At the time that Mr Wesley entered upon his ministerial career, there were, in the English Church, some of the most distinguished divines that it has ever had. There was Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, a prelate of great learning and piety, and whose “Origines Sacræ” and “Origines Britannicæ” are still held in high esteem. There was Tillotson, the son of a Yorkshire clothier, who was raised to the see of Canterbury, and whose sermons, when published, were regarded as a standard of finished oratory, and still rank among the most popular in the English language. There was the godly Thomas Kenn, Bishop of Bath and Wells, the well-known author of the “Morning and Evening Hymns.” There was William Sancroft, who took an active part in repairing St Paul’s Cathedral after the dilapidations of the civil wars, and in rebuilding it after the great fire of London; one of the seven bishops, who, for bearding King James II., was committed to the Tower; and who, for refusing the oath of allegiance to King William, lost his archbishopric; a timorous, but well-meaning man, laborious in his studies, and who is said to have written more with his own hand than any other person of his time. There was Robert South, a man of immense talents, though of harsh temper and ungoverned wit. There was Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, a most industrious writer, and author of the “History of the Reformation.” There was John Sharp, Archbishop of York, an able preacher, and the author of seven volumes of valuable sermons. There was Thomas Tennison, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had the esteem of King James, attended Queen Mary during her last moments, faithfully reproved King William for his immoral practices, and officiated at the coronation of Queen Anne and of King George I.,—an able opponent of the infidel opinions of Hobbes; a defender of the Established Church against Popery; though not a brilliant, yet a clear and argumentative writer; and though a plain yet a forcible preacher. There was William Beveridge, Bishop of St Asaph, an eminent Oriental scholar, a distinguished theologian, and a man of great goodness and simplicity. There was White Kennett, a man of great literary labours, his judgment solid, his style easy, and who died Bishop of the diocese of Peterborough. There was Daniel Whitby, profoundly learned, who, in 1703, published in two volumes folio his able “Commentary on the New Testament,” the result of fifteen years of close application. There was George Hooper, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and greatly distinguished both as a writer and divine. William Fleetwood, Bishop of Ely, an active prelate, an eloquent preacher, and a learned, industrious, and able writer. William Derham, the able author of “Physico-Theology.” William Lowth, amiable and erudite, and the father of the bishop of that name. Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, a man of respectable scientific and classical attainments, but distinguished most for his Christian benevolence.