maliter. It was not by an ACT of PARLIAMENT; and ⚫ an ill precedent, faid the parliament. I further ad<ded, that the parliament had voted indulgence to the king's diffenting proteftant fubjects, and intended to ratify the former more firmly, at least to all proteftant diffenters; and that fuch we are.

I entreat you to perufe this fhort discourse against the papists, to fay nothing of the vast disparity and antipathy of OUR principles and worship. To these latter allegations, you fingly and jointly answered, that the ACT was in force, by the repealing or cancelling of the declaration. True, ftrictly taken: but • do not you know, that there be many acts never formally repealed, that obtain no force among us; but are as much neglected as if they were abrogated by new laws? I much question if that very law, by which the proteftants were burnt for their noble teftimonies against Rome, were ever revoked. This might be fufficient to you, that the KING dislikes it; that the ' parliament declared their readiness to repeal the law that countenanceth it; that all are quiet; that the reafon of the law ceafing, the law, as to its execucution, should cease alfo; that the king and council, in the preamble to the declaration, have dif⚫ claimed all pretence to better fettlements, by severity C upon diffenters; that you have work enough to employ yourselves about, in first living, and then executing all laws, that recover and preferve morality, mercy, justice, fobriety, and godly living: and lastly, that you had nothing offenfive to the law before your eyes, when you came among us.

I farther urged, argumentum ad hominem, the king's power in ecclefiaftical matters: that if you acknowledged him head of the church, it seemed fomewhat • unnatural, that any members ftraggle from the judg⚫ment and direction of the head. It was answered by • one of you, and the best thing faid, "that the king "was head in civils too, yet he would not forbear re"covering a debt by law, though the king should in"terpofe his civil headship to prevent receiving it,"

or

or words to that purpose. I faid then, and now more fully reply; the cafe is vaftly differing, upon your own principles. The civil government of England depends upon law grounded upon fincerity, the eter<nal law; and it is not, by the ancient and fundamental constitution, allowable, that meum and tuum fhould be over-ruled by any prince whatever. It is the glory of the king of England's government, that he is a prince by right, not might; by law, not power. He has power, but from and according to law; not that he makes his will and power law. This right is agreeable to human nature, fo called, and the oeconomy which God hath imprinted upon < it: but in matters ecclefiaftical, you fay (if old proteftants) that it is inherent to, and infeparable from, the civil magiftrate, fo foon as he profeffeth Chrift, <to be the head of the church in his dominions (upon the strain of the Jewish ftory, how reasonable foever it be): and upon this very foot, was, and is, the • English reformation fet; where all original compact, all coronation oaths, all fundamental law, and legiflators too, are fet afide; for the king is not conftituted head of the church by common confent of ⚫ lords and commons, though thereby declared fo; but by being a CHRISTIAN King.

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Again, I diftinguish between laws: fome are fundamental, and thofe are durable, and indiffoluble; fome are circumftantial and fuperficial, and those be • alterable. By the first, I mean all thofe laws, that conftitute the ancient civil government of England, ‹ and which make up these two words ENGLISH MEN. By the latter, I understand all laws fuited to state, or national emergencies, which are pro tempore and away. They live, as long as the reafon of them lives, and then die, oftentimes of themselves. These may be both civil and ecclefiaftical: civil, as the act against transporting Irish cattle: a FAMINE repeals that, by the ancient law maxim; ceffante ratione legis, ceffat lex. Ecclefiaftical; as this in question: they that made it, had UNITY, PEACE, and PLENTY, in

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their

their eyes it is found, upon trial, to increase animofities, disturb the peace, and lay waste honest and induftrious families. Thus much the king, whom you confefs to be the head of the church, by the advice of his privy council, men, doubtlefs, wifer than any of us, has almost in fo many words de⚫clared.

Farther, let it be weighed, that we came not to our liberties and properties by the proteftant religion; their date rifes higher. Why, then, fhould a non-conformity to it, purely confcientious, deprive us of them? This, or that, fort of religion, was not fpecified in the ancient civil government; though the clergy twisted into the great charter: yet let it ⚫ be confidered, that it was not intended to deny others liberty of confcience; but to fecure their church, <properties, and revenues, from the king's feizure. The nature of body and foul, earth and heaven, this 'world and that to come, differs: there can be no ' reafon to perfecute any man in THIS world, about any thing that belongs to the NEXT. "Who art thou (faith the holy fcripture, in this cafe,) that judgeth "another man's fervant?" he muft ftand or fall to his Master, the Great God. Let tares and wheat grow together, till the great harvest: to call for fire 'from heaven, was no part of Chrift's religion, though the reproved zeal of fome of his difciples.

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His

fword is fpiritual, like his kingdom. Be pleased to remember, that faith is the gift of God, and what is not of faith, is fin. We muft either be hypocrites, in doing what we believe in our confciences we ought not to do; or forbearing what we are fully perfuaded we ought to do. Either give us better faith, or leave us with fuch as we have; for it seems • unreasonable in you, to disturb us for this that we have, and yet be unable to give us any other. Oh! ye do not do to us as you would be done by: can it become proteftants to use that severity to others, they once condemned in others? there can be no

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pretence of confcience, for limiting other men's, that are virtuous, and who with you heartily well. < Were we immoral, or did our religion and worship ⚫ border upon an impiety, we should blufh to apologize as we do. But being no ways confcious of any affinity with immoral principles or practices; on the contrary, knowing ourselves to be better taught, by God's grace, that leads to all moral and holy living, however different we may be in fome particular perfuafions; we do take confidence to remonstrate our cafe, and to intreat your ferious confideration of it, that we, your countrymen and neighbours, may enjoy ourselves, in the worship of Almighty God, with quietness and fecurity. And I am well affured it fhall lefs repent you, upon your dying bed, to have acted moderately, than feverely. You cannot but know how fallible proteftants acknowledge themfelves to be in matters of religion, and confequently, with what caution they fhould proceed against any about religion. You alfo fee how much more ⚫ deftructive vice and intemperance are to body and foul, than mere opinion, and confequently, how much more reasonable it is to punish the one than profecute the other. Think not that mere perfuafion damns us; it is SIN, whofe wages is death. I love and honour all virtuous perfons, that differ from me, and hope God will have regard to every fuch one, according to fincerity. And however it fhall please you to deal with us, at this or any other time, < 1 pray God forgive you, open your eyes, tender your hearts, and make you fenfible, how much more moderation and virtue are worth your ftudy and purfuit, than the disturbance of religious diffenting affemblies, that, fo far as I know of them, defire to honour the king, love their neighbours as themfelves, and to do unto all men as they would have < all men do unto them.

Be pleased to accept this in good part, and with the most favourable conftruction; which becomes

your quality, and is but to do right to his intentions, who, with good wishes for you, fubfcribes himself,

Your very true Friend,

WILLIAM PENN."

POSTSCRIPT.

I have fent you a "Discourse against the Papists," ⚫ and another of "Liberty of Confcience;" feveral hundreds of which were prefented to the House that year it was printed.

I could produce a dozen precedents to confirm this and truly it looks hard upon your own principles, that you fhould give your fervants liberty to use their difcretion in errands, or conftables in the ⚫ execution of their trufts, provided they anfwer the • main end, which is, voluntas magiftri, falufque regis & populi, nay, that you can ufe fometimes a prerogative yourselves, & relaxare legem, remembering, doubtlefs, that fummum jus is fumma injuria, as the ⚫ old king faid; and yet that you should not allow the king a power to fufpend the execution of but a temporary law, when the execution of it is impracticable, without deftroying thofe very ends for which it was first made. I beseech you call to mind the ⚫ ancient veneration of proteftants to princes prerogative in ecclefiaftics, and their principles about it, in the reigns of H. 8. E. 6. Q.E. K. Ja. and particularly K. C. the first.'

The fame zeal and affection which made him a conftant advocate for his friends at home, led him alfo to folicit on their behalf with foreign powers and states, under whose government they fuffered persecution for there was a decree made this year at Dantzick for banishing the Quakers; and a law of the like nature at Embden, where that people had alfo undergone other grievous fufferings: whereupon he wrote to the fenate of Embden an epiftle in Latin,