the indolence of prosperous parish clergy who relaxed in the fleshpots of London and retained poorly paid and often uneducated, if nevertheless sincere, curates in their parishes to look after the cure of souls. But there were good bishops, faithful parsons and intelligent curates. Indeed the fact that Methodist societies were often encouraged by serious-minded parsons and flourished to start with alongside other religious societies within parishes suggests that piety and the desire for a holy life