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Show r.Mafter John Cottons .lnfwer firvants nf God, hi! ground! again ]I ~ ufi"t. of the Common Prayer; wbicb tben f'emed [and) to Uf, but norv m New· England , -I have ack:: oWiedged tob, rocky in my.Difcourfo toM'. Ball. I c?uld ha~e W1fhcd ·he had exprelfed, what grounds thofe were, whl(;h he d1fcovered ·ro us; For my felfe lean call to minde no fuch mat~e~, that ever! •heard, or r<ceivcd fron1 him, ei~her by wo~d, or wrmng, any fa· ·!ide grounds againfi that Pra~hfe. But tht~ I am fore of, ~hat the . rounds of altering my judgement ·touchm~ t?at praa1Ce, d•d -~hiefly {\and upon the txpofitivn of•the. fecond Commandemem; ·which if I fhould fay, I received from ?•m, l fhould great!~ fea~e ·my forehead were more rocky t~en h1s grounds we_re. I thtnke It . no difgrace to change either my Judgement or praa1~e uP':n better grounds then lformerly difcerned. Nor would lthmke 1t a diC. race to learne any grounds of truth, and to profelfe tha; I had . fearned them from himfelfe,if fo I had done. But fore I am,u ha~h ·not been wont to be the manner of the fervants ~f God to upbraid their Brethren, with their R.etraaations of their former Aberra· tio~shave read of the Churches of Judea, that when they heard p a111 now preached the Faith, which once he deftroyed, they glf rified God for him, ( Gal.t. 23, 24· )but I never read,thatanyo the Churches of Chrift, or any finccre memb_er of the Ch~rchet, did ever upbraid Paul for his former Perfecuuon, or for hts pre- Cent change. • 1 • h The other part of the Chapter, he fpend~th 111 re atmg t e grou11ds of the fentence of his Banifhment, and m the avouchmenG of hi! confidence of the firmeneffe of them. f The grounds of the fentence of his Banifhment, lome whe~eo, He {aith I am pleafid to difcu.ffi in the Letter, and o~hm not to "'"!":J; He faith wert rigbtly [ummed up by one ef the Magiflratfl after h11 P lick,_ Try aU, and Anjwm. M'. Williams ( J.id that publick,Perfon) boldeth forth tbejiji!Ur< particular!. b 1 1 1. 1hat we have not our Land by Patent from the Ki11g' ut m1 •the Native! are the true ownm ofit-; and that we ought to repent nfft" & r(ceiving it by P alent. . 2. That it ;. nnt lan>fu/1 to call 11 wick!_d Perfon to [weiiT•' t•P'IJ• M being aaitml ofGodJ n>orjbip. 1h• 3· to Maftrr Roger WiHiams. -:::---~--- _,~· b'Llhat ! tE-is not i•wfull to heart any oft be Minijlm oft be p Jrijh• "'JJ'm "' m ngland. d4- ·Tb3 t the CiviU Magiflralel Power rxtend1 onr!J to the bodie~ an good,, a~d outwardjlateofmen,&c. ' Thefe par~zcul.rt be hopeth, that a! he maintaintd the rockJ.e jlre1<gth of them to hw IJ'IVn, and other Confcienm Jatitfau ion : So ( through the Lord1 aj(ijlance,) be {hall be ready not onely to be bou>td and banifbed but to dye alfo in New-England, M for mujl holy Truth! ;f God in Chrift Jefur. . It was riot my intent in that Letter which he examineth to dif. cul!e tho-Grounds ofhis Civill Bani!hmenratall, neither dld I difcul! e one or mhet of them. And it is a prepofierous lhifting of the Stale of the Q!!ellion, to put it upon me to give account of the caufes of his Banifhmenr, who neither did banifh him, nor provoked the Court to hanifh him out oft he Countrey. The Magifirates and Deputies of 1he Common-wealth (who were then the Mem· bers of that Court) arc all of them of age, and able themfelves to give -account of ·their own aaions. To tlmn or fotne of them he lhould in reafon have addreffed himfelfe for fatis£aaion in this cafe (i~ ~ny were du~ )and not to me, who am as feldome prefent at any ~lVIII Court, ( tf not more feldome) then any man of our calling m Towne or Countrey, where the Courts are kept-. It were more th'? iE_gyptW. bondage to me, and more therrPharaonicall tyran· ny m htm, to exact of me, an account of all the capitall, or notable fentences.of Jud~emem, which palfe in all the Civill Courts of Jullice in the Coumrey, tinlelfe I had a calling to fit amongfi them • . BUt why did I then endeavour in my Letter to fbew him the[""" Jmeffioftbnje ground!, upnn which he had banifbedhimftlfe,&c. lfl did not.rneane to declare, and difcuffe the caufes of his Banifhment? l••~e doth very well, and wife! y to exprelfe the Grounds upon Whtch I f•id he banifhed himrelfe with an,&c. For he knows thab ifhe'had related.mywhole fentence in my own words, he had cbt off~imfelfe fi-om all oppurmnitie ol pleading with me the caufes ofhts Civil! Banifhment. :i My words .ue plaine, -1 rndeavnm to (hew you the f"ndinPjfo of ~bafi ~rounds, upon whichy •u h•ve h•nijhed your ftlfe jrtRn the feUowp;ip if•O ~be ChurchesintheftGwentrey<l.' . • , It IS one thing to banifh ones fdfe (ortobe blnifhed)out of the "• · D d · \e\· |