A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 3

A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 3

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Title: A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume III (of 3)
Author: Thomas Clarkson
Release Date: March 9, 2005 [EBook #15304]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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A PORTRAITURE OF QUAKERISM.
TAKEN FROM A VIEW OF THE EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE, SOCIAL MANNERS, CIVIL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY, RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTER, OF THE
Society of Friends
* * * * *
BY THOMAS CLARKSON, M.A.
AUTHOR OF SEVERAL ESSAYS ON THE SLAVE TRADE.
VOL. III.
CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
* * * * *
GREAT TENETS.

CHAPTER I.
_Civil government--Governors have no right to interfere in matters of religion--Nor are the governed bound to obey, where their consciences are oppressed by doing it--but they are to be willing to suffer the penalties annexed to their disobedience--and they are on no account to resist them by force of arms,_

CHAPTER II.
_Oaths--Christians are not to take civil oaths--Reasons of the Quakers for their disuse of them,_

CHAPTER III.
SECT. I. _War--Unlawful for Christians to fight--Scriptural passages in support of this tenet--Answers to these and replies,_
SECT. II. _These passages supported by the opinions and practice of the early Christians,_
SECT. III. _Objection to the motive assigned for this practice--Reply to this objection--Motive confirmed,_
SECT. IV. _Conduct of the early Christians further examined--While Christianity continued pure, they held it unlawful to fight--As it became less pure, their scruples against it declined--As it became corrupt, they ceased,_
SECT. V. _Reflections of the author on the foregoing subject--Supposed conversation with a superior being in another region--New arguments from thence,_
SECT. VI. _Subject further considered--Erroneous conceptions of those who argue in favor of the necessity of war--This necessary only where the policy of the world is pursued--Nature of this policy--But not necessary where men act on the policy of the Gospel,_
SECT. VII. _This doctrine confirmed by historical cases,_
SECT. VIII. _Final examination of the subject,_

CHAPTER IV.
SECT. I. _Maintenance of a Gospel ministry--Quakers hold it unlawful to pay their own ministers, or those of any other denomination, for their Gospel labours--Scriptural passages and historical facts relative to this doctrine,_
SECT. II. _Additional reasons against the payment of those of another denomination, as collected from a history of tithes,_
SECT. III. _A more particular statement of these reasons,_
* * * * *
CHARACTER.

CHAPTER I.
_Character of the Quakers--Difficulties in the proper estimation of character--These removable in the present case,_

CHAPTER II.
_Character general or particular--General is that of a moral people,_

CHAPTER III.
SECT. I. _Character particular--First of the particular traits is benevolence to man in his temporal capacity,_
SECT. II. _Second is benevolence to man in his religious capacity,_
SECT. III. _Third is benevolence, or a tender feeling for the brute creation,_

CHAPTER IV.
_Fourth is complacency of mind and manners,_

CHAPTER V.
_Fifth is, that they do not sacrifice their consciences, as a body of Christians, where they believe a compliance with any law or custom to be wrong,_

CHAPTER VI.
_Sixth is, that in political affairs they reason upon principle, and not upon consequences,_

CHAPTER VII.
_Seventh is independence of mind,_

CHAPTER VIII.
SECT. I. _Eighth is courage in life,_
SECT. II. _Ninth is courage in death,_

CHAPTER IX.
_Tenth is punctuality to words and engagements,_

CHAPTER X.
_Imperfect traits--These are either intellectually or morally defective--First of these is a deficiency in literature and science, when compared with other people,_

CHAPTER XI.
_Second is superstition--Distinctions on this subject,_

CHAPTER XII.
_Third is obstinacy--No foundation for this trait,_

CHAPTER XIII.
SECT. I. _Fourth is a money-getting spirit--This spirit seldom chargeable with avarice,_
SECT. II. _Practicable methods suggested for the extirpation of it,_

CHAPTER XIV.
Fifth is a want of animation or affection--This an appearance only.

CHAPTER XV.
Sixth is evasiveness in speech--No foundation for this trait.

CHAPTER XVI.
Seventh is shyness--This an appearance only.

CHAPTER XVII.
Eighth is a disregard of truth--Inconsistency of the imputation of this trait.

CHAPTER XVIII.
SECT. I. Character of the Quaker women--Women share in the virtues of the men, but do not partake of all their reputed imperfections.
SECT. II. Quaker women have a public character--Influence of this upon their minds.
* * * * *
MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.

CHAPTER I.
Quakers a happy people--Subordinate causes of this happiness.

CHAPTER II.
Good, which the Quakers have done as a society upon earth.

CHAPTER III.
Quakers in England on the decline in point of numbers, as a religious society--Certain causes of this decline.

CHAPTER IV.
Supposed remedies for the diminution of some of these causes--These of various kinds--One of these a superior education--Supposed effect of this education.

CHAPTER V.
_Component parts of this education--Favourable state of the society for the admission of it,_

CHAPTER VI.
_Various arguments against it--These examined,_

CHAPTER VII.
_Conclusory remarks, as they