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No Cross No Crown
Outlining a life of discipleship in Christ, William Penn addresses topics relevant today such as daily bearing the cross, worship and our inner character. Selleck's modern English translation makes this classic (written in 1668) easily readable in the 21st century.
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First published January 1, 1839
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About the author
William Penn
529 books43 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and a prominent Quaker.
On November 28, 1984 William Penn and his second wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn became Honorary Citizens of the United States, upon an Act of Congress by Presidential Proclamation 5284.
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and a prominent Quaker.
On November 28, 1984 William Penn and his second wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn became Honorary Citizens of the United States, upon an Act of Congress by Presidential Proclamation 5284.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 9, 2014
In the top ten of the books that have most impacted my life. Themes of sacrifice and surrender are key for my life. I find the Ronald Selleck edition helpful, although some criticize it for taking too many liberties in updating the language.
November 7, 2021
The dates and numbering of this and the previous two pamphlets from Pendle Hill are confusing. The sequencing of the number suggest this is the final of the three yet it has the earlier date of 1944 from the other two. Number 28 is consistently listed as 1945 while number 29 is listed as both 1944 and 1945. As all three are condensations or summaries of historical works of import to the initial development of the Society of Friends rather than world events at the time of publication (WWII, for instance), the confusion of dates and pamphlet numbering is of no real significant, it seems, than to the perhaps overly retentive types. Or, perhaps as well to those who believe all works reflect implicit and tacit influences of their world at the time of writing.
Regardless, William Penn's work is the most accessible of the three pamphlets for me because it is much more politically and experimentally grounded than the other two. Penington is mystical; Barclay theoretical. Penn's is grounded in practical matters. Life is a collection of our works, our acts and deeds.
In summary: Measure my faith and beliefs by how I live and what I do, not by what I say or write. Sound like sage advice to put into practice in the present world of alternate truths, bald faced lies for the sake of selfish convenience. Many of Penn's admonitions included in the pamphlet, although written 350 years ago, are too relevant today.
Anna Brinton's introduction is enlightening. “Pride, power, worldly honor and respect, rank, wealth, luxury, and every form of excess are adverse both to religion and to the public welfare. The temperance Penn pleads for is both politically and religiously good. ‘True Godliness,’ he writes in the most famous sentence in No Cross No Crown, ‘does not take men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.’” (pp. v-vi)
“The whole emphasis is on conduct as the expression of obedience to God.” (p. xii)
A couple of selected excerpts from Penn's No Cross, No Crown hint at the depth of flavors to be found within the chewy center of the pamphlet. First his attack on organized modern, Christianity:
“There seems very little left of Christianity but the name. The deity they truly worship is the god of the world. To him they bow with the whole powers of soul and sense. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? And how shall we pass away our time? Which way may we accumulate wealth, increase our power, and enlarge our territories?” (p. 3)
“Religion fell from experience to tradition, and worship, from power to form, from life to letter, so that a man may say with truth: thy condition is worse by thy religion, because thou art tempted to think thyself better for it, and art not.” (p. 7)
As he talks about Pride, consider recent events and much of the American Way:
“Pride is an excess of self-love, joined with an undervaluing of others, and a desire of dominion over them: the most troublesome thing in the world. There are four things by which it hath made itself best known to mankind, the consequences of which have brought an equal misery to the evil. The first is an inordinate pursuit of knowledge. The second, an ambitious seeking and craving of power. The third, an extreme desire of personal respect and deference. The last excess is that of worldly furniture and ornament.” (pp. 17-18)
“Pride does extremely crave power, then which not one thing has proved more troublesome and destructive to mankind.” (p. 22)
“The third evil effect of pride is an excessive desire of personal honor and respect.” (p. 23)
“To be descended of wealth and titles fills no man’s head with brains, nor heart with truth: those qualities come from a higher cause.” (p. 29)
“A proud man in power is very mischievous; for his pride is the more dangerous by his greatness, since from ambition in private men it becomes tyranny in him. The men of this temper would have nothing thought amiss they do; no, they will rather choose to perish obstinately than, by acknowledging, yield away the reputation of better judgement to inferiors; thought it were their prudence to do so. And indeed, `tis all the satisfaction that proud great men make to the world for the miseries they often bring upon it that, first or last, they leave their real interest to follow some one excess of humor, and are almost ever destroyed by it. This is the end pride gives proud men and the ruin it brings upon them, after it has punished others by them.” (p. 30)
And finally, “The temperance I plead for is not only religiously but politically good; `tis the interest of good government to curb and rebuke excesses.” (p. 36)
Amen, Friend William Penn!
Regardless, William Penn's work is the most accessible of the three pamphlets for me because it is much more politically and experimentally grounded than the other two. Penington is mystical; Barclay theoretical. Penn's is grounded in practical matters. Life is a collection of our works, our acts and deeds.
In summary: Measure my faith and beliefs by how I live and what I do, not by what I say or write. Sound like sage advice to put into practice in the present world of alternate truths, bald faced lies for the sake of selfish convenience. Many of Penn's admonitions included in the pamphlet, although written 350 years ago, are too relevant today.
Anna Brinton's introduction is enlightening. “Pride, power, worldly honor and respect, rank, wealth, luxury, and every form of excess are adverse both to religion and to the public welfare. The temperance Penn pleads for is both politically and religiously good. ‘True Godliness,’ he writes in the most famous sentence in No Cross No Crown, ‘does not take men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.’” (pp. v-vi)
“The whole emphasis is on conduct as the expression of obedience to God.” (p. xii)
A couple of selected excerpts from Penn's No Cross, No Crown hint at the depth of flavors to be found within the chewy center of the pamphlet. First his attack on organized modern, Christianity:
“There seems very little left of Christianity but the name. The deity they truly worship is the god of the world. To him they bow with the whole powers of soul and sense. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? And how shall we pass away our time? Which way may we accumulate wealth, increase our power, and enlarge our territories?” (p. 3)
“Religion fell from experience to tradition, and worship, from power to form, from life to letter, so that a man may say with truth: thy condition is worse by thy religion, because thou art tempted to think thyself better for it, and art not.” (p. 7)
As he talks about Pride, consider recent events and much of the American Way:
“Pride is an excess of self-love, joined with an undervaluing of others, and a desire of dominion over them: the most troublesome thing in the world. There are four things by which it hath made itself best known to mankind, the consequences of which have brought an equal misery to the evil. The first is an inordinate pursuit of knowledge. The second, an ambitious seeking and craving of power. The third, an extreme desire of personal respect and deference. The last excess is that of worldly furniture and ornament.” (pp. 17-18)
“Pride does extremely crave power, then which not one thing has proved more troublesome and destructive to mankind.” (p. 22)
“The third evil effect of pride is an excessive desire of personal honor and respect.” (p. 23)
“To be descended of wealth and titles fills no man’s head with brains, nor heart with truth: those qualities come from a higher cause.” (p. 29)
“A proud man in power is very mischievous; for his pride is the more dangerous by his greatness, since from ambition in private men it becomes tyranny in him. The men of this temper would have nothing thought amiss they do; no, they will rather choose to perish obstinately than, by acknowledging, yield away the reputation of better judgement to inferiors; thought it were their prudence to do so. And indeed, `tis all the satisfaction that proud great men make to the world for the miseries they often bring upon it that, first or last, they leave their real interest to follow some one excess of humor, and are almost ever destroyed by it. This is the end pride gives proud men and the ruin it brings upon them, after it has punished others by them.” (p. 30)
And finally, “The temperance I plead for is not only religiously but politically good; `tis the interest of good government to curb and rebuke excesses.” (p. 36)
Amen, Friend William Penn!
June 7, 2021
I loved this book! One of my all-time favourite reads. William Penn (1644 –1718) was an English Quaker, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania in what is now the USA. This book was written from his prison cell in the Tower of London in 1669.
The theme of the book is an attack on Crossless Christianity. It is an extended meditation upon Luke 4:23 “And Jesus said unto His disciples: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” And 2 Tim. 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness”.
Here are some of my favourite quotes:
“Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown.”
"Receiving Christ is the means appointed of God unto salvation, and so bearing your daily cross after Him is the true testimony of having received Him, and the great token of discipleship."
“There is no crown but by the cross; no life eternal but through death. And it is only just that those evil and barbarous affections that crucified Christ afresh, should now, by His holy cross, be crucified in you.”
“…some would eagerly have it, namely, “He suffered for us, so that we need not suffer;” but rather, He suffered for us, that we might deny ourselves and so be the true followers of His blessed example.”
“The true Christian convent and monastery are within, where the soul is en-cloistered from sin. And this religious house the true followers of Christ carry about with them, not exempting themselves from interactions with the world, though they keep themselves from its evils.”
“I admire solitude. Christ himself was an example of it. He loved and chose to frequent many mountains, gardens, sea-sides alone. Indeed, it is requisite to the growth of piety, and I reverence the virtue that seeks and uses it, wishing there were more of it in the world.”
“For God's presence is not with the house, but with them that are in it, who are the Gospel-church, and not the house.”
“True religion is a denial of self; yes and of self-religion too. It is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to holiness, the end of which is happiness, for by it men come to see the Lord. “The pure in heart,” says Jesus, “see God.”
The theme of the book is an attack on Crossless Christianity. It is an extended meditation upon Luke 4:23 “And Jesus said unto His disciples: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” And 2 Tim. 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness”.
Here are some of my favourite quotes:
“Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown.”
"Receiving Christ is the means appointed of God unto salvation, and so bearing your daily cross after Him is the true testimony of having received Him, and the great token of discipleship."
“There is no crown but by the cross; no life eternal but through death. And it is only just that those evil and barbarous affections that crucified Christ afresh, should now, by His holy cross, be crucified in you.”
“…some would eagerly have it, namely, “He suffered for us, so that we need not suffer;” but rather, He suffered for us, that we might deny ourselves and so be the true followers of His blessed example.”
“The true Christian convent and monastery are within, where the soul is en-cloistered from sin. And this religious house the true followers of Christ carry about with them, not exempting themselves from interactions with the world, though they keep themselves from its evils.”
“I admire solitude. Christ himself was an example of it. He loved and chose to frequent many mountains, gardens, sea-sides alone. Indeed, it is requisite to the growth of piety, and I reverence the virtue that seeks and uses it, wishing there were more of it in the world.”
“For God's presence is not with the house, but with them that are in it, who are the Gospel-church, and not the house.”
“True religion is a denial of self; yes and of self-religion too. It is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to holiness, the end of which is happiness, for by it men come to see the Lord. “The pure in heart,” says Jesus, “see God.”
January 26, 2024
One of the central writings of the Quakers (Friends) in America, this work was quite a shock. I wasn't prepared for the fire-and-brimstone delivery, and I was certainly taken aback by the antisemitism and condemnation of Jews. Of course, William Penn was a product of his society, and a certain amount of antisemitism among Christians in the profession of Christianity, was considered commonplace. I believe I correctly understand the theme of the book to be sacrifice, and the title becomes clearer: without sacrifice, there is no reward, thus No Cross, No Crown. However, it is a far cry from the proffered tenets and beliefs of most Quakers today, with their pacifist, non-condemnation nature, and various religious origins and inspirations (Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu).
Alas, I wasn't able to finish the book - I made it through chapter three, which is about the middle. Full of personal doctrine and dogma, Penn cherry-picks Biblical scriptures to suit his sermon; supposedly, to enlighten the courts of England and the Anglican church (he wrote this while imprisoned in the Tower of London for violating a law against public assembly, and then preaching without a license).
I guess I expected more of a philosophical appeal to reason, instead of condemnation, and a reliance upon Christian scripture. I would welcome input from a Friend out there regarding the importance of this work and its position as a core belief.
Followup: I read some of the other reviews. Did we read the same book? Is no one else going to comment on the rampant anti-semitism of William Penn in this book?
Alas, I wasn't able to finish the book - I made it through chapter three, which is about the middle. Full of personal doctrine and dogma, Penn cherry-picks Biblical scriptures to suit his sermon; supposedly, to enlighten the courts of England and the Anglican church (he wrote this while imprisoned in the Tower of London for violating a law against public assembly, and then preaching without a license).
I guess I expected more of a philosophical appeal to reason, instead of condemnation, and a reliance upon Christian scripture. I would welcome input from a Friend out there regarding the importance of this work and its position as a core belief.
Followup: I read some of the other reviews. Did we read the same book? Is no one else going to comment on the rampant anti-semitism of William Penn in this book?
February 15, 2022
A good book on taking up our Cross daily written by the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. I listened to the audio book of friendslibrary.com
June 21, 2018
Picked this up, actually a late 18th C. edition, after reading that this essay had persuaded the French nobleman Stephen Grellet to become a Quaker. Around the same time, I happened on a website with recommended Quaker books where the author specifically noted that Quaker classics like this one were not as useful for spiritual growth as more modern writings, and I would say at least in the case of No Cross, No Crown that is an apt assessment. Penn is so clearly speaking to an audience with very different concerns from our own, and for someone who grew up a Quaker many of the points of principle he was arguing for are now well established principles. That said, it was very interesting to see how he used his seventeenth century "Public School" education to make the case that the Light is older than Christ, and can be accessed by all, even those who are Christian.
April 17, 2019
This book, written by the founder of Pennsylvania, tells the early story of William Penn's life. Penn talks about his upbringing, his parents, his place in life and his troubles as well as the expectations of his father. The book is very interesting in the beginning as it covers Penn's younger life and then his founding of Penn's Woods, his dealings with the native Americans and his ideas of government and freedom.
The second part of the book is Penn's ideas about being a good Christian, this is where it lost me. It moves more towards a book of faith and Penn's take on religion. It's not even a debate, just a view point and I found it a bit preachy.
I would have loved if the book had continued in the manner it started, however when it moved to the religious teachings I found my interest floundering quite a bit.
The second part of the book is Penn's ideas about being a good Christian, this is where it lost me. It moves more towards a book of faith and Penn's take on religion. It's not even a debate, just a view point and I found it a bit preachy.
I would have loved if the book had continued in the manner it started, however when it moved to the religious teachings I found my interest floundering quite a bit.
May 29, 2025
This book is a prime example of a man talking the talk incredibly well, but not truly walking the walk. If he had truly applied the principles of godly self denial he espoused within this book to his whole life, he would not have kept humans in bondage to create wealth for himself.
March 14, 2019
Hard to read as it was originally written in the 17th century
October 24, 2019
I loved this abridged version. Some of the same problems in institutional Christian predominate today.
February 28, 2025
William Penn who had significant legal troubles in his early life wrote this in the Tower of London. Very religious writings. Also, very hard to find a copy….
December 19, 2025
A SCATHING indictment of the influence of wealth on society and the church, which modern Christians would do well to heed.
May 16, 2014
This book was originally a pamphlet that William Penn wrote "at his leisure" while serving time in the Tower of London, for his Quaker beliefs. It was written over 300 years ago, yet he deals with subjects that are as fresh and as common as what a believer in Christ deals with today. To be sure, it was written in another time, yet we all struggle with similar issues in any age. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a source of inspiration to live the life that God would have you live.
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January 26, 2009Penn argues for rejecting the values of the material world in exchange for eternal life. If everyone followed his advice, it would be a dreary world indeed. However, he makes the point that we distract ourselves from what matters by all the shiny, glittery things we surround ourselves with. There's probably some truth in that.
December 9, 2011
Good, but more focus on separation from the world than on self-denial.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews