wi^ University of California Berkeley JOSEPH M.BRANSTEN COFFEE & TEA COLLECTION Acquired in memory of Joseph M. Bransten A LETTER F RIE N D. CONCERNING TEA. Homo sum : Humani nihil d, me alienum puto. By John Wesley, M.A. Fellow of lAncoln-College, Oxford. LONDON: Printed by A. Macintosh, 20, Great New-street. MDCCCXXV. The following Letter is printed VerbatIx^i from the first Edition^ published in 1748. (3) A LETTER TO A FRIEND, &c. Newington, Dec. 10, 1748. Dear Sir, 1. T Have read your Letter with Attention, and -* much approve of the Spirit with which it is wrote. You s[)eak in Love. I desire to do so too ; and then no Harm can be done on either Side. You appear not to be wedded to your own Opinion, but open to further Conviction. I would willingly be of the same Temper ; not obsti- nately attached to either Side of the Question. I am clearly satisfied of the Necessity of this ; a Wil- lingness to see what as yet I see not. For I know, an Unwillingness to be convinced, would utterly blind either you or me : And that if we are resolved to retain our present Opinion, Reason and Argu- ment signify nothing. 2. I shall not therefore think it is Time or Pains misemployed, to give the whole Cause a second Hearing : To recite the Occasion of every Step I have taken, and the Motives inducing. me so to do : And then to consider, whatsoever either you or others have urged, on the contrary Side of the Question. 3. Twenty-nine Years, when I had spent a few Months at Oxford, having as I apprehended, an exceeding good Constitution, and being otherwise in Health, L was a little surprised at some Symp- toms of a Paralytick Disorder. I could not imagine, B 2 what (4) what should occasion that shaking of my Hand ; till 1 observed it was always worst after Breakfast, and that if I intermitted drinking Tea for two or three Days, it did not shake at all. Upon Inqui- ry, I found Tea had the same EflPect upon others also of my Acquaintance ; and therefore saw, that this was one of its natural Effects (as several Physicians have often remarked) especially, when it is largely and frequently drank ; and most of all on Persons of weak Nerves. Upon this I les- sened the Quantity, drank it weaker, and added more Milk and Sugar. But still for above six and twenty Years, I was more or less subject to the same Disorder. 4. July was two Years, I began to observe, that abundance of the People in London, with whom 1 conversed, laboured under the same, and many other Paralytick Disorders, and that in a much higher Degree ; insomuch that some of their Nerves were quite unstrung ; their bodily Strength was quite decay'd, and they could not go through their daily Labour, I inquired, "Are you not an hard Drinker?" And was answered by one and another, and ano- ther, " No, indeed. Sir, not I ; I drink scarce any *' Thing but a little Tea, Morning and Night.'' I immediately remembered my own Case ; and after weighing the Matter throughly, easily gathered from many concurring Circumstances, that it was the same Case with them. 5. i considered, " What an Advantage would " it be, to these poor enfeebled People, if they ** would leave off what so manifestly impairs their *' Health, and thereby hurts their Business also ? ** Is there Nothing equally cheap which they could *' use .^ Yes, surely : And cheaper too. If they " used English Herbs in its stead, (which would " cost either Nothing, or what is next to Nothing) " with the same Bread, Butter, and Milk, they " would save just the Price of the Tea. And here^ " by they might not only lessen their Pain, but *^ in some Degree their Poverty too. For they would " be able (5) " be able to work (as well as to save) considerably ** more than they can do now. And by this Means, *< if they are in Debt, they might be more just, ** paying away what they either earned or saved. *' If they are not in Debt, they might be more mer- *^ ciful, giving it away to them tbat want.'* 6. 1 considered farther, ** What an Advantage ** might this be, particularly in such a Body of Men " as those are, who are united together in these ** Societies ? Who are both so numerous, and so ** poor ? How much might be saved in so numerous " a Body, even in this single Article of Expense ? ** And how greatly is all that can possibly be saved, * in every Article, wanted daily, by those who have " not even Food convenient for them ?" 7. I soon perceived, that this latter Consideration was of a more general Nature than the former : And that it affected many of those, whom the other did not so immediately concern : Seeing it was as need- ful for All to save fruitless Expences, as for some to regain the Health they had impaired. Especially, considered as Members of a Society, the Wants of which they could not be unapprizedof : They knew of those to whom they were so peculiarly united, some had not Food to sustain Nature : Some were destitute of even necessary Cloathing : Some had not whereto lay their Head : They knew, or might know, that the little Contributions made weekly, did in no wise suffice to remove these Wants, being barely sufficient to relieve the Sick : And even that, in so scanty a Manner, that 1 know not, if some of them have not, with their Allowance, pined away, and at length died for Want. If you and I have not saved all we could to relieve these, How shall we face them at the Throne of GOD ? 8. I reflected, '* If one only would save all that <* he could, in this single Instance, he might surely '* feed or cloath one of his Brethren, and, perhaps, ** save one Life. What then might be done, if tea * thousand, or one thousand, or only live hundred would do it ?*; Yea, if half that Number should B 3 sjiv, ~ ( 6 ) say, " I will compute this Day what I have ex- ' pended in Tea, weekly or yearly. I will imme- " diately enter on cheaper Food. And whatever is " saved hereby, I will put into that Poor-box weekly, " to feed the Hungry, and to cloath the Naked." 1 am mistaken, if any among: us "eed want, either Food or Raiment from that Hour. 9. I thought farther, ** 'Tis said, nay, many tell " me to my Face, I can persuade this People to any '' Thing. 1 will make a fair Trial. If 1 cannot per- " suade them, there may be some good Effect. *' All who do not wilfully shut their Eyes will see, ** that I have no such Influence as they supposed. " If I can persuade any Number ; many who are " now weak or sick, will be restored to Health and " Strength. Many will pay those Debts, which " others, perhaps equally poor, can but ill afford to *' lose. Many will be less straitened in their own " Families. Many by helping their Neighbour, will *' lay up for themselves Treasures in Heaven.'* 10. Immediately it struck into my Mind, <' But " Example must go before Precept. Therefore i '' must not plead an Exemption for myself, from a " daily Practice of twenty-seven Years, I must *' begin." 1 did so. I left it off myself in ^2^m^^ 1746, And 1 have now had sufficient Time to try the Effects, which have fully answered my Expect-* ation : My Paralytick Complaints are all gone : My Hand is as steady as it was at Fifteen : AU though I must expect that, or other Weaknesses, soon ; as I decline into the Vale of Years. And so considerable a Difference do I find in my Expence, that I can make it appear, from the Accounts now in being, in only those four Families at London ^ Bristol, Kivgswood and Newcastle, I save upwards of fifty Pounds a Year. 11. The first to whom I explained these Things at large, and whom 1 advised to set the same Ex- ample to their Brethren, were, a few of those, who rejoice to assist my Brother and me, as our Sons in the Gospel. A Week after 1 proposed it to about . . forty ( 7 ) forty of those, whom I believed to be strong in Faith : And the next Morning to about sixty more, intreat- ing them all, to speak their Minds freely. They did so : And in the End, saw the Good which might insue ; yielded to the Force of Scripture and Reason : And resolved all (but two or three) by the Grace of GOD, to make the Trial without Delay. 12. In a short Time, I proposed it, but with all the Tenderness 1 could, first. To the Body of those who are supposed to have living Faith, and after staying a few Days, (that I might judge the better how to speak) to the whole Society. It soon ap- peared (as 1 doubted not but it would) how far these were from calling me Rabbi ; from submit- ting implicitly to my Judgment, or implicitly fol- lowing my Example. Objections rose in abundance from all Sides. These I now proceed to consider : Whether they are advanced by you, or by others, and whether pointed at the Premisses, or directly at the Conclusion. 13. I. Some objected, " Tea is not unwholesome *' at all ; not in any Kind pr^udicial to Health." To these I reply. First, You should not be so sure of this. Even that casual Circumstance, related in Dr. ShorCs History of it, might incline you to doubt, viz. That " while the Chinese dry the Leaves, '* and turn it with their Hands upon the Tin-plates, " the Moisture of them is so extremely corrosive, " that it eats into the Flesh, if not wiped off immedi- " ately." It is not probable then, that what remains in the Leaves is quite friendly to the human Body. Secondly, Many eminent Physicians have de- clared their Judgment, That it is prejudicial in seve- ral Respects : That it gives Rise to numberless Disor- ders, particularly those of the nervous Kind : And that, if frequently used by those of weak Nerves, it is no other than a slow Poison. Thirdly, If all Physicians were silent in the Case, yet plain Fact is against you. And this speaks loud enough. It was prejudicial to my Health : It is so to many at this Day. 14. "But (8) 14. " But it is not it to mi?," say* the Objector^ * Why then ghould I leave it oiF?" ''i^inswer, First, To give an Example to those to whom it is undeniably prejudicial. Secondly, That you may have the more wherewith to give Bread to the Hungry, and Raiment to the Naked. 15. ** But I cannot leave it off; for it helps my * Health. Nothing else will agree with me." I answer, First, Will Nothing else agree with ^uf I know not how to believe that. I suppose your Body is much of the same Kind with that of your Great Grandmother. And do you think no- thing else agreed with her ? Or with any of het Progenitors ? What poor, puling, sickly Things, must all the English then have been, till within these hundred Years ! But you know they were not so. Other Things agreed with them. And why not with you .^ Secondly, If in Fact nothing else will, if Tea has already weakened your Stomach, and impaired your Digestion to such a Degree, it has hurt ^ou more than you are aware ; it has prejudiced j/our Health extremely. You have need to abhor it as deadly Poison, and to renounce it from this very Hour. So says a Drinker of Drams, " Nothing else will ** agree with me. Nothing else will raise my Spirits. * I can digest Nothing without." Indeed ? Is it so > Then touch no more, if you love your Life. Thirdly, Suppose nothing else agrees with you at first ; yet in a While many Things will. When I first left off Tea, 1 was half asleep all Day long : My Head aked from Morning to Night : I could not remember a Question abked, even till I could return an Answer. But in a Week's Time all these incon- veniences were gone, and have never returned since. Fourthly, I have not found one single Excep- tion yet : Not one Person in all England, with -whom, after sufficient Trial made, nothing else ^ortld agree. It is therefore well worth While for yon to try ( ) ^gaili^; if you ha?e any true Regard far your own Health, or any Compassion for those who are perishing all around you, for want of the common Necessaries of Life. 16. If you are sincere in this Plea; if you do not talk of your Health, while the real Objection is your Inclination, make a fair Trial thus, 1, Take half a Pint of Milk every Morning, with a little Bread, not boiled, but warmed only ; (a Man in tolerable Health might double the Quantity.) 2. If this is too heavy, add as much Water, and boil it together with a Spoonful of Oatmeal. 3. If this agrees not^ try half a Pint, or a little more, of Water-gruel, neither thick nor thin ; not sweetened (for that may be apt to make you i-ick) but with a very little But- ter, Salt, and Bread. 4. If this disagrees, try Sage^ green Balm, Mint, or Pennyroyal Tea, infusing only so much of the Herb as just to change the Colour of the Water. 5. Try two or three of these mixed, in various Proportions. 6. Try ten or twelve other English Herbs. 7. Try Foltron, a Mixture of Herbs to be had at many Grocers, far healthier as well as cheaper than Tea. 8. Try Coco. If after having tried each of these, for a Week or ten Days, you find none of them will agree with your Consti- tution, then use (weak Grten) Tea again ; But at the same Time know, That your having used it so long, has brought you near the Chambers of Death* 17. II. " I do not know, says another, but Tea * may hurt me. But there is nothing saved by ** leaving it oiF: For I am sure other Things cost full '* as much," I pray, what other Things } Sack and Sugar costs more ; and so do Ragouts, or Pheasants, or Ortolans. But what is this to the Point .^ We don't say, all Things are cheaper. But any of the Things above-mentioned are ; at least if prudently managed. Therefore, if you really desire to save what you can, you will drink Tea no more. 18. " Well, I don't design to buy any more my- " self; but where others drink it, there is nothing " saved by my abstaining." I answer. First, Yes, soaiethino^ (10) omethiug i saved,. though but little ; especially if you tell them before, 1 shall not drink Tea. And many a Little, you know, put together, will make a great Sum. Secondly, If the whole saved were ever so little, if it were but two Mites, when you save this for GOD and your Brethren's Sake, it is much. Thirdly, Your Example in saving a little now, may occasion the saving of more by and by. Fourthly, It is not a little Advantage which you may reap, even now, to your own Soul : By habitu- ating yourself not to be ashamed of being singular in a good Thing : By taking up your Cross and de- nying yourself, even in so small an Instance, and by accustoming yourself, to act on rational Grounds, whether in u little Matter or a great. 19. *' But what is saved, will be no better em- *' ployed." Do you say this with Regard to your- self, or others ? If with Regard to yourself, it will be your Fault, if you don't employ it better. I don't say you willy but I am sure you may. And if you do not, 'tis your own Sin, and your own Shame. If with Regard to others. How do you know that it will not be employed better? I trust it will. It cannot be denied, that it often has, and that it al- ways may^ be. And it is highly probable, all who save any Thing from the best Motive, will lay it out to the best Purpose. 20. ** As to Example," you say, < I have lately " been without Hopes of doing any Good by it." I suppose you mean, because so exceeding few will follow either your Example or mine, I am sorry for it. This only gives me a fresh Objection to this unwholesome, expensive Food, viz. That it has too much Hold on the Hearts of them that use it : That (to use a Scriptural Phrase) they are under the Power q/ this Trifle. If it be so, were there no other Reason than this, they ought to throw it away at once. Else they no more regard St. Paul than they do you or me: For his Rule is home to the Pointy Ail Things are lawful for me: But I will ( 11 ) / tvill not be brought under the Power of any. Away with it then, however lawful, (that is, though it were wholesome as well as cheap,) if you are al- ready brought under the Power oj'it. And the fewer they are who follow this Rule, the greater Reason there is, that you should add one Example more to those few. Though, blessed be GOD, they are not so few as you suppose. I have met with very many in London^ who use less of it, than they had done for many Years ; and above an hundred, who have plucked out the Right Eye, and cast it from them ; who wholly abstain f.om it, 21. You add. But I am <* equally, yea abundantly " more, concerned to set an Example, in all Chris- " tian Behaviour.*' I grant it : This therefore ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 22. But, " one Day, you add, I saw your Brother " drink Tea, which he said was for fear of giving Offence.'' 1 answer, First, Learn from hence to follow nei- ther his, nor my Practice implicitly : But weigh the Reason of each, and then follow Reason, where- soever it stands. But, Secondly, Examine your Heart, and beware In- clination does not put on the Shape of Reason. Thirdly, You see with your own Eyes, 1 do not drink it at all, and yet 1 seldom give Offence thereby. It is not then the bare abstainmg, but the Manntr of doing it, which usually gives the Offence, Fourthly, There is therefore a Manner wherein you may do it too, and yet give no more Offence than I. For instance. If any ask you ; simply reply, " 1 don't drink Tea : I never use it." If they say, "Why you did drink it?" Answer, " I did so; " but I have left it off a considerable Time." Those who have either Good-nature or Good-manners will say no more. But if any should impertinently add, '* O but why did you leave it off?" Answer mildly, ** Because I thought Water-gruel (suppose) was ** wholesomer, as well as cheaper," If thev (with still ( 12 ) still greater lU-manners and Impertinence) go on, What ! you do it because Mr. Wesley bids you." Reply calmly, " True; I da it because Mr. Wesley " on good Reasons advises me so to do." If they add the trite cant Phrase, " What, you follow ManP' Reply, without any Emotion, '' Yes; I " follow any Man, you or him, or any other, who " gives me good Reasons for so doing." If they persist in Cavilling, close the whole Matter with, *' 1 '' neither drink it, nor dispute about it.** 23. If you proceed in this Manner, with Mild- ness and Love, exceeding few will be offended. But you ought, say some, to give up an indiffe- << rent Thing, rather than give an Offence to any. So St. Paul, I ysill eat no Flesh whilst the World ** standeth, lest I make my Brother to offend,*^ I reply, This is not an indifferent Thing, if it affects the Health either of myself or my Brethren. There- fore that Rule, relating wholly to Things indifferent, is not applicable to this Case. Would St. Paul have said, I will drink Drams while the world standeth, lest I make my Brother to offend } " But " Tea is not so hurtful as Drams.'* I do not believe it is. But it is hurtful. And that is enough. The Question does not turn on the Degree of Hurtful- ness. " However, it is but a small Thing.** Nay, nothing is small if it touches Conscience. Much less is it a small Thing, to preserve my own or my Brother's Flealth, or to be a faithful Steward even of the Mammon of Unrighteousness. think it not a small Thing, whether only one for whom Christ died, be fed or hungry, be cloatbed or naked. To conclude the Head of Offence. You must at least allow, that all this is no Plea at all for your drinking Tea at home. " Yes it is; for my Hus- " band or Parents are offended, if I do not drink " it.'* I answer, First, Perhaps this, in some rare Cases, may be a sufficient Reason, why a Wife or a Child should use this Food, that is, with them ; but no where else. But, Secondly, Try, and not once or twice only, if you can't overcome that Of- fence ( i3) fence by Reason, Softness, Love, Patience, Long- sufFerino^, joined with constant and fervent Prayer. 24. Your next Objection is, " I can't bear to give " Trouble : Therefore 1 drink whatever others <' drink where 1 come, else there is so much Hurry " about insignificant me." I answer, First, This is no plea at all, for your drinking Tea at home. Therefore touch it not there, what- ever you do abroad. Secondly, Where is the trouble given, even when you are abroad, if they drink Tea, and you fill your Cup with Milk and Water } Thirdly, Whatever Trouble is taken, is not for ** insignificant >w^.