are, as the Scripture faith. Again, was not Peter a mortal Man, and was put to Death himself, yet he judged Ananias and Saphira his Wife to Death, yet a mortal Man; fo is it with every true Prophet and Meffenger of Chrift, he hath Power to fer Life and Death before Men, and Power to judge and condemn thofe that rebel against his Commiffion, and to justify thofe that yield Obedience unto it; yet all God's Meffengers, they were mortal Men; now thefe mortal Men had great Power, being commiffionated of God, and they all acted according to the Tenor of their Commiffion, and fome of them deftroyed Life prefently.

And I am fure if you Fox had lived in Mofes's Time, you would have been confumed by him in the Gainfaying of Corah, for you would have rebelled against Mofes and Aaron, as you do now against John Reeve and me: But because my Commiffion is not to confume you immediately by a natural Destruction, you proudly vaunt yourself against the Commiffion of the Spirit, thinking you, and your Chrift within you, fhall be able to encounter with me and my Chrift without me: But I must judge according to my Commiffion of the Spirit, and not as Mofes and the Apostles did, to destroy the natural Life immediately; but our Commiffion is with relation to the fpiritual Estate of Men and Women after Death, and accordingly we judge, yet but mortal Men, and muft die ourfelves. This Power hath God given unto me, and by Vertue of this, am I made Judge of the Quakers fpiritual and eternal Eftate, what will become of many of you after Death.

And as for that Saying, The Spiritual Man judgeth all Things, this is to be minded, that every true Meffenger and Minifter of Chrift may be called a fpiritual Man, and he is fo, because he teacheth fuch Doctrine that doth comfort the Spirits of fome, and torment the Spirits of others, in that it divides between the Joints and the Marrow: Alfo thofe that truly believe, may be called fpiritual Men, and can judge the Spirits of Unbelievers, because they know by Faith in the Doctrine of the true God, that others, that have not the fame Faith, cannot have that Peace as they have; for they know by Experience in themselves, when they were Unbelievers, they were without God in the World, and fo were not able to judge who were

happy,

happy, and who were not; but being juftified by Faith in the. true God, they have Peace with God, and fo can difcern and judge the Spirits of others, by what they were themfelves, who were fome Time in Darkness, but now in the Light of Heaven; and whoever hath this true Faith in the Doctrine of the true God, may be faid to be a spiritual Man, and able to judge all Things that is naught in himself, and all the Unbelief and Defpifings of others.

And fo he judgeth all Things by his Faith in the true God, and in the Meffenger God hath fent, yet Minifter and People are but mortal Men, and muft die, yet called by the Seed of Faith the Spiritual Man that judgeth all Things, and is judged of

no Man.

Therefore you Fox fhall never have any spiritual Man to judge you to eternal Damnation, but me, that am but a mortal Man; neither fhall you fee any other God or Judge; but that Sentence that I have given upon you in this Life, do you fee if you can get over it.

6. Fox blames me for faying the Spirit of Reafon in Man is the Devil, and feems to juftify the Magiftrates that perfecuted me, because I fay they were reasonable Men. And further he blames me, because I fled from the Devil's Malice; yet Fox judgeth, that if thofe Magiftrates had inflicted more Punishment than Imprisonment upon me, it had been but Reafon the Devil ftill; for, faith he, thou canst not fay it was Unreasonableness in them, according to thy own Saying.

CHAP. XXXIV.

A Reproof the Quakers for rejoicing in my Sufferings, and being forry the Magistrates did not punish me more than Imprisonment. Anf. O this I do confefs, that those Magiftrates that perfe cuted me in Darbyshire, and did imprifon me in Darby Gaol, they were reasonable Men, and no Unreafonableness was found in them; for unreasonable Men are not fit to be Mayors, Aldermen, and Conftables of CorporationTowns. And did you ever know unreasonable, or diftracted Men, to be Minifters of a Parish? Nay, they were all reafonable Men that were my Enemies, and their Reafon would

have led them to have punished me with a greater corporal Punishment than Imprifoment, if the Law could have done it.

Nay, because they were reasonable Men, they could not go beyond their own Law; for their Malice would have reached unto Death, had the Law of the Land reached unto it.

And that would have pleafed you Quakers very well, for I know fome at that Time were forry I efcaped fo well, and fo foon out of Prison: And I find by the Writings of Richard Farnefworth, and yours alfo, that you are forry in your Hearts that I efcaped without any further Punishment, as whipping, and the like; and this I fay further, had Reason the Devil acted in the Magiftrates and the Prieft, fo far in Punishment upon me, as would have fatisfied the Defire of you Quakers, and their own Malice, yet it had been but Reafon the Devil ftill, and it would have been but the Malice of the Devil executed, and the Defire of the Devil fatisfied.

So that I do juftifiy that my Perfecutors were reasonable Men, and did nothing unto me but what Reason the Devil led them unto; and I do expect no other Favour from reasonable Men, than what their Law will bear them out in: But this I muft tell you, that when reasonable Men do judge rightly between Man and Man, in Things temporal, this is highly esteemed of by me, and warrantable in the Sight of God; but for reasonable Men to meddle with the Confciences of Men that breaketh no temporal Law, this is altogether condemned by me, and of God also. But Farnefworth and Fox the Quakers reviles against me, because I fled away from the Devil's Malice. Indeed the first Time I was in Darbyshire I did go to Backwel, but I did not know there was any Await laid for me till afterward: But however, I fhould have been glad if I could have fled away from the Devil's Malice this fecond Time alfo; but I have opened this more large in The Neck of the Quakers broken.

And as for thofe Magiftrates Devils that perfecuted me, I knew it was Reason the Devil in them: Alfo I knew they were urged on by the Prieft of the Parish, for the Prieft did ride upon the Mayor's Spirit, he being but low in Reason, and ignorant of the Law of Reafon, therefore it was that I paffed the Sentence of eternal Damnation upon none of my Enemies in

that

that Matter, but upon the Priest only. His Name is John Cupp, I have named him here, because he is bound in that Bundle of Tares amongst the damned Sort; fo that the Age to come may fee him recorded amongst the Damned, as Cain and Judas are in the Scriptures, by good and righteous Men.

But I fee by the Writings of you Quakers, that your Hearts are forry, that the Powers of the Nation doth not punish me more; yet this I fhall tell you, that I have more Enemies against me than any Quakers whatsoever; for you Quakers need fuffer nothing by the Powers of the Nation for your Doctrine, for they and you are all one in that: But you, out of a voluntary Will, will worship and facrifice yourselves in Meetings, contrary to the Law made by the Powers of the Nation, when as you have no Authority from God for any fuch Practice, you having no true Ministry no more than the Nation; fo you bring Perfecution upon your own Heads through a voluntary, groundless Suffering for Chrift, when as Chrift owns not your Meetings, nor the Powers of the Nation owns

them not.

Why fhould you fuffer fo much for a Lie ? I know you will take me for your Enemy to speak thus; yet this I fay, I always loved the Perfecuted, better than I did the Perfecutor; for though Men fuffer for a Lie, yet I thought it was in the Innocency of the Mind, and I always had Compaffion upon the Afflicted for Confcience-fake, as I have known fome that have loft their Lives for Confcience-fake, which I have been forry for, though I know they fuffered for a meer Lie, as all you Quakers do; for there is none of you doth fuffer for Truth, yet I fay whoever doth perfecute you for Confcience in meeting and worshipping an unknown God, as you Quakers do, yet I fay thofe Men that do perfecute you willingly, they will be every Man of them damned to Eternity; for that which knoweth the true God, and the true Worship, will never perfecute

any.

Though we know their Worship to be falfe, but Men that are falfe Worshippers themselves, will perfecute both the falfe Worshippers and the true; this I do know by Experience, in that Men have perfecuted me only for going upon the Account of a Prophet; but glad would they have been if they could have catcht

me

me under any Law the Powers of the Nation had m ade, but they could not; therefore the Judge faid to my Accusers, that Bill of Accufation it did not belong to the Law, fo the Judge could not determine no Sentence upon me; likewife the Judge cleared me himself in his own Chamber, likewife I juflified the fame Things I was accufed of to the Judge's Face. The Judge was hot at firft, he not knowing I was the Man, faid to my Friend that was with me, it was not fit fuch a Man as I fhould live. With that I asked the Judge why he said fo? Do not you read in the Writing what you are accused of? I faid, I read what I am accufed of, but what is it fay you, that I am not fit to live? Why, faith the Judge, are you the Man? I faid yes. So the Judge took the Paper out of my Hand, and read the Articles of my Accufation. What fay you to this, faith he? So one by one he asked me: So I answered him to every one diftinct of itfelf; fo when the Judge had heard my Anfwer, he faid it was well, and freed me from going to Darby Gaol any more.

But this is that I would have the Reader mind, that if I had been taken in a Meeting, as the Quakers are, then the Judge would have had the Law on his Side; and all other Things I was accused of, as Blafphemy, and how I had Power to damn and to fave, and that I was one of the two Witneffes spoken of in the Revelation, and that their believing the Scriptures now they were damn'd by me, would do them no good; thefe, with fuch like Things, were given in against me; I fay all Things would have been swallowed up in one Meeting, and the Judge would have took up that Law, and would have given Judgment and Sentence upon me, as he did to Baptifts and Quakers in my Sight, only for meeting contrary to the A&t.

Therefore if you Quakers would forbear meeting, you need not suffer for your Faith at all; and if you would be ruled by me, or take my Advice not to meet at all, for I am forry that many innocent harmless People should wafte their Eftates, fuffer Imprisonment, and impoverish their Health, and fuffer Banifhment, and fo bring their Lives to an End before their Time, for that which is not Truth.

M

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