Hence he laboured to draw men off from these, and to turn them to the great and universal teacher in their own souls. His labours were most abundant, and his success was truly wonderful. He went through every part of the country, preaching in almost every town and village of note in the land, frequently speaking for three hours and upwards at a time; and almost every where men were convinced of the truth of his doctrines, and avowed themselves his friends. The priests raged terribly, and persecuted him shamefully. But he never seems to have flinched. He went right on. Before long a number of his friends began to preach the same doctrines, and in course of time, the land was almost filled with them. Their zeal and their courage were unbounded, and their labours were unceasing. To preaching they added the powers of the pen and the press, and sent forth papers and books without end. To such an extent did they succeed in spreading their principles, that some even of their persecutors declared, that they had ruined [i. e. drawn over to their side] almost every decent person in the kingdom.
It was when G. Fox had been employed in his reforming labours about fourteen years, that Penn first heard a Quaker preacher. In about six or eight years afterwards, Penn did himself become a Quaker preacher. From this period their peculiar principles, as unfolded in the writings of Fox and Penn, included the following.
1. They held the universality and sufficiency of the inward light, which they sometimes called the heavenly seed, the Word of God, Christ, &c.
2. They denied that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice, and refused to call them THE WORD OF God.'
3. They rejected a hired ministry, and contended that all who preach the gospel, should preach it freely.
4. They renounced all human authority in matters of religion, and refused to obey civil authority when it crossed their own convictions of what was true and right.
5. They denied that human learning, such as a knowledge of natural science, or of the dead languages, was essential to qualify a man for the ministry; and contended that Christ made and qualified his own ministers without the aid of Colleges and Universities.
6. They believed in the inspiration of the sacred writers, but they also contended that the same inspiration was granted to men at the present time, and had been granted to men in all ages and in all nations.
7. They believed in perfection; a perfection equal, if not superior, to that of Adam before his fall, denying altogether the necessity or unavoidableness of sin.