_
The discipline of the Quakers is divisible into two parts. The first may
comprehend the regulation of the internal affairs of the society, such
as the management of the poor belonging to it, the granting of
certificates of removal to its members, the hearing of their appeals
upon various occasions, the taking cognizance of their proposals of
marriage, and the like. The second may comprehend the notice or
observance of the moral conduct of individuals, with a view of
preserving the rules, which the Quakers have thought it their duty to
make, and the testimonies which they have thought it their duty to bear,
as a Christian people. It is to the latter part of the discipline that I
shall principally confine myself in the ensuing part of my work.
Nothing is more true than that, when men err in their moral practice, it
is not for want of good precepts or of wholesome advice. There are few
books from which we cannot collect some moral truths; and few men so
blind, as not to be able to point out to us the boundaries of moral
good. The pages of revelation have been long unfolded to our view, and
diffusively spread among us. We have had the advantage too of having
their contents frequently and publicly repeated into our ears.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174