SINCE it is wellnigh impossible
to decipher the Latin diaries, this chapter again will contain an imperfect
record. It seems that Harris had no strong inclination to enter the university
after his conversion. In a letter to his brother, written in May, he says:
"I Thirst for Improvement but I have had such a Notion of an Oxford
Life that I am in a strait what to do, but as I know you'll conscientiously
tender my future Happiness....
I'll be entirely directed by your advice." In the autumn when his brother
returned to London, Howell accompanied him to Oxford. For all we know to
the contrary, it was intended that he should remain there for a term; we
have no explanation of his leaving the place before the week was out apart
from the following quotations: "In November I was taken to Oxford,
but the Lord brought me again from there. I entered my name at St. Margaret
Hall. I took the oath of allegiance to his Majesty the King the day I matriculated.
When I began to wear better clothes, my pride revived, and I lost some of
my watchfulness. I soon tired of the place, and I longed for my freedom,
which I soon obtained. I came home, and my brother offered to have me to
live with him; but God had such a hold on me that I could not go. Soon afterwards
I left my school, and I devoted myself to exhorting everyone I met to flee
from the wrath to come."
As far as he himself was concerned, Harris, I believe, bade farewell for
ever to Oxford at that time. But it seems that his brother did not agree
that his connection with the university should end so suddenly, not necessarily
for educational reasons, but because of the advantage which an Oxford degree
would give him in entering the ministry. There are a few references to this
matter in the family correspondence which has survived, and we place them
here before the reader.
Joseph to Howell, 31 May 1735:
"I received yours which I am sorry to find So full of
melancholy reflections. You Should not quarrel with the world before you
know it, and instead of talking of retirement at Your age, You should
rather resolve to undertake with chearfullness whatever Providence may
throw in Your way. You do not want for capacity, and a willing mind and
an upright heart are the best qualifications for any undertaking. If you
was in orders, I might easier do something for you that way than any other.
There are Livings to be disposed of often, but preferment of other kind
are very Scarce. I do not think Logick to be of much, if it is of any
use, but a degree from the University may be of use to a Clergyman, and
upon that account I Should have been glad if You could get one without
Spending much time for it."
Howell to Joseph, 30 December 1735:
I don't know whether it be advisable to come (to Talgarth to
keep a school) against ye Parson's approbation and to begin before I go
once to Oxon,...I should be glad to know if possible when I shall be called
to Oxford. Some Oxonians here advise me to keep three Terms at once and
go up in March that then I may be dispensed with for a whole twelve month
and that ye three Terms may be kept with ten or twelve weeks."
Joseph to his mother, 17 January 1736:
"I hope Now he (Howell) is in a fair way of doing well,
and I fancy he is pleased with his Oxford Journey, where he is to go again
Some time in the Spring."
Howell to Joseph, 21 January 1736:
"Mrs. Anne Jones, of Tredwstan) offered me ye Reading
of some Books, but I am tyed up to Latin and Greek you know. I have been
reading Pearson on ye Creed for some time which I shall have done with
next week. Then I intend to fall to my Classicks.... I shan't think my
time lost as long as I have Books but this unavoidable evil of Classical
Study must take my Time for ye Future. Mr. Hart and your self know best
when I am to go to Oxford."
Joseph to Howell, 24 January 1736:
"You'll find in this Box an old Suit of mine which my
brother has altered for you with two pair of Breeches belonging to it,
also my old leather breeches. These may do you a good deal of Service
for common wear either in the Countrey or at Oxford. Your old clothes
are so bad you had better give them away, if they are worth any body's
having."
Joseph to Howell, 20 March 1736:
"I Suppose You'll go to Oxford against next term, when
it begins I do not justly know, but Mr. Harte will inform me."
Joseph to Howell, 24 April 1736:
"The next term at Oxford begins the 5th of May, but I
am entirely of your Sentiment that you had best Stay till Talgarth School
is vacant, and try if you can get into Orders before you go there; all
that may be done before the Succeeding term."
Harris offered himself for orders in July 1736, but he was churlishly refused
because of his activity in going about the country to exhort. He preferred
to renounce everything rather than to cease from warning his fellowmen of
their danger; and he thought little or nothing afterwards about going to
the university. It is true that, at times, in view of the positive opposition
of Churchmen, and of some Nonconformists, to a lay ministry, a wave of depression
would overwhelm him and he would speak of giving up his work, or of entering
upon a further course of education in order to fit himself for orders in
the Established Church. But he would not remain long in his cave. In spite
of his saying, as Jeremiah of old, that he would speak no more in the name
of the Lord, the Word was as fire in his bones, and the sight of the multitude
indulging themselves in frivolity and dissipation, or a request for help
from some Cornelius would cause the flame to blaze as brightly as ever.
It is stated in A Brief Account of the Life of Howell Harris, that
Harris stayed a whole term at Oxford. This, of course, is incorrect. Mr.
Beriah Gwynfe Evans, in his book, The Reformers of Wales was the
first to draw attention to this inaccuracy. But Mr. Evans is mistaken when
he makes Harris himself responsible for this inaccurate statement. The original
manuscript is lost. The book was printed in 1791, and it is unfair to hold
an author responsible for any inaccuracies which appear in a work published
nearly twenty years after his death. It is difficult enough to get a faultless
work through the press even when the author is alive and can correct the
proof-sheets. John Wesley complained bitterly of printers' errors. They
distorted the meaning completely in many instances in his writings. He thought
of publishing a correct edition of his works before he died, but he failed
miserably in his endeavours. If it is not right to hold Mr. Wesley responsible
for the inaccuracies in his works, much less should we hold Howell Harris
responsible for any inaccuracies in the autobiography. It is known that
editors in the old days, as well as printers, took much liberty with the
writings of deceased authors, and there is reason to believe that this happened
with Harris's papers. In the autobiography, a number of letters were included,
the originals of which still exist. On these we can still see the marks
of the pen of the editor--whoever he was--deleting paragraphs and inserting
words here and there so that the meaning is slightly changed in some sentences.
It is possible that what was done with the letters was also done with the
other part of the book. But the most likely explanation is that the editor
has misread one word in the author's manuscript, which, as Mr. Evans notes,
is full of abbreviations and difficult to decipher. It is much easier to
believe this than to suppose that a man like Harris was mistaken, or that
he deliberately misleads his readers on a point of fact while leaving behind
him so many proofs that would bring the inaccuracy to light. What end would
be gained by leading anyone to believe that he had stayed six weeks in Oxford,
while complaining at the same time of the ungodliness of the place? It is
well known that from his conversion to his death he attached greater importance
to godliness than to learning; and his temptation surely would be to shorten,
rather than to lengthen, his stay in such a place. |