The life of George Fox ...

Front matter

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Chapter II

Birth and parentage — Serious deportment — Withdraws from company — Temptations — Goes to London — State of Society there — Returns to Drayton, visits Priests and professors of religion — His distress of mind — Religious exercises — Travels into Derbyshire~, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire — Elizabeth Hooton convinced — George Fox appears in the gospel ministry. 1624-48 30

Chapter III

His views on gospel ministry — On lawyers, physicians and priests — On understanding the Scripture — He goes into the "steeple-house" at Nottingham — The "more sure word of prophecy " — He is east into prison — Taken to the Sheriff's house — Again in jail — Released and travels in the ministry — Is beaten and abused at Mansfield — Reproves the Ranters at Coventry — Meets with Priest Stevens — Prays for a sick man, who is healed — Attends a meeting at Derby — Is examined and committed to prison. 1648-50 45

Chapter IV

Preaching of George Fox in steeple-houses considered — His letter to Colonel Barton — To the Mayor of Derby concerning oaths- Conversation on perfection — The jailer convinced — Epistle of George Pox to Friends — Is visited by his relations — Refuses to give bond for good behaviour— Abused by the magistrates, and remanded to prison — His letter to the justice and to the priests — A trooper convinced — George Fox refuses a captaincy — Is put in jail among the felons — Letter to the judges on the penal laws —

Epistle to Friends. 1650-1 60

VI CONTENTS.

Chapter V

Release from prison — Visits Litchfield — Passes through Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire — Conyincement of R. Farnsworth — J. Nayler and W. Dewsbury — Preaches at Beverly — Visits Justice Hotham — Consternation of a priest — Visits York minster — Rudely treated — At Cleaveland meets with Ranters — Meeting at Malton — At Pickering — A clergyman convinced, who travels with him — Passes through Patrington — Is apprehended — Searched by a Justice and set at liberty — Forgives his persecutors — Ascends Pendle-hill — A vision — Convincement of many in the Dales of Yorkshire. 1651 76

Chapter VI

Meeting at Firbank chapel — Convincement of Francis Howgill, J. Camm, John and Ann Audland — Meetings at Kendal and Underburrow — Convincement of E. Burrough — Swarthmore — Convincement of Margaret Fell and family, among whom were Thomas Salthouse, Wm. Caton, and Ann Clayton. 1652 89

Chapter VII

Able coadjutors of George Fox — Several clergymen convinced — The clergy instigate persecution — At TJlverstone George Fox is abused by the people — His wonderful recovery — His conversation with a soldier — He and James Nayler cruelly beaten at Walney — Judge Fell issues warrants to apprehend the rioters — Magnanimity of George Fox — At Lancaster assizes he contends with the priest — Is victorious — Epistle of George Fox. 1652 102

Chapter VIII

Prediction concerning the Long Parliament — Views on Prophecy and Miracles — Convincement of A. Pearson — Letter from him — Journey to Cumberland — Controversy with a Priest — Meetings at Cockermouth, Bingham, and Carlisle — Imprisonment of Geo. Fox at Carlisle — Is beaten by the Jailer — Sings while beaten — Challenge to his persecutors — Cromwell's Parliament — Liberation of George Fox — Convincement of J. Parnel and John Stubbs — Ministry of John Stubbs and S. Fisher — Their visit to Rome — George Fox on Perfection — His account of Friends' prosperity — Convincement of George Whitehead and John Burnyeat. 1653 114

Chapter IX

George Fox leaves Swarthmore — At Drayton meets N. Stevens — Controversy with him — Arrested by Col. Hacker and taken to

CONTENTS. Vll

London — Interview with Cromwell — Great meetings in London — Settlement of Friends' meetings in the city — Letter from A. Pearson — Second visit to Whitehall — Cromwell's news-monger — His triers of the clergy — George Fox travels in Kent and Sussex — Visits J. Parnel — Sketch of his life and death. 1654.. . ... 131

Chapter X

Cromwell's pretensions examined — Milton on religious liberty — One thousand Friends in prison — Hostility of the clergy and magistrates, and indifference of the Protector — George Fox revisits Drayton — Proceeds to "Warwickshire — Is visited by "W". Edmundson — Sketch of W. Edmundson's life — George Fox visits a sick woman among the Baptists — Returns to London — Meets with J. Nayler — Travels in several counties, escorted by a captain — Sends an address to Land's-End — Arrested by Major Ceely and sent to Lanceston jail — Meets General Desborough — Trial before Judge Glyn — Offence of the hat — Paper on swearing — Major Ceely's malice — Defence of George Fox— He is remanded to prison. 1655-6 144

Chapter XI

State Prisons — George Fox in Doomsdale — He is released — Goes to Exeter, and meets with J. Nayler — Delusion of Nayler — His trial and punishment — His restoration and death — His dying expressions — George Fox attends meetings at Bristol in an orchard — Returns to London — Has two interviews with Cromwell — Travels in most parts of the nation — Great numbers of Friends in prison — George Fox's letters to Friends — General meetings of Friends. 1656 159

Chapter XII

Visit to Wales — Meets with John Ap-John, and Thomas Holmes — Tumult at Brecknock — Meetings in Wales — Returns to Chester — Cromwell's proclamation for a fast — George Fox again in Wales — Great meetings and remarkable sermon — Controversy with a priest — Dispute with a governor — John Ap-John imprisoned and released — Vision of George Fox — Return to Liverpool — To Manchester — To Swarthmore — Attends a General Meeting — Large meeting at Langlands — J. Wilkinson convinced — Epistle to Friends concerning blacks and Indian slaves. 1657 174

VU1 CONTENTS.

Chapter XIII

Visit to Scotland — Opposes the Calvinistic Doctrines — The curses of the clergy — "Visits Leith — Edinburgh — Summoned before the Council — Ordered to leave the nation — Goes to Glasgow — Stirling — Perth — Rudely treated — Returns to Edinburgh — Leaves Scotland — Comes to New Castle — Durham — Attends a Yearly Meeting in Bedfordshire — Advice to Ministers — Convincement of Isaac and Mary Penington — George Fox disputes with a Jesuit. 1657-8 " 187

Chapter XIV

Interview with Cromwell, and letter to him — Letter to Lady Claypole^ — To the Protector, on persecution — Sufferings of Friends — Letter to Parliament — Last interview with Cromwell — Death of the Protector — His character — Independents' declaration, and George Fox's answer — Illness of George Fox at Reading — His epistle to Friends against war — Richard Cromwell — Changes of government — General Monk — Commotion in London — George Fox visits the west of England — Meeting in the orchard at Bristol. 1658-9 204

Chapter XV

Restoration and promises of Charles II. — Wickedness in London — Letter of R. Hubberthorn — George Fox attends general meetings at Balby and Skipton — He is arrested at Swarthmore and committed to Lancaster jail — M. Fell applies to the King — George Fox's letter to the King — Book called the " Battledoor" — George Fox's examination in London — Released by the King's order — Seven hundred Friends released from prison — Fifth-monarchy insurrection — Persecution of Friends — Four thousand in prison — Declaration presented to the King — He orders the liberation of Friends — Execution of the Regicides — George Fox and the Jesuits — Account of the martyrdom of Friends in Boston — Deputies of Massachusetts in London — Their interview with George Fox — Union of Church and State in Massachusetts the cause of persecution. 1660-1 219

Chapter XVI

Preaching of Friends in foreign lands — Funds raised — George Fox proposes a colony in America — Letter of Josiah Cole — George Fox's conversation with a Papist — Marriages of Friends — Their

CONTENTS. IX

sufferings — Address to the king — George Fox the younger — Letter of T. Sherman to George Fox — Travels of George Fox in the country — Seized by Lord Beaumont, and sent to Leicester jail — His trial and liberation — Death of Edward Burrough and Richard Hubberthorn — Travels of George Fox. 1661-3 234

Chapter XVII

Visits Colonel Kirby — Is apprehended — His examination by the Justices — His trial at the Quarter Sessions — Committed to Lancaster prison — Sufferings of Friends — Margaret Fell committed to prison at Lancaster — Her trial before Judge Twisden — Trial of George Fox — He is remanded to prison. 1663-4 248

Chapter XVIII

George Fox and M. Fell continue in Lancaster Castle — Sufferings of prisoners — They are again brought before the Judges — Their trial and sentence pronounced — They are remanded to prison — A vision of George Fox. 1664-5 264

Chapter XIX

Conventicle act — Sufferings and banishment of Friends — Plague in London — G. Whitehead and Gilbert Latey remain to nurse the sick — Sufferings at Reading — Letter of George Fox to the prisoners — Removal of George Fox to Scarborough castle — His sufferings there — His conversation with Papists — With Dr. Witty— A^ith Dr. Craddock— His release. 1665-6 281

Chapter XX

Great Fire in London — Thomas Ibbitt's prophecy — Travels of George Fox — He reproves the followers of J. Perrot — ■ Recommends meetings for discipline throughout the Society — Meetings of Dissenters prohibited by proclamation — Conduct of Presbyterian clergy — George Fox visits Esquire Marsh — Conversation with a Papist — Visits Scarborough — Travels in Ireland — Returns to England— His marriage with Margaret Fell. 1666-9 296

Chapter XXI

George Fox on the Education of Orphans — M. Fox imprisoned — Letter of George Fox to her — Renewal of Conventicle Act — Sufferings of Friends — George Fox's Visit to the Prisoners — His Travels — His sufferings in Spirit — His View of the New

X CONTENTS.

Jerusalem — His Prayers — His Wife, being released, comes to London — George Fox and others embark for Barbadoes — Chased by a Pirate — Remarkably preserved — Meeting in Barbadoes — Bules of Discipline — Advice to Slaveholders — Letter to Governor of Barbadoes — Visit to Jamaica — Death of Elizabeth Hooten — Voyage of George Fox to Maryland. 1669-72 311

Chapter XXII

His kind reception in Maryland — 3. Burnyeat — General Meetings at West River and Cliffs — Eastern Shore — Meeting with Indians- Journey to New Jersey — Long Island — Rhode Island — Yearly Meeting — Shelter Island — Meets William Edmundson — Returns through New Jersey, Newcastle, Third-Haven — Sails for Virginia — Travels to Carolina — Meetings with Whites and Indians — Travels in Virginia — Establishes Meetings for Discipline — Disorders produced in Virginia by J. Perrot — George Fox returns to Maryland — Sails for England — Arrives at Bristol, and meets his wife — Declaration of indulgence, and liberation of four hundred Friends — Travels to London — Goes with his wife to visit William Penn at Rickmansworth. 1672-3 327

Chapter XXIII

Arrested and committed to Worcester Jail — T. Lower remains with him — Examination at the Sessions — Taken to London — Appears before the Court of King's Bench — Sent back to Worcester — Conversation with a Priest — Doctrine of Perfection — Trial at the Quarter Sessions — Permitted to Travel — Attends Yearly Meeting — Second Trial at Worcester — Premunired — Sickness in Prison — Pardon offered, and declined — Letter from William Penn — Trial at London before Judge Hale — Released from Prison. 1673-5 342

Chapter XXIV

Residence of George Fox at Swarthmore — Epistle to Friends — Separation of Wilkinson and Story — Charges against them — George Fox resumes his travels — Letter to his wife — Testimony against tithes — Yearly meeting of London — Visit to William Penn — Answer to Roger Williams — Account of Robert Barclay — Visit to Holland — Yearly meeting of Amsterdam — Princess Elizabeth Palatine — Letter to Friends in Dantzic— Return to England. 1675-7 358

CONTENTS. XI

Chapter XXV

George Fox meets the adherents of Wilkinson and Story — Visits Isaac Penington — Death of Isaac Penington — Yearly Meeting, 1678 — Letter of George Fox to his wife — Letter to Friends against schism — Return to Swarthmore — Epistle to Friends — ■ Yearly meeting, 1680 — Visit to Friends' schools — Sufferings and constancy of Friends — George Fox prosecuted for tithes at Swarthmore — Advice on choosing sheriffs — Disturbance at Grace-church street meeting — At Devonshire house, &c. — Yearly Meetings, 1683 '4 — Redemption of Algerine captives — Visit to Holland. 1677-84 ... . 370

Chapter XXVI

Occupation in London — Yearly Meeting, 1685 — Death of Charles II. — Accession of James II. — Liberation of 1300 Friends — ■ Yearly Meeting, 1686 — Epistle of George Fox to Friends — His Gift of a Meeting-House — King's Declaration of Indulgence — George Fox on Prayer — On the Way to the Kingdom — On Heaven — Accession of William and Mary — Act of Toleration — Yearly Meeting, 1690 — Epistle to Friends — Death of George Fox— Death of Margaret Fox. 1684-91. 386

Chapter XXVII

Personal appearance — Dress — Property — Character — Ministry — The early Friends — Statistics of the Society — Conclusion 404

A Dissertation on the Views of George Fox concerning the Doctrines of the Christian Church 415

A Dissertation on the Views of George Fox concerning Christian Testimonies. 451

A Dissertation on the Views of George Fox concerning Christian Discipline.. 479

Preface

The life of George Fox is a subject of interest, not only to the devout Christian, but to the student of general history. To the former, he appears as an instructive example of the inward or spiritual life; to the latter, as one of the most efficient instruments in the cause of religious and civil liberty.

The signal changes which have been wrought during the last two centuries, in the opinions, laws, and institutions of Christendom, are to be attributed less to the labours of enlightened statesmen and jurists, than to the teaching and example of those religious reformers who became the instruments in the Divine hand to dispel the clouds of superstition, and shake the foundations of despotism both in church and state. Among these, the subject of this work is entitled to hold a conspicuous rank. It was remarked of him by a distinguished American statesman,* that " G-eorge Fox alone has, without human learning, done more towards the restoration of real, primitive, unadulterated Christianity, and the extirpation of priestcraft, superstition, and ridiculous, unavailing rites and ceremonies, than any other reformer in Protestant Christendom has with it."

In offering to the public this biography of that great and good man, I would by no means discourage the perusal of his excellent Journal, of which it has been said by Sir James Mackintosh, that

* Gov. Livingston. See Am. Museum, VIII. 255, December, 1790.

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XVI PREFACE.

" it is one of the most extraordinary and instructive narratives in the world, which no reader of competent judgment can peruse without revering the virtue of the writer."

Although the Journal, and other works of George Fox, have furnished a large proportion of the matter contained in this volume, I have, by diligent research, been enabled to enrich my narrative with facts and anecdotes from many other writings of the early Friends, some of which are now exceedingly rare.

My design has been to relate the most important and interesting incidents in his life ; to interweave with my narrative the biography of his wife, Margaret Fox; to introduce sketches of his most prominent coadjutors ; to give a succinct history of the Society of Friends during that period ; to connect it with the general history of the times ; and to furnish an instructive work, that may gain the attention of readers generally. How far this design has been accomplished, the public can best determine.

In the Dissertations at the close of the volume, great pains have been taken to give a clear and impartial statement of the views of George Fox concerning the important subjects embraced in them ; and, in relation to controverted points, copious selections from his works are introduced, to enable the reader to judge for himself.

S. M. Janney.

Near Purcelville, Loudon County, Va., 10th month 20th, 1853.

LIFE OF GEORGE FOX.

Chapter I. Introductory

Protestant Reformation — State of society in England in the middle of the 17th century.

In no other part of Europe has the Protestant Reformation been so effectual in promoting civil and religious liberty as in Great Britain. Its progress, however, was slow in its earliest stage, being subjected to the caprice of a despotic monarch, fettered by the influence of a powerful priesthood, and opposed by the prejudices of an ignorant people.

All great changes in the opinions and habits of mankind must necessarily be gradual, and in no respect are men more tenacious of their views and feelings than in relation to the momentous concerns of religion. The doctrines that have come down to us from our fathers, and the religious ceremonies we have been engaged in from our youth, are associated in our minds with all that is dear and all that is venerable ; with the tender ties of parental affection, and the reverence

due to an Almighty Creator.

2 (17)

It is difficult to estimate, — perhaps impossible for us to appreciate, — the mental conflicts which must have agitated those mighty minds that first ventured to question the truth of doctrines implicitly believed for many generations, to point out the inefficiency of time-honoured observances, and to attack the abuses of a hierarchy whose power was authoritative throughout Europe, and had been accumulating by the usurpations of a thousand years.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Pontifical chair was occupied by Alexander VI. , who has been called the Nero of the papal throne. A more odious compound of vice and hypocrisy has seldom been exhibited before the world ; and his son, Caesar Borgia, whom he promoted to a high office in the church, was not less noted for his profligate morals and vindictive temper, which rendered him a terror to the Eoman people.

It is remarked by the learned historian of the Popes, that "there was but one spot in the world where such deeds were possible; that spot alone, where unlimited temporal power and the highest spiritual authority were united in the same individual."*

Never was any court more corrupt than that of the Vatican. It had become a regular system with nearly all the Popes, to enrich their relatives from the public revenues, and some of them established their children and nephews in princely estates.

All offices, civil and ecclesiastical, were exposed to sale; many new offices, with exorbitant fees attached, were created for the express purpose of being sold;f and, indeed, every expedient that could be devised by a cunning and mercenary priesthood, was adopted to raise money for purposes of luxury and ambition.

Among the most lucrative of these priestly inventions was the sale of indulgences, by which the purchasers were exempted

* Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, 31. t Ibid, 130.

REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 19

from penance, and assured of forgiveness for their crimes. Alexander VI. was the first to declare officially that they released sinners from purgatory.*

After his death, and the short reign* of the warlike Julius II., John de Medici succeeded to the Pontificate under the title of Leo X. His munificent patronage of learning and the fine arts, his lavish expenditure for the adorning of his capital, and his prodigality in maintaining the splendour of his court, impoverished the papal treasury and induced him to push the sale of indulgences to a shameful and ruinous extent.

In Italy, the revival of ancient learning which had recently taken place, was attended with scepticism throughout the ranks of the learned ; while infidelity and open profanity prevailed among the priesthood, and the populace were sunk to the lowest depths of licentiousness.

In Germany, there were, among the scholars, some earnest and devout souls ; and among the lower classes, where superstition most prevailed, there were many whose minds had been partially enlightened by the preaching of the various dissenting sects.

The doctrines and sufferings of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the Bohemian Brethren, the Lollards, and Wickliffites, had sown the seeds of reformation throughout Europe, and now the fields were white already to the harvest.

It was, however, ordered by Divine Providence that the torch which was destined to set Europe in a blaze of religious controversy, should first be lighted in the cloisters of a monastery.

Martin Luther was a monk in a convent at Erfurth, belonging to the order called "The Hermits of St. Augustine." He had devoted himself to a monastic life from a sense of duty, hoping to find in the solitude of the cloister an exemption from temptation and a release from the burden of sin. It was in vain, however, that he resorted to austerities of human invention, to watchings, fastings, maceration of the body, and ceremonial observances. A sense of sin still * Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, 33.

oppressed him, and the suggestions of evil were not repressed in his bosom. His body was worn almost to a skeleton, his mind oppressed with sadness, and he thought only of the terrors inspired by a lively apprehension of divine justice.

While in this state of despondency, he was visited by Staupitz, vicar-general of his order, a man of tender feelings and religious experience. He sympathised deeply with the afflicted monk, advised him to study the Scriptures, and gave him, what he never before possessed, a copy of the Bible, which he prized as an inestimable treasure. From this time forward the sacred volume became his constant companion, and the Epistles of Paul were his favourite subjects of study.

There was one text which especially claimed his attention, " The just shall live by faith."

This doctrine afforded peace to his agitated mind. He came gradually to see that the works in which he had been engaged had no saving efficiency, — that the remission of sins cannot be purchased by money, nor obtained by penance; but is the free gift of God through Christ.

The talents, learning, and piety of Luther recommended him to the Duke of Saxony, Frederick the "Wise, who appointed him a Professor of Theology in the University of Wittemburg.

It was here that the Reformation began, in the year 1517, by the publication of his thesis against indulgences. Without intending to attack the Roman see, he at first aimed only at the abuses of the church, but he soon found that these abuses were interwoven with its whole structure. His censures were resented as presumptuous, his opinions condemned as heretical, and a bull of excommunication was issued against him, by which he was declared an obstinate heretic, and the secular arm invoked for his destruction. But a fire had been kindled which could not be extinguished. It spread from heart to heart, and from kingdom to kingdom, until the whole of Europe was involved in a fierce conflict of religious controversy.

The outworks of the church, — its superstitious observ-

JOHN WICKLIFFE. 21

ances, — had been assailed by other reformers, and they perished in the attempt ; Luther attacked the citadel, and it shook to its foundations. The Roman hierarchy claimed to be the depository of divine truth, and the Pope pretended to hold the keys of St. Peter. Luther appealed to the sacred scriptures as the standard of christian doctrines, and claimed the right of every man to read them in his vernacular tongue. Justification by works was a prominent doctrine of the papacy, and the source of its greatest revenues ; justification by faith in Christ alone was the fundamental principle of the Protestant reformers.

The seeds of the Reformation had been sown in England by John Wickliffe, who lived a hundred and fifty years before the time of Luther. He was the first to translate the New Testament into the English language, a service of inestimable value to the cause of truth ; but his version must have had a limited circulation, as the art of printing was then unknown.

Wickliffe's views were far in advance of the age, and even clearer, in some respects, than those afterwards advanced by Luther. He denied the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope, as well as the doctrine of transubstantiation. He maintained that prescribed forms of prayer are contrary to christian liberty, that sins are not abolished by water baptism, without the baptism of the Spirit, that those are presumptuous who affirm that infants are not saved who die without baptism, and that wise men should leave that as impertinent which is not plainly expressed in scripture.* His doctrines were condemned, his books burnt, and himself imprisoned, by order of a Council of Bishops in 1382 ; but owing to the dissensions at Rome, where two anti-popes were then at war with each other, he was released and suffered to live in peace.

" He wrote near two hundred volumes, all which were called in, condemned and ordered to be burned, together with his bones, by order of the Council of Constance, in the year 1425, forty-one years after his death." f

* Neal's Hist. Puritans, I. 29 30. t Ibid. I. 30.

His followers became very numerous after his decease, and suffered much persecution at the instance of the clergy. It is asserted by Knighton, a contemporary historian, that more than half the people of England embraced his doctrines.* They were sometimes called Lollards from their supposed resemblance to a German sect of that name.

It is said they continued to be numerous at the time of the Reformation, and some historians assert that the Anabaptists in England sprang from the Wickliffites.

It is well known to all readers of history, that the rupture between the Roman hierarchy and the Anglican church was occasioned by the Pope's refusal to grant a divorce to Henry VIII. It was a quarrel in which both the Pontiff and the King, under pretence of religious scruples, displayed the most discreditable passions ; — prevarication on one side, being no less conspicuous, than profligacy on the other. It was, however, through the overruling of Divine providence, made instrumental to the promotion of the Reformation, by giving a fatal blow to the papal supremacy in England.

The form of church government established by Henry, of which he made himself the head, was but slightly removed from that of Rome. The persecution of Dissenters still continued, but the ecclesiastical courts, those terrible engines of oppression, were somewhat restrained and made subservient to the civil power.

An English version of the scriptures, by Tyndale was printed at Antwerp in 1526, and afterwards in Hamburg, which being introduced into England was sought for by the people and read with great avidity. The bishops being dissatisfied with it, the king called it in by proclamation, and another edition was printed in England under the supervision of Archbishop Cranmer. In the latter part of his reign the king leaned more towards the papal doctrines and ceremonies : he even prohibited the reading of the New Testament in English " by

RISE OF THE PURITANS. 23

women, artificers, apprentices, journeymen, serving-men and labourers."*

During the reign of Edward VI. the Reformation made some progress, but after his death it was arrested by the bigoted Mary, who restored the Catholic priests, and lighted again the fires of persecution. After the short and troubled reign of Mary, her sister Elizabeth occupied the throne with, signal ability. She restored the Protestant religion, but being fond of pompous ceremonies, she imposed upon the English clergy some vestments and observances, borrowed from the Roman ritual, which gave much dissatisfaction.

Those among the clergy who objected to these relics of popery, being men of severe morals, acquired the appellation of Puritans. They were generally Calvinists in their doctrines, and members of the established church, but, by the severity of the Bishops, many of them were driven from her communion.

The court reformers in the reign of Elizabeth admitted that the Church of Rome was a true church, though corrupt in some points of doctrine and government, and that the Pope was a true bishop. These concessions they thought necessary because the English bishops pretended to derive their authority by succession from the Apostles, through the Romish church. The Puritans, on the contrary, affirmed the Pope to be Antichrist, and the church of Rome utterly apostate. They not only renounced her communion, but disclaimed the validity of ordination by succession.

The most prominent and renowned among the reformers, both in Great Britain and on the continent, adhered to the popish idea of entire uniformity in doctrine and worship ; an attainment which is not necessary, neither is it possible without violating the principle of religious liberty. Another idea, equally erroneous, which they brought with them from the Church of Rome, was the establishment and endowment of a national religion — a union of church and state.

*Neal's Hist. Puritans, I. 42.

24 LITE OF GEORGE EOX.

These views appear to have been held by nearly all the German, Swiss, English, and Scotch reformers, and each party among them, when it attained to power, used the secular arm to coerce the consciences of men. Uniformity was the rock on which the reformers split.* To attain this fancied good, they repressed the feelings of Christian charity, quenched the spirit of Divine grace within them, and for a mere difference in religious opinions or forms of worship, inflicted fines, imprisonment, and death. Some of the clergy who held these persecuting tenets, were prevented by feelings of humanity from carrying them into practice ; others were sincere bigots, who thought to do God service by persecuting and defaming those whom they considered heretics ; but we have reason to believe that a much larger number were worldly-minded men, who embraced their profession from sordid or ambitious motives. These were the supple tools of power, and readily acquiesced in all the changes of the English hierarchy.