inexcusable negligence of the printer. An entire Journal!" In addition to these instances of flagrant inattention, it should also be stated, that Pine's edition of Mr. Wesley's works is disfigured throughout by inaccuracies, many of which greatly affect the sense. Mr. Wesley prepared a list of errata, which he prefixed to each volume; and in the copy of his works which he reserved for his personal use, he corrected the whole with his own hand. One of these errors may be properly mentioned as an example: The number might be greatly increased. In volume the twentyeighth, page 98, having given an account of his mother's death and funeral, Mr. Wesley inserts a letter written by her, in which she describes her manner of governing her children when they were under her care at Epworth. One of her rules was, as there stated, "That no sinful action, as lying, pilfering at church, or on the Lord's day, disobedience, quarrelling, &c., should ever pass unpunished." This law of the family, as it here stands, is a perfect libel upon the understanding and conscience of the excellent mother, and upon the character and habits of her well-disciplined children. It supposes that, under ordinary circumstances, "pilfering" is not “a sinful action;" and that it only becomes such when committed in the "church," or on the Sabbath; and intimates that, if the children were only honest on that sacred day, and when engaged in public worship, they might, at other times, and in other places, transgress the eighth commandment with impunity. Suspicions have been actually deduced from this most objectionable passage unfavourable even to the moral character of the Wesley family. Whereas they were all innocent in this affair. Mrs. Wesley's rule was, "That no sinful action, as lying, pilfering, playing at church, or on the Lord's day, disobedience, quarrelling, &c., should ever pass unpunished." Thus it stands in the early editions of the Journal, and thus it stands corrected by Mr. Wesley. most injurious misprint, however, was perpetuated in the successive editions of the Journal for half a century; and during that period was also unhappily transferred to various other publications which have been extensively circulated. Pine's Mr. Wesley's edition of his own works was rendered particularly valuable by an addition that was made to those of his Sermons to which a legal importance was afterwards attached. These Sermons were published at different times, and were originally comprised in three duodecimo volumes. The first bears the date of 1746; the second, of 1748; and the third, of 1750. A fourth was added in the year 1760; containing also some other practical tracts, partly original and partly selected; and it was not numbered as connected with the former series. To these Sermons ten others were now added. Some of them had been published as separate pamphlets, having been preached on particular occasions: The rest appear to have been written for the express purpose of giving a more complete view of the author's doctrinal system. The entire series is inserted in the first four The following are the ten sermons here mentioned :-The Second Sermon on the Witness of the Spirit ;-On Sin in Believers ;-Repent volumes of the works in the edition of 1771-1774; the Trust-Deeds of the Methodist chapels, as embo- dying, with his Notes on the New Testament, the To meet the circumstances of the poor, the edition This edition contains a large number of tracts ance of Believers ;-The Great Assize;-The Lord our Righteousness; * The following were the "Conditions" of publication, as stated on the cover of each number, drawn up, in all probability, by the printer :- "1. That the work will be neatly printed in duodecimo, on a fine paper, and new letter; cast on purpose by Isaac Moore and Co. "2. That a number, containing seventy-two pages, stitched in blue paper, shall be delivered weekly to the subscribers, till the whole is com- "3. That every five numbers will make a handsome volume, contain- ing about three hundred and sixty pages. "4. That in the last volume will be given a correct and copious Index. "5. That particular attention will be paid, through the whole, to the goodness of the paper, and neatness of the print; so that when finished, it is not doubted but it will afford general satisfaction to the subscribers, as well as put them in possession of a uniform and elegant edition of so and adopted from various authors; and as he lived nearly twenty years after it was published, and continued during this interval to write with his usual diligence, at the time of his death it was, of course, extremely incomplete. To meet the wishes of his friends, therefore, in the year 1809 a new edition of his works, in the octavo size, was commenced, and finished in 1813. It is comprised in sixteen volumes, to which was afterwards added an Index to the whole. Respecting this edition it may be observed, that the printer overlooked Mr. Wesley's tables of errata; that the original arrangement of the Sermons was altered, those which were intended by the author to constitute the standard doctrines of Methodism being mixed up with others, apparently for the sake of variety; that two papers, one on baptism, (Vol. XIII., p. 412,) and another on the immortality of the soul, (Vol. XV., p. 343,) were not written by Mr. Wesley; and that, as no record of his entire works had been kept, nor any complete collection of them ever formed, many pamphlets, and other documents, written by him, were not known, and therefore not inserted. The edition was perhaps as complete as circumstances would then allow; it met the wishes of the Connexion, and gratified Mr. Wesley's friends; and the whole was sold in the course of a few years. In regard to the edition now before the reader,which is denominated the "third," and is said to have received "the last corrections of the author," it may be requisite to state, that two objects have been kept in view: The formation of a pure text of Mr. Wesley's original writings; and a complete col lection of them. To obtain these, no exertion has been spared. Of all his larger works Mr. Wesley left copies in his private library, containing corrections in his own handwriting. These corrections are now published for the first time; and every separate work has been carefully collated throughout with copies of different editions which were printed during the author's life. That no literal or verbal inaccuracies have escaped detection is not pretended. A late writer, who was long practised in typography, has remarked, that "absolute correctness in printing is perhaps unattainable;" and that "those are to be the most commended who come the nearest to it." In a few instances, it has been perceived, letters have been broken, or drawn out, after the sheets were put to press; but nothing of the kind, it is believed, has occurred, so as to mislead the reader, or to render the author's meaning uncertain. It is not uncommon, in reprinting the works of deceased authors, to make occasional alterations, according to the views and taste of the person to whom the correction of the press is intrusted: A practice which cannot be too strongly reprobated. In many instances, to alter the style or sentiments of a deceased writer, especially without acknowledgment, is a far greater crime than that of violating the sanctity of his tomb. No such liberty has been taken with a single sentence of Mr. Wesley's works. It would not have been difficult, indeed, to render many passages in them more conformable to the rules of modern grammar; but this would have been to deprive them of one of their peculiarities, in which |