CHAPTER III (3)

As I had thus written unto them jointly, so, after some time, I wrote to each of them by himself. To Justice Bennet thus:—

“Friend,

“Thou that dost profess God and Christ in words, see how thou followest him. To take off burthens, to visit them that are in prison, to show mercy, clothe thy own flesh, and deal thy bread to the hungry; these are God’s commandments. To relieve the fatherless, and to visit the widows in their afflictions, and to keep thyself unspotted of the world; this is pure religion before God. But if thou dost profess Christ, and follow covetousness, and greediness, and earthly-mindedness, thou deniest him in life, and deceivest thyself and others, and takest him for a cloak. Woe be to you, greedy and rich men; weep and howl, for your misery that shall come. Take heed of covetousness and extortion; God doth forbid that. Woe be to the man that coveteth an evil covetousness, that he may set his nest on high, and cover himself with thick clay. O! do not love that which God forbids. His servant thou art, whom thou dost obey, whether it be of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. Think of Lazarus and Dives; the one fared sumptuously every day, the other was a beggar. See if thou be not Dives: be not deceived, God is not mocked with vain words; evil communication corrupteth good manners; awake to righteousness, and sin not.”

That to Justice Barton was in these words:—

“Friend,

“Thou that preachest Christ, and the Scriptures in words, when any come to follow that which thou hast spoken of, and to live the life of the Scriptures, then they that speak the Scriptures, but do not lead their lives according thereunto, persecute them that do. Mind the prophets, and Jesus Christ, and his apostles, and all the holy men of God; what they spoke was from the life; but they that had not the life, but the words, persecuted and imprisoned them that lived in the life, which those had backslidden from.”

Having written to the justices and to the priests, it was upon me to write to the Mayor of Derby also; who, though he did not sign the mittimus, had a hand with the rest in sending me to prison. To him I wrote after this manner:—

“Friend,

“Thou art set in place to do justice; but, in imprisoning my body, thou hast done contrary to justice, according to your own law. O take heed of pleasing men more than God, for that is the way of the Scribes and Pharisees; they sought the praise of men more than God. Remember who said, ‘I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; I was in prison, and ye visited Me not.’ O friend, thy envy is not against me, but against the power of truth. I had no envy to you, but love. O take heed of oppression, ‘for the day of the Lord is coming, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh, shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ O friend, if the love of God were in thee, thou wouldst love the truth, hear the truth spoken, and not imprison unjustly. The love of God beareth, and suffereth, and envieth no man. If the love of God had broken your hearts, you would show mercy; but you show forth what ruleth you. Every tree doth show forth its fruit; you do show forth your fruits openly. For drunkenness, swearing, pride, and vanity, rule among you, from the teacher to the people. O friend, mercy, and true judgment, and justice, are cried for in your streets! Oppression, unmercifulness, cruelty, hatred, pride, pleasures, wantonness, and fulness, are in your streets; but the poor are not regarded. O! take heed: ‘Woe be to the crown of pride! Woe be to them that drink wine in bowls, and the poor is ready to perish.’ O! remember Lazarus and Dives! One fared deliciously every day, and the other was a beggar. O friend, mind these things, for they are near; and see whether thou be not in Dives’ state.”

I wrote also to the court at Derby thus:—

“I am moved to write unto you, to take heed of oppressing the poor in your courts, or laying burthens upon poor people, which they cannot bear; and of imposing false oaths, or making them to take oaths which they cannot perform. The Lord saith, ‘I will come near to judgment, and will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the false swearers, and against the idolaters, and against those that oppress widows and fatherless.’ Therefore take heed of all these things betimes. The Lord’s judgments are all true and righteous; and he delighteth in mercy. So love mercy, dear people, and consider in time.”

Likewise to the ringers of the bells in the steeple-house, called St. Peter’s, in Derby, I sent these few lines:—

“Friends,

“Take heed of pleasures, and prize your time now, while you have it, and do not spend it in pleasures or earthliness. The time may come, that you will say you had time, when it is past. Therefore look at the love of God now, while you have time; for it bringeth to loathe all vanities and worldly pleasures. O consider! Time is precious. Fear God, and rejoice in him, who hath made heaven and earth.”

While I was in prison, divers professors came to discourse with me; and I had a sense, before they spoke, that they came to plead for sin and imperfection. I asked them, Whether they were believers and had faith? and they said, Yes. I asked them, In whom? and they said, In Christ. I replied, If ye are true believers in Christ, you are passed from death to life; and if passed from death, then from sin that bringeth death. And if your faith be true, it will give you victory over sin and the devil, purify your hearts and consciences (for the true faith is held in a pure conscience,) and bring you to please God, and give you access to him again. But they could not endure to hear of purity, and of victory over sin and the devil; for they said they could not believe that any could be free from sin on this side the grave. I bid them give over babbling about the Scriptures, which were holy men’s words, whilst they pleaded for unholiness.

At another time a company of professors came, and they also began to plead for sin. I asked them, Whether they had hope? and they said, Yes: God forbid but we should have hope. I asked them, What hope is it that you have? Is Christ in you the hope of your glory? Doth it purifypurify you, as he is pure? But they could not abide to hear of being made pure here. Then I bid them forbear talking of the Scriptures, which were holy men’s words. For the holy men, that wrote the Scriptures, pleaded for holiness in heart, life, and conversation here; but since you plead for impurity and sin, which is of the devil, what have you to do with the holy men’s words?

Now the keeper of the prison, being a high professor, was greatly enraged against me, and spoke very wickedly of me: but it pleased the Lord one day to strike him so, that he was in great trouble and under great terror of mind. As I was walking in my chamber I heard a doleful noise; and standing still, I heard him say to his wife, “Wife, I have seen the day of judgment, and I saw George there, and I was afraid of him, because I had done him so much wrong, and spoken so much against him to the ministers and professors, and to the justices, and in taverns and ale-houses.” After this, towards the evening, he came up into my chamber, and said to me, “I have been as a lion against you; but now I come like a lamb, and like the jailer that came to Paul and Silas trembling.” And he desired that he might lodge with me; I told him that I was in his power, he might do what he would: but he said nay, he would have my leave, and he could desire to be always with me, but not to have me as a prisoner; and he said “he had been plagued, and his house had been plagued for my sake.” So I suffered him to lodge with me; and then he told me all his heart, and said he believed what I had said of the true faith and hope to be true; and he wondered that the other man that was put into prison with me did not stand to it; and said, “That man was not right, but I was an honest man.” He confessed also to me, that at those times when I had asked him to let me go forth to speak the word of the Lord to the people, and he had refused to let me, and I had laid the weight thereof upon him, that he used to be under great trouble, amazed, and almost distracted for some time after; and in such a condition that he had little strength left him. When the morning came, he rose, and went to the justices, and told them, “that he and his house had been plagued for my sake:” and one of the justices replied (as he reported to me), that the plagues were on them too for keeping me. This was Justice Bennet of Derby, who was the first that called us Quakers, because I bid them tremble at the word of the Lord. This was in the year 1650.[8]

After this the justices gave leave that I should have liberty to walk a mile. I perceived their end, and told the jailer if they would show me how far a mile was, I might walk it sometimes; for I believed they thought I would go away. And the jailer confessed afterwards, that they did it with that intent, to have me escape, to ease them of their plague; but I told him I was not of that spirit.

This jailer had a sister, a sickly young woman. She came up into my chamber to visit me; and after she had stayed some time, and I had spoken the words of truth to her, she went down, and told them that “we were an innocent people, and did none any hurt, but did good to all, even to them that hated us;” and she desired them to use kindness towards me.

As my restraint prevented my travelling about, to declare and spread truth through the country, it came upon me to write a paper, and send it forth to be spread abroad both amongst Friends and other tender people, for the opening of their understandings in the way of truth, and directing them to the true teacher in themselves. It was as follows:—

“The Lord doth show unto man his thoughts, and discovereth all the secret workings in man. A man may be brought to see his evil thoughts, running mind, and vain imaginations, and may strive to keep them down, and to keep his mind in; but he cannot overcome them, nor keep his mind within, to the Lord. In this state and condition submit to the Spirit of the Lord, which discovers them, and which will bring to wait upon him, and destroy them. Therefore stand in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author of the true faith, and mind him; for he will discover the root of lusts, evil thoughts, and vain imaginations, and how they are begotten, conceived, and bred; then how they are brought forth, and how every evil member doth work. He will discover every principle from its own nature and root.

“So mind the faith of Christ, and the anointing which is in you, to be taught by it, which will discover all workings in you; and as he teacheth you, so obey and forsake; else you will not grow up in the faith, nor in the life of Christ, where the love of God is received. Now love begetteth love, its own nature and image: and when mercy and truth meet, what joy there is! Mercy triumphs in judgment; and love and mercy bear the judgment of the world, in patience. That which cannot bear the world’s judgment is not the love of God; for love beareth all things, and is above the world’s judgment: for the world’s judgment is but foolishness. And though it be the world’s judgment and practice to cast all the world’s filthiness that is among themselves upon the saints, yet their judgment is false.

“Now the chaste virgins follow Christ, the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world; but they that are of that spirit which is not chaste, will not follow Christ the Lamb in his steps, but are disobedient to him in his commands. So the fleshly mind doth mind the flesh, and talketh of the flesh! its knowledge is fleshly and not spiritual; and savours of death and not of the Spirit of life. Some men have the nature of swine wallowing in the mire. Some the nature of dogs to bite both the sheep and one another. Some of lions, to tear, devour, and destroy. Some of wolves, to tear and devour the lambs and sheep of Christ; and some men have the nature of the serpent (that old adversary), to sting, envenom, and poison. ‘He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear,’ and learn these things within himself. Some men have the natures of other beasts and creatures, minding nothing but earthly and visible things, and feeding without the fear of God. Some have the nature of a horse, to prance and vapour in their strength, and to be swift in doing evil; and some have the nature of tall, sturdy oaks, to flourish and spread in wisdom and strength; who are strong in evil, which must perish and come to the fire. Thus the evil is but one in all, but worketh many ways; and whatsoever a man’s or woman’s nature is addicted to, that is outward, the evil one will fit him with that, and will please his nature and appetite to keep his mind in his inventions, and in the creatures from the Creator.