(as it was said) under a frivolous pretence, as if G. Whitehead might have been a Jesuit: and being brought before justice Francis Bacon, have the same power that ye have for it would be unjust to make this trial or experiment, where ye have the whole administration of the commonwealth, and an equal liberty is denied the Protestants. This thing will make the truth manifest, and turn to the honour of God: for ye have shed much blood upon this occasion. Wherefore suffer your Christ, whom ye have made, to be tried, that it may be seen whether he be the true Christ, or antichrist; whether he be the true God, or false one? For it would be somewhat hard that Baal's prophets should outdo you, for they were will ng to have their god tried, though they had before slain many of the people of God, because they would not worship their god; as ye also have often done. Come ye forth therefore publicly, and make trial; that it may appear at length to all Christendom, whether yours be the divine and immortal Christ and God, or no? Or is it not rather that mortal and corruptible Christ, which ye yourselves have made, and for whose sake ye have slain multitudes of the people of God, because they could not believe or comply with you. 7. Further, where did Christ or his apostles ever speak to the saints of purgatory, wherein men should be purge from their sins after death? Shew us where it is written in the New Testament. Is it not therefore a plain denying that Christ's blood purgeth from all sin, to tell the people a fable of a certain purgatory to purge them from sins after death? Is it not likewise a denying of Christ's baptism with the Holy Spirit, and of spiritual circumcision, and faith in Christ, which purgeth this life and giveth the victory? who then was recorder of the city, he after some odd examination, demanded of them, as preachers, the fine of twenty pounds a man; Did not Christ answer some that desired fire might come down from beaven and consume those that would not receive him: "Ye know not what spirit ye are of? Did not he rebuke them saying, "That he came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them ?" Luke ix. 54, 55, 56. Ye therefore who have destroyed such a vast number of men and women for their dissenting from you about rites and ceremonies, and taken away their lives by such kinds of instrument, racks and fires, as were never sent down from heaven, but devised and invented by yourselves are ye not worse than they, who desired fire to be called from heaven to destroy nien's lives? And seeing Christ told them, that they knew not what manner of spirit they were of, do ye know what manner of spirit ye are of, who have devised so many ways and torments for the killing of men, and have actually made use of them? With what front can ye persuade us to commit our souls, bodies, and lives to you, who know not of what spirit ye are children, neither have the mind of Christ, who said, "He came not to destroy mens lives, but to save them? Are ye not all therefore, as many as take away mens lives for worship devised by you, obnoxious to the rebuke of Christ? For when did Christ or any of his apostles ever give command, or by their example teach, that any one that was disobedient to them, or rejected their doctrine and religion, should be persecuted and imprisoned, or punished by any carnal weapons? Tell us where any thing of this kind is contained, either in the four which they refusing, he asked them, whether they would take the oath of allegiance; and they answering, that they could take no oath evangelical histories, or the epistles written to the Christian churches? Did ever Christ or his apostles go to the rope-makers to buy whips and halters, to whip and hang men for dissenting from them as ye have done? Did they ever go to the blacksmiths to make chains, fetters, bolts and locks? Or to the gunsmiths to buy guns and muskets; or to the sword cutlers to buy swords or halberts? Did they ever build prisons, or get holes and vaults dug, to force men by such means to their religion? Shew us an example and precept given by Christ or his apostles, which commands, and makes the use of such weapons and instruments lawful, But if ye cannot make proof thereof, it is necessary for you to confess and acknowledge, that ye are fallen and degenerated from the true Christian weapons, which the apostles and primitive Christians used, saying, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God," that is, spiritual, 1 Cor. x. 4. G. Fox. To Innocent XI. Pope of Rome, S, "Behold, great prelate, a few questions written for the sake of thee, and thy adherents, a copy whereof we sent thee by the post, about three months ago; but being uncertain whether it was delivered into thy hands or no, we thought good to write the questions over for conscience sake, he said, if they would neither pay the fines, nor take the oath, he would commit them to jail. They having shewed that they were no vagrants, but men of competent estates, that had settled habitations, as was well known, Bacon said, De non apparentibus, & non existentibus eadem est ratio: i. e. Of things not appearing, and things not in being, there is the same reason: just as if he had said, your estates that are in London (where G. Whitehead live!) and Ware (where T. Burr dwelt) appear not at Norwich, and therefore they are not in being. Now though they shewed the absurdity of this strange kind of logic, yet Bacon would not hearken to it, but called them seducers, and seditious, and told them, there was a statute yet in force, that was made in queen again, and send them to thee, that it might not be long of us, that thou dost not read them. For we think it convenient, that thou shouldst earnestly concern thyself to inspect what was printed in Dutch, and inscribed to the pope and his adherents, which if thou shalt please to do, and also vouchsafe thy pains in answering them both by fact and writing, it will satisfy the author's desire, and remove a doubt or scruple out of many persons minds. Farewell. Amsterdam, the 24th of the This I have written in the name of some of my friends called Quakers, "William Sewel." Elizabeth's days, to hang such persons as they were, and they asking him, if he could prosecute them upon that law, or execute it upon them? He answered, "Yes, if the king should give order to have it put in execution, I would do it, and have you hanged, if you would not abjure this realm." From this it may appear what a violent man this recorder was, and that the prisoners could not expect any good treatment from him. So night being come, he sent them to the jail. About a month after at the quarter-sessions they were called into the court of judicature to be tried; and being brought to the bar, George Whitehead said, "We have been five weeks in prison, it is meet the court should know for what; pray let our mittimus be produced." But the recorder who sat as judge in the court, said, "There is no need of your mittimus to be read here I will give an account of the cause." and then he told the court, how they had gathered together a company of about two hundred, and that officers went from him to dissipate them, but could not; that thereupon he sent the sheriff, who took them away and that they being brought before him, he proffered them, if they would pay their fines, he would not commit them; and that they refusing, he tendered the oath of allegiance to them; which they not being willing to take he sent them to jail. |