CHARACTER OF THE QUAKERS. CHAPTER I. Character of the Quakers-character of great importance in life—yet often improperly estimated -this the case with that of the Quakers-attempt to appreciate it duly many outward circumstances in the constitution of the Quakers which may be referred to as certain helps in the promotion of this attempt. NOTHING is of more importance to an individual than a good character, during life. Posthumous reputation, however desirable it may be thought, is of no service to the person whom it follows. But a living character, if it be excellent, is inestimable, on account of the good which it produces to him who possesses it. It procures him attention, tention, civility, love, and respect from others. Hence virtue may be said to have its reward in the present life. This account will be also true of bodies, and particularly of religious bodies, of men. It will make a difference to the individuals of these, whether they be respected as a body by the individuals of other religious denominations, or by the Government under which they live. But though character be of so much importance in life, there are few who estimate it, either when they view it individually or collectively, as it really is. It is often, on the one hand, heightened by partiality; and, on the other, lowered by prejudice. Other causes also combine to afford wrong apprehensions concerning it. For as different diseases throw out often the same symptoms, and the judgment of the physician is baffled, so different motives produce frequently similar actions; and the man who strives to develop a character, even if he wishes to speak truth, finds himself at a loss to pronounce justly upon it. As these failings and difficulties have attended men in estimating the character of individuals, individuals, so they seem to have attended those who have attempted to delineate that of the Society of the Quakers. Indeed, if we were to take a view of the different traits which have been assigned to the latter, we could not but conclude that there must have been some mistake concerning them: We should have occasion to observe, that some of these were so different in their kind, that they could not reasonably be supposed to exist in the same persons. We should find that others could scarcely be admitted among a body of professing Christians. The Quaker-character, in short, as it has been exhibited to the world, is a strange medley of consistency and contradiction, and of merit and defect. Amidst accounts which have been so incongruous, I shall attempt the task of drawing the Character of the Quakers. I shall state, first, all the excellencies that have been said to belong to it. I shall state also the blemishes with which it has been described to be chargeable. I shall then inquire how far it is probable that any of these, and in what degree, are true. In this inquiry some little reliance must be placed upon my per sonal |