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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	see_v	year_n	1,596	5	4.4881	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88232	The picture of the Councel of State, held forth to the free people of England by Lievt. Col. John Lilburn, Mr Thomas Prince, and Mr Richard Overton, now prisoners in the Tower of London. Or, a full narrative of the late extra-judicial and military proceedings against them. Together with the substance of their several examinations, answers and deportments before them at Darby house, upon the 28. of March last.	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.; Prince, Thomas.; Overton, Richard, fl. 1646.	1649 (1649)	Wing L2154; Thomason E550_14; ESTC R204431	45,344	56

Time as after the language of their new fangled Saint-ships I may speak it they have brought their seasons to perfection even to the Season of Seasons now to rest themselves in the large and full enjoyment of the creature for a time two times and half a time resolving now to ware out the true asserters of the peoples freedom and to change the time and laws to their exorbitant ambition and will while all their promises declarations and engagements to the people must be null'd and made Cyphers and cast aside as wast paper as unworthy the fulfilment or once the remembrance of those Gentlemen those magnificent stems of our new upstart Nobillity for now it is not with them as in the dayes of their engagement at New-market and Tripl●e heath but as it was in the days of old with corrupt persons so is it in ours Tempora mutantur But to proceed to the story the Lievtenant Collonel did not only shew his weakness or rather his iniquity in his dealing with me but he converts the aforesaid Souldier of Leivtenant Generalls Regiment before divers of the Officers at White-hall and there he renders the reason wherefore he made him a prisoner because said he he takes Overtons part for he came and asked him how he did and bid him be of good comfort and he lay last night with a woman To which he answered It is true but the woman was my wife then they proceeded to ask when they were married and how they should know shee was his wife and he told them where and when but that was not enough they told him he must get a Certificate from his Captain that he was married to her and then he should have his liberty Friends and Country-men where are you now what shall you do that have no Captains to give you Certificates sure you must have the banes of Matrimony re-asked at the Conventicle of Gallants at White-hall or at least you must thence have a Congregationall Licence without offence be it spoken to true Churches to lye with your wives else how shall your wives be chast or the children Legitimate they have now taken Cognizance over your wives and beds whether will they next Judgement is now come into the hand of the armed-fury Saints My Masters have a care what you do or how you look upon your wives for the new-Saints Millitant are paramount all Laws King Parliament husbands wives beds c. But to let that passe Towards the evening we were sent for to go before the Counsell of State at Darby-house and after Lievtenant Collonel John Lilburne and Mr. Wallwine had been before them then I was called in and Mr. Bradshaw spake to me to this effect Master Overton the Parliament hath seen a Book Intituled The Second Part of Englands New-Chains Discovered and hath past several Votes thereupon and hath given Order to the Councel to make inquiry after the Authors and Publishers thereof and proceed upon them as they see Cause and to make a return thereof unto the House And thereupon he Commanded Mr. Frost their Secretary to read over the said Votes unto me which were to this purpose as hath since been publickly proclaimed Die Martis 27 Martis 1649. THe House being informed of a Scandalous and Seditius Book Printed entituled The Second Part of Englands New-Chains Discovered The said Book was this day read REsolved upon the Question by the Commons assembled in Parliament That this printed Paper entituled The Second Part of Englands New-Chains Discovered c. doth cont●in most false scandalous and reproachful matter and is highly Seditious and Destructive to the present Government as it is now Declared and setled by Parliament tends to Division and Mutiny in the Army and the raising of a New War in the Common-wealth and to hinder the present Relief of Ireland and to the continuing of Free-Quarter And this House doth further Declare That the Authors Contrivers and Framers of the said Papers are guilty of High Treason and shall be proceeded against as Traytors And that all Persons whatsover that shall joyn with or adhere unto and hereafter voluntarily Ayd or Assist the Authors Framers and Contrivers of the aforesaid Paper in the prosecution thereof shall be esteemed as Traytors to the Common-wealth and be proceeded against accordingly Then Mr. Bradshaw spake to me much after this effect Master Overton this Councel having received Information That you had a hand in the Contriving and Publishing of this Book sent for you by their Warrant to come before them Besides they are informed of other Circumstances at your Apprehension against you That there were divers of the Books found about you Now Mr. Overton if you will make any Answer thereunto you have your Liberty To which I answered in these words or to the like effect Sir what Title to give you or distinguish you by I know not Indeed I confesse I have heard by common report that you go under the name of a Councel of State but for my part what you are I cannot well tell but this I know that had you as you pretend a just authority from the Parliament yet were not your Authority valuable or binding till solemnly proclaimed to the people so that for my part in regard you were pleased thus violently to bring me before you I shall humbly crave at your hands the production of your Authority that I may know what it is for my better information how to demean my self Presid Mr. Overton We are satisfied in our Authority Ric. Overt Sir if I may not know it however I humbly desire that I may be delivered from under the force of the Military power for having a naturall and legall title to the Rights of an Englishman I shall desire that I may have the benefit of the Law of England which Law taketh no cognizance of the Sword And in case you or any man pretend matter of crime against me in order to a tryall I desire I may be resigned up to the Civil Magistrate and recceive a free and legall tryall in some ordinary Court of Justice according to the known Law of the Land that if I be found a transgressor of any established declared Law of England on Gods name let me suffer the penalty of that Law Further Sir In case I must still be detained a prisoner it is my earnest desire that I may be disposed to some prison under the jurisdiction and custody of the Civill Authority For as for my own part I cannot in conscience to the common right of the people submit my self in any wise to the tryall or custody of the Sword for I am no Souldier neither hath the Army any Authoritie over me I owe them neither dutie nor obedience they are no Sheriffs Justices Bailiff Constables or other Civil Magistrates So that I cannot neither will I submit unto their power but must take the boldnesse to protest against it Presid Mr. Overton If this be your Answer you may withdraw

this effect Lieut. Colonel Lilburn This Councel hath considered what you have said and what they have bin informed of concerning you and also of that duty that lies upon them by the command of the House which enjoyns them to improve their utmost ability to find out the Author of this Book and therefore to effect that end they judge themselves bound to demand of you this question Whether you made not this Book or were privie to the making of it or no And after some pause and vvondering at the strangeness of the question I answered and said M. Bradshaw I cannot but stand amazed that you should ask me such a question as this at this time of the day considering what you said unto me at my first being before you and considering it is now about eight yeers ago since this very Parliament annihilated the Court of Star-chamber Councel bord and High Commission and that for such proceedings as these * See the Acts that abolished them made in the 16. C. R. printed in my Book called The peoples Prerogatiue p. And truly Sir I have bin a contestor and sufferer for the Liberties of England these twelve yeers together and I should novv look upon my self as the basest fellovv in the vvorld if novv in one moment I should undo all that I have bin doing all this vvhile vvhich I must of necessity do if I should ansvver you to questions against my self For in the first place by ansvvering this question against my self I should betray the Liberties of England in acknovvledging you to have a Legal Jurisdiction over me to try and adjudge me which I have already proved to your faces you have not in the least and if you have forgot what you said to me thereupon yet I have not forgot what I said to you And secondly Sir if I should answer to questions against my self and so betray my self I should do that which not onely Law but Nature abhors And therefore I cannot but wonder that you your selves are not ashamed to demand so illegal and unworthy a thing * And well might I for M. John Cook and M. Bradshaw himself were my Counsel at the Lords Bar against the Star-Chamber the 13. of Feb. 1645. where M. Bradshaw did most excellently open the Star-chamber injustice towards me and at the reading of their first sentence he observed to the Lords that that sentence was felo de se guilty of its own death the ground whereof being because M. Lilburn refused to take an oath to answer to all such questions as should be demanded of him it being contrary to the Laws of God Nature and the Kingdom for any man to be his own Accuser Whose words you may more at large read in the Printed relation thereof drawn up by M. John Cook and my self p. 3. of me as this is And therefore in short were it that I owned your power which I do not in the least I would be hanged before I would do so base and un-Englishman-like an Action to betray my Liberty which I must of necessity do in answering questions to accuse my self But Sir This I will say to you my late Actions have not bin done in a hole or a corner but on the house top in the face of the Sun before hundreds and some thousands of people and therefore why ask you me any questions Go to those that have heard me and seen me and it is possible you may find some hundreds of witnesses to tell you what I have said and done for I hate holes and corners My late Actions need no covers nor hidings they have bin more honest than so and I am not sorry for what I have done for I did look well about me before I did what I did and I am ready to lay down my life to justifie what I have done and so much in answer to your question But now Sir with your favour one word more to mind you again of what I said before in reference to my Martial imprisonment and truly Sir I must tell you Circumstantials of my Liberty at this time I shall not much dispute but for the Essentials of them I shall dy I am now in the Souldiers custody where to continue in silence and patience is absolutely to betray my Liberty for they have nothing to do with me nor the meanest Free-man of England in this case and besides Sir they have no rules to walk by but their wills and their swords which are two dangerous things it may be I may be of an hasty cholerick temper and not able nor willing to bear their affronts and peradventure they may be as willing to put them upon me as I am unwilling to bear them and for you in this case to put fire and tinder together to burn up one an other will not be much commendable nor tend much to the accomplishment of your ends But if for all this you shall send me back to the Military sword again either to White-hall or any other such like garison'd place in England I do solemnly protest before the Eternal God of Heaven and Earth I will fire it and burn it down to the ground if possibly I can although I be burnt to ashes with the flames thereof for Sir I say again the souldiers have nothing to do to be my Goalers and besides it is a maxime among the souldiers That they must obey without dispute all the Commands of their Officers be they right or wrong and it is also the maxime amongst the Officers That if they do not do it they must hang for it therefore if the Officers command them to cut my throat they must either do it or hang for it And truly Sir looking vvishfully upon Cromwell that sate just against me I must be plain with you I have not found so much Honour Honesty Justice or Conscience in any of the principal Officers of the Army as to trust my life under their protection or to think it can be * And truly I am more than afraid honest Capt. Bray hath too much experience of this at Windsor Castle who though he be but barely committed thither into safe custody yet as I from very good hands am informed the Tyrannical Governour Whichcock Cromwels creature doth keep him close prisoner denying him the benefit of the Castle Ayre keeping not onely pen and inke from him but also his friends and necessaries with which cruelty c. he hath already almost murdered and destroyed the honest man in whose place were I and so illegally and unjustly used a flame if possibly I could should be the portion of my chamber although I perished in it safe under their immediate fingers and therefore not knowing nor very much caring what you will do with me I earnestly intreat you if you will again imprison me send me to a Civil Goal that the Law knows as Newgate the Fleet or the Gate-house and although you send me to a Dungeon thither I