er might always be broken by the
objection that the writer was swayed by professional bias, and that his
arguments, whatever might be their intrinsic merits, must be taken _cum
grano_ by the lay mind. But besides this 'coign of vantage' from which
Wilberforce wrote, there were also points in the books themselves in
which, for the purposes for which they were written, the preference must
be given to the later work. It was not unnaturally objected against Law,
that he did not sufficiently base his arguments upon distinctly Gospel
motives. No such objection can be raised against Wilberforce. Then
again, though Wilberforce was a thoroughly unworldly man, he was in the
good sense of the term a thorough man of the world, and knew by
experience what course of argument would tell most with such men. What
Law writes from mere theory, Wilberforce writes from practical
knowledge. It would be difficult to conceive men of powerful intellect
like Dr. Johnson and John Wesley, who had really thought, deeply and
seriously on such subjects, being so strongly affected by the 'Practical
View' as these were by the 'Serious Call.' But men of powerful intellect
who had thought deeply and seriously on religious subjects, were rare.
The 'Practical View' is strong enough food for the general reader, while
at the same time its unpretentious earnestness disarmed the criticism
and won the hearts of men of genius like Edmund Burke. Wilberforce was
no theologian; he was simply a good man who read his New Testament in a
guileless spirit, and expostulated affectionately with those who,
professing to take that book as their standard, were living lives
plainly repugnant to its principles. The success of Wilberforce's
attempt was as great as it was unexpected. The publisher had so poor an
opinion of the project, that he would consent to issue five hundred
copies only on condition that Wilberforce would give his name. But the
first edition was sold off in a few days; within half-a-year the book
had passed through five editions, and it has now passed through more
than fifty. The rest of Wilberforce's useful life, extending as it did
some way into the nineteenth century, does not fall within the scope of
the present inquiry.

Among Evangelical laymen, Lord Dartmouth held an honoured place. He did
good service to the cause by advocating its interests both among the
nobility and at Court; he was one of the very few who had the
opportunity and will to advance t