ROBINSON CRUSOE. 185

the soul of a poor savage, and bring him to the true knowledge
of religion, and of the Christian doctrine, that he might know
Christ Jesus, in whom is life eternal; I say, when I reflected
upon all these things, a secret joy ran through every part of my
soul, and I frequently rejoiced that ever I was brought to this
place, which I had so often thought the most dreadful of all
afflictions that could possibly have befallen me.

I continued in this thankful frame all the remainder of my
time ; and the conversation which employed the hours between
Friday and me was such as made the three years which we
lived there together perfectly and completely happy, if any such
thing as complete happiness can be found in a sublunary state.
This savage was now a good Christian, a much better than I ;
though I have reason to hope, and bless God for it, that we
were equally penitent, and comforted, restored penitents. We
had here the Word of God to read, and no farther off from His
Spirit to instruct, than if we had been in England. I always
applied myself, in reading the Scriptures, to let him know, as
well as I could, the meaning of what I read ; and he again, by
his serious inquiries and questionings, made me, as I said be-
fore, a much better scholar in the Scripture knowledge than I
should ever have been by my own mere private reading. An-
other thing I cannot refrain from observing here also, from
experience in this retired part of my life, viz.: how infinite
and inexpressible a blessing it is that the knowledge of God,
and of the doctrine of salvation by Christ Jesus, is so. plainly
laid down in the Word of God, so easy to’ be received and
understood, that, as the bare reading the Scripture made me
capable of understanding enough of my duty to carry me
directly on to the great work of sincere repentance for my sins,
and laying hold of a Saviour for life and salvation, to a stated
reformation in practice, and obedience to all God’s commands,
and this without any teacher or instructor, I mean human ; so
the same plain instruction sufficiently served to the enlightening
this savage creature, and bringing him to be such a Christian
as I have known few equal to him in my life.

As to all the disputes, wrangling, strife, and contention
which have happened in the world about religion, whether nice-
ties in doctrines, or schemes of church government, they were
all perfectly useless to us, and, for aught I can yet see, they
have been so to the rest of the world. We had the sure guide
to heaven, viz.: the Word of God; and we had, blessed be
God, comfortable views of the Spirit of God teaching and in-
structing by His Word, leading us into all truth, and making