256 M ETHOD ST, 
general principle or prelumption, fome univerfal argu¬ 
ment, which comprehended, or might be applied to, all 
the points contelled between the two churches : thus imi¬ 
tating the conduct of thofe military leaders who, inftead 
of fpending their time and llrength in fieges and Ikir- 
miflies, endeavour to put an end to the war by a general 
and deciiive afticn. Thefe polemics relied the defence of 
Popery upon prefcription ; the wicked lives of Proteftant 
princes who had left the church of Rome ; the crime of 
religious fchifm ; the variety of opinions among Protef- 
tants, with regard to dodlrine and difcipline; and the 
uniformity of the tenets and worlhip of the church of 
Rome. To this clafs belong Nicole, the Janlenift doblor, 
the famous Bofl'uet, &c. See Mcjh. EccL Hift. vol. v. 
The Protestant Methodists form a very confider- 
able body in this country. The fe£l was founded in the 
yj5ar-.1729.-by one Mr. Morgan and Mr. John Wefley. In 
the month of November that year, the latter, being then 
fellow of Lincoln-college, began to fpend fome evenings 
in reading the Greek New Tellament, along with Charles 
Wefley his brother, Mr. Morgan commoner of Chrift- 
church, and Mr. Kirklvam of Merton-college. Next year 
two or three of the pupils of Mr. John Wefley, and one 
pupil of Mr. Charles Wefley, obtained leave to attend 
thefe meetings. Two years after they were joined by 
Mr. Ingham of Queen’s college, Mr. Broughton of Exe¬ 
ter, and Mr. James Hervey; and in 1735 they were joined 
by the celebrated Mr. George Whitefield, then in his 
eighteenth year. 
At this time it is faid that the whole kingdom of Eng¬ 
land was tending fall to infidelity. “ It is come (fays 
biiliop Butler), I know not how, to be taken for granted 
by many "perfons, that Chriftianity is not fo much as a 
fubjeft of inquiry, but that it is now at length dilcovered 
to be fictitious ; and accordingly they treat it as if in the 
prefent age this were an agreement among all people of 
dilcernment, and nothing remained but to fet it up as a 
^principal fubjeCl of mirth and ridicule, as it were by way 
of reprifals for its having fo long interrupted the plea- 
fares of the world.” The Methodilts are faid, with great 
probability, to have been very inllrumental in Hemming 
this torrent. They obtained their name from the exaCt 
regularity of their lives ; which gave occafion to a young 
gentleman of Chrift-church to fay, “ Here is a new let 
of Methodifts fprung up;” alluding to the fe£l of ancient 
phyficians which went by that name, as juft noticed. 
This extreme regularity, however, foon brought a charge 
againft them, perhaps not altogether without foundation, 
of being too Icrupulous, and carrying their fan&ity to 
too great a height. In particular it was urged, that they 
laid too much llrefs upon the rubrics and canons of the 
jchurch, infilled too much on Gbferving the rules of the 
univerfity, and took the fcriptures in too literal a fenfe; 
and to the name of Methodifts two others were quickly 
added, viz. thofe of Sacramentarimis and the Godly Club. 
The principal perfon in this club, while in its infancy, 
appears to have been Mr. Morgan, and next to him Mr. 
John Wefley. They vifited the lick, and inllituted a fund 
for the relief of the poor; and, the better to accomplilh 
their benevolent defigns, Mr. Wefley abridged himfelf of 
all his luperfluities, and even fome of the necelfaries of 
life; and, by propofing the fcheme to fome gentlemen, 
they quickly in.creafed their funds to 80I. per annum. 
This, which one Ihould have thought would have been 
attended with praife inftead of cenfure, quickly drew 
upon them a kind of perfecution ; fome of the feniors of 
the univerfity began to interfere, and it was reported 
“ that the college cenfors were going to blow up the 
Godly Club.” (See Wefley’s Life, p. 105.) They found 
themlelves, however, patronifed and encouraged by fome 
men eminent for their learning and virtue ; fo that the 
fociety Hill continued, though they had fullered a fevere 
lols in 1730 in the death of Mr. Morgan, w ho had indeed 
been the founder of it. 
It will appear extraordinary, that, wdiile the fociety 
^gs in this infant and weak ftate, the heads of it 
Ihould fuddenly emigrate. In October 1735, John and 
Charles Wefley, Mr. Ingham, and«Mr. Delamotte, fon 
to a merchant in London, embarked for Georgia along 
with Mr. (afterwards General) Oglethorpe. The de- 
fign of this voyage was to preach the Gofpel to the 
Indians. By this time, however, it appears that Mr. 
Wefley had embraced fuch notions as may without the 
leaft breach of charity be accounted fanatical. Thus, in 
a letter to his brother Samuel, he conjures him to banifli 
from his fchool “ the daffies with their poifon, and to 
introduce inftead of them fuch Chriilian authors as would 
work together with him in building up his flock in the 
knowdedge and love of God.” 
During the voyage fuch a profufion of worfhip was ob- 
ferved, as we cannot help thinking favoured more of a 
Pharifaical than Chriilian behaviour; an account of which, 
as a fimilar HriCtnefs vrouid certainly be inculcated upon 
the difciples, and conlequently mull give a juft idea of 
the principles of the early Methodifts, we lhall here tran- 
feribe from Mr. Weiley’s Life. “ From four in the morn¬ 
ing till five, each of us uled private prayer; from five to 
feven we read the Bible together, carefully comparing it 
(that we might not lean to our own underftandings) with 
the writings of the earlieft ages ; at feven we breakfalled ; 
at eight were the public prayers; from nine to twelve 
learned the languages, and inllruCted the children ; at 
twelve w r e met to give an account to one another what 
w’e had done lince our laft meeting, and what we defigned 
to do before our next; at one we dined; the time from 
dinner to four we fpent in reading to thofe of whom each 
of us had taken charge, or in fpeaking to them feparately, 
as need required; at four were the evening-prayers, when 
either the l’econd leflbn was explained (as it always was 
in the morning), or the children were catechifed and in- 
ftru&ed before the congregation; from five to fix we 
again ufed private prayer; from fix to feven I read in 
our cabin to two or three of the paflengers, of whom 
there were about eighty Englifli on-board, and each of 
my brethren to a few more in their’s ; at feven I joined 
with the Germans in their public fervice, while Mr. Ing¬ 
ham was reading between decks to as many as defired to 
hear; at eight we met again, to inllruCt and exhort one 
another; between nine and ten we went to bed, when 
neither the roaring of the fea nor the motion of the Ihip 
could take away the refrelhing fleep which God gave us.” 
As they proceeded in their paflage, this aullerity, inftead 
of being diminilhed, was increafed. Mr. Wefley difeon- 
tinued the ule of wine and flefli; confining himfelf to ve¬ 
getables, chiefly rice and bifcuit. He ate no fupper; and, 
his bed having been made wet by the fea, he lay upon 
the floor, and flept foundly till morning. In his Journal 
he fays, “ I believe I fhall not find it needful to go to 
bed, as it is called , any more.” 
The miflionaries, after their arrival, were at firft very 
favourably received, but in a Ihort time loll the affeCtions 
of the people entirely. This was owing to the behaviour 
of Mr. Wefley himfelf, who appeared not only capricious, 
but frequently defpotic. He particularly gave offence by 
infifting upon the baptifm of children by iminerfion ; and 
his exceflive aullerity with regard to himfelf did not tend 
to give his hearers any favourable opinion either of the 
fuperior fandftity or wifdom of their teacher. At laft, on 
account of a difference with Mr. Caullon, the llorekeeper 
and chief magiftrate of Savannah, which ended in a law- 
fuit, he was obliged to return to England. 
Thus the caufe of Methodifm feemed to be entirely loft 
in Georgia. But Mr. Wefley was foon fucceeded by a 
more popular and fuccefsful champion, viz. Mr. George 
Whitefield; who, having fpent his time during the voyage 
in converting the foldiers with whom he failed, arrived at 
Savannah in Georgia on the 7th of May, 1738. Here he 
was received by Mr. Delamotte, was joined by feveral of 
Mr. Wefley’s hearers, and became intimate with fome 
other minifters. Mr. Ingham had made fome progrefs 
in converting a few runaway Creek Indians, who had a 
fettlement about four miles from Savannah ; but, being 
obliged 
