This, to many Calvinists of the present day, will seem to be an extravagant caricature of one of their favourite dogmas, but it must not be overlooked that a great part of Fletcher’s descriptive definition is actually taken from the published writings of Richard Hill. No wonder, therefore, that Fletcher, with stinging irony, proceeds to say:— “In point of justification, it matters not how unrighteous a believer actually is in himself; because the robe of Christ’s personal righteousness, which, at his peril, he must not attempt to patch up with any personal righteousness of his own, is more than sufficient to adorn him from head to foot; and he must be sure to appear before God in no other. In this rich garment of _finished salvation_, the greatest apostates shine brighter than angels, though they are ‘_in themselves black_’ as the old murderer, and filthy as the brute that wallows in the mire. This ‘best robe,’ as it is called, is full-trimmed with such phylacteries as these,—‘Once in grace, always in grace;’ ‘Once justified, eternally justified;’ ‘Once washed, always fair, undefiled, and without spot.’ And so great are the privileges of those who have it on, that they can range through all the bogs of sin, wade through all the puddles of iniquity, and roll themselves in the thickest mire of wickedness, without contracting the least spot of guilt, or speck of defilement.” Of course, Fletcher found no difficulty in demolishing such luscious and pernicious nonsense as this. “If this doctrine is true,” says he, “the Divine perfections suffer a general eclipse; one half of the Bible is erased; St. James’s Epistle is made void; defiled religion justly passes for ‘_pure gospel_;’ the Calvinian doctrine of perseverance is true; and barefaced Antinomianism is properly recommended as ‘_the doctrines of grace_.’” Fletcher’s last letter, also addressed to “Richard Hill, Esq.” alone, deals with the doctrine of Free-will. His definition of the Methodist doctrine deserves quotation.