heart I felt on my return, was more than an ample reward for all my toil. I found my dear wife and children well; for which, with His other mercies vouchsafed, my spirit was bowed in humble gratitude to the Gracious Author of all our blessings, whose faithfulness faileth not, and whose mercies are new every morning. I have felt much for thy dear wife* since I left you, and the more so, I conclude, as something I expressed in answer to a query of one of thy neighbours, affected, in so serious a manner, her tender feelings. When I expressed what I did on that subject, it was in the simplicity and integrity of my heart, not apprehending that she, in the least, was implicated in the matter. My whole view on the subject was to strengthen the mind of thy neighbour, who I took to be an inquirer after the right way; and, believing as I do, that scarcely any thing more fatal to a right growth in true religion can happen to the sincere inquiring mind, than to be led into a belief, that conversion from sin is effected by a sudden shock on the human frame, which can be effected many ways, by only working on the animal passions. Therefore I have long felt it my duty to endeavour to show every honest inquirer, the danger and inconsistency of such a belief. As, I think, it must necessarily lead those who give way thereto into much exposure, by laying them open to many temptations; for by supposing themselves to be made whole in so sudden a manner, it will be likely to induce a spirit of pride, and lead them to imagine their condition to be much better than it really is. This, I believe, has been the case in many instances, wherein they have manifested a kind of triumph while a fiery zeal has pressed them on, but, after the heat of their spirits has cooled down, they have entirely declined and gone back into as bad, if not worse, state than they were in before; which, I believe, will scarcely ever be the case with a truly converted soul: such a belief, in some, may likewise tend to carelessness, * At the time this letter was written, she belonged to the Methodists, was afterwards convinced of Friends' principles, and became a member of their society. in respect to the great and necessary work of true christian mortification, which is to know all the desires of the flesh and of the will of man brought down and reduced into the perfect obedience of Christ, and this can only be effected by many, repeated, and deep baptisms of the Holy Ghost; as it is only by these baptisms and sufferings, that the christian learns true obedience to the will of his Heavenly Father; as is implied in the saying of Christ to those of his disciples who desired an exalted station. "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, "which was a cup of suffering and death,” and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ?". and we read, Hebrews v. 8, that even Christ himself "Learned obedience by the things which he suffered," and that not for a day, a month, or a year only, but is sometimes dispensed to man, in his fallen state, for many years, (as it was to Israel of old,) in order to bring him out of his fallen state, and that the old man may be fully crucified and the soul made meet for the kingdom of Heaven, where no unclean thing can enter, which true and real conversion always prepares for. It is often the fervent prayer of my mind that the many honest seekers, scattered up and down, as sheep without a shepherd, may be strengthened to wait and trust in the Lord, and lean not to their own understandings, nor put confidence in man, "whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of ?" but "trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength;" and he will surely arise in his own time for the help of those who trust in him with the whole heart and patiently wait for his coming. I must now conclude, and with love to thyself and dear wife, in which my wife joins, I rest thy friend. ELIAS HICKS. 23 LETTER TO WILLIAM POOLE. TO WILLIAM POOLE, WILMINGTON. BELOVED FRIEND, Jericho, 5th of 1st month, 1817. By these I acknowledge the due and very acceptable reception of thy two letters of last month, the contents whereof tended to revive afresh the cordial friendship and affection witnessed, when I, with my companion, Isaac Hicks, was so kindly entertained under thy roof, by thyself and family, and which was renewed and strengthened by thy kind visit to us last spring. How precious is the fellowship and affection which arises from the influence of that pure love that binds together, in an inseparable bond, all the children of the Heavenly Father's family; and in which is witnessed the truth of the apostle's testimony, that in this union of spirits, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."-Gal. iii. 28, 29. It is very pleasant and agreeable, when we are so far separated from our friends whom we love, as not often to have the opportunity of communing with them face to face, to receive from them communications in this epistolary way, and it is likewise comfortable and pleasant, when opportunity and ability offers, thus to communicate in true christian sympathy and affection; but so many and various are the avocations that almost continually engross my attention, that I do not find time and opportunity to visit my friends, in this way, as often as I feel warm desires to do; this I plead as an excuse for not writing to thee ere now, although I have often thought of it; yet, if thou supposes me still behindhand in that respect, I would have thee remember, that thou art not to do as thou art done by, but in that way that thou desires others should do by thee, then I shall be favoured, I trust, in due time, with more of those agreeable epistolary visits from thee; for it is truly comfortable to me often to hear of the welfare of my friends that I love; and, I trust that I love in an eminent degree, all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Thou no doubt remembers the exercise of my mind, as manifested in our last yearly meeting, respecting the superstitious observance of the first day of the week, together with its demoralizing tendency on the morals and manners of a great portion of the inhabitants of our country; and what is extraordinary to me, is, that some in our highly favoured society, who purpose to be leaders and instructers, should appear so blind and ignorant on the subject; as I conceive it is wholly founded on a mixture of Jewish and heathenish superstition; and, therefore, more loudly calls for reformation than if it were altogether of Jewish original. If we should now take up anew the Jewish rite of circumcision, it would not be so inconsistent and hurtful, as the superstitious observance of the first day, as now established by the laws of our country. The first institution for keeping the day was by an edict of the first emperor that professed christianity, and issuing from the unnatural and unchristian union of church and state, it is manifestly nothing but an engine of priestcraft. This emperor's first edict runs as follows, (as appears by the early history of the christian church, about the year 300,) "Let all the judges and town people, and the occupations of all trades, rest on the venerable day of the sun," (the first day of the week being the day on which the heathen worshipped the sun, hence the reason of its being called Sunday,) "but," says his edict, "let those who are situated in the country freely, and at full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture, because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines, lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted them by the providence of Heaven." These things considered, I conceive there is no heathenish custom, or Jewish rite, that, in the present day, calls more loudly for reformation than the superstitions observance of the day alluded to, and I am fully of the belief, that, had the latter generations of Friends been as faithful to the testimonies we, as a people, are called to bear against all superstitious and heathenish and Jewish rites, as were our predecessors in the morning of the day, this superstition would, long ago, have been done away and lost in oblivion in this enlightened country. I must now draw-to a close, as my paper is not sufficient to contain the fulness of my mind on this, to me, important subject. Thy affectionate friend, The following Letter was written in answer to one which ELIAS HICKS received from J N —, who believed in the doctrine of Universal Salvation : FRIEND, Baltimore, 10th month, 1817. On considering what thou hast attributed to the Infinite Jehovah as comprehending his primary excellences, I should have been greatly surprised, had I not known that man, through the medium of his natural senses, aided by all his earthly or creaturely wisdom, however acquired by the deepest researches in natural things, if unassisted by immediate divine revelation, cannot know God, nor have any just and correct idea of his excellent and glorious attributes; and that therefore all his ideas of the divine character must be vague and uncertain, and founded upon mere supposition, without any certain evidence. And how can it be otherwise, seeing that God is a spirit, invisible and incomprehensible to every thing but spirit, agreeably to the doctrine and conclusive argument of the apostle Paul, "what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God;" and again, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually "and only spiritually" discerned." It therefore necessarily follows, that man with all the wisdom he can acquire, aided by human science, however elaborately |