Wesley's diary code deciphered Methodist pioneer Charles's diaries reveal conflict with brother John Alison Flood theguardian.com, Wednesday 27 August 2008 06.28 EDT A Liverpool professor has cracked the code behind the 270-year-old diary of Charles Wesley, Methodist pioneer and author of classic hymns such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The Reverend Professor Kenneth Newport worked for nine years to transcribe Wesley's journal, which reveals his disapproval of his older and better known brother John over the future direction of Methodism, and his condemnation of John's proposed marriage. The transcription of the 1,000-page handwritten journal, much of which was written in Wesley's personal shorthand script, has eluded previous scholars, but after initially working on Wesley's letters and sermons, Newport began to understand how the shorthand code worked. "Charles Wesley has always inspired me and when I started to study his manuscripts I kept coming across materials written in what looked like a code of some sort. I was determined to unlock it," said Newport. Wesley's shorthand was "highly idiosyncratic", he continued. Sometimes words are abbreviated to just one letter, or several strokes are strung together, making it difficult to discern if he intended a word or a sentence. "It was a challenge, but not an insurmountable one," Newport said. The diary opens with a description of Wesley's arrival in America in 1736, ending in 1756. Wesley uses his code to write about sensitive matters, such as the agreement that neither he nor his brother John would marry without the other's approval. He wrote: "My brother and I having promised each other that we would neither of us marry, or take any step towards it, without the other's knowledge and consent." But when learning of John's secret plan to marry Grace Murray, he was sharply disapproving: "He (John) is insensible of both his own folly and danger, and of the divine goodness in so miraculously saving him." "There's fabulous stuff in there about his brother's marriage which he was very much opposed to," said Newport. "He did eventually succeed in sabotaging it, rather naughtily – Grace Murray was previously engaged to someone else, and Charles persuaded her she needed to honour that previous betrothal." Charles was also concerned that his argument with John was having adverse effects on his own wife Sally, who suffered a miscarriage. "Sally is slowly recovering her strength after her miscarriage last week," he wrote. "How far it was occasioned by our late affliction I cannot say, but my brother has cast poison into the cup of temporal blessings, and destroyed as far in him lay all future usefulness to the church." The diary also uncovers Charles's dispute with his brother over the future direction of Methodism, particularly the relationship of the Methodist Societies with the Church of England. "Charles's view was harder line than that of his brother on issues such as ordination," said Newport. "Charles felt that only a bishop could ordain, whereas John did ordain two people." Click here for the rest of the article: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/27/wesley.methodism.diaries