ABSTRACT
Though Elias Hicks (1748-1830), a largely self-educated carpenter and farmer, became controversial in the later years of his life as the spokesman for a dissident—'Hicksite'— element in American Quakerism, it is the strong strand of quietism in his outlook on moral reform which is noticeable here. Known for his antislavery and compassion for the poor, he yet remained certain that virtue only advanced through the promptings of the 'inner light' and not through organized worldly pressure. Expressed in traditional Quaker terms by Hicks, none the less this gentle scepticism about engineering moral change was shared by some religious people of other affiliations who saw moral issues as essentially personal concerns.
