Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

An Answer to the Pamphlet Entitled "The Conduct of the Paxton Men" - 14

remember a saying of a great and wise Man i.e. one Runagate is worse than ten Turks-Men; the next he mentions in George Fox, as worthy a man as I believe the modern Ages hath produced on purpose to bespatter the Character of the Quakers (but this is want of Policy) for if he would have vilified Quakers Reputation: He should have Quoated the Works of none but those like himself, and concealed Book and Page; in doing of which he might have dragged some sort of Men into his Scheme. However I shall Quote a passage or two of the genuine Works of George Fox, by which the moderate Reader will be convinced that that good Man was quite of the Reverse opinion, to what this Writer insinuates. If George Fox made use of any of those Expressions, which this Writer has, they are pick’d words, and a Connection given them as they now stand to serve the Purpose of some envious Apostate, of whom there were several that run into such Extravagances, or took such undue Liberties, that the Rules in the Society could not dispense with; then they testified against them, and those Men being of the like Spirit with our Author, thought the worst they could say or write, was hardly enough to bespatter them, and their innocent Principles. This Letter Writer sayeth: “ It is plain that the first Quakers were never against force of Arms, if they thought the Quarrel just;” if you will believe their own writers, they fought well in the Reign of Oliver Cromwell. George Fox in the fifth page of his Letter directed to the Council of Officers of the Army, &c. complains that many were disbanded out of the Army for no other fault, than their being Quakers.-----I will not undertake to say that George Fox, did not 

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