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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	call_v	life_n	word_n	7,065	5	4.3086	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84760	A sober answer to an angry epistle, directed to all the publick teachers in this nation, and prefixed to a book, called (by an antiphrasis) Christs innocency pleaded against the cry of the chief priests. Written in hast by Thomas Speed, once a publick teacher himself, and since revolted from that calling to merchandize, and of late grown a merchant of soules, trading subtilly for the Quakers in Bristoll. Wherein the jesuiticall equivocations and subtle insinuations, whereby he endeavours secretly to infuse the whole venome of Quaking doctrines, into undiscerning readers, are discovered; a catlogue of the true and genuine doctrines of the Quakers is presented, and certaine questions depending between us and them, candidly disputed, / by [brace] Christopher Fowler & Simon Ford, [brace] ministers of the Gospel in Reding,	Fowler, Christopher, 1610?-1678.; Ford, Simon, 1619?-1699.	1656 (1656)	Wing F1694; Thomason E883_1; ESTC R207293	63,879	81

dispute rail out of the World and the most glorious practicall Truths of the Gospel out of mens Consciences as appeares daily in those whose learning Satan makes use of to defend and patronize their lusts So that there needs another kind of learning to settle these Truths savingly in the minds and hearts of men which the Scripture calls the revelation and demonstration of the Spirit But yet we must own Learning sanctified by the Spirit of God as a precious help and furtherance to the understanding of the Letter of the Scripture confuting Hereticall wrestings of them and convincing gain-sayers And we wonder whence all these that dispute against Learning from the Scriptures received those Scriptures whence they dispute but from the help of humane Learning Surely those holy men who brought down the Scriptures to our capacities by translating them into our Mother Tongue were not immediatly taught the knowledge of the Originall Tongues by the revelation of the Spirit but learnt it in Schooles and Vniversities and most of the truths of the Gospel which have been preserved to us from the violent hands of Heathen Philosophers and Hereticks have been very much as to means preserved by the disputes of learned men Julian the Apostate knew well enough that Schools of Learning were no small props of Christian Religion and therefore when he had designed a totall abolition of Christianity out of the world he attempted it by two wayes which your Generation unhappily follow him in suppressing Schooles of literature among Christians and taking away Ministers maintenance And whereas you say that the Apostles and Ministers of Sect. 39 Christ in Scripture did not serve an Apprentiship in any Vniversity to learne the Trade of preaching as you scornfully call it we answer they needed it not for they then received that by immediate inspiration which since that time we know no person Quaker or other ever attained in that way they became Linguists and Disputants per saltum which others since are faine to grow unto by degrees If you say the same Spirit dwels in you we say look you to that as to the sanctifying and saving graces of that Spirit for he that hath not the Spirit thus is none of Christs Rom. 8. 9 But as to gifts of Tongues and other parts of learning which were then by that Spirit bestowed in an instant on the first Planters of the Church we want an instance of any of you that can say so much of himself If you know any let us heare from you in the next who it is and if he be able to make it out to us we will believe him You say further that they preached but the Gospel which Sect. 40 Christ by his Spirit revealed in them and you quote two places of Scripture which speak of revelation indeed but not such as is exclusive to humane learning which is your drift Indeed in the first Paul saith that God revealed those things which eye had not seen c. to him by his holy Spirit And in the other 1 Cor. 2 10. Gal. 1. 16. he saith that God revealed his Son in him but it is not proved that in the last of those places the Apostle speaks of the Doctrine much lesse the holy Doctrine of the Gospell that Paul preached as if his humane learning contributed nothing to that but only of those inward operations that Paul experienced and therefore he shewes the effect of the revelation that it took him off from consulting with flesh and blood which we before acknowledge as well as you In the former of them the Apostle speaks of such a revelation of the Gospel as savingly enabled him to receive it feelingly to preach it as appeareth by v. 14. where he opposeth the knowledge of a naturall man which is by meer learning to that of a spirituall man which is by revelation yet not excluding learning For by the way you may observe that he doth not oppose a spirituall man and a learned man Paul himself was spirituall and learned too but a spirituall man and a naturall or unregenerate man who hath nothing but naturall faculties and humane learning to improve them And as to your assertion it selfe that they preached onely Sect. 41 that Gospel which Christ by his spirit rovealed in them if you mean thus that they preached nothing but what was immediatly revealed from the Spirit without any externall help the plaine Scripture will give you the lye For how often did Christ instruct them during his bodily presence among them And how did he expound the Scriptures to them going through all the Bookes then penned even from Moses to Malachi immediatly before his Assention Luke 24. 27. So that whatever may be said of Paul who was called and enabled to his Apostleship in a singular way untrodden by any of the rest we are sure all the rest were taught otherwise then by the immediate revelation of the Spirit only But we doubt yet another Snake in the Grasse of this faire Sect. 42 expression which Christ by his Spirit revealed in them and suspect it beares some analogy with that in your former Article of preaching no more then we witnesse the life and power of in our selves and which you call afterwards witnessing the condition of the Saints whose words we preach of which anon The best sense therefore which comparing your words with each other and all with the language of your other Brethren we can pick out of your expressions here is that you suppose they preached no more then what by spirituall experience the Spirit revealed in their hearts Which if it be that you herein intend we desire you to consider whether the Apostles did experience in themselves the Histories of the old Testament which yet they preached and whether they did experience in themselves the resurrection of the body the generall judgment and eternall damnation which they preached Whether John experienced the Prophesies of the Revelation in himself or no as some of Foot out of the snare p. 6. 13. you cant that the witnesses are slaine in us and must be raised to life in us and Babylon in us c. And of this stamp we doubt is that uncouth and odd expression of witnessing the Saints conditions which is one of the Sect. 43 phrases we told you before that we conceive needs interpretation though possibly you speak what you mean yet we know not what you mean by what you speak especially if we compare those papers which we often receive from your Disciples in these parts with what you here say But we will take you in the best sense and so to witnesse we suppose in your sense is to feele by inward experience the Saints conditions whose words we preach And without this qualification in your judgment we must passe for Ministers of the Letter only We doubt you understand not what a Minister of the Letter meanes We are sure by a Minister of the Letter the

are not bound up with the Bible and if so how huge a Volume would it make and how few could buy it we reply the Doctrine which we Preach is not ours but Gods and therefore infallible but must they therefore be bound up with the Bible what think you of the Sermons of Jesus Christ Luke 4. 21. Luke 5. 3. were they not infallible or the Sermon Philip Preached to the Eunuch out of Esay 53. Acts 8. 53. or that Paul Preached at his farewell Acts 20. 7. were they not infallibly true yet these were not bound up with the Bible why doe you thus from your inward darknesse cavill at outward Light we call it your darknesse hoping that you doe not knowingly oppose the truth 4. As for Ministers Maintenance upon which you harpe so much as knowing the sound to be very welcome to the eares of your gang and others we desire this favour at your hands either soberly to answer our reasons or else to be so ingenuous as to forbeare your scoffings 5. As for your defence of the Language thee and thou we referr you to what is said a bove we shall only add this we cannot think it to be any such great Crime to speake in this one case the plural you for thou for the singular as when Saint Paul saies we for I as Heb. 6. 9 we are perswaded better things of you and though we thus speake and againe we desire v. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lastly wheras as you say in favour of your deare Quakers these are the Practices for which they are hated as though they were so innocent we reply besides their Blasphemies of which before and their railings cursings slanders untruths we desire to know what you think of foure or five instances we shall propose first what doe you think of the Quaker that acted that most abominable unnameable sin with a Mare what doe you think of it was it not from his light within or what is your opinion of another poore wretch that hanged himselfe these two you may find at large added to the relation of Gilpin of Kendall and confessed by the Prime of that way to be true what may be your thoughts of those Quakers that killed their Mother it was thus they were taught to harken to and follow after the Light within them this Light taught them they ought to destroy the Originall of Sin and by the said Light they apprehended their Mother to be the Originall and from thence still by the said Light they most wickedly embrued their hands in the blood of their Mother this you may read in Mr. William Keyes Minister of Stokesly his Answer to eighteen Quaeries who was with them in Prison What may be your judgement of Nicholas Kate of Harwell in this County of Berks who about ten months since came into Newberry between eight and nine in the Morning on the Lord day starke naked in a most immodest manner even beyond the Pagans and so walked through a long Street only with an inchanted belt about him which belt we have ground to call inchanted this man did not converse or live as a Husband with his wife for many months before this we will tell you what his Doctrines were 1. That Marriage was made by man 2. That Christians were worse then Beasts 3. That any woman was as free to him as his Wife 4. That his wife was no wife of his she was a limb of the Devil 5. That he was holy and all things that he toucht were holy as his very Hatchet his pot his knife 6. That when the fulnes of time was come he should work miracles This man hath left his owne family his Land and stock of a very considerable value entred upon by Persons whom the Country esteemeth Ranters his wife a weake diseased woman who brought him a valuable portion left to the mercies of these Persons which are cruell enough to her the farmer Kate himselfe since his departure was never heard of by his wife or any of her freinds if any Person can tell where he is or what is become of him they may doe a charitable Christian Office to informe his much distressed Wife Lastly what doe you think of one of your neighbours of Bristoll who lately even the 29. of Aprill last at Marleborough in the County of Wilts in a discourse with a Godly discreet and Learned freind held out this Light 1. He knew no such thing as the resurrection of the body 2. That the body of Christ was not in Heaven neither should he come thence with a body 3. He defended those that went naked but as yet he had no command to doe so 4. That of late he went to bed with a woman who was not his wife and that he did it without Sin 5. That that very Christ crucified at Jerusalem was indwelling in him 6. That he was confident of his perfect holinesse and on that account went to bed with the woman and yet afterwards excused himselfe saying there was a necessity for it there was no other spare bed in the House Sir these with those before recited are the Doctrins and Practises that we according to the measure received contend against all the hurt we wish you is this that God would give you the spirit of truth love and of a sound mind that you may not go on to vilify the Lord of Glory to slight the word of life truth and salvation and shoot your Tart indeed bitter speeches like darts against men that feare God and desire to prize and keep close to the word of his grace for our parts we have a witnesse within that what we have done is for the truth which we pray that you and we may receive in the love of it and in so doing we shall subscribe our selves Reding this 12 of May 1656. Your Freinds Christopher Fowler Simon Ford. FINIS

then from the spirit of the Lord and call them the word of the Lord to us when we can produce the printed Books of others of your Fraternity whence they are most of them stollen word for word † T. C. his Quaeres to one of us borrowed to a Title out of a Book directed to all that would know the way to the Kingdom Excepting false english Sect. 32 To your eleventh Article wherein you justifie your confidence in advising us to preach no more to the people then the Lord hath spoken to us and then we our selves witnesse the life and power of in our selves We say that t is true your are noted for confidence enough and none more then your female Declarers who for such a scolding religion as yours is are very well furnished with a Billingsgate confidence Concerning whom by the way we will be bold to examine you upon a few Interrogatories Q. 1. Whether the Spirit of God ever did act any persons with a boldnesse and confidence that breaks the Lawes of Nature and Civility Q. 2. Whether your Prophetesses that come to declare in publick Assemblies and some of them sometimes naked * As at Whitehall not long since and elsewhere Jer. 3. 3. do not break the Lawes of Nature and civility Q. 3. Whether such immodest practises be not too great evidences against many of them that they are so far from Religion that they have much corrupted the principles of common honesty And whether such brazen-faced impudency in such be not in the language of Scripture an Whores forehead Q. 4. Whether Pauls light or yours be better who saith Let the woman learne in silence with all subjection But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence 1 Tim. 3. 11. 12. Whereas you allow your women to teach in our Assemblies and your owne and in the very Streets and Market-places and to usurp Authority over us who take our selves to be men charging us to speak no more in the name of the Lord c. And what confidence emboldens the rest of you to come into our Assemblies and against the wills of the Officers to deliver your rayling charges there to the disturbance of whole Congregations your selves best know Only this we desire to know of you Q. 1. Whether Christ or his Apostles ever practised the like liberty in the Synagogues of the Jewes without leave first obtained from the Rulers We find not that our Saviour Christ at Nazareth opened his mouth to speak to the people in the Synagogue till the Minister delivered him the Book in token of the liberty granted him to teach there Luke 4 17. 20. And we find the Apostle Paul and his companion Barnabas at Antioch sate down and were silent till the Rulers of the Synagogue sent unto them and gave them liberty Act. 13. 14 15. And yet supposing they did their miraculous gifts were a sufficient demonstration that they had an higher authority We see no such in any of you Q. 2. Whether you be not herein so confident as to offer violence to that very Article of the Government by which you yourselves claime liberty in disturbing those who as professing faith in God by Jesus Christ are worshiping him according to their Consciences Q. 3. Whether it be not an apparant designe of Satan to imploy such confident men and women to make such disturbances at such a time when people should go home and meditate upon what they have heard to hinder and divert them But you think that you have warrant for all this confidence Sect. 33 because you only advise us to preach no more to the people then the Lord hath spoken to us c. Which advice of yours were it delivered in a sober private Christian way we hope we should take well at your hands and do assure you that we will to our utmost ability practise accordingly But we doubt that so much will not satisfie except we renounce what God speaks to us in the written word and hearken for Gods voice in unwritten revelations In which sense we must professe we think it were great boldnesse indeed in you to require us not to preach more then God hath spoken to us Seeing you undertake to forbid what God requires and our Saviour Christ and his Apostles accordingly practised The Apostle to Timothy tells him and us that the Scriptures are given by inspiration of God and are profitable for doctrine reproof correction c. To what purpose is the Scripture avouched to be profitable for Doctrine if we may raise no Doctrines from it for reproof correction and instruction if we may not lay it as the ground of all these 2 Tim. 3. 16. And in the same Epistle chap. 2. 2. he commands Timothy to commit what he had heard of him to faithfull men who shall be able to teach others also Had your quaking Generation been on foot then would they not have had the confidence to charge Timothy to speak nothing to the people but what he had heard from God immediatly and those that received Pauls Doctrine at the second hand from Timothy much more But whether the Apostle Paul or you be to be obeyed let sober men judge Sure we are that our Saviour Christ himself took for his Text what the Lord had many years before spoken to the Prophet Isaiah Luke 4. 17. 18. And for the Apostles and Apostolicall men we find them preaching those things which they learned from the Scriptures Apollos Act. 18. 28. shewed by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ And when the great question concerning Circumcision and the Mosaicall observances was started among the Apostles and Elders Act. 15. James quotes the word of the Lord to Amos v. 16 17. in that Assembly And the Apostle Paul Act 26. before Agrippa and Festus professeth He in all his Doctrine witnessed saying none other things then those which the Prophets and Moses did say So that he preached the word that was spoken to Moses and the Prophets and yet none that we read of charged him to cease from preaching more then God had immediatly spoken to him And we hope we may safely disobey your councels or commands herein under the protection of such great examples As for the other part of your advice to us that we preach no more then we our selves witnesse the life and power of within our Sect. 34 selves We would hope you mean Orthodoxly in it to wit that we practise what we preach wch if it be all you intend herein we assure you we do and we hope shall be enabled by grace to do so more and more But when we look upon the papers of others of your brethren we doubt you mean we must not preach any thing of the Histories and Prophesies of the Scripture See faith full discovery of mysticall Antichrist pag. in their literall sense but only the experiences of the Allegoricall senses their

word as written to have been a rule before it was written Although we shall not doubt to prove that those Patriarchs had the same foundation to build on and the same Law or Rule to walk by though they were not then committed to writing The Apostle tells us Gal. 3. 8. that the Scripture preached the Gospel to Abraham where it is observable that Abrahams light was Scripture light before the Scriptures were written 2. The question between us is not whether the Scriptures be the personall or reall ground of faith but whether as Mr. Thomas well distinguisheth it be the Doctrinall or declarative ground or foundation of faith This distinction whether you will admit or no we must premise because we would not be engaged to fight with a meer shadow If you will own the Scriptures to be a doctrinall foundation or ground of faith i. e. to hold forth from God those Doctrines which and which onely we are bound to beleive our dispute is at an end for we are of a mind we owne Christ alone to be the foundation or ground of faith personall or reall that is to be the person or thing that our faith is built on and the Scriptures to be the onely ground and foundation by way of Doctrine or declaration what we are to beleive concerning Christ and how to beleive on him We hope you will understand us we speak as plaine as we can to avoid cavills about termes All therefore that we are to prove in this question is that all things which vve beleive and do as necessary in order to salvation are to be such as are contained in the Scripture and to be judged by it whether they be so or no. We say All things which we beleive and do as necessary in order Sect. 62 to the salvation of our Soules are to be such as are contained in Scripture If not because to please you we must not argue from Scripture we desire you to satisfie us Q. 1. What thing necessary to be beleived or done in order to salvation there is which we may or must receive from any other Rule or build on any other foundation and what is that Rule or foundation We suppose you are bound either to allow our rule or shew us a bettor Or Q. 2. Whether what the Scriptures containe be sufficient to guide us to salvation or no If you affirme it then we shall think our selves well enough with our old Rule seeing vve may be saved and yet admit no other If you deny it you must out-stare these plaine Texts 2 Tim. 3. 15 16 17. From a Child thou hast knowne the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation And all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousnesse That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto every good work And that of John wherewith he closeth his twentieth Chapter These speaking of the signes which Christ did are written that yee might beleive that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that beleiving yee might have life through his name Say not that this concernes onely the Gospel of John or if more onely the Histories of the Evangelists For then we shall make bold to conclude our Position à fortiori If there be enough in one or at most four Bookes to work faith and thereby bring us to salvation much more in all the Scriptures Q. 3. Whether the Scriptures of the old and new Testament be the word of God or no or do you owne no word of God but Christ We suppose here you will answer us as your brethren here do We dare not deny it for feare of the Law we dare not affirm it for then we deny our own principles We know not how you will answer it But we must tell you if you deny it we are sure the Scriptures affirme it of themselves else we desire to know what it is that is called the Word of God in the places following Mar. 7. 13. 2 Cor. 2. 17. 4. 2. What it is that David so often calls by the name of thy word Ps 119. whether Christ spake himselfe or the declarative word of God Lu. 5. 1. If you affirme it We ask further Q. 4. Whether it be not the duty of the Creature to beleive and be guided by the declared word of God rather then by any others word whatsoever Q. 5. Whether there be any such thing in the World as Heresie or Errour If there be not to vvhat purpose are all those Prophesies that foretell and Cautions that forewarne Gods people against them in the Scripture If there be may they be discovered or no If they may not how can it be a duty incumbent upon Saints to avoid them is there any avoiding of an undiscoverable evill If they may by vvhat rule but the written Word Q. 6. Whether there be any duty or sin in the World or no The affinity your Sect hath vvith the Ranters in Principles vvhich G. Fox acknowledgeth makes us beleive that some of you vvould they speak out must answer No but what a man thinkes to be so We vvill not judge the thoughts But if you be more sober vve onely ask you Q. 7. What rule vve have to judge of vvhat is Duty or Sin but the vvritten Law of God Is it the light of every mans private bosome This is the forementioned Ranting Principle Is it immediate Revelation For to this your brethren incline as may be seen in the Quaeries sent to Mr. Baxter of Kiderminster one of vvhich vvas Whether he owned Revelations or no And Naylers Answer to his Quakers Catechisme and that very strongly yea they pretend to the same mission from God to this or that place to do this or that errand which the Prophets had of old and to be limited in their stay in and departure from such places by the immediate commands of God * See Deusberies discovery and his owne confession therein That at Derby he answered the Major that he would stay there till the Lord ordered him to go out of Towne and when he was put out returned and staid till he was free in his spirit to depart p. 8 9. If you be of their mind vve further enquire Q. 8. What certaine token you have to know the commands of God from the commands of Satan seeing he can easily insinuate his suggestions by inward voices as commands of God According to the old Law of God to his people the Jewes Pretenders to a Spirit of Prophesie though they gave evidence of their pretended mission from God by signes and wonders and those coming to passe too yet were to be discovered and judged by the written word Deut. 13. 1 2 3. c. And in the new Testament the Doctrine of an Angell from Heaven is submitted under a curse to the Doctrine preached by the Apostles Gal. 1. 8. And we desire to know

Baxtet Quakers Catechism Tutors For are they not the very same things which they object against us That we have not an infalliable Spirit to interpret Scriptures and that we differ among our selves in our interpretations and therefore when we appeale to Scripture as the only Judge of Controversies between us they as you do deny it upon this account because we have no infallible Spirit to interpret the Scriptures controverted and thereby give an Authoritative decision of them And what we answer to them we therefore say to you in a word The Scripture we owne as our onely Rule and Judge in matters of faith and we owne no interpretation of Scripture nor desire others to owne any but such as hold proportion with other Scriptures and such interpretations and deductions are so far infallible as they do necessarily agree to them or follow from them But say you further You have some of you been Teachers in Sect. 73 this Nation ten twenty thirty yeares were those things that you have taught so many yeares together necessarily deduced from Scripture What then If not say you then by your owne confession you have taught falsehood But stay Sir every deduction that is not necessarily drawne from Scripture is not falsehood A true conclusion may have but a probable consequence sometimes to infer it from the premisses It s truth is never the lesse for that but its evidence But suppose we should confesse for once that all which we deduce from Scripture is not true We know not what use you will make of it except this that those that do not alwaies speak truth are not to be thought at any time to do so And if so we know whom this inference will hit as well as our selves What think you of the Apostle Peter whom Paul withstood to his face Gal. 2. 11. for countenancing the false brethren in the Doctrine and practise of the Mosaicall Ordinances among the Gentile Churches and compelling the Gentiles to live as the Jewes was he never in the right or not to be beleived to be so because he was then in the wrong Nay doth not God himselfe suppose a possibility of being deceived in the best of his Ministers when he bids hearers prove all things 1 Thes 5. 21. and commends the Beroeans for searching the Scriptures whether the things that Paul and Silas preached were so or no Act. 17. 11. We suppose that no godly Minister will preach that which he knowes to be false But if without his knowledge yea or with his knowledge any one should do so it is the hearers fault if he be deceived thereby because he hath a certain rule whereby to examine what he teacheth and we professe we desire no further to be credited then the Scripture will beare us out in what we say But suppose there be some of us possibly to be found who Sect. 74 will justifie all that they have preached for so long time to be truth necessarily deduced from Scripture What of that Why then say you all that is so taught is infallible True And what then Forsooth then you add why do you not then adjoyn all your Sermons to the Scripture for if necessarily deduced from Scripture they are Scripture and a part of the Saints rule And so you go on it would become so voluminous a Book that many poore Soules Estates would not buy a Bible We shall give you a breif account why we do not if it may do you service And that is because we do not judge our selves so immediatly inspired in our Sermons although we deliver the same truths the holy Pen-men of God were in penning of the Scriptures The sacred Writers of Scripture did not onely write the things they left upon record to the Church by immediate inspiration but the words and phrases in which they expressed them Whereas the best Ministers that since have been have been faine to expresse those truths in notions and tearmes of their owne yea and the Apostles themselves in their popular Sermons And therefore we suppose the H. Ghost thought not fit to record all the popular Sermons which were preached by the Apostles themselves but only appointed them to draw up the summe of the Doctrine they generally taught in expressions of their owne into a forme of sound words of his owne inspiration to be a Standard of Doctrine and expression to succeeding ages And yet supposing the Apostles alwaies preached as they Sect. 75 wrote by immediate inspiration as to matter and forme then we ask you Why they did not bind up all their Sermons with the Canonicall Scriptures seeing all they taught was infallible Whatever you answer hereunto will be applied to our case But we suppose John gives you a sufficient reason in the close of his Gospel There are many other things saith he which Jesus Jo. 21. 25. did which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the World it selfe would not containe the Bookes that should be written So that God therefore thought fit to keep from after Ages part of the History of Christ that the Bible might not be too voluminous And we hope the same reason will serve for us if we do not bind up our necessary and infallible deductions with the Bible In a word this question is proposed with no greater measure Sect. 76 of discretion then if you should ask Whether all the Bushells and Yards and Pints in every mans house or shop in Bristoll be exact measure or no If all say yee then you further enquire Why they do not all bring them into the Market-house or publick place appointed for that purpose and chaine them all to the common Standard seeing they are all alike exact with it Surely to such a wise question the answer will be easie Viz. Because one publick Standard is enough to measure private Measures by and the severall Tradesmen according to their severall imployments having once had their private Measures tryed by that can make profitable use of them at home We shall leave you to make the application to the Question in hand But before we dismisse this captious Argument of yours Sect. 77 you shall give us leave to retort it upon you and then see whether you can give a wiser answer to your owne question in your owne case then we have done in ours We ask therefore Is all that George Fox James Nayler or your selfe teach write and pronounce as from God For from Scripture you will not say you speak seeing that it is not your rule of Doctrine necessarily true or no If not then by your owne confession you have if your owne Argument be good taught falsehood if so then all you and they have taught is infallible for you say it is dictated by the same Spirit that indited the Scriptures and so equall to them your Epistles are as good as St. Pauls is before-said by some of you And then why do you not adjoyne all your Preachments and