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OXFORD STUDIES ON THE ROMAN ECONOMY

General Editors
Andrew Wilson Alan Bowman
 OXFORD STUDIES ON THE ROMAN ECONOMY

This innovative monograph series reflects a vigorous revival of interest in the

ancient economy, focusing on the Mediterranean world under Roman rule
(c.100 BC to AD 350). Carefully quantified archaeological and documentary
data will be integrated to help ancient historians, economic historians, and
archaeologists think about economic behaviour collectively rather than from
separate perspectives. The volumes will include a substantial comparative
element and thus be of interest to historians of other periods and places.
Trade, Commerce,
and the State in
the Roman World

Edited by
ANDREW WILSON AND
ALAN BOWMAN

1
 3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Oxford University Press 2018
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
First Edition published in 2018
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017935371
ISBN 978–0–19–879066–2
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CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
 Preface

This volume has its origins, like its three predecessors, in a conference
organized as part of the research programme entitled ‘The Economy of the
Roman Empire: Integration, Growth and Decline’, funded by the Arts and
Humanities Research Council in 2005–10 and directed by the editors. Fuller
information on the aims of the research project can be found in the introduc-
tion to the first volume, Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and
Problems (ed. A. K. Bowman and A. I. Wilson, 2009); here it suffices to note
that the project aimed to bring together both archaeological and documentary
evidence relevant to the nature and performance of the Roman economy in
four main diagnostic areas—urbanization and demography, agriculture, trade
and commerce, and mining and metal supply—with a particular interest in
data that allow some degree of measurement and quantification, and the
delineation of trends over time. This volume focuses on the evidence for
trade, and, in particular, it explores the relations between commercial activity
and regulation, interest (especially as regards customs duties), and involve-
ment on the part of the state. Most of the chapters were originally delivered as
papers at a conference on ‘Trade, Commerce, and the State in the Roman
World’ held in Oxford on 1–3 October 2009.
We are grateful to the AHRC for the award of the grant that supported
the research programme, and to Baron Lorne Thyssen and the Augustus
Foundation, whose support for the project has allowed us to continue the
Oxford Roman Economy Project’s research programme well beyond the
period initially funded by the AHRC. We are grateful also to Dr Gareth
Hughes, who, as the project’s administrative assistant at the time, assisted
with the conference organization; to the staff of the Stelios Ioannou Centre for
Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies, where the conference was held;
and to all those who contributed to the discussion at the conference. Nichole
Sheldrick and Erica Rowan kindly assisted with the preparation of most of the
texts; and Angela Trentacoste with obtaining some of the image permissions.
The preparation of this volume has, for a variety of reasons, taken longer than
any of us could have foreseen or wished, and we thank the authors for their
patience during this process.
Andrew Wilson
Alan Bowman
March 2017
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 13/10/2017, SPi

Contents

List of Figures ix
List of Tables xv
List of Contributors xvii

1. Introduction: Trade, Commerce, and the State 1

Andrew Wilson and Alan Bowman

PART I. INSTITUTIONS AND THE STATE

2. The State and the Economy: Fiscality and Taxation 27
Alan Bowman
3. Law, Commerce, and Finance in the Roman Empire 53
Boudewijn Sirks
4. Market Regulation and Transaction Costs in
the Roman Empire 117
Elio Lo Cascio
5. Financial Institutions and Structures in the Last Century
of the Roman Republic 133
Philip Kay
6. Nile River Transport under the Romans 175
Colin Adams

PART II. TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE

7. The Indispensable Commodity: Notes on the Economy of
Wood in the Roman Mediterranean 211
William V. Harris
8. Stone Use and the Economy: Demand, Distribution,
and the State 237
Ben Russell
9. An Overview of the Circulation of Glass in Antiquity 265
Danièle Foy
10. Procurators’ Business? Gallo-Roman Sigillata in Britain
in the Second and Third Centuries AD 301
Michael Fulford
viii Contents

11. The Distribution of African Pottery under the Roman

Empire: Evidence versus Interpretation 327
Michel Bonifay
12. The Supply Networks of the Roman East and West:
Interaction, Fragmentation, and the Origins of the
Byzantine Economy 353
Paul Reynolds
13. Prices and Costs in the Textile Industry in the Light of
the Lead Tags from Siscia 397
Ivan Radman-Livaja
14. Exports and Imports in Mauretania Tingitana: The
Evidence from Thamusida 427
Emanuele Papi

PART III. TRADE BEYOND THE FRONTIERS

15. The Silk Road between Syria and China 443
David F. Graf
16. Egypt and Eastern Commerce during the Second
Century AD and Later 531
Roberta Tomber
17. Money and Flows of Coinage in the Red Sea Trade 557
Dario Nappo
18. The Port of Qanaʾ, a Junction between the Indian Ocean
and the Mediterranean Sea 579
Barbara Davidde
19. Trade across Rome’s Southern Frontier: The Sahara and
the Garamantes 599
Andrew Wilson

Index 625
 List of Figures

8.1. Hypothetical map showing zones around an urban centre, illustrating

distance (left) versus effort (right), and showing the effect of different
costs of land, river, and maritime transport for importing stone 242
8.2. Map of quarry sites in the Roman Empire (Russell 2013b) 244
8.3. Map of quarries in Roman Gaul and Britain, with key sites mentioned
in case studies labelled (Russell 2013b) 245
8.4. Sites in southern Gaul mentioned in case study 247
8.5. Sites in Britain and northern Gaul mentioned in case study 248
9.1. The main evidence of maritime and river trade in raw glass, glass
for recycling, and manufactured glass in the Mediterranean
during antiquity 269
9.2. Distribution of painted bowls of the first century AD 275
9.3. Percentages of stamped vessels in each category 279
9.4. Stamped vessels attesting local trade 281
9.5. Stamped vessels attesting regional trade 283
9.6. Stamped vessels attesting inter-regional trade 284
9.7. Stamped vessels attesting inter-regional trade from northern Italy
(top) and Britain (below) 286
9.8. Distribution, from Italy, of stamped unguentaria 288
9.9. Distribution of two types of unguentaria bearing two variants of the
state stamp PATRIMONI emanating from two centres: Italy and probably
northern Gaul 290
10.1. The area of purposive collection of the potters’ stamps published in
Hartley and Dickinson (2008–12) 304
10.2. The distribution of La Graufesenque potters’ stamps (A to E) of all
dates (but predominantly second half of first century AD) in Britain
and the lower Rhine 306
10.3. The distribution of sites with finds of early second- to early
third-century AD Lezoux potters’ stamps (A to E) 308
10.4. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Lezoux in Britain, early
second to early third century AD 309
10.5. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Rheinzabern, second to
mid-third century AD 310
10.6. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Rheinzabern in Britain
and the lower Rhine, second to mid-third century AD 311
10.7. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Trier, later second to
mid-third century AD 312
x List of Figures
10.8. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of La Madeleine, second
century AD 313
10.9. The distribution of inscriptions referring to negotiatores (after
Whittaker (1994: fig. 29)) 316
10.10. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Les Martres de Veyre,
predominantly early second century AD 317
10.11. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Les Martres de Veyre
in Britain and the lower Rhine, predominantly early second century AD 318
10.12. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Montans, c. AD 10–30 319
10.13. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Montans,
second century AD 320
10.14. The distribution of potters’ stamps (A to E) of Montans in Britain,
first and second century AD 321
11.1. Map of the main African pottery workshops (after Bonifay
and Tchernia 2012) 330
11.2. African amphora types mentioned in the text 333
11.3. Map of the shipwrecks mentioned in the text 336
11.4. Patterns of African pottery distribution (after Bonifay and
Tchernia 2012) 338
12.1. Map of sites mentioned in the text 354
12.2. Late Roman Amphora 1–5 and 7 (from Riley 1981: fig. 10)
(reproduced with kind permission of the Kelsey Museum of
Archaeology, University of Michigan) 356
12.3. Levantine amphorae of the second century AD 357
12.4. The development of the Beirut amphora, from its late Hellenistic late
third- to second-century BC Sidonian predecessor (a) and its first
appearance (in Beirut fabric) in the late second century/100 BC (b), to
the latest examples of the seventh century AD 358
12.5. The origins and development of the Late Roman Amphora 1 type
from the first to seventh centuries AD 359
12.6. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, early third century AD 361
12.7. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, mid-third century AD 362
12.8. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, late fourth century AD 363
12.9. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, AD 400–50 364
12.10. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, AD 500–50 365
12.11. Map showing the sources and relative quantities of imports to Beirut
and Butrint, late sixth century AD 366
 List of Figures xi
12.12. Butrint, third-century AD imported cooking wares; Phocean imports
in the Viganj shipwreck (Jurišić 2000) 368
12.13. Levantine exports to the West and Egypt (second–third centuries AD) 369
12.14. Beirut, third-century AD Kapitän 2 and Black Sea amphorae 372
12.15. Beirut, percentage of total amphorae, all sources
(local versus imported) 383
12.16. Beirut, relative percentage of close regional amphorae, by source 383
12.17. Butrint, Samian and related forms, fifth to sixth centuries AD 388
12.18. Beirut, typical forms in AD 551 (BEY 006.13359) and late sixth-/early
seventh-century (BEY 006.5503) assemblages 389
13.1. Lead tags from Siscia (see chapter appendix for catalogue descriptions)
(drawing: Miljenka Galić; copyright: Zagreb Archaeological Museum) 398
13.2. Lead tags from Siscia (see chapter appendix for catalogue descriptions)
(drawing: Miljenka Galić; copyright: Zagreb Archaeological Museum) 399
13.3. Lead tags from Siscia (see chapter appendix for catalogue descriptions)
(drawing: Miljenka Galić; copyright: Zagreb Archaeological Museum) 399
13.4. Lead tags from Siscia (see chapter appendix for catalogue descriptions)
(drawing: Miljenka Galić; copyright: Zagreb Archaeological Museum) 400
13.5. Proportions of tags with and without prices 402
13.6. Price levels on tags 407
13.7. Proportions of the original inscriptions giving different price ranges 408
15.1. The Han Empire and the ‘Western Regions’ (after Mutschler and
Mittag 2008: 452) 450
15.2. The Han Empire and the West (map by Chris Hanson, after
Hill 2009: 690) 454
15.3. The ‘Jade Gate’ at Yumen Guan, Yadan National Park, 80 km
north-west of Dunhuang in Gangsu Province, China. The gate was
erected by Emperor Wudi after 121 BC, at the final post on the
major route leading to the Western Regions in Central Asia
(photo: John E. Hill) 466
15.4. Map of Central Asia and the Tarim Basin (map by Chris Hanson,
after Mair and Hickman 2015: fig. 1.1) 467
15.5. Map of overland and maritime silk routes (map by Chris Hanson) 477
15.6. Satellite image of Palmyra (image courtesy of A. Schmidt-Colinet, with
labels added by Chris Hanson; Quickbird imagery, copyright: Digital
Globe/European Space Imaging and A. Schmidt-Colinet) 482
15.7. Tower tombs at Palmyra, with the tower tomb of Kitot (Tomb 44),
dated to AD 40, at far left (photo: courtesy of Andreas Schmidt-Colinet) 487
15.8. Silk fabric from the tower tomb of Kitot (Tomb 44), with Chinese
text (‘year . . . long-living . . . son . . . grandson’) woven into design. In
Palmyra Museum until 2015 (Schmidt-Colinet, Stauffer, and
Al-As‛ad 2000: Farbtafel VIIIa, Kat. 223; copyright
A. Schmidt-Colinet) 488
xii List of Figures
15.9. Map of the caravan route from Palmyra to Charax and the Persian
Gulf (map by Chris Hanson, after Gawlikowski 1994: 30) 491
15.10. Palmyra, sarcophagus relief of a seagoing ship, from a tomb with an
inscription mentioning a Palmyrene captain who sailed to India. In
Palmyra Museum until 2015 (photo courtesy of A. Schmidt-Colinet) 493
15.11. Peutinger Map, sections X–XI, showing Parthia and the routes across
the Iranian plateau to India (by permission of the Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) 499
15.12. Peutinger Map, section XI: depiction of Muziris and Temple of
Augustus nearby (by permission of the Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) 500
16.1. Location map of Red Sea sites and roads (A. Simpson, based on a
map by P. Copeland) 532
16.2. Pottery of the second half of the second to the mid-third century AD:
Costrel (1); Sakkia pots and jars (2–4); Cooking wares (5–8);
Egyptian amphora (9) (modified from Tomber 2001: fig. 6.1) 536
16.3. The Indian Ocean showing sites mentioned in the text
(A. Simpson) 542
16.4. Gold and silver coins from India, indicating second-century coins
(A. Simpson, modified from Turner 1989: map 1) 545
16.5. The Persian Gulf and adjoining regions showing sites mentioned
in the text (A. Simpson) 546
17.1. Proportions of Roman coins found in India struck in the reigns of
Augustus and Tiberius compared to those struck from Gaius to
Caracalla; total = 6,751 568
17.2. Chronological distribution, by reign of issue, of numbers of Roman
gold and silver coins found in India 569
17.3. Chronological distribution, by reign of issue, of the total face value
(in denarii) of Roman coins found in India 570
17.4. Chronological distribution, by reign of issue, of the face value
(in denarii) of Roman coins found in India, divided by the number
of years of each reign 571
17.5. Chronological distribution, by reign of hoard deposition, of the total
face value (in denarii) of Roman coins found in India 574
18.1. Map of the South Arabian Peninsula in antiquity (after De Maigret and
Antonini 2000: 42) 580
18.2. Maritime trade in South Arabia (De Maigret and Antonini 2000: 88) 581
18.3. Sabaean coin, series with the portrait of Augustus (mould from
private collection; photo: Barbara Davidde) 582
18.4. Ḥ aḍrami coin, series with head/eagle (photo: Sedov and Aydarus
1995: 20, fig.13) 584
18.5. Khor Rori (Source: Google Earth. Image © 2016 DigitalGlobe) 586
 List of Figures xiii
18.6. Reconstruction of the site of Qanaʾ (Mouton, Sanlaville,
and Suire 2006: 807) 588
18.7. Map showing the northern bay of Qanaʾ and the area of the underwater
archaeological survey (drawing by Massimiliano Ena: after Davidde,
Petriaggi, and Williams 2004: fig.1) 589
18.8. Seabed weight used as mooring stone (photo: Barbara Davidde) 590
18.9. Seabed weight used as mooring stone (photo: Barbara Davidde) 590
18.10. Dressel 2–4 amphora made in Laodicea, inv. no. 33 (drawing:
Marco Sangiorgio) 591
18.11. Dressel 2–4 amphora made in Laodicea, inv. no. 105 (drawing:
Massimiliano Ena) 592
18.12. Dressel 2–4 amphora made in Laodicea, inv. no. 44 (drawing:
Marco Sangiorgio) 592
19.1. Saharan trade routes in antiquity, showing foggara oases that are
certainly or probably ancient, and finds of Roman artefacts
(A. Wilson/M. Anastasi) 601
19.2. The central Fazzan, showing sites where Roman material has been
found. There was foggara-fed irrigation almost continuously along the
length of the Wadi al-Ajal between In Tafaret and al-Abyad, but for
the sake of clarity foggaras are shown only at the western and eastern
extremities, Tin Abunda and In Tafaret, and al-Abyad
(A. Wilson/M. Anastasi) 602
19.3. Quadrans of Domitian, AD 83–5 (RIC 34, ex Evans: Heberden Coin
Room, Ashmolean Museum). Obverse: rhinoceros bicornis advancing
left; reverse: IMP DOMIT AVG GERM around SC (photo: Ashmolean
Museum, by permission) 611
 List of Tables

2.1. Tax rates at Karanis, mid-second century AD 33

2.2. Tax rates in Egypt, mid-second century AD, dependent villages 33
2.3. Land and taxes at Karanis, mid-second to early fourth centuries AD 44
5.1. Bank Balance Sheet 1 158
5.2. Bank Balance Sheet 2 159
5.3. Bank Balance Sheet 3 159
6.1. Consignments of agricultural products received at the harbour of the
Sacred Grove in Arsinoe and shipped onwards to the harbour at
Ptolemais Hormou, AD 42 (in artabas) 179
6.2. Deliveries of artabas of grain by animal convoy, for loading onto river
boats, AD 127 187
6.3. Nile ship capacities: stated burden and actual loadings with grain
cargoes, late third century AD 196
12.1. Guide to the distribution of imports in the second century AD 367
13.1. Distribution of prices on the lead tags from Siscia (including only
those prices where the reading is certain) 409
13.2. Probable interpretation of prices where the reading is uncertain 411
13.3. Prices in the older inscriptions still legible on the tags 412
17.1. Attestation of μαρσίππια in O. Berenike 564
 List of Contributors

Colin Adams, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History, University of Liverpool. His

research interests are the social, administrative, and economic history of the
Roman Empire, especially Roman Egypt, and transport and travel in the
ancient world. Publications include Travel and Geography in the Roman
Empire (ed. with R. Laurence, London, 2001), and Land Transport in
Roman Egypt: A Study of Administration and Economics in a Roman Province
(Oxford, 2007).
Michel Bonifay, Researcher at the Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille
Université, CNRS, MCC, INRAP, CCJ, UMR 7299, 13094, Aix-en-Provence,
France). His main activity focuses on the pottery of the Roman provinces of
Africa: production, typology and chronology, distribution, and the signifi-
cance of this evidence for the economic history of the Mediterranean. Recent
publications on this topic include: Études sur la céramique romaine tardive
d’Afrique (Oxford, 2004), LRCW2, Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares
and Amphorae in the Mediterranean, Archaeology and Archaeometry (ed. with
J.-Chr. Tréglia, Oxford 2007), LRFW 1, Late Roman Fine Wares: Solving
Problems of Typology and Chronology (ed. with M. A. Cau and P. Reynolds,
Oxford 2011).
Alan Bowman, Former Principal of Brasenose College, and Camden Professor
Emeritus of Ancient History, University of Oxford. His areas of research are
the social and economic history of the Roman Empire, Ptolemaic and Roman
Egypt, papyrology and the Vindolanda writing-tablets. Publications include
Agriculture in Egypt from Pharaonic to Modern Times (ed. with E. Rogan,
London, 1999), Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its
People (London, rev. edn, 2003), Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods
and Problems (ed. with A. I. Wilson, Oxford, 2009), Settlement, Urbanization
and Population (ed. with A. I. Wilson, Oxford, 2011), and The Roman
Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment, and Production (ed. with
A. I. Wilson, Oxford, 2013).
Barbara Davidde, Director of the Nucleo per gli Interventi di Archeologia
Subacquea, Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (Rome, Italy)
and adjunct Professor of Underwater Archaeology, Università degli Studi
di Roma Tre. She was co-director of the Underwater Archaeological Mission
in the Republic of Yemen for ISIAO and of the underwater surveys at
Sumhuram (Khor Rori, Sultanate of Oman) with the University of Pisa.
Her research interests include underwater and coastal archaeology field survey,
xviii List of Contributors
and conservation and restoration of underwater cultural heritage (ISCR’s
Project Restoring Underwater). Recent publications include: Archeologia
sott’acqua: Teoria e pratica (with Roberto Petriaggi, Pisa and Rome, 2007);
(with S. Ricci et al.), ‘Marine Bioerosion of Stone Artefacts Preserved in the
Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei, in the Castle of Baia (Naples)’, AMM 7
(2010), 75–115.
Danièle Foy, Directeur de recherches, CNRS, Centre Camille Jullian, Aix-en-
Provence. Her research focuses on glass-making from antiquity to the end of
the medieval period in the western and eastern Mediterranean, studying
production, exchange, and consumption of glass through archaeological evi-
dence (excavations of workshops, residential buildings, wrecks, and studies of
the glass assemblages) and archaeometric data. Recent research has treated the
stamps applied to ancient glass containers (Corpus des signatures et marques
sur verres antiques, ed. with M.-D. Nenna, 3 vols, Aix-en-Provence and Lyons,
2006, 2011), and the Islamic glass (seventh to fourteenth centuries) of the
Maghreb and Machrek.
Michael Fulford, Professor of Archaeology, University of Reading. His areas
of research are Roman urbanism and rural settlement, economy, trade, and
technology. Recent publications include Life and Labour in Late Roman
Silchester: Excavations in Insula IX since 1997 (London, 2006), Iron Age and
Romano-British Settlements and Landscapes of Salisbury Plain (Salisbury,
2006), Silchester: City in Transition. The Mid-Roman Occupation of Insula
IX c. AD 125–250/300. A Report on Excavations Undertaken since 1997
(London 2011), Pevensey Castle, Sussex. Excavations in the Roman Fort and
Medieval Keep, 1993–95 (Salisbury 2011).
David F. Graf, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Miami. His
research interests are in the history and archaeology of the Greco-Roman
Near East. He has participated in excavations at Zeugma on the Euphrates in
Turkey and the Red Sea in Egypt, and recently directed the Hellenistic Petra
Project in Jordan (2004–7) and the joint Saudi–American excavations at
Jurash in the south-west Asir Province of Saudi Arabia (2008–9). Publications
include Rome and the Arabian Frontier: From the Nabataeans to the Saracens
(1997), and essays on ‘Nabataean Trade’ in G. Markoe (ed.), Petra Redis-
covered (New York, 2003), and ‘Rome and China: Some Frontier Compari-
sons’, in Z. Visy (ed.), Roman Frontier Studies XIX (Pécs, 2005).
William V. Harris, Shepherd Professor of History and Director of the Center
for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University, USA. His recent
publications include The Monetary Systems of the Greeks and Romans (ed.,
Oxford, 2008), Maritime Technology in the Ancient Economy: Ship-Design and
Navigation (co-edited with Kristine Iara, Portsmouth, RI, 2011) and Rome’s
Imperial Economy (Oxford, 2011).
 List of Contributors xix
Philip Kay, Supernumerary Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford.
His research interests include the economy of the Roman Republic and
ancient banking. Publications include his monograph Rome’s Economic
Revolution (Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy, Oxford, 2014) and a
paper entitled ‘What Did the Attalids ever Do for us? A View from the
aerarium’, in Attalid Asia Minor: Money, International Relations, and the
State (ed. P. Thonemann, Oxford, 2013). In addition to his academic work,
he also runs his own investment management business.
Elio Lo Cascio, Professor of Roman History, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’.
His main areas of research are the institutional, administrative, and economic
history of Rome, and Roman population history. His publications include Il
princeps e il suo impero: Studi di storia amministrativa e finanziaria romana
(Bari, 2000); Crescita e declino: Studi di storia dell’economia romana (Rome,
2009); and the edited volumes Roma imperiale: Una metropoli antica (Rome,
2000); Production and Public Powers in Antiquity (Cambridge 2000, with
D. W. Rathbone); Credito e moneta nel mondo romano (Bari, 2003); Innovazione
tecnica e progresso economico nel mondo romano (Bari, 2006); Agricoltura e
scambi nell’Italia repubblicana (Bari, 2009, with J. Carlsen).
Dario Nappo, postdoctoral researcher, Ciències de l’Antiguitat i de l’Edat
Mitjana, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research has focused on
Roman trade with India and in the Red Sea region, and his publications
include ‘Roman Policy in the Red Sea between Anastasius and Justinian’, in
Connected Hinterlands: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on
the Peoples of the Red Sea Region (ed. L. Blue, J. Cooper, R. Thomas, and
J. Whitewright, 2009), and ‘On the Location of Leuke Kome’ (JRA 23/1 (2010),
335–48).
Emanuele Papi, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Siena,
and Director of the Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene. His research
interests include the archaeology of trade and commercial activity in Rome
and around the Mediterranean, and he has directed excavations at Bomarzo
(ancient Statonia) in the Tiber Valley, Thamusida in Morocco, Hephaestia on
Lemnos, and Dionysias in Egypt. His publications include Supplying Rome
and the Empire (JRA Supplement 69, 2007), and Sidi Ali ben Ahmed—
Thamusida (ed. with A. Akerraz, 3 vols, 2008–13).
Ivan Radman-Livaja, senior curator at the Greek and Roman Department of
the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. His research interests mostly concern
the archaeology of Roman Pannonia, more particularly the limes area, Roman
army and military equipment studies, epigraphy, as well as Roman trade and
economy. His publications include Militaria Sisciensia (Zagreb, 2005) and
Finds of the Roman Military Equipment in Croatia (ed., Zagreb, 2010).
Another random document with
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stock of cattle you have, and what hogs you kill. The more particular
you are about every thing, the better. I long for the account. I am
glad you received the books! more are to be sent from Scotland. I do
not much care for R――’s being at Bethesda, unless he is a true
penitent. How doth my nephew go on? That you may go on and
prosper both in body and soul, till you are safe landed in an endless
eternity, is the earnest prayer of, very dear Mr. D――,

Yours most affectionately in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXXXV.
To Mr. D――.

London, February 5, 1760.

My very dear Mr. D――,

I AM waiting every moment for a line from you. I hope it will bring me
the agreeable news of your being at peace with the Indians.
Above all, I trust it will inform me, of your being filled with the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding. As I wrote my whole mind
by dear Mr. S――k, and who, I find by the papers, is safely arrived, I
have nothing to add, till I hear what Mr. P――l hath determined on,
and what situation Mr. S―― thinks himself called to. My heart’s
desire and prayer to God is, that all may be directed for the
Redeemer’s glory, and the lasting welfare of Bethesda. I cannot help
thinking, but something great is to come out of it yet. The thoughts of
a College are revived; but he that believeth doth not make haste. I
am growing very corpulent, but, I trust, not too corpulent for another
voyage, when called to it. Every day the work increases. On Sunday
last, a new enlargement of the chapel was opened, and a great
concourse of people assembled on that occasion. I am told that God
was there. With this, I hope you will receive a box of books. My
nephew hath some more for you, in a box sent to him. I have had a
sweet letter from I―― P――m. O this changing world! Lord,
sanctify all for the better preparing us for our great change! Adieu,
my dear friend. I hope you will keep close to Bethesda. God will
bless you for it. Hoping to hear from you very shortly, I hasten to
subscribe myself,

Yours most affectionately in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXXXVI.
To Mrs. C――.

London, February 7, 1760.

My dear Mrs. C――,

I SEND this to Portsmouth after Mr. R――n, to inform you, that last
night we received your agreeable letters, dated in August and
September. Blessed be God that you are all so well. The bills shall
be honoured. I have thoughts, that you and Mr. D―― will come
together. For Christ’s sake, do not think of moving from Bethesda. I
am more than pleased: I am delighted with your being there. The
family will soon be small indeed. It is easily increased at any time. I
hope that G―― and A―― W―― will be put out. I am glad S――f
behaved so well. God’s judgments are like the great deep. Father,
thy will be done! Mr. S――f bears the news quite well. I expect to
hear again from you every day. God bless you all! Cease not to pray
for, dear Mrs. C――,

Your most obliged affectionate friend and servant in our

common Lord,
 G. W.

LETTER MCCXXXVII.
To Mr. S―― S――.

Bristol, July 5, 1760.

My very dear Sir,

W ITH this, I have sent an order to Mr. C――, to receive of you

three hundred pounds sterling, to purchase bills of exchange
from Mr. S――r. One hundred Mr. S――r is to remit to Mr. F――y.
The other two hundred Mr. C―― is to pay to Mr. Z――n, in order to
be remitted to Professor F――k. The remainder, I think best to keep
till I hear from the Professor himself. The Lord pity and comfort the
poor sufferers! What reason have we to be thankful, who abound in
peace and plenty! What is still more, the fields are white, ready unto
a spiritual harvest. When in the fields, ten thousand, perhaps more,
do assemble here. When under cover, there are more than the
tabernacle will well hold; at least in the evening. Every time the
house is a Bethel, a house of God, a gate of heaven. Grace! grace! I
thought that my wife’s illness would have hastened me to London;
but as she is now recovering, I would fain proceed in my summer’s
campaign. I am persuaded I am the better for your prayers. Never
were they more charitably bestowed. I am a worm, and no man. O
blessed Jesus, how good thou art! With all thy other mercies, give,
O give me an humble and a thankful heart! I could enlarge, but have
more letters to write. I hope my most cordial respects and thanks will
find acceptance with dear Mrs. S―― and Miss, and I am sure you
will accept the same yourself, from, my very dear Sir,

Yours &c. under manifold obligations,

G. W.
 LETTER MCCXXXVIII.
To Mrs. C――.

Bristol, July 8, 1760.

Dear Mrs. C――,

I HOPE this will find you restored to more than former health and
usefulness, and quite determined to continue at Bethesda. It makes
me uneasy, to think you have the least inclination of returning, till you
see me on your side the water. Jesus hath called and blessed you at
Bethesda. I would fain have you stay and see the fruits of your labour.
You will see what I wrote about I―― H――. I must leave all to you who
are upon the spot, not doubting but the Lord Jesus will guide you by his
allwise counsel; none teacheth like him. I have sympathized with you, in
respect to your fears about the Indian war. Lord Jesus grant they may
not be permitted to come near your peaceful dwelling! In heaven, all
these alarms will be over. I long for those blessed mansions. But nothing
kills me. My wife was lately just got into harbour, but is driven back
again. Blessed be God, we are sure of getting in safe at last. Jesus is
our pilot. To his almighty and never-failing protection do I most humbly
and heartily commit you, as being, for his great name’s sake, with ten
thousand thanks for all your labours of love, dear Mrs. C――,

Your sincere affectionate friend, and ready servant in our

common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXXXIX.
 To Mr. D――.

Bristol, July 8, 1760.

My dear Mr. D――,

I OWE you much love for your letter and accompts. May Bethesda’s
God bless and reward you! He doth, he will. I suppose you will see
what I have written to Mr. P――l and Mr. S――k. How doth the
Redeemer bring his elect together, even in this world! What a glorious
meeting will there be in the world to come! Methinks I hear you say,
“Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” I add, Amen and amen! even so
come Lord Jesus! The prospect is promising. I am going in my old way,
saving that I grow fatter and fatter every day. Lord, help me to work it
down! but it seems working will not do. I spent all the last winter in
London, and began my campaign in May, in Gloucestershire. Last month
I was in Wales, inviting souls to come to Christ. Here I am labouring
also. You will not fail to pray for me. I long to hear about the Indian war.
They are safe who are garrisoned in God, even a God in Christ.
Assure yourself, that neither you nor your dear orphan-charge are ever
forgotten by, my dear Mr. D――,

Yours, &c. in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXL.
To Mr. D――.

London, August 15, 1760.

My dear Mr. D――,

H OW do I long to hear of God’s appearing for Georgia and

Bethesda? I trust, the Indians have not, and will not be permitted to
disturb a family planted by his own right hand, and for his own glory. But
the divine judgments are a great deep. Lord, help us to adore, and
cheerfully to submit to thy holy will! Some Bethesda letters, I trust, will
soon put me out of suspense. I wrote to you by the convoy that took your
new Governor. I hope he will behave friendly to the orphan-house. If we
make the Lord Jesus our friend, all will be well. Many here are seeking
his friendship. Satan is angry. I am now mimicked and burlesqued upon
the public stage. All hail such contempt! God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is sweet! it is sweet. What a mercy
is it, that we have got an abiding inheritance in the kingdom of heaven!
Of this we can never be robbed. Hallelujah!—Adieu. Hearty love to all.
Cease not to pray for, and write to, dear Mr. D――,

Yours, &c. in our glorious High Priest,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLI.
To Mrs. C――.

London, November 14, 1760.

Dear Mrs. C――,

I CANNOT find any of your relations, but what are willing you should
remain in Georgia, and settle there. What condition can be so useful
for you? I have never varied in my opinion. The Lord Jesus direct,
bless, and reward you! He will. The orphan sent by Captain Ball, I am
persuaded will be taken care of. He is sent by good Lady H――n, and is
to be treated as a common orphan. May the Father of the fatherless
bless him and all! I was much pleased with the letters I received from the
lambs of the flock. If possible, I shall answer them. But at present am so
indisposed with a cold, after my Yorkshire ramble of two months, that I
can scarce write this. Blessed be God, for the prospect of a state,
wherein the inhabitants shall no more say, I am sick. I can now add no
more, but that I am, dear Mrs. C――,
 Your most obliged friend, and ready servant in our common
Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLII.
To Mr. K――.

London, February 21, 1761.

My dear Timothy,

T HE distance that Plymouth lies from London, is one great cause of

my coming there so seldom. What can I do, who have so many
calls, and so few assistants? London must be minded. For surely, there
the word runs and is glorified more and more. I returned in post-haste,
last month, from Bristol. Both in going and coming, dear Mr. H――y and
I were in great jeopardy. Once the machine fell over, and at another time
we were obliged to leap out of the post-chaise, though going very fast.
Blessed be God, we received little hurt. Good was to be done. On the
fast-day, near six hundred pounds were collected for the German and
Boston sufferers. Grace! grace! I wish you had collected at Bristol. When
can you move? pray let me know directly. I want my wife to ride as far as
Plymouth. Nothing but exercise will do with her. Remember us to your
whole self, and to all. This is the very first moment that I could catch, to
let you hear from, my dear man,

Yours, &c. in our glorious Emmanuel.

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLIII.
 To Mrs. C――.

London, February 23, 1761.

Dear Mrs. C――,

I T is almost an age now, since I heard from my dear family in the

wilderness. How came I not to have one line by Mr. Young? Ere now I
hope you have received my last by Captain Ball. When shall I get leave
to come over? Perhaps my heart is too much set upon it. Father, thy will
be done! This is my comfort; the Redeemer’s work is upon the advance.
All opposition is over-ruled for the furtherance of the gospel. A new
instrument is raised up out of Cambridge university. He has been here
preaching like an angel of the churches indeed. My wife is poorly, but
joins in sending hearty love. All your relations are well. Pray give my
blessing to the children, and thank them all for their letters. I would have
all the boys put out as soon as of age. The work prospers here much.
Hoping every day to receive a line, and sending you my most hearty
blessing, thanks and love, I subscribe myself, dear Mrs. C――,

Your most affectionate obliged friend, and ready servant in our

glorious Emmanuel,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLIV.
To Mr. A――s.

London, March 3, 1761.

My very dear Mr. A――s,

M Y last showed you that we are both of a mind. Let us have a little
patience, and all will be well. As Mr. B――e cannot come up
directly, I must defer my Bristol journey till after Easter. The cold I
catched there, I shall not easily get rid off. But what is, is best. Your letter
to Mrs. J――s was delivered safe. By Wiltshire’s waggon, I have sent a
set of Henry’s Exposition, and Clark’s Bible. Be pleased to take them.
You will send the enclosed. The Redeemer continues to own and bless
us here. That he may bless and own you and yours evermore, is the
earnest prayer of, my very dear Timothy,

Yours, &c. &c. in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLV.
To the Reverend Mr. G――.

London, March 14, 1761.

My dear Sir,

IHEAR that your little daughter is gone to heaven: a fine flower soon
cropped. I thought she was too fine to continue long in this bad soil.
She is now transplanted to an infinitely better. O that I may have
patience to wait till my wish’d-for change do come! Every day almost we
hear of persons dying in triumph. The awakening is rather greater than
ever. Satan’s artillery hath done but little execution.

Thoughts are vain against the Lord,

All subserves his standing word;

Wheels encircling wheels must run,

Each in course to bring it on.

Hallelujah!

I hope you prosper at G――. My kindest respects await all your dear
reverend brethren that honour me with their countenance, your whole
self, and all who are so kind as to enquire after, my dear Sir,

Yours, &c. in our common Lord,

G. W.

P. S. One Mr. Berridge, lately Moderator of Cambridge, hath been

preaching here with great flame.

LETTER MCCXLVI.
To Mr. S―― S――.

Cannonbury-House (near London), April 11, 1761.

Dear Sir,

B E pleased to pay to Mr. Thomas Cox the sum of two hundred and
fifty pounds, which, with one hundred and fifty paid to him before,
and given (as this is to be) into the hands of the Reverend Mr.
Zingenhagen, makes up the sum of four hundred pounds; the whole of
what is assigned out of the late collection for the distressed German
protestants, by, dear Sir,

Yours, &c. &c.

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLVII.
To the Reverend Mr. T――.

Cannonbury-House, April 27, 1761.

 My very dear Friend,

A CCEPT a few lines of love unfeigned from a worthless worm, just

returning from the borders of an eternal world. O into what a world
was I launching! But the prayers of God’s people have brought me back.
Lord Jesus, let it be for thy glory and the welfare of precious and
immortal souls! Thou hast been digging and dunging round me. O that
the barren fig-tree may at length begin to bring forth some fruit! O, my
dear man, how ought ministers to work before the night of sickness and
death comes, when no man can work! Lord Jesus, quicken my tardy
pace, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies! You will not
cease to pray for me, who am indeed less than the least of all.
Weakness forbids my enlarging. Hearty love to all who are so kind as to
enquire after an ill and hell-deserving, but redeemed creature. Not only
pray, but also give thanks to a never-failing Emmanuel, who hath been
ease in pain, health in sickness, life in death, to, my very dear friend,

Yours, &c. &c. for his great name’s sake,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLVIII.
To the Reverend Mr. G――.

Cannonbury-House, May 2, 1761.

S URPRIZING, that any friends of Zion should be solicitous for the

welfare of such a worthless worm! Indeed, my dear friend, the
news you have heard was true. I have been at the very gates of what is
commonly called death. They seemed opening to admit me, through the
alone righteousness of the blessed Jesus, into everlasting life. But at
present they are closed again: for what end, an all-wise Redeemer can
only tell. I have, since my illness, once assisted a little at the Lord’s-
supper, and once spoke a little in publick. But, my locks are cut; natural
strength fails: Jesus can renew: Jesus can cause to grow again. By his
divine permission, I have thoughts of seeing Scotland. If I relapse, that
will be a desirable place to go to heaven from. I love, I love that dear
people. Ten thousand thanks to you, and all my dear G―― friends. Be
pleased to add to my obligations, by continuing to pray for one, who,
though less than the least of all, is indeed, my very dear Sir,

Theirs and yours, &c. in a never-failing Jesus,

G. W.

LETTER MCCXLIX.
To Mr. S―― S――.

Plymouth, June 5, 1761.

W ILL not my very dear and valuable friend be glad to hear, that
through divine mercy I am somewhat improved in my health since
my leaving London. At Bristol I grew sensibly better, but hurt myself by
too long journies to Exeter and hither. However, blessed be God, I am
now recovered from my fatigue, and hope bathing will brace me up for
my glorious Master’s use again.

Strange, that a harp of thousand strings,

Should keep in tune so long!

The few times I have been enabled to preach, an infinitely

condescending Redeemer hath vouchsafed to breathe upon the word
preached. Who knows but I may get my wings again? Abba Father, all
things are possible with thee! I know who doth, and will pray for me,
even my very dear Mr. S――, who hath already laid such great
obligations on

His most affectionate friend and very ready servant in our

glorious Emmanuel,
 G. W.

LETTER MCCL.
To Mr. R―― K――n.

Bristol, June 11, 1761.

My dear steady Friend,

A CCEPT a few lines of love unfeigned, from one who loves both you
and yours in the bowels of Jesus Christ. They leave me rather
hurt by my late western journey. I strive to put out to sea as usual, but
my shattered bark will not bear it. Lord Jesus, let thy will be done in me,
by me, and upon me, for time and eternity! If this air doth not agree with
me, in a few days I think of returning to my old nurses and old physicians
again. Blessed be God for an interest in an infinitely great, infinitely
gracious, and sympathizing unchangeable physician! I hope you and
yours enjoy much of his heart-chearing consolations. These have been
my support in my younger days; these will be my cordials in the latter
stages of the road. I hope Mr. and Mrs. J―― are quite well. Pray tell him
not to be so touchy to his old friends, especially when they are sick and
just returning from the grave: perhaps he may not be troubled with them
long. God grant he may never feel the want of them! Jesus lives when
ministers die. My hearty love awaits you all. Cease not to pray for, my
dear Mr. K――n,

Yours most affectionately in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLI.
 Cannonbury-House, July 11, 1761.

My dear Timothy,

J UST as I was going to write you a few lines to come hither, Mr.
Rowand’s letter informed me that you was very ill. But I hope this
will find you better. Lord Jesus, prepare us for whatever thou hast
prepared for us! Commending you to his never-failing mercy, I subscribe
myself,

Ever yours, &c. in Jesus,

G. W.

July 16.

Blessed be God I am better! Blessed be God that you are so

likewise! Who knows what rest and time may produce? O to be blanks in
the hands of Jesus! When shall this once be! What good news by sea
and land! Grace! grace! Let me have another line, and cease not to pray
for, my dear Timothy,

Yours, &c.

G. W.

LETTER MCCLII.
To Mr. K――.

London, October 13, 1761.

My dear Fellow-prisoner,

I HOPE an all-wise Redeemer is teaching us to be content to be buried

ourselves, and to bury our friends alive. This is a hard but important
lesson. Lord Jesus, make us great proficients in the school of thy cross!
I have not preached a single sermon for some weeks. Last Sunday I
spoke a little; but I feel its effects ever since. Father, thy will be done!
Blessed be his name for giving you a little reviving in your bondage.
Perhaps that is all we are to expect on this side eternity. But there is
nothing too hard for the Lord. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief! Glory
be to his great name, that some good was done at Plymouth. The news
drove me to my knees, and stirred up an ambition to be employed again.
I know you and Sarah will say, Amen, and Amen! I hope your Isaac will
be spared; if not, Aaron-like, may you hold your peace! I have met with
changes. My two old servants are married and gone. Mr. E―― hath
preached for me some time. As yet the congregations are kept up. Mr.
A―― and M―― are very poorly. All are hastening home apace. Accept
hearty love to your whole self, and all dear friends who are so kind as to
enquire after, my very dear Timothy,

Yours, &c. in our Jesus,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLIII.
To Mr. D――.

Leeds, October 24, 1761.

My very dear Mr. D――,

W HAT sudden changes here! O that my great change was come!

Happy Polhill: Bethesda’s loss is thy gain. “Be ye also ready,” is
the call of this awful providence. The Lord furnish survivors with double
strength! I thank you for the accounts. I see you are running in arrears.
Some way or other I trust they will be discharged. But I would have the
family reduced as low as can be. I think that the keeping of those who
are grown up, hurts them and increases my expence. I have little comfort
in many that I have assisted. But our reward of grace is with the Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! As you are most conversant in
figures, you will be pleased to continue in your usual way; and as you go
on in harmony, I trust you will do quite well. A sea voyage seems more
necessary to me now than ever. I know now what nervous disorders are.
Blessed be God that they were contracted in his service. I do not repent
my embarking in Christ’s cause. He seeth all your disinterested toil in
that new world. “Well done, ye good and faithful servants,” shall be the
salutation given to you all. My hearty blessing and love to all. That great
may be your happiness on earth, and infinitely great your reward in
heaven, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear Mr. D――,

Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Emmanuel,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLIV.
To Mrs. C――.

Leeds, October 24, 1761.

Dear Mrs. C――,

I AM still in this dying world, but frequently tempted to wish the report of
my death had been true, since my disorder keeps me from my old
delightful work of preaching. But Jesus can teach us to exercise our
passive as well as active graces. Fain would I say, “Thy will be done!” I
am now riding for my health; but I think a voyage would brace me up. I
impute my present disorder, in a great measure, to the want of my usual
sea voyages. Blessed be God, for supporting me so well under the news
of dear Mr. Polhill’s sudden translation. In that respect, I rather envy than
pity him; to be carried to heaven in an instant; from a ship’s cabin into
Abraham’s bosom; O what a blessing! God sanctify and make up the
loss! But we shall find few Polhills. Blessed be God, that I have faithful
ones left behind. I repose in you the utmost confidence, and hope the
Lord will give you double strength, and vouchsafe us all a speedy and
happy meeting. I know who adds a hearty Amen. I wish G――r and
A―― W―― were put out. Keeping such great boys is expensive, and
there is nothing to be expected by my coming over. I hope my nephew
will take the boy that comes over; if not, he must be received at
Bethesda. Surely God will yet provide for that house of mercy. But I can
at present bear very little of outward cares. Writing these few letters, I
fear, will hurt me: but I could not help venturing. The Lord bless and
reward you, my dear Mrs. C――, for all your labours of love! I commend
you and your dear charge to his never-failing mercy, and am, with ten
thousand thanks for all favours,

Yours most affectionately for Christ’s sake,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLV.
To Mr. R―― K――n.

Newcastle, October 29, 1761.

My dear steady Friend,

H ITHERTO the Lord hath helped me. Surely his mercy endureth for
ever. I bear riding sixty miles a day in a post-chaise quite well.
Blessed be his name, friends both here and at Leeds are prudent, and
do not press me to preach much. But I hope I am travelling in order to
preach. If not, Lord Jesus, help me to drink the bitter cup of a continued
silence, with a holy resignation, believing that what is, is best! Lord, I
believe, help thou my unbelief! Every where as I came along, my
spiritual children gladly received me. Almighty God, do thou provide for
all! I hope you go on well at London. It is the Jerusalem, the Goshen.
May ministers and people see their privileges, and work whilst it is day!
The night of sickness and death is coming, when no man can work. Be
pleased to remember me to dear Mr. and Mrs. J――, and all dear friends
as they come in your way. To-morrow I may set forwards towards
Edinburgh. You and yours will follow me with your prayers, and be
assured of not being forgotten by, my very dear Mr. K――n,

Yours, &c. &c. in our common Lord,

 G. W.

LETTER MCCLVI.
To the Reverend Mr. G――.

Newcastle, October 29, 1761.

Reverend and very dear Sir,

T HOUGH at a very unexpected, and seemingly unseasonable time, I

am thus far travelled northwards. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me
to hold out. Fain would I reach Scotland, to see some of my dear friends
before I die. My spirits, though in some degree recruited, are yet low,
and I am kept from my old delightful work. But all things are possible with
Jesus Christ. He can either restore, or enable me to drink the bitter cup
of continued silence. Lord Jesus, do thou help me to say from my
inmost soul, “Father, not my will, but thine be done!” I desire to be more
than remembered to my dear G―― friends, and beg the continuance of
their prayers in behalf of, my very dear Sir,

Theirs and yours, &c. &c. in our common Lord,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLVII.
To the Reverend Mr. G――.

Edinburgh, November 9, 1761.

T HOUGH I have been very ill since my coming to Edinburgh, yet I

must come just to see my dear friends at G――. I cannot be there
till Thursday noon. Little, very little can be expected from a dying man.
But I can now hear a little for myself. I write this in the midst of company.
All my dear friends will not fail to pray for, very dear Sir,

Yours and theirs, &c. in Jesus,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLVIII.
To Mr. R―― K――n.

Leeds, December 1, 1761.

My dear old Friend,

I T is near ten at night, and I am to set off to-morrow in the Leeds stage
for London. Your letter I received this evening, and thank you for it
most heartily. Silence is enjoined me for a while by the Edinburgh
physicians. They say my case is then recoverable. The great physician
will direct. May he abundantly bless you and yours, and dear T――
J―― and his? I send you all most hearty love, as being, for Christ’s
sake,

Yours, &c. &c.

G. W.

LETTER MCCLIX.
To Mr. K――.

London, January 8, 1762.

My dear Timothy,
I THOUGHT my wife had written many letters to you before this time.
Blessed be God, I am better. The Scotch journey did me service. I
preached on new-year’s day, and am to do so again, God willing, to-
morrow. Who knows? who knows?—I may again see Plymouth. Is there
any thing too hard for the Lord? When can you come up? I had a violent
fall upon my head from my horse last Thursday, but was neither
surprized nor hurt. Help me to praise Him whose mercy endureth for
ever. Mr. B―― is here, and preaches with power. Blessed be God that
some can speak, though I am laid aside. That your mouth may be
opened, and body strengthened more and more, is the hearty prayer of,
my dear Timothy,

Ever yours, &c. in Jesus,

G. W.

LETTER MCCLX.
To Mr. R―― K――n.

Bristol, April 17, 1762.

W ILL not my dear steady friend be glad to hear that Bristol air agrees
with me, and that I have been enabled to preach five times this
last week without being hurt? Lord Jesus, make me truly and humbly
thankful! Was the door open for an American voyage, I verily believe it
would be very serviceable towards bracing up my relaxed tabernacle.
But he who knoweth all things, knows what is best. Fain would I say,
from whatever quarter trials come, “Father, not my will, but thine be
done!” I see more and more, that grace must be tried. But this is our
comfort, when we are tried, we shall come forth like gold. In how many
fires is that precious metal purified? O for a heart to be willing to be
made willing to be nothing, yea less than nothing, that God, even a God
in Christ, may be all in all! You and yours will add to my obligations by
praying for me. By this you see that you are not forgotten. Shall I beg
you to let the tabernacle friends know soon, that you received this?
Having had company I cannot write. Be pleased to thank the honest