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Show The GreaJ C .A S E, &c. ~· SeUariu, is a Word, that whofoe\'er has but Confidence enou!W lo conceit himfelf in the Right, by Confe9uence wants none to ~uppofe the contrary in the wrong, and fo to call ht.m 3 St(ltJf.Y,i. bu,t th1s IS bur a meer beggin$. '/! rhe Qpefi!on 1 For~ fay thofe ar(§1Uam! does not conclude them fucb, nOr Ooes the Aa f~ak fo plamly of Di.f}tftltr!: ~ur granting it did, ye.t they mufl be &d111o.ur Ontsl.."'h.fl)Jli~V{Jll be~xa1n; where we may obfervc, _th_~~ rqre)~t(l)\1.~ ~ Sllk}y ~~r:\ltllll!) h~.)\Jl flrikes at but to be~ S( dirious One· For a MaQ Al:l.¥ Ifler m Ju ment about Maiterl Of Faitlt, Ft"JlllrhJ' l)la'<\~ul -&l:\iti\P.~4n4\ Yef'ltl>lrelpond with the GOvernment in Matters Civ1l; fo that ACT.bpon .the whole aims not ar§tUarier flmply, but th;Y}!'.ft be fuch as, a1e. E')<lllt~S1 J.ql<he Civil ConA:itution to be rendred Sedtf~~=Js'Onu, ftbm :"htch ;\~ h:tVC fof .. ficiently dear'd omfelves. t .. t" 10 4 That we mut under Co!Oflr and Prltence, and not really to rxorjhip'God; we deny, and none can prove. 'Twet1e hi&h lnchari:r.toaffi.Jm politjvely, Tbir: or that People ffieet only u11du a Ito/Pur of Reli$lon,; ye.t Ui~(s die A8: 'bad fo exprefil"d it felt, we conceive·thei~ Authority bme a.nchmperfc£ l that Perfecute us by it. lr will help bur lmle to fay, J'/Jt Kmg, Lord, and Commonr, by tbe foUowing Wordr, in other Manner than nu~r~iJ!t to the Liturgy of the Church of England, ~t'ltnt, that fucb meet under i£ 'Pre· tence that did not conform to tbnt Worfi!'P; fince the precedent Words fay, under OJ!our or Prttence of any Exercife of Religion in other Mtmner, etc. So that they are only !truck at, who are not fincere Difi'cnters, b~t ihat are fuch, with Defign to carry on another End. , Ohj. But may fo.me fay, 'Tir granted, you have very evidently evaded the Force of the A£l, fo far or relttfts to thefe rrcirtd Exprtffionr; · bu! cobat z1 a Bill he ready, for an Explanato~y and Supplementary All to the--}or"!er, wherein tbir Scope f~r .A.rg11me.n~ wrll n~t he f ound, ~beca11fe your Meetmgs toiU be abfolutely ad;utiged Sedztzqus, Riot0111, and Ln!awf11!. To which we Anfwer, That as the granting of the hrft, which \looe re:t· fonabl.y can deny, is a manifeft Impeachment of fuch, as hJve violenrly profecuted People for being prefent 3t Religious Alfem.hlies (altnoft to their utter Undoing) fo !hall we :zs eafily anfwer the Jecond, which t· mounts to the; Force of a·n Ohjeaion, and briefly thus. ' Firft, It is not more impoffible for Mankind to preferve their Societ} Wirhour Speech, than ic is :Jb(olutely requifire thlt the Sptub he resular and unain. For, if what we call a Man, a Li6n,· a Whale to Day, we fhould tall a ~¥oman, a Dog, a Sprat to Morrow ; there would be fuch Un€ ertainty and Confufion, as it wpuld be altogether impoffible ro prefc'f\'C Speech or L•ngu•ge intelligible. Secondly, It is not in the Power of all the Men id the World to rtconcife an ab[ol11U Comratiiflion, to eonverr the Nature of Ligbt into thtTt Of Dar~ nefs, nor to enafl a Thing to be that which it is not; bu't' that Th'Ofe endeavour to do, who think of making onr Religious Meetings Rouu and Riots 1 for firft they o£fer Violence to our comrAon Propriety of Language, it being the firft time that ever a Religious and Pcac;eable AfTembly would he en; tfied a Rout or Riot: Nat11re, Rea{;n, the Law JS: the Land, and commC!f ~=~ice, 1111d Obfervation, give a c ear contrary efinition of a Ront and Secondly, They endeavour to reconcile ContradiElions ; for they rrt>Hid bave a Thing that, which by Nature it cannot he; for that which is Ptt~rr· able cannot be Rioro11s, and what is Religious can never be Seditious. For any to fay, our ll1utings are not Re!igio11s, iS nor only a poor Evafi~,, bu~ gre:Jt lncbarit1; for that is properly a Re!igi~us .A.ffemh!y where Peif!'m are co11gregnud wub a real P11rpoje of o:orjbipping G(jd, by Prtt)'er or otberrrije, Itt lhe Perfonr mer he ejlet1!1d Do8rint~Uy OrJ!1odox, or not. Can any be ('O lgoorant, or fo Malicious, as to believe we do uot Affemble to Worlhip God, to the bell of our Underfiauding? If they thiQk otherwif~, they rn~Jt VoL. I. A Seafonable CaTJeat againfi POPI!l\Y." muft, and do all'ume unto themfelves a Power beyond the Arrogancy of t67o. the POPE himfelf, that never yet adventur'd to tell Man his ThoughtS ~ nor the rurpoH:s and Intents of his Hearr, which he, or they muft do' that definitively judge our Atremblies, void of Sword or Staff, Drum 0; .Mask.et, Tumult or Violena, 4nd dr~umflamzored with all the Tokent of Cbriflian Devotion, a Rout or a Riot. And truly, If Prouflantr deny tbt Lega/ily of tbofe .J!.Or or EdiUr, ~itb f!Jere ~onrriv'd. and exe&IJted in irder tl zheir Suppreffion, by th~ rifpe[lzve Kzng~ and ~arbamen~r that own'd rbe RomHh Fmtb and iiutboruy, ubere they tJtber J,d or Jo live, let them not tbink. it {lrnnge, if we on the fame Terms (namely, Scruple of Confcience) rrfujt Cimplidnte fllitb tbtir Lam1 of &f/r<int. And as the firll Reformers were no whir da·unred at the Black CharaElers the Romaniflr faftened on them, n-ehher thought their Alfemblitr in a way of profeft Separation, the more unbwful, for their reprefenting them fuch; no more :ne we furpriz'd or fca~d at the ugly Pbraft,, daily call upon us by a' Sort of Men, that either do not know u1, or waMld not that othetr jhou!d: For we :ne not fo eafity to be Brav'd, Menac'd, or Perfec::uted out of our Sen:Je, Reafon, and Priviledge. They fay, LOSERS bavt ltaveto Sptal<, at leall, we take ir 1 none being greater Loferr, than fuch as for Diffenting from Nationallnftitucions in Point of Faith or Worlb.ip, are depriv'd of their Common Righu and Freedomr, and hindred as much as may be, from reverencing the God thatmade them, in that Way which to them feems moft acceptable to him. To Conclude, we fay, and by it let our Intentions m our whole Dif. c::ourfe be meafur'd, that we have not defended any Dijfenter.r, whofe ~uarrel or Dijfem is rather Civil and Political, than Religiout anti Confciemiflllt; for both we rellly think fuch unworthy of ProteUion from the Eng/ijh Government, who feek the Ruin of it \ and that fuch as are Contributors to the Prefervation of it, (though Diffenters in Point of Faith or Worlb.ip) are unquefiionably intituled to a Prorc£lion from l T. A Seafonable Caveat againfl: P 0 PER Y. OR . . - A Pamphlet, Entituled, An Explanation of the Roman: Catholick Belitf, Briefly Fxamined. By WiOiam Penn. But in vain Jo tbey Worjhip me, ttacbing /or DoOrinu tb~ CdmmanJmentJ of Mtn, Mart. I;. 9· Now., J•nnes and Jambres wirbflood Mofes, Jo Jo tbtjt a/fo refif/the Tn11h, JHen of corr11pt Mindr, Reprobaut ~onurning the Fnith, 2 Tim. 3· 8. To the. Englijb Protefiant READER. WE hope it may not be too /au to militate for Truth ~gainft t~e dark Suggeftions of Papal Superftition : Nor , an fJJe tbznk that lf_jhould be ejlum'd Hetctodox, for a diffenring Prouj/ont (whilfi •ltnofi.g•fpmg f~r Ooo ~ h~ |
