The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.Sewel, William
History
The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.
Sewel, William
Society of Friends -- History -- Early works to 1800
In this year William Caton went again into Scotland, from whence
returning, he travelled to Bristol, thence to Plymouth, and so to
London; from whence he made a voyage again to Holland, where William
Ames and John Stubbs had been, and also found some among the English
people at Amsterdam, who had received the doctrine they preached,
though afterwards they turned from it again. W. Ames found also some
reception among the Baptists there, who at first were pleased with him,
but J. Stubbs did not please them so well: as Dr. Galenus Abrahams once
told me, who compared Ames to a musician that played a very melodious
tune, and Stubbs to a disturber of the harmonious music; though Ames
afterwards, for his great zeal, was found fault with also.
W. Caton now arrived at Dort, and from thence repaired to Rotterdam,
where, for want of an interpreter that understood English, he was fain
to make use of the Latin. But it grieved him exceedingly to meet with
some unruly spirits there, that having been in some measure convinced
by W. Ames, ran out under the denomination of Quakers, into extremes,
both in words and writings. Some of these persons I know, and have
seen also some of the books they published in print, in which, under
a pretence of plainness, not one capital letter was to be found, even
not to proper names, nay, not to names of authors themselves. And since
they ran out into several other extravagancies, it was not much to be
wondered, that the magistrates clapt them up in Bedlam. The ringleader
of these people, was one Isaac Furnier, who formerly, (as I have heard
my uncle tell, who had seen it himself,) lived as another Diogenes,
using at the fire, instead of a pair of tongs, a split stick; and now
conversing among the Quakers, so called, made it a piece of holiness
to use the most blunt language, he could think of; how absurd and
irregular soever. In fine, he so behaved himself, that the orthodox
Quakers rejected his society. He it was, as I have understood, who
was the author of that ridiculous saying, ‘My spirit testifieth:’
which, though not approved nor used by the true Quakers, yet hath
been so spread among the people in the Low Countries, that it hath
been constantly credited, and is not yet quite disbelieved, that the
Quakers used to say so of any thing they intend to do; and that if any
one, whoever it be, says so, they will give credit to his saying. The
abovesaid Dr. Galenus told me, that this man coming to his door, and
finding the doctor’s name writ on the post of the door, (as is usual in
Holland,) did with his knife, scratch out the letters Dr. signifying
doctor. On which the doctor asked him, why he did so? And his answer
was, because the spirit did testify so unto him. And being asked
farther, if so be that spirit did move him to stab the doctor with
the knife, whether he would follow that motion, he answered, (if the
relation be true,) as the doctor affirmed to me, ‘Yes.’ But however it
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