William Law

William Law was a Church of England priest, spiritual writer and theologian who lived from 1686 to 1761, whose influence extended far beyond the circumstances that curtailed his ministry. He lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I, having previously sworn allegiance to the House of Stuart, so Law is sometimes considered a second generation non-juror. After his removal he continued as a simple curate, but when even that became impossible without the oath, he supported himself through private teaching while pursuing an extensive literary and devotional career. His personal integrity, together with his mystical and theological writings, made him one of the most influential religious voices of his age, shaping both the evangelistic movement and the thought of Enlightenment figures such as Samuel Johnson and Edward Gibbon. In 1784 the politician and abolitionist William Wilberforce was deeply touched by reading Law's book A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, published in 1729, and Law's spiritual writings remain in print today.