knockt at the Castle Door to the Amazement of theCLOSER that were within H. S. Something farther added to William Craven's Certificate against J. N. as to time and Place c. THese may certifie that on the 15th of the 2d moneth 1678. at the House of William Rudd in Hertford W. Craven being asked in what year James Naylor should speak those words which were charged to be spoken by him in a Certificate under William Craven's Hand in Print in William Haworth's late Sheet he further saith that it was between twenty six and thirty years since and that he J. N. was then a Prisoner in York Castle and that he could take his Oath of the Truth hereof William Rudd Richard Thomas Note So some through Envy and Malice or Self-Interest will Forswear themselves and so become perjured to injure others by Falshoods and Forgeries And if William Craven should swear to his Certificate before cited with these Circumstances of Time and Place it would be no hard matter if it were before a Judge of Assize to invalidate his Testimony and prove him a Forsworn Perjured Person to his utter Disgrace and Shame since 1st 't is evident that Iames Naylor the Quaker so called who as such a one is accused never was Prisoner in York Castle 2. That between twenty six and thirty years since before the 2d Moneth 1678. he was not a Quaker that we can understand but an Independent and one of the more Religious and Serious sort too much less a Prisoner in York Castle as a Quaker between twenty six and thirty years since for it was near the latter-end of the year 1652. that he was Prisoner at Appleby in Westmoreland and but the Summer before in the same year came forth as a Quaker and it was some time after his coming forth that his Mouth was open'd to preach and dispute for Truth having before that been a Member of an Independent-Society at Horbery in Yorkshire having been an Officer under General Lambert in his Troop vid. Saul's Errand pag. 29. and the Narrative of his Examination pag. 2. with the following Testimony York the 13th of the 2 d Moneth 1678. EDward Nightingall and Thomas Waite who served their Apprentiships in the City of York and both having been House-keepers near thirty years the said Thomas Waite being all along conversant with Prisoners that came in upon a Conscientious Account yet neither of them ever knew Iames Naylor a Prisoner in York Castle Also Judith Key Widdow aged about Eighty Years and hath lived in the City of York Fifty years or upwards and near Thirty years of the time hath gone under the Name of a Quaker and her House alwayes at Friends service she affirms that in all that time she knows that James Naylor never was a Prisoner in York Castle Witness their Hands Thomas Wait Edward Nightingall Judith Key John Hall THis may certifie all Persons to whom this present Writing shall come that I Audry Nunns Wife of John Nunns formerly Wife of Thomas Bayock Goaler of York Castle was well acquainted with James Naylor and to my knowledge he was never Prisoner in York Castle in all his time York this 12th of April 78. Witness my Hand Audry Nunnes THis Audry Nunnes above-mention'd saith that she and her former Husband Thomas Bayock entred in the year 1651. and kept the Goal six years and saith she durst swear it if required she keeps an Inn in the City This we are Witnesses to as also to the Certificate above Edward Nightingall Jo. Tayler John Hall See now Reader how we have traced and evidently detected William Craven in his Certificate and found him false in his Evidence to his own and his Abettor William Haworth's utter Disgrace for publishing such a malicious Slander against James Naylor as that Mary was a Whore and Christ was a Bastard and W. Haworth most wickedly charging the People called Quakers therewith as being one of their Doctrines for which let Shame cover this Independent Teacher and those that take his part And now to conclude we have this further to add appealing to our more moderate Neighbours in Hertford who have known us many years whether they ever apprehended us to be of so Unchristian Practices in our Conversation for if there be such Antichristian Principles and Blasphemous Tenents held and professed by us as William Haworth and his Adherents have wickedly scandalized us withal they would sometime or other break forth into Unsavoury and Antichristian Practices as Christ saith By their Fruits you shall know them But it doth most evidently appear now what the drift of W. H. and his Accomplices designed in their scribling and contesting against us that by writing and asserting Lyes they may render us as odious as may be not only to get our Nest at Hertford as he calls it broken up which W. H. saith its high time it were but also as much as in him lies to render us such as assert Blasphemous Principles because he hath gotten some Forgers to witness it against one or two Persons all which is deny'd that so our Lives and Estates might be indanger'd through their Malice by casting that upon many which is unquestionably false concerning any one as by what hath been before said doth more fully appear And as for our Principles we are still ready by the Lord's assistance to maintain them by Scripture and otherwise in Print and Testimony to all ingenuous and impartial Persons but it seems evident it is our Destruction he longs for or otherwise he would not print such horrible Lyes of us Oh Wicked Wretch And now hear James Naylor's own Confessions to Christ Jesus out of his Books Possession of the Living Faith printed about 1658. and reprinted 1664. and inserted after the Preface in the later Impression viz. Christ Jesus the Immanuel of whose Sufferings the Scriptures declare him alone I confess before men for whose sake I have denyed whatever was dear to me in this World that I might win him and be found in him and not in my self whose Life and Vertue I find daily manifest c. In the Fear of God the Father in Honour to Jesus Christ c. He was a perfect Example at Jerusalem p. 6. This Redemption I found in Christ Jesus c. pag. 20 21. Concerning the Name of Christ viz. That he sits at God's Right Hand in Heavenly Places by his Sufferings to redeem them and they who are gather'd into this Name hold it as a Holy Power and DARE NOT BLASPHEME IT Let every one that names the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity which Name to such is Salvation pag. 65. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ c. That the holy Name of Christ may be glorified in you c. pag. 71 74. as printed with others of his Books James Naylor's Love to the Lost printed about the year 1655. He confesseth to the Redeemer Christ Jesus pag. 18. The Reproach of Christ as great Riches pag. 19. Christ honoured as
Isa 53. must needs be either God or the Devil which is as condemnable as the Answer which they say Samuel Pryor gave for to say it was the Devil is Blasphemy and to say it was God is not only Unreasonable and False Doctrine but also contraty to what W. H. has frequently said of the Soul of Christ's Manhood as against its being turned into an Immense Deity therefore he should have reproved Joseph Saward for his foolish and ungodly Question seeing he own it to be his as well as Samuel Pryor if guilty of such an Answer and teach his Hearers better then thus irreverently to catechize any Persons or to expose their Folly therein in Print as he has done his Disciple's unsavoury Question without Reproof But hear what the Person accused says to clear himself viz. THese are to certifie all Persons concerned that whereas William Haworth hath published in Print that I Samuel Pryor was askt this Question by Joseph Saward concerning the Soul of Christ being made an Offering for Sin Whether it was God or the Devil that was made an Offering for Sin unto which Question 't is said that I answered That it was the Devil that was made an Offering for Sin subscribed Joseph Saward Sarah Saward Sarah Farr Now this I affirm is a most false Accusation and wicked Slander for never was any such Question asked me by Joseph Saward or any other nor did ever any such Blasphemous Words concerning the Soul of Christ proceed out of my Mouth or enter into my Heart or Thoughts and I am clear in the Sight of God So the just God that knows the Secrets of all Hearts judge betwixt my Accusers and me in this matter Samuel Pryor Now hear what his Father and Brother say in this Matter viz. THis is to certifie all whom it may concern that I am Father to Samuel Pryor and that my Son was by me instructed in a Profession of Religion before he was one called a Quaker and since that also hath been careful in reading the Scriptures and having alwayes lived with me I have oftentimes discoursed with him about his Principles since he was a Quaker and he hath been asked by me whether he owned the Scriptures because he talked of a Light within him he told me he owned them from the beginning to the end and that Christ which suffered without the Gates of Jerusalem was both God and Man and that it was this Christ Jesus that was made an Offering for Sin and not the Devil as Joseph Saward his Wife and Maid have wrongfully accused my Son in saying it was the Devil that was offered for Sin for I never heard him speak any such words neither do I believe he ever had such a Blasphemous Thought or Word I my self have been a Hearer of William Haworth and formerly had a good Opinion of him until I found him so forward to print Lyes John Pryor the Elder THese are to certifie all whom it may concern that I am Elder Brother to Samuel Pryor and did live with him twenty years and since he hath been called a Quaker I have had often Reasoning with him and several Disputes and he alwayes owned Christ Jesus that suffered without the Gates of Jerusalem And whereas Mr. Haworth hath printed an Accusation against him of Joseph Saward and his Wife and Maid I dare believe it is very false for I never heard my Brother hold or speak such Principles and Blasphemous Tenents as he is in that Certificate accused to say John Pryor the Younger Note that the said Samuel Pryor has come some years amongst us called Quakers and we never understood that ever it was his Judgment to sleight or disesteem the Sufferings of Christ for Sin much less to speak any such contemptible words of Christ or his Suffering as are charged upon us concerning him but if we could find that he did but at unawares speak any such words as those before cited in answer to Joseph Saward's absurd and tempting Question about the Soul of Christ we should severely reprehend and admonish him about it howbeit if it had been so 't was no ingenuous part of W. H. or his Hearers to catch and snatch away words unadvisedly slipping from any Person upon a surprizal by a corrupt Question and then to expose him in print to be knockt in the Head in the Streets or High-way for a Blasphemer without first moderately enquiring into his Principle and Faith in the Matter after such words unwarily spoken and not only so but it must be charged as the Quakers Doctrine how absurd and blasphemous soever O disingenuous Persons is this your Religion far short of common Civility and Morality among the very Heathen 3. The third Doctrine charged by William Haworth upon the Quakers is most horrid viz. That Mary was a Whore and Christ a Bastard And for Proof he bids us read the following Certificate viz. THis is to certifie all whom it may concern that I whose Name is subscribed did hear James Naylor the Quaker say these words at York in Contempt of Christ Jesus viz. Mary was a Whore and Christ a Bastard William Craven William Craven should have certified the time when and in what place it was in York and in whose Presence besides himself that he did hear J. Naylor say these words in Contempt of Christ and on what Occasion he should have been plain if he had not been conscious and afraid of being manifestly detected in this thing for we are fully perswaded he is a False Accuser and has most grosly belyed James Naylor in this matter 1. Because he has written and divulged so much in his Books in Honour to Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures 2. Because neither W. C. nor any other of his Brethren have given us any such Certificate against J. N. either in his Life-time or since for above these twenty years until of late many years after J. N's Death that W. Haworth was minded through his deadly Malice to brand the People called Quakers therewith as by telling the World These are the Quakers Doctrines viz. That it was the Devil that suffered without the Gates that Mary was a Whore and Christ a Bastard which are so horrid and monstrous that its with a Dread and a kind of Reluctancy that we are occasioned to recite them By what follows the Reader may see how uncertain and inconsistent William Craven who is William Haworth's Witness is with himself viz. ABout those words concerning Mary and Christ whereof William Haworth has charged James Naylor and the People called Quakers in Print William Craven lately told me That James Naylor was Prisoner in York Castle when he spoke those words and that it was about thirty years since Witness H. Stout Which I suppose is as true as the Story he told of a Man who being set upon a Watch on a High Tower fell asleep upon a great Gun and fell down upon a Pavement and had no hurt and came and
Law-giver Judge and King pag. 32. Christ Jesus God's Righteousness pag. 36. and his Son pag. 37 to the same Spirit which raised Jesus from the Dead all as they are baptized therein grow into one God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ pag. 47. Follow Christ pag. 50. Suffer the loss of all to witness Christ pag. 51. God the Father hath given his Son for a Leader and Guide p. 52. Now Israel of them was Christ to be born was made of a Woman under the Law pag. 68. God the Father revealed and his Power and God head in his Son Jesus Christ which in him dwells c. pag. 70. Thus far James Naylor Obs Now see how contrary these serious Confessions of the Honour Power and Glory of Jesus Christ and his being the Son of God c. are to what William Haworth and William Craven have accused him and how unlikely their Accusation is and how it favours of a Lye and Forgery or a gross Mistake at least against J. N. Also in his Vindication and Answer upon his Examination at the Sessions at Appleby in the 11th moneth 1652. in the Book entituled Saul's Errand pag. 25. Christ is not divided if he be he is no more Christ I witness that Christ who is God and Man c. seperate God and Man and he is no more Christ pag. 31. I own no other Christ but he who witnessed a good Confession before Pontius Pilate pag. 32. This may sufficiently detect W. H. and his Reproachful Calumnies against J. N. and us about Jesus Christ His Allegation for his saying That these are the Quakers Doctrines viz. That it was the Devil that suffered without the Gates and that Mary was a Whore and Christ a Bastard runs thus viz. 'T is enough for me to call those things of a Religious Concern which any Quaker writes or asserts in discourse Doctrines while they all pretend alwayes to be guided by one infallible Teacher the Light Within p. 3. 1st That any Quaker hath writ or asserted such Doctrine we find not but the contrary as before hinted and look on 't as meer Malice and Baseness so to accuse them 2. Set Case any one had so writ or asserted it follows not that the whole People are chargeable therewith as the Quakers Doctrines without exception that 's no good Consequence nor natural inference from their all pretending to be guided by the same infallible Teacher the Light within See what a rare Logician this man is Either the Light within must be chargeable with such Doctrine against Christ and Mary as before or else all the Professors of it because some pretending to it have if he sayes true so discoursed What gross Fallacy and false Logick is this Whereas such an Absurdity was never the Assertion of the People called Quakers viz. that either every one pretending to be guided by the Light Within on distinguish't by the Name Quaker is therefore guided by the same Light in all Discourses or so to be owned by the said People Therefore his general Inference is silly and groundless as well as unjust and Fallacious Would the Independent Congregations be thus argu'd against as to be thus universally charged with all the Private Opinions or Discourses of every Independent because they all pretend the holy Scriptures to be the Rule as well as the Quakers do the Light of Christ within Let them answer this Question and see if the Reason will hold Are they all willing thus to be concluded If so then 1st These which are some of William Haworth's Doctrines may be charged on all the Independents viz. That God the Father poured out all his Wrath upon his Son Jesus Christ 2. And his Brother Powell's Doctrine viz. That Jesus Christ was the Greatest Sinner in the World vindicated by William Haworth 3. And his asserting That Paul when a Christian counted his spiritual Obedience Loss and Dung for Christ and that this is very good sound blessed and comfortable Doctrine received by Millions of Saints in Heaven and Earth c. 4. And that our own Righteousness which the Apostle calls his own in Phil. 3. 9. consists in those Gifts and Vertues that the Spirit of God works in our Minds and we express those outwardly c. Thus far W. H. Now who and how many of the Independent Teachers besides William Haworth will own and subscribe these Doctrines as Orthodox leâ— them plainly answer us If they are not generally owned by them would they take it well to tell the World these are the Independents Doctrines which are so evidently impious against Jesus Christ against the Gifts and Vertues of God's holy Spirit and spiritual Obedience among Christians â—ut besides his fallacious Attempts to fasten these fore-cited Doctrines upon the Quakers concerning the Virgin Mary and Christ like a hardned wilful Person having a Conscience seared He persists in his general Accusations and Slanders upon Reports against that solemn Attestation that we have given to the contrary in answer to those things before which he has asserted to be the Quakers Doctrines where we have said viz. To all which in the Sight and Presence of the holy God we answer We are certain that 't is an abominable Slander in that General Charge upon the Quakers and he hath most infamously abused us in this matter in saying These are the Quakers Doctrines which we testifie against as so gross and abominable that nothing like them hath entred into our Hearts ever to imagine Much less to preach for Doctrine as That it was the Devil that suffered without the Gates and that Mary was a Whore and Christ a Bastard And yet he tells the World These are the Quakers Doctrines What abominable Wickedness is this thus to make infamous a People who abhor such Blasphemy pag. 2. of our sheet Independent Agent It appears that this Independent Preacher had not the Modesty to tell the World that such and such things are reported of some among the Quakers but such lying Reports as he has against us he both espouseth and asserts them positively as These are the Quakers Doctrines their Blasphemies not these are reported to have been discoursed by some among them Thus the man's Out-rage Malice and Revenge exceeds all Bounds of common Reason Civility or Humanity as if he were mad against us and envyed not only our being at Hertford wishing that our Nest at Hertford were broke up as his words are but even our Prosperity and Being as a People upon Earth as deserving to be stoned to Death by the Righteous Law of God if it were in force pag. 3. But 't is much if he and his Accomplices and Abettors be not made ashamed of his Malice and Out-rage ere we have done with him if he will not study Quietness among his Neighbours not doubting but God who is with us will rebuke his Baseness and Malice against us who having falsly accused us from malicious and false Reports of others Suspitions and Jealousies