the work of John Wesley and the work of General Booth, that the latter realised how unfavorable physical surroundings may be, and that they often may prove an almost insuperable hinderance to the growth of personal religious life. The importance of material conditions in regard to the outcast and the miserable has been the most important development of Salvation Army work; but the aim in view has been that of Wesley, in reclaiming individuals, rather than that of remodelling society itself.

II. THE DUTIES OF THE COMMUNITY

There is very little trace among the Calvinist communities of a conscious mission to the world. The Scottish nation, and the gathered churches in New England, were keenly conscious of their position as testifying to the truth-like a city set on a hill; but they inherited the Old Testament attitude of mind; and they had little sense of a duty towards heathen peoples which was incumbent upon a Christian nation. But in England the sense of the destiny and of the duties of the nation had never died out; it had been awakened by the danger of absorption by Spain in Tudor times, and it was quickened by the threats of French encroachment. Seventeenth and eighteenth century sermons afford ample evidence of the manner in

which this and the other Christian duties of the community were kept before the public mind, and show that this central conviction was the foundation of teaching in regard to the duties of Christian men in their social relations. The most obvious duties, in the period before the Industrial Revolution, were not the same as those which claim attention at the present day; but the dusty volumes and forgotten pamphlets of the eighteenth century give ample proof that preachers inculcated high ideals of national life. During the seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth the pulpit exercised a remarkable influence. Pulpit eloquence was cultivated as a rhetorical art, both in France and England; and well-selected libraries of literature contained a large number of volumes of sermons. Before newspapers came into general use, they were the most effective channel for influencing public opinions; there were many benefactions for providing special sermons, and official sermons were regularly preached before public bodies. We have therefore a large body of evidence so little known even to students, that it seems desirable to quote considerable passages at length, in order to give an idea of current teaching on political and social duty.

1 Copies of most of the sermons quoted are accessible in the British Museum Library.

...

The sense of a mission to the world, which had been so strongly felt by the Elizabethan pioneers of empire, was kept alive and reinforced; and this comes out especially in connection with the planting of Georgia. In preaching before the trustees, Glocester Ridley insisted that the economic objects which he enumerated should be subordinated to religious aims. "Prudential and human "motives are but the intermediate wheels and "springs of Providence, which the all-wise Con"ductor employs to produce a much grander "effect, the general and eternal welfare of man"kind.. The reasons before mentioned are "very justifiable and commendable motives of "themselves; but when ranked, where Provi"dence esteems them in subordination to better, "and only as a means subservient to a nobler "end, the design of planting Georgia is a glorious "effort of the human mind, reflects the highest "honour on those engaged in it, deserves the "prayers and concurrence of all good men, and "may depend upon the assistance of heaven to "accomplish His own decrees." The same doctrine was reinforced by the Reverend George Harvest in 1749. "The relation in which we stand "to the Western Isles, by the appointment of "Providence, has afforded us an opportunity of "propagating the Gospel among their inhabit

"ants. This relation obliges us, as a Christian "nation in Society, to endeavour to promote both "their temporal and eternal interests. And even "supposing, not admitting, supposing I say the "Utility of this Colony of Georgia to be yet "a matter of some doubt and uncertainty, I "will however appeal to the Christian politician "whether the glorious prospect of promoting Re"ligion-which is above all else valuable "salvation of souls, ... the extending of the "Kingdom of God upon earth, -whether these "be not things of infinitely greater moment than any Temporal Emoluments or Advantages."

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the

Bishop Terrick of Peterborough, when preaching before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, urged that our successes in the Seven Years' War, "great in themselves and glorious "to the British arms, have extended our Em"pire and opened a large field, which in every "view, whether of Religion or Civil Policy, "demands our culture and improvement. This "is indeed an object too great and extensive "for the abilities of this Society: it is a Na❝tional concern, and will, I doubt not, be con"sidered with the attention it deserves. It would "indeed add a lustre to the glories of a successful "war, could we trace the progress of true Chris"tianity, wherever our arms have conquered,

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"and by introducing the Arts of Civil life and "the milder genius of a pure Religion, could "boast of the triumphs of Truth and Knowledge "over Popish error and Heathen ignorance. This "would be an event, which would shine in the "Annals of our History, and do honour to our "National character. And sure it may be con"sidered as a circumstance, which, as it gives "the most favourable impressions of the Spirit "of our Religion, we hope may have some influ'ence in preparing the way for its more general "reception; that wherever the natural courage of "our troops led them on to Victory, the mild and generous temper of the Gospel disposed them to "triumph with humanity." At a later date the duty of living up to new national responsibilities was borne in mind; during the Napoleonic wars an earnest warning was given by Dr. Carey, in a sermon preached before the House of Commons as to the danger of looking at merely material interests in our relations with the world. He pointed out that the lust of commerce is as great an enemy to the peace of the world as the lust of Empire, and that the spirit of commerce may easily degenerate into a spirit of avarice and greediness and even of oppression. The effort to maintain high ideals of national life has been steadily pursued by pulpit orators, and found