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

An Answer to the Pamphlet Entitled "The Conduct of the Paxton Men" - 23

quite so stupid as to think all Men are like himself, not in a Capacity to judge what’s for, or what’s against their presents or future Happiness, but if it be just so, I query, what he wrote this Letter for, it is stuft with little but immoral Sentences; it has no Connection with Religion, it has no perswasive Arguments, that has any Tendency to promote the good of the Church or State? What was it wrote for? was it not to divide and scatter People one from another? by sowing the Seeds of Discord and Contention, by ushering into the Minds of the one Part, an inveteracy and hatred against the other, by the most unjust way of Arguments, that Malice could Dictate.

The moderate Reader has seen by this Time, how I have canvas’d his Quotations, not in the Minuetest but in a Corsory way; and find no one Instance of any Quaker that has been seen in the Field of Battle, or of using carnel Weapons of any fort as this Writer hath asserted: again, he hath Quoted Heathen Authors to vindicate the Actions of the Paxton Men: But for want of Judgment (I think) it must be that he has handed us such that make against and not for him. He tells us that he hath as great an Advertion to Mobs and all Rioters proceedings as any can have, (observe) as any Man ought to have a harden’d Man. However we shall see his proof in page 24: After telling us the Storys of the most celebrated Heroes of Antiquity: Men whom the present World is not worthy of &c. Who have recited, destroyed, or expelled Traytors and Tyrants, the Pests, the Burders and the Butchers of Mankind.

Contents of this annotation: