is just now since I began this Preface a most clever and Ingenuous Excuse made for this in a Paper Dated at London the 4th of the 4th Month 1695. and Signed on Behalf of the Friends and yearly Meeting by John Vaughton Samuel Watson John Field Thomas Lower and William Bingley Printed and Sold by T. Sowle near the Quaker Meeting-House in Grace-Church-street It is Entituled An Answer to Francis Bugg's Presumptuous Impeachment c. There they wou'd persuade us That all they have said against the Payment of Tythes was only meant by them against Payment of them to the Popish Clergy But by no means against the Right of the Church of England to Their Tythes as settl'd upon them by the Civil Government No! They are not such bad Subjects as to oppose any thing of the Laws of the Land We are not Convinced say they p. 2. that it can be against the Fundamental Laws of the Land either to deny Tythes What When the Law enjoins them now in this gospel-Gospel-Day or to deem them Anti-Christian as they were imposed by Popes and Popish Laws which are not the Fundamental Laws of this Realm Are not Acts of Parliament tho' made in Popish times And there are Acts of Parliament since the Reformation for Tythes So that this is a mere Sham But they go on And our Testimony herein does rather affect a Popish Clergy than a Protestant Civil Government And p. 3. they tell that what they are Quarrell'd for was their Testimonies against the Corruption of Priests and Popish Imposition and Oppression of Tythes And p. 5. for Deeming the Imposition of Tythes by the Pope and Popish Laws to be Anti-Christian But hark ye Gentlemen if ye be not offended with that Title there were no Tythes paid to any Popish Priests in England ever since Quakerism appear'd amongst us And if you meant all you said only against them your Preaching was altogether vain But Barclay as before Quoted names the National ministery who had received a Deadly Blow by your witness against Their forc'd Maintenance of Tythes whose Kingdom he says was tottering and shou'd assuredly if he was a true Prophet fall to the Ground Slay Baal crys G. Fox Balaam must be slain news out of the North 1655. p. 31. all the Hirelings must be turned out of the Kingdom These are the Baal's Priests whom this Fox Commands you not to Feed The Beasts the Anti-Christs over whom you are to keep your Authority and Dominion If it be not so Why then do you not now pay your Tythes to the Ministers of the Church of England Why do you boast of your Sufferings and Imprisonments for not paying your Tythes to them as being a sort of Martyrdom for the truth Why do you Persecute and Disown those of your own Communion who pay their Tythes not to Popish Priests but to those of the Church of England Why are you so Zealous herein as not to leave it to their own Conviction or Light within whether they will pay their Tythes to the Priests of the Church of England or not Why will you not allow them what you your selves so much plead for Liberty of Conscience in this Case No This is a Material Cause This is the surest Method to Destroy the Church of England And you have gone a great way in it already For if they are Depriv'd first of the Tythes of all the Quakers who are not so few by the lowest Computation as one hundred thousand here in England and then of all those who to avoid Payment of their Tythes will pretend to be persuaded by them herein if the Tythes of all such were substracted there wou'd not be sufficient left to keep half the Clergy in England from Starving And it is the Desire and Design of the Quakers to Starve them as is plainly Confess'd and Threaten'd or Prophesy'd of in Richard Hubberthorn's Works Re-printed since 1660. in his Answer to John Stellum p. 130. When the Law of the Land says he ceaseth to maintain them the Priests as he calls them which will come sooner than they expect then may they begg their Bread or Perish for want And this the Quakers hope to effect by their Testimony against Tythes and Threaten or Prophesie that it will come sooner than we expect either to have the Laws for Tythes alter'd or overthrown if the Government will not alter them they will overthrow them by Declaring them Anti-Christian and so Abrogated of Course And it is to be observ'd that there is no Principle of the Quaker Religion wherein they are so Zealous as in this They did not think it sufficient to Preach and Print against Tythes but they went about and got Subscriptions of many thousands of the Quakers throughout all England against Tythes and sent them up to the Parliament in an Humble Threatning Manner And as if this had not been sufficient the VVomen must be assembled in the several Counties and They too must sign the like Subscriptions and sent them likewise to the Parliament And then they Printed them to let the Nation know their Force I have now before me the Printed Testimony and Subscriptions with all their Names at length of above Seven Thousand of these Quaker-women against Tythes sent to the Parliament as they call'd it the 20th Day of the 5th Month 1659. They were resolvâ—d to Batter them down And all who thus Subscrib'd were in their Fashion Canoniz'd by them For they are thus stil'd in the said Printed Account The Hand-maids and Daughters of the Lord. But these seven thousand who had not Bowed to the Baal of Tythe wou'd not have you think that there number was so small for they subscribe not only for themselves but as it is there Printed in the Names of many more of the said Hand-Maids and Daughters of the Lord who witness against Tythes c. And G. Fox in his Letters of Licence hereafter inserted for these Subscriptions complain that All the Good Women had not Sign'd I have not yet seen the Subscriptions of the Men. But we may compute by this of the Women what vast Numbers the Men Subscribers must have been And we may reasonably suppose their Arguments to have been much the same with these of the Women being likely drawn by the Men at least with their Concurrence And the VVomen do positively Declare for Annulling the Laws for Tythes if the Parliament wou'd not Alter the Laws The Commands of men say they p. 3. must be Annulled that take Tythes and not to be obey'd by them that live in the Covenant of God And they tell p. 4. That they bear their Testimony for the Lord Iesus Christ in opposition of Tythes against the Commands of men set up in opposition to him since the Days of the Aposties c. which to you say they is the word of the Lord God And. p. 21. The shout of a King is amongst Us the Lord God Omnipotent Therefore we with our Names and Hands bear our
Particular Persons 14. Lastly I desire to obviate some Objections which have been made by some to whom I have shewn the following Sheets and thereby further to enforce the Proofs hereafter brought First It has been objected to me That I seem to have aggravated that Point against the Quakers of their aspiring to an Equality with God which is so wild and outrageous a Blasphemy that some cannot believe these Men mean it tho' they say it And indeed it was not without great Force upon my self that I cou'd be brought to believe it for I thought it impossible that any Man even in Bedlam cou'd be far given up to a total Deprivation of all Sense and Reason But I was over and over to my Astonishment convinc'd of this by the Perusal of their Blasphemous Writings Particularly of G. Fox which I have Quoted Sect. VI. p. 51. and have consider'd Mr. Penn's Defence of him Sect. VII from p. 57. And if this be not sufficient I will now further prove my Charge even in Legal Form against him by Evidence upon Oath which you will find in a Book Printed 1653. Entituled A Brief Relation of the Irreligion of the Northern Quakers c. There p. 2. and 3. you have the Account how George Fox did avow himself over and over to be Equal with God being ask'd by Dr. Marshal in the Presence of Mr. Sawro Coll. Tell and Coll. West Justices of the Peace in the County of Lancashire at a Private Sessions in the Town of Lancaster whether or no he was Equal with God as he had before that time been heard to affirm His Answer was this I am Equal with God This Blasphemy hath been attested upon Oath by the aforesaid Dr. Marshal and Mr. Altam School-Master of Lancaster before the Justices at the last Sessions held at Appleby the 8th of January 1652. and before Judge Puleston at the last Assizes held at Lancaster the 18th of March 1652. Thus that Account which was Printed soon after the said Assizes at the same Assizes it was prov'd against this Fox that he had avowed himself to be the Christ the Way the Truth and the Life Witnessed by George Bickett and Isaac Bourne That he was the Judge of the World Witnesses George Bickett Adam Sands Nathanael Atkinson yea the Eternal Judge of the World George Bickett Witness and Mr. Sawro a Justice of Peace told the Judge in the open Court that he cou'd produce many more who cou'd Witness that G. Fox had affirm'd himself to be the Christ c. But the Witnesses produc'd were thought sufficient at that time In the above Account p. 3. it is likewise Witnessed that Iames Naylor affirm'd That he was as Holy Just and Good as God Himself and that ames Milner before mentioned p. 24. 25. in the County of Lancashire profess'd himself to be God and Christ Witnesses Thomas Shaw Gerard Shaw George Inman These monstrous Blasphemies occasioned a Petition from the Gentlemen of that County to the then Council of State Which being short I give you Verbatim as follows To the Right Honourable the Council of State The Humble Petition of several Gentlemen Justices of Peace Ministers of the Gospel and People within the County of Lancaster whose Names are Subscribed Sheweth That George Fox and James Naylor are Persons Disaffected to Religion and the wholesom Laws of this Nation and that since their coming into this Country have Broach'd Opinions tending to the Destruction of the Relation of Subjects to their Magistrates Wives to their Husbands Children to their Parents Servants to their Masters Congregations to their Ministers and of a People to their God And have drawn much People after them Many whereof Men Women and little Children at their Meetings are strangely wrought upon in their Bodies and brought to Fall Foam at the Mouth Roar and swell in their Bellies And that some of them affirm themselves to be Equal with God contrary to the late Act as hath been attested at a late quarter-Quarter-Sessions holden at Lancaster in October last past and since that time acknowledged before many Witnesses besides many Dangerous Opinions and Damnable Heresies as appears by a Schedule hereunto annexed with the Names of the Witnesses Subscribed May it therefore please your Honours upon the Consideration of the Premises to provide as your Wisdomâ— shall think fit that some speedy Course may be taken for the speedy Suppressing of these Evils And your Petitioners c. The Schedule annexed was as follows 1. George Fox Profess'd and avow'd that he was Equal with God 2. He Professed himself to be the Eternal Judge of the World 3. He said that he was the Judge of the World 4. He said whosover took a place in Scripture and made a Sermon of it and from it was a Conjurer and his Preaching was Conjuration 5. He said that the Scripture was Carnal Iames Milner a Follower of the said Fox professeth himself to be God and Christ and gives out Prophecies 1. That the Day of Judgment shall be the 15th day of November 2. That there shall never Judge sit at Lancaster again 3. That he must ere long shake the Foundations of the Great Synagogue meaning the Parliament Leonard Fell Professeth that Christ had never any Body but His Church Richard Huberthorn wrote that Christ coming in the Flesh was but a Figure This was the Schedule And G. Fox wrote an Answer to this Petition and to every particular in the Schedule which he Entituled Saul's Errand to Damascus c. Printed 1653. wherein he inserts the said Petition and Schedule out of which I have Transcrib'd them And I have done it First to give the Readers who are Strangers to the Proceedings of the Quakers a clearer view of them Secondly To Invite all that are Curious to Read that Answer of Fox 's Saul 's Errand c. because there is none can Imagine but that Fox having produc'd so particular a Charge of Gross and Abominable Blasphemies against himself and Partners did it on purpose that he might the more exactly and in terms most Express and Plain Renounce and Disown them And every Reader will judge it Reasonable to conclude Fox and the Foxonians absolutely Guilty of every part of this Charge which they refuse in this their Vindication thus Plainly and Expresly to Disclaim Or where they Dodge and Shift and will not give a Direct and Categorical Answer Because no Innocent Person wou'd desire to wave his Denial of so Foul an Imputation laid upon him But on the contrary wou'd with the greatest Earnestness press to be Heard and wou'd Purge himself in the Plainest and Fullest Terms he cou'd devise and wou'd believe that every one wou'd think him Guilty wou'd give every one leave to believe him Guilty if he gave any Dubious or Foreign Answers For who will not think him Guilty who cannot be brought to Plead not Guilty But such is the Case of Fox in his Saul's Errand above-mentioned He does not Plainly deny no not
our Salvation by our own Abilities So very Insufficient is the Light within us even tho' follow'd to the utmost by its own strength to carry us to Heaven And therefore the Quakers Preaching up the Sufficiency of the Light within as all of them but the Separatists do is not only highly Derogatory to the Satisfaction paid by Christ for our sins But it is Blasphemous in ascribing to our selves a Power sufficient to work out our own Salvation whereas no Wisdom less than Infinite cou'd have found out the Means nor Power less than Infinite cou'd have Effected our Salvation And tho' we are Commanded Phil. 2.12 to work out our own Salvation that is to perform the Conditions which are requir'd on our Part. That does not make the Light within the Efficient Cause of our Salvation or give it any Title to Infallibility more than ver 13. of the 4th Chap. in the same Epistle can Entitle us to Omnipotence because St. Paul says there I can do all things But if any cou'd pretend to Infallibility from the Countenance of some Texts in Scripture they will be found to have the best Title to whom the Quakers wou'd most unwillingly grant it For it is Written Prov. 16.10 A Divine Sentence is in the Lips of the King and his Mouth Transgresseth not in Judgment If either Pope or Quaker cou'd shew such a Text for either of their Infallibilities we shou'd never have done with them I fansie I hear George Whitehead answering of this Text thus That Kings Lips and their Mouths were only made Infallible by this But that they might Transgress in their Hearts and with their Hands and make Signs with Head Eyes or Feet for Unrighteous Judgments or Subscribe tho' not Dictate wicked Decrees If he think that this is making too bold with him I learn'd it from himself in his Sheet call'd A Charitable Essay Printed in Answer to Fr. Bugg's New Rome Unmask'd there p. 6. he Answers the before-mentioned Quotation out of G. Fox that they the Quakers cou'd discern who were Saints and who Apostates without speaking ever a word and he puts it off Ingeniously thus That they cou'd discern it by their Lofty Looks Wanton and Scornful Eyes Envious and Fallen Countenances And so without speaking ever a word What! Do you think that the Quaker Infallibility is limited to speaking only they can make an Infallible Judgment of Men's Hearts and tell who are Saints and who Devils by very Winks and Glances But if Envious and Fallen Countenances be such sure Marks of Devils I wou'd advise some Friends to go to the Dancing-School and learn a more Gentle and Graceful Mien For it wou'd be a sad thing to be made a Devil of for scrouling down ones Head or their Hat hanging over their Eyes Therefore George Hold up thy Face and look like a Man Come be Brisk and tell me by Yea and by Nay is not this very hard Fishing for Infallibility Thou and thy God-father Fox can know a Saint from a Devil without speaking but not without a little Mincing and Prinking if Thee but once see him Peep or Trip it through the Floor a turn or two Thou couldst spy the Cloven Foot presently Alas Poor George Is the Infallible Quaker dwindled down to a meer Gypsie or Paltry Fortune-Teller to nothing but a little Skill in Physiognomy Ah! George What a Blessed Spirit wouldest Thee have thought Satan if Thee hadst seen him when he was Transform'd into an Angel of Light Thou hast seen him George so Transform'd and hast so mistaken him But smaller Juglers than he can easily deceive these Infallible Physiognomists In the very Dawning of the Quaker Light when their Infallibility was spick and span new before those Miserable Flaws which have been since Discover'd in it in the year 1655. the very year after Quakerism came first to London there happen'd a Notorious Detection of George Whitehead's Infallibility by Signs and Faces as well as of George Fox's without speaking ever a word For so it fell out that a Precious Brother one Char. Atkinson being in Prison in Norwich for the New Faith in the Infallible Light prov'd Carnally Fallible in Darkness with a Dear Sister the Maid of Thomas Symons who was likewise one of the Infallible Now these put so good a Face upon the matter that neither by their Lofty Looks Wanton and Scornful Eyes Envious and Fallen Countenances were they discover'd Nay tho' there was some suspicion of it and as R. Hubberthorne tells some other Infallible Friends J. N. F. H. and E. B. in his Letter from Wramplingham Dated the 9th Day of the 5th Month 1655. while as Hubberthorne saith in the Wisdom of God we were searching it out and in his Will waiting for his Counsel Yet all this notwithstanding and that in his said Letter he desires that George Fox may be acquainted with it and names George Whitehead too by Name whose Letter to the foresaid J. N. F. H. and E. B. Dated the 9th of the 5th Month is added to the abovesaid Letter of Hubberthorne's in the Copy which I have seen I say notwithstanding of all this neither G. Fox G. VVhitehead nor any other of the Infallible Gang cou'd find it out till Christopher Atkinson Pricked as he said with the stings of his own Conscience did freely and of his own accord confess it and Sign'd a Paper of Condemnation of himself for this wicked Fact Dated in Norwich Gaol the 3d Day of the 5th Month 1655. and gave it as an Act of Penance and of the Sincerity of his Repentance to three Friends John Stubbs VVilliam Cotton and Tho. Symons But these not regarding the Sacredness of the Seal of Confession or being not acquainted with it and fearing that this wou'd be known and so reflect upon the in-errable Society and preferring their own Honour to the Honour of God and the Restoring of a Laps'd Brother did resolve to Reveal his Confession and then Renounce him which they did and pretended that it was by the special Direction of God by sending his Paper of Confession to the Magistrates tho' they thought them to be the Children and Rulers of Darkness which was under-written in these words The above-written being declar'd to me I am mov'd of the Lord to make it known to you that are the Rulers of this City that the Truth of God may be cleared and he to bear his own iniquity who hath done this wicked Deed which is hated of them that dwell in the Light This from me Tho. Symons But now how do you think they contriv'd to salve their Infallibility that cou'd not find out this of Christopher Atkinson till he told it himself Why most Cleverly As we have it in another Letter of the above R. Hubberthorne to E. B. F. H. Ger. Roberts and the rest from Gissing the 5th Day of the 5th Month 1655. wherein he ascribes this Confession of C. A's to a miraculous Force upon him from God and against his