Rusticus ad academicos in exercitationibus expostulatoriis, apologeticis quatuor The rustick's alarm to the rabbies, or, The country correcting the university and clergy, and ... contesting for the truth ... : in four apologeticall and expostulatory exercitations : wherein is contained, as well a general account to all enquirers, as a general answer to all opposers of the most truly catholike and most truly Christ-like Chistians [sic] called Quakers, and of the true divinity of their doctrine : by way of entire entercourse held in special with four of the clergies chieftanes, viz, John Owen ... Tho. Danson ... John Tombes ... Rich. Baxter ... by Samuel Fisher ...

THE PREFACE. John Owen, who hast been stiled Doctor in Divinity, and Dean of Christ-Church Coll. Oxon. and Thomas Danson, stiled M. A. Minister of the Gospel, at Sandwich in Kent, and late Fellow of Magdalen Coll. Oxon.

I Have taken a view of three books of you two lately extant, against the People commonly called Quakers; namely, of thy threefold Thing, I. O. or double-tongu'd piece of Divinity doings about the Letter and the Light, lyingly relating in other parts of it (partly) and in its Latine part (principally) to the Quakers. Also T. D. of thy two little fard••es of much falshood, generally superscribed with these two un∣true Titles, viz.

• 1 The Qua. folly made manifest to all men, in Auswer to R. Hub.
• 2 The Qua. Wisdome descends not from above, in Answer to G. Whit. re∣plying to the other.

For the Truths sake, which now lies at stake openly between you two, and them, I am minded, as moved in way of Reply, to say something to both your Books, and to your selves, and the world also about them. I intend not a total Translation of that forraign Language, wherein that foresaid Latine part of thine I. O. in which thou fight st most fiercely with thy fore-nam'd Friends, was written (so much of that shall serve, as will serve the turn of such Truths as I h••ve plead against thee in the service of) nor a total transcription of either of your books (they are not worth it) not yet an Answer to every falsity that is found therein (Hoc opus, luc labor est, they are more then my measure of Arithmetick can easily reach to reckon up) But a due Expostulation with you both, on the Quakers and the Truths behalf; an Animadversion of some at least of those many absolute absurdities, follies, confusions, false doctrines, flat contradictions to your∣selves, which are eve•• and anon therein uttered by you; a Subversion of your Topsie-Turvies, who set the chief things ye have to do, withall A••∣chi-podialiter (as it were) with the heels upwards; a Blowing away of those blasphemies, lies, calumnies, opprobrious titles, disdainful subsannations, unjust accusations, spiteful aspersions, abominable abuses breat••d out by you against the people abovesaid, whom, all that curse, shall once see and say, are a Seed, whom God hath blessed; and (to be short) an Examination of many such matters in every part of both your Books, how

scamblingly soever they lye, here some, and there some in them, as I find bear any reference to the Qua. or to those Doctrines, viz. 1 Of Iustifi∣cation by the Righteousness of Christ in us: 2 Of the Letters not being the only Foundation and Rule of Faith and holy life: 3 Of the Infallible Spirits Inspiration, and Infallible direction of his Ministry at this day: 4 Of the V∣niversal love and grace of God to all men: 5 Of the True saving Light of Christ, enlightning every man in the world: 6 Of the Attainableness of perfect purity, or freedome from sin in this life, in each of which ye dif∣fer from them, and which against you both, and your Adherents, are held forth by them.

Sundry false and grosly absurd businesses against the Light, and its Chil∣dren, may not improbably be briefly noted, as they lye most notably ob∣vious to every common capacity, in the nine Sermons of Iohn Tombs, B.D. which came piping hot from the Press, while this of mine to you two, is coming to it, put out by R. Baxter; which pair of blind Brethren, as much enmity, threatning, and Thunder without Lightning, as hath been between them hitherto against each other, are it seems, like Herod and Pilate, now made friends together against Christs Light, so as to make one Head, though two Horns, wherewith to thrust it down if they could, for which a Rod, a Rod in the Lords hand, is already ready for the back of Baxter, who, and his once Heretical and Heterodox, but now Reverend and Orthodox Brother Tombs, as two Twins that tumbled both out of one Belly, even one and the same Womb of that Babylonish Bawd, are both to be tumbled into one and the same Tomb, or Grave, that (as your two I. O. T. D.) so their pair of pratings may go together into the earth, whence they came, as like to like, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, for dust, which is the Serpents meat, all your Divinity doings are, and unto dust must they all return.

Now as little method as thy Book I. O. hath in it, yet is it as capable to be divided into parts, as it is in each part, in one thing or another, most palpably divided against it self.

1 As to the subject matter thereof, it is in general twofold, (viz.) The Outward Letter, and the Inward Light; that External writing, or legible form of words, commonly called the Scripture, the Holy Scriptures, which are (ad extra, but ab intra) only and meerly without, though from with∣in; together with that Internal Law, Spirit, Power, or Word, which is (ad intra) by all that know the Truth, as it is in Iesus, both seen, felt, heard, understood, and witnessed to be within, not more cryed up by the men call'd Quakers, who live both according to it, and the Scri∣pture, then decryed by the men that are but supposed to be Christs Mini∣sters, who are utterly erring besides them both, knowing truly neither the one, nor yet the other.

Sund••y touches there are given by thee, as thou goest along, at other things; (viz.) Vniversal Grace, Perfection, Persecution, Modern Inspiration by the Spirit of God, Revelation, and such like, about which thine and the Quakers Doctrine differs, by which (as ex pede Herculem) thy Pulse is felt, and it's spied out how thy Spirit blows against Christs; thy truthless talk, of which may (the Lord leading to it) not unlikely be talked with

by the way, before I have done: But those two abovesaid, being well nigh the Totum in Toto, & the Totum in qualibet parte, the matters thou mainly medlest with, and most miserably mudlest thy self about, thoroughout the whole Body of thy Book, and every part thereof, making little less then a very God of the one, i. e. Of the Letter, which is the last and the least, and the lowest of the two; and little better then a very Devil of the other, i. e. the Light, which is the first, and the highest, and the greatest; so that all others are but toucht upon, as in subserviency either to the Deifying, or defying (respectively) of one of these, to clear away that fog and smoak which thou raisest about them, both to the thickning and dark∣ning of the Sun and Ayr, so that none can see either of them clearly, through thy cloudy collation thereupon, is the chief intent, and likely to be the chief and utmost extent of this present Answer.

2 As to the Tongue wherein it treats, (excepting here and there a lit∣tle Hebrew, and (for shew sometimes more then service) a penful or two of Greek interlin'd in both parts, and now and then two or three licks of Latine among the English) thy Book stands divided into two parts, (viz.) Latine, and English (a Cloven Tongue of another nature then those that sate upon the Apostles) and these are as the two Horns of that second dou∣ble-fac'd Beast, that is as the Lamb, and yet speaks like the Dragon, where∣with thou pushest at thy Opposers on the right hand, as well as on the left, even not only at thy own Brethren, the Protestant Divines, when they please thee not by Divining the contrary to thy peremptory peculiar Positions, and preheminent pratings, together with that blind Brood of the first ten-horn'd Beast of Rome, to whom both thou and all thy Brethren (though in many things ye justly band against them) are Brothers in na∣ture still, and of neerer Kin then ye well ken or wot of, but also against the true People of God.

These two general parts (each of which is prefaced with an Epistle al∣so in language like it self) stand divided and subdivided more particularly within themselves, (viz.) the English into two Treatises, which subdivide themselves, the one into six Chapters, the other (though falsly figured) in∣to eight, the Latine into four Apologetical Exercitations (as thou call'st them) for the Holy Scriptures, against (as thou call'st the Quakers) the Fanatical Ones of these Times.

Which fore-named divisions and subdivisions, that are scarcely more di∣vided from then against each other, do all split themselves yet fu••ther in∣to a new needless number of smaller Sections and Th••ses.

The two English Treatises which arise mostly from one and the same Spring or Head, together with the other (not God, nor his Spirit, nor yet the Scriptures, but the Head of the Serpent which is to be bruised, thy own brain, vain invention, and imagination) run along treating to and fro in two distinct streams, or Torrents awhile, and at last, having (as thou sayst) Arctissimum materiae & doctrine consortium, a neer coincidence of their matter with it, and affinity in their subject, by which the whole Trinity of them is drawn into that Unity to compleat thy double Doctrine (far) from the Scriptures, for the Scriptures, fall into one with the Latine Sourse, or Lake of Lyes, that burns more hotly then the rest in wrath a∣gainst the Quakers.

And having there lodg'd and center'd thy two English Discourses, and drawn them into one with this, (verifying herein that old true saying, Vis unita fortior) thou ventest that venome in stronger streams, and spit∣test out that spite more fluently, and in fuller floods against the Qua. which was in some few places only sprinkled out upon them before, and filling up what was behind of thy flattering false Applauses of the naked Letter, which with some of the same that were used before, and some new super-eminent undue Titles thou•• here also magnifiest, beyond the bounds and measure of all modesty and truth, hoping belike to appear approved of Christ, as one of note in his service, (what disservice soe∣ver thou do him otherwise) so long as thou art found saying something (though Hoc aliquid nihil est, as good thou hadst said just nothing as no more to the purpose) and raking, and skimming, and scraping out of thy own thoughts some ample Apologies for the Scriptures, thou fillest up thy measure of mad mirth against that true inward Light of God, and its Children, that testifie unto it, as that which is to be preferred before the Letter, and was before it, as that which the Letter was given forth from, despising these, as in thy English Epistle, p. 28. p. 30. under the (as false as foul) terms of poor deluded Fanatical Qua. pretending to be guided by an Infallible Spirit, that oppose the whole truth about the Word of God, so there under the abusive clamours against, and charges of them (even by whole-sale) as Fanatical ones, that are notoriously known by their errours and foolishness, who are driven by the power of an Evil Spirit, & depressing the Light (which is the Name of Christ exalted above all Names) without any colour of light, or tolerable evidence of Scripture, or Reason, that it is by ten thousand degrees so bad a business as thou makest of it, into so low a condition, as wherein to stand in need (so far as a thing that needs no such thing, but infallibly evidenceth its own Innocency and Excellency, may be said to need it) of such Apology, as at the end of this work thou wilt find me making for it, and so as to put it under every name that is named, not only of things in Heaven, or per∣taining any way to the Kingdome thereof, but of things in earth too; and (if ens be better then non ens, as ye count it, and a being, though a bad one, be better then none at all) under things that are under the earth also, setting it at naught, so as to render it worse then naught, till (what in thee is) thou quite annihilatest, and mak'st just ••ought or no∣thing of it at all: Having made unto thy self a Graven Image, and Golden God, of that meer Image thou hast by thee, of the old Original Copies of the Scriptures, in thy frothy, vain, light, and yet dark and lightless mind, thou dost, Hos omnes naso suspendere adunco, ironically fall a scoffing at the Qua. and the true Light of the true God, and consequently at the true God from whom it comes, puffing at it, as if thou wouldst puff it out at a blast, making thy self merry over it among thy Academical Admirers, laughing both it, and all that own it, and so him that gives it out, even to very scorn, terming it, (as if thou knewst not what to call it that is bad enough for it) I know not what Light, that hath no community or correspondency with the Scriptures, and (jeeringly) the Infa••lible D••ct••r, that counterfeited Light, or Word within, the feigned Imaginary Christ, I know

not what God, or plen••iful Horn of the Heavenly Goat, better then any God, •• h••rrible figment, a certain Imaginary Christ they lyingly devise, which is a Light within common to all, I know not what spiritual every thing, that is truly nothing, the meer imaginary and fancied Christ of a s••rt of Fanatical men, I know not what Divine Quality, or Soul of the World, mingled into all things, which may be every thing, and in very need is just nothing.

Thus when thou hast made thy self sport enough with vilifying the Light of Christ, and Christ, who is the Light, thou art pleased to end thy Play with a nullifying of it, and so de nihilo nihilum, nihil in nil, &c. out of this nothing there can come nothing; and thou having done thy do with it, hopest to hear no more of it, away it must without more ado, having nothing to do, in rerum natura, but to make I. O. merry a while, and at his will to become nothing again. But I. O.

—Hoc ego opertum, Hoc Ridere meum(tam nil)nulla tibi vendo Scriptura vel inane tua quacun{que} vel ipsa.

As very nothing as this Light of Christ, and Word within is with thee and thine, whose thin somethings, and empty every things, in which you yet bless your selves, are wearing out; and mouldring to no∣thing, yet such as know the true worth thereof, will not so undervalue it, as to sell it for any of thy vain Scripture for the Scripture, nor for the best of that best Scripture, which thy vain Scripture for it prefers before it, which Scripture yet, as to its own proper place and use, they are far be∣fore thy self in preferring.

And howbeit, thou deemest that the Light thou so damn'st down to no∣thing, hath done with thee, thou having thus done with it, and done it away as far from thee, as a man of thy Cloth can likely fling it; yet there is an hour thou art not ware of, wherein thy self and it must meet again, in which it will find thee out for all thy floutings of it, and come nigh to thee to Judgement, as a swift Witness against thee, for more things then that, which thou hast forgotten, and set all that thou hast done in thy vile body in remembrance, and in order before thee; and unless thou repent thee in the time, wherein in the goodness of God its given men to lead them to repentance, damn thee for ever, far further from any sight (as to enjoyment) of it self and God, then ever thou by all thy Judgement past against it, canst condemn it from thy self, or possibly judge it out of thy sight.

As for thy pair of Pamphlets, T.D. they consist more particularly as follows; viz. The first (which, besides its piece of Preface, is a meer five∣fold fiction) of a treble Tale, untrue Relation, or cursory, crooked, crude, and decrepid Account of the Three Disputations, that were held at Sand∣wich, on the twelf, thirteenth, nineteenth daies of the second Moneth, 1659. between thy self, and three of us called Quakers, viz. R. Hubber∣thorn, G. Whitehead, and my self; together with a short Answer, as (to the saving me that labour, who should else have so entitled it) thy self most truly superscribedst it, p. 34. (for indeed thy Devils Bow shoots too

short, either to hit the mark thou shootest at, or hurt that innocent Lamb∣like Spirit, that speaks in that, or any other, of R. H. his writings) to a trifling Pamphlet put forth by R. H. as thou triflingly termst it: And lastly, A brief Narrative (so thou nam'st that last and most Remarkable part thereof) of some Remarkable Passages.

The second, which, besides thy Epistle and Preface, is but as it were a lesser Chump of the same old Wooden Block with the other, subdividing and cleaving it self out also into five smaller chips, fit for little else but fewel for the same fire, by which (as by the day that now declares the Workman, and his Work, of what sort it is) they are all to be both re∣vealed, consumed, and burnt up, among the rest of those bryars and thorns that are setting themselves to battel against the Lord, and of those buildings of wood, hay and stubble, which the Scornets of the Corner∣stone are erecting to their own ruine; viz. a kind of Epitomical repetition of what was shufflingly said by thy self in thy first Tritie, concerning the four Heads, or rather and indeed against these four points of Doctrine, viz. 1 The Light of Christ. 2 Perfection. 3 Iustification. 4 The Scriptures; with frequent references to thy (so call'd) Qua. folly, for the rest of thy Replyes to us, who had replied to them all ore and ore again before.

And lastly, another Narrative; (not so call'd by thee) yet for the lies and naughtiness thereof, and nothing else, much more Remarkable then the former, as will be seen in my Animadversion of it.

Having said this little to you both, I.O. and T. D. about your Books, by way of Preface, or Dedication, of what hereafter follows, to your selves, and all your Followers and Fellow-Labourers in the like lame cause, who belabouring your selves in talk about the Letter against the Light, live and walk more by the false fire, and twinkling flash of your own thred-bare thoughts and infatuated imaginations, then either by the Letter, or the Light. I come now 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 without much Preamble, or more ado, ad rem substratam, to the businesse and work it self, as it lies before me.

And howbeit, I shall not regard any External form, order, or methodical manner of proceeding with you, so much as words and matter of profit and truth it self, yet as there is a Quaternity of you, or rather a Fraternity of four angry Fighters or Quarrellers with the Quakers, and the truths told by them, viz. I. O. T. D. I. T. R. Baxter, all whom, first or last, one where or other, more or lesse, I shall have to do with: So (though not there∣fore) I shall divide my ensuing undertakings against you, in the Name and Power of God on their behalf, in such wise, as thou I. O. dost thy Doctor∣like Divinity Disputations, or Latine-labours against them, viz. into four Apologetical Exercitations, or Earnest Expostulations with you.

The first whereof is to be more down-rightly directed to thee T.D. (the rest, who are of the same misty mind with thee, not excluded) in way of Examination of that Legend of Lyes, which thou, like some great Benefactor to it, bestowest on the Clergies Cause, against the Truth, and its Children; and as concerning the point of Iustification in special, which thou makest thy self a main Mannager of against us for all the rest, who say little of it, and in which thou, by thy lies about it, in both Do∣ctrine

and matter of fact, most basely abusest both thy self, and the Truth, and my self in particular, and all the Qua. in general also.

The second is to be most peculiarly directed to thee I. O. in Examina∣tion of sundry of thy base belyings and misreportings of the Qua. as to their mis-behaviour toward the Scripture; about which T. D. who sides with three therein, doth but give us a short snap and away; and as con∣cerning the very formal being, nature, Text, or Letter or the Scripture it self, ye call your Canon, the B••unds or measure of that your supposed Ca∣non, the Hebrew Puncta••ion, Integrity of the Text to a Tittle without Va∣rious ••ection, and such like passages, which thou more preheminently pratest on, then all thy Fellows.

The third is to relate (though partly to T. D. and partly to I. T. and R. B. al••o, as being all three in some sort tampering together with thee in the same muddy manner, about (at least) some of the same mistaken mat∣ters, yet) principally to thee I. O. who, in the dark dream of thy night Vision, drivest on more down rightly, as the Prime Promoter of these Principles, viz. that the Scripture, and every syl••••••le and Iota thereof, is the Word of the Great God, the most efficacious, powerful, all-sufficient, all-perfecting, heart-searching, soul-saving, living, life-giving Word of the living God; that it, even that outward writing, Letter, External Text, and not any such thing as an Internal Word of God, Spirit, or Light within, is the only Infallible Guide, Incorruptible Canon, perfect Rule of all Faith, holy life, sa∣ving Spiritual Knowledge, or Worship; the most certain Sanctuary for the preservation of all Sacred Truth, the most sure Touch-stone, stable standard, firm Foundation, true Witness of God, the most invariable, inviolable way of safety and security to all Divine Verity, the most absolutely necessary means of Spiritual and Eternal life, cum multis aliis quae nunc praescribere longum est, with much more (id genus) of the same soure leven too long to be reck∣on'd up here, sith they are all to be elsewhere reckon'd with in due time and place.

The fourth will be promiscuously and interchangeably carried on by way of entercourse with you both, (I. O. and T. D.) which two only were intended to be by me so much as medled with, when I first was throughly resolv'd on some Reply to your rude reproachings of the Truth, As concerning your denial of the universality and sufficiency to save such as heed it, of the Light and Grace of God in all mens hearts, of modern, immediate, Divine Inspiration of Perfection, as to the purging away of sin in this life, and as concerning your Dream of a peremptory Election and Reprobation of persons unborn, viz. of very few to life, and of many to one as unchangeably to damnation, without respect to their doing good or evil in their life; about all which, as occasion is, I must have, in a few words, a round reckoning with you both, (I. T. R. B. and all the rest of that self-reverencing black-mouth'd Brotherhood, as blindly banding in one body in the self-same mist of darkness, not excluded) for the Rounds ye run in, as to those particulars at the latter end, i. e. in the said fourth and last part of these foresaid Presents, in which, as occasion is, ye four aforesaid Fellow-Fighters for your own follies against Gods Wis∣dome, are likely, little or more, to be all bespoken, in one or other of

the Chapters, into which also I shall subdivide the fore named four di∣visions.

If ye four Foxes, that spoil the Vine and her tender Grapes, whereof (inter-scribendum) one successively still started out afresh upon me, as I was pursuing the sent, and chasing the other, had like those of Sampsons▪ turned tail to tail in all points, (as in some ye do) and took several wayes, ye could not so well have been caught altogether, as now ye may, notwithstanding all your Majestical craft; but sith ye face all one way, and joyntly steer your course in general to one Cave running parallel into the same Wood of your own wisdome, there housing your selves in the same holē, dreaming altogether of no danger neer you, in one Den of Darkness, there needs no more, but to set something to the Mouth of that bottomless Pit ye all belong to, out of which the Fox-like strong sent, and stinking savour of your erroneous Tenets vents it self, to the poysoning of poor peoples Souls throughout the whole Countryes where your respective beings are, and so digging you out of your fore∣said Dens, put you altogether into a Bag.

S.F.