"The Methodists love your big sinners, as proper subjects to work upon"

Horace Walpole's observation highlights an aspect of religious outreach and social dynamics in 18th-century England, particularly concerning the Methodist movement. His use of "big sinners" refers to individuals whose lifestyles, actions, or reputations distinctly separated them from the accepted moral or religious standards of the era. Methodists, emerging from the Church of England with a fervent and socially engaged evangelical approach, often directed their energy toward those seen as most in need of spiritual transformation.

Walpole's remark carries both a note of irony and a hint of social commentary. The phrase "love your big sinners" suggests a targeted enthusiasm; not only are the Methodists unafraid of confronting vice or moral failure, they actively seek it out as fertile ground for religious work. To them, those steeped in sin offered the most dramatic opportunities for conversion, repentance, and spiritual renewal, creating compelling testimonials to the power of Methodist preaching and the possibility of divine grace. It also allowed the Methodists to differentiate themselves from established religious authorities, who might be more focused on maintaining the spiritual status quo or ministering to the already converted.

Underlying this statement is an implicit critique of both sin and the spectacle of redemption. Walpole, with his aristocratic detachment, may be reducing the Methodist zeal to a kind of performative activism, suggesting that the conversion of notorious sinners serves as evidence of the movement's influence and is a means of legitimizing its fervor. There’s an insinuation that Methodists are drawn to these "proper subjects to work upon" because their dramatic transformations provide credibility to the movement and, perhaps, satisfy a taste for the sensational. The interplay between genuine spiritual concern and the attraction of social spectacle reflects broader tensions in religious practice during Walpole's lifetime, as well as a skeptical, perhaps satirical perspective on evangelical enthusiasm.