An Historical Narrative of the spreading of Truth.

Narrative of the spreading of Truth, and of the opposition thereto.

“THE truth sprang up first to us, so as to be a people to the Lord, in Leicestershire in 1644, in Warwickshire in 1645, in Nottinghamshire in 1646, in Derbyshire in 1647, and in the adjacent counties in 1648, 1649, and 1650 ; in Yorkshire in 1651, in Lancashire and Westmorland in 1652 ; in Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland in 1653 ; in London, and most of the other parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in 1654.

“In 1655 many went beyond sea, where truth also sprang up, and in 1656 it broke forth in America and many other places.

“In the authority of this divine truth, Friends stood all the cruelties and sufferings that were inflicted upon them by the Long Parliament ; to the spoiling of goods, imprisonment, and death, and over all reproaches, lies, and slanders ; as well as those in Oliver Cromwell’s time, and all the acts made by him and his parliament; his son Richard after him, and the Committee of Safety ; and afterwards withstood and outlasted all the acts and proclamations since 1660, that the king came in.

“Friends never feared their acts, prisons, jails, houses of correction, banishment, nor spoiling of goods, nay, nor the loss of life itself; nor was there ever any persecution that came, but we saw in the event it would be productive of good ; nor were there ever any prisons that I was in, or sufferings, but it was for the bringing multitudes out of prison ; though they who imprisoned the truth, and quenched the Spirit in themselves, would imprison and quench it without them ; so that there was a time when so many were in prison, that it became as a by-word, ‘ truth is scarce anywhere to be found but in jails.

“And after the king came in, divers Friends suffered much, because they would not drink his health, and say, ‘ God bless the king ;’ so that many Friends were in danger of their lives from rude persons, who were ready to run them through with their swords for refusing it, until the king gave forth a proclamation against drinking healths ; for we were and are against drinking any healths, and all excess, both before his coming in and after ; and we desire the king’s good, and that the blessing of God might come upon him and all his subjects, and all people upon the face of the earth ; but we desired people not to drink the king’s health, but let him have his health, and all people else ; and to drink for their own health and necessity only ; for that way of drinking healths, and to excess, was not for the king’s health, nor their own, nor any others' ; which excess often brought forth quarrelling and destroying one another ; for they destroyed the creation and one another ; and this was not for the king’s wealth, nor health, nor honour, but might grieve him to have the creatures and his subjects destroyed ; and so the Lord’s power gave us dominion over that also, and all our other sufferings. But,

“ O! the number of sufferers in the Commonwealth’s and Oliver Cromwell’s days, and since; especially those who were haled before the courts for not paying tithes, refusing to swear on their juries, not putting off their hats, and for going to meetings on the First-days ; under pretence of breaking the Sabbath ; and to meetings on other days of the week ; who were abused both in meetings and on the highways.

“ O! how great were the sufferings we then sustained upon these accounts! for sometimes they would drive Friends by droves into the prison-houses like penfolds, confine them on the First-days, and take their horses from them, and keep them for pretended breach of their Sabbath, though they would ride in their coaches and upon their fat horses to the steeple-houses themselves, and yet punish others. And many Friends were turned out of their copyholds and customary tenements, because, in obedience to the command of Christ and his apostle, they could not swear ; and as they went to meetings, they have been stoned through the streets, and other wise cruelly abused. Many were fined with great fines, and lay long in prison for not putting off their hats, which fines Friends could never pay, though they kept them in prison till they had satisfied their own wills, and at last turned them out, after keeping them a year or more in prison.

“Many books I gave forth against tithes, showing how the priesthood was changed that took them ; and that Christ sent forth his twelve, and afterwards seventy disciples, saying unto them, ‘ Freely ye have received, freely give.’ So all who do not obey the doctrine and command of Christ therein we cannot receive them.

“I was also moved to give forth several books against swearing, and that our Yea and Nay might be taken instead of an oath, which, if we broke, let us suffer the same punishment as they who broke their oaths. And in Jamaica the governor and the assembly granted the thing ; it is also granted in some other places ; and several of the parliament-men in England have acknowledged the reasonableness thereof. The magistrates, after some time, when they saw our faithfulness in Yea and Nay, they who were moderate, both before and since the king came in, would put Friends into offices without an oath ; but the cruel and envious would fine Friends to get money off them, though they could not pay them any.

“Thus the Lord’s power hath carried us through all, and over all, to his everlasting glory and praise ; for God’s power hath been our hedge, our wall and our keeper (the preserver of his plants and vineyard), who have not had the magistrates' sword and staff to help us, nor ever trusted in the arm of flesh, but have gone without these, or Judas' bag,-to preach the Word of life, which was in the beginning before they were; which reconciles to God. And thousands have received this Word of reconciliation, and are born again of the immortal Seed, by the Word of God ; and are feeding upon the milk of the Word, which lives and abides for ever.

“Many have suffered death for their testimony, in England and beyond the seas, both before and since the king came in ; which may be seen in an account given to the king and both houses of parliament ; being ‘ A brief, plain, and true relation of the late and sad sufferings of the people of God in scorn called Quakers, for worshipping and exercising a good conscience towards God and man.’

“By reason whereof eighty-nine have suffered till death ; thirty-two of whom died before the king came into England, and fifty-seven since, by hard imprisonment and cruel usage. Forty-three have died in the city of London and Southwark since the Act made against meetings, &c., about 1661, of which a more particular account was given, with the names of the sufferers, to the king and parliament, about 1663.

“And though divers laws were designed against us, yet never could any of them justly touch us, being wrested and misapplied in their execution by our adversaries, which some have been made to confess. All those laws that were made, and the oath which they imprisoned us for, because, in obedience to the command of Christ Jesus, we could not swear at all, were not originally intended against us ; and yet we suffered by the several powers, and their laws, both spoiling of goods and imprisonment, even to death. And the governor of Dover castle, when the king asked him if he had dispersed all the sectaries' meetings ? said, that ‘ he had ; but the Quakers, the devil himself could not ; for if he did imprison them, and break up their meetings, they would meet again; and if he should beat them or knock them down, or kill some of them, all was one, they would meet, and not resist again.’ Thus the Lord’s power supported and kept them over their persecutors, and made them to justify our patience and lamb-like nature. This was about 1671.

“Since the king came in, three acts have been made against us, besides the proclamations, by which many have suffered imprisonment and banish ment, and many to death. And yet for all these acts and proclamations, persecutions, sufferings, banishments, faithful Friends are as fresh as ever in the Lord’s power, and valiant for his name and truth.

“Some weak ones there were, when the king came in, who took the oath ; but after they had so done, they were sore troubled for disobeying the command of Christ and the apostle, and went to the magistrates, con demned themselves, and offered to go to prison.

“ Thus the Lord, in his everlasting power, hath been the support and stay of his people ; and still his Seed reigns, his truth is. over all, and exceedingly spreads unto this year 1676.

Source: A Journal of George Fox (Armistead Edition) pgs. 161 - 167. London. 1852.