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THE

SELECT WORKS

OF

WILLIAM PENN.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

THE FOURTH EDITION.

London:

PRINTED AND SOLD BY WILLIAM PHILLIPS, GEORGE YARD,

LOMBARD STREET.

1825.

THE AUTHOR's LIFE.

THEN the BLESSED MESSIAH first called forth the immediate followers of his person, he declared selfdenial essential to discipleship, saying, "Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple," Luke xiv. 27. This path himself trod before them, setting all that should come after, an example of the most perfect patience and resignation. The faithful, in every age, have met with variety of exercises; and many of them, by their more than human constancy, neither terrified by the roughest efforts of cruelty and malice on the one hand, nor enticed by the smoothest allurements of pleasure and vanity on the other, have given convincing proofs to the world, that the GRACE, which supported them, was DIVINE.

It was this which gave our author, in his early years, a solid sense of religion, and a taste of that substantial peace, which the world can neither give nor take away: this instructed him to see the emptiness and vanity of earthly enjoyments, and to turn his back upon the honours, profits, and pleasures of the world, at an age most inclinable to embrace them: this enabled him to surmount all opposition in the search of TRUTH; which having found, he valued as a "pearl of price," and laboured in the propagation and defence of it, both by preaching and writing, almost incessantly for many years.

It being now thought meet to publish a selection of his works for general service, we judge it not improper to retain the following Journal of his Life, chiefly extracted out of his own private memoirs; in which, we doubt not, the judicious reader will find many passages both exemplary

and instructive.

WILLIAM PENN was born in the parish called St. Catharine's, near the Tower of London, on the 14th day of October, 1644. His father, of the same name, was a man of good estate and reputation, and, in the time of the commonwealth, served in some of the highest maritime offices, as those of rear-admiral, vice-admiral, admiral of Ireland, vice-admiral of England, &c. in all which he acquitted himself with honour and fidelity. After the restoration, he was knighted by King Charles the Second, and became a peculiar favourite of the then Duke of York: VOL. 1.

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