Page:Neatby - A history of the Plymouth Brethren.djvu/293

 shake hands with old and valued friends who had differed from them on some of the numerous and intricate questions that commonly formed the basis of their divisions. Somewhat similarly, the spiritual relations of a convert to Darbyism with the Christian friends of his earlier days were usually cold and scanty. The disunion thus introduced into families has possibly contributed at least as much as anything else to the unpopularity of the movement, and it is a particular in which, more than in most others, those who wish the Brethren well find it difficult to allege much in extenuation.

As was only to be expected in a quasi-monastic fraternity, the conception of individual rights was very feeble. No premium was set on independence, and any man whose views came to vary much from the prevalent standard had to keep his own counsel, unless he were prepared to find his place too hot to hold him. The excitement of wielding the thunders of the Church made the practice of excommunication a perilous passion with many. Heresy-hunting developed an inquisitorial watchfulness. For some erroneous idea, a certain Brother in a provincial town was excommunicated. Some relatives of his who lived in a town at some distance, and whose names had not appeared in the case, were visited and interrogated by some of the judges on the chance of their faith having been tampered with. This truly papal disregard of personal rights was one of the most perilous and offensive features of the whole movement.