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quently he gained a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. From his uncommon abilities and his superior education, and from his powerful family connections, in both the Protestant and Catholic branches, worldly prospects of a most brilliant kind awaited him, should he adhere to either of the two great religious parties into which the kingdom was then divided. But he early reached the conviction that the new doctrines proclaimed by George Fox were the true teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and having reached this conclusion, he at once cast in his lot with this despised and persecuted people, and thenceforth to the end of his days devoted his entire energies to the propagation and defence of their opinions. He had a kindred spirit in William Penn, with whom he was on terms of intimacy, and who was like himself a gentleman of birth and education. Barclay suffered much persecution, being repeatedly imprisoned and enduring hardships of various kinds. Having more education than most of the early leaders of the Society, it fell to his lot to be their champion by the pen. As in those days George Fox was their chief preacher, so Barclay was their chief writer.

Works.- Barclay's first publication, written in 1670, when he was at the age of twenty-two, was Truth Cleared of Calumnies, in reply to a pamphlet by William Mitchell against the Quakers. A second treatise soon followed, Some Things of Weighty Concernment, also directed against Mitchell. Still a third treatise, W. Mitchell Unmasked appeared before the close of 1671. In 1675, appeared A Catechism and Confession of Faith, "containing a true and faithful account of the principles and doctrines which are most surely believed by the churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland, who are reproachfully called by the name of Quakers." In this work, the author undertakes to set forth affirmatively what the doctrines of his society were, and to show that they were the perfection of Protestantism. The next work, 1676, was The Anarchy of the Ranters, and was intended to show that the Friends were not liable to the objections urged against the Ranters. In 1679, he published A Vindication of "The Anarchy," in consequence of the sharp criticism which it had provoked. His next work was A True and Faithful Account of his Disputes at the University of Aberdeen. Another work, published in 1677, and written while he was in prison, is an appeal for toleration in matters of religion. Its title is Universal Love Considered and Established upon its Right Foundation, etc. In 1686, appeared the Possibility and Necessity of the Inward and Immediate Revelation of the Spirit of God, written both in Latin and English.

The Apology. The greatest of all Barclay's works, and that for which these special controversies served as a preparative, was An Apology for the true Christian Divinity, as the same is held forth and preached by the People called in Scorn, Quakers. Barclay's Apology is an acknowledged classic in the theological literature of the Society. It has been translated into most of the languages of Europe. Before the close of his life, on the accession of James II., Barclay was in great favor at Court, and his last days were serene and peaceful.

William Penn.

William Penn, 1644-1718, the Founder of Pennsylvania, was, next to Barclay, the ablest advocate and exponent of the doctrines of the Friends. His distinguished social position, and his eminent public services, if they did not add to the force of his arguments, gained for them respectful attention, and helped to give protection and security to the rising sect.

His Career. - William Penn was the oldest son of Admiral Penn. He was entered at Oxford at the age of fifteen, and while there became acquainted with John Locke. He distinguished himself not only in his studies, but in boating and other athletic exercises. Attending the preaching of the Quaker Thomas Loe, Penn and other students adopted the new views, and showed their convictions by abstaining from the religious observances of the University and by holding religious meetings of their own. They even went further, and tore off the surplices from those students who wore them in obedience to the command of the King. For these irregularities the young Non-conformist and his associates were dismissed from the University. The disgrace was a bitter mortification to the old Admiral, who attempted to reclaim his son by entreaties, arguments, and even by blows.

After a partial reconciliation, Penn was sent to the continent with the hope that travel and gay society might dissipate these religious notions. He was recalled from his European tour to take charge of the estate while the Admiral was absent in fighting the Dutch. Penn's seriousness returning, he was sent to Ireland to join the gay court of the Duke of Ormond, and while there had some experience of military life, and almost determined to become a soldier. The only authentic portrait of him was painted at this time, and represents him in military costume. At Cork, where he went on business for his father, he again attended the preaching of Thomas Loe, and all his early convictions were revived.

From that time, Penn's resolution was taken, and he never swerved from it. The breach between him and his father increased, and he was finally driven an exile from his father's house. Soon after this, in 1668, Penn began to preach and to write in defence of the new doctrines. He suffered frequent persecutions and imprisonments, but steadfastly maintained his doctrine and practice. A reconciliation took place between Penn and his father, before the death of the latter.

The death of the Admiral left Penn in the possession of an ample in

come.

Colonization Scheme. One item in the property which Penn inherited from his father was a claim against the Government of £16,000 for services rendered. Believing that he could best realize his views in regard to religious and civil liberty in a new country, he sold his claim to the Government for the territory which afterwards became the Province of Pennsylvania, with the right to colonize the same. Penn came to his new colony in 1682, and remained until 1684, regulating its affairs. Returning to England, he took an active part in the political affairs of England, and was a great favorite with James II.

Works. - Penn's writings were numerous and exerted a powerful influence. They were published in a collected form in 1728, in 2 vols., folio. Those of most note are Truth Exalted; The Sandy Foundation Shaken; No Cross, No Crown; Quakerism a New Name for Old Christianity: The Great Law of Liberty of Conscience Debated and Defended; Truth Recovered from Imposture, etc.

ISAAC PENINGTON, 1617-1679, was connected by marriage with William Penn, and was a zealous advocate of the doctrines of the Friends.

Penington travelled a good deal as a preacher, and was six times imprisoned. His publications were numerous, and were reprinted after his death in a folio volume, called The Works of the Long-Mournful and Soul-Distressed Isaac Penington. The titles of some of these pieces are A Word for the Common Weal; The Fundamental Right, Safety, and Liberty of the People Briefly Asserted; Testimony Concerning Church Governments and Liberty of Conscience, etc. Mr. John Penington, the late amiable and intelligent bookseller of Philadelphia, to whom, during his life, almost every literary man of that city was under personal obligations, was a descendant in the fifth degree from the good old Quaker, Isaac Penington.

GEORGE WHITEHEAD, 1636–1723, a preacher of note among the Friends, was born at Sunbigg, Westmoreland. He labored with great zeal for the spread of the gospel, nothing daunted by persecutions and discouragements. His printed works are the Nature of Christianity in the True Light; The Christian Quaker, written jointly by Penn and Whitehead; Enthusiasm above Atheism; The Way of Life and Perfection Livingly Demonstrated; Christian Progress of George Whitehead, being Memoirs of his Life; An Antidote against the Venom of the Snake in the Grass.

THOMAS ELWOOD, 1639-1713, was a member of the Society of Friends, and one of their preachers. He is connected in a pleasant manner with the history of Milton, having been employed for some time to read to the poet after the latter had become blind. Milton having submitted to Elwood the manuscript of Paradise Lost for his judgment thereon, Elwood replied: "Thou hast said much here of Paradise Lost; but what hast thou to say of Paradise Found?" Whereupon, says Elwood, Milton "made no answer, but sat some time in a muse." This remark is supposed to have first suggested the idea of Paradise Regained. Elwood wrote Davideis, a sacred Poem; The

Foundation of Tithes Shaken; Forgery no Christianity; Sacred History, 2 vols., fol.; Autobiography, etc.

WILLIAM SEWEL, 1650-1726, a member of the Society of. Friends, was born in Amsterdam. He was a weaver by trade, but employed his leisure hours in study and in writing. Besides an English and Dutch Dictionary, and some other works of that kind, he wrote A History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People called Quakers. "Reader, if you are not acquainted with it. I would recommend to you, above all church narratives, to read Sewel's History of the Quakers. It is in folio, and is the abstract of the Journals of Fox and the primitive Friends. Here is nothing to stagger you, nothing to make you mistrust, no suspicion of alloy, no drop or dreg of the worldly or ambitious spirit."- Charles Lamb.

EDWARD BURROUGH, 1634-1668, a member of the Society of Friends, published seve ral popular works in advocacy of his principles: Message to the Present Rulers of England; Wholesale Information to the King of England, etc.

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THE eighteenth century opens with the reign of Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart sovereigns, 1702-1714, followed by the reign of George I., the first of the Brunswick dynasty, 1714-1727.

The first third of the century is made illustrious by many great names in literature. For convenience of treatment, these are considered under four heads, or sections: 1. The Poets, beginning with Pope; 2. The Dramatists, beginning with Wycherley; 3. The Prose Writers, beginning with Addison; 4. Theological Writers, beginning with Butler.

I. THE POETS.

Pope.

Alexander Pope, 1688-1744, reigned supreme in the domain of letters during all the first part of the eighteenth century.

His poetry had not the naturalness and simplicity of Chaucer's, the universality of Shakespeare's, the majestic and solemn earnestness of Milton's, or even the freedom and breadth of Dryden's, nor did it so appeal to the consciousness of the national heart as that of the school which sprang up near the close of the century. It was to a certain degree artificial. Yet its art, it must be confessed, was consummate, and within the scope to which it was limited, it reached a perfection which has never been surpassed. It was pre-eminently the poetry of

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