The History of Thomas Ellwood Written By HimselfEllwood, Thomas
History
The History of Thomas Ellwood Written By Himself
Ellwood, Thomas
Ellwood, Thomas, 1639-1713; Quakers -- Biography
Again, the giving of flattering titles to men between whom and me there
was not any relation to which such titles could be pretended to belong.
This was an evil I had been much addicted to, and was accounted a ready
artist in; therefore this evil also was I required to put away and cease
from. So that thenceforward I durst not say, Sir, Master, My Lord, Madam
(or My Dame); or say Your Servant to any one to whom I did not stand in
the real relation of a servant, which I had never done to any.
Again, respect of persons, in uncovering the head and bowing the knee or
body in salutation, was a practice I had been much in the use of; and
this, being one of the vain customs of the world, introduced by the
spirit of the world, instead of the true honour which this is a false
representation of, and used in deceit as a token of respect by persons
one to another, who bear no real respect one to another; and besides,
this being a type and proper emblem of that divine honour which all ought
to pay to Almighty God, and which all of all sorts, who take upon them
the Christian name, appear in when they offer their prayers to Him, and
therefore should not be given to men;—I found this to be one of those
evils which I had been too long doing; therefore I was now required to
put it away and cease from it.
Again, the corrupt and unsound form of speaking in the plural number to a
single person, _you_ to one, instead of _thou_, contrary to the pure,
plain, and single language of truth, _thou_ to one, and _you_ to more
than one, which had always been used by God to men, and men to God, as
well as one to another, from the oldest record of time till corrupt men,
for corrupt ends, in later and corrupt times, to flatter, fawn, and work
upon the corrupt nature in men, brought in that false and senseless way
of speaking _you_ to one, which has since corrupted the modern languages,
and hath greatly debased the spirits and depraved the manners of
men;—this evil custom I had been as forward in as others, and this I was
now called out of and required to cease from.
These and many more evil customs which had sprung up in the night of
darkness and general apostacy from the truth and true religion, were now,
by the inshining of this pure ray of divine light in my conscience,
gradually discovered to me to be what I ought to cease from, shun, and
stand a witness against.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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