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Show An A 'P 'P E N ']) 1 X t? Vot..l. . d 1i b!ifom 10 tbe State, under the Counter- ' ne~us Per Jon_, F~{!Iour, an ':0" needs nor a Jury of Twelve to con\lift. 'feit of.I\lummanon,f!i'~.fime~hlll~S wen as I am perfuaded they have no ~ them of very great l~dt creuon '· 3: Adverfaries Ammunition hath been ' Room wi.rh r,hee. 1 owever, :Olfack who have, alas, got to their old ' worfc heftow d tha.n ufon V! . the1\ir wherein they have been fo hot' Whimfies of. fancymg der.me_s 1~ perfuade them they only Dream, and ' ly !kirmi£hing, th~.r ~:u . It 15 c 0 mo Rcfidence is on a more Solid Bot• make Reality ofhthl\ns · M&,1~~e h:d my Innocency been'l!'ell obferved, ' rom : Bur as 1 am WI mg to ha~e iven fo great an Approbati~n of their ~ my Confinement {hou~d no~ Hanl fince they are unqueftionably mani' Impoftures: So on 1/thoa\ ~~e more moderate ofthe Authors have given ' feft~d to ha_~uch,. an br k Converfation, expreffing their great Trouble ' their Re~::t lOd·styme~~err'acined and promoted filch foul Afperfions,, to the ' ro have o rea 1 • • M iftrate a ainft me. the Caufe, I fay, bemg thus : incenfi,ng ~f.thy.Ctvl:he ~~defervcdgE£re8: fuould ceate, otherw~fe my Li· ' removfid, It _I~ b~faecrificed to the lnortlinau Paffio'!s of t.h~ mof! znvtttrate ' berry ,;emF. a· r ftrongly to confirm rhofe m thetr Con]efiur~ an.d Part o; a a zon, o dend have told it up and down, that my Reftramt IS ' Repons,. wh~ con6 Reilgious Matter but for fame Points deeply con• ' not ~onunue ,Jt a{tbe Kin both molt unworchy the Equity~_ Greatnefs, ' cedn~ng the Sat ~y:hority. ~~t alas 1 Shall thefe impudent Forgeries, and : ~alici~nu~u~ 0 ra~ations, ionger pre~il againfi a Man tftat hath Brolte. no ' Jifi ·~no Gov~rnm~nt detbron'd no D~iry, fubv~rt~d no Fsttb, ' ~b:Jien~tt~r good Lif~; but il! Words and A8:ions hath inceifantly en- ' dea\'OUred the effe8:ual Promouon of all. h ~ ' What if I differ from fame Religious Ap~re~enfions? A!D I t ere ore ' · compatible with the being of Humane Soctetles ? Shall It not be rc' ~ember'd with what Succefs, Kingdo~s and C?mmon-W.e~lths have ' lived under the Ballance of diverfe Parnes? And 1~ the Pohucks of the ' mofi Judicious and Acute Inquificors after t.hefe Aff:u~s are of any WortR• c they are not at a Stand in delivering th~tr Senfe wnh great S~arpne s, c That it is the fecurefl Prop of aU .Mona~cbz~al Govtrnmmtr. Let It no~ be ' forgotten that under the Jewijh Con/lttutzon, the utmoft they requued ' from Str;n ers, to entitle them to Ffeedom, was an ~cknowled9ment to ' their NoacbYcal Precepts, (never denie;d by me,).nor was tt better wtth them ' in latter Days, than whilftt.he Pbarif~ts, Scrzb~s, E_.ffeam, Sadducees, &.c. ' had the Free Excrcife of then Confctencl!s, all dtffenng among themfelves. ' Neither was it otherwife amongft the Jn6d~ls: W.ho knows not that al· ' moU every Family and '!ribe in. ~om~, had ns parttc~lar S~cr•? Nay, th.~ ' EgJptian Ijis and Srrapzs, obtam d a Place for pubhck ~emples, aQd D1 ' vine Honours among thofe Wife People .. N~r can I omu th~ ~rear Can' dar of (that otherwife mofi inhu~an) Tzber1us to the. Chrijltanr, who, ' if Eufebi111 Pampbilw be to be credtted, not only rna~e. lt Death for any ' to perfecute the Cb1 ~[1iam, but had a rare g~ Opt.nton of C H lt. Is T, ' and the Cbriflian Fai1h, though both were fo tmrnedta.te~y fle~rufltve of ' his Religion and the whole World's. Nay, fince the Chn1han Ttmes;Who ' is not a Str::mger to EcclefiaftjCJl Story, and doth. not know .the Gre11t V11· ' riery of Opinionr that reigned in Egypt, Conflantmopl~, ~nt1ocb and .Jilex .. ' a11dria, indeed, where not? Nor do I read it ever entred into the Hearts ' of any to moleft them. And had not Secular Power been the Diana and ' Great Goddefs'courted by the Arrianr and Anti·.Arrians, they might have ' liv'd with great Security in their Sentiments, and not have troubled the ' whole World and perplex'd themfelves for fo many Ages. And they who ' will reftea uPon the Carriage of barb thofe Parties, may 6nd Reafons ' enough to dread the Apprehenfions of a Faaion, and palpably difcove[ ' and read the Natural but Fatal Confequences that unavoidably follow c. the 'F.xaltation of a fi~gle Party, to the Detriment of others, rather than ' to keep a moderate and well-ad vi fed Ballance upon all. This Maxim .So· '- crates-Scbol,a." icm Ieports to have been not unfeeo~ nor wholly unpra8:•a s~'dy The A u t H,. o 1t's t, I F E. ' by the great Wifdom of the Erpperor. ]ovinnrn, fi_r!l fuggefted by his i,.,: No. J. ' loved Friend :wd Phtlofopher, Tbemijllllt, whofe Tmre, though fhort, bad - · - ' a moft differing Succefs from all that went before, or follow'd after hlm ~ ' and more than a little confirms my prefent Confideration. 1 {hall ami~ ' the Recital of l:J.tter and prefent Teftimonies : In Europe they arc frefh ' and in our Sight : It is not the Property of ReligioH to PerJetutt Religion~ ' that fcorns to employ thofe Weapons to her Defence, that others have ' us'd to her Depreffion. It is Her Priviledge alone to conquet naked of ' Force or Artifice: And thar Perfon ~ho hath not the Eletlion of his Rc· .. ' ligion, hath none. ' For my own Part, I know not any unfit for Politicai Societiu, bitt tbofe ' who maintain Principles defiru8:ive of InJuflry, Fidelity, ]11jlicr, and ' Obedience, in all Matters relative of them, (wherefore . the Romans exil'd ' their .Mathematicos) which neither my felf, nor any ~~~hr living, can ' with any Shew of Reafon be charged withal. But to conceit th:n Men ' rnuft form their Faith of Things proper to another World, by the Pre-' fcriptions of Mortal Men, or elfe they can have no right to Eat~ Drintt, ' Sleep, ~Valk, Trade, b~ tll Libert!, or Live in thir, to me feems both ridi· ' culous and dangerous. Since 1t is rnofi: certain, the Underfianding (:an ' never be convinc;ed by other Arguments than what are adequate to jts ' own Nature; which Force is fo remote from, that as it abundantly ex· ' preffcth Paffion or Ignorance in rhofe who ufe ir, fo experimentally do ' we 6nd, that it is not only unfuccefsful, by confirming Perfons that really ' have Reafons on their Side, but greatly obdurates alii:> the Unreafonable, ' who forget their own Weaknefs, by gazing on their Perfecutors~ being 'well affured, that whofoever is in the Rishr, he always is in the Wrong, ' that by Club-Law and Corporal Extremities thinks to illuminate and con' viocethe Underftanding: It may make Hypocritt.r, no Conv~rts ; and ifl 'am at anyTime convinc'd, l'le pay the Honour of it to TRUTH, and ' not to bafe and timorous Hypocrify. Nor indeed are fuch Inquiries Mac terial, as well as that it is unlawful to make fo diligent Search for Cone fcience, and that in Cafe they find her without the Ma1k of publick AI• lowance, and that lhe pays no Cufiom, {he muft be there forfeited. For ' who loves to ask at any Shop of what Rt!igion the Mafter i~ and not ra• ther what is his Price for this or that Commodity? It therefore greatly ' were the King"s lntereft to clear the Prifons of all Confcientious Perfons, ' efpecially 6nce Uniformity of Mind is not lefs irnpoffible in all Punflilioes~ ' than is exa8: Refemblance in Vif~ge, and Men muft be new made in both : Refpc8:s, before they can be chang'd to gratify fuch Defires. ' However my Cafe is fingular, fince wholly Guiltlefs of what was cbarg'd ' againfi me; and if the Obferva.tion of Tacitrlf on Lingoni11ls various Cafe ' be of any Force, who, though he did dcferve Punifhment infl.itled, yet '. becaufe it was done without Examination, and . due ConviCtion, faith ' Tacittn, He fuff~r'd unlawfully. Then for a greater Reafon muft my Con· ' finement feem injurious, who have been !hut up above thefe Six Months, • under a ftria and clofe-ImprJfonnient, from many. common Comforts, ' and necefTary Concerns of Life, wV,:hout the leaft Formal Caufe or Rea~ ' fan why exhibited againft me, contrar)', I conceive, to the Natural Pri: vii~Jg~ of an Englifhrnan. , ' My Hopes are, I fh!J.ll not longer continue aPrifoner, rneerly to afrurc ' the World I am nat innocent of what in very Truth I am not Guilty, ' nor yet that Matters of lighter Moment be fought to prolong my Re' firaint, becaufe as yet there is no Law to deprive an inoffenfive J:.:nglijhma/1 ' of fo great and eminent a Right as Lib~rry: Since this were too nearly to ' refemble the lamentabl!' Cafe of the Innocent /)tJugbttr of Guilty Srjtz'i ' m1s, who becaufe the Rom11n Laws allow'd not Virgins to be ftrangled, ' wa~fir!l deftowred, that (he might be. My Life fhall go before my Cha' fiity, let Men connive what they will But above all, methinks the : N~me Cbriflian, imports fo Holy, fa Juft, and fo Condefcending a Difpo ·• finon, .that thefe Severities can have no Plea ftom fuch as have truly en· X : tltlrd |