Produced by Chris Curnow, Michael, Mary Meehan and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
BIOGRAPHY
JOHN WOOLMAN'S JOURNAL
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
VIDA D. SCUDDER
THE PUBLISHERS OF _EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY_ WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND FREELY TO
ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED VOLUMES TO BE
COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING TWELVE HEADINGS:
TRAVEL
SCIENCE
FICTION
THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY
HISTORY
CLASSICAL
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ESSAYS
ORATORY
POETRY & DRAMA
BIOGRAPHY
ROMANCE
IN TWO STYLES OF BINDING, CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP, AND LEATHER,
ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP.
LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
A GOOD BOOK IS THE PRECIOUS LIFE-BLOOD OF A MASTER SPIRIT EMBALMED &
TREASURED UPON PURPOSE TO A LIFE BEYOND LIFE--MILTON
THE JOURNAL _with other_ WRITINGS _of_ JOHN WOOLMAN
LONDON: PUBLISHED
by J. M. DENT & SONS LTD
AND IN NEW YORK
BY E. P. DUTTON & CO
_All rights reserved_
INTRODUCTION
From the days of Charles Lamb to those of Dr. Eliot of Harvard, the
unique charm and worth of the _Journal of John Woolman_ have been
signalled by a thinker of distinction here and there, and the book, if
not widely known, has quietly found its way to many hearts and been
reprinted in sundry editions. The more formal works, however, in which
this gentle and audacious eighteenth-century Quaker-preacher spoke out
his whole careful mind have been for the most part neglected. These
works are sometimes prosy, always indifferent to style in their
unflinching quest for "pure wisdom," often concerned with the dead issue
of negro slavery. Yet even in this last case they have much value as
historic documents; no full knowledge of Woolman's spirit is possible
without them; and not to know that spirit in its entirety is a distinct
loss.
The present edition, while making no claim to critical completeness,
presents the main accessible body of Woolman's writings. Here is a well
of purest water, "dug deep," to use the Quaker phrase. The mere
limpidity of the water will be joy enough for some: others gazing into
it may feel that they see down to the proverbial Truth--the very origin
of things, the foundations of the moral universe.
A studious moderation of utterance is the first quality to make itself
felt in Woolman's works. To casual or jaded readers who crave the
word-embroidery, the heightened note, of the romanticist in style, the
result may seem colourless. Here is a lack of adjectives, an entire
absence of emphasis, a systematic habit of under-statement that, in the
climax of a paragraph or the crisis of an emotion, seems at times almost
ludicrous. Yet to the reader of severer taste, this very absence of
emphasis, so quaintly sober, so sensitive in its unfaltering reticence,
becomes the choicest grace of Woolman's style. As is the style, so is
the man. Woolman "studied to be quiet," and his steady self-discipline
was rewarded by a scrupulous yet instinctive control over the finest
shades of verity in speech and life. In the youthful trouble of deep
religious feeling, when he "went to meetings," as he expressively tell
us, "in an awful frame of mind," he spoke a few words one day, under "a
strong exercise of spirit." "But not keeping close to the divine
opening, I said more than was required of me, and being soon sensible of
my error, I was afflicted in mind some weeks, without any light or
comfort, even to such a degree that I could not take satisfaction in
anything." The mistake was not often repeated; for as he writes in
memorable words: "As I was thus humbled and disciplined under the Cross,
my understanding became more strengthened to distinguish the pure spirit
that inwardly moves upon the heart, and taught me to wait in silence,
sometimes for many weeks together, till I felt that rise which prepares
the creature to stand like a trumpet through which the Lord speaks to
His flock." A fine passage towards the end of the _Journal_ shows that
the danger of speaking without this "pure spirit" was ever present to
him. "Many love to hear eloquent orations, and if there is not a careful
attention to the Gift, men who have once laboured in the pure Gospel
ministry, growing weary of suffering and ashamed of appearing weak, may
kindle a fire, compass themselves about with sparks, and walk in the
light, not of Christ who is under suffering, but of that fire which they
going from the Gift have kindled; and that in hearers which has gone
from the meek suffering state into the worldly wisdom, may be warmed
with this fire and speak highly of these labours. In this journey, a
labour hath attended my mind that the ministers amongst us may be
preserved in the meek, feeling life of truth." No man could so keenly
analyse the snare of fluency and popularity, who had not spent a life on
guard. The reserve of his writings is a natural consequence. One
searches these pages in vain, often controversial though they be, for a
single point in which the note is forced or emotion escapes control.
Yet the emotional intensity concealed beneath this equable habit of
soul, is evident from the first line to the last. In the fine phrase of
the Friends after his death, Woolman "underwent many deep baptisms;" how
deep, the _Journal_ reveals. He was a man of impassioned tenderness.
Even as a child he saw "that as the mind is moved by an inward principle
to love God as an invisible, incomprehensible Being, so by the same
principle it is moved to love Him in all his manifestations in the
visible world. That as by his breath the flame of life has kindled in
all sensible creatures, to say that we love God as unseen and at the
same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by his life,
or by life derived from Him, is a contradiction in itself." Woolman did
not only say these things, he felt them. He is among the great lovers of
the world. His tenderness for animals was always keen, from the days in
which, as he has told us, he suffered childish remorse from having
killed a robin, to his last voyage, when in the midst of personal
suffering, he noted pityingly the dull and pining appearance of the
"dunghill fowls" on board. "I believe," he writes, "where the love of
God is verily perfected, a care will be felt that we do not lessen that
sweetness of life in the animal creation which the great Creator intends
for them under our government."
He who so sympathised with the robin and the cock was filled with a
yearning compassion for the sorrows of humanity. Of him as of Shelley it
might well be said, "He was as a nerve o'er which do creep the else
unfelt oppressions of the earth." We read of his appetite failing
through the agitation of his mind over human pain and his relations to
it. In his last illness he broke forth in words that might have been
uttered by S. Catherine of Siena: "O Lord my God! The amazing horrors of
darkness were gathered around me and covered me all over, and I saw no
way to go forth. I felt the misery of my fellow-beings separated from
the divine harmony, and it was heavier than I could bear; I was crushed
down under it." All great lovers are great sufferers: Woolman was no
exception to the rule.
If he knew deep sorrow he knew deep joy also, as all must do who like
him "live under the Cross and simply follow the operations of Truth."
More is unuttered than uttered in the _Journal_, yet through its
silences we may read an inner experience akin to that of Bunyan or
Pascal. Like these great protagonists of the Spirit, he knew a peace
given "not as the world giveth." For peace can be where ease is not.
Decorous son of an unillumined century, John Woolman is of the company
of the Mystics. He is of those led by the Shepherd of Souls beside the
still waters. He has suggested his own secret: "Some glances of real
beauty may be seen in their faces who dwell in true meekness. There is a
harmony in the sound of that voice to which Divine love gives utterance,
and some appearance of right order in their temper and conduct whose
passions are regulated. Yet all these do not fully show forth that
inward life to those who have not felt it; but this white stone and new
name are known rightly only to such as have them." "Pure" is the central
word of the _Journal_, and the beauty of pure contemplative quietude is
the final impression conveyed by this record so full of anguish over the
sorrows of humanity and of unflinching witness against wickedness, borne
at the expense of the crucifixion of the natural man.
* * * * *
A chief value of Woolman's works consists in his serene application of
his mystical intuitions to the affairs of this world. He who "dwelt deep
in an inward stillness" studied his age with a penetrating sagacity that
allowed no evasions. The man so carefully on his guard against
extravagance was a reformer who pushed his demands, as some would think,
almost beyond the border of sanity. No temper was ever more opposed to
fanaticism: yet many readers may question whether he escaped the doom of
the fanatic. And the most pertinent reason for a re-issue of his works
at this juncture is, that in our own day so many hearts are troubled
like his own. A generation seeking guidance on the path of social duty
will find here a precursor of Ruskin and Tolstoi, a man whose thought,
despite the quaintness of his diction, has a quite extraordinary
modernness, and whose searchings of conscience are none of them
familiar.
The main contemporary issue that agitated Woolman was of course the
slave-trade, and he was long regarded all but exclusively as a herald of
the anti-slavery movement. But the Fabian Society did well to suggest,
in reprinting one of his tracts, the broader scope of his thinking. It
will be evident from this edition that his horror of chattel slavery was
one incident only in that general attitude toward civilisation which
drew from him the bitter cry: "Under a sense of deep revolt and an
overflowing stream of unrighteousness, my life has often been a life of
mourning." The central evil which he opposed was, in brief, the
exploitation of labour: the ideal which he sought was a society in which
no man should need to profit by the degradation of his fellow-men. For
economic analysis of the modern type one naturally looks in vain; moral
analysis of social relations has, however, rarely been carried farther.
These little essays "On Labour," "On the Right Use of the Lord's Outward
Gifts," "On Loving our Neighbour," these "Considerations on the True
Harmony of Mankind," this "Word of Remembrance and Caution to the Rich,"
reveal through their quaint formalities of phrase a searching spirit not
to be outdone to-day.
Woolman felt "a concern in the spring of pure love, that all who have
plenty of outward substance may example others in the right use of
things, may carefully look into the condition of poor people, and beware
of exacting of them in regard to their wages." He was solicitous, as
many have been since his day, over the perplexities of those who seek to
combine a due care for their own families with consideration for the
wage-earner, "in a fruitful land where the wages bear so small a
proportion to the necessaries of life." "There are few if any," he says
truly, "could behold their fellow-creatures lie long in distress and
forbear to help them when they could do it without any inconvenience;
but customs, requiring much labour to support them, do often lie heavy
upon the poor, while they who live in these customs are so entangled in
a multitude of unnecessary concerns that they think but little of the
hardships the poor people go through." To lessen these "concerns," thus
to emancipate the labourer from a part of the crushing burden of
production, became his central thought. "In beholding that unnecessary
toil which many go through in supporting outward greatness, and
procuring delicacies; in beholding how the true calmness of life is
changed into hurry, and that many, by eagerly pursuing outward treasure,
are in danger of withering as to the inward state of the mind; in
meditating on the works of this spirit, and the desolations it makes
among the professors of Christianity, I may thankfully acknowledge that
I often feel pure love beget longings in my mind for the exaltation of
the peaceable Kingdom of Christ, and an engagement to labour according
to the Gift bestowed upon me for promoting an humble, plain, temperate
way of living."
The Simple Life is then Woolman's plea, and the necessity for social
sacrifice the burden of his teaching. This plea he presents with no
vagueness or Wagnerian sentimentality, but with an alarming precision of
outline.
No man ever described better the insensible growth of worldly convention
into that custom which "lies upon us with a weight heavy as frost and
deep almost as life." Noting the gradual lapse of the Friends from their
earlier standards of unworldliness, he says: "These things, though done
in calmness without any show of disorder, do yet deprave the mind in
like manner and with as great certainty as prevailing cold congeals
water." And again, "Though the change from day to night is by a motion
so gradual as scarcely to be perceived, yet when night is come we behold
it very different from the day; and thus as people become wise in their
own eyes and prudent in their own sight, customs rise up from the spirit
of this world and spread, by little and little, till a departure from
the simplicity that is in Christ becomes as distinguishable as light
from darkness to such who are crucified to the world." So the
generations as they pass slip further and further from "pure wisdom,"
for "the customs of their parents, and their neighbours, working upon
their minds, and they from thence conceiving ideas of things and modes
of conduct, the entrance into their hearts becomes in a great measure
shut up against the gentle movings of Uncreated Purity." Woolman is too
wise to feel resentment against those so hardened; rather he says,
"Compassion hath filled my heart toward my fellow-creatures involved in
customs, grown up in the wisdom of this world, which is foolishness with
God."
To his own spirit, we may well apply the description in the little essay
on "Merchandising," of the growing sensitiveness among the faithful
friends of Christ, who "inwardly breathe that His Kingdom may come on
earth" and "learn to be very attentive to the means He may appoint for
promoting pure righteousness." His ideal is "that state in which Christ
is the Light of our life," so that "our labours stand in the true
harmony of society." "In this state," he writes, "a care is felt for a
reformation in general, that our own posterity, with the rest of mankind
in succeeding ages, may not be entangled by oppressive customs,
transmitted to them through our hands." When we consider the deepening
desire in our own day to lessen for the next generation that intolerable
burden of social compunction which rests upon ourselves, may we perhaps
dare to hope that this blessed "state," in which John Woolman himself
constantly abode, is becoming common?
The definite issues suggested in these pages are often surprisingly
modern. Now the fine old Quaker is perturbed over the question of
tainted money: "Have the gifts and possessions received by me from
others been conveyed in a way free from all unrighteousness so far as I
have seen?" Now he notes the evils of over-work: "I have observed that
too much labour not only makes the understanding dull, but so intrudes
upon the harmony of the body that, after ceasing from our toil, we have
another to pass through before we can enjoy the sweetness of rest," and
proceeds to plead with energy for mercy and moderation in the standard
of toil exacted from the poor. "The condition of many who dwell in
cities," had "affected him with brotherly sympathy." Again we find him
touching on the problem of dangerous trades, or analysing with the
puzzle of the pioneer the ancient fallacy that the production of
luxuries relieves economic distress--a fallacy to which he gives in
quaint phrase a sound refutal. In the fifth chapter of the "Word of
Remembrance," the interested reader will find a remarkable and very
beautiful prophecy of the central principle of the settlement movement.
And so we might go on.
In the twelfth century Woolman's solution would probably have been found
in withdrawal from the evil world to the purity of desert or convent.
Not so in the eighteenth. He remained among his brethren, bearing on his
heart the burden of the common guilt: he was one of the first people to
perceive that the moral sense must control not only our obvious but also
our hidden relations with our fellows. And his experience may be said to
mark the exact point where the individualism of the Puritan age broke
down, unable to stand the strain of the growing sense of social
solidarity. The intense but often naively self-centred conception of the
religious life common to a Bunyan and an Edwardes had proved inadequate,
and a new demand for an extension of Christianity to the remotest
reaches of practical life, till human society be transformed in its
depth and its breadth by a supernatural power, was consciously born.
Yet if Woolman's problem be social, his solution is individualistic. It
is found in a resolute endeavour to clear his own life of any dependence
on evil. Among the many experiments on the same lines, none more
thorough-going is recorded; he pushed consistency to a farther point
than Tolstoi or Thoreau. It is the story of this experiment that he
tells us in the _Journal_, with a rare sincerity. See him as a lad,
starting out peaceably at his trade of tailor, easily reaching
commercial success--for Woolman possessed practical ability,--but
"perceiving merchandise to be attended with much cumber," and deciding
accordingly not to develop his business. Watch from this time the
interaction of two co-operating forces, a craving for personal purity,
and a horror of profiting by human pain,--and note that while the first
impulse never waned, the second became more and more constraining. The
record of his various "concerns" is delightfully human and appealing. He
hated to be morally fussy, and the necessity of violating good breeding
at the call of conscience caused him acute distress, for he had an
ingrained instinct of good manners. Yet though "the exercise was heavy,"
he bravely took his elders to task on occasion: refused to accept free
hospitality from slave-holders, forcing money on them for his
entertainment; and, what is still harder, laboured with his friends.
"Thou who travels in the work of the ministry, and art made very welcome
by thy friends, it is good for thee to dwell deep that thou mayest feel
and understand the spirits of people.... I have seen that in the midst
of kindness and smooth conduct, to speak close and home to them who
entertain us on points that relate to their outward interest, is hard
labour, and sometimes when I have felt Truth lead toward it I have found
myself disqualified by a superficial friendship.... To see the failings
of our friends and think hard of them without opening that which we
ought to open, and still carry a face of friendship, this tends to
undermine the foundation of true unity." A man, sensitive, humble, and
well-bred as Woolman evidently was, who can write thus, is pretty sure
to know "deep exercises that are mortifying to the creaturely will."
Some of his concerns, as those relating to the payment of taxes and the
entertainment of soldiers, were common to the Friends; others are
apparently inventions of his own. As time went on they increased and
multiplied, all practically springing from the common root, the desire
to avoid the oppression of the poor. Greed and the wish for ease came to
seem a root of all evil. Travelling among the Indians, he felt the
intimate relation of their misfortunes to the hunger of the English race
for luxury and land. The use of dyes harmful to the worker forced him to
wear undyed garments, even though to his meek distress a passing fashion
of white hats made him run the danger of being confounded with the
children of this world. A concern came upon him to go on foot in his
preaching journeys: at first apparently that he might, like his Master,
appear in the form of a servant; later, that he might have no complicity
in the miseries suffered by the little post-boys employed in the
chaises. Nothing is clearer to the reader of the _Journal_ than the
rapid increase of this holy or foolish sensitiveness. Seeking not to
trade with oppressors, he refuses to gratify his palate with sugars
prepared by the slave labour: under inward pressure to visit the West
Indies, he has anxious scruples about taking passage on a ship owned by
the West India Company, but decides that he may do so if he pays a sum
sufficiently larger than that demanded to compensate the labour involved
on another basis than that of slavery. At last--and here the crisis of
his experience draws near--he feels himself inwardly bound to go to
England; and decides that it is his duty to travel in the steerage,
because forsooth the adornments of the cabin have cost vain and
degrading labour. The horrors of a steerage passage in those days are
well known to us from other sources; and among our visions of the
martyrs of Truth we may well preserve the picture of John Woolman, his
patient Quaker face upturned at midnight through the hatch, panting for
a breath of air. Through the studied quiet of the narrative, the
shrinking of the flesh can plainly be felt. The whole story at this
point palpitates with a solemn pain and an exceeding peace. As usual,
the sufferings of others form the larger part of his pain: he is wracked
with sympathy for the sailors, and moved to a grieved indignant study of
their temptations and afflictions which is good reading still to-day.
Arrived in England, his experience deepens. As usual, he writes without
emphasis: but his distress and tenderness are in every line. In a
passage that reads as if penned by Engels or Rowntree, he makes careful
pitying note of the scale of wages and cost of living, and cries out
sharply, "Oh, may the wealthy consider the poor! May those who have
plenty lay these things to heart!" We perceive that he is realising with
increasing perplexity the extraordinary intricacy with which "the spirit
of oppression" is entwined with the most innocent and necessary
pursuits. "Silence as to every motion proceeding from the love of money
and an humble waiting upon God to know his will concerning us appear
necessary: 'He alone is able' so to direct us in our outward employments
that pure universal love may shine forth in our proceedings." In
"bowedness of spirit" he proceeds northward, and it is evident that the
body is growing weaker as he makes his silent laborious way on foot,
bearing from town to town the message of his Lord. He is offered to
drink when thirsty, in silver vessels, and declines, "telling his case
with weeping." Disgusted, "being but weakly," with "the scent arising
from that filth which more or less infects the air of all closely
settled towns," he feels distress both in body and mind with that which
is impure, and a longing "that people might come in to cleanness of
spirit, cleanness of person, and cleanness about their houses and
garments:" noting at the same time, with his accustomed sagacity, that
"some who are great carry delicacy to a great height themselves, and yet
real cleanliness is not generally promoted." So continues his travail of
soul, recorded in these pathetic and illumined pages, and before long
the fatal disorder, small-pox, seizes upon him. He dies among strangers
after lying patiently through his illness in the spirit of prayer, still
saying characteristically to the young apothecary Friend with whom he
had "found a freedom to confer," "that if anything should be proposed as
to medicine that did not come through defiled channels or oppressive
hands, he should be willing to consider and take it so far as he found
freedom." Almost his last words, when already he could hardly be
understood, are charged with his steady social compunction.
Dear John Woolman! Pure and high spirit, incapable of evasion,
noteworthy no less for restraint and gentleness than for the resolute
determination to translate the undimmed vision of the Perfect Right into
terms of our daily existence! Whither would his "concerns" have carried
him, had not the Angel of Small-Pox ended his wistful and unrelenting
quest? He died in 1772, having lived his life before the industrial
revolution, in days which we are wont to envy as simpler and less beset
by social problems than our own. Certainly they were days in which the
network of human relations was far less intricate than now. Yet the
process in which he was engaged reached out to limits beyond our power
to scan, and his experience is in one point of view an heroic _reductio
ad absurdum_. No more instructive attempt was ever made to attain
personal purity while neither withdrawing from the world nor
transforming it. To-day the number is on the increase of persons who
suffer under the sense of social guilt. All who know such suffering and
are inclined to think the conversion of individuals adequate as an
ultimate remedy, will do well to ponder these pages. For the conclusion
is forced on us that Woolman was in an _impasse_: and while we love and
reverence the heavenly sturdiness of soul possessed by this
eighteenth-century saint, we must recognise with amusement touched by
tenderness the hopelessness of his efforts to attain personal purity,
the ridiculous extremes of isolation into which such a conscientious
effort, if logically carried out, would lead us. The definite inference
from Woolman's life and thought will be for most modern people the
conviction of the hopelessness of the attempt to achieve, by individual
means and private effort, a satisfying social righteousness in an
unchanged world.
After all, Woolman's trouble and sorrow and tumult of spirit, so
suggestive, so helpful to modern souls, were transitory. At the heart of
his "endless agitation" subsisted a "central peace." His was the grace
to know that "deep humility is a strong bulwark," and to "look less at
the effects of the labour than at the pure motion and reality of the
concern." The gentleness with which he delivered his fiery message was
more than a manner due to Quaker training, or even than a result of
resolute self-discipline: it was the index of an inward stillness in
which his soul dwelt undisturbed. Let us hope that the days may come
when the "concern" about profiting by the painful or degrading labour of
others will have an interest as exclusively historic as the "concern"
about holding slaves has already attained. Tremulously it may be, yet
soberly and joyously, many clear-minded and practical people are
beginning to hope for such a day. When it comes, the immediate message
of Woolman will be less cogent, but he will still continue to be read by
those who care for the revelations of a beautiful soul. These pages
offer more than light on the path of social duty; they offer fellowship
with a spirit that "dwelt deep," and attained an abiding loveliness
because responsive through all turmoil of spirit and all outward
suffering, to the "gentle movings of Uncreated Purity." "That purity of
life," wrote he, "which proceeds from faithfulness in following the
Spirit of Truth, this habitation has often been opened before me as a
place of retirement for the children of the light, where we may stand
separated from that which disordereth and confuseth the affairs of
society." Such a "place of retirement for the Children of the Light,"
this book affords.
VIDA D. SCUDDER.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes, recommended to the
Professors of Christianity of every Denomination, Part I., 1754; Part
II., 1762; many later issues of both parts; Considerations on Pure
Wisdom and Human Policy, on Labour, Schools, and the Right Use of the
Lord's Outward Gifts, 1768, and numerous later reprints; Considerations
on the True Harmony of Mankind, and how it is to be Maintained, 1770,
and later reprints; an Epistle to the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings of
Friends, 1772; Remarks on Sundry Subjects, 1773, and later reprints;
Serious Considerations on Various Subjects of Importance (containing the
four above works, and some expressions of John Woolman in his last
illness), 1773; A First Book for Children, 1774 (?); A Journal of the
Life, Gospel, Labours, and Christian Experiences of John Woolman, 1774,
and many later editions; with Introduction by John Greenleaf Whittier,
1871; with Introduction by A. Smellie, and Appreciation by J. G.
Whittier (Books of the Heart), 1898; new century edition, with
bibliography, etc., 1900; with foreword by Rev. R. J. Campbell, 1903; A
Word of Remembrance and Caution to the Rich, 1793; later editions,
published by Fabian Society, 1898, 1908.
LETTERS: Edited by J. Kendall (Letters on Religious Subjects, vol. ii.),
1820; by J. and I. Comly (_Friends' Miscellany_, vol. i.), 1834; in
_Journal_, and in _Friends' Review_, vols. v.-xxviii.
WORKS: 1774; 5th edition, 1818.
LIFE: Saint John Woolman (_Eclectic Review_), 1861; David Duncan,
paper read at Manchester Friends' Institute, 1871; Dora Greenwell,
1871; W. Garrett Horder, A Quaker Saint (_The Young Man_), 1874;
reprinted in Quaker Worthies, 1896; T. Green, 1885, with Introduction by
H. C. G. Moule, 1897; Sketch of the Life of John Woolman (Booklet
Series, No. 6), 1896; in Present Day Papers, vol. iii., 1900; a poem by
Bernard Barton, "A Tribute to the Memory of John Woolman," appeared in
vol. iii. of _The Friend_, and references to Woolman are found in Lamb,
and in H. Crabb Robinson's Diary.
CONTENTS
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER 3
THE TESTIMONY OF FRIENDS IN YORKSHIRE 5
A TESTIMONY OF THE MONTHLY-MEETING OF FRIENDS 9
A JOURNAL OF THE LIFE AND TRAVELS OF JOHN WOOLMAN 17
THE LAST EPISTLE AND OTHER WRITINGS 159
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TRUE HARMONY OF MANKIND 177
AN EPISTLE TO THE QUARTERLY AND MONTHLY-MEETINGS OF
FRIENDS 203
REMARKS ON SUNDRY SUBJECTS 219
SOME EXPRESSIONS OF JOHN WOOLMAN IN HIS LAST ILLNESS 245
THE JOURNAL
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER
The manuscript JOURNAL of our late Friend JOHN WOOLMAN, was ended in
_England_; where he also finished all his Labours. It appears, by a
Letter which he sent, in his last Illness, to a Friend in _London_, that
he did not intend the whole should be printed, and that he desired the
said Friend to revise what he had written in this Nation, and leave out
such Parts as he should think proper. It was, notwithstanding, sent
entire, without any Alteration, to _America_; where it was soon after
printed, together with several Tracts which had been published in his
Life-time. But, as some Passages in the Journal contain Observations
which appear to have been intended as private Memorandums only, and
others relate to Circumstances which happened in his native Country, not
expedient to be preserved on Record in this Nation, it is apprehended
that the following ABRIDGEMENT of it will be acceptable to Friends, and
may be of general Service; and, as many weighty Arguments and pertinent
Advices, relative to Slavery and the Oppression of the Negroes in the
Plantations, are contained in the Journal, it was therefore apprehended
that two small Tracts on that Subject might be omitted in this
Abridgement.
THE TESTIMONY OF FRIENDS IN YORKSHIRE
_At their Quarterly-meeting held at York, the 24th and 25th of the third
Month 1773, concerning_
JOHN WOOLMAN
_Of_ Mount-Holly, _in the Province of New-Jersey, in_ America; _who
departed this Life at the House of our Friend_, THOMAS PRIESTMAN, _in
the Suburbs of this City, the 7th of the tenth month 1772, and was
interred in the Burying-ground of Friends, the 9th of the same, aged
about fifty-two Years_
This our valuable Friend, having been under a religious Engagement for
some Time to visit Friends in this Nation, and more especially us in the
northern Parts, undertook the same in full Concurrence and near Sympathy
with his Friends and Brethren at home, as appeared by Certificates from
the monthly and quarterly Meetings to which he belonged, and from the
Spring-meeting of Ministers and Elders, held at _Philadelphia_ for
_Pennsylvania_ and _New-Jersey_.
He arrived in the City of _London_ the beginning of the last
Yearly-meeting, and, after attending that Meeting, travelled northward,
visiting the Quarterly-meetings of _Hertfordshire_, _Buckinghamshire_,
_Northamptonshire_, _Oxfordshire_, and _Worcestershire_, and divers
particular Meetings in his Way.
He visited many Meetings on the West Side of this County; also some in
_Lancashire_ and _Westmorland_; from whence he came to our
Quarterly-meeting in the last ninth Month; and though much out of
Health, yet was enabled to attend all the Sittings of that Meeting
except the last.
His Disorder, then, which proved the Small-pox, increased speedily upon
him, and was very afflicting; under which he was supported in much
Meekness, Patience, and Christian Fortitude. To those who attended him
in his Illness his Mind appeared to be centered in divine Love; under
the precious Influence whereof, we believe, he finished his Course, and
entered into the Mansions of everlasting Rest.
In the early Part of his Illness he requested a Friend to write, and he
broke forth thus:
"O Lord, my God! the amazing Horrors of Darkness were gathered around me
and covered me all over, and I saw no Way to go forth: I felt the Misery
of my Fellow-creatures separated from the divine Harmony, and it was
heavier than I could bear, and I was crushed down under it: I lifted up
my Hand, and stretched out my Arm, but there was none to help me: I
looked round about, and was amazed: In the Depths of Misery, O Lord! I
remembered that thou art omnipotent; that I had called thee Father; and
I felt that I loved thee, and I was made quiet in thy Will, and I waited
for Deliverance from thee; thou hadst Pity upon me when no Man could
help me: I saw that Meekness under suffering was shewed to us in the
most affecting Example of thy Son, and thou wast teaching me to follow
him, and I said, Thy Will, O Father, be done."
Many more of his weighty Expressions might have been inserted here, but
it was deemed unnecessary, they being already published in Print.
He was a Man endued with a large natural Capacity; and, being obedient
to the Manifestations of divine Grace, having in Patience and Humility
endured many deep Baptisms, he became thereby sanctified and fitted for
the Lord's Work, and was truly serviceable in his Church: Dwelling in
awful Fear and Watchfulness, he was careful, in his public Appearances,
to feel the putting forth of the divine Hand, so that the Spring of the
Gospel-ministry often flowed through him with great Sweetness and
Purity, as a refreshing Stream to the weary Travellers toward the City
of God: Skilful in dividing the Word, he was furnished by Him, in whom
are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge, to communicate freely
to the several States of the People where his Lot was cast. His Conduct
at other Times was seasoned with the like watchful Circumspection and
Attention to the Guidance of divine Wisdom, which rendered his whole
Conversation uniformly edifying.
He was fully perswaded that as the Life of Christ comes to reign in the
Earth, all Abuse and unnecessary Oppression, both of the human and brute
Creation, will come to an End; but, under the Sense of a deep Revolt and
overflowing Stream of Unrighteousness, his Life has been often a Life of
mourning.
He was deeply concerned on account of that inhuman and iniquitous
Practice of making Slaves of the People of _Africa_, or holding them in
that State; and, on that Account, we understand he hath not only written
some Books, but travelled much on the Continent of _America_, in order
to make the Negro-masters (especially those in Profession with us)
sensible of the evil of such a Practice; and though, in his Journey to
_England_, he was far removed from the outward Sight of their
Sufferings, yet his deep Exercise of Mind remained, as appears by a
short Treatise he wrote in this Journey, and his frequent Concern to
open the miserable State of this deeply-injured People. His Testimony in
the last Meeting he attended was on this Subject; wherein he remarked,
that as we, as a Society, when under outward Sufferings, had often found
it our Concern to lay them before those in Authority, and thereby, in
the Lord's Time, had obtained Relief, so he recommended this oppressed
Part of the Creation to our Notice, that we may, as way may open,
represent their Sufferings, in an Individual, if not a Society Capacity,
to those in Authority.
Deeply sensible that the Desire to gratify People's Inclinations in
Luxury and Superfluities is the principal Ground of Oppression, and the
Occasion of many unnecessary Wants, he believed it to be his Duty to be
a Pattern of great Self-denial with Respect to the Things of this Life,
and earnestly to labour with Friends in the Meekness of Wisdom, to
impress on their Minds the great Importance of our Testimony in these
Things, recommending to the Guidance of the blessed Truth in this and
all other Concerns, and cautioning such as are experienced therein
against contenting themselves with acting up to the Standard of others,
but to be careful to make the Standard of Truth, manifested to them, the
Measure of their Obedience; for, said he, "that Purity of Life which
proceeds from Faithfulness in following the Spirit of Truth, that State
where our Minds are devoted to serve God, and all our Wants are bounded
by his Wisdom,--this Habitation has often been opened before me, as a
Place of retirement for the Children of the Light, where they may stand
separated from that which disordereth and confuseth the Affairs of
Society, and where we may have a Testimony of our Innocence in the
Hearts of those who behold us."
We conclude with fervent Desires that we, as a People, may thus, by our
Example, promote the Lord's Work in the Earth; and, our Hearts being
prepared, may unite in Prayer to the great Lord of the Harvest, that as,
in his infinite Wisdom, he hath greatly stripped the Church, by removing
of late divers faithful Ministers and Elders, he may be pleased to send
forth many more faithful Labourers into his Harvest.
_Signed in, by Order, and on Behalf of, said Meeting_:
THOMAS BENNETT,
JOHN STORR,
JOSEPH EGLIN,
THOMAS PERKINSON,
JOSEPH WRIGHT,
SAMUEL BRISCOE,
JOHN TURNER,
JOSHUA ROBINSON,
THOMAS PRIESTMAN, and
divers other Friends.
A TESTIMONY OF THE MONTHLY-MEETING OF FRIENDS
_Held in_ Burlington, _the first Day of the eighth Month, in the Year of
our Lord 1774, concerning our esteemed Friend,_
JOHN WOOLMAN, DECEASED
He was born in _Northampton_, in the County of _Burlington_, and
Province of _West-New-Jersey_, in the eighth Month, 1720, of religious
Parents, who instructed him very early in the Principles of the
_Christian_ Religion, as professed by the People called _Quakers_, which
he esteemed a Blessing to him, even in his young Years, tending to
preserve him from the Infection of wicked Children; but, through the
Workings of the Enemy, and Levity incident to Youth, he frequently
deviated from those parental Precepts, by which he laid a renewed
Foundation for Repentance, that was finally succeeded by a godly Sorrow
not to be repented of, and so became acquainted with that sanctifying
Power which qualifies for true Gospel Ministry, into which he was called
about the twenty-second year of his Age; and, by a faithful Use of the
Talents committed to him, he experienced an Increase, until he arrived
at the State of a Father, capable of dividing the Word aright to the
different States he ministered unto; dispensing Milk to Babes, and Meat
to those of riper Years. Thus he found the Efficacy of that Power to
arise, which, in his own Expressions, "prepares the Creature to stand
like a Trumpet through which the Lord speaks to his People."--He was a
loving Husband, a tender Father, and very humane to every Part of the
Creation under his Care.
His Concern for the Poor and those in Affliction was evident by his
Visits to them; whom he frequently relieved by his Assistance and
Charity. He was for many Years deeply exercised on Account of the poor
enslaved _Africans_, whose Cause, as he sometimes mentioned, lay almost
continually upon him, and to obtain Liberty to those Captives, he
laboured both in public and private; and was favoured to see his
Endeavours crowned with considerable Success. He was particularly
desirous that Friends should not be instrumental to lay Burthens on this
oppressed People, but remember the Days of suffering from which they had
been providentially delivered; that, if Times of Trouble should return,
no Injustice dealt to those in Slavery might rise in Judgment against
us, but, being clear, we might on such Occasions address the Almighty
with a degree of Confidence, for his Interposition and Relief; being
particularly careful, as to himself, not to countenance Slavery even by
the Use of those Conveniences of Life which were furnished by their
Labour.
He was desirous to have his own, and the Minds of others, redeemed from
the Pleasures and immoderate Profits of this World, and to fix them on
those Joys which fade not away; his principal Care being after a Life of
Purity, endeavouring to avoid not only the grosser Pollutions, but those
also which, appearing in a more refined Dress, are not sufficiently
guarded against by some well-disposed People. In the latter Part of his
Life he was remarkable for the Plainness and Simplicity of his Dress,
and, as much as possible, avoided the Use of Plate, costly Furniture,
and feasting; thereby endeavouring to become an Example of Temperance
and Self-denial, which he believed himself called unto, and was favoured
with Peace therein, although it carried the Appearance of great
Austerity in the View of some. He was very moderate in his Charges in
the Way of Business, and in his Desires after Gain; and, though a Man of
Industry, avoided, and strove much to lead others out of extreme Labour
and Anxiousness after perishable Things; being desirous that the
Strength of our Bodies might not be spent in procuring Things
unprofitable, and that we might use Moderation and Kindness to the brute
Animals under our Care, to prize the Use of them as a great Favour, and
by no Means abuse them; that the Gifts of Providence should be
thankfully received and applied to the Uses they were designed for.
He several Times opened a School at _Mount-Holly_, for the Instruction
of poor Friends Children and others, being concerned for their Help and
Improvement therein: His Love and Care for the rising Youth among us
were truly great, recommending to Parents and those who have the Charge
of them, to chuse conscientious and pious Tutors, saying, "It is a
lovely Sight to behold innocent Children," and that "to labour for their
Help against that which would mar the Beauty of their Minds, is a Debt
we owe them."
His Ministry was sound, very deep and penetrating, sometimes pointing
out the dangerous Situation which Indulgence and Custom lead into;
frequently exhorting others, especially the Youth, not to be discouraged
at the Difficulties which occur, but press after Purity. He often
expressed an earnest Engagement that _pure Wisdom_ should be attended
to, which would lead into Lowliness of Mind and Resignation to the
divine Will, in which State small Possessions here would be sufficient.
In transacting the Affairs of Discipline, his Judgment was sound and
clear, and he was very useful in treating with those who had done amiss;
he visited such in a private Way in that Plainness which Truth dictates,
shewing great Tenderness and _Christian_ Forbearance. He was a constant
Attender of our Yearly-meeting, in which he was a good Example, and
particularly useful; assisting in the Business thereof with great Weight
and Attention. He several Times visited most of the Meetings of Friends
in this and the neighbouring Provinces, with the Concurrence of the
Monthly-meeting to which he belonged, and, we have Reason to believe,
had good Service therein, generally or always expressing, at his
Return, how it had fared with him, and the Evidence of Peace in his Mind
for thus performing his Duty. He was often concerned with other Friends
in the important Service of visiting Families, which he was enabled to
go through to Satisfaction.
In the Minutes of the Meeting of Ministers and Elders for this Quarter,
at the Foot of a List of the Members of that Meeting, made about five
Years before his Death, we find in his Hand-writing the following
Observations and Reflections. "As looking over the Minutes, made by
Persons who have put off this Body, hath sometimes revived in me a
Thought how Ages pass away; so this List may probably revive a like
Thought in some, when I and the rest of the Persons above-named are
centered in another State of Being.--The Lord, who was the Guide of my
Youth, hath in tender Mercies helped me hitherto; he hath healed me of
Wounds, he hath helped me out of grievous Entanglements; he remains to
be the Strength of my Life; to whom I desire to devote myself in Time
and in Eternity."--_Signed_, John Woolman.
In the twelfth Month, 1771, he acquainted this Meeting that he found his
Mind drawn towards a religious Visit to Friends in some Parts of
_England_, particularly in _Yorkshire_. In the first Month, 1772, he
obtained our Certificate, which was approved and endorsed by our
Quarterly-meeting, and by the Half-year's-meeting of Ministers and
Elders at _Philadelphia_. He embarked on his Voyage in the fifth, and
arrived in _London_ in the sixth, Month following, at the Time of their
annual Meeting in that City. During his short Visit to Friends in that
Kingdom, we are informed that his Services were acceptable and edifying.
In his last Illness he uttered many lively and comfortable Expressions,
being "perfectly resigned, having no Will either to live or die," as
appears by the Testimony of Friends at _York_ in _Great-Britain_, in the
Suburbs whereof, at the House of our Friend, _Thomas Priestman_, he died
of the Small-pox, on the seventh Day of the tenth Month, 1772, and was
buried in Friends Burying-ground in that City, on the ninth of the same,
after a large and solid Meeting held on the Occasion at their great
Meeting-house, aged near fifty-two Years; a Minister upwards of
thirty Years, during which Time he belonged to _Mount-Holly_
Particular-meeting, which he diligently attended when at Home and in
Health of Body, and his Labours of Love, and pious Care for the
Prosperity of Friends in the blessed Truth, we hope may not be
forgotten, but that his good Works may be remembered to Edification.
_Signed in, and by Order of, the said Meeting, by_
SAMUEL ALLINSON, _Clerk_.
Read and approved at our Quarterly-meeting, held at _Burlington_ the
29th of the eighth Month, 1774.
_Signed, by Order of said Meeting_,
DANIEL SMITH, _Clerk_.
A JOURNAL OF THE LIFE, GOSPEL-LABOURS, AND CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCES, OF
THAT FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST,
JOHN WOOLMAN;
Late of MOUNT-HOLLY, in the Province of NEW-JERSEY.
ISAIAH xxxii. 17.
"The Work of Righteousness shall be Peace; and the Effect of
Righteousness, Quietness and Assurance for ever."
LONDON:
Printed and sold by JAMES PHILLIPS, in
George-Yard, Lombard-Street.
M.DCC.LXXV.
A JOURNAL OF THE LIFE AND TRAVELS OF JOHN WOOLMAN, IN THE SERVICE OF THE
GOSPEL
CHAPTER I
_His Birth and Parentage, with some Account of the Operations of
divine Grace on his Mind in his Youth_--_His first Appearance in the
Ministry_--_And his Considerations, while young, on the keeping of
Slaves_
I have often felt a Motion of Love to leave some Hints in Writing of my
Experience of the Goodness of God; and now, in the thirty-sixth Year of
my Age, I begin this Work.
I was born in _Northampton_, in _Burlington_ County, _West-Jersey_, in
the Year 1720; and before I was seven Years old I began to be acquainted
with the Operations of divine Love. Through the Care of my Parents, I
was taught to read nearly as soon as I was capable of it; and, as I went
from School one seventh Day, I remember, while my Companions went to
play by the Way, I went forward out of Sight, and, sitting down, I read
the 22d Chapter of the _Revelations_: "He shewed me a pure River of
Water of Life, clear as Chrystal, proceeding out of the Throne of God
and of the Lamb, _etc._" and, in reading it, my Mind was drawn to seek
after that pure Habitation, which, I then believed, God had prepared for
his Servants. The Place where I sat, and the Sweetness that attended my
Mind, remain fresh in my Memory.
This, and the like gracious Visitations, had that Effect upon me, that
when Boys used ill Language it troubled me; and, through the continued
Mercies of God, I was preserved from it.
The pious Instructions of my Parents were often fresh in my Mind when I
happened to be among wicked Children, and were of Use to me. My Parents,
having a large Family of Children, used frequently, on first Days after
Meeting, to put us to read in the holy Scriptures, or some religious
Books, one after another, the rest sitting by without much Conversation;
which, I have since often thought, was a good Practice. From what I had
read and heard, I believed there had been, in past Ages, People who
walked in Uprightness before God, in a Degree exceeding any that I knew,
or heard of, now living: And the Apprehension of there being less
Steadiness and Firmness, amongst People in this Age than in past Ages,
often troubled me while I was a Child.
A Thing remarkable in my Childhood was, that once, going to a
Neighbour's House, I saw, on the Way, a _Robin_ sitting on her Nest, and
as I came near she went off, but, having young ones, flew about, and
with many Cries expressed her Concern for them; I stood and threw Stones
at her, till, one striking her, she fell down dead: At first I was
pleased with the Exploit, but after a few Minutes was seized with
Horror, as having, in a sportive Way, killed an innocent Creature while
she was careful for her Young: I beheld her lying dead, and thought
these young ones, for which she was so careful, must now perish for want
of their Dam to nourish them; and, after some painful Considerations on
the Subject, I climbed up the Tree, took all the young Birds, and killed
them; supposing that better than to leave them to pine away and die
miserably: And believed, in this Case, that Scripture-proverb was
fulfilled, "The tender Mercies of the Wicked are cruel." I then went on
my Errand, but, for some Hours, could think of little else but the
Cruelties I had committed, and was much troubled. Thus he, whose tender
Mercies are over all his Works, hath placed a Principle in the human
Mind, which incites to exercise Goodness towards every living Creature;
and this being singly attended to, People become tender hearted and
sympathising; but being frequently and totally rejected, the Mind
becomes shut up in a contrary Disposition.
About the twelfth Year of my Age, my Father being abroad, my Mother
reproved me for some Misconduct, to which I made an undutiful Reply;
and, the next first Day, as I was with my Father returning from Meeting,
he told me he understood I had behaved amiss to my Mother, and advised
me to be more careful in future. I knew myself blameable, and in Shame
and Confusion remained silent. Being thus awakened to a Sense of my
Wickedness, I felt Remorse in my Mind, and, getting home, I retired and
prayed to the Lord to forgive me; and do not remember that I ever, after
that, spoke unhandsomely to either of my Parents, however foolish in
some other Things.
Having attained the Age of sixteen Years, I began to love wanton
Company; and though I was preserved from prophane Language, or
scandalous Conduct, still I perceived a Plant in me which produced much
wild Grapes; yet my merciful Father forsook me not utterly, but, at
Times, through his Grace, I was brought seriously to consider my Ways;
and the Sight of my Backslidings affected me with Sorrow; but, for want
of rightly attending to the Reproofs of Instruction, Vanity was added to
Vanity, and Repentance to Repentance: Upon the whole, my Mind was more
and more alienated from the Truth, and I hastened toward Destruction.
While I meditate on the Gulph towards which I travelled, and reflect on
my youthful Disobedience, for these Things I weep, mine Eyes run down
with Water.
Advancing in Age, the Number of my Acquaintances increased, and thereby
my Way grew more difficult; though I had found Comfort in reading the
holy Scriptures, and thinking on heavenly Things, I was now estranged
therefrom: I knew I was going from the Flock of Christ, and had no
Resolution to return; hence serious Reflections were uneasy to me, and
youthful Vanities and Diversions my greatest Pleasure. Running in this
Road I found many like myself; and we associated in that which is the
reverse of true Friendship.
But in this swift Race it pleased God to visit me with Sickness, so that
I doubted of recovering; and then did Darkness, Horror, and Amazement,
with full Force, seize me, even when my Pain and Distress of Body was
very great. I thought it would have been better for me never to have had
a Being, than to see the Day which I now saw. I was filled with
Confusion; and in great Affliction, both of Mind and Body, I lay and
bewailed myself. I had not Confidence to lift up my Cries to God, whom I
had thus offended; but, in a deep Sense of my great Folly, I was humbled
before him; and, at length, that Word which is as a Fire and a Hammer,
broke and dissolved my rebellious Heart, and then my Cries were put up
in Contrition; and in the multitude of his Mercies I found inward
Relief, and felt a close Engagement, that, if he was pleased to restore
my Health, I might walk humbly before him.
After my Recovery, this Exercise remained with me a considerable Time;
but, by Degrees, giving Way to youthful Vanities, they gained Strength,
and, getting with wanton young People, I lost Ground. The Lord had been
very gracious, and spoke Peace to me in the Time of my Distress; and I
now most ungratefully turned again to Folly; on which Account, at Times,
I felt sharp Reproof. I was not so hardy as to commit Things scandalous;
but to exceed in Vanity, and promote Mirth, was my chief Study. Still I
retained a Love for pious People, and their Company brought an Awe upon
me. My dear Parents, several Times, admonished me in the Fear of the
Lord, and their Admonition entered into my Heart, and had a good Effect
for a Season; but, not getting deep enough to pray rightly, the Tempter,
when he came, found Entrance. I remember once, having spent a Part of
the Day in Wantonness, as I went to Bed at Night, there lay in a Window,
near my Bed, a Bible, which I opened, and first cast my Eye on this
Text, "We lie down in our Shame, and our Confusion covers us:" This I
knew to be my Case; and, meeting with so unexpected a Reproof, I was
somewhat affected with it, and went to Bed under Remorse of Conscience;
which I soon cast off again.
Thus Time passed on: My Heart was replenished with Mirth and Wantonness,
and pleasing Scenes of Vanity were presented to my Imagination, till I
attained the Age of eighteen Years; near which Time I felt the Judgments
of God, in my Soul, like a consuming Fire; and, looking over my past
Life, the Prospect was moving.--I was often sad, and longed to be
delivered from those Vanities; then again, my Heart was strongly
inclined to them, and there was in me a sore Conflict: At Times I turned
to Folly, and then again, Sorrow and Confusion took hold of me. In a
while, I resolved totally to leave off some of my Vanities; but there
was a secret Reserve, in my Heart, of the more refined Part of them, and
I was not low enough to find true Peace. Thus, for some Months, I had
great Troubles; there remaining in me an unsubjected Will, which
rendered my Labours fruitless, till at length, through the merciful
Continuance of heavenly Visitations, I was made to bow down in Spirit
before the Lord. I remember one Evening I had spent some Time in reading
a pious Author; and walking out alone, I humbly prayed to the Lord for
his Help, that I might be delivered from all those Vanities which so
ensnared me. Thus, being brought low, he helped me; and, as I learned to
bear the Cross, I felt Refreshment to come from his Presence; but, not
keeping in that Strength which gave Victory, I lost Ground again; the
Sense of which greatly affected me; and I sought Desarts and lonely
Places, and there, with Tears, did confess my Sins to God, and humbly
craved Help of him. And I may say with Reverence, he was near to me in
my Troubles, and in those Times of Humiliation opened my Ear to
Discipline. I was now led to look seriously at the Means by which I was
drawn from the pure Truth, and learned this, that, if I would live in
the Life which the faithful Servants of God lived in, I must not go
into Company as heretofore in my own Will; but all the Cravings of Sense
must be governed by a divine Principle. In Times of Sorrow and Abasement
these Instructions were sealed upon me, and I felt the Power of Christ
prevail over selfish Desires, so that I was preserved in a good degree
of Steadiness; and, being young, and believing at that Time that a
single Life was best for me, I was strengthened to keep from such
Company as had often been a Snare to me.
I kept steadily to Meetings; spent First-day Afternoons chiefly in
reading the Scriptures and other good Books; and was early convinced in
Mind, that true Religion consisted in an inward Life, wherein the Heart
doth love and reverence God the Creator, and learns to exercise true
Justice and Goodness, not only toward all Men, but also toward the brute
Creatures.--That as the Mind was moved, by an inward Principle, to love
God as an invisible incomprehensible Being, by the same Principle it was
moved to love him in all his Manifestations in the visible World.--That,
as by his Breath the Flame of Life was kindled in all animal sensible
Creatures, to say we love God, and, at the same Time exercise Cruelty
toward the least Creature, is a Contradiction in itself.
I found no Narrowness respecting Sects and Opinions; but believed, that
sincere upright-hearted People, in every Society, who truly love God,
were accepted of him.
As I lived under the Cross, and simply followed the Openings of Truth,
my Mind, from Day to Day, was more enlightened; my former Acquaintance
were left to judge of me as they would, for I found it safest for me to
live in private, and keep these Things sealed up in my own Breast. While
I silently ponder on that Change wrought in me, I find no Language equal
to it, nor any Means to convey to another a clear Idea of it. I looked
on the Works of God in this visible Creation, and an Awfulness covered
me; my Heart was tender and often contrite, and universal Love to my
Fellow-creatures increased in me: This will be understood by such as
have trodden the same Path. Some Glances of real Beauty may be seen in
their Faces, who dwell in true Meekness. There is a Harmony in the
Sound of that Voice to which divine Love gives Utterance, and some
Appearance of right Order in their Temper and Conduct, whose Passions
are regulated; yet all these do not fully shew forth that inward Life to
such as have not felt it: But this white Stone and new Name is known
rightly to such only as have it.
Though I had been thus strengthened to bear the Cross, I still found
myself in great Danger, having many Weaknesses attending me, and strong
Temptations to wrestle with; in the feeling whereof I frequently
withdrew into private Places, and often with Tears besought the Lord to
help me, whose gracious Ear was open to my Cry.
All this Time I lived with my Parents, and wrought on the Plantation;
and, having had Schooling pretty well for a Planter, I used to improve
it in Winter Evenings, and other leisure Times; and, being now in the
twenty-first Year of my Age, a Man, in much Business at shop-keeping and
baking, asked me, if I would hire with him to tend Shop and keep Books.
I acquainted my Father with the Proposal; and, after some Deliberation,
it was agreed for me to go.
At Home I had lived retired; and now, having a Prospect of being much in
the Way of Company, I felt frequent and fervent Cries in my Heart to
God, the Father of Mercies, that he would preserve me from all
Corruption; that in this more publick Employment, I might serve him, my
gracious Redeemer, in that Humility and Self-denial, with which I had
been, in a small Degree, exercised in a more private Life. The Man, who
employed me, furnished a Shop in _Mount-Holly_, about five Miles from my
Father's House, and six from his own; and there I lived alone, and
tended his Shop. Shortly after my Settlement here I was visited by
several young People, my former Acquaintance, who knew not but Vanities
would be as agreeable to me now as ever; and, at these Times, I cried to
the Lord in secret, for Wisdom and Strength; for I felt myself
encompassed with Difficulties, and had fresh Occasion to bewail the
Follies of Time past, in contracting a Familiarity with libertine
People; and, as I had now left my Father's House outwardly, I found my
heavenly Father to be merciful to me beyond what I can express.
By Day I was much amongst People, and had many Trials to go through;
but, in the Evenings, I was mostly alone, and may with Thankfulness
acknowledge, that, in those Times, the Spirit of Supplication was often
poured upon me; under which I was frequently exercised, and felt my
Strength renewed.
In a few Months after I came here, my Master bought several _Scotchmen_,
Servants, from on-board a Vessel, and brought them to _Mount-Holly_ to
sell; one of which was taken sick, and died.
In the latter Part of his Sickness, he, being delirious, used to curse
and swear most sorrowfully; and, the next Night after his Burial, I was
left to sleep alone in the same Chamber where he died; I perceived in me
a Timorousness; I knew, however, I had not injured the Man, but assisted
in taking Care of him according to my Capacity; and was not free to ask
any one, on that Occasion, to sleep with me: Nature was feeble; but
every Trial was a fresh Incitement to give myself up wholly to the
Service of God, for I found no Helper like him in Times of Trouble.
After a While, my former Acquaintance gave over expecting me as one of
their Company; and I began to be known to some whose Conversation was
helpful to me: And now, as I had experienced the Love of God, through
Jesus Christ, to redeem me from many Pollutions, and to be a Succour to
me through a Sea of Conflicts, with which no Person was fully
acquainted; and as my Heart was often enlarged in this heavenly
Principle, I felt a tender Compassion for the Youth, who remained
entangled in Snares, like those which had entangled me from one Time to
another: This Love and Tenderness increased; and my Mind was more
strongly engaged for the Good of my Fellow-creatures. I went to Meetings
in an awful Frame of Mind, and endeavoured to be inwardly acquainted
with the Language of the true Shepherd; and, one Day, being under a
strong Exercise of Spirit, I stood up, and said some Words in a Meeting;
but, not keeping close to the divine Opening, I said more than was
required of me; and being soon sensible of my Error, I was afflicted in
Mind some Weeks, without any Light or Comfort, even to that Degree that
I could not take Satisfaction in any Thing: I remembered God, and was
troubled, and, in the Depth of my Distress, he had Pity upon me, and
sent the Comforter: I then felt Forgiveness for my Offence, and my Mind
became calm and quiet, being truly thankful to my gracious Redeemer for
his Mercies; and, after this, feeling the Spring of divine Love opened,
and a Concern to speak, I said a few Words in a Meeting, in which I
found Peace; this, I believe, was about six Weeks from the first Time:
And, as I was thus humbled and disciplined under the Cross, my
Understanding became more strengthened to distinguish the pure Spirit
which inwardly moves upon the Heart, and taught me to wait in Silence
sometimes many Weeks together, until I felt that rise which prepares the
Creature.
From an inward purifying, and stedfast abiding under it, springs a
lively operative Desire for the Good of others: All the Faithful are not
called to the public Ministry; but whoever are, are called to minister
of that which they have tasted and handled spiritually. The outward
Modes of Worship are various; but, wherever any are true Ministers of
Jesus Christ, it is from the Operation of his Spirit upon their Hearts,
first purifying them, and thus giving them a just Sense of the
Conditions of others.
This Truth was clearly fixed in my Mind; and I was taught to watch the
pure Opening, and to take Heed, lest, while I was standing to speak, my
own Will should get uppermost, and cause me to utter Words from worldly
Wisdom, and depart from the Channel of the true Gospel-Ministry.
In the Management of my outward Affairs, I may say, with Thankfulness, I
found Truth to be my Support; and I was respected in my Master's Family,
who came to live in _Mount-Holly_ within two Years after my going
there.
About the twenty-third Year of my Age, I had many fresh and heavenly
Openings, in respect to the Care and Providence of the Almighty over his
Creatures in general, and over Man as the most noble amongst those which
are visible. And being clearly convinced in my Judgment, that to place
my whole Trust in God was best for me, I felt renewed Engagements, that
in all Things I might act on an inward Principle of Virtue, and pursue
worldly Business no farther, than as Truth opened my Way therein.
About the Time called _Christmas_, I observed many People from the
Country, and Dwellers in Town, who, resorting to Public-Houses, spent
their Time in drinking and vain Sports, tending to corrupt one another;
on which Account I was much troubled. At one House, in particular, there
was much Disorder; and I believed it was a Duty incumbent on me to go
and speak to the Master of that House. I considered I was young, and
that several elderly Friends in town had Opportunity to see these
Things; but though I would gladly have been excused, yet I could not
feel my Mind clear.
The Exercise was heavy; and as I was reading what the Almighty said to
_Ezekiel_, respecting his Duty as a Watchman, the Matter was set home
more clearly; and then, with Prayers and Tears, I besought the Lord for
his Assistance, who, in Loving-kindness, gave me a resigned Heart: Then,
at a suitable Opportunity, I went to the Public-house, and, seeing the
Man amongst much Company, I went to him, and told him, I wanted to speak
with him; so we went aside, and there, in the Fear of the Almighty, I
expressed to him what rested on my Mind; which he took kindly, and
afterward shewed more Regard to me than before. In a few Years
afterwards he died, middle-aged; and I often thought that, had I
neglected my Duty in that Case, it would have given me great Trouble;
and I was humbly thankful to my gracious Father, who had supported me
herein.
My Employer having a Negro Woman, sold her, and desired me to write a
Bill of Sale, the Man being waiting who bought her: The Thing was
sudden; and, though the Thoughts of writing an Instrument of Slavery
for one of my Fellow-creatures felt uneasy, yet I remembered I was hired
by the Year, that it was my Master who directed me to do it, and that it
was an elderly Man, a Member of our Society, who bought her; so, through
Weakness, I gave way, and wrote; but, at the executing it, I was so
afflicted in my Mind, that I said, before my Master and the Friend, that
I believed Slave-keeping to be a Practice inconsistent with the
_Christian_ Religion: This in some Degree abated my Uneasiness; yet, as
often as I reflected seriously upon it, I thought I should have been
clearer, if I had desired to have been excused from it, as a Thing
against my Conscience; for such it was. And, some Time after this, a
young Man, of our Society, spoke to me to write a Conveyance of a Slave
to him, he having lately taken a Negro into his House: I told him I was
not easy to write it; for, though many of our Meeting and in other
Places kept Slaves, I still believed the Practice was not right, and
desired to be excused from the writing. I spoke to him in Good-will; and
he told me that keeping Slaves was not altogether agreeable to his Mind;
but that the Slave being a Gift to his Wife, he had accepted of her.