OCR Text |
Show A Treatife of Oatlis. Vol!. f. pr!t1'ittr • And what Security can or will yott hne [com our O.tt}u, who muft 61tt make us to bte:Ik the Tye of·our own Confc~ence before we can' rake rhein ) It tJn't be thought, we fbould keep with you, when you make us break with our fetves. VII. Confider what exprefs Sctipture we have for ir, and tbat in the Judgment and Manyrdom of many good a.nd fam~s Perfon~. VHI. Be pleas'd to weigh the ~rear Pcr~ury that JS now m our World,_ and daily m~'"e1:orn Oatbr bekht forth by fOme, to {how they dare be b.old with Sacred T1Jmg1; by o~hers, w vent ~affton ; by roo many (as they Jm .. yiol'lfly think) tb gr11ct rbw· .i\117/ur, wh1l_ff others have fo greH Doubt 6f their own Credit, that they fwear, to dnve, what t~ey fay, Home; and flOt a Jew ufe it, merely to fill MP vacafll Placer, betng barren of b,:ttcr Matter. '¥e think that inftead of taking Advantage againft us fof l\'ot Swe_aring, in fo For.fu.'enring nn Age, we fhoul~ rather receive lncouNgem~nl for fpeaking that Truth without an Oath, winch others are compelled to by Olth, it yet they fpeak it.' Fa!fe. Speaking necellitated the Ufe of 6aths (iity many.) But o.aths now ptOV!ng not the Remedy, but the Dife~fe, What better 6xpedu;nt can be ufed than to come back to T,·urb-fped.mg, which endetl1 Oatht in their firft_ Caufe, or Occafion at le:~ft: However, that fuch as are not Sick fhould be obliged to take the Potions of .the Sick, only to keep them Company, fecms Vnreafanable. ' IX. Be pleafed to confirler the {>Crifhlng Diffi.r.~lties we meet withal i'rf ou·r Commerci in the V{orld, p:uucullrly as Credztors-t Extc11tor$, ftlrr J. th4 nts; Shi~lJ-laflerJ, Apprentices, etc. Men making us pay becaufe of our Tertdernef$ in this Maner. 0 the Oppreffi9n that is ~xercifed in Petty Courts and S(Jfions upoti many Hundreds of us, who know not which way to Right our felves, an 011th ftill being required in the Chfe; the Rt/Njr~l of which for Omfcience Jake, expofes us to great l..o.Jflr, both of f.jlr~u, Liberty and fomerimes Life, h~ tedious and cruefJ,nprifonmtnt.r. ~~ X. But the Lofs and Trouble is bot always our own: Our Neighbours frequendy bec?me Suffercrs.againft our Wills: Fir:fl, ~n that we ~an per~ form no Office tb common wuh them, however otherwtle a:ble-otb d1fchargc it. SeconJ!y, Nor can we ferve them in the Capacity of Wit nc.ffu, which Qualification goes a great Way towards the lr1t~intenance of.JuJHce; and all becaufe our Jolemn Word will not be received inftead ot an Oath: Relieving us ~ere is a douhle Bene/it~ for o~t' Xeigbbo'!rs ih:ue with us in it , and it marufeftly tends to the Preferv:mon of Soczety. And wh:uever any may pleafe to thlnk of us, we are :J.S willin_g_ :1nd ready to contribute all hOneft A/fiflattct to the Maintenance of ]11jtice.,. and anfwering the F.nds of Government, according to our .Ability and Confcience, as :1ny Sort of Men tll.H live under h. XI. And laflly, We intreat you further to confider, that our Cauticn H Mldrge as the Man that Swears: For. though you make a Difference be· tween him that tells an Vtttrutb and him that Forfweari, in Favour of the former; yet we cheerfully fubmit our felves to the Pu,ijhment of the Pe~· jllre4, if we break our Word ; do you but pleafe to take us into equs/ Prt· Vi/edge wirh lhe Sw~arers: If there be any Damagt, we conceive it is done to us, who fuftain the fame Punifhment for a.n Vntrutb, which is the only Due of Perjury, and if you condefcend to yield us the Kirtdnefi of the one, we ofFer oUr Perfons to anfWer the juft Severirl of the other. We will add here out of Hoofr's Hiftory of thel\etherlands, a Prc.jiJent, not impertinent to our Purpofe, fol. 464, 4:65, tranOated out of Lstin as.. follows' CXIX. In this A!rembly of theStates(faith HDO[t)thcre wasfomething ~ttemRted towards the Oppfeffion of the Atenijls, as appears by a cert:uq Letter, written from Dort, the laft of .il1arcb, by the Lord St. A/degDhdt, to the Minifter Gifpanvs lieidantH; which was rhus VI!Ord:ed. The Caufe of the Menifts hath, fince Receipt of your and Tajjfn's Le~· ters Yefterday, been ueatcd of with the moft illuftrious Prince: Aqtl venly, I find it more dillicu.lt than l had hoped (for ever may an~ will fuch • "' curfed Vol.. I. A Trt!atife of Oath•: curfed Hopes meet with fuch ·r. R 699 had at Mtdd!eburgb given m WJ e ~ulfes from prudent Rulers] F the Freedom of Bllrge.ffes or~ &~eaft . opes, that we lhould feclude o{ he T6nj retufcd at I Onth. Now he aUt d ea b n.yt fo folemnly receive thofe rhm ~ ch.tded 1 wffinhour a new Convulfio~ i~e~h~ C~~~c~~ch ~ Thi~g cannot be :o~~ never u er that fuch a L:tw be made s_, ecaute the States wiU to the comruon Good of theRe ubl' as they JUdge no Ways conduein the only Caufe formerly whtch pbro~c~. Y~J, he avers, That this wa~ DtfpleJfure of the Stater; that it d'Ji r,dtheu Conft,,mer io far into the- ~}l at]once voted down, ar.d hlld afideeby tv:? dltt e,lbut they had been . rrgy wert now again about the fa Th" ounci. That they [the tl)ar no douht many would pour. mid .Jrng, and that in fuch 3 Se:1fon podgt. That hiS fettled Jud m '"co ater out of the F•pi/h Hod,: adAvantage, and h:eaktng do!n ~ftr:~~,C~ar ~bts would ruriJ to great tf..r. nd when I [faith A!dtgond ] £ ute es. jell thofe thJt broke the Ba;d o'f";;jl'~y urged: That we could ealily reJ Civil and P~lnical Order. And when I d~:J(~~qery, upon Pretence of ger and Pen/ Church aod Sra a t3lth he) · how much Da~t• of the Council, in it feJf un te were threatened Wtth by fuch' ::r Conchifiorx thofe A1en'$ TEA. mu(f pn)S 1~~~~ ~:rhnfwered me lbarply enough, Thai' · :/}Jng any fu,rber, or we mNfl confef$ ~{nd tbbar we ·"'"fl nor urge t/Ju ;Ofct ~~~ to a Religion that w • I 'J11l I e Paplfts hod Rtafon to Aorrh-Ho/lander.r would not a~lic:;tfi o~'· Conftuncu; and that rhq In fborr, (faith he) I fcarce fi how o n. Wbtch verily [ye D'jay believe ~e any t mg .we can raet done in rhis Point Shmarr to m~, the more I obfef\'~~h:f~~e ~s ~:'1 arion] is the greare; t e pretending of I know not h (i m o many honeft Men by be thereby Imbittered, yea, I cou~d ~~~~fiahonable Stumbliilg·Biocks, 'will Cat!iheiled to thofe, that to thett uuermoft fi k,_Y• wdounded, to fee them lefs urch. ee to a vance. rQe Caufc: of rlte . The Frmu, (faith he) pa 1 · h N ,, himfclf. chid me, as if we ~efe ~~b~u~ roame of .the State, and p.utly of ove; the Confctence; and as if they endeavo:~~ ug tn ~u_r CLlergy a Domit~IOII tuuons, to fubje£l: all others to them . And r b' Y t. ctr aws lrid .ConlliJll~ nk thar. WJs lately here wh fi · e pra1~ed. the Saying of a _j;'ttng Spim of the Romijh CbNrcb j" ;;,;;•:.;oF. theh O)Jeawn [of the Perfe- Jre dJ' tbe~r.r, wh~m o;e Jld fo b "Ot tt not gonefo!ong to tb~ that he clearly faw, That hefo,:~~o r;~e 11p~n lbat .4e&oNnt.- And WON/d upon borb Sales flan4 07( tven Gr.Pufd.s pa./Jed, the Churc!J..Domimon !o wh!ch Hooft adds. By this we rna obfi , Pnnce ttnd SMu$ thc:n held Lzberr Q{ t ./n c:, of what Confeqoenco tho ' And that wbarwe have hitherto f{i~ m;II.Jctence robe:. . • cable, we (!raJ I prefent you with tjl 1 l not be thought a thmg uftpraaj. Yernments. e u gmeot and Edlf!r of Fore1gn Go~ Here follow r.,; Lttutl of the G f N . [thhe J<lagij/ram qf the City of A1~dde!but~~-~nan;eP.hr!lnfct fo/hOrangc,. to ere. o , ~ o t e Menifl.t. CXX. A Copy of fue Fitll Letter. F0t3fQ)uch as a Suppliwio!l ha h b . . BehJif of certain Inhabitants t f ~~n (!fefenf[ed ~to fils Excell~ncy In tug thc:rebv, Thattht"111.a ifi 1 ° t 15 ,ltY o Mtddejburgb, complainShops ro b'e jhitt and ~ ra u of the fmd City had lately caJJftd their <Ntly Means th(/ b~vt c:: tq~(e~t(y r,;;hzbueJ_ ~heir Tradt, which is ;urhe ueding fromtbcir nor btJV~IZintmn IT Ftudt!tes; the {!rid ltohibit1on pro~ faid Inhabitants fatther mg )'!t token the u.{llczl 0 At H, Ill othtrs: T~e long Tem; of Years h vt ref!ililftratm~, .how that rheJ111W, for a ctrtliil)' Ovil B~trdcns CM~I./bjlt ~ tfJII'Jdll11t t..aA:mg tbt ftriJ O:uh, freely born aa_ ' lQnJ ql/ '4Xt>r, cqnaPJ ttJith Dlb{r lJJirltiJ~s4Jtd I~ ... "" habitanll |