born of God, and
were passed from death unto life, and that none were true believers
but such, and though others said they were believers, yet they were
not.'

Possibly George Fox was looking up at the 'Three Tall Spires' of
Coventry when this thought came to him, and remembering in how many
different ways Christians had worshipped under their shadow: first the
Latin Mass, then the order of Common Prayer, and now the Puritan
service. 'At another time,' he says, 'as I was walking in a field on a
first day morning, the Lord opened to me "That being bred at Oxford or
Cambridge was not enough to fit and qualify men to be ministers of
Christ:" and I wondered at it because it was the common belief of
people. But I saw it clearly as the Lord had opened it to me, and was
satisfied and admired the goodness of the Lord, who had opened the
thing to me this morning.... So that which opened in me struck I saw
at the priests' ministry. But my relations were much troubled that I
would not go with them to hear the priest; for I would go into the
orchard or the fields with my Bible by myself.... I saw that to be a
true believer was another thing than they looked upon it to be ... so
neither them nor any of the dissenting people could I join with.

'At another time it was opened in me, "That God who made the world did
not dwell in temples made with hands." This at the first seemed
strange, because both priests and people used to call their temples or
churches dreadful places, holy ground and the temples of God. But the
Lord showed me clearly that He did not dwell in these temples which
men had made, but in people's hearts.'

In this way George Fox had found out for himself three of the
foundation truths of a pure faith:--

1st. That all Christians are believers, Protestants and Papists
alike.

2nd. That Christ was come to teach His people Himself.

3rd. That the Temple in which God wishes to dwell is in the
hearts of His children.

Now that George Fox was sure of these three things, it troubled him
less if he was with people whose beliefs he could not share.

The first set of people he came among believed that women had no
souls, 'no more than a goose has a soul' added one of them in a light,
jesting tone. George Fox reproved them and told them it was a wrong
thing to say, and added that Mary in her song said, 'My soul doth
magnify the Lord, My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,' so she
must