from the plainness of the primitive days, and practice of holy men and women in former ages! How are they become degenerated into the loose, proud, and wanton customs of the world, which knows not God; to whom use hath made these things, condemned by scripture, reason, and example, almost natural! And so insensible are they of both their cause and bad effects, that they not only continue to practise them, but plead for them, and unchristianly make a very mock of those who cannot imitate them. But I shall proceed to what remains yet further to be said in our defence, for declining another custom, which helps to make us so much the stumbling-block of this light, vain, and inconsiderate age. CHAPTER X. 1. Another piece of nonconformity to the world, which is our simple and plain speech, thou for you.--2. Justified from the use of words and numbers, singular and plural.--3. It was, and is the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin speech, in schools and universities.--4. It is the language of all nations.--5. The original of the present customs defends our disuse of it.--6. If custom should prevail, in a sense it would be on our side.--7. It cannot be uncivil or improper, for God himself, the fathers, prophets, Christ, and his apostles used it.--8. An instance given in the case of Peter, in the palace of the high priest.--9. It is the practice of men to God in their prayers: the pride of man to expect better to himself.--10. Testimonies of several writers in vindication of us.--11. The Author's convictions; and his exhortation to his reader. I. There is another piece of our nonconformity to the world, that renders us very clownish to the breeding of it, and that is, _thou_ for _you_, and that without difference or respect to persons: a thing that to some looks so rude it cannot well go down without derision or wrath. But as we have the same original reason for declining this, as the foregoing customs, so I shall add, what to me looks reasonable in our defence; though it is very probable height of mind, in some of those that blame us, will very hardly allow them to believe that the word reasonable is reconcileable with so silly a practice as this is esteemed.