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Show 86S Tbe Rife and Progrefs VoL.l. !}_uakers [DVt and ialte Cart of one another. O~hers, _lefs moder:he, will fay, Tbe~uakers Jove none _bur. tbemfe!ver : And If_ lovr~g one another, and Jtaving an Intimate Commilmon m Rellgton, and tonflonr ~r~ _w meet_ t? w_or~ {hip God, and help one another,, be any Mark of PnmlllVt CbrijlrJJmry, they had it, blell'ed be the Lord, m :an ample Manner. . 11. To love Enemier. This theybothTaug/Jr and Prallifed. For they did not only refufe to be revenged for lnJ~tles done the~, and condemned it as of an Unchriftian Spirit, but they dtd freely_ /orgtv~; ye~, lielp and Relieve rhofe that had been Cruel to ~hem, when tt was m thetr Powe_r ro have been even with them : Of wh!ch many an? fingular lnftances m1ght be iven : Endeavouring, through Fatth and Pa~1ence, to ~v.ercome all In~ ju&ice and Oppreffion, and preaching this DoClnne as Cbriflzan, for others to follow. .r b ,. , · d' Ch ·n· 111. Another was, The Sufficiency OJ Trut JP~af(zng, accor mg to . !I s own Form of found Words, of Jt a! rea, and 1\ay, ~~Y.· among Chrtlhans, t»irbout Swearing ; both from Chnfts exprefs Prohtbmon, to Swe_ar at all, Mat. 5. and for that they being under the Tye and. Bond of Truth tn thema felves, there was no Neceffity for an Oath; and It would be :1 Rep~oa clt to their Chriftian Veracity to affure their Truth by fuch an extraordm~ry Way of Speaking; fimple and uncompounded Anfwers, os Yea ~nd 1\ay, (without Alfeverarions, Atteftations, or Supernatupl Vouchers) bem_g moft !uita"hle to Evangelical Ri"ghteoufnefs. But offenng at the fa_me T~me t o· be l)Unifht to the full, for Falfe-fpeakinl!, as others for PerJury, 1f ever GuiltY of it ; And hereby they exclude wuh all True, all Falfe and Profane Swearing; for which the Land di_d ~nd doth .illourn, and the Great Goct was, and is nor a little offended ~nh.u. . . . IV Jt.'ot Fighring but Sujfenng. Js another Te{hmony pecuh:J~ t o. th1s Peopie .. They affir~ that Chriftianity teacheth People To beat rbnr Swords • 110 Plo~gh-Shares and their Spears into Pruni1ft·lioolu, and ro fe,rrn T~ar ~0 more, that Jo r'he Wo!j may lie do:IJn with ~be L_amb, and the Llon uml1 the Calf, and nothing tbar dejfr~ys be enrer.rame~ rn rbe IJ.caru.oJ People : Exhorting them to employ rhe1t Zeal aga1nft Stn, and turn thetr Anger ai ainfi Saran and no longer war one againft another; becaufe aU R'ar.s atra ~ightings co:ne of Men's own Hearrs Lufls, accor~ing to ~he Apoftle ]amu. and not of rhe Meek Spirit of <;:hrift Jefus, who IS Captam of another TV~~· fare, and which is carried ~:m wtth otb~r W1apons. Thu.s, a~ Tru!b--f peakmg fucceeded Swearivg, fo Fa11h and Parzn1ce fucceeded F1gh~mg, m the D<: 8:rine and PraB:ice of this People. Nor ought they for this tC? he obnox1· ous ro Civil Government, fince if they cannot Fight for it, neu~e~ can rbeJ fi. hr again/lit; which is no mean Security t? :1ny State. Nor ts H reafon-tle that People fbould be blam'd for not domg more for others than th.ey ~an do for themfel ves, And, Chrifiianity fee ?~de, if the _Co~s an.d Frun!t of War were well confider'd, Peace, with :111 1t s In~onv;menctes, lS geneully refer:1ble. But though they were not for F1ghtmg, they wer~ for f ubm?rring to Government; and that, not only for Fear, _but for Co'!fc~cnc~faRe- · where Government doth not interfere with Confctence io Behevmg It to b~ an Ordinance of God, and wbere it .is iufrly adminilh_ed, a gre~t Benefit to Mankind. Tho' it ha~ been theJI Lot, through. blt~d Ze:1l m fame and Interelt in others to have felt the Sn·o!us of tt Wtth greater Weight and Rigour than a~y other .Perfwafion_i~ this ~ge; whilft they of all others, Religion fet a fide, have gtven the Ctvtl Magdirare the leaft Oca cafion of Trouble in the Difcharge of his Office. . V. Another Part of the CharaCter of t~is feop_le. was, :1nd IS, Tbey re~ fufe to P"Y Tirher or Mainrenance 10 a Natronallt1miflry; and that for rwo Reafons : The one is, They believe all compeUed Maintenance, e\•~n ,ro Gof~ pel~Minifters, robe Unlawful, becau~e expreOy con_trary to Cbnfts Com~ mand who faid Freely you have recezved, f reely grve .- At leafi, that the Main:enance of'GofpelaMinifters !hould be free, and not forced. The o· ther Reafon of their Refufal is, Becaufe thofe Miniftets :ue not Gofpe!Oner, in that the Holy Ghoft ~s not their FoundatiQn, but liuman .Ar~r and Parg~· Of the People cali'd Quakers: . S6g So that it is not Matter of Humour or Sullennefs, hut Pun Cotrfcience tO: J6 • wards God, th~t they cannot help to fupport National Mini1tries where 94· ~ they dwell, which are but roo much and too vifibly become Ways of W lda ~ ly Advantage and Prefermem. or 1 VI._ Norro refp~O Perfom, was, and is another of their Doflrines and ~ra£bces, for wh!ch they were often Bu.ffetted and .Ab11J~d. They affi. d lt to be finful ro gtve fl.:lt~ering Titles, or to ufe Vain Geftures and Co~;l~~ ments of Refpett. !'ho t~ Virtue and Authoriry rbey ~ver made 4 Dijfe'. eRcc ; but afl_er thea Pla1.n and Homely Manner, yet fincere and fubftana tial Way :. Well remembnng the Examples of Mordu"i and Elihu. but more efpectally the Command of their Lord and Maller Jefus Chti!l 'wh forbad hts _Followers to ~11 Men Rabbi, which implies Lord or Maite'r; al~ fo thefajbzonable Greerrn~:s and Sahtration~ of thofe Times; that fo SelfLove and Honour, to wh1ch the proud Mmd of Man is incident in his fa1l~n Efiate, m_ight~or be indulged but rebuked. And rho• this 'rend red th_eu Converfauon dtfagreeable, yet they that will remember what Chrift fa1d to th: ]ewz, bow call you believe in me, who receive Honour one of a~~:~ e~, Will abate of their Refentment, if his Doarine has any Credic with VII. They alfo ufed the plain Language ofThre ond Thou, to a fingle Per< fon, what ever was h~s D~gr~e among Men. And indeed rhe Wifdom of God, was ml!-ch feen ll1 bnngtng . f~nh . r~is People, info plain an Appearance. For 1twas a C!of~ and T:!iflrnguijhmg Tefl upon the Spirits of rhofe they ~me a_mon_g; fhewmg theu In fides, and what predominated, notwith .. ftandmg theu high and great Profeffion of Religion. This among the reft founded fo harfh to many of them, and thev took it fo ill that they would fay. 'J'hou 1111, t~oumy Dog! If thou rbou'jl me, fll thou rby Teeth down rby Throar; forget~tng the Lang~age rbey ufe to God in their own Prayers, and the com.mon Sule of the ScHptures, and that it i1 an abfolure and effemi• al Propttety of Speech. And w~ar goo~, al~s ! had their Religion done them, who were fo fenfibly toucht wuh lndtgnauon for the Ufe of this Plain Ho-tu/ 1 and True Spttcb? ' "0'111. They recommended Silence by their Example, having very few Words upon aU Occa~ons, They were at a Word in Dealing : Nor could their Cufiomers, wtth many Words tempt them from it, having more Regard to Tr_urb than Cuflom, to Ex amp!~ th:ln Gain. They fought Soli rude ; but when m Company, th~y W?uld neither ufe, nor willingly hear Unnece.fJary, as well as Unlawful Dtfcourfes : Whereby they prefervei their Minds pur~ and undifiurbed from unp,:ofit:1ble Thoughts, and Dt\•erfions. Nor 'could they humour· the .Cuftom of Good Night, Gaud Morrow, Good Spud ; for the~ knew the N1g~t was Good, and the Day was Good, without wi£hing of ea~er; and that m the other Expreffion, the Holy Name of God was too ltghtly and untban~fully ufed, and therefore taken in vain. Beftdei", they were Words :1n~ ~1fhes of Courfe, and are ufually as little meant, as are Love :1nd SerVICe 1n the Cuftom of Cap and Knee · and Superftuity in thofC", as well as in other Things, was burdenfome to them i and therefore they did not only decline to ufe them, but found rhemfelves often prefs'd to reprove the Praflice. IX- For the fame ReJfoo they forbore drinking ta People ar pledging af rb~m, as the Manner of the World is: A Praftice that is not only unnecelfaa l'Y~ but they thou~ht Evil in the Tendenciez of it, being a Provocation ro dnnk more than d1d People good, :lS well as that it was in it felfVain and 1Jearbe1tijh. X. Their Way of Marri«ge is peculiar to them ; and thews a diltinguifh.: ing Care, above other Societies, Jrofeffing Chriftianity. They fay that Marriott Han Ordinance of God, an t bar God anly can ri&hrly jayn Man tmd Woman in Mm'riage. Therefore they ufe neither Pri~jf or ltlagiftrau t but the Man or Woman concern'd, take each other as Hutband and Wife, in the Prefence of divers credible Witneffes, promijing to each orher. wirb Gdd'• Affijlance, ta bt loving and f aithful in that Relation, tiD Death fhail ~ . j epQI'all ' |