Revelation had indeed no
weight with me, as such; but I entertained an opinion, that, though
certain actions might not be bad, _because_ they were forbidden by it,
or good _because_ it commended them; yet probably those actions might be
forbidden _because_ they were bad for us, or commanded because they were
beneficial to us, in their own natures, all the circumstances of things
considered. And this persuasion, with the kind hand of Providence,
or some guardian angel, or accidental favorable circumstances or
situations, or all together, preserved me, through this dangerous
time of youth, and the hazardous situations I was sometimes in among
strangers, remote from the eye and advice of my father, free from any
_wilful_ gross immorality or injustice, that might have been expected
from my want of religion. I say wilful because the instances I have
mentioned had something of _necessity_ in them, from my youth,
inexperience, and the knavery of others. I had therefore a tolerable
character to begin the world with; I valued it properly, and determined
to preserve it.
We had not been long returned to Philadelphia, before the new types
arrived from London. We settled with Keimer and left him by his consent
before he heard of it.
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