Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	apostle_n	prophet_n	write_v	2,138	5	5.7555	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29421	A Brief and true account of the notorious principles and wicked practices of that grand impostor, Lodowick Muggleton who has the impudence to stile himself one of the two last commissionated witnesses and prophets of the Most High God Jesus Christ : collected out of his own writings, and made publick	Muggleton, Lodowick, 1609-1698.	1676 (1676)	Wing B4532A; ESTC R7589	7,724	14

A Brief and True ACCOUNT OF THE Notorious Principles and Wicked Practices OF THAT Grand Impostor Lodowick Muggleton VVho has the Impudence to Stile himself one of the Two last Commissionated Witnesses and Prophets OF THE Most High God Christ Jesus Collected out of his own VVritings And made Publick to undeceive those many poor Souls who are drawn aside by his Damnable Heresie And is to take his Tryal at the Sessions-House in the Old-bayly Licensed and Entered according to Order London Printed for B●H● 1676 A Brief and True Account of the notorious Principles and wicked Practices of that Grand Impostor Lodowick Muggleton c. TO Trace this impious Impostor from his Original who ever takes pains but to go into Cloak Lane will there be informed by the Generallity of the Inhabitants that this Lodowick Muggleton was at first no other than a factious Journiman Taylor whose Extravagances being too large for the compitent allowance of about 10 s. p. week began in the year 1651. to consult with one John Reeve a brother both in Trade and necessity how they might betake them to some more profitable imployment whose larded Incomes might more kindly indulge their Lukury to this end they made some small inspection and progress into all sorts of Heresies as he has since confest to J. C. and others but finding those Chairs already taken up they resolv'd to be beholding to no body but to contract such a competent measure of impudence and impiety as should inable them to stifle all the oppositions of Religion or Conscience and set up for themselves And that which gave them no small incouragement hereunto was the wonderful success and almost infinite Riches two precedent impostors John Roubins and Joh. Tauny had lately gained by the same damnable practice The prosperity of these two rendred the private conditions of Reeve and Muggleton more unsufferable so that the former being the more impudent and having with some curiosity perused the Revelations of St. John and found to his extreem sorrow that the Holy Ghost had never so much as dreampt of him throughout the whole Book he resolves by the help of a feigned Enthusiasm or pretended Revelation to force in the minds of Listening Ignorants whose Gaping curiosity lay always open for the reception of any Novelty a certain belief of a strange inspiration and Commission then delivered unto him whereby forsooth he not only pretends a Soveraignty over Mankind but assumes a power to pass upon the least contradiction of his wicked principles a sentence of everlasting Condemnation even upon the blessed Angels themselves as is affirm'd he hath authority to do in a book of Muggletons called the Quakers Neck broke pag. 20. To exact this necessary Credulity from his Gazing admirers he calls one Evening of Muggleton to go with him to the Tavern from whence after they had Gorged their Guts with an excess of Wine and Victuals they resolved forthwith to go Chew the Cud both of their discourse and Viends upon their Pillows whereon Reeve had not long laid his shallow skul but whether caus'd by fumes a rising from an undisgested Supper or the important pressures of his designed greatness I know not but up he gets runs to Muggleton tells him as Muggleton does us in his nonsensical interpretation of the 11. chap. of the Revelation pag. 158. That God spake in the night unto him and told him that he had given him more understanding in the Scriptures than all other men in the World That he had put the two edged sword in his mouth and in the next words following and I have Chosen thee Lodowick Muggleton to be thy mouth That I have given you power both to bless and curse and whosoever either of you shall bless or curse it shall be in the power of no Spirit nor Angel No nor as Mugleton says in page 40 in the Almighties himself to revoke from eternal Damnation This falacy being blown about by some of their graceless Adherents the greedy Vulgarity mistake it for a Verity and to shew their obedience as well as Credulity relinquish their former principles as eronious to list themselves under the destructive Banners of of his forgeries and impostures The promising superficies of this black design at first seem'd to recompence the paines of these spiritual Engineers with a favourable progression but Heaven who could no longer forbear to punish their impieties sufficiently testified its displeasure in Beckoning Reeve to give an account in the other World of those Damnable principles wherewith he had tainted the minds if not Ruin'd the Souls of divers in this which one would have thought might have put a stop at least to the proceedings of this Lodowick Muggleton who now double Gilded with Brass pretended also to have had left him by Reeve a double portion both of spirit power and commission inlarging his Authority even beyond the prerogative of any deceased Saint Prophet or Apostle as will by a Letter he sent R. Fransworth and the said Book of his entitled the Quakers Neck-broken most obviously appear In the Letter page 43. he writes thus speaking of the power he pretends God has given him to bless curse c. Neither says he will God give this power to any after me neither can any man come to the assurance of the favour of God now in these days but in believing that God gave this power to John Reeve and my self For there is no coming to know God or see God but by the faith in this commission of the spirit for I having the Keys of Heaven and Hell none can get into Heaven unless the witness of this spirit doth open the Gate Again in his Quakers Neck-broken page 20. He say Neither doth any man know the Scriptures neither can any man interpret them truly but my self and in the same page he goes on God hath put the two edged sword into my mouth that whoso●ver I pronounce cursed is cursed to Eternity For I do not only say let him be accursed but I have power to curse men or Angels to Eternity And in Page 28. Speaking of his spiritual knowledg how he has resolved all sorts of questions in Divinity these are his words Nay some have gone so far as to ask who made God and I have given answer to that also Again in his letter to S.H. and W.S. who in a former letter condemned him for Cursing to which Muggleton answers page 17. As for my mouth being full of cursing that is my commission Again page 18. Full of his Cursing I confess my mouth is and I do rejoice in it too I know that God is well pleased in the damnation of those I have cursed and I am wonderous well satisfied in giving Judgment upon them acccording to the Tenelt of my condition In fine Reader I am a weary and it makes my hair stand an end to Rake thus in the Naucious Dunghil of his horrid Blasphemies his whole Volume is nothing but a promiscuous

composition of Heresie Delusion irreligion and Blasphemy Himself a person who for this 20 years and upwards has shaken hands with Morality Discretion and Piety who for that inconsiderable Pelf Honor and respect he dayly receives from the hands of his poor deluded and without sudden conversion I fear miserable Disciples willingly surrenders his interest in Heaven and as if he had too advantagious an exchange throws the wretched Souls of his friends and acquaintance into the Bargain I would earnestly desire the Reader if he be not yet established in opinion to endeavour to seek a settlement therein first by his prayers to almighty God to that purpose and after by the healing advice of some learned Divine from whom he will certainly find more sollid satisfaction than he can ever expect from these Quacks and Empricks in Divinity who handle the soul as others do their body not so much for the patients good as their own Interest Who if they can make a seasonable approach to a Death bed there by a pretended commission wheedle the departing Disciple into a belief that they have received the Keys of Heaven Can turn who they will into everlasting Joys and hurry who they please into eternal Bliss if by the charming Rhetoricks of a Gray head comely Visage demure Countenance and plausible tongue he can but once perswade them to fall out with the World and surrender these temporial blessings in hopes of those spiritual ones of which these sort of men make such large promises there is none of them but will gladly part with all their pretended Keys of Heaven for one real one which unloks to a hundred a year upon Earth or that would scruple to give a man a note of their hands for the securing his eternal bliss provided the other would requite him with a considerabled Lease to bestow among his sanctified children Whether Muggleton and his Brethren have ever received any of these soul feeling blessings I leave it to his and their consciences and did I know it to be true I should scarcely put my self to the charges of a Tear to bemoan the cheat for indeed who can seriously pitty those persons who having been Educated in the wholsome principles of the Church of England when he shall see them like Bastards and not Sons forsake those Teats whereout they often have and still might suck such nourishing milk when he beholds them runing after a nonsensical Impostor frought up with nothing but interest and Imdudence a kidnapper of Souls who would sell them for less mony to the Devil than the other do Children to Barbados a fellow who if a man can find any connextion in his writings it runs directly Diamiter to those of the Holy Scriptures a wretch so arragant that he dares to pretend a greater power than ever was delivered to any of the Prophets or Apostles that denies both the real existance and absolute and by all undoubted ubiquity of his Creator pag. 34. pag. 23. That Nulls the Vallidity of several Texts of Scripture and particularly denies Solomon to be endued with the Spirit of God when he writ the Book of Proverbs And in short is so rediculous both in Divinity and Philosophy as to define God to be a corporeal assence exactly in the shape of man that his influence is confin'd within the narrow circuit of the upper Heavens only And lastly which is enough to give any intelligible Reader a surfeit both of him and his Doctrine he affirms his writings are in themselves more excellent and ought to be by all men more respected and regarded than the Holy Scriptures Now Reader after thou hast known all this of Muggleton yet wilt not be perswaded but will adher to his Damnable principles wert thou thereby cheated into any other loss than that of thy eternal Soul it would rather cause my derision than Pitty but since thereby thou art to forego thy everlasting prosperity I cannot but behold thee with extream compassion FINIS A modest Account of the wicked Life of that Grand Impostor Lodowick Muggleton Wherein are related all the remarkable Actions he did and all the strange Accidents that have befallen him ever since his first Coming to London to this Twenty-fifth of January 1676. Also a Particular of those Reasons which first drew him to these damnable Principles With several pleasant Stories concerning him proving his Commission to be but counterfeit and himself a Cheat from divers Expressions which have fallen from his own Mouth Licensed according to Order Quarto containing six Pages printed at London for B. H. in 1676. LOdowick Muggleton was born of poor though honest Parents living at Chippenham within fifteen Miles of Bristol His Relations having but little Means and a great Charge of Children to maintain they were forced to send their Daughters to wait on their neighbouring Gentry and to place their Sons to such Trades as cost little Binding them Apprentices but amongst all the rest of those of this worshipful Brood they were blessed withal they might have observed even in his cunicular Days in this Lodowick Muggleton an obstinate dissentious and opposive Spirit which made them desirous to settle him at some Distance from them and also to bind him to such a Trade and Master as might curb him from that Freedom which the Moroseness of his coarse Nature extorted from his too indulgent Parents By which Means as soon as he had made some small Inspection into his Accidence without any other Accomplishment besides a little Writing and Casting of Accompts he was hurried up to London and there bound Apprentice to one of the cross-legged Order but of an indifferent Reputation in the Place where he lived though by Trade a Taylor We will pass over the Parenthesis of his Youth in Silence therein being nothing but usual Waggeries which generally recommend to our Expectation something remarkable when the useful Extravagancies shall be seasoned with Age. When the Time of his Apprenticeship grew near its Expiration so that he was admitted more Liberty than formerly was granted him he was observed to be a great Haunter of Conventicles insomuch that there could not a dissenting Nonconformist diffuse his Sedition in any obscure Corner of the City but this Lodowick Muggleton would have a Part of it by which Means continuing in the same idle Curiosity and taking great Observation on that unknown Gain many of that canting Tribe got by their deluded Auditors he proposed to himself a certain and considerable Income to be got by the same Means by which he had observed many of those great Pretenders gull both himself and others For a rooked Conventicler like a bankrupt Gamester having for some Time been cullied out of his Money learns the Trick sets up Hector and trades for himself Thus did Lodowick Muggleton by sliding out of one Religion into another so dissatisfy his Judgment and run himself from the solid Basis of his first Principles first degenerating from the orthodox Tenets of