Although Alline's formal education came to an end at the age of 12, his thirst for knowledge clearly continued. He was self-taught, and when he could find texts, he studied them thoroughly. His reading was extensive and included works by William Law, John Fletcher, Edward Young, John Milton, Alexander Pope, John Pomfret, Isaac Watts, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, John Edwards, Increase and Samuel Mather, and perhaps even Jacob Boehme. His studies had brought him to a point that he "had read, studied and disputed too much, that I had acquired a great theory of religion..."