Mr. Horne’s Preface.
POSTHUMOUS PIECES
Of The Late Rev. John Fletcher; Containing Six Letters On The Spiritual Manifestation Of The Son Of God; Together With Divers Pastoral And Familiar Letters: Collected And First Published By The Rev Melville Horne
MR. HORNE’S PREFACE.
THE name of the venerable Mr. FLETCHER, inscribed on this volume, will introduce it to the perusal of many; and its own intrinsic worth will, I flatter myself, entitle it to the approbation of proper judges. Thus I am relieved from the pain of soliciting for it the notice of the public, and giving it that commendation which will better become any other person than the editor. It may, however, be expected that I should give some account of my book; and I conform the more cheerfully to general custom, as it affords me an opportunity of conciliating the candour of the reader. This book is truly Mr. FLETCHER’S. A large part of the Letters is transcribed from the originals, others from authentic copies, and some from a small Collection of Letters, published a few years ago in Dublin. For the Letters on the Manifestation of Christ, and the Fragments, I am obliged to Mrs. Fletcher: the first are in the author’s own manuscript, the last copied by Mrs. Fletcher from some of his old pocket books. The Pastoral and Familiar Letters are written from the period of Mr. FLETCHER’S conversion, to within a few days of his decease. When the Letters on the Manifestation were written, or to whom they are addressed, I cannot learn; but from the beginning of the first letter, the decayed state of the manuscript, and the extreme smallness of the character, (which could scarcely have been legible to the author in his latter years,) I judge them to have been the first essay of a genius afterward so much admired. The Fragments, of which some appear as the thoughts of the day, others as notes of sermons, bear date the first few years of his ministry. If, therefore, any part of this volume, however excellent, be deemed inferior to the more mature productions of the same admirable pen, it is hoped that candour will have at least as much weight as criticism. The reader is farther requested to remember that the pious author wrote only for himself and his friends; that these sheets want his perfecting hand; and that the editor thought himself entitled to take no liberties. It is not expected that Mr. FLETCHER’S reputation, as a writer, will receive new lustre from these Posthumous Pieces: but, if the many friends who revere his memory, find edification and delight in perusing his apostolic letters; if any, whose opposition of sentiment would not allow them to converse with him as a polemic divine, shall now receive him to their breasts as a Christian brother; if any who have not reaped the rich harvest of his former writings, are benefited by the gleanings of the field; and if the world in general is made better acquainted with the virtues of this excellent man, all the ends proposed by their publication will be obtained, and the editor will think himself justified in giving them to the press. That the benediction of the Almighty may attend these last labours of his servant, that the reader may imbibe the spirit of the author, and that myself and all my fellow labourers in the Gospel may emulate his faith and work in the Lord, is the earnest desire of
THE EDITOR.