A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume III (of 3) by Thomas Clarkson

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About sixty years afterwards, Ethelwolf, a weak and superstitious
prince, was worked upon by the clergy to extend tithes as dues to the
whole kingdom; and he consented to it under the notion, that he was thus
to avert the judgments of God, which they represented as visible in the
frequent ravages of the Danes. Poor laymen, however, were still to be
supported out of these tithes, and the people were still at liberty to
pay them to whichever religious persons they pleased.

About the close of the tenth century, Edgar took from the people the
right of disposing of their tithes at their own discretion, and directed
that they should be paid to the parish churches. But the other
monasteries or lay-houses resisting, his orders became useless for a
time. At this period the lay monasteries were rich, but the parochial
clergy poor. Pope Innocent, however, by sending out his famous decree
before mentioned to king John, which was to be observed in England as
well as in other places under his jurisdiction, and by which it was
enacted, that every man was to pay his tithes to those only, who
administered spiritual help to him in his own parish, settled the
affair; for he set up ecclesiastical courts, thundered out his
interdicts, and frightened both king and people.[31]

[Footnote 31: To shew the principles, upon which princes acted with
respect to tithes in these times, the following translation of a
preamble to a grant of king Stephen may be produced: "Because, through
the providence of Divine Mercy, we know it to be so ordered, and by the
churches publishing it far and near, every body has heard, that, by the
distribution of alms, persons may be absolved from the bonds of sin, and
acquire the rewards of heavenly joys, I, Stephen, by the grace of God,
king of England, being willing to have a share with those, who by a
happy kind of commerce exchange heavenly things for earthly, and smitten
with the love of God, and for the salvation of my own soul, and the
souls of my father and mother, and all my forefathers and ancestors,"
&c.]

Richard the second confirmed these tithes to the parishes, as thus
settled by this pope, but it was directed by an act, that, in all
appropriations of churches, the bishop of the diocese should ordain a
convenient sum of money to be distributed out of the fruits and profits
of every living among the poor parishioners annually, in aid of their
living and sustenance. "Thus it seems, says Judge Blackstone, the people
were frequently sufferers by the withholding of those alms, for which,
among other purposes, the payment of tithes was originally imposed." At
length tithes were finally confirmed, and, in a more explicit manner, by
the famous act of Henry the eighth on this subject. And here I must just
observe, that, whereas from the eighth century to this reign, tithes
were said to be due, whenever the reason of them was expressed, by
divine right as under the Levitical law, so, in the preamble to the act
of Henry the eighth, they are founded on the same principle, being
described therein, "as due to God and the church." Thus, both on the
continent of Europe, as well as in our own country, were these changes
brought about, which have been described. And they were brought about
also by the same means, for they were made partly by the exhortations
and sermons of monks, partly by the decrees of popes, partly by the
edicts of popish kings, and partly by the determinations of popish
councils.

It is not necessary, that I should trace this subject farther, or that I
should make distinctions relative to tithes, whether they may be
rectorial, or vicarial, or whether they may belong to lay persons, I
have already developed enough of their history for my purpose. I shall
therefore hasten to state those other reasons, which the Quakers have to
give, why they cannot pay other ministers of the Gospel for their
spiritual labours, or rather, why they cannot consent to the payment of
tithes, as the particular species of payment demanded by the church.

SECT. III

_The other reasons then, as deducible from the history of tithes, are
the following--First, that they are not in equity dues of the
church--Secondly, that the payment of them being compulsory, it would,
if acceded to, be an acknowledgment that the civil magistrate has a
right to use force in matters of religion--And thirdly, that being
claimed upon an act which holds them forth as of divine right, any
payment of them would be an acknowledgment of the Jewish religion, and
that Christ had not yet actually come._

The other reasons then, which the Quakers have to give for refusing to
support other ministers of the Gospel, may be now deduced from the
nature of tithes, as explained in the former section.

The early Quakers rejected the payment of tithes for three reasons;
and, first, because they were demanded of them as dues of the church.

Against this doctrine, they set their faces as a religious body. They
contended that, if they were due at all, they were due to the poor, from
whom they had been forcibly taken, and to whom in equity they still
belonged; that no prince could alter the nature of right and wrong that
tithes were not justly due to the church, because Offa wished them to be
so, to expiate his own crimes; or because Ethelwolf wished them to be
so, from a superstitious notion, that he might thus prevent the
incursions of the Danes; or because Stephen wished them to be so, as his
own grant expresses, on the principle, that "the bonds of sin might be
dissolved, and that he might have a part with those, who by a happy kind
of commerce exchanged heavenly things for earthly;" or because the popes
of Rome wished them to be so, from whose jurisdiction all the subjects
of England were discharged by law.

They resisted the payment of them, because, secondly, tithes had become
of a compulsory nature, or because they were compelled to pay them.

They contended on this head, that tithes had been originally free
will-offerings, but that by violence they had been changed into dues,
to be collected by force; that nothing could be more clear, than that
ministers of the Gospel, if the instructions of Jesus to his disciples
were to be regarded, were not authorized even to demand, much less to
force, a maintenance from others; and that any constrained payment of
these, while it was contrary to his intention, would be an infringement
of their great tenet, by which they hold, that, Christ's kingdom being
of a spiritual nature, the civil magistrate had no right to dictate a
religion to any one, nor to enforce payment from individuals for the
same, and that any interference in those matters, which were solely
between God and man, was neither more nor less than an usurpation of the
prerogative of God.

They resisted the payment of them, because, thirdly, they were demanded
on the principle, as appeared by the preamble of the act of Henry the
eighth, that they were due as under the Levitical law by divine right.

Against this they urged, first, that, if they were due as the Levitical
tithes were, they must have been subject to the same conditions. They
contended that, if the Levites had a right to tithes, they had
previously given up to the community their own right to a share of the
land, but that the clergy claimed a tenth of the produce of the lands of
others, but had given up none of their own. They contended also, that
tithes by the Levitical law were for the strangers, the fatherless, and
the widows, as well as for the Levites, but that the clergy, by taking
tithes, had taken that which had been for the maintenance of the poor,
and had appropriated it solely to their own use, leaving them thus to
become a second burthen upon the land.

But they contended, that the principle itself was false. They
maintained, that the Levitical priesthood and tithes with it, had ceased
on the coming of Jesus Christ, as appeared by his own example and that
of his Apostles; that it became them, therefore, as Christians, to make
a stand against this principle, for that, by acquiescing in the notion
that the Jewish law extended to them, they conceived they would be
acknowledging that the priesthood of Aaron still existed, and that
Christ had not actually come.

This latter argument, by which it was insisted upon, that tithes ceased
with the Jewish dispensation, and that those who acknowledged them,
acknowledged the Jewish religion for Christians, was not confined to the
early Quakers, but admitted among many other serious Christians of those
times. The great John Milton himself, in a treatise which he wrote
against tithes, did not disdain to use it. "Although, says he, hire to
the labourer be of moral and perpetual right, yet that special kind of
hire, the tenth, can be of no right or necessity but to that special
labour for which God ordained it. That special labour was the Levitical
and ceremonial service of the tabernacle, which is now abolished. The
right, therefore, of that special hire, must needs be withal abolished,
as being also ceremonial. That tithes were ceremonial is plain, not
being given to the Levites till they had been first offered an heave
offering to the Lord. He then, who by that law brings tithes into the
Gospel, of necessity brings in withal a sacrifice and an altar, without
which tithes by that law were unsanctified and polluted, and therefore
never thought of in the first Christian times, nor till ceremonies,
altars, and oblations had been brought back. And yet the Jews, ever
since their temple was destroyed, though they have rabbies and teachers
of their law, yet pay no tithes, as having no Levites to whom, no temple
where, to pay them, nor altar whereon to hallow them; which argues, that
the Jews themselves never thought tithes moral, but ceremonial only.
That Christians therefore should take them up, when Jews have laid them
down, must needs be very absurd and preposterous."

Having now stated the three great reasons, which the early Quakers gave,
in addition to those mentioned in a former section, why they could not
contribute towards the maintenance of an alien ministry, or why they
could not submit to the payment of tithes, as the peculiar payment
demanded by the established church, I shall only observe, that these are
still insisted upon by their descendants, but more particularly the
latter, because all the more, modern acts upon this subject take the act
of Henry the eighth as the great ground-work or legal foundation of
tithes, in the preamble of which it is inserted, that "they are due to
God and the church." Now this preamble, the Quakers assert, has never
been done away, nor has any other principle been acknowledged instead of
that in this preamble, why tithes have been established by law. The
Quakers therefore conceive, that tithes are still collected on the
foundation of divine right, and therefore that it is impossible for them
as Christians to pay them, for that by every such payment, they would
not only be acknowledging the Jewish religion for themselves, but would
be agreeing in sentiment with the modern Jews, that Jesus Christ has not
yet made his appearance upon earth.

CHARACTER
OF THE
QUAKERS

CHAP. 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, 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
if 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 tries 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, 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, all the blemishes with which it has been described to be
chargeable. I shall then enquire how far it is probable that any of
these, and in what degree they are true. In this enquiry, some little
reliance must be placed upon my personal knowledge of the Quakers, and
upon my desire not to deceive. It is fortunate, however, that I shall be
able, in this case, to apply to a test, which will be more satisfactory
to the world, than any opinion of my own upon this subject. I mean to
say that the Quakers, like others, are the creatures of their own
education and habits, or that there are circumstances in their
constitution, the knowledge of which will assist us in the discussion of
this question; circumstances, which will speak for themselves and to
which we way always refer in the case of difficulty or doubt. Their
moral education, for example, which has been already explained, cannot
but have an influence on the minds of those who receive it. Their
discipline also, which has appeared to be of so extraordinary a nature,
and to be conducted in so extraordinary a manner, cannot but have an
effect of its own kind. The peculiar customs, in which they have been
described to have been born and educated, and which must of course act
upon them as a second nature, must have a correspondent influence again.
From these, and other prominent and distinguishing features in their
constitution, I may hope to confirm some of the truths which have been
told, and to correct some of the errors that have been stated, on the
subject which is now before us.

Nor am I without the hope, that the discussion of this subject upon such
principles, will be acceptable to many. To those, who love truth, this
attempt to investigate it will be interesting. To the Quakers it will
be highly useful. For they will see, in the glass or mirror which I
shall set before them, the appearance which they make in the world. And
if they shall learn, in consequence, any of the causes either of their
merits or of their failings, they will have learnt a lesson, which they
may make useful by the farther improvement of their moral character.

CHAP. II.

_Good part of the character of the Quakers--This general or
particular--Great general trait is, that they are a moral people--This
opinion of the world accounted for and confirmed by a statement of some
of the causes that operate in the production of character--One of these
causes is, the discipline peculiar to this society._

I come, according to my design, to the good part of the character of the
Quakers. This may be divided into two sorts, into that which is general,
and into that which is particular. On the subject of their general good
character I shall first speak.

It is admitted by the world, as I had occasion to observe in the first
chapter of the first volume, that whatever other objections might be
brought against the Quakers as a body, they deserved the character of a
moral people.

Though this fact be admitted, and there would therefore appear to be no
necessity for confirming it, I shall endeavour, according to the plan
proposed, to shew, by means of the peculiar system of the Quakers as a
religious body, that this is one of the traits given them by the world,
which cannot be otherwise than true.

The Quakers believe, in the first place, that the Spirit of God, acting
in man, is one of the wises of virtuous character. They believe it to
be, of all others, the purest and sublimest source. It is that spring,
they conceive, to good action, and of course to exalted character, in
which man can have none but a passive concern. It is neither hereditary
nor factitious. It can neither be perpetuated in generation by the
father to the child, nor be given by human art. It is considered by the
Quakers as the great and distinguishing mark of their calling. Neither
dress, nor language, nor peculiar customs, constitute the Quaker, but
the spiritual knowledge which he possesses. Hence all pious men may be
said to have been Quakers. Hence the patriarchs were Quakers, that is,
because they professed to be led by the Spirit of God. Hence the
Apostles and primitive Christians were Quakers. Hence the virtuous
among the Heathens, who knew nothing of Christianity, were Quakers also.
Hence Socrates may be ranked in profession with the members of this
society. He believed in the agency of the Divine Spirit. It was said of
him, "that he had the guide of his life within him; that this spirit
furnished him with divine knowledge; and that it often impelled him to
address and exhort the people." Justin the Martyr had no scruple in
calling both Socrates and Heraclitus Christians, though they lived long
before Christ; "for all such as these, says he, who lived according to
the divine word within them, and which word was in all men, were
Christians." Hence also, since the introduction of Christianity, many of
our own countrymen have been Quakers, though undistinguished by the
exterior marks of dress or language. Among these we may reckon the great
and venerable Milton. His works are full of the sentiments of[32]
Quakerism. And hence, in other countries and in other ages, there have
been men, who might be called Quakers, though the word Quakerism was
unknown.

[Footnote 32: Milton not only considered the Spirit of God as a divine
teacher, but that the scriptures were not to be spiritually understood
but by the means of this spirit. He believed also, that human learning
was not necessary for the qualification of a minister of the Gospel.
And he wrote an essay against tithes.]

But independently of the agency of the Spirit of God, which the Quakers
thus consider to be the purest cause of a good life and character, we
may reckon a subordinate cause, which may be artificial, and within the
contrivance and wisdom of man. When the early Quakers met together as a
religious body, though they consisted of spiritually minded men, they
resolved on a system of discipline, which should be followed by those
who became members of the society. This discipline we have already seen.
We have seen how it attempts to secure obedience to Christian precepts.
How it marks its offences. How it takes cognizance of them when
committed. How it tries to reclaim and save. How, in short, by
endeavouring to keep up the members of the society to a good life, it
becomes instrumental in the production or preservation of a good
character.

From hence it will appear, that the virtue of the Quakers, and of course
that their character may be distinguished into two kinds, as arising
from two sources. It may arise from spiritual knowledge on the one hand,
or from their discipline on the other. That which arises from the first,
will be a perfect virtue. It will produce activity in excellence. That
which arises from the second, will be inferior and sluggish. But,
however it may be subject to this lower estimation, it will always be
able to produce for those who have it, a certain degree of moral
reputation in the opinion of the world.

These distinctions having been made as to the sources of virtuous
character, there will be no difficulty in shewing, that the world has
not been deceived in the point in question. For if it be admitted that
the Divine Spirit, by means of its agency on the heart of man, is really
a cause of virtuous character, it will then be but reasonable to
suppose, that the Quakers, who lay themselves open for its reception
more than others, both by frequent private retirements, and by their
peculiar mode of public worship, should bear at least as fair a
reputation as others, on account of the purity of their lives. But the
discipline, which is unquestionably a guardian of morals, is peculiar to
themselves. Virtue therefore is kept up among the Quakers by an
extraordinary cause, or by a cause which does not act among many other
bodies of men. It ought therefore to be expected, while this
extraordinary cause exists, that an extraordinary result should follow,
or that more will be kept apparently virtuous among the Quakers, in
proportion to their numbers, than among those where no such discipline
can be found, or, in other words, that, whenever the Quakers are
compared with those of the world at large, they will obtain the
reputation of a moral people.

CHAP. III.

SECT. I.

_Particular traits in the Quaker character--The first of these is
benevolence--This includes good will to man in his temporal
capacity--Reasons why the world has bestowed this trait upon the
Quakers--Probability of its existence--from their ignorance of many
degrading diversions of the world--from their great tenet on war--from
their discipline which inculcates equality--and watchfulness over
morals--and from their doctrine that man is the temple of the Holy
Spirit._

[33]Of the good traits in the Quaker character, which may be called
particular, I shall first notice that of benevolence. This benevolence
will include, first, good will to man in his temporal capacity, or a
tender feeling for him as a fellow creature in the varied situations of
his life.

[Footnote 33: The reader must be aware, that all Quakers do not partake
of this good part of the character. That the generality do, I believe.
That all ought to do, I know, because their principles, as will be
clearly seen, lead to such a character. Those, therefore, who do not,
will see their own deficiency, or how much they have yet to attain,
before they can become Quakers.]

The epithet of benevolent has been long given to this society. Indeed I
know of no point, where the judgment of the world has been called forth,
in which it has been more unanimous, than in the acknowledgment of this
particular trait, as a part of the Quaker character.

The reasons for the application of this epithet to the society, may be
various.

It has been long known, that as the early Christians called each other
brethren, and loved each other as such, so there runs through the whole
society of the Quakers a system of similar love, their affection for one
another having been long proverbial.

It has been long known again, that as the early Christians extended
their benevolence out of the pale of their own society to others who
lived around them, so the Quakers manifest a similar disposition towards
their countrymen at large. In matters of private distress, where persons
of a different religious denomination have been the objects, and where
such objects have been worthy, their purses have been generally open,
and they have generally given as largely in proportion to their
abilities as other people. To public charities in their respective
places of residence, they have generally administered their proper
share. But of late years, as they have mixed more with the world, this
character of the society has become more conspicuous or better known. In
the cases of dearth and distress, which happened a few years ago, it is
a matter of publicity, that they were among the foremost in the
metropolis, and in same other towns in the kingdom, not only in
pecuniary contributions, but in frequent and regular attendances for the
proper distribution of them. And if their character has ever stood
higher for willingness to contribute to the wants of others at any one
time than at another, it stands the highest, from whatever cause it may
happen, at the present day.

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