Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A05466
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The poore mans cry Wherein is shevved the present miserable estate of mee Iohn Lilburne, close prisoner in the fleete. Also an humble petition to his Maiesties honorable privy councill, for meantenance that I famish not.
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Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.
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1639
(1639)
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STC 15598; ESTC S112218
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18,062
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15
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there be but few at my death yet you knowe not what great troupes may com to my burial (g) Who shall accompany thy body to the grave I know not But this J know Angels shall accompany thy soule to Heaven But as for that blood sâ—cker Laud J verily beleeve except he repent the Devill will accompany him to hell torment remember but the late great multitude (h) Such a company would follow Laud and his crew If they knew when the king state would hang them at Tiburne that came to the Fleet attended M Burton M. Prinne out of the Cittie and if any thing but good follow vpon this you hee are the sole cause of it therfore as you wil answer it before King and State look to it for I am my Soveaignes faithfull and leige subject (i) Let it be observe that it was never yee seene nor I hope shall be that ther was any man of his profession iustly tainted for a Traitor to the King cuntry whereas the Prelates in all ages since the Devill erected them haue beeÌ„ proved the most notorious traitors that ever were in the world might iusttice take place it would bee proved that they who are now aliue are notorious ones yea one as faithfull to his Crowne as any whatsoever that breathes in all his Dominions for if it can be proued that ever I broke any of his lawes I will submit vnto and suffer whatsoever authoritie wil laie vpon mee therefore be not you hee the Bishops Agents to take awaie my life in my close imprisonment for you vse me worse more tiranically then ever any traitour in England was vsed yea worse then the Gun-powder traitours were vsed I haue read a great part of the Booke of Martyrs with some Histories of the like kinde and J will meantaine it that such an vnparaleld Act of crueltie and barborous tiranie as haue been exercised vpon mee is not to be found in them all Yea wicked bloodie Bonner (k) Seing thier wick ednes is come to such a height fulnesse and they doe go beyond in cruelty the crelst Tirants that ever were My hope is that their destruction ruin is at haÌ„d and that hee will cause the laÌ„d to spue them out and so sâ—nd them packing to their owne place Amen Amen himselfe never did the like to any of the Saints as haue been done vnto mee for while they lived he would either suffer their friends to come at them to releeue them or else he would allow them meantenance to preserue life in them but neither of these can I enjoy also hee would dispute with them himselfe and send for others likewise to do it and vse all meanes to winne them to himselfe but none of these haue I yet found though J haue often desired it and promised to recant if it could be shewed that I held any errors Againe hee would take away their lines (l) Without doubt the Prelates would do so too but are restrained Now it is humlby desired that they who thinke it not fit that the Bishops should haue their will in taking our lines away that they suffer them not in the meane time to use us worse if they broke any of the lawes or would not submit vnto them but though I haue not broken any of the Kings lawes and haue offered so faire as I haue done and haue desired longed to meet with death yet can I not be rid of my misery but you keep me in a tormenting (m) When these Tormentours feele hell torments then they will know what it is to torment others condition full of extreamitie and bodiliepaine that I can neither get ease sitting nor lying being vnable to go without great miserie being alwaies as it were in the panges of death yet cannot meet with it But said I to M. Iohn Murry M. Morgan a Papist tell the Warden from mee that vnlesse the Bishopps by the law of the land and the word (a) They can shew as much word of God for what they doe as they doe shew mercy and goodnesse in their actions and that is in both none at all of God will shew me my offence I will never submit nor recant in the least while breath is in my body and therefore it is but in vaine to hâ—pe for it for if he and I should liue together as longe as Methusalah did which was almost a thousand yeares yet he should never get mee to goe against the sweet peace of a good conscience or recant that which J am perswaded is a truth yea if hee should exercise all the cruelty in the world upon mee though he should locke mee in an Iron chest that I could neither stirre hand nor foote and feede me with channell water and with bread made of saw dust hee might well take away my life and beeing from the earth but he should never make me goe against my conscience for I am kept by the power of God through faith vnto salvation and Crowne of glory that is so rich in my eyes that I dare not deny Christ nor his truth though all the crueltie in the world should be inflicted upon mee least he deny mee before his father which is in heaven Yet most miserable it is that I should perish by cruelty in my close condition being a faithfull subject to the King neuer broke any of his lawes And let my tormentors looke to it as they will answer it for I haue heard that the Honorable Lords (b) Howsoever the Bishops do cause the Godly to be cruelly vsed in Preson Yet I am perswaded that neither the King nor the Temporall Lords of his majesties council do know of it For it is not possible if they did that they would suffer it considering how much it is against nature to exercise cruelty vpoÌ„ any creature much lesse on man who carries Gods owne image which haue beene made acquainted with my cruell vsage protested they would not beleeue that the Warden dealt so with mee this with much more that then I said with some prisoners taking notice of my condition but especially Sr. Richard Gravenner a worshipfull Knight (c) J do not marvaile that the knight would not receive it for atruth For the truth is such is their cruelty shewed to such as are against their places that vnles it were seen with the eyes one would scarce beleeve it For this I do affirme will make it good that no Rogue in any Iayle of the Land is so basely barberously handled Not that the Keepers desire to vse theÌ„ so but are charged secretly by the Bb. so to do threatened to loose their places if they shew favour to them who sent to the Warden about it which I think put him in some feare that he durst not well denie my reasonable request in delivering my petition so hee sent a scribe to me to draw it oner a