Their culture must not be judged by the scantiness of their literary production.  The empress Catherine once said to a French savant, “My dear philosopher, it is not so easy to write on human flesh as on paper.”  Much more difficult is the task of our ministers, whose religious, social, and financial work leaves them little of that learned leisure enjoyed by Anglican divines, who by their masterly works have made the entire Christian Church their debtor.  But in the period we are reviewing, despite the demands made on the time of the ministers, many have written that which will not easily be forgotten.  The Church that nurtured Dr. Moulton, whose edition of Winer’s “Greek Grammar” is a standard work, used by all the greatest Greek New Testament scholars, need not be ashamed of her learning.  Dr. Moulton and Dr. Geden were on the revision committee which undertook the fresh translation of the Old and New Testaments.  Other Wesleyan ministers have made their mark as commentators, apologists, scholars, and scientists in the last few decades.  The Fernley Lectures have proved the ability of many Methodist preachers; we lack space to refer to the many able writers who have ceased from their labours.

The London Quarterly Review has kept up the literary reputation of Methodism:  nor are we behind any Nonconformist Church in journalistic matters.  Two newspapers represent the varying shades of opinion in Methodism, and give full scope to its expression.  A high level of excellence is seen in the publications of the Book Room, and our people when supporting it are also helping important Connexional funds, to which the profits are given.

[Illustration:  The North House, Leys School, Cambridge.]

While increasing care has been taken with the training of the ministry, lay education has not been neglected.  Kingswood School, founded by Wesley, continues, as in his day, to give excellent instruction to ministers’ sons.  In 1837 a Methodist school, Wesley College, was opened at Sheffield, and a few years later one at Taunton, well known as Queen’s College.  The Leys School at Cambridge, under the head-mastership of Dr. Moulton, was opened in 1874, and has shown “the possibility of reconciling Methodist training with the breadth and freedom of English public school life.”  There are in Ireland excellent colleges at Belfast and Dublin.

In 1875, a scheme for establishing middle-class schools was adopted, resulting in the opening of such schools at Truro, Jersey, Bury St. Edmunds, Woodhouse Grove, Congleton, Canterbury, Folkestone, Trowbridge, Penzance, Camborne, and Queenswood; all report satisfactorily.

Elementary education, which has made such great progress during the Queen’s reign, engaged the anxious attention of our authorities long before the initiation of the School Board system, under which the average attendance in twenty-five years increased almost fourfold.  Methodism has been in the forefront of the long battle with ignorance.