Chapter 1

 In order to get at the essentials of Quakerism, we do well to go back to the beginnings, to those first years of nascent¹ energy which carried the Quaker message through the English-speaking world. Whenever a new truth starts to life, it is intensely dynamic and vital; it masters every opposing circumstance; it flings itself victoriously² against a stubborn world. It is a thing of life and movement, and I believe it will be found that a live truth in motion is the mightiest³ of all forces. But, a generation later, unless the vital forces have been cherished, the emphasis comes to be laid on establishment rather than movement, and when a thing gets established it usually ceases to move; the emphasis comes to 14be laid on dogma instead of truth, on organization instead of life, and the day of glory and power passes away. That was the case with Quakerism.

 

Two things, I believe, leave a vivid impression upon any student of the early Quaker movement. They can be stated quite simply, but they make up together the fundamentals of Quakerism to which everything else belongs as a natural consequence.

 

In the first place we find ourselves among men and women of an intense sincerity⁴, who are seeking truth with all the energy of their faith, all the energy of their nature, and, in the second place, we become aware that this earnest search after the Kingdom of God and its righteousness was rewarded with a great finding, a rich personal experience in their lives, of the living presence of Jesus Christ, their Savior.

 

We know now that communities who called themselves “Seekers” were specially⁵ receptive of the Quaker message, and became the main strength of the new movement. In that Puritan age, filled with 15religious zeal⁶, there were many honest-hearted men craving⁷ after something more real than the mere⁸ outward profession of religion. They were not satisfied with the triumphant⁹ religion of the time, which put strong emphasis, and rightly put strong emphasis, on belief in the great historical facts of Christianity, but had little or no conception of Christ’s living presence in the world to-day. And when Fox told these honest-hearted Seekers that he knew in his own experience that Jesus Christ was come to teach His people Himself, their souls leapt up to welcome the Divine Guest. Fox himself was a man of intense sincerity, who found actually in his own spirit the place where the seed of Divine life was springing up, the place where the voice of a Divine teacher was being uttered, the place that was being inhabited by a Divine and glorious presence. He could tell the great company of Seekers who met at Firbank Fell in Westmorland on that memorable¹⁰ afternoon in June, 1652, not only of an historical Christ, but of a living Savior, their Teacher to instruct them, 16their Governor to direct them, their Shepherd to feed them, their Bishop¹¹ to oversee¹² them, their Prophet to open Divine mysteries to them. I am giving you the points of his three-hour sermon on that occasion. Their bodies, he said, were intended to be temples for Jesus Christ to dwell in. They were to be brought off from the temples, tithes¹³, priests and rudiments¹⁴ of the world. They were to come to the Spirit of God in themselves and to Christ the Substance.

 

The new message opened out a new way of life to men who were sincere enough to go through with it and to live it out. It carried with it a radical¹⁵ transformation¹⁶ or rather transfiguration of life from the earthly into the Heavenly. I will give a passage in the quaint¹⁷ English of the time in which Edward Burrough, himself one of these Westmorland Seekers, describes the experience:

 

“In all things we found the Light which we were enlightened withal, and all mankind (which is Christ), to be alone and only sufficient to bring to Life and eternal 17salvation. And so we ceased from the teachings of all men, and their words, and their worships and their temples, and all their baptisms and churches, and we met together often, and waited upon the Lord in pure silence, from our own words and all men’s words, and hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and felt His word in our hearts to burn up and beat down all that was contrary to God, and we obeyed the Light of Christ in us, and took up the cross to all earthly glories, crowns and ways, and denied ourselves, our relations and all that stood in the way betwixt us and the Lord, and, while waiting upon the Lord in silence, as often we did for many hours together, we received often the pouring down of the Spirit upon us, and our hearts were made glad and our tongues loosed and our mouths opened, and we spake with new tongues, as the Lord gave us utterance¹⁸, and as His Spirit led us, which was poured down upon us, on sons and daughters, and the glory of the Father was revealed. And then began we to sing praises to the Lord God Almighty¹⁹ and to the Lamb 18forever, who had redeemed²⁰ us to God, and brought us out of the captivity²¹ and bondage²² of the world, and put an end to sin and death,—and all this was by and through and in the Light of Christ within us.”1

 

Now, it is not my purpose to examine this experience from the side either of psychology²³ or dogmatic theology. There are psychologists and theologians, too, with whom I could not venture to compare myself, but it is enough to take the great experience simply as historical fact. There can be no question that two hundred and fifty years ago actual living intercourse²⁴ with the Divine, such as Burrough describes, gathered the first Friends into their wonderful fellowship. It lifted them into an order of life which set them in a place of vision and power and joy. They saw the things of time in the light of eternity²⁵. They knew what it was to overcome the world, so that nothing could daunt²⁶ their faith. In the words of one of the finest of the first Friends, William Dewsbury, the very prisons became palaces 19to them and the bolts and locks jewels. The Kingdom of Heaven was theirs, not indeed bringing the prizes of worldly ambition, but filling life with something richer, righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And all this was the reward and the result of a single-hearted sincerity,—full righteousness of heart, full humility²⁷ of soul, full searching after truth, full opening of the heart to the incoming of the Divine life. It had been won, as men count, at a great price. It had meant a breach²⁸ with the current fashions of life and forms of religion; it had meant a daring following of fresh truth through all its untried consequences; it had meant suffering and loss; it had meant the daily crossing of the carnal mind. It had meant all these things, yes, but it had meant also the incoming of the Life of Christ, bringing men into a new fellowship with one another and with God.

 

We have to admit that in the first tide of this wonderful experience there were some serious extravagances of thought and conduct. It would be strange, I suppose, 20if newly opened eyes did not sometimes see men as trees walking. You get these extravagances when a fresh faculty²⁹ of the soul is awaking to its powers. But the main phenomenon of Quakerism is the heightened personality which undoubtedly³⁰ came to the Children of the Light. They were men and women to “shake their country in their profession for ten miles round,” as some of our Friends have done in the Western states. Their very look carried with it the sentence of honor or shame. Their words had a challenging power, challenging men’s consciences, forcing them to face the issues of good and evil, shattering self-complacency and self-righteousness. The Quaker was an impregnable man, his principles were held with an extraordinary tenacity³¹. He stood not on a sandy foundation of notions, but on a rock of experience, and thus founded the man was sure and steadfast³². The message of a present living Christ within the heart and a present Kingdom of God awaiting those who would receive it burned in the heart of these first Friends. It burned 21in their hearts as a gospel for all men. It is a great mistake to suppose that the Quaker Church was founded as a sect³³. It had nothing sectarian about it. It had a great message of vital spiritual experience to give to the whole world. These first Friends were evangelists of vital Christianity.

 

They began as our evangelists to-day begin, by warning men to repent³⁴. George Fox went up Wensleydale calling on men to repent, for the day of the Lord was at hand, and proclaiming the Kingdom of Christ at the door of men’s hearts, for them to take or reject. That is the spirit of this early Quakerism, and it surely takes us back to the spirit of the prophets and of primitive³⁵ Christianity.

1 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

2 victoriously   

adv.获胜地，胜利地

参考例句：

• Our technical revolution is blazing its way forward through all the difficulties and advancing victoriously. 我们的技术革命正在披荆斩棘，胜利前进。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Ignace victoriously ascended the stairs and knocked on Kessler's door. 伊格内斯踌躇满志地登上楼梯，敲响了凯斯勒的房门。 来自辞典例句

3 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

4 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

7 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

8 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

9 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

10 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

11 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

12 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

13 tithes   

n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For your tithes and offerings, please use the envelopes at the entrance. 什一捐款及奉献：奉献信封摆放于入口处。 来自互联网
• Although she left the church officially, she still tithes. 虽然她正式离开了该教堂，但她仍然对教堂缴纳什一税。 来自互联网

14 rudiments   

n.基础知识，入门

参考例句：

• He has just learned the rudiments of Chinese. 他学汉语刚刚入门。
• You do not seem to know the first rudiments of agriculture. 你似乎连农业上的一点最起码的常识也没有。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

17 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

18 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

19 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

20 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

21 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

22 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

23 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

24 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

25 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

26 daunt   

vt.使胆怯，使气馁

参考例句：

• Danger did not daunt the hero.危险并没有吓倒这位英雄。
• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us.再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。

27 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

28 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

29 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

30 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

31 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

32 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

33 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

34 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

35 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。