ABSTRACT
Composure, common sense, toleration, a view of religion that did not make it any difficulty to the enjoyment of life, these were the characteristics of eighteenth century culture. Professor Gilbert Murray has described the change that came over religion with the loss of self-confidence in Greek civilisation. In Lord Shaftesbury home the eighteenth century and the Evangelical revival dwelt under one roof; the prodigal parents represented to this austere and unbending son the world that he sought to regenerate. In 1855 a piece of good fortune put Shaftesbury in a position in which he could take more effective steps against the dreaded Puseyites. Shaftesbury’s philanthropy was marked by the same personal devotion. For Ragged School philanthropy was not fashionable in early days; the only bishop who could endure to meet Nonconformists in this work was the liberal-minded Stanley, of Norwich, father of the famous Dean.
