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Book Reviews121 East-West influence of the traveling Quaker ministers. The irony of the ultimate rejection by the Philadelphia Quakers of the Evangelical Whitefield , who was so nearly a brother to George Fox, is only one of many insights into historical paradox that this story provides. Apparently it was the inherent kinship of the early Quakers with the Massachusetts Puritans, as well as with the Methodists, rather than any basic differences, that made for the conflicts and hostilities of colonial religious life. Finally, Frederick Tolles considers the enduring contribution of the vision of perfection which the Quakers have provided by their history, and he impartially analyzes the tensions between that vision and the practical workings-out of its necessary compromises, especially in his chapters on "Quakerism and Politics," "Quakerism, Capitalism, and Science," and "The Quaker Esthetic." Here he shows how a firm conviction of the ideal can often control and limit without prohibiting necessary action that is fundamentally inconsistent with its principles. His conclusions could only come perhaps from a convinced rather than a birthright Quaker: that both kinds of people are needed, the absolutists to furnish the ideal as a guide, and the relativists to make it work. The Howard M. Jenkins Professor of Quaker History at Swarthmore College has again demonstrated his suitability for that Chair. University of PennsylvaniaRobert E. Spiller / Have Called You Friends: The Story of Quakerism in North Carolina. By Francis C. Anscombe. Boston: The Christopher Publishing House. 1959. 407 pages. $5.00. As one reads this interesting history of North Carolina Quakerism, he catches some of the author's feeling for the Society of Friends and for his own Yearly Meeting. Certainly this work was a labor of love on the part of Dr. Anscombe, who has studied at Woodbrooke, Earlham, and several state universities, and who has been a college professor, a Quaker pastor, and a lawyer. The author first attempts to sketch the nearly three centuries of Quaker history in North Carolina; then he presents a brief account of the life of the various Quarterly and Monthly Meetings in the state. His presentation of the first is far more satisfactory than his handling of the second—which all too often consists of a listing of "those who have served in the ministry ," membership and Bible School statistics, and past clerks. His treatment of the Conservative meetings is skimpy, while those meetings belonging to Ohio Yearly Meeting (Independent) are barely mentioned. It appears rather clear that the author gathered his material and wrote his account over a period of some years, making no thorough attempt to bring his information up to date before it was published, late in 1959. There are, therefore, a number of shortcomings in the book: the membership statistics are those of 1954; the lists of American Yearly Meetings on pp. 44 and 89 are inaccurate; there is no mention of the new meeting in Charlotte; and the Durham meetinghouse, which was actually built some 122Bulletin of Friends Historical Association years ago, is reported planned and about to be built "in the near future." In addition to these regrettable mistakes which undoubtedly stem from the time-element involved in gathering the material, there are a number of more serious errors in the book. The Council of Jamnia is mistakenly dated in A.D. 118 rather than in A.D. 90 (p. 36). On p. 357 the death of Joseph Nichols (c. 1773) and the organization of the Nicholites (1774) are placed much too late (1782). John Woolman's 1757 visit to North Carolina is moved to 1759 (p. 161). And, to top it off, slavery appears to continue until 1873 (p. 166), and John Woolman becomes a British Friend on p. 217! It might also be noted that "membership" is misspelled eight times in the tables on pages 376-379. The reviewer is left somewhat puzzled by the author's outlook. In several places he writes longingly and approvingly concerning increased co-operation and new unions between various groups of Friends. Speaking of the division in North Carolina Quakerism, Anscombe says, "The Conservative element is needed to preserve a proper balance" (p. 108); yet elsewhere he describes the Conservative meetings...

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