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Show Mt~fler John Cottons .AII{wer For neither was he fo innocent, as was Vriah, and that Prophet: nor had my felfe the like hand in his· U:tfferings, as D.Md J A fa had in the othrr : nor did I ever fee caufe of regret, and at~ufrancy of con{Cience, for any afrof mine own abouc his fuffer~~ gs. Onely I confelfe I had {as he faith) fame regret, and r~lull: ancy of affd.l:ion,and of compa_ffion, to fee_ one ~ho had recetved fwm God furring and ulefull gtfcs, to be!hrre htmfelfe fo bufily, and eager!'y to abufe them,to the.difiurbance of himfelfe,his fami· ly, the Churches, and the Comma~· wealth. . . That I confenttd not to his Bamfhment, he In part admttteth; Far what need waJ tbm (faith he) of that, being not one oft be Civill Court? As ifi might not have confented to it,_ though_ I nee_ded no.t to have done it.l might have drawn up Arucles agamft h1m,I mtght iJavc come in as a wimeffe againft him, I might have folicited, and !l:irred up the body of the l\lagillrates againft him,to rid the coun· trey of him: and then I had confented before-hand to what was done.by the Magiftrates in that kinde, though my felfe had been none of the Court ; but none of all thefe alh, nor any fuch like were done by m•. . . But be it that I confented not, yet I counfelled It, ( and fo con· fen ted.) and to prove that he faith, He will produce a double,andunanfrve. able 'I<]!jmonyfor it. Firjl, 'Ibat I publicklyuught, ( <~ndjlill eke Teach, eX4eptlate~ Chrifl hath tapght m;: better )that body-k,!Uing,Joule-killing,and Statek. flling DofJ.ri(le ofP.erfecutin~ ~II other Confcienw, and w~yu of worjbip but mine own, tn the Ctwll State, and confequently In the whole world, if the Power, Qr 'Empire thereof were i11 mim hand. Reply. Were it-not that I have learned from the word of truth,. that when men are call: out ofthe.Churcb ofChrift, they are deli·, vered up unto Saean, and.fo neither their wits, nor the!r t~n~ues • are their own. I could not eafily have belceved that M. WtBtaml could fo confidently and openly have avouched fuch a notoriolll flander. Since the Lord taught me to know any th_ing, what con· fcieuce, .or the,worfhip of God meant, it h•th been my.conllanCj judgement, and dofrrine, and prafrife to the contrary. Befides, 1• teacb the k,jUing of the bodier nf all /uch ConfcienceJ, andwiJ)el ofw"· foip, Mare not mine own, is to make mine own confcicncc, and W~. to Mafter Roger Williams. of w~r!hip, the infallible Rule, atJd (overaigne Standard,by which all confciencu, and wayes of worfhip throughout the world, were co be regulated:yea,and as if this were a lightmeafure of arrogan· cy,and ufurpation, I make it a capitall crime, (a body-killing ?f· fence )for any man to fwerve from my confcience,and way of wor-, {hip, even in fuch Points wherein the Holy Ghoft hath given ex· prelfe eharge, th•t we lhould not judge, nor condemne one a no·· ther, Rom. '4· 3· But I durft appeale even unto the confcience of M'. William! himfdfe, (if it were now in the gracious keeping of· eh14ft, or ofhimfelfe, as in former times~ that himfelfe knoweth, I doe not thinke it lawful! to Excommunicate;~n Here tick, ml\ch ldfe to perfecute him with the civill Sword, till it may appe>re, even by juft and full convi~ion, thl~ he finneth ~ot out of confciencc- but againft the very hght of h1s own confctence. Sure I am,_ fuch' a Point be reporteth is received froO) me, to t~e very famF purpofe,( and he reporteth it truely) ~n bis.BioudJ 'Iemnt, p~g. 8.• This t\qfwer may {uflice to h.is 6rft (as he calleth it) unanfwerable 1eftimeny. J His fecond unanfwerableTeftimony is,1hat fame Gentlemm that· did confeut to hH Sentence, have fok'f'nfy tejlifted, and with teareJ fince confi§ed to himfei{e, that th'} could not in tb,ir Joule! have been bro~tght to have confented to the Sentence of hu ~<~nijhment, had not M~Cotton, in private given them advic., and counfell,.proving it jujl, and warrantable to their ConfcienctJ. Reply. I might here jullly plead the equitie of the f.om~!'e Cuftomo, to excufe my felfe from this acculi!tion, until! the accu; ferscome before me face to face: And truely, if Apocryphal! wit· netfes may goe for unanfwerable Tellimonies, it is an eafie matter to oppre!fe any innocency: I ":light alfo plead the !neompetency olifuch a witneffe, as (haply lymg under fame cenlurc from our Church""and removing himfelfe from our fellowlhip) mi?,ht take. more liberty to fpeake againll me in a pang of paffion, wh"t he woula be loath to jullifie in cold bloud.) lmight like.wife all e~ge that·one or two Magill: rates makes net a Court, nor was his Smtencecaf\ by the vote ef one, or two.: So,that ifl flad .counfelled' on<ar two to it, it would not argue that the afr of the Magi!lrates, and of the Deputies, (which is the body of the Court) had been done by my counli:ll or-co.11fent. And indeed it was the very true. meaning., . 37 |