The Quakers are today almost the only survivors from the many religious groups that sprang up in the religious and social ferment of the English Civil War (1642–1649). They survived and flourished largely through the practical wisdom of a young man whose spiritual experiences and insights launched the movement. His name was George Fox. At the age of nineteen he entered a troubled period in which he found no spiritual help. Leaving home, he wandered for four years, consulting priests and non-conformist ministers. Having reached the point of near despair, he had a vivid spiritual experience, as he wrote in his Journal: "When my hopes in all men were gone...then O then I heard a voice which said "There is one, even Christ Jesus that can speak to thy condition". And when I heard it, my heart did leap for joy."