partial, uneven. It will be so, till we spend half as much
time in this visiting, as we now do in talking uselessly." "For, after
all our preaching, many of our people are almost as ignorant as if they
had never heard the gospel. I speak as plain as I can, yet I frequently
meet with those who have been my hearers many years, who know not
whether Christ be God or man. And how few are there who know the nature
of repentance, faith and holiness. Most of them have a sort of
confidence that God will save them, while the world has their hearts. I
have found by experience, that one of these has learned more from one
hour's close discourse than from ten years' public preaching." "Let
every preacher having a catalogue of those in each society, go to each
house. Deal gently with them, that the report of it may move others to
desire your coming. Give the children the instructions for children, and
encourage them to get them by heart. Indeed, you will find it no easy
matter to teach the ignorant the principles of religion. So true is the
remark of Archbishop Usher--'Great scholars may think this work beneath
them. But they should consider, the laying the foundation skilfully, as
it is of the greatest importance, so it is the masterpiece of the wisest
builder. And let the wisest of us all try, whenever we please, we shall
find that to lay this ground-work rightly, to make the ignorant
understand the grounds of religion, will put us to all our skill.'"
"Unless we take care of the rising generation, the present revival will
be _res unius aetatis_ (a thing of one generation); it will last only
the age of a man."

There are several ministers who earnestly labour in the spirit of these
extracts from Mr. Wesley's Minutes of Conference--printed the year of
his death. But their labours are the promptings of individual zeal and
intelligence, and not dictated or backed by the authoritative example of
the ministry and Church at large, or the recognition of the Church
relations of the interesting subjects of their instructions. The effect
of the general disuse or neglect of systematic individual instruction of
children, not speaking of such, instruction of adult members, and
reliance upon public ministrations and meetings alone, must be
instability of religious profession, want of clear and acute views of
the grounds, doctrines, nature, institutions and duties of religion,
indifference to all religion, or wandering from denomination to
denomin