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never to abate any thing of humanity or charity to < any man for his difference from me in opinion, and particularly to thofe of your perfuafion, as feveral of them have had experience. I have been ready upon ⚫ all occafions to do all offices of kindness, being truly forry to fee them fo hardly used; and though I thought them MISTAKEN, yet in the main I believed ⚫ them to be very HONEST. I thank you for your letter, and have a just esteem of the Chriftian temper of it, and reft,

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Your faithful friend,

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Jo. TILLOTSON.'

W. PENN to Dr. TILLOTSON.

• WORTHY FRIEND,

'H

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AVING a much lefs opinion of my own me< mory, than of Dr. Tillotfon's truth, I will allow the fact, though not the jealoufy: for besides that I cannot look ftrange where I am well used, I have ever treated the name of Dr. Tillotfon with < another regard. I might be grave, and full of my own business; I was alfo then disappointed by the • doctor's; but my nature is not harsh, my education ‹ less, and my principle least of all. It was the opinion I have had of the doctor's moderation, fimplicity, and integrity, rather than his parts, or post, that always made me fet a value upon his friendship, of which, perhaps, I am better judge; leaving the • latter to men of deeper talents. I blame him nothing, but leave it to his better thoughts, if, in my affair, his jealoufy was not too nimble for his charity. If he can believe me, I should hardly prevail < with myself to endure the fame thought of Dr. Til⚫ lotfon on the like occafion, and lefs to speak of it. For the Roman correfpondence I will freely come to ⚫ confeffion: I have not only no fuch thing with any Jefuit at ROME (though Proteftants MAY have, with

out

' out offence) but I hold none with ANY Jefuit, prieft, or regular in the world of that communion. And ⚫ that the doctor may see what a novice I am in that bufinefs, I know not one ANY-WHERE. And yet, when all this is faid, I am a CATHOLICK, though not a ROMAN. I have bowels for mankind, and dare not deny others what I crave for myfelf, I mean liberty for the exercife of my religion; thinking faith, piety, and providence a better fecurity than force; and that if truth cannot prevail with her own, weapons, all others will fail her.

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Now, though I am not obliged to this defence, and that it can be no temporizing now to make it; yet that Dr. Tillotfon may fee how much I value his good opinion, and dare own the truth and myself at all turns, let him be confident I am no Roman Ca'tholick, but a Chriftian, whofe creed is the fcrip( ture; of the truth of which I hold a NOBLER evi'dence, then the best CHURCH AUTHORITY in the world; and yet I refufe not to believe the porter, though I cannot leave the fenfe to his discretion; and when I should, if he offends against thofe plain ' methods of understanding God hath made us to know things by, and which are infeparable from us, I must beg his pardon; as I do the doctor's for this length, upon the affurance he has given me of his doing the like upon better information; which that he may fully have, I recommend him to my "Addrefs to "Proteftants," from pag. 133. to the end, and to the first four chapters of my "No Crofs, No Crown;' to fay nothing of our most inceremonious and unworldly way of worship, and THEIR pompous cult; where at this time I fhall leave the bufinefs, with all due and fenfible acknowledgments to thy friendly temper, and affurance of the fincere wifhes and respects of

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W. PENN to Dr. TILLOTSON.

< WORTHY FRIEND,

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HIS fhould have been a vifit; but being of opinion that Dr. Tillotfon is yet a debtor to me this way, I chofe to provoke him to another letter by this, before I made him one: for though he was very juft and obliging when I last saw him, yet certainly no expreffion, however kindly spoken, will fo eafily and effectually purge me from the unjuft imputation fome people caft upon me in his name, as his LETTER will do. The need of this he • will better fee when he has read the enclosed; which coming to hand fince my laft, is, I prefume, enough to justify this addrefs, if I had no former pretenfions: and therefore I cannot be fo wanting to myfelf, as not to prefs him to a LETTER in my just defence; nor fo uncharitable to him, as to think he • fhould not frankly write what he has faid, when it is to right a man's reputation, and difabufe the too credulous world. For to me it seems from a private friendship, to become a moral duty to the publick, which, with a person of fo great morality, must give < fuccefs to the reasonable defire of

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'I

AM very forry that the fufpicion which I had entertained concerning you, of which I gave you the true account in my former letter, hath occafioned fo much trouble and inconvenience to you: and I now declare, with great joy, that I am fully

• fatisfied

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'fatisfied that there was no juft ground for that fufpicion, and therefore I do heartily beg your pardon for it. And ever fince you were pleafed to give me that fatisfaction, I have taken all occafions to vin'dicate you in this matter; and fhall be ready to do 'it to the person that fent you the inclosed, whenever he will please to come to me. I am very much in 'the country, but will feek the first opportunity to 'vifit you at Charing-crofs, and renew our acquaintance, in which I took great pleasure. I reft,

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In this year he published "A farther Account of "the Province of Pennsylvania;" and about this time the duke of Buckingham having writ a book in favour of liberty of conscience, for which he was always a known advocate, a nameless author put forth an answer, reflecting not only on the duke himself, but also on W. P. faying The Pennsylvanian had entered him, (i. e. the duke) with his Quakeriftical doctrine.' W.P. gave that anfwerer a reply, entitled, "A Defence of the Duke of Buckingham's Book of Religion and "Worship," &c. a finall piece; in the conclufion of which, he refers to another excellent and larger difcourse, soon after published by himself, entitled, "A "Perfuafive to Moderation to Diffenting Christians, "in Prudence and Confcience, humbly fubmitted to "the King and his great Council:" in which he confutes the several pleas for perfecution, and confirms his own arguments for a toleration, by the testimonies of authors, and the examples of flourishing kingdoms and states, and fhews the difmal effects and confequences of the contrary: a treatife well worthy the reader's ferious perufal.

How far this book, and other folicitations of its author, did influence the king and council, we deter

VOL. I.

i 1686.
G

mine

mine not, but fhortly after, viz. on the 14th of the month called March, 1685-6, came forth the king's proclamation for a general pardon; and inftructions being given to the judges of affize, in their several circuits, to extend the benefit of it to the Quakers, about thirteen hundred of that people, most of whom had been divers years imprisoned, were fet at liberty. Joyful, no doubt, to their diftreffed families, as well as beneficial to the country, was the restoring fo many industrious people to their own homes, and lawful employments; and, whatever private views fome in authority may be fuppofed to have had in granting that general amnesty, it was certainly the duty of the afficted to receive the prefent favour with a becoming gratitude.

On the 4th of the month called April, 1687, came forth the King's Declaration for Liberty of Confcience, fufpending the Execution of all Penal Laws, in Matters Ecclefiaftical;' by which, (though probably done in favour of the Papists) Diffenters received a general ease, and enjoyed their meetings peaceably. The people called Quakers, having fmarted by thofe laws more than others, could not be lefs fenfible of the prefent relief; wherefore at their next annual asfembly held at London, in the third month this year, they drew up an "Addrefs of Thanks to the King," deputing W. P. and others to prefent the fame: his speech at the presenting of it, with the address itself, and the king's anfwer, were as follows:

W. PENN'S Speech to the KING, upon his delivering the QUAKERS Addrefs.

May it please the KING,

'IT

T was the faying of our Bleffed Lord to the captious Jews in the cafe of tribute, "Render to "Cæfar the things that are Cæfar's, and to GOD the things that are GOD's." As this diftinction ought to be observed by all men in the conduct of their • lives,

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