A precious time we had afterwards with several people of account;
and the Lord's power came over all. William Osburn was with me.
Colonel Lidcot's wife, and William Welch's wife, and several of the
officers themselves, were convinced. Edward Billings and his wife at
that time lived apart; and she being reached by Truth, and become
loving to Friends, we sent for her husband, who came. The Lord's
power reached unto them both, and they joined in it, and agreed to
live together in love and unity as man and wife.
After this we returned to Edinburgh where many thousands were
gathered together, with abundance of priests among them, about
burning a witch, and I was moved to declare the day of the Lord
amongst them. When I had done, I went thence to our meeting, whither
came many rude people and Baptists.
The Baptists began to vaunt with their logic and syllogisms; but I
was moved in the Lord's power to thresh their chaffy, light minds.
I showed the people that, after that fallacious way of discoursing,
they might make white seem black, and black seem white; as, that
because a cock had two legs, and each of them had two legs,
therefore they were all cocks.[104] Thus they might turn anything
into lightness and vanity; but it was not the way of Christ, or His
apostles, to teach, speak, or reason after that manner.
[104] The reference is to the logical definition of man as "an
unfeathered biped," which is as old as Plato.
Hereupon those Baptists went their way; and after they were gone we
had a blessed meeting in the Lord's power, which was over all.
I mentioned before that many of the Scotch priests, being greatly
disturbed at the spreading of Truth, and the loss of their hearers
thereby, were gone to Edinburgh to petition the Council against me.
When I came from the meeting to the inn where I lodged, an officer
belonging to the Council brought me the following order:
"Thursday, the 8th of October, 1657, at his Highness' Council in
Scotland:
"Ordered, That George Fox do appear before the Council on
Tuesday, the 13th of October next, in the forenoon.
"E. DOWNING, Clerk of the Council."
When he had delivered me the order, he asked me whether I would
appear or not. I did not tell him; but asked him if he had not forged
the order. He said "No"; that it was a real order from the Council,
and he was sent as their messenger with it.
When the time came I appeared, and was taken into a great room, where
many persons came and looked at me. After awhile the doorkeeper took
me into the council-chamber; and as I was going he took off my hat.
I asked him why he did so, and who was there that I might not go in
with my hat on. I told him I had been before the Protector with my
hat on. But he hung up my hat and took me in before them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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