George Fox Digged Out of His Burrows, Account of dispute 1 · Letter 3
10] Providence, 23. 5. 75.
ANcient Friend and Acquaintance,I. T. his second Letter to me. I read thy Note four dayes after the subscribing it, that so thy Councellors might throughly be informed of thy continued Zeal in a dangerous Case. What I write to thee in Love hath a contrary effect in thy Spirit, being so prejudiced against us; according to the Proverb, Nothing is well spoken, that is not well taken. Upon Discourse thou didst say the Quakers could not be believed on their Words or Writings, having a secret Reservation within them, which gives me to conclude, that wee are Iudged before wee Speak. For my charging upon thee Slanders and Lyes, Examine but thy Positions, which will make manifest what I say. As for the Terror which thou speakest of &c. I leave it to thee to consider what thou art about, least thou be called to Account for it before thou art ready. As for charging me with Irrationality for not alleadging Scripture for what I write, yet I alleadged three Scriptures, one of which thou wrestest, adding what I wrote not, so that if I had urged more, I should have had the like Catching: But we both must come to give an Account of what is done in the Body. In this my Letter thou mayest see my witnessing against most of thy Slanderous Propositions. Concerning the Spirits manifestations, 1 Cor. 12. 13. I freely consent that they were the Saints by Calling, who are there Considered. As thou alleadgest the Papists Catch at a word [This is my body] so we catch at a word [All] and misapply Scripture; so that I perceive thou hast not a Guide to thy mind, but utterest thine own Conceivings. John. 3. 16. The Promise is to them that Believe, and not to All.
Again, Thou findest fault with my rash judging thee, and abusing Scripture: Take it to thy self, for the word Damning, thou foistest in thy self, neither dare I pass Sentence of Damnation upon any: For Iudgment belongeth to the Lord, and we must stand or fall to our own Master. As for my Fickleness and Inconstancy, Lay thy hand upon thy mouth and Consider thy Windings and Turnings, in thy Iudgment and Practice, how thankfull thou wast to J. Burnet, whome thou highly commendest after thou camest home, and now reproachest the Truth, which then thou assentest to: and in thy 14 Positions, thou hintest (by thy wicked Surmises) what the sudden spirit of the Quakers is, to take away the Lives of Kings, &.c. but I told thee in my first Letter, thou art a stranger to that holy Spirit we act by.
But further thy Malice appeareth in going to one thou saidst, that [11] if the spirit of the Governour were to cut of his head, he must doe it. Call to mind what thou didst to thy peaceable Neighbours seeking their Blood, crying out Treason, when the Court discerned thy Blood-thirsty spirit, which thy friends at Newport were ashamed of, and thy Accusations proved Invalid. How childish didst thou act to swear against One, when another told thee of somewhat spoken to allay thy fury against William Harris? Call to mind thy Books written, and see thy Fickleness, wanting a Guid to thy mind, being for and against Persecution. Thou chargest me to have gotten into the Chair of Iudging: thy two Scripts I return upon thy self, Physitian heal thy self. The Wisdom of man puffeth up; but the Wisdom of God humbleth, that God may be all in all. I desire thee to look back to thy Lines, and where thou mentionest the Satisfaction of infinite Justice: who payes the old score?The high Opinion G Fox his Followers have of him yet he saild & run for it. &.c. Also to consider my Irrationality, that thy great Education, great Search &.c. as also thy great Travels and Struglings to bring forth thy Positions, all being in thine own will, and in the Apostacy wherin the great Whore hath made all Nations drunk with her Fornications, which the Lord will in his Time, consume with the breath of his mouth. I know thou hast undertaken a great Burthen in Challenging G. Fox to answer thy Positions; I wish thee to provide thy Armour of Proof, as Golias that defied the Army of Israel. G. Fox is furnished with that Armour that thou hast no skill to make use of; having also the Sword of the Spirit to cut down all thy airy Imaginations: Therefore cease from further troubling thee: a Word to the Wise is Sufficient, if thou hauehave a heart to make use of it.
thy Friend and Neigbour, I. T.