THE

NEW ATHENIANS

NO

NOBLE BEREANS:

Being Answers to several

ATHENIAN MERCURIES,

IN BEHALF OF THE

PEOPLE called QUAKER S.

Published in the Year 1692.

PART I.

In Answer to the Athenian Mercury of the 7th Inftant.

AM heartily forry to fee men, profeffing so much ingenuity, fall fo much below their pretenfions. Your defign, at firft, carried the face of inftruction, and gave us hopes of a general improvement of useful learning; and for that reason your papers were as welcome to us as any other people; efpecially those that referred to natural philofophy, mathematicks, and hiftory; infomuch, that fome of us collected them as they came out, and others bought them as they were VOL. IV. Ff

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completed into volumes; being much concerned if at any time trivial or light questions were confidered, as an unworthy diverfion from the end by you in the beginning propofed. But you have not only been led, upon fuch occafions, to exceed too often the bounds of modesty, but you have taken occafion also to violate thofe of Chriftianity, in falling upon people's opinions in religion, inftead of giving your own impartially; and upon their perfons likewife, and at last, the fociety itself; as if your business were to expose them, inftead of informing them, and to increafe animofities, rather than to take up their time with more peaceable and profitable fubjects. What if you were led to speak of any principle held by the people called Quakers? Could not that have been done as indifferent perfons, which you, by your very defign, would befpeak yourselves to all perfuafions, and not as party-difputants and angry antagonists? Might not the intention of the people have paffed for good and fincere, though any part of their doctrine had, in your opinion, been unfound; but you must use hard words and names for both things and perfons? A fober and unconcerned answer, upon any question that might be sent you relating to their belief, would have taken better with every body that deferved your pains, and have brought us fooner to reflect upon our miftakes, if fuch they were: but, in earneft, it looks as if you were almoft aground, and wanted matter, that fo fpecious a defign as this firft fhewed itself, fhould dwindle away into froward controversy and perfonal invectives about religion; or that you are not fufficient for your work, that can fo eafily be moved out of your province.

I befeech you leave this prepofterous digreffion, and pursue your own bufinefs with more care and exactnefs; and, before you go, fuffer yourfelves first to be a little better informed of what you have fo irregularly and undeservedly cenfured.

You take occafion at these words, Truth is always * perfecuted,' to fay, That will indifferently ferve

Turk,

Turk, Jew, Heathen, or Heretick, as well as the Quakers.' This is harsh and unchriftian. Are none worse than we? And we as great Hereticks as any ? You judge before you convict us: it is too grofs partiality, and falfe in every degree. But whatever the perfecuted be, the perfecutor, to be fure, is always in the wrong; which is your cafe against the Quakers: but you recriminate, and will prove us perfecutors. That were to the purpofe indeed. Let us hear it. You excommunicate fuch as will not be subject to your injunctions:' and good reason too, if they are injunctions of civil order. He that joins himself to any fociety, is obliged to the rules of that fociety; and every fociety has, and must have, that power upon the members that conftitute it, or confufion follows, and the fociety diffolves. For inftance, injunctions about civil controverfies, care of poor orphans, • due and orderly proceedings relating to marriages, &c. are to be complied with, without the reproach of perfecution and yet farther too; look upon what principles of communion any perfon enters into any fociety, if he leave them, or any of them, it is no perfecution to difown him in that thing wherein he alters, fo that it touches not person or estate; for that is perfecution in a proper fenfe; which is not our cafe. But we imprison fuch as difturb our meetings.' How this will be proved is hard to tell; and yet if it be perfecution, it will light hardeft elsewhere, even upon thofe, perhaps, that you account us Hereticks for feparating from. But, thanks be to God, we can and do deny the charge. See,' fay you, Francis Bugg's One blow more:' but if this be Athenian, it is not Berean, to condemn an whole people upon another man's authority, that you are not affured was well grounded. Befides, it is a book we have answered; which you take no notice of; and that is unfair, if you knew of it; and if you did not, you ought to have asked, before you had efpoufed another man's allegations. This is not anfwerable to that candor you profefs; and we must tell you, that Francis Bugg is

an apoftate Quaker, an angry, unreasonable and clamorous man; often and again detected, and proved inconfiftent with himfelf; and you will find, in the iffue, of no reputation to your charge against us. But

did you ever read our orders of difcipline, or have you been ever eye or ear-witneffes of our injunctions upon confcience? If you have, you should have mentioned them, and fhewn us our fault; but your evidence here, is what a difcontented man fays, who fpeaks ex parte, and is judge in his own cause, against a body of people he was once among, and zealous for; who, upon a private controverfy, because he had not his own will, took pet at those that could not be brought to humour him; and from thence ran out from the very profeffion of a Quaker; which fhews the foundation wrong, that quits a principle, for being difpleased in a man or men. What will become of fociety, if fuch humours are uncontroulable, or they muft give the rule or law to the whole ?

Your next proof of our being perfecutors, is from a paffage of Geo. Fox, and Geo. Roff, in their letters to O. Cromwell, by which we perceive your new acquaintance, and with what tools you work; which we are forry for, both for your fakes and theirs. But those paffages are plainly wrefted by you; for they advife O. Cromwell to go on in the work he was called to; and what was that, pray? Is there one word of impofing religion upon the people of those countries, or forcing them to abjure or renounce their own? No, not a tittle of it. Where then is the perfecution? But inafinuch as they were countries that did persecute, by which means the truth of God had not a free entrance or paffage, but inquifitions in Popish, and confiftories in Proteftant governments, fuppreffed all that conformed not to their respective establishments; therefore he should have made it his business to open the way for a true liberty of confcience, that truth might not fuffer under violence, nor perfecution for confcience fake opprefs its profeffors. This is the upshot of those paffages, their very scope and tendency,