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John Wesley? Nicholas Murray? Laban Clark? Kirwan? Dwight L. Moody? Tombstone in Shrewsbury? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: John Wesley was a prominent English religious figure whose teachings inspired Methodism. The following elaborate injunction is sometimes called “John Wesley’s Rule of Life”:
Would you please explore the provenance of this multipart expression? Quote Investigator: Researchers have been unable to find these precise words in the oeuvre of John Wesley who died in 1791; however, there is evidence that he delivered sermons containing passages providing a partial match. The 1799 work “Sermons on Several Occasions” by Reverend John Wesley contained a homily on “The Law Established through Faith” with the following guidance. Emphasis in excerpts added by QI:
The collection also contained a sermon on “The Use of Money” by Wesley with the following instructions:
The earliest strong match located by QI appeared in the 1852 book “The Riches that Bring No Sorrow” by Erskine Neale who used a footnote to ascribe the words to someone named Dr. Murray:
An 1868 citation given further below indicated that an American Presbyterian clergyman Nicholas Murray employed a version of the statement above, and this person might be the Murray referenced; however, Murray credited an unnamed ninety-one year old man. QI believes that the excerpt above may have evolved from Wesley’s words. Admittedly, the components of this excerpt have a parallel structure that makes it more interesting and memorable than Wesley’s version. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order. In 1853 a collection called “The Methodist Preacher: Containing Twenty-Eight Sermons on Doctrinal and Practical Subjects” included a sermon by Laban Clark that contained a thematic partial match
Also in 1853 a periodical called “The Mothers’ Friend” printed a strong match, but the creator was anonymous:
In 1854 John Wesley’s remarks extolling altruism continued to circulate; “The Bankers’ Magazine and Statistical Register” printed a footnoted excerpt from Wesley’s sermon on money although the phrasing differed from the 1799 text:
QI believes that the circulation of excerpts such as the one above helps to explain why many found the label “John Wesley’s Rule” plausible when it was applied to the statement under analysis. In 1854 a collection of essays titled “Past Meridian” included a four part instance of the statement with an anonymous ascription:
In 1856 “The Scottish Christian Journal” printed a six-part instance:
In 1868 a book called “The Pearl of Parables” linked the saying to an individual who used the pseudonym “Kirwan”, i.e., a Presbyterian clergyman Nicholas Murray who was born in 1802 and died in 1861, but the author clearly stated that Murray was simply relaying a remark from an unnamed ninety-one year old man:
In 1873 the periodical “Advocate of Peace” credited a six-part instance to John Wesley. This was the first ascription of a version of the popular modern saying to Wesley seen by QI:
In 1883 the popular evangelist Dwight L. Moody visited Brattleboro, Vermont and the local newspaper reported on his speech which included an instance of the saying:
In 1886 the “Reading Mercury, Oxford Gazette” of Berkshire, England credited Wesley with a seven-part instance:
In 1888 a New York monthly “The Pulpit Treasury” attributed the saying to Dwight L. Moody in a section called “Beautiful Thoughts”:
In 1895 the periodical “Record of Christian Work” printed an instance in a section called “Nuggets from Mr. Moody’s Bible”. Interestingly, the words were not credited to a person; instead, a location in England was specified:
In 1915 an instance appeared in “Letters of John Wesley” edited by George Eayrs. The text did not appear in the body of a letter; instead, Eayrs presented it in a footnote with the label “Wesley’s rule” but without a supporting citation:
In 1942 H. L. Mencken included an instance of the saying in his massive compilation of quotations, and he also cited a tombstone in England although the wording differed from tombstone version given previously:
In conclusion, John Wesley may be credited with the words in the 1799 collection of sermons. However, currently, there is no substantive evidence that he crafted the popular modern multipart expression. The earliest instance in 1852 was attributed to “Dr. Murray”, but a citation in 1868 stated that Nicholas Murray disclaimed credit and referred to an anonymous elderly man as his source. Dwight L. Moody used the expression, but he did not craft it. Please note that this entry only presents a snapshot of ongoing research. (Great thanks to Blake Leyers whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also thanks to John Bershof who suggested the change made on October 8, 2017.) Update History: On September 28, 2016 the 1915 citation was added. On October 8, 2017 the line “As long as you ever can” in the question section was changed to “As long as ever you can” to match the more common version of the expression which conforms to a parallel structure. |