'I can perceive,' he said, 'most worthy prelate, how very quickly these priests of Ipswich judge our motives, how little credit they give us for sincerity, and how soon they would gag our mouths, could they prevent our speech before thee. I am glad to find, however, that they pay thee the respect which not only thine office, but thyself dost deserve, inasmuch as they retain silence at thy command. I am silent, Bishop Goldwell, if thou dost command me; but, as thou hast given me liberty to speak, I will confine my observations to the one point which my friend has taken up upon this occasion--namely, the giving the Word of God into the hands of the people. 'Now, if I, or any other person having authority so to do, preaches the gospel, is the source whence we derive all our knowledge to be concealed? I would ask, supposing a messenger came to thee to order thee to go to such a place, wouldst thou not ask whence he derived his authority, what credentials he had to show for thine undertaking such a journey? 'No man would attend the bidding of another unless the bidding came from a source he could not dispute, and he was convinced it was his duty to obey. So I maintain before thee and all this assembly, that when we preach and teach the glad tidings of salvation, the people should have the law and the testimony, the Old and New Testaments, before them, that they may judge of the truth of the message, invitation, or threatenings which we hold forth. 'How is it possible for the people to believe any truth of Scripture without the assurance of the Scriptures themselves? I might as well preach the heathen mythology if they are merely to believe what we tell them, without our laying before them the grounds of our belief. 'I would never believe there were such persons as Adam, Abel, Seth, or Noah, or such an event as the Deluge, or such a person as Abraham, or the promise given to him as is recorded, without I had read or heard the Scriptures read, from whence the knowledge of such things and persons is derived. And how can we expect that the things we would not believe ourselves without such evidences, others should take upon a man's mere ipse dixit? 'It is here that men are subject both to credulity and incredulity; but give them the whole Word of God, let them see the wisdom which it conveys, let them think for themselves, and I am persuaded that we need never be afraid of the spread of divine knowledge. 'We cannot pretend to be inspired prophets of God, deriving from him a direct communication independent of that which he has once shed upon his ancient prophets and apostles. However secluded and separated we may be from the rest of the world--I ask thee, Bishop Goldwell--can we derive a direct communication from Heaven beyond the written Word of God? I do maintain then, that we should teach nothing for doctrine, but what the Revelation of God has unfolded.