CHAPTER XXII
Circa 1742—1785
THE NEW PHILANTHROPY
"Taught by time, our hearts have learned to glow
For others' good and melt for others' woe."
UNDER the early Hanoverians, religion in this country was in a very languid condition. The Church after the Revolution had slowly lessened its hold on the people; the force of Puritanism was almost spent. A professed contempt for religion was a distinguishing feature of the age. Christianity was ridiculed, reverence for tradition scorned; and the manners and the morals of the eighteenth century steadily deteriorated. Bishops and clergy alike neglected their duties. "Every one laughs if one talks of religion," said a foreigner visiting England. Yet still only persons professing the Anglican religion
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