After a brief but pithy and powerful defence of revealed religion, he recommends to the biblical student a list of both English and Latin books that will greatly assist him in his studies, including the works of Poole, Hammond, Grotius, Eusebius, Hooker, Burnet, Stillingfleet, Lightfoot, Sherlock, Usher, Barrow, Du Pin, Hales, Jeremy Taylor, &c. His next article is upon history, of which he writes:— “_History_ gives the best prospect into human affairs, and makes us familiar with the remotest regions. By this, we may ascertain what practices have established kingdoms, and what has contributed to the weakness and overthrow of bodies politic. We may see all Asia, Africa, and America in England. We may encompass the world with Drake, and make new discoveries with Columbus; we may visit the Grand Signior in the Seraglio, converse with Seneca, and consult with Cæsar. In a word, whatever humanity has done that is noble, great, and surprising, either by action or suffering, may by us be done over again in theory, and, if we have souls capable of transcribing the bravest copies, we may meet instances worth our emulation.” After the essays upon divinity and history there are others upon philosophy, law, physic, surgery, mathematics, and arithmetic, all of them brief, but very able; and, in connexion with each, a list of books which Samuel Wesley recommends to be read and studied. In these lists, Wesley displays his taste for the best literature then published, and also the immense extent of his own reading and research. In his essay on _Poetry_, he says, “Poetry was the first philosophy the world was blest with, and had that influence on the minds of men, then fallen from their primitive reason into the wildest barbarity, that it soon brought them to civility, and to know the dictates of reason from those of fancy.” He then advises “candidates for the laurel” to “consider the difficulty of being a good poet.” “Mediocrity is intolerable in poetry, however excusable in other affairs.” “A young poet should never be ambitious of writing much, for a little gold is worth a great heap of lead.” “To be a perfect poet, a man must be a general scholar, skilled both in the tongues and sciences, and must be perfect in history and moral philosophy.” Such was Samuel Wesley’s estimate of the qualifications of a perfect poet. Perhaps it would have been better if he himself had observed some of his own rules more strictly than what he did. Dunton says: “Mr Wesley had an early inclination to poetry, but he usually wrote too fast to write well. Two hundred couplets a day are too many by two-thirds to be well furnished with all the beauties and graces of that art.”[73] ----- Footnote 73: Dunton’s _Life and Errors_. -----