths1 and  
superfluities already in full practice1 
expressly recognized  them as belonging 
to 8our ,christian profession10 and     
directed inquiry as  to the faithfulness
 of ,friends in maintaining them to be  
made in certain  queries addressed from 
time to time to all the subordinate     
meetings4    ,the practice of addressing
 such queries to the subordinate        
meetings is  maintained to this day1    
although the queries themselves have    
from time  to time been altered1 and of 

late years the greater number of them   
are  directed to be seriously           
considered1 but not answered4 ,this     
change in  our practice has probably not
 been without a balance of advantage and
  disadvantage4 ,the system of requiring
 answers to the queries was1 in  truth1 
a very powerful engine of discipline1   
for they were considered  and answered  
with scrupulous care and precision1 and1
 in case of an  unfavourable report1    
individuals who were regarded as failing
 to  maintain the testimonies of the    
,society were liable to be 8put under   
dealing10 and1 in case of obstinacy1 to 
eventual disownment4 ,this  ultimate    
penalty of disobedience was in former   
times inflicted for much  slighter      
causes than would at the present day    
render any one liable to  it4#ag    ,it 
seems to me that there is a serious     
danger inherent in the very  nature of  
collective testimonies1 especially those
 which imply the  lifting up of a       
standard of exceptional severity and    

purity1 lest that  which is in some1    
perhaps even in the majority1 sincere   
and spontaneous  should be adopted at   
second hand1 and without personal       
warrant1 by  others1 and should thus    
become a mere hollow profession4 ,for   
this reason  ,i am thankful that a much 
greater degree of freedom is now allowed
 to  our members in all matters as to   
which there is room for a conscientious 
difference of opinion4 ,our strength    
seems to me to depend largely upon  our 
consistency in appealing to the gospel  
rather than to the law--in  trusting to 
the purifying power of an indwelling1   
informing ,spirit1  rather than to any  
external framework of regulations4 ,to  
do anything  which can stimulate the    
profession of more or higher            
enlightenment than  is actually         
possessed1 is indeed a signal and a     
grievous departure from  our own avowed 
principles2 and ,i believe that no surer
 method could be  devised for bringing  
our ,society into disrepute and decay   

than the  attempt to require a          
pre-arranged uniformity with regard to  
those  special testimonies which imply  
special enlightenment4    ,the loftier  
and more delicate the ideal1 the greater
 the risk of  formulating and attempting
 to impose it4 ,it seems to me that our 
wisdom  is to insist more and more      
boldly upon obedience to the broad plain
 laws  of duty which all ,christians    
recognize as laid down for us by those  
recorded words of our ,master ,himself1 
which are our one supreme  standard2 and
 at the same time to leave more and more
 scope for the  working out in detail of
 all the lovely and harmonious yet      
varying  results of individual          
faithfulness to the promptings of ,his  
,spirit in  each heart4 ,any distinct   
breach of the moral law1 any falling    
below that  standard of 8peaceable      
innocent life0 which is acknowledged by 
all as  the test of the reality of light
 within1 may and should surely be made a
  matter of ,church discipline--a       

matter1 that is1 in which brethren      
should  watch over one another for good1
 and obedience to which must be a       
condition of sound fellowship4 ,but when
 discipline descends to the  regulation 
of details whose whole significance and 
value depend upon  their being prompted 
by conscience1 under the living and     
ever-present  guidance of the light1    
then surely the human is intruding upon 
the  province of the ,divine1 and we are
 checking and hampering and weakening   
that very moulding from within which it 
is our chief object as a ,society  to   
watch for and to yield to in all things4
    ,but while all attempts at          
collective self-discipline must involve 
a  danger of hollowness1 which means    
weakness1 if not actual insincerity1  it
 is to be remembered1 on the other hand1
 that there is in association  not only 
a well-known source of strength1 but a  
very valuable shelter2 a  protection to 
right instincts of modesty4 ,in         
maintaining any  exceptionally high     

standard of action1 especially in       
matters of detail1  there is a real     
safety as well as comfort in united     
action4 ,while we are  treading in the  
steps of our honoured predecessors1     
however freely we  may have chosen our  
path1 we are not tempted to claim that  
we discovered  it2 nor need we anxiously
 vindicate it as though it were but the 
prompting of some individual scruple or 
preference4 ,in the practical  results  
of the collective exercises of a        
considerable body of  fellow-disciples1 
we do1 ,i believe1 in fact find1 as we  
might reasonably  expect to find1 a     
peculiar purity and propriety4 ,it is   
not difficult to  justify the wisdom by 
which our special testimonies have been 
worked  out1 though it is easy also to  
see the mischief of too rigid an        
enforcement of them4    ,our ,society1  
like the ,united ,kingdom1 enjoys the   
elasticity resulting  from the absence  
of any written constitution1 and the    
precise working of  its discipline is by

 no means easily traced4 ,its           
8testimonies10 though  clearly          
recognized and notorious1 are not       
formulated or defended in any           
authoritative document4 ,the 8,book of  
,discipline0 consists1 as ,i have  said1
 of extracts from 8,epistles0 and       
8,advices0 circulated from time to  time
 by the ,yearly ,meeting4 ,these are in 
the nature of brotherly  exhortations1  
which assume our principles as          
undisputed2 and though  carefully       
worded1 they do not deal in definitions 
or arguments4 ,our  testimonies are1 in 
fact1 to a degree which is1 ,i think1   
hardly  understood outside the ,society1
 the result of individual and           
spontaneous  obedience to the bidding of
 individual conscience1 and to the      
guiding of  the ,divine light shining in
 each heart1 rather than of conformity  
to  rules enforced or even precisely    
laid down by any human authority4 ,they 
are collective1 but unformulated2       
subjects for discipline1 yet not        

prescribed or regulated2 familiar and   
even notorious peculiarities1 yet       
varying indefinitely in the degree in   
which they are maintained by            
individuals4    ,the traditional        
reverence for individual conscience is  
still so strong  that the precise nature
 of the obstacle felt by ,friends to any
  particular course of conduct is apt to
 be shrouded in some degree of  mystery4
 ,the phraseology of the ,society1 which
 is almost a separate  language1 vividly
 conveys this sense of an insuperable   
but 7to  outsiders7 mysterious          
restraint4 8,truth requires0 that       
certain things  should be done or left  
undone4 ,a ,friend 8feels a stop in his 
mind10 or  8is not easy to proceed with0
 some undertaking4 ,such and such a     
thing  8appears0 7to ,john ,woolman1 for
 instance7 8to be distinguishable from  
pure wisdom40    ,there are1 as is well 
known1 individual ,friends who have     
abundantly  argued1 on general grounds1 
the moral questions involved in our     

8testimonies40 ,friends have never been 
wanting in pugnacity1 whatever  their   
scruples as to the use of 8carnal       
weapons0 or of violent language4  ,but  
yet their practice has in the main been 
felt out rather than thought  out2 their
 testimonies are instances of problems  
solved by going forward  rather than of 
theories built up through any           
speculative process2 and in  regard to  
each one of them every true ,friend     
feels that to his own  ,master he stands
 or falls1 and that there is but one    
,example to which he  ought to look1 and
 one ,guide whom he desires to obey4 ,as
 in regard of  our public ministry1 so  
in the lesser matters of everyday life  
and  practice1 we jealously guard our   
individual liberty from human           
interference in order that it may be the
 more unreservedly subjected to  all    
,divine influences4    ,and not only do 
we guard our own liberty--we refrain    
from attempting to  limit that of       
others4 ,if our conscientious abstinence

 from certain  practices is inevitably  
understood as in some sense casting a   
shadow of  reproach or blame upon those 
practices1 we yet are careful to abstain
  from condemning those who are acting  
in obedience to their own measure  of   
light4 ,i believe we must with boldness 
and humility acknowledge that  such     
practical witness-bearing as we believe 
ourselves called to implies  that we are
 as 8a city set on a hill40 ,we do not  
attempt to lay down  rules applicable at
 once and equally to all4 ,the homeward 
road cannot be  altogether the same for 
dwellers on the hill and dwellers on the
 plain2  the goal alone is one4#ah      
,the most important and the best known  
of the special testimonies of  which ,i 
have now to speak is that which has been
 steadily borne by our  members against 
all war4 ,friends have ever maintained  
and acted upon the  belief that war and 
strife of all kinds are opposed to the  
spirit and  the teaching of ,christ1 and
 have felt themselves1 as ,his          

disciples1  precluded from engaging in  
them4 ,they have steadfastly refused to 
take  up arms at the bidding of any     
human authority1 or in the presence of  
any  danger4 ,this course of conduct    
has1 of course1 brought them into       
frequent collision with the civil power1
 and needs for its  justification1 as   
,friends are the first to acknowledge1  
the warrant of a  higher than any       
national authority4    ,it is1 indeed1  
an awful position which we have thus    
been bold to take  up--the position of  
those who feel themselves called upon to
 act as the  salt of the earth1 as      
leaders who refuse to be led4 ,i do not 
hesitate to  confess that this attitude 
of possible resistance to the demands of
 our  country in the presence of a      
common danger was the one part of the   
,quaker ideal which ,i for a time       
seriously hesitated to accept4 ,so long 
as ,i understood it to be accompanied by
 or based upon any condemnation  of     
those who conscientiously believe that  

their duty to ,god requires  them to    
yield unqualified obedience to the      
demands of their country for  military  
service1 ,i was unable to accept it4    
,but when ,i came to  understand that   
the ,quaker testimony against all war   
did not take the  form of any ethical   
theory of universal application1 but was
 simply the  acting out in one's own    
person and at one's own risk of         
obedience to  that which one's own heart
 had been taught to recognize as ,divine
  authority1 even where its commands    
transcended and came into collision     
with those of the nation1 ,i felt at    
once that the position was not only     
perfectly tenable1 but was the only one 
worthy of faithful disciples4    ,so    
long as our country is but very         
imperfectly ,christianized1 it is       
impossible not to recognize that an     
insuperable contradiction may at any    
time arise between the demands upon our 
loyalty and obedience which may  be made
 in its name1 and those of the spirit of

 ,christ4 ,it would  assuredly not be   
acting in ,his spirit to make light of  
disobedience to  law2 but neither can   
any ,christian hesitate for a moment    
when called  upon to choose which       
,master he shall obey4 ,it seems to me  
that if any  man be prepared in the true
 spirit of a martyr to rise above his   
country's sense of right1 and to serve  
his country in the highest sense  by    
disobeying and withstanding such of its 
requirements as in his heart  he        
believes to be wrong and ungodly1 it is 
impossible to withhold from  such a man 
the respect and the admiration which we 
all feel for the  martyrs of old4 ,i do 
not see how the national standard of    
duty can be  raised--how1 in other      
words1 the nation can ever be thoroughly
  ,christianized--except through        
individual faithfulness1 at all costs   
and  at all risks1 to a higher view of  
duty than that held by the nation at    
large4    ,here1 of course1 we are      
confronted with the question1 ,is our   

view of  duty truly a higher one than   
that of the nation at large8 ,does the  
teaching of ,jesus ,christ really call  
us to abstain from all warfare8    ,it  
seems to me that not only ,friends'     
testimony1 but the teaching of our      
,master ,himself on this subject have   
been much1 and in a sense  inevitably1  
misunderstood4 ,the subject is          
profoundly complex1 and much  of what is
 said and written about it sounds       
altogether unsubstantial and            
unpractical1 because neither the depth  
and intricacy of the evil1 nor  the     
far-reaching and full significance of   
the principles opposed to it1  are      
sufficiently felt4 8,i say unto you1    
,that ye resist not evil3 but  whosoever
 shall smite thee on thy right cheek1   
turn to him the other  also40 ,surely   
this does not point to an abject        
submission or a tame  indifference1 but 
to an undaunted persistence in          
blessing--a fearless  overcoming of evil
 with good4 ,it is an appeal to an      

unchanging and  fundamental principle1  
rather than a mere rule of conduct4 ,the
 whole  passage breathes a spirit of    
ardent confidence in the supremacy of   
goodness2 in the power of the ,perfect  
,one who makes ,his sun to shine  upon  
the just and the unjust1 and sends rain 
upon the unthankful and the  evil2 it is
 a call to us to be perfect1 even as our
 ,father is perfect2  not a suggestion  
that we should abandon or relax our     
conflict with evil1  but an assurance   
that we are not at its mercy--that ,he  
who is with us is  stronger than all    
they who can be against us1 and that in 
,his strength  we can and must meet evil
 with good and overcome it4    ,those   
who would follow ,him who thus spoke1   
must rise above all personal            
considerations1 and above every         
temptation to retaliate--not fall below 
them4 ,this1 surely1 was the spirit in  
which ,william ,penn won his  victories 
in the early days of ,pennsylvania--the 
bloodless victories  which make his name

 to this day a word of love and honour  
amongst the  ,indians1 with whom his    
treaty of peace was never broken4 ,it   
was not by  lying down like sheep to be 
slaughtered by them1 but by going       
forward to  meet them with open hands   
and a trusting heart1 and by honourably 
and  generously recognizing their rights
 and paying them a fair price for  their
 lands1 that he and his followers turned
 suspicion and hatred into  firm        
friendship4    ,we are called to rise   
above the level of fighting pagans1 not 
to fall  below it4 ,there is1 indeed1 a 
lower depth than that of the military   
spirit--the depth of complacent         
mammon-worship4 ,to our shame be it     
confessed that this spirit may clothe   
itself under the profession of          
8non-resistance40 ,when the salt so     
loses its savour1 it is truly fit for   
nothing but to be cast out and trodden  
underfoot4 ,but we are concerned  here  
not with the deplorable caricature of   
that 8testimony against all  war0 which 

has for two hundred years been at once  
the boast and the  reproach of          
,quakerism1 but with its essence and    
true significance4 ,these  lie in the   
fact that ,friends have1 one by one1    
individually and  unitedly1 been led by 
obedience to the spirit of ,christ to   
abstain from  fighting and from all     
concern1 so far as it has been possible 
to clear  themselves from it1 in strife 
of any kind4 ,this is surely clear and  
solid ground to take1 and quite distinct
 from any attempt or necessity  for     
laying down general and comprehensive   
formul of conduct applicable  to all    
cases1 to all persons and all bodies4   
,to formulate such general  rules is1 in
 truth1 foreign to the spirit of        
,quakerism4 ,to yield one's  self       
unreservedly to ,divine guidance2       
resolutely1 and at whatever cost1  to   
refuse to participate in that which     
one's own conscience has been  taught to
 condemn2--this is the ancient and      
inestimable ,quaker ideal4 ,it  is      

surely the best1 the most effectual1 the
 most ,christian way of  witnessing     
against evil1 and of arousing the       
consciences of others4    ,there is not1
 ,i believe1 any possibility of dispute1
 ,i will not say  amongst ,christians1  
but amongst rational beings1 as to the  
enormity of  the evil of strife and     
discord1 whether between nations or     
between  individuals4 ,the question upon
 which we ,friends differ from other    
,christians is not the question whether 
peace be desirable--whether it be  not1 
in fact1 the goal of all political      
effort--but what are the means by  which
 it is to be attained or maintained4    
,other ,christians do not deny  that    
quarrelling is contrary to the spirit of
 ,christ1 and we do not deny  that a    
holy warfare is to be continually       
maintained against evil in  every form4 
,but we regard the opposing of violence 
by violence as a  suicidal and hopeless 
method of proceeding2 we feel1 as       
,christians1 that  the weapons of our   

warfare are not carnal4 ,we cannot1 by  
taking military  service1 place         
ourselves at the absolute disposal of a 
power which may  at any time employ its 
soldiers for purposes so questionable   
and often  so unhallowed4    ,to        
abstain1 on these grounds1 from all     
participation in warfare is  surely a   
quite different thing from laying down  
any general theory as to  the           
8unlawfulness0 of war4 ,i own that it   
does not appear to me to be  right or   
wise to blame those who are acting in   
obedience to their own  views of duty1  
however much they may differ from our   
own4 ,i do not think  it can serve any  
good purpose to ignore the force of the 
considerations  by which war appears to 
many people to be justified4 ,i would   
even go  further1 and admit that1 under 
all the complicated circumstances of the
  world 7including historical facts and 
treaty obligations71 there are  cases in
 which men may be actually bound to     
fight in what they believe  to be a just

 cause2 although it does not1 ,i        
believe1 follow that every  individual  
would be justified in taking part in    
such warfare4 ,would any  one say that  
at the time of the ,indian ,mutiny the  
,governor-,general of  ,india ought not 
to have permitted the use of arms for   
the protection of  the women and        
children8 ,i doubt whether any ,friend  
would be found to  maintain this4 ,but  
it is equally to be remembered that no  
true ,friend  could well have occupied  
the position of the ,governor-,general4 
,no nation  which had from the beginning
 of its history been thoroughly         
,christian  could1 ,i suppose1 have     
found itself in the position which we   
occupied in  ,india in #aheg4 ,were all 
the world1 in the true and full sense of
 the  word1 ,christian1 such events     
obviously would not occur4 ,had we been 
from  the first a thoroughly ,christian 
nation1 our whole history must have     
been different1 and would 7as we        
,friends believe7 have been infinitely  

nobler4    ,we do not profess to lay    
down any general rule1 by obedience to  
which  war can be instantly dispensed   
with by nations in their unregenerate   
state1 and without a sacrifice4 ,a fully
 ,christian nation has never yet  been  
seen on earth4 ,it may well be that such
 a nation1 could it now come  suddenly  
into existence1 would meet with national
 martyrdom4 ,meanwhile  it is the       
imperfection of our ,christianity and   
the mixed and complex  nature of        
national affairs which make it so       
difficult to apply to  national action  
any pure principles of conduct4 ,this is
 not to deny the  existence of such     
principles4 ,to recognize the           
difficulty1 nay1 the  impossibility1 of 
suddenly or sweepingly applying them to 
practice1 is  not to deny their         
leavening power4 ,when we ,friends speak
 of what is  8right10 we refer not to   
any external and rigid rule of conduct1 
but to  that which in each individual   
case is truly the best and the highest  

course open to the individual4 ,to say  
this is not to say that right is  in    
itself variable4 ,it is only to say what
 will1 ,i think1 be denied by  few1 that
 the human ideal of right is            
progressive1 not stationary4    ,we do1 
however1 further say1 what undoubtedly  
is denied by many1 that  the ideal      
revealed to us in the life and the words
 of ,jesus ,christ our  ,lord1 and      
gradually being worked out in ,his own  
people through ,his  ever-present inward
 influence1 is the highest and the      
purest  conceivable2 and that1          
therefore1 all real progress must be an 
approach  towards ,him4 ,it is this     
,christian ideal which1 as it gains     
possession of  the human mind1 must     
extinguish the spirit which leads to    
strife and  warfare4    ,it is commonly 
supposed that ,friends have some special
 scruple about the  use of physical     
force in any case4 ,this is1 ,i believe1
 by no means true  of the ,society at   
large1 although the popular notion may  

very likely be  founded upon fact as    
regards individuals4 ,as a body1        
,friends have always  recognized 8the   
just authority of the civil magistracy10
 and have1 ,i  believe1 never disputed  
the lawfulness of the use of 8the sword0
  7whatever may be meant by that        
expression7 in maintaining that         
authority4#ai ,george ,fox himself      
repeatedly reminded magistrates that    
they should not 8bear the sword in      
vain10 but that they should use it  for 
the punishment of evil-doers1 not of    
those who did well4    ,it is not1 as ,i
 understand it1 the use of physical     
force1 or even the  suffering caused by 
the use of it1 which really makes war   
hateful in  ,christian eyes2 but the    
evil passions1 the 8lusts0 from which it
  springs1 and to which1 alas6 it so    
hideously ministers4 ,the  dispassionate
 infliction of punishment by an         
impartial and a lawful  authority surely
 stands upon a quite different footing  
from that 8biting  and devouring one    

another0 which1 whether between nations 
or between  individuals1 it is the very 
aim and object of law to suppress4      
,suffering  inflicted for the purpose of
 maintaining peace cannot1 ,i think1 be 
condemned by the advocates of peace     
unless it be on the ground of  failure4 
,i own that ,i personally cannot but    
recognize that upon this view certain   
wars appear to be not only inevitable   
but justifiable1 as partaking of  the   
nature of national police operations4 ,i
 cannot1 therefore1 regard  all war as  
wholly and unmitigatedly blamable1      
although ,i can hardly  imagine any war 
which does not both come from evil and  
lead to evil4    ,again1 there are      
treaty obligations requiring us in      
certain cases to  take up arms for the  
protection of weaker nations1 from which
 we could  not suddenly recede without a
 breach of national good faith4 ,it     
surely  does not become us1 in our zeal 
for peace1 to make light of1 or         
overlook1 such considerations as this4  

,they should1 ,i think1 in the  first   
place lead us to abstain from sweeping  
generalizations1 and from  blaming those
 who are ready to lay down their lives  
in obedience to  their country's call   
and in our defence1 or the defence of   
the oppressed  in other countries2 while
 yet we resolutely maintain our own     
obedience  to that higher authority by  
which we have1 as we believe1 been      
taught a  better way--a way incompatible
 with outward strife--of giving our     
lives  for the common weal4 ,we should  
be very careful how we call that a      
wicked  action which a good man may     
honestly do in obedience to his own     
sense of  duty2 we should be still more 
careful lest1 while professing to take  
higher ground1 we do in fact fall far   
short of such men in our lives2  but we 
must1 for all that1 be faithful to the  
light we have4    ,and1 in the second   
place1 it seems to me that the true     
inference from  the consideration of the
 complicated conditions of international

 affairs  is that the time is not yet   
ripe for the assumption of all offices  
of  public authority by thorough-going  
,christians4 ,our place surely still is 
mainly to leaven1 not to govern1 the    
world4    ,the world must become the    
kingdom of the ,lord and of ,his ,christ
 before  wars and fightings will cease  
from amongst men4 ,and the world is very
  far as yet from acknowledging that    
dominion in anything but words4 ,yet  we
 do 8profess and call ourselves         
,christians02 we do live in the full    
light of the everlasting gospel2 and    
however it may be rejected or           
discarded1 however far even those who   
profess it may be from entering  into   
its spirit1 it has yet1 in spite of     
ourselves1 raised us out of the         
possibility of consistent paganism4 ,we 
cannot return to the old  condition of  
things1 in which nations thought it no  
shame to strive each  for its own petty 
objects1 and to be reckless of each     
other's interests4  ,there is no        

satisfactory resting-place for us now on
 any lower level  than that which       
,christ has brought to light4 ,under the
 name of  8altruism10 this is recognized
 even by those who think of             
,christianity  as a worn-out            
superstition4 ,we who believe it to be  
the power of ,god  unto salvation are   
surely bound to yield ourselves heart   
and soul to its  emancipating           
influence--to its indestructible1       
irresistible appeal to us  to 8live as  
brethren40 ,as in the beginning it was  
felt by some at least  to be as clear as
 daylight that 8,christians cannot      
fight10 so now1 not  only amongst       
,friends1 but in many another ,christian
 body1 the same  spirit is working1 and 
consciences are awakening to the utter  
incompatibility of strife and           
retaliation and reckless                
self-aggrandizement with the spirit of  
brotherhood which lies at the  very     
foundation of ,christianity4 ,they had  
need to awake2 now1 at the  eleventh    

hour1 with all ,europe making itself    
ready for war1 it may yet  be that the  
few in whom the fire of ,christian zeal 
is burning in its  purity may see their 
cause and the cause of their ,master    
begin to  prevail against overwhelming  
odds4 ,but whether the nations will hear
 or  whether they will forbear1 wherever
 two or three ,christians meet          
together1 there still will be a protest 
against strife and selfishness4    ,a   
protest against strife and selfishness2 
not only against strife1 but  against   
8the greedy spirit which leads to       
strife40 ,if we are willing to  go down 
to the root in this matter1 if we truly 
desire to do what in us  lies towards   
ridding the earth not only of wars and  
fightings1 but of  all forms of         
oppression and cruelty1 must we not     
recognize that the very  first step is  
to be ourselves freed from covetousness8
    ,for who can doubt that it is mainly
 about outward and material things  that
 nations or individuals are led into    

quarrels8 ,who will venture to  say     
that1 if none of us desired either to   
get or to keep more than our  share of  
this world's goods1 there would be      
anything like the amount of  fighting1  
or of preparation for it1 which now     
devastates the earth8 ,we  may be       
skeptical about the possibility of any  
general acceptance of  arbitration or   
disarmament4 ,to be skeptical about the 
possibility of  personal                
disinterestedness would imply a very    
different sort of  blindness4 ,it seems 
to me that in struggling to rise and to 
raise others  more and more clearly     
above the greedy spirit which leads to  
war1 is the  best hope for many of us of
 contributing in any real sense to the  
cause  of peace on earth4    ,it was    
long ago recognized by ,friends that 7to
 use the words of ,john  ,woolman7 8in  
every degree of luxury are the seeds of 
war and  oppression40 ,the connection   
between luxury and cruelty is1 indeed1  
almost a truism1 but it is one of those 

truisms of which it is  unfortunately   
easy to lose sight2 and ,i fear that    
even amongst ,friends  the familiar     
testimonies against all war and against 
superfluities are  apt to be held       
without any vivid sense of their vital  
connection4    ,no one1 surely1 will    
deny that the selfish desire of mere    
pleasure1 when  allowed to rule1 will   
feed itself at the expense of suffering 
and  privation to others2 that it does  
cause that scramble for gain in which   
the weak are trampled upon1 and every   
furious passion is stimulated4#bj  ,the 
difficulty in regard to bearing a       
practical testimony against             
superfluities is not that which some of 
us feel in the case of war--that  we do 
not know where to take hold1 that our   
personal and daily conduct  seems to    
have no immediate bearing upon questions
 of international  policy1 and that the 
whole problem eludes our grasp by its   
very  vastness4 ,it is1 rather1 that we 
do not like to put our shoulder to  the 

wheel of simplifying life for ourselves 
and others2 that we do not  see the     
beauty of severity2 that we love        
softness1 or yield to it for  want of   
any purifying fire of hope4    ,but yet1
 in one form or another1 often          
extravagantly1 foolishly1 even          
injuriously1 an ineradicable instinct   
has prompted ,christians in all  times  
to free themselves from luxurious and   
self-indulgent ways of  living2 to walk 
as disciples of ,him who 8had not where 
to lay ,his head20  to lay aside1 not   
only every sin1 but every weight1 that  
so they may run  the race set before    
them1 not as beating the air1 but as    
those who  strive for the victory4      
,it is1 indeed1 not easy to define the  
precise kind or amount of luxury  which 
is incompatible with ,christian         
simplicity2 or rather it must of        
necessity vary4 ,but the principle is1  
,i think1 clear4 ,in life1 as in  art1  
whatever does not help1 hinders4 ,all   
that is superfluous to the  main object 

of life must be cleared away1 if that   
object is to be fully  attained4 ,in all
 kinds of effort1 whether moral1        
intellectual1 or  physical1 the         
essential condition of vigour is a      
severe pruning away of  redundance4 ,is 
it likely that the highest life1 the    
life of the  ,christian body1 can be    
carried on upon easier terms8    ,the   
higher our ideal of life1 the greater1  
indeed1 must be the  sacrifices which it
 will require from us4 ,as we rise from 
the lower to  the higher objects of     
life1 many things of necessity become   
superfluous  to us--in other words1 we  
become independent of them1 or outgrow  
them4  ,this is a widely different idea 
from that of ascetic self-discipline or 
self-mortification2 and it is surely a  
sounder and a worthier idea4    ,the    
,quaker ideal1 as ,i understand it1     
requires a continual weighing of  one   
thing against another--a continual      
preference of the lasting and deep  over
 the transient and superficial4         

8,weightiness0 is one of the ,friends'  
characteristic and emphatic forms of    
commendation4 ,to sacrifice any deep    
and substantial advantage to outward    
show is abhorrent to the ,quaker        
instinct4 ,to 8stretch beyond one's     
compass0 grasping at shadows1 and       
encumbering oneself with more than is   
needed for simple1 wholesome  living1 is
 at variance with all our best          
traditions4    ,if we bear in mind the  
essentially relative meaning of the word
  8superfluous10 it is obvious that such
 a testimony against  8superfluities0   
does not require any rigid or niggardly 
rule as to  outward things4 ,to my own  
mind1 indeed1 this view of the matter   
seems to  require at least as clearly   
the liberal use of whatever is truly    
helpful  to 8our best life0 as the      
abandonment of obstructing              
superfluities4 ,no  doubt a testimony   
against superfluities is very liable to 
degenerate  into formality1 and to be so
 misapplied as to cut off much that is  

in  reality wholesome1 innocent1 and    
beautiful4 ,art has to a great extent   
been banished from many ,quaker homes2  
and a considerable amount of  injury has
 no doubt been done by such rigid       
severity1 and perhaps still  more by the
 very natural consequent reaction4 ,but 
it would1 ,i believe1  be quite a       
mistake to suppose that the extreme     
plainness in dress and  other           
surroundings adopted by the stricter    
,friends1 and formerly made a  matter of
 discipline by the ,society1 was        
originally adopted with any  intention  
of self-mortification or asceticism4#ba 
,i believe that asceticism is in a very 
deep sense contrary to the real  ,quaker
 spirit1 which desires in all things to 
abstain from any  interference 8in the  
will of man0 with ,divine discipline and
 guidance1  and which would1 ,i believe1
 regard the idea of self-chosen         
exercises in  mortification of the flesh
 with the same aversion as it entertains
 for  pre-arranged forms of worship4    

,friends1 no doubt1 have often believed 
themselves required to submit to the    
adoption of the plain dress 8in the     
cross0 to natural inclination1 and have 
felt it a valuable exercise to  do so2  
but the plainness was not devised for   
that purpose1 but chosen  7or rather1 as
 ,friends would say1 they were led into 
it by ,truth7  because of its inherent  
suitableness and rightness4 ,it is an   
outcome of  the instinctively felt      
necessity of subordinating everything to
  principle4 ,its chief significance is 
that of a protest against bondage  to   
passing fashions1 and for this reason it
 is a settled costume4 ,it is  also felt
 that our very dress should show forth  
that inward quietness of  spirit which  
does not naturally tend towards outward 
adornment1 and the  ,friends' recognized
 dress is therefore one of extreme      
sobriety in colour  and simplicity in   
form4    ,it is a significant fact that 
there is really no such thing as a      
precisely defined ,quaker costume4 ,the 

dress is certainly precise enough  in   
itself1 and to the naked eye of the     
outside observer it may appear to       
present an undeviating uniformity2 but  
it is really not a uniform in the  sense
 in which a nun's or a soldier's dress  
is a uniform4 ,it is in all  respects a 
growth1 a tradition1 a language2 and it 
is subject to  constant though slow     
modification4 ,any perfectly unadorned  
dress of  quiet colour1 without ornament
 or trimming1 if habitually worn1 is in 
fact1 to all intents and purposes1 the  
,quaker costume1 though one or two      
details have by a sort of accident      
acquired a traditional meaning as a     
badge1 which one may adopt or not       
according to one's feeling about        
badges4 ,some ,friends nowadays object  
on principle to anything of the  kind4  
,others still see a 8hedge0 or shelter  
in them4 ,others1 again1 feel  that they
 serve a useful and innocent purpose in 
enabling ,friends  readily to recognize 
one another1 and that it is not amiss   

for them to  be easily recognized even  
by outsiders4 ,but the one important    
matter of  principle which the ,society 
as a body have recognized1 is that it is
 a  waste of time and money for which   
,christian women can hardly fail to     
find better employment1 to condescend to
 be perpetually changing the  fashion of
 one's garments in obedience to the     
caprice or the  restlessness of the     
multitude4 8,plain ,friends0 are those  
who are  resolved to dress according to 
the settled principles which commend    
themselves to their own mind1 not       
enslaving themselves to passing         
fashion4    ,it is easy to say that they
 do but exchange one bondage for        
another4  ,that may1 indeed1 have been  
the case at times1 and may even still be
 so  in some families or meetings4 ,but 
the crystallizing into rigid  formality1
 though a possible tendency1 is no real 
part of the true  ,quaker ideal4 ,my own
 strong feeling is that the adoption of 
a settled  costume1 at any rate in      

mature life and from conviction1 is not 
only the  right and most dignified      
course on moral grounds1 but also that  
it has  in actual experience afforded   
one more proof of the truth that the    
lower  aims of life can thrive only in  
proportion as they are kept in          
subordination to the higher4 ,the       
freedom from the necessity of perpetual 
changes1 which commends itself to       
,friends as suitable to the dignity of  
8women professing godliness10 has also  
the lower advantage of admitting  a     
gradual bringing to perfection of the   
settled costume itself4 ,we all  know   
how exquisite1 within its severely      
limited range1 can be the  result4 ,the 
spotless delicacy1 the precision and    
perfection of plain  fine needlework1   
the repose of the soft tints1 combine1  
in the dress of  some still lingering   
representatives of the old school of    
,quakerism1 to  produce a result whose  
quiet beauty appeals to both the mind   
and the eye  with a peculiar charm4 ,i  

cannot think that such mute eloquence is
 to be  despised2 or that it is unworthy
 of ,christian women to be careful that 
their very dress shall speak a language 
of quietness1 gentleness1 and           
purity--that it shall be impressive even
 with a touch of eternity4    ,this     
principle of ,christian simplicity      
should1 in our view1 run through        
everything--dress1 furniture1 habits of 
life1 and forms of speech2 all  should  
be severely purged from redundance1 and 
from mere imitation and                 
conventionality4 ,the 8plain language10 
best known as leading to the use  of    
thee and thou for you in speaking to one
 person1 and of first1  second1 etc41   
for the days of the week and the months1
 instead of the  ordinary names 8derived
 from heathen deities10 was an instance 
of this  endeavour to winnow away every 
superfluity and every taint of flattery 
and superstition from our speech4 ,these
 special peculiarities of speech  are1  
as is well known1 completely dropped by 

many of the present  generation of      
,friends4 ,the changes which have taken 
place in two hundred  years in our      
language and habits have deprived these 
expressions of much  of their original  
significance1 and the tendency of the   
present time is  no doubt towards the   
effacing of all peculiarities4 ,but some
 special  attention is still paid       
amongst us to simplicity and guardedness
 of  language in a wider sense1 and     
surely this is an object well worthy of 
attention on the highest as well as the 
lowest grounds4    ,the idea of a       
scrupulous guard over the lips1 which is
 so strongly  characteristic of all     
,friends at all worthy of the name1     
culminates in  their united testimony   
against oaths4 ,this has1 indeed1 been  
always  regarded by ,friends as a matter
 of simple obedience to a plain command 
of ,jesus ,christ2 and ,i think that    
nothing but long habit could reconcile  
any sincere disciple to the ordinary    
interpretation of ,his words as         

intended to forbid 8profane swearing0   
only4#bb ,many others besides  ,friends 
have felt this scruple2 but to our      
,society belongs the  indisputable      
credit of having1 through a long and    
severe course of  suffering for their   
8testimony10 obtained a distinct        
recognition of the  sufficiency in their
 case of a plain affirmation1 thereby   
vindicating a  principle which is       
beginning to be generally               
recognized--the principle of  having but
 one rule for all cases1 that of plain  
truth2 of being as much  bound by one's 
word as one's bond4 ,i think it can     
hardly be questioned  that1 through this
 simple and unflinching course of       
obedience to the  plain injunction of   
,jesus ,christ1 ,friends have done much 
to raise the  standard of veracity in   
our country4#bc    ,the refusal to pay  
tithes is a part of the testimony       
against a paid  ministry1 of which ,i   
have sufficiently spoken in the last    
chapter2 and ,i  need here only say that

 in all these cases of resistance to the
 demands  of authority1 for military    
service1 for oaths1 or for tithes1 the  
idea  has been that of witnessing at    
one's own cost against unjust or        
unrighteous demands4 ,it is1 ,i think1  
fair to claim that it is at one's  own  
cost that one refuses a demand even for 
money when it is made by  those who have
 the power to take the money or its     
equivalent by force1  and when no       
resistance is ever offered to their     
doing so4 ,friends have  again and again
 submitted patiently to the levying of  
much larger sums  than those originally 
claimed1 as well as to severe and       
sometimes  lifelong imprisonments1 and  
other penalties1 rather than by any act 
of  their own give consent to exactions 
which they believed to be  unrighteous  
in their origin or purpose4 ,while such 
unmistakable proofs  of                 
disinterestedness were given1 the motive
 for withholding money could  hardly be 
misunderstood4 ,with regard to tithes1  

however1 the  circumstances have1 since 
the ,tithes ,commutation ,act1 become so
  complicated1 that few ,friends now    
feel a refusal to pay them a suitable   
method of testifying against a paid     
ministry1 and the ,yearly ,meeting has  
placed on record this sense of the      
alteration of the state of the case  in 
a minute dated #ahge3bd 8,this meeting  
believes that the time has  arrived when
 the mode of bearing this testimony must
 be left to the  individual consciences 
of ,friends40    ,amongst lesser matters
 as to which ,friends have made a stand 
upon  principle against prevailing      
customs1 may be mentioned 8the          
superstitious observance of days10      
especially that of fasts or             
thanksgivings prescribed by the civil   
government 7a power which we do  not    
regard as competent to prescribe        
religious exercises71 and the  practice 
of wearing mourning1 and placing        
8inscriptions of a eulogistic           
character0 on tombstones4 ,in ,friends' 

burial-grounds nothing beyond the  name1
 and the dates of birth and death1 is   
permitted4 ,the objections to  wearing  
mourning are obvious1 both on the ground
 of unnecessary expense  and trouble at 
a time when the mind should surely be   
left as much as  possible undisturbed1  
and also on that of its being an        
expression 7and  an expression so formal
 as to be of doubtful sincerity7 of     
grief and  gloom in regard to           
providential dispensations which1       
however painful1 we  should desire to   
accept with cheerful submission4 ,there 
is obviously  much to be said for this  
application of the principle of         
simplifying our  customs1 and adjusting 
our dress and other surroundings to the 
permanent  rather than the transient    
circumstances of our lives4    ,to      
simplify life to the very uttermost--is 
not this truly in itself a  worthy aim2 
nay1 the one inexorable condition of    
excellence8    ,we have just now been   
engaged with comparatively trivial      

matters--straws  which show as no more  
solid thing can do which way the wind   
blows4 ,these  things are important1 not
 in themselves1 but in relation to the  
principles in honest obedience to which 
they have been worked out4              
,simplicity--8the simplicity which is in
 ,christ0--the simplicity1 not of       
exclusion1 but of ,divine all-subduing  
supremacy--this is the keynote of  our  
ideal2 and it is a keynote to which the 
human heart must always in  some degree 
respond4 ,at the bottom of all art1 of  
all beauty1 and  surely1 we may say1 of 
all goodness1 lies the principle of     
subordination--the necessity of a       
perpetual choice between the permanent  
and the transient1 the essential and the
 superficial4 ,quakerism is an  honest  
endeavour to carry out this principle in
 the ,christian life2 to  weigh 8in the 
balance of the sanctuary0 the meat that 
endureth against  the meat that         
perisheth2 to cleave to the eternal at  
the sacrifice1 if  necessary1 of all    

that is temporal4    ,i am1 of course1  
not absurd enough to claim that this    
endeavour is  peculiar to ,quakerism4   
,my object throughout is to show what   
are the  eternal and unassailable       
principles of truth to which ,quakerism 
appeals1  to which it clings as to its  
strongholds4 ,and ,i believe that the   
severe  sifting away of non-essentials  
which lies at the foundation of our     
revolt from accepted ecclesiastical     
practices1 and which has ramified in    
detail into these minor testimonies1    
often rigidly and at times even         
laughably worked out by individuals1 is 
a process more and more urgently  needed
 in these days of rapid growth in all   
material and intellectual  resources4   
,the permanent danger of giving our     
labour and our lives 8for that which    
satisfieth not0 was surely never more   
desperate than in these days of  hurry  
and fulness1 when merely to stand still 
needs a resolute effort of  will4 ,are  
not half the lives we know carried along

 in a current they  know not how to     
resist towards objects they but vaguely 
recognize1 and  in their heart of hearts
 do not value8 ,was the bondage of      
outward things  ever more oppressive    
than it is to many of those who are     
ostensibly1 and  ought to be really1 in 
a position of entire outward            
independence8 ,how  many of us have     
attained to the unspeakable repose of   
having our centre  of gravity in the    
right place1 of leaning upon nothing    
that can fail8    ,there is no royal    
road to ridding ourselves of            
superfluities4 ,it is a  lifelong       
process of severe purification1 which at
 every turn demands the  sacrifice of   
the lower to the higher4 ,but as this   
severity is the  necessary price of     
attaining what is highest1 so also it is
 the one  spell by which life and       
significance and value can be given to  
what is  lower4 ,if it burns it also    
brightens2 while it destroys it         
irradiates4 ,i  believe it to be in all 

things true that nothing can have its   
full value  except when rightly         
subordinated to that which is of more   
importance  than itself4 ,if you        
sacrifice the higher to the lower1 you  
not only make  a bad bargain1 but you   
injure the very object which you thus   
purchase4  ,that of which you make an   
idol turns to dust in the process4 ,the 
idol  which you have the courage to     
pluck from its throne may come to life  
through that very act4 ,from the closest
 human affection down to the most       
trivial outward adornment1 all lovely   
things owe their perfection of          
loveliness to being held in their due   
subordination to what is yet  higher4   
8,he that will lose his life shall save 
it20 a hard saying1  indeed1--with the  
hardness of the imperishable rock in    
which is our  fortress and our          
stronghold4                             
,,chapter ,,vi4                         
,,our ,,calling4      ,i have           
endeavoured to explain what are those   

principles and practices  into which we 
as a body have been led through what we 
believe to be  obedience to the ,spirit 
of ,truth4 ,i know that in some respects
 we seem  to our fellow-,christians to  
have mistaken the voice of our ,guide1  
and to  be1 through ignorance perhaps1  
but yet lamentably1 excluding ourselves 
from the most precious privileges1 if   
not consciously disregarding the  most  
sacred injunctions4 ,it is a very solemn
 question upon which we thus  join issue
 with almost all the ,churches of       
,christendom2--,what is1 in  fact1      
essential ,christianity8    8,by their  
fruits ye shall know them40 ,it would   
ill become me to attempt  any estimate  
of the fruitfulness of that branch of   
the ,christian ,church  which ,i have   
joined as compared with the branch of it
 in which ,i was  brought up4 ,i have   
been occupied throughout with our ideal1
 not with the  degree of our fulfilment 
or failure to fulfil it4 ,i feel bound1 
however1  to say that ,i cannot         

reconcile the fact of the signs of life 
and  spiritual energy which ,i find     
within as well as without the ,society  
with  the idea that either branch of the
 ,church is really cut off from the     
root of the living ,vine4 ,does it      
follow that our peculiar principles and 
practices are of no consequence8    ,i  
cannot myself believe that this is a    
legitimate conclusion from the  admitted
 fact that undeniably holy and          
,christian lives are led within as  well
 as without our borders4 ,that fact     
does1 ,i think1 show at least that      
everything does not depend either upon  
the observance or the disuse of  outward
 ordinances--it shows that either course
 may be pursued in good  faith and      
without destruction to the ,christian   
life2 but it is not  inconsistent with  
the belief that results of profound     
importance to the  character of our     
,christianity are involved in this      
question of  ordinances and orders1 and 
that it therefore behoves us to seek the

  utmost clearness with regard to it4   
,this question is the very key of the   
position of the ,society of ,friends  as
 a separate body4 ,it is as witnesses to
 the independence of spiritual  life    
upon outward ordinances that we believe 
ourselves especially called  to maintain
 our place in the universal ,church in  
the present day4    ,the importance of  
our separate position is perhaps        
somewhat obscured in  the eyes of some  
amongst us by the fact that we can no   
longer assume the  vehemently aggressive
 attitude of the early ,friends1 as     
against  ,christians of other           
denominations4 ,they believed it to be  
their duty to  attack the 8hireling     
priests0 of their day as guilty of      
8apostasy10 and  upholders of the       
mysterious powers of darkness4 ,in our  
own day such  judgments would imply     
either the grossest ignorance or else   
downright  insanity4 ,we cannot help    
knowing1 and rejoicing to know1 that a  
large  proportion of the clergy are     

amongst the most devoted and            
disinterested  of the children of light1
 using their official position1 as well 
as  every other power of body and mind1 
for the promotion of the kingdom of     
,god and the spread of the gospel4 ,we  
desire nothing better than to fight     
beside them1 shoulder to shoulder1      
against the common enemy2 and we are1   
in fact1 often associated with them in  
efforts of this kind4    ,in like       
manner1 it would be impossible for      
,friends in these days to  speak in the 
tone of the founders of the ,society1 as
 though we possessed  a degree of light 
in comparison of which all other        
,christians must be  considered as      
groping in thick darkness4 ,the early   
,friends sometimes  spoke of the        
8breaking forth of the gospel day0      
through the revelation  made to them as 
of an event almost equal in importance  
to its original  promulgation sixteen   
hundred years before4 ,in these days we 
could not  with any kind of honesty or  

justice claim a position so enormously  
in  advance of our neighbours4 ,on all  
hands we see evidences of fidelity and  
fruitfulness1 and the shining of        
examples which we rejoice to admire1    
and desire to emulate4    ,there is     
thus1 ,i think1 a certain perplexity as 
to our relative position  in the        
,christian ,church which is a cause of  
some weakness amongst  ,friends4 ,it is 
in some respects easier to maintain an  
aggressive  attitude than one of mere   
quiet separateness2 and it would be no  
wonder  if some1 especially of our      
younger members1 in these days of free  
interchange of sympathy1 should begin to
 falter a little as to the  importance  
of our separate position4 ,it is1       
indeed1 one which will not  be          
maintained except as the result of deep 
and searching spiritual  discipline4    
,the testimony against dependence on    
what is outward cannot  be borne to any 
purpose at second hand4 ,we must        
ourselves be weaned from  all hankering 

after what is outward and tangible      
before we can  appreciate the value of a
 testimony to the sufficiency of the    
purely  spiritual2 and that weaning is  
not an easy process1 nor one that can be
  transmitted from generation to        
generation4 ,unless our younger ,friends
 be  taught in the same stern school as 
their forefathers1 they will  assuredly 
not maintain the vantage-ground won by  
the faithfulness of a  former           
generation4    ,some other causes have1 
,i believe1 tended to confuse our       
relation to the  outer world1 and make  
it important that ,friends should look  
well to  their path1 and consider       
whither it is tending2 whether we are   
really  guarding the position which it  
is specially our business to defend1 or 
allowing ourselves to be drawn off into 
the pursuit of less important  matters4 
,there are in the main stream of the    
,society many currents and              
counter-currents1 and its recent history
 has been one of change and  reaction1  

so that it would be dangerous and       
presumptuous for a new-comer  to attempt
 to foretell its course2 but ,i may     
venture to point out some  of the       
tendencies which are and have been at   
work amongst us1 preparing  the         
conditions under which our future work  
must be done4    ,it is well known that 
the ,society1 which sprang very rapidly 
into  existence in the middle of the    
seventeenth century1 began during the   
eighteenth to diminish in numbers1 and  
was for many years a steadily  dwindling
 body4 ,closed meeting-houses and empty 
benches are now to be  found in all     
parts of the country where1 in former   
days1 the difficulty  was to find room  
for all who came4 ,within the last      
thirty or forty years  our numbers have1
 however1 begun slowly to increase1     
although the  increase is so far from   
being equal to the rate of increase of  
the  population at large1 that in       
proportion to other denominations we may
  still be considered as in a certain   

sense losing ground4 ,the actual        
increase1 small as it is1 is            
nevertheless a significant fact4#be     
,the great falling-off in numbers during
 the eighteenth and part of the         
nineteenth centuries was probably       
caused1 in part at least1 by the fact   
that after the early days of growth and 
persecution there followed a  time of   
outward quietness1 in which the value   
attached to what one may  call ,quaker  
tradition became excessive1 and resulted
 in too rigid a  discipline4 ,the actual
 discipline of the ,society was applied 
with a  strictness which surely was not 
altogether wise or wholesome2 and the   
less tangible restraint of public       
opinion within the borders of a small   
and very exclusive sect was probably    
even more oppressive in its  rigidity   
and minuteness of supervision4 ,until   
within the last thirty  years or        
thereabouts1 it was the almost          
invariable practice to disown  all      
members who married 8out of the         

,society20 and this restriction must    
obviously have done much not only to    
diminish the numbers1 but probably  also
 to alienate the affections of          
successive rising generations4 ,so  many
 of the young people lost or resigned   
their membership for this and  other    
causes1 that1 had no change taken place1
 the days of the ,society  must to all  
appearance have been numbered4    ,but  
in the early part of this century1      
owing1 in a great measure1 to the       
influence of ,joseph ,john ,gurney and  
his sister1 ,elizabeth ,fry1 a new  wave
 of religious and benevolent activity   
arose2 and about the same  time1 though 
with what degree of connection with this
 impulse ,i do not  know1 a considerable
 relaxation of discipline took place4   
,not only was  the practice with regard 
to marriages out of the ,society        
relaxed1 but  many minor matters1 in    
which an irksome and1 no doubt1 often   
hurtful  rigidity had prevailed1 began  
to be deliberately left to the judgment 

of  individuals4 ,in #ahfa a revision of
 the 8,book of ,discipline0 took place1 
which reflected and sanctioned the      
relaxation of supervision in regard  to 
these matters4 ,in that year the latter 
part of the fourth query  relating to   
8plainness of speech1 behaviour1 and    
apparel10 was dropped1  and other       
changes were made in the queries then in
 use4 ,the ,yearly  ,meeting1 as has    
been already mentioned1 no longer       
requires that any of  the queries should
 be answered1 except those which regard 
the regularity  with which meetings are 
held and attended4 ,these changes have  
meant in  practice that the maintenance 
of all our special 8testimonies0 is now 
7like that against tithes7 8left to the 
individual conscience10 and not         
inquired into by the meetings for       
discipline2 and the immediate result    
has1 of course1 been a great outward and
 visible alteration--a rapid            
disappearance of distinguishing         
peculiarities1 and no doubt an immense  

relief to the younger members4    ,a    
more direct result of the 8evangelical0 
influence of the ,gurneys1 and  others  
like-minded1 was the setting-in of a    
current of activity in all  sorts of    
benevolent1 philanthropic1 and          
missionary directions4 ,the old  dread  
of 8creaturely activity10--of moving in 
any kind of religious work  without an  
immediate prompting and even            
constraining influence from             
above1--seems to have in some degree    
given place to a fear of burying our    
talent4 ,the ,christian duty of going   
forth to seek and to save1 of  holding  
forth the word of life1 and letting our 
light shine before men1  had been       
beautifully exemplified by some eminent 
men and women in the  ,society4 ,many of
 the younger ,friends caught the flame  
of their zeal1 and  from all quarters1  
in these modern days1 influences combine
 to make that  8sitting still10 in which
 an earlier generation of ,friends had  
found  their strength1 appear almost an 

impossibility4    ,with the new rising  
tide of fervent zeal and benevolence    
came a great  change in the prevailing  
tone of religious feeling4 ,the ,bible1 
which1 in  their dread lest the letter  
should usurp the place of the spirit1   
had  amongst ,friends been almost put   
under a bushel1 was brought into new    
prominence1 and so-called 8evangelical0 
views respecting the unique or          
exceptional nature of its inspiration   
began to be entertained4 ,gradually  the
 idea of the necessity of teaching      
8sound doctrine0 assumed an  importance 
which had formerly been reserved for    
that of looking for  8right guidance20  
and in some quarters a visible tendency 
has1 of late  years1 been manifest      
towards more definition of doctrines and
  popularizing of methods than would    
have been tolerated half a century      
ago4#bf    ,although these modern       
tendencies have undoubtedly been        
accompanied by1  and have probably in   
some degree led to1 an increase in our  

numbers1 a  strong protest has from time
 to time been raised against them by    
those  who feel that ,quakerism had its 
root and its strength in a deep inward  
and spiritual experience which frees    
from all dependence upon outward        
things4 ,in ,america the protest against
 7or1 as those who protest would  no    
doubt rather say1 the introduction of7  
this modern phase of  comparatively     
superficial religious activity has      
caused grievous schisms  and troubles4  
,about the year #ahbf1 a large party1   
under the leadership  of one ,elias     
,hicks1 in that country broke off       
altogether from the main  body of       
,friends1 and is suspected by the       
8orthodox0 of having1 under  professed  
obedience to the inner light1 become    
practically a ,unitarian  or rationalist
 body4 ,in ,england1 however1 the two   
main currents have  flowed side by side1
 and have not resulted in any           
considerable division  of the stream4   
,both parties claim to be taking their  

stand upon the original principles  of  
the early ,friends4 ,those who uphold   
above all things the doctrine of  the   
inner light1 and the primary necessity  
of immediate inspiration and  guidance  
to the bringing forth of any good word  
or work1 and especially  to the         
performance of any acceptable worship1  
have abundant evidence to  produce1 in  
the writings of ,fox1 ,barclay1 ,penn1  
,penington1 and other  fathers of the   
,society1 that this was the foundation  
and the constant  burden of all their   
teaching4 ,those1 on the other hand1 who
 are throwing  themselves heart and soul
 into missionary and 8evangelistic0     
efforts1  say truly enough that the     
early ,friends did not so 8wait for     
guidance0  as to be content to sit still
 and make no effort to lighten the      
darkness  around them1 and that it was  
the intermediate or 8medival10 not the  
8primitive0 teaching of the ,society    
which exalted the individual            
consciousness into the supreme          

authority1 thus developing1 in fact1 a  
claim to something approaching personal 
infallibility4    ,there are1 of course1
 dangers in either extreme--in the      
over-valuation of  visible and tangible 
activity1 and in the undue intensity of 
introspective quietism4 ,too much       
8inwardness0 seems to develop an        
extraordinary bitterness and spirit of  
judgment1 under the shadow of  which no 
fresh growth would be possible4 ,it is  
obviously dangerous to  sanity4 ,too    
much 8outwardness0 dilutes and destroys 
the very essence of  our testimony1     
encourages a worthless growth of human  
dependence1 and  can hardly fail to be  
dangerous to sincerity4 ,but yet the    
divergence is1  ,i believe1 a case      
rather of diversity of gifts and        
functions than of  contradiction in     
principle4 ,both functions are surely   
needed4 ,where a  living fountain is    
really springing up within1 it must     
needs tend to  overflow4 ,the leaves and
 blossoms are as essential to the health

 and  fruitfulness of a tree as its     
root4 ,the secret1 as ,i believe1 of the
  strength of our ,society1 its peculiar
 qualification for service in these     
days1 lies in its strong grasp of the   
oneness of the inward and the  outward1 
as well as in the deep and pure         
spirituality of its aim in  regard to   
both4    ,there is1 ,i believe and am   
sure1 a special and urgent need in these
 days  for that witness to the          
light--light both within and            
without--which was  the special office  
of early ,quakerism4 ,i am not equally  
sure that  ,quakerism1 as it is1 is the 
vehicle best adapted to convey that     
testimony to the present generation4 ,if
 it be not so1 it is largely the  fault 
of our degeneracy as a body2 of the     
lapse of our ,society into a  rigid     
formalism during the eighteenth century1
 and into a shallow  seeking for        
popularity in the nineteenth4 ,but1 in  
spite of all such  right-hand and       
left-hand defections it seems to me that

 there is life  enough yet in the old   
tree for a fresh growth of fruit-bearing
 branches4  ,it seems to me that the    
framework of the ,society has vigour and
  elasticity enough yet to be used as an
 invaluable instrument by a new         
generation of fully convinced ,friends1 
were our younger members but  fully     
willing and resolved to submit to the   
necessary ,divine discipline4  ,it is no
 new wave of 8creaturely activity10 no  
judicious adapting of  ,quakerism to    
modern tastes1 that will revive its     
power in the midst of  the present      
generation4 ,it is a fresh breaking     
forth of the old power1  the unchanging 
and unchangeable power of light and     
truth itself1 met and  invited by a     
fresh submission of heart in each one of
 us1 which can  alone invigorate what is
 languishing amongst us1 and make us    
more than  ever a blessing to the       
nation4    ,had this power ever wholly  
disappeared from amongst us1 there would
 be  little use in dwelling fondly upon 

its deserted tenement4 ,it is because  a
 measure of the ancient spirit is still 
to be recognized amongst our  now widely
 scattered remnant that ,i would fain   
stir it up1 amongst our  own members    
especially1 and if possible also amongst
 others1 by means of  the experience    
actually acquired by our ,society of the
 power of an  exclusively spiritual     
religion4    ,it is1 ,i hope1 hardly    
necessary to repeat that it is not      
,quakerism1 but  ,truth1 that ,i desire 
to serve and to promote2 the sect may no
 longer be  what is needed1 and may be  
destined to extinction1 for aught ,i    
know4 ,but  that view of ,truth which   
has found in ,quakerism its most        
emphatic  assertion1--that purely       
spiritual worship and that supremacy of 
the light  within which were set forth  
with power by ,fox and ,barclay and     
,penington1--these things are of        
perennial value and efficacy1 and the   
need for their fresh recognition seems  
to be in our own day peculiarly  urgent4

    ,there can1 indeed1 be no rivalry   
between inward and outward light4       
,light1 we know1 is one1 and there can  
be no contradiction between its  various
 manifestations1 although there may1 of 
course1 be any amount of  contradiction 
between the respective visions of       
different people4 ,it  seems1 indeed1 as
 idle to look for an absolutely         
colourless medium  within as without1 in
 our own hearts as in the ,bible or the 
,church2 and  upon each one lies the    
responsibility of accepting correction  
from all  quarters4 ,yet for each one of
 us there must be a final authority2 and
 ,i  do not see how that authority can  
be found elsewhere than in the inmost   
chamber of our own hearts1 for it is by 
that authority alone that we can  be    
justified even in choosing any external 
guide4 ,it is1 indeed1  impossible for  
any one who recognizes the shining of   
light within to  doubt its supreme      
authority4    ,to speak of light shining
 in one's own heart as something not    

conclusive  for oneself would be almost 
a contradiction in terms4 ,but just     
because  it is within one's own heart1  
its range is strictly limited4 ,my inner
  light can be no rule 7though in a     
sense it may be as a lamp7 for any one  
else1 for the very reason which forbids 
me to dispute it4 ,each one  surely owes
 an exclusive allegiance to that ray of 
,divine light which  shines straight    
into his own inmost sanctuary4    ,it   
is1 therefore1 no disloyalty to the     
light within to acknowledge the  need of
 an outward standard for purposes of    
united action or mutual  judgment1 or to
 accept an outward test of the reality  
of our possession  of inward light4     
,those who have learnt to recognize in  
the light within  the radiance of the   
,divine ,word will acknowledge no lower 
voice as the  supreme authority without2
 and will accept no other test of its   
reality  than that assigned by ,christ  
,himself--righteousness of life4        
,friends have always without hesitation 

accepted the ,bible as the one  common  
standard by which their practice and    
their teaching should be  tried1#bg and 
have acknowledged from the first that no
 claim to ,divine  inspiration could be 
justified except by the actual          
possession of the  righteousness taught 
by ,christ ,himself in word and in      
deed--a  righteousness 8exceeding that  
of the scribes and ,pharisees40    ,and 
here we come upon the fact1 not always  
sufficiently remembered1 that  the      
indispensable words 8inward0 and        
8outward0 need care in the  handling4   
,it is of great importance to my whole  
subject that the  different senses in   
which they may be applied should be kept
 in mind4 ,i  have already#bh pointed   
out that the mystical meaning of        
8within0 or  8inwardness0 is not the    
only one upon which we insist4    ,this 
well-known ,quaker watchword must always
 be understood as asserting  not only   
that light is to be found by retiring   
into the inmost chamber  of one's own   

heart1 but also that it is intrinsic1   
essential1 original2  that1 coming from 
within1 it must1 if real1 illuminate the
 whole being4  ,righteousness1 the fruit
 and result of obedience to light1 is in
 this  sense both inward and outward2 it
 is external1 but not extraneous2       
outward in the sense of being visible1  
tangible1 open to the light of  day--a  
thing which1 however it may be defined  
or accounted for1 is  universally       
recognizable1 and is acknowledged by all
 as justifying the  teaching which      
produces it2 it is not outward in the   
sense of coming  from without1 or of    
being in any degree arbitrary1 or       
accidental1 or  dependent upon the      
judgment of our fellow-creatures2 it is 
a natural1  not an artificial1 test and 
result of the inward state4 ,neither is 
it  outward in the sense of appertaining
 only to what is visible4 ,it does1     
indeed1 impress its stamp even upon the 
very frame1 and of course it  consists  
largely in a visible and real dominion  

of the mind over the  body2 but it is1  
in its origin and essence1 of the       
spirit1 not of the  flesh4    ,it was   
the constant and vigorous seeking for   
and application of this  test of        
righteousness which distinguished the   
early ,friends from mere  mystics4      
,those 8,friends of the ,light0 were not
 content to brood over a  light shut in 
to their own hearts4 ,they let it shine 
freely before men1  boldly proclaiming  
its universality1 and calling all men to
 walk in it4  ,they stoutly claimed that
 it was the light of ,jesus ,christ of  
,nazareth1  the very ,sun of            
,righteousness1 and that the light1     
spirit1 and grace of  ,christ in their  
own hearts was one with the spirit in   
which the  ,scriptures were given forth4
 ,above all1 they insisted that the     
light was  the ,spirit of ,truth1 and   
must lead into all truth2 not into      
omniscience  or infallibility1 but into 
truth in the inmost parts--truth in     
word1 in  thought1 and in deed4 ,thus   

they recognized the great truth that the
  light within and the light without are
 alike aspects of the ,eternal ,word  of
 ,god--that ,word which1 abiding in us1 
is our ,eternal ,life4    ,light        
within--not the vision of the mystic    
alone1 but cleanness of heart1          
uprightness1 sincerity1 singleness of   
mind--of this light they affirmed  that 
every living soul had some germ1 which1 
as it was attended to1  would lead out  
of the evil it condemned4 ,and the glory
 of their teaching  was that it summoned
 each human spirit to work out its own  
salvation--in  fear and in trembling    
truly1 and in the strength of ,god      
working with and  in it1 but without    
dependence on any human being1 or on    
anything  perishable1 or disputable1 or 
accidental2 to repent1 and to bring     
forth  fruits meet for repentance2 to   
walk soberly1 as children of the day4   
,this is what ,i mean by the pure       
spirituality of the aim of ,friends     
both as to the inward and the outward4  

,the inner light they desire to  walk in
 is not an intellectual but a purifying 
light2 it consists not in  rapture1     
ecstasy1 sensation1 but in clear insight
 into the deepest kind  of truth2 it    
leads not to knowledge1 but to          
holiness1--which is1 indeed1  knowledge 
of the truth4 ,it shines in quietness2  
and in order to cherish  it we must lay 
aside our preoccupation with the vivid  
and clamorous and  transitory things    
that are without1 dwelling in stillness 
upon what is  eternal1 that all things  
may be revealed in their true           
proportions4 ,it  courts and            
acknowledges an outward test2 but that  
test consists in the  quality of its own
 outward results1 as commending         
themselves to every  man's conscience1  
and reveals itself not in a conformity  
to other  people's teaching1 but in a   
transforming power4 ,the outward stamp  
we  value is not a stamp or sign applied
 or administered from without and by    
material means1 but the outward and     

visible radiance of the flame  kindled  
within4 ,the supremacy of the inner     
light as recognized by us is  the       
supremacy of the fountain over the      
stream1 and the cleanness and  cleansing
 power of the stream is the proof of the
 purity of the  fountain4 ,it is in     
fixing attention upon moral and         
spiritual results1  rather than upon    
precision of doctrine or correctness of 
ceremonial  observance1 that ,friends   
have1 ,i believe1 hit the right nail on 
the  head4 ,in our own day1 as in       
,george ,fox's day1 this direct appeal  
to  conscience is surely the one        
unfailing means by which men and women  
can  be 8turned to the light10 brought  
to recognize ,him who is the ,light1 and
  taught to find in ,him their          
everlasting rest--the rest which is the 
beginning of power and of victory4      
,if we be right in our belief that the  
salvation of ,jesus ,christ is a  purely
 spiritual influence1 a flame which     
finds in every human heart  some        

prepared fuel1 and which is to be spread
 from heart to heart as  fire is kindled
 from torch to torch2 which is to be    
maintained not by  rites and ceremonies1
 and 8the apostolical succession0 of    
outward  ordination1 but by that turning
 from dead works to serve the living    
,god  which is in the power of every    
living soul1 and which no one can       
perform  for another2--if this view be  
true1 then ,friends have yet a great    
work to  do in promulgating it1 and a   
great responsibility in having received 
it  as an inheritance4    ,for this is  
not yet the commonly accepted view4 ,the
 ,christianity which  has spread and    
flourished is still deeply saturated    
with reliance upon  outward rites and   
outward ordinances1 and deeply entangled
 with rigid  formularies4 ,it is largely
 composed of creeds and doctrines1      
which1  whether theoretically true or   
false1 are yet capable of being held in 
unrighteousness1 and incapable1         
therefore1 of truly redeeming the souls 

who trust in them4    ,most ,christians 
say or assume that these things are     
vitally helpful to  them4 ,i dare not   
presume to say that they are wrong1     
though ,i own that ,i  think the        
assumption too conventional to be       
conclusive4 ,but of one thing  ,i am    
quite sure4 ,there is a great and       
increasing multitude amongst us  who    
cannot accept outward rites or clerical 
teaching4 ,we see by the  experience of 
,roman ,catholic countries how          
inevitably the spread of  priestly      
influence amongst devout women is       
accompanied by the utter  alienation of 
thinking men from religion itself4 ,i   
fear that a tendency  of the same kind  
is visible in ,england now4 ,what is the
 proportion of  men to women to be seen 
in the congregations of ,london         
churches8 ,is it  not obvious even to   
our outward senses that there is        
something in modern  ,christianity which
 the masculine mind rejects8 ,we have1  
indeed1 abundant  proof in the          

literature of our day that this is the  
case4 ,are we driven  to conclude that  
it is the essence of the religion of    
,jesus ,christ which  is rejected by    
masculine thought2 or does the          
stumbling-block lie in  human additions 
to the teaching of ,christ ,himself8    
,i cannot doubt1 and ,i believe few of  
the worthiest representatives of        
masculine thought would deny that ,his  
own teaching1 as we have it in the      
,gospels1 is eternal truth2 as secure   
against every storm of doubt and  revolt
 as the sun in heaven is secure against 
the whirlwind4 ,the  ,christianity of   
,jesus ,christ ,himself is the          
,christianity upon which  ,friends      
alone1 or almost alone1 have boldly     
taken their stand as  all-sufficient4   
,in preaching this essential            
,christianity we can appeal  with       
boldness to the witness in every human  
heart2 and ,i venture to say  that it is
 not a religion for women and children  
only1 but one which  appeals to and     

fortifies the best instincts of manly   
independence4#bi    ,let it not be      
supposed that ,i attribute the whole of 
the modern revolt  from religion to the 
engrafting of ecclesiastical            
8developments0 upon  the simplicity     
which is in ,christ4 ,i know1 of course1
 that many other  forces tend to        
alienate men 7and women too7 from ,god1 
and that there is  much in the progress 
of scientific discovery which it is     
difficult to  reconcile quickly with    
even the very essence of religion4 ,it  
is because  the ship of faith is in     
danger that ,i long to see it lightened 
of  unnecessary burdens4 ,it is because 
men are ready enough to cast from  them 
all thought of the things which belong  
to their peace1 and to  abandon in      
despair the hope which alone can purify 
their lives1 that ,i  long to see that  
hope disentangled from whatever is worn 
out and  cumbersome and unreasonable4   
,quakerism in its origin was a bold and 
successful struggle to do this4  ,the   

glory of early ,quakerism was in its    
integrity1 in its  uncompromising1      
unflinching requirement that the life   
should bear  witness to the truth1 and  
its resolute stand against any other    
requirement4 ,the 8inner light0 was not 
only a word of the deepest  poetical and
 mystical significance2 it was a        
doctrine of sternest  righteousness1 and
 at the same time an assertion of       
resolute  independence4 ,those who were 
conscious of the shining of ,divine     
light  into their own hearts needed no  
priestly absolution or interposition4   
,they were willing to stand or fall by  
their innocence in the sight of  all    
men4 ,their very gaolers often trusted  
them to convey themselves to  their     
distant prisons if they had but         
promised4 ,it was well known in  those  
early days that a ,friend's word was as 
good as his bond2 and to  this very day 
a reputation for special truthfulness   
and sobriety clings  to them1 and not1  
,i believe1 without reason4    ,i am    

anxious to insist upon the resolution to
 maintain a high moral  standard amongst
 us1 not only because of the supreme    
intrinsic  importance of righteousness2 
not only because ,i believe that as     
religion  is cleared of outward and     
ceremonial and perishable elements this 
indestructible growth of holiness has   
more room to expand2 but also  because  
it cannot be denied1 and should1 indeed1
 never be forgotten1  that there is a   
very real ground for the suspicion1 or1 
at any rate1 the  jealous scrutiny1 with
 which any peculiarly exalted spiritual 
aspirations are apt to be regarded4     
,there is a well-known and very awful   
connection between religious  emotion   
and emotions arising from sources less  
pure4 ,there is an  ever-present danger 
lest in any endeavour to stimulate the  
one we should  rouse the other1 and a   
still worse danger lest the lower should
 assume  the garb and appearance of the 
higher4 ,the history of religious       
revivals  affords abundant warning of   

the dangers inseparable from all sudden 
outbursts of feeling1 even where much of
 it is deep and true and  lasting4      
,no doubt the founders of the ,society  
of ,friends had their share of such     
instructive and at times mortifying     
experience4#cj ,they were brave men1    
and knew the reality of their own deep  
experience1 and were not easily         
discouraged by a few extravagances 7they
 appear1 indeed1 to have been           
remarkably few7 amongst their followers4
 ,but there is reason to think  that    
they were strongly impressed with the   
importance of specially  guarding the   
sobriety becoming the children of the   
day1 at a time when  their own preaching
 was working in men's minds like new    
wine4 ,besides  the one great and       
invariable safeguard of their constant  
preaching of  righteousness1 and appeal 
to the light without as the test of the 
reality of the light within1 there were 
two special precautions which  they     
consciously or unconsciously took       

against the danger of spiritual1  or    
quasi-spiritual1 excitement4    ,one of 
these was the full recognition that the 
action of the ,spirit of  ,god upon the 
heart consisted not only in impulse but 
in restraint1 and  that for its right   
interpretation the part of the creature 
was to be  quiet4 8,stand still in the  
light0 is one of the familiar burdens of
  ,george ,fox's advice4 ,friends were1 
and are still1 as carefully taught to   
submit to the restraints as to yield to 
the impulses of 8best wisdom40  ,to     
8dwell deep10 to 8pause upon it10 not to
 proceed unless 8way opens10  nor on any
 account to disregard a 8stop in one's  
mind10--these and many  such familiar   
,quaker admonitions show by how much    
8holy fear0 their zeal  has habitually  
been tempered4    8,quietism0 is1       
indeed1 the natural accompaniment of    
8mysticism0 7of  mysticism1 that is1 in 
the sense of belief in the inner light74
 ,that a  vivid sense of the presence of
 the ,creator should bring stillness to 

the  creature is inevitable4 ,and only  
under the restraining and controlling   
power of the deep awe thus inspired can 
it be safe or wholesome for the  human  
spirit to stand in the immediate        
presence of its own ,divine  ,source4   
,there was surely a deep truth in the   
old ,hebrew feeling1 8,shall  man see   
,god and live80 ,religious emotion need 
not be unreal to be  unwholesome4 ,the  
deeper the chord stirred1 the more awful
 the danger  arising from any jarring or
 deviation from the due and steady      
amount of  tension4    ,another         
precaution against the danger of        
yielding to excitement or to  immature  
or unguarded impulse1 is provided in our
 whole system of  8,church government0  
and oversight1 and especially in the    
importance  attached to ascertaining    
8,friends' unity0 with any proposed     
religious  service before proceeding in 
it4 ,this is a curious and beautifully  
adapted sheath provided for the buddings
 of a ministry which is free in  the    

sense of being entirely spontaneous1    
prompted only by an impulse  believed to
 be from above4 ,it is by no means an   
unknown thing1 perhaps  not even an     
uncommon thing 7but of this ,i speak    
from but scanty  opportunities of       
observation71 for ,friends in their     
business meetings to  discourage        
8concerns0 which do not appear to them  
to be justified by  reasons sufficiently
 weighty1 or which in some other way    
fail to commend  themselves to the      
judgment of the meeting4    ,not only   
directly1 but also by the indirect      
effect of the value thus  collectively  
and traditionally assigned to care and  
caution in handling  spiritual things1  
do these recognized practices tend to   
inculcate  sobriety and patience4 ,and  
above all it is a deeply ingrained      
feeling in  the ,quaker mind that every 
vessel to be used for sacred purposes   
must  before all things be clean4 ,every
 one coming forward as a minister of    
the gospel especially must approve      

himself1 or herself1 in the full  light 
of day as not only preaching1 but       
living1 according to the ,spirit  of    
,truth4    ,and these 8ministers10 be it
 remembered1 are not people leading a   
sheltered and separate life2 but men and
 women engaged in the ordinary  business
 of life1 following trades and          
professions1 and sharing in all  the    
daily experiences of those to whom they 
minister4 ,is there not  something      
peculiarly adapted to the needs of our  
day in the combination  of              
matter-of-fact1 wholesome1 sober        
independence with the thorough-going    
and unreserved spirituality and purity  
of our acknowledged aim--that1  namely1 
of living under the immediate guidance  
of the ,spirit of ,truth8    ,it is here
 that ,i see in the ideal of ,quakerism 
the one perennially  right and fruitful 
ideal of ,christian life--obedience to  
truth in the  fullest and highest sense2
 the living truth--not truth in the     
sense of  accurate or orthodox belief   

about ,christ1 but of an actual         
partaking of  ,his ,spirit1 who ,himself
 is the ,way1 the ,truth1 and the ,life2
 a  learning through obedience to know  
,his voice1 and a continual             
witness-bearing to others of the reality
 and the power of ,his living  presence 
and teaching4 ,we can bear this witness 
in one1 and only in one1  way2 our lives
 must be penetrated by the light--the   
light which lighteth  every man that    
cometh into the world--penetrated and   
kindled and  purified1 till they too    
shine both inwardly and outwardly4 ,the 
life is  the light of men4    ,in our   
days faith is challenged at every point 
and at every turn1 with a  freedom and a
 violence which was unknown fifty years 
ago4 ,all that can  be shaken is being  
shaken1 to its very foundations4 ,my own
 firm belief  is that1 though full of   
danger1 this is on the whole a natural1 
a  necessary1 and1 in the main1 a       
beneficial process4 ,throw a large load 
of  fuel on a clear fire1 and for a time

 it may seem doubtful whether it is  not
 extinguished2 but if the flame be      
strong enough1 it will rise again       
through the smoke and dust1 and burn the
 stronger for what it has  mastered4    
,and so assuredly will faith in whatever
 is truly eternal rise  above all       
present confusions and darkenings of    
counsel1 and burn with  fresh power in  
those hearts which have steadfastly     
cleaved to truth1 be  its requirements  
what they may4    ,the ,society of      
,friends has always refused to require  
adhesion to any  formularies as an      
express or even implied condition of    
membership2 and  surely it has done     
wisely4#ca ,it has frankly and steadily 
accepted the  ,bible as the one common  
standard and storehouse of written      
doctrine1 but  it has always had the    
courage to trust unreservedly to the    
immediate  teaching of 8the ,spirit     
which gave forth the ,scriptures0 for   
their  interpretation1 and for the      
leading of each one 8into all truth20 it

 has  hitherto been true to its belief  
in the living ,guide4 ,and this1 ,i am  
convinced1 is the only belief which will
 meet the needs of the free  thought of 
our day4    ,if thought is to be truly  
free1 in the sense of fearless and      
unbiased1  it must not only be open to  
the whole range of experience1 but it   
must  be subject to the correction of   
central and unchanging principles2      
freedom requires stability as well as   
openness4 ,i believe that those of  us  
who have learned to submit to correction
 both from without and from  within1 who
 dare to face at once every real fact1  
and every necessary  process of mental  
discipline1 within their reach1 have a  
most weighty  office to fill amidst the 
troubled thoughts and lives of our day4 
,for  while human nature is what it is1 
it must recognize1 however dimly1 that  
it needs not only to be fed with        
knowledge1 but to be strengthened with  
might in the inner man4    ,people want1
 and must have if they are to be        

spiritually helped at all1  two things  
mainly at this moment1 as ,i believe4   
,they want a higher1  purer1 worthier   
form of faith and worship than they have
 been accustomed  to find provided for  
them2 and they want stronger proof of   
the reality  of the objects of faith    
than is commonly offered4    ,by a      
higher1 purer1 worthier form of faith   
and worship1 ,i do not mean  improved   
formularies or liturgies2 ,i mean rather
 that openness to  improvement which is 
precluded by fixed forms1 and which the 
very beauty  and dignity of the         
,anglican ,liturgy tends to impede4     
,they want1 ,i  believe1 a manner of    
worship which shall be simpler1 more    
living and  actual--truly higher and    
purer because less intellectually       
ambitious1 and  more freshly inspired by
 human needs and ,divine help2 and a    
manner of  speaking about ,divine things
 less conventional1 less technical and  
artificial1 arising more visibly from   
actual experience1 and based more       

solidly upon common ground4 ,they want  
not authorized teachers1 but  competent 
witnesses2 not to listen to sermons and 
religious 8services10  however          
admirable1 which are delivered in       
fulfilment of a professional            
engagement1 within prescribed bounds of 
orthodoxy1 at stated times and  in      
regular amount2 but to come into        
personal contact with those who have    
seen1 felt1 encountered1 the things of  
which they speak2 and who speak  not    
because they are officially appointed to
 speak1 but out of the  fulness of the  
heart because they must--people who dare
 to be silent when  they have nothing to
 say1 and who are not afraid to         
acknowledge their  ignorance1 their     
doubts1 or their perplexities4 ,we are  
becoming critical  and impatient of     
conventionalities1 not only1 as ,i      
believe1 because  education is          
spreading1 but also because we are      
hungry for reality1  because we are     
brought face to face 7by the astonishing

 circulation of  everything7 with all   
manner of problems which are awful      
enough for us  all1 and doubly awful for
 those whose foundation is in any way   
insecure4  ,in the presence--and in     
these days every corner of the land1 not
 to say  of the world1 is in a sense    
present to our mental vision--in the    
presence  of every variety of human 7and
 animal7 misery1 of vice and crime and  
violence1 and inherited degradation and 
disease1 of changes and dangers  and    
crumblings away of every refuge1 who can
 wonder if men and women  refuse to be  
satisfied with shallow or conventional  
explanations of the  fearful problems   
confronting them and challenging their  
faith8 ,the  glibness1 the exasperating 
completeness1 the unconscious blasphemy1
 of  many 8orthodox0 vindications of    
,providence1 are enough to disgust      
people  with mere orthodoxy4    ,we     
,christians have been roughly awakened  
by the storm1 and are beginning  to     
recognize that we needed such a         

correcting and sifting of our thought   
and language as modern attacks are      
abundantly supplying4 ,at such a  moment
 it is surely an unspeakable privilege  
for any religious body to  be entirely  
unshackled by creeds and formularies2 to
 have nothing in its  tradition or      
practices to hinder it from profiting by
 this process of  correction1 or from   
uttering its perennial and unalterable  
testimony in  the freshest and most     
flexible and modern language it can     
command4 ,and  perhaps it is a still    
greater privilege1 in the midst of this 
,babel1 to  have learned the            
thrice-blessed power of silence2 to have
 secured both  in private and in public 
the opportunity and the practice of     
dwelling  silently upon that which is   
unspeakable and unchangeable2 of        
witnessing  to the light in that        
stillness which most clearly reflects   
the ,divine  glory1 in which the        
accusations of the enemy are most       
effectually  quenched4    ,and not only 

do people in these days want purer      
expressions of faith2  they need also   
stronger proofs of the reality of its   
objects4 ,i do not1  of course1 mean new
 proofs2 ,i do not mean that really new 
evidence can  ever be forthcoming in    
favour of eternal truth1 though fresh   
aspects and  illustrations and          
revelations of it are indeed crowding   
upon us day by  day4 ,i mean rather that
 the battle which was formerly fought by
 single  champions here and there has   
now broken forth along the whole line2  
that  in these days1 whether we will or 
no1 we are all in the thick of the      
fight2 that no one can help hearing the 
deepest of all truths called in         
question at every turn2 and that we need
 weapons1 if not of tougher  quality1   
yet of readier use and more thoroughly  
proved1 more honestly  our own1 than    
those which may have sufficed in former 
times4 ,we need1 ,i  believe1 moral and 
spiritual rather than merely            
intellectual proof of  the reality of   

that which alone can satisfy the human  
spirit in its  deepest needs4 ,let      
creeds1 like all other beliefs1 be      
sifted1 and  tested1 and corrected1 and 
proved or disproved1 and in every way   
dealt  with as truth may require4 ,those
 whose one object is truth can have     
nothing to dread from any serious and   
legitimate handling of any  question    
whatever4 ,but1 when all is said and    
thought1 it remains for  ever true that 
man cannot by searching find out ,god2  
while yet without  ,him what good shall 
our lives do us8 ,it is not by supplying
 people with  the wisest and truest     
replies to their difficulties that they 
can be  effectually armed against them4 
,second-hand belief is poor comfort in  
days when authority of all kinds is so  
freely discredited4 ,and at all  times  
and under all circumstances something   
more than theory is required  for       
victory4    ,for what1 after all1 is    
this 8faith10 which above all things we 
who have  even a grain of it must desire

 to hold forth to others8 8,this is the 
victory which overcometh the world1 even
 our faith40 ,it is a power1 not  a mere
 belief2 and power can be shown only in 
action1 only in overcoming  resistance4 
,power that shall lift us one by one    
above temptations1 above  cares1 above  
selfishness2 power that shall make all  
things new1 and  subdue all things unto 
itself2 power by which loss is          
transmuted into  gain1 tribulation into 
rejoicing1 death itself into the gate of
  everlasting life2--is not this the    
true meaning of faith8    ,i see no     
possible means of spreading such faith  
as this but to exercise  it2 in our own 
persons1 as the way is prepared for us1 
to work  righteousness1 to obtain       
promises1 out of weakness to be made    
strong1 to  wax valiant in fight--yes1  
and to receive our dead raised to life  
again4  ,these are the proofs which will
 convince the world 8of sin1 of         
righteousness1 and of judgment20 these1 
not reasonings1 are the proofs  of a    

,divine ,fountain of life and power to  
which ,friends have been taught  to     
attach weight4 ,formularies1 even the   
most perfect in their day1 and  the most
 venerable in their origin1 will wear   
out4 ,the meaning of  language shifts1  
and the changing lights of knowledge    
distort whatever  forms do not change   
with them2 but the power of an endless  
life will  never lose its hold on human 
hearts2 and the need for help from the  
cloud of witnesses compassing us about  
was never sorer than in our own  days4  
,around us from all sides comes the cry1
 spoken or unspoken1 8,give us of  your 
oil40 ,but we who are not unsupplied are
 being sternly taught to  reply1 8,not  
so2 but go ye to them that sell1 and buy
 for yourselves40    8,to them that     
sell40 ,the 8water of life0 is for all  
that are athirst2  the 8wine and milk0  
are without money and without price4    
,but the oil1  the supply of light for  
other lives1 this must truly be bought  
with a  price4 ,not at second-hand1 not 

by sitting at our ease and absorbing the
  thoughts of others1 can we become as  
lamps to show forth the path of  life4  
,our own hearts must first be baptized  
with fire1 and our knowledge  bought at 
the cost of suffering4 ,it is such      
dearly-bought knowledge  alone which can
 enable any one to raise a standard     
round which others  will rally in       
fighting the good fight of faith4       
,the special struggle of our day is a   
struggle for truth4 ,we who have  been  
bold to call ourselves children of      
light1 shall we not boldly join  hands  
with all who are struggling towards the 
light8 ,shall we not be  willing and    
ready to lay aside every weight1--not   
only every hindering  possession or     
habit1 but every vain endeavour to bind 
in the truth of  ,god by human          
formularies and definitions1--and       
unreservedly trust to the  living       
teaching of the ,spirit for ourselves   
and others1 8looking for ,god  in       
holiness1 that we may behold ,his power 

and glory80    ,holiness--that is1      
obedience--is surely the rock upon which
 alone we can  build any faith that will
 endure4 ,standing firmly on that rock1 
and on  that only1 we may hope to catch 
some glimpses of the ,divine mysteries4 
8,clouds and darkness are round about   
,thee1 but righteousness and truth  are 
the habitation of ,thy throne40 ,it ill 
becomes us to attempt to  explain all   
the dealings of ,god with man1 still    
more the mysteries of  the ,divine      
,being and ,nature2 and that which must 
for ever remain a  mystery to the most  
faithful of ,his children it is idle    
indeed to  undertake to explain to      
others4 ,yet let us never flinch from   
bearing  witness to that of which       
through these awful clouds we have from 
time to  time been permitted to obtain  
some broken vision4 ,let us never cease 
to  do what in us lies to persuade our  
fellows to lift their eyes also to  the 
heavens1 and though the vision may      
tarry1 to wait for it in  steadfast     

patience4 ,they may call us dreamers1   
and we may think them  blind4 ,when we  
speak of the stars1 they may say we are 
idly romancing  about a mere painted    
ceiling4 ,but the end is not yet4 ,no   
roof of human  workmanship will endure  
for ever4 ,sooner or later all that is  
of earth  must perish and crumble away4 
,then is the time for the children of   
light  to 8lift up their heads10 knowing
 that 8their redemption draweth nigh40  
,for beyond all words and all proofs    
lies the true anchorage of the  spirit1 
to which every firmly rooted life bears 
a witness neither  needing nor admitting
 of utterance4 ,deeper than all need of 
mere  conviction is the need of rest and
 stability4 ,we must be at rest before  
we can be free4 ,in quietness and in    
confidence is our strength4 ,while  our 
hearts are tossed and agitated by every 
wave of this troublesome  world1 while  
the shadows of passing things have power
 to distract and  confuse our vision1 we
 cannot clearly discern that truth which

 alone can  make us free4    ,truly     
8there remaineth a rest for the people  
of ,god20 a satisfying1  soul-restoring 
fulness of rest of which some of us have
 begun to taste4  ,some of us know      
assuredly that nothing perishable is the
 habitation of  our spirits4 ,some of us
 know what it is to be willingly brought
 into an  order flowing perceptibly and 
perpetually from the one unchangeable   
will  of ,god1 in which alone can our   
own will be harmonized and made         
steadfast4 ,some of us are learning ever
 more and more fully to accept  the     
,father's will because it is the will of
 the ,father1 entering more  and more   
truly day by day into the spirit of     
sonship4 ,to experience in  our own     
hearts the harmonizing1 purifying1      
invigorating power of the  ,divine will 
is to be at rest for ourselves and for  
others2 not to be set  free from        
suffering or to become indifferent to   
it1 but to be  undisturbed by it--to    
know that underneath all the agitations 

of the  creatures are the everlasting   
arms2 to receive strength to consent to 
whatever is ordained by that blessed    
will1 and to resist whatever is  opposed
 to it4    ,in thus taking up the cross1
 we begin to see something of its glory1
 to  experience something of its        
redeeming power4 ,when we have ourselves
  passed from death unto life1 having   
been led through 8sundry kinds of       
death0 into ever fuller and more        
abundant life1 then indeed we can bear  
witness to the redeeming power of       
,christ2 then we speak of what we do    
know1 and our hands have handled1 of the
 ,word of life2 then we are on  our own 
ground4    ,it has ever been our belief 
that the light of ,christ1 the          
brightness of  the ,father's glory1 is  
7through obedience to light1 even while 
in  ignorance of its source7 purifying  
the hearts of many who name not ,his    
,name--who are not yet able to recognize
 the blessed ,face from which the  light
 shines4 ,but the fulness of 8the light 

which no man can approach  unto0 is     
surely reserved for those who stand     
before the throne of ,god  and of the   
,lamb1 and with full purpose of heart   
bow in adoration before  ,him that      
sitteth thereon4    ,we claim to be a   
people who have found rest in ,god2 a   
people building  our house upon the     
rock1 through obedience to those 8words 
of eternal  life0 given forth by        
,christ1 the ,word4 ,we recognize ,his  
,voice as  speaking to us1 not only in  
the pages of ,scripture1 but also in the
  whole course of life as ordered by    
,him2 and yet more closely in the       
inmost chamber of our own hearts2 and we
 desire to yield to it an  undivided    
allegiance4    ,our calling is1 as      
branches of the living ,vine1 to let the
 working of  that ,voice1 ,light1       
,spirit1 and ,grace of ,christ be shown 
forth in our own  lives2 and1 as power  
may be given us1 to bear witness of it  
also in  words2 baptizing and being     
baptized into the one ,name in which    

alone is  salvation4    ,if1 therefore1 
we have so unassailable a stronghold1 so
 deep and  immovable a foundation1 let  
us never cease to look up steadfastly   
into  heaven1 if so be we may 8see the  
heavens opened20 that we may receive    
into our hearts1 and reflect with       
ever-increasing fulness in our lives1   
the rays of the ,sun of ,righteousness4 
,the vision may indeed be  intercepted  
again and again by the driving clouds2  
our sight may fail or  falter2 but the  
glory itself is unchangeable1 and it is 
in reflecting  that glory alone that any
 human face can be1 to those that stand 
by1 8as  the face of an angel0--of a    
,divinely appointed messenger of glad   
tidings4                                
,,appendix4                             
,,note ,a4      ,the following are the  
twelve queries now read1 8at least once 
in the  year10 in all our meetings4 ,the
 parts of the second and tenth1 to which
  alone answers are required1 are       
printed in italics4 ,it should1 however1

  be observed that1 8with regard to     
those queries to which no answer is     
required1 ,monthly ,meetings are        
encouraged to report to their ,quarterly
  ,meetings1 from time to time1 on such 
of the subjects comprised in them1  as  
they may think desirable4 ,quarterly    
,meetings are recommended to  transmit  
such reports1 or a summary of them1 to  
the ,yearly ,meeting40#cb               
,queries4    #a4 ,what is the religious 
state of your meeting8 ,are you         
individually  giving evidence of true   
conversion of heart1 and of loving      
devotedness  to ,christ8    #b4 ,are    
your meetings for worship regularly     
held2 and how are they  attended8 ,are  
they occasions of religious solemnity   
and edification1 in  which1 through     
,christ1 our ever-living ,high ,priest  
and ,intercessor1 the  ,father is       
worshipped in spirit and in truth8      
#c4 ,do you 8walk in love1 as ,christ   
also hath loved us08 ,do you cherish a  
forgiving spirit8 ,are you careful of   

the reputation of others2 and do  you   
avoid and discourage tale-bearing and   
detraction8    #d4 ,are you individually
 frequent in reading1 and diligent in   
meditating  upon1 the ,holy ,scriptures8
 ,and are parents and heads of          
households in  the practice of reading  
them in their families in a devotional  
spirit1  encouraging any right utterance
 of prayer or praise8    #e4 ,are you in
 the practice of private retirement and 
waiting upon the  ,lord2 in everything  
by prayer and supplication1 with        
thanksgiving1  making your requests     
known unto ,him8 ,and do you live in    
habitual  dependence upon the help and  
guidance of the ,holy ,spirit8    #f4   
,do you maintain a religious life and   
conversation as becometh the  gospel8   
,are you watchful against conformity to 
the world2 against the  love of ease and
 self-indulgence2 or being unduly       
absorbed by your  outward concerns to   
the hindrance of your religious progress
 and your  service for ,christ8 ,and do 

those who have children or others under 
their  care endeavour1 by example and   
precept1 to train them up as            
self-denying  followers of the ,lord    
,jesus8    #g4 ,do you maintain a       
faithful allegiance to the authority of 
our ,lord  ,jesus ,christ as the one    
,head of the ,church1 and the ,shepherd 
and ,bishop  of souls1 from whom alone  
must come the true call and             
qualification for  the ministry of the  
,word8 ,and are you faithful in your    
testimony to the  freeness and          
spirituality of the gospel dispensation8
    #h4 ,are you faithful in maintaining
 our ,christian testimony against all   
war1 as inconsistent with the precepts  
and spirit of the gospel8    #i4 ,do you
 maintain strict integrity in all your  
transactions in trade1  and in your     
other outward concerns2 and are you     
careful not to defraud  the public      
revenue8    #aj4 ,are your meetings for 
,church affairs regularly held2 and how 
are  they attended8 ,are these meetings 

vigilant in the discharge of their      
duties towards their subordinate        
meetings1 and in watching over the      
flock in the love of ,christ8 ,when     
delinquencies occur1 are they treated   
timely1 impartially1 and in a ,christian
 spirit8 ,and do you individually  take 
your right share in the attendance and  
service of these meetings8    #aa4 ,do  
you1 as a ,church1 exercise a loving and
 watchful care over your  younger       
members2 promoting their instruction in 
fundamental ,christian  truth1 and in   
the scriptural grounds of our religious 
principles2 and  manifesting an earnest 
desire that1 through the power of       
,divine grace1  they may all become     
established in the faith and hope of the
 gospel8    #ab4 ,do you fulfil your    
part as a ,church1 and as individuals1  
in  promoting the cause of truth and    
righteousness1 and the spread of the    
,redeemer's kingdom1 at home and abroad8
 7#ahge47                               
,,note ,b4               ,home ,mission 

,committee of the ,yearly ,meeting4     
,the desire felt by many ,friends that  
the ,society should1 in a more          
systematic manner than was formerly     
thought necessary1 recognize and        
provide for what is called              
8evangelistic0 and 8pastoral0 work1 led1
 in  #ahhb1 to the appointment of a     
,committee of the ,yearly ,meeting on   
8,home  ,missions40 ,this ,committee    
began its work by inviting the          
co-operation of  the ,monthly and       
,quarterly ,meetings1 and in its first  
,annual ,report it  mentions that ten of
 the ,quarterly ,meetings had appointed 
,committees to  correspond with it2 in  
the next year thirteen of the ,quarterly
 ,meetings  were thus in correspondence 
with the ,home ,mission ,committee2 and 
in #ahhg  the ,report states that the   
,home ,mission ,committee itself        
includes  members of every ,quarterly   
,meeting except one4    ,in #ahhh1 the  
number of ,friends working in connection
 with the ,home  ,mission ,committee was

 nineteen4 ,the ,report of #ahhi speaks 
of a  considerable extension of the work
 of the ,committee1 but does not give   
the number of workers4    ,the donations
 and subscriptions received by the      
,committee in the year  ending ,may1    
#ahhi1 amounted to #bccc4    ,the work  
undertaken by 8,home ,mission ,friends0 
is of various kinds2 such  as conducting
 first day schools1 ,bible classes1     
temperance meetings1  lecturing on      
,friends' principles1 in some           
neighbourhoods visiting the  sick and   
the poor1 and in various ways           
endeavouring to build up and  strengthen
 meetings which seem to be in need of   
help4    ,notwithstanding the large     
measure of support which the ,committee 
has met  with1 there are many ,friends  
who feel very serious hesitation about  
this  practice of providing 8pastoral   
care10 and who fear lest it should tend 
to weaken1 if not to destroy1 the force 
of our testimony against a paid  or     
humanly appointed ministry4 ,the danger 

is obvious2 and ,i shall not  attempt to
 estimate the degree in which it can be 
averted1 or the force  of the reasons   
for encountering it4 ,i will content    
myself with making  from the ,reports of
 the ,committee a few extracts bearing  
upon this  question4    8,we have been  
forcibly impressed with the extent and  
variety of openings  for service which  
have presented themselves to us4 ,much  
of this work is  of a character which   
can1 we believe1 be more effectually    
performed by  the ,society of ,friends  
than by any other religious body4444 ,in
 two  instances we have deemed it right 
to give pecuniary assistance to         
,friends who felt it laid upon them1 as 
a religious duty1 to give the  whole or 
a greater part of their time to the     
work4444 ,these arrangements  involve no
 bargain or understanding whatsoever for
 the preaching of the  gospel1 and their
 work has been largely of an organizing 
character40  7#ahhc47    8,it is found  
that ,friends in all parts of the       

country are watchful lest  a separate   
class of supported ministers should be  
set up1 and this is a  matter which has 
from the first received our very serious
 attention4 ,it  is our practice1 when a
 ,friend has offered his services to    
this  ,committee1 not to enter upon the 
question of the amount or manner of     
support to be granted him until after he
 has been accepted by us4 ,we  have     
carefully avoided the establishment of  
any scale of maintenance1  each case    
being separately considered on the basis
 of the actual needs  and circumstances 
of the ,friend in question2 and we have 
encouraged  ,friends1 where practicable1
 to contribute by their labour to their 
own  support40 7#ahhf47    8,we are glad
 to report an increase in the number of 
those who require no  pecuniary         
assistance beyond necessary expenses    
when actually on  religious service4    
,about half the workers are living on   
their private  means1 or partially      
maintaining themselves by their labour4 

,about half  of the number may also be  
considered as stationed more or less in 
one  place1 and the remainder as engaged
 in evangelistic visits to various      
towns as way may open4 ,of the resident 
workers1 several have travelled  with   
minutes from their ,monthly ,meetings1  
or have rendered temporary  assistance  
to particular meetings by request of    
other ,monthly ,meetings  than their    
own4444 ,in the meetings where our      
workers are resident1 the  voices of    
many new members are frequently heard in
 exhortation and  prayer4 ,in one of    
them a visiting ,friend desired a       
meeting with all  those who took vocal  
part in meetings4 ,no fewer than        
thirteen responded  to his invitation1  
while three or four more were prevented 
by other  engagements4444 ,we believe   
our workers are1 without exception1     
loyal to  the testimony of the ,society 
against the establishment directly or   
indirectly1 of a #8one-man ministry4'444
 ,since the formation of this           

,committee there is hardly a ,quarterly 
,meeting in which they0 7the  ,friends  
engaged in 8evangelistic0 work7 8have   
not travelled1 in several  of them many 
times and for many weeks together4444   
,some of these visits  have originated  
in concerns of the ,friends themselves4 
,in other cases  the way has been made  
for them by an invitation of a          
,quarterly1 ,monthly1  or particular    
,meeting1 or the ,committee of some     
,friends' mission or  adult school4 ,in 
no case has this ,committee deemed it   
consistent to ,,send  any worker        
anywhere1 or to do more than lay such   
invitation before him1  leaving it to   
his own conviction of duty as to whether
 he can see his  way to accept it or    
not40 7#ahhh47    8,with one exception1 
every ,friend in connection with us has 
been engaged  during the year to a      
greater or less extent in work outside  
the meeting  in which he resides40      
7#ahhi47                                
,,note ,c4                              

,slavery4      ,in the introduction by  
,j4 ,g4 ,whittier to a recent edition of
 ,john  ,woolman's 8,journal10#cc there 
is a remarkable account of the manner in
  which our ,society in ,america was    
gradually freed from all complicity     
with slavery1 long before the struggle  
for its abolition was begun  elsewhere2 
from which ,i venture to make some      
extracts1 for the sake of  the          
illustration it affords of the working  
both of our principles and of  our      
machinery4    ,from the time of ,george 
,fox himself1 who in #afga visited      
,barbadoes1 and  admonished those who   
held slaves there to bear in mind that  
they were  brethren1 and that 8after    
certain years of servitude they should  
make  them free10 voices had been raised
 again and again in several of the      
,american meetings to witness against   
the buying and keeping of slaves4    ,in
 #agdb1 ,john ,woolman1 then in the     
employment of a small storekeeper in    
,new ,jersey1 was desired by his master 

to make out a bill of sale of a  negro  
slave-woman4 8,on taking up his pen10   
says ,whittier1 8the young  clerk felt a
 sudden and strong scruple in his mind4 
,the thought of  writing an instrument  
of slavery for one of his               
fellow-creatures  oppressed him4 ,god's 
voice against the desecration of ,his   
image spoke in  his soul4 ,he yielded to
 the will of his employer1 but while    
writing the  instrument he was          
constrained to declare1 both to the     
buyer and the  seller1 that he believed 
slave-keeping inconsistent with the     
,christian  religion40 ,this            
circumstance 8was the starting-point of 
a lifelong  testimony against slavery4  
8,in the year #agdf1 he visited         
,maryland1 ,virginia1 and ,north        
,carolina4 ,he  was afflicted by the    
prevalence of slavery4 ,it appeared to  
him1 in his  own words1 #8as a dark     
gloominess overhanging the land4' ,on   
his return1  he wrote an essay on the   
subject1 which was published in #aged4  

,three  years after1 he made a second   
visit to the ,southern meetings of      
,friends4  ,travelling as a minister of 
the gospel1 he was compelled to sit down
 at  the tables of slave-holding        
planters1 who were accustomed to        
entertain  their friends free of cost1  
and who could not comprehend the        
scruples of  their guest against        
receiving as a gift food and lodging    
which he  regarded as the gains of      
oppression4 ,he was a poor man1 but he  
loved  truth more than money4 ,he       
therefore placed the pay for his        
entertainment  in the hands of some     
member of the family1 for the benefit of
 the  slaves1 or gave it directly to    
them1 as he had opportunity4444    8,the
 annual assemblage of the ,yearly       
,meeting in #ageh at ,philadelphia#cd   
must ever be regarded as one of the most
 important religious  convocations in   
the history of the ,christian ,church4  
,the labours of  ,woolman and his few   
but earnest associates had not been in  

vain4 ,a deep  and tender interest had  
been awakened1 and this meeting was     
looked  forward to with varied feelings 
of solicitude by all parties4 ,all felt 
that the time had come for some definite
 action4444 ,at length10 after a        
8solemn and weighty appeal0 from ,john  
,woolman1 8the truth in a great  measure
 triumphed over opposition2 and1 without
 any public dissent1 the  meeting agreed
 that the injunction of our ,lord and   
,saviour1 to do to  others as we would  
that others should do to us1 should     
induce ,friends  who held slaves #8to   
set them at liberty1 making a ,christian
 provision  for them2' and four         
,friends0 7of whom ,john ,woolman was   
one7 8were  approved of as suitable     
persons to visit and treat with such as 
kept  slaves1 within the limits of the  
meeting4    8,this painful and difficult
 duty was faithfully performed4444      
,these  labours were attended with the  
blessing of the ,god of the poor and    
oppressed4 ,dealing in slaves was almost

 entirely abandoned1 and many who  held 
slaves set them at liberty4 ,but many   
members still continuing the  practice1 
a more emphatic testimony against it was
 issued by the ,yearly  ,meeting in     
#aggd2 and two years after1 the         
subordinate meetings were  directed to  
deny the right of membership to such as 
persisted in holding  their fellow-men  
as property4444 ,in the year #agfj1     
,john ,woolman1 in the  course of a     
religious visit to ,new ,england10      
attended their ,yearly  ,meeting1 where 
8the ,london ,epistle for #ageh1        
condemning the unrighteous  traffic in  
men1 was read1 and the substance of it  
embodied in the  discipline of the      
meeting2 and the following query was    
adopted1 to be  answered by the         
subordinate meetings3 #8,are ,friends   
clear of importing  negroes1 or buying  
them when imported2 and do they use     
those well where  they are possessed by 
inheritance or otherwise1 endeavouring  
to train  them up in principles of      

religion8' 444 ,in #agfi1 at the        
suggestion of  the ,rhode ,island       
,quarterly ,meeting1 the ,yearly        
,meeting expressed its  sense of the    
wrongfulness of holding slaves1 and     
appointed a large  committee to visit   
those members who were implicated in the
 practice4444  ,it was stated1 in the   
,epistle to ,london ,yearly ,meeting of 
the year #aggb1  that a few ,friends had
 freed their slaves from bondage1 but   
that others  #8have been so reluctant   
thereto1 that they have been disowned#ce
 for  not complying with the advice of  
this meeting4'    8,in #aggc1 the       
following minute was made3 #8,it is our 
sense that truth not  only requires the 
young of capacity and ability1 but      
likewise the aged  and impotent1 and    
also all in a state of infancy and      
nonage1 among  ,friends1 to be          
discharged and set free from a state of 
slavery2 that we  do no more claim      
property in the human race1 as we do in 
the beasts that  perish4'    8,in #aghb1

 no slaves were known to be held in the 
,new ,england ,yearly  ,meeting4 ,the   
next year1 it was recommended to the    
subordinate meetings  to appoint        
committees to effect a proper and just  
settlement between  the manumitted      
slaves and their former masters for     
their past services4  ,in #aghd1 it was 
concluded by the ,yearly ,meeting that  
any slaveholder who  refused to comply  
with the award of these committees      
should1 after due  care and labour with 
him1 be disowned from the ,society4     
,this was  effectual2 settlements       
without disownment were made to the     
satisfaction  of all parties1 and every 
case was disposed of previous to the    
year  #aghg4    8,in the ,new ,york     
,yearly ,meeting1 slave-trading was     
prohibited about the  middle of the last
 century4 ,in #agga1 in consequence of  
an epistle from  the ,philadelphia      
,yearly ,meeting1 a committee was       
appointed to visit  those who held      
slaves1 and to advise with them in      

relation to  emancipation4 ,in #aggf1 it
 was made a disciplinary offence to buy1
 sell1  or hold slaves upon any         
condition4 ,in #aghd1 but one slave was 
to be  found in the limits of the       
meeting4 ,in the same year1 by answers  
from  the several subordinate meetings1 
it was ascertained that an equitable    
settlement for past services had been   
effected between the emancipated        
negroes and their masters in all but    
three cases4    8,in the ,virginia      
,yearly ,meeting slavery had its        
strongest hold40 ,in  #ageg1 it         
8condemned the foreign slave trade4 ,in 
#agfd1 it enjoined upon  its members the
 duty of kindness towards their         
servants1 of educating  them1 and       
carefully providing for their food and  
clothing4 ,four years  after1 its       
members were strictly prohibited from   
purchasing any more  slaves4 ,in #aggc1 
it earnestly recommended the immediate  
manumission of  all slaves held in      
bondage1 after the females had reached  

eighteen and  the males twenty-one years
 of age4 ,at the same time it was       
advised that  committees should be      
appointed for the purpose of instructing
 the  emancipated persons in the        
principles of morality and of religion1 
and  for advising and aiding them in    
their temporal concerns4444    8,in     
#aghd1 the different ,quarterly         
,meetings having reported that many     
still held slaves1 notwithstanding the  
advice and entreaties of their  friends1
 the ,yearly ,meeting directed that1    
where endeavours to  convince those     
offenders of their error proved         
ineffectual1 the ,monthly  ,meeting     
should proceed to disown them4 ,we have 
no means of ascertaining  the precise   
number of those actually disowned for   
slave-holding in the  ,virginia ,yearly 
,meeting1 but it is well known to have  
been very small4  ,in almost all cases  
the care and assiduous labours of those 
who had the  welfare of the ,society and
 of humanity at heart were successful in

  inducing offenders to manumit their   
slaves1 and confess their error in      
resisting the wishes of their friends1  
and bringing reproach upon the  cause of
 truth4    ,so ended slavery in the     
,society of ,friends4 ,for              
three-quarters of a  century the advice 
put forth in the meetings of the        
,society at stated  intervals1 that     
,friends should be #8careful to maintain
 their testimony  against slavery1' has 
been adhered to1 so far as owning1 or   
even hiring1  a slave is concerned4     
,apart from its first fruits of         
emancipation1 there  is a perennial     
value in the example exhibited of the   
power of truth1  urged patiently and in 
earnest love1 to overcome the           
difficulties in the  way of the         
eradication of an evil system1          
strengthened by long habit1  entangled  
with all the complex relations of       
society1 and closely allied  with the   
love of power1 the pride of family1 and 
the lust of gain4'    ,i need hardly    

remind my readers of the singular       
interest of ,john  ,woolman's own       
account of his experiences in this and  
other matters1  which would scarcely    
admit of abridgment4 ,i have1 therefore1
 been  obliged1 though unwillingly1 to  
content myself with the above bare      
enumeration of the actual steps taken by
 the various meetings1 without  making  
any attempt to show to what an extent   
,john ,woolman's own deep  exercises of 
mind contributed to bring them about4   
,for a study of ,quaker  experience1 in 
its purest and most impressive form1 the
 8,journal0 itself  is perhaps          
unrivalled4                             
,,footnotes      #a8;,book of ,christian
 ,discipline of the ,religious ,society 
of ,friends in      ,great ,britain2    
consisting of ,extracts on ,doctrine1   
,practice1 and      ,church ,government1
 from the ,epistles and other ,documents
 issued      under the sanction of the  
,yearly ,meeting held in ,london from   
its      first institution in #afgb to  

#ahhc40 ,london3 ,samuel ,harris and    
,co41      #e1 ,bishopsgate ,street     
,without4 #ahhc4    #b,the queries now  
in use are given at length in the       
,appendix1 ,note ,a4    #c;,it is       
estimated that in #afhj 7or thirty-two  
years from the beginning      of ,george
 ,fox's ministry7 the number of ,friends
 was about #dj1jjj4      8,in #afef ,fox
 computed that there were seldom less   
than #ajjj in      prison2 and it has   
been asserted that1 between #affa and   
#afig1 #ac1efb      ,quakers were       
imprisoned1 #aeb were transported1 and  
#cch died in      prison or of their    
wounds0 78,encycl4 ,brit410 #ith edit41 
art4      8,quakers074    #d;,i may1    
perhaps1 here be allowed to point out   
the ambiguity of the      expression    
8immediate inspiration40 ,the word      
8immediate0 may be      understood to   
mean direct1 and in this sense it is1 ,i
 think1      superfluous2 for it is     
surely impossible to conceive of        
inspiration      as indirect1 although  

revelation may easily be so4 ,but it may
 also1      in reference to any         
particular thought communicated1 be     
understood      as meaning              
8instantaneous20 and in this sense a    
special importance      has been        
attached to it by some ,friends1 which  
is1 ,i believe1      deprecated by      
others1 as restricting 8ministry0 to the
 utterance of      words believed to be 
at the moment given for utterance1 under
 what      is called a 8fresh anointing0
 from above4 ,i would1 therefore1 rather
      avoid at present the use of the   
expression 8immediate inspiration10     
when speaking of our belief that there  
is in every heart a witness      for the
 truth1 which is1 so to speak1 radiated 
from the central      truth4 ,the       
8light0 seems1 on the whole1 to be the  
figure least open      to any possible  
misinterpretation4    #e,let me not be  
understood to mean that the process of  
8keeping the      mind0 7in ,quaker     
phrase7 8retired to the ,lord0 is an    

easy one4 ,on      the contrary1 it may 
need strenuous effort4 ,but the effort  
can be      made at will and even the   
mere effort thus to retire from the     
surface to the depths of life is sure to
 bring help and      strengthening--is  
in itself a strengthening1 steadying    
process4    #f8;,if ye have not been    
faithful in that which is another man's1
 who      shall give you that which is  
your own80 7,luke ,,xvi4 #ab74    #g;,i 
do not1 of course1 forget that1 going to
 the imperfection of human      laws and
 human faculties1 cases may and do occur
 in which ,divine      guidance must    
lead us in ways which run counter to    
them4 ,the figure      used above is    
intended only to illustrate the general 
correspondence      between the map1 as 
it were1 which can be laid down by the  
reason of      man1 and that individual 
and immediate guidance which alone can  
show      us a higher and a narrower1   
but yet freer1 pathway--the pathway of  
that highest service which is perfect   

freedom4 ,when1 in exceptional          
cases1 any contrariety really emerges   
between the human and the      ,divine  
guiding lines1 we may surely still1     
without too much      straining of our  
figure1 say that it is a living power   
only which      can free any human      
spirit from the too narrow fencing in of
 a morbid      or unenlightened         
conscience1 and guide it by paths       
running counter      to the beaten track
 of conventional morality1 or even in   
some rare      instances authorize and  
enable and require it to overleap even  
the      cliffs of actual law1 trusting 
that in such cases1 as experience has   
already taught us1 the blood of the     
martyrs will still be the seed      of  
the ,church4    #h,sermon ,,xiv41 8,on  
the ,love of ,god10 ,butler's           
8,sermons10 p4 #bgh      7,london1      
#agbf74 ,and in his charge to the clergy
 of ,durham1 published      with the    
8,analogy0 7,london1 #ahjb71 he repeats 
the words which ,i have      printed    

above in italics1 and speaks of public  
worship as 8a time of      devotion1    
when we are assembled to yield ourselves
 up to the full      influence of the   
,divine presence40    #i,see            
,introduction4    #aj;,it is1 ,i think1 
in this connection important to         
distinguish between      the question1  
,how do you in practice distinguish     
between a true and      a false message8
 and the quite separate inquiry1 ,how do
 you in      theory distinguish between 
the human faculty of imagination and the
      ,divine action signified by the   
word 8inspiration08 ,it is with the     
first question only that ,i have been   
concerned in the text1 as it      is1 ,i
 believe1 the only question with which  
honesty requires us to      grapple4    
,any attempt to give a full answer to   
the second question      would require a
 degree of psychological skill to which 
,i have no      claim2 and ,i doubt     
whether the very terms of the question  
do not      lead us beyond the province 

even of psychology4 ,but1 speaking in a 
popular and trustful way1 ,i should     
reply that we are not concerned      to 
discern the precise limits of the       
,divine and the human2 only to          
throw open the deepest human powers to  
the purest ,divine influences2      that
 the result we look for is the fruit of 
a devout intelligence1      first       
purified1 and then swayed1 by the       
immediate action of ,divine      power4 
,it surely involves something like a    
contradiction in terms to      inquire  
at what precise line a distinction is   
obliterated8    #aa,people have said to 
me again and again1 ,if you want to be  
silent1      why cannot you be silent at
 home8 ,such an objection seems hardly  
intended to be seriously answered1 yet  
,i have heard it so often that      ,i  
cannot but notice it4 ,surely it need   
hardly be pointed out that it           
applies at least equally strongly to the
 practice of meeting      together to   
join in prayers1 which1 being already in

 print and      chosen according to the 
calendar1 each of us might read at home4
 ,but      the worthier answer is that1 
whether our utterance be prearranged or 
spontaneous1 we meet in order to kindle 
in each other the flame of      true    
worship1 and also to show forth our     
allegiance to the ,master1      to whom 
we are so united as to feel our need of 
each other's      sympathy in drawing   
near to ,him4    #ab;,in what follows   
there is1 indeed1 no 8doctrine0 of any  
kind2 no      attempt1 ,i mean1 to offer
 formulated or authorized teaching4 ,i  
have      endeavoured to show how in my 
own experience the intellectual         
difficulties with which the subject is  
surrounded did1 when honestly      and  
patiently faced1 prove in due time the  
means of purifying1 not      of         
quenching1 that true spirit of prayer   
which is indeed the very      breath of 
our inner life4 ,i trust that none will 
misunderstand my      outspokenness in  
stating those difficulties4 ,they are1  

and in these      days must be1 freely  
recognized4 ,unless we who have a       
witness to      bear for the ,author of 
spiritual worship are willing to face   
them1      our witness will fail to     
reach those who most sorely need it4 ,i 
am      driven once more to appeal to   
8something more than candour0 in my     
readers for a right interpretation of my
 struggle to unfold thoughts      which 
tax my powers of utterance to the       
uttermost1 and which ,i yet      dare   
not withhold4    #ac8;,apology10 ,prop4 
xiii4    #ad,see ,appendix1 ,note ,b1   
for a short account of the 8,home       
,mission      ,committee40    #ae;,i    
believe1 as ,i have already said1 that  
few people outside the      ,society are
 aware of the extent to which the       
practice is still      continued of     
,friends who feel themselves called to  
the ministry      travelling1 as we say1
 8in the service of truth10 or 8under a 
sense      of religious concern10 not   
only from place to place in ,england1   

but      also all over the world4 ,a    
remarkable variety of 8services0 are in 
this way spontaneously undertaken1 and  
carried out1 sometimes quite      alone1
 sometimes with the help of one or more 
,friends 8liberated0 to      accompany  
the minister4 ,and those small meetings 
where there is but      little vocal    
ministry are objects of special care and
 concern to the      larger meetings1 of
 which they form a part2 and many       
,friends make a      practice of        
visiting them from time to time4        
,there was also a special service to    
which ministering ,friends      formerly
 often felt themselves called1 and      
which1 though much      disused of late 
years1 is not altogether extinct--that  
of paying      8religious visits to     
families0 in particular districts or1 in
 other      words1 of holding meetings  
for worship and mutual edification from 
house to house--generally1 but not      
invariably1 amongst our own      members
 only4 ,these visits were occasions     

specially adapted and felt      suitable
 for the exercise of that peculiar gift 
of 8speaking to the      condition of0  
individuals which some ,friends         
7especially in former      times7 seem  
to have possessed in a remarkable       
degree4 ,i believe them      to have    
been of deep value when rightly         
conducted by the few      possessing a  
real qualification for such delicate and
 at times      searching services1 but  
perhaps peculiarly liable to degenerate 
into      what was neither edifying nor 
acceptable4    #af;,for a short account 
of the manner in which1 before the end  
of the      eighteenth century1 the     
,society in ,america freed itself from  
all      complicity with slavery1 as    
illustrating the working both of our    
principles and of our organization1 see 
,appendix1 ,note ,c4    #ag,the         
expression 8put under dealing0 describes
 the prescribed      preliminary to     
disownment4 ,when an overseer1 having   
found private      remonstrance         

unavailing1 is obliged to bring a case  
of wrong-doing      before the ,monthly 
,meeting1 that ,meeting appoints one or 
two ,friends      to visit and 8deal    
with0 the offender1 in the way of       
exhortation and      counsel1 with a    
view to induce him to acknowledge and   
condemn or      8disown0 his own fault1 
and thus to avert the penalty of the    
,society's disownment of himself4       
#ah;,i hope it will be remembered that  
my object throughout is to unfold       
the meaning of our ideal1 not at all to 
estimate the degree in which      we    
actually live according to it4 ,i am not
 in a position to form any      opinion 
worth having as to the actual state of  
the ,society1 nor if ,i      had any    
such opinion should ,i wish to publish  
it4 ,my desire is to      explain the   
secret of our strength1 not of our      
weakness4    #ai;,i believe that        
scarcely any ,friend would be found to  
consider the      office of the         
policeman as an unlawful one1 or to     

entertain scruples      about the use of
 physical force in maintaining order4 ,i
 am told that      ,friends have often1 
and without censure1 acted as special   
constables4        ,with regard to the  
subject of capital punishment1 the      
,yearly ,meeting      has1 indeed1      
during the last fifty years1 expressed  
very serious      doubts of its being   
justifiable2 but the matter is treated  
as one      8needing prayerful          
consideration0 by those whom it may     
concern1 not      as beyond all question
 clear4    #bj;,it is1 ,i believe1      
notorious that many of the panics which 
often      actually lead to war1 and    
which tend to keep up the enormous and  
demoralizing burdens of an 8armed       
peace10 are largely brought about       
by those who have a pecuniary interest  
in them1 either for      stock-jobbing  
or for newspaper-selling interests4     
#ba;,i mean by 8asceticism0 the practice
 of any humanly devised religious       
or spiritual discipline1 whether        

self-chosen or prescribed by            
authority4    #bb8;,but ,i say unto you1
 ,swear not at all4444 ,but let your    
communication      be ,yea1 yea2 ,nay1  
nay3 for whatsoever is more than these  
cometh of      evil0 7,matt4 v4 #cd-cg74
    #bc,the victory thus won by ,friends
 has paved the way for greater          
liberty for all2 and at the present time
 any one 7whether      8professing with 
us0 or not7 who objects on the ground of
 religion      to the taking of an oath 
is equally at liberty to affirm4        
#bd8;,book of ,discipline10 p4 #ada4    
#be,the number of members was reported  
in #ahfb as #ac1hdd2 in #ahhi as        
#ae1egd4 ,before #ahfb no returns were  
made4    #bf,many other causes have1 no 
doubt1 been at work in bringing about   
the      changes referred to in the     
text4 ,i am1 indeed1 not qualified to   
attempt anything like an adequate       
account1 on however slight a      scale1
 of the recent history of the ,society1 
and have desired in      this passage   

only to indicate the general direction  
of the principal      division of       
parties amongst us4    #bg,robert       
,barclay1 who was for generation after  
generation regarded as      the main    
pillar of theoretic ,quakerism1 plainly 
declares the      ,scriptures to be 8a  
secondary rule0--subordinate1 that is1  
to the      teaching of the ,spirit by  
which they were given forth4 ,he        
anticipates many now familiar           
reflections about the inherent          
uncertainties of interpretation and     
application which preclude the          
possibility of our finding in any       
written words a sufficient guide      in
 the infinite variety of individual     
circumstances2 and also      recognizes 
fully the many sources of error         
appertaining to writings      so        
ancient1 and derived through so many    
differing versions and                  
translations4 ,he declares1 however1    
that 8because they are commonly         
acknowledged by all to have been written

 by the dictates of the ,holy           
,spirit1 and that the errors which may  
be supposed by the injury of      ,times
 to have slipt in are not such but that 
there is a sufficient      clear        
,testimony left to all the essentials of
 the ,christian faith1      we do look  
upon them as the only fit outward judge 
of controversies      amongst           
,christians10 and adds that 8we are very
 willing that all our      doctrines and
 practices shall be tried by them20 and 
that 8we shall      also be very willing
 to admit1 as a positive certain maxim1 
,that      whatsoever any do1 pretending
 to the ,spirit1 which is contrary to   
the ,scriptures1 be accounted and       
reckoned a ,delusion of the ,devil4     
,for as we never lay claim to the       
,spirit's leadings that we may cover    
ourselves in anything that is evil2 so  
we know1 that as every evil             
contradicts the ,scriptures1 so it doth 
also the ,spirit in the first           
place1 from which the ,scriptures came0 

7,barclay's 8,apology10 p4 #hf3         
,london1 #agcf74    #bh8,the ,inner     
,light10 pp4 #bc-bf4    #bi;,it may be  
worth while to mention in this          
connection that there is      not1 so   
far as ,i have observed1 any habitual   
preponderance of women      in ,friends'
 meetings4 ,this impression is confirmed
 by the fact that      the number of    
habitual 8attenders0 7non-members7 at   
our meetings is      given 7in the      
tabular statement prepared for the      
,yearly ,meeting of      #ahhi7 as      
follows3--              ,males          
#b1ifb            ,females              
#c1jhf                                  
#f1jdh        ,the rapid growth of      
,friends' ,first ,day ,adult ,schools is
 another      significant fact1 as      
showing the openness to the teaching and
      influence of ,friends amongst     
working men1 and at the same time the   
energetic way in which that influence is
 being used4 ,this movement      began1 
at the suggestion of the late ,joseph   

,sturge1 in ,birmingham in      #ahde2  
and it appears1 from the annual report  
of the ,friends' ,first      ,day       
,school ,association1 that the number of
 adult scholars was in      ,march1     
#ahhi1 as follows3--              ,men  
#ag1eia            ,women               
#e1ece                                  
#bc1abf        ,the ,society of         
,friends1 it should be remembered1      
numbers 7including      children7 only  
#ae1egd members1 yet the teaching in    
these schools is      entirely          
undertaken by ,friends personally1 and  
is1 ,i believe1 done      altogether    
without paid help1 though valuable      
assistance is in many      cases given  
by former scholars4    #cj,the history  
of ,james ,naylor is the best-known case
 in point4    #ca,when any person       
applies for membership1 the ,monthly    
,meeting appoints      one or more      
,friends to visit the applicant1 and to 
report to the      meeting the result of
 the interview1 before a reply is given4

 ,the      precise conditions to be     
fulfilled in such cases are nowhere laid
      down1 but the object is           
understood1 in a general way1 to be to  
ascertain that the applicant is fully   
8convinced of ,friends'                 
principles40 ,the test is thus a purely 
personal and individual one1      and   
partakes of the elasticity which        
characterizes all our      arrangements1
 and which is felt to favour the fullest
 dependence      upon ,divine guidance4 
#cb8;,book of ,discipline10 p4 #bbi4    
#cc,published by ,robert ,smeal1        
,glasgow1 #ahhc4    #cd;,it must be     
remembered that the ,society of ,friends
 in ,america      consists of many      
,yearly ,meetings1 each of which is     
supreme and      independent within its 
own compass4 ,their number has          
considerably      increased since ,john 
,woolman's time2 and in the ,western    
,states there      is also a rapid      
increase in the number of members4      
#ce,the italics are throughout          

,whittier's4                            
,transcriber's ,notes      --,silently  
corrected a few typos4    --,retained   
publication information from the printed
 edition3 this e,book    is             
public-domain in the country of         
publication4    --,in the text versions 
only1 text in italics is delimited by   
underscores4