Born prematurely in 1707, Charles Wesley was the 18th child of Samuel and Susannah Wesley. For weeks they were not sure if he would live or die, as eight of his siblings had done. As his mother prayed for him Charles grew healthy and strong. Early in life, it became evident that he had a gift for languages. His mother taught him Latin, Greek, and French, for six hours a day, until he was old enough to go to school. He attended a school where only Latin was allowed to be spoken in public.
At Oxford University, where he studied for nine years, he was so appalled by the spiritual torpor of the school, that he and his brother John founded a club of earnest students who would pray for Oxford and who would endeavor to live fastidiously holy lives.
