But to return:--There is yet another consideration, which I shall offer to
the reader on this subject, and with which I shall conclude it. It is this;
that no one ought to be accused of vanity until he has been found to assume
to himself some extraordinary merit. This being admitted, I shall now
freely disclose the view, which I have always been desirous of taking of my
own conduct on this occasion, in the following words:--
As Robert Barclay, the apologist for the Quakers, when he dedicated his
work to Charles the Second, intimated to this prince, that any merit, which
the work might have, would not be derived from his patronage of it, but
from the Author of all spiritual good; so I say to the reader, with respect
to myself, that I disclaim all praise on account of any part I may have
taken in the promotion of this great cause, for that I am desirous above
all things to attribute my best endeavours in it to the influence of a
superior Power; of Him, I mean, who gave me a heart to feel--who gave me
courage to begin--and perseverance to proceed--and that I am thankful to
Him, and this with the deepest feeling of gratitude and humility, for
having permitted me to become useful, in any degree, to my
fellow-creatures.
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