Observations On The Political Conduct Of The Protestant Dissenters

Excerpt from Observations on the Political Conduct of the Protestant Dissenters: Including a Retrospective View of Their History, From the Time of Queen Elizabeth; In Five Letters to a Friend Letterv [hall have the honour to addrefs to you, I prefume I fhall be able fully to prove what I have aiterted. Having been brought up, educated, and, occafionally, preached among them, I have for a fe ries of years made it a point to fiudy their political charaeter and bias; and have had thof'e opportuni ties which a {tranger could not pollibly have had. Believe me, it is not from any rancour, or in confe quence of any incivilities I have received' from them as a body, 'that occafians me to take up my pen; - I am impelled and confiraihed thus to aft, from the exifting circumflances of the times, and from a fenfe of my duty as a loyal fubjeet.' I wifh none of the privileges which the Dienters are jufily permitted to enjoy, for conferenee' jez/re, to be te trenched or abridged they have a right to worfhip God in that mode they conceive molt analogous to Scripture and to reafon but they have no right to dezmze in polizz'es. They have no right to negleet praying for the King they have no right to f'tir up the flames of fedition, and to become the firebrands of the State; they have no right to propagate French Principles, or to become United Iri/bmen. Such, however, has been their conduct. But pre vions to my entering upon a review of their recent behaviour, I (hall, agreeably to your requefi, prefent you with a {hort analyfis of their Hif'tory, from the time of their firfl appearing in this country, under the name of Puritans, in the reign of (been Elizabeth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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A wide-ranging collection of studies on Enlightenment and religion in eighteenth-century England.