English Puritan & Reformed

The Loyal Non-Conformist

Robert Wild (1609-1679) · 693 words · 3 min

The source for this document is https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/B06584.0001.001

Project Note

This is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

The source of this document is the Early English Books Online (EEBO-TCP) website. Those books were transcribed in a character for character manner and can be very cumbersome to read since there was no standard spelling during that time. Many spelling variations such as "unlesse", "vnlesse", and "vnles" regularly appear.

This project was conceived to clean up those books as much as possible and make them more accessible to the interested reader, leading to the creation of a massive list of variant spellings and their corrections. This was used to clean up the text, but is of course only as complete as the list itself. Because of the nature of the original transcription, some words have missing characters or places where the original language (e.g., Greek) was not transcribed. This effort does not change that. Be aware that the original transcription can also be faulty and in some cases entire sentences may be missing.

Although this is no substitute for a properly compared, proofed, and scholarly edition, I believe that the result is a document which is far more accessible, particularly for searching for terms using standard spelling. The document has been cleaned and presented in what I hope is a pleasing and useful format for the vast majority of Christian brothers and sisters who just want access to read these spiritually nourishing works.

However, a word of warning: The Puritans were a very diverse group of people and their age was characterized with godliness, but also much upheaval, disputation and strife. They disagreed on many doctrines and some of these works contain less orthodox or Scriptural views than others. The reader is strongly advised to read with discernment, particularly if it is unknown whether author is trustworthy.

This project took a huge amount of time and skill to bring to fruition. I would particularly like to thank David Jonescue for the initial list of Puritans he found on EEBO and the concept behind this project as well as the continuous, unceasing efforts toward seeing this complete. Without his labor, this would not be available. Alex Sarrouf was invaluable in providing the initial list of over 7,000 spelling variations he had identified and corrected, as well as continuing to review more than 16,000 additions to that list for any typos.

Logan West
(with David Jonescue and Alex Sarrouf)
www.puritansearch.org

The Loyal Non-Conformist, OR; An Account what hedareswear, and what not.

        I Fear an
        
         Oath,
        
        before I swear, to take it;
       
        And well I may, for 'tis the Oath of God:
       
        I fear
        
         Oath,
        
        when I have sworn, to break it;
       
        And well I may, for Vengeance hath a Rod.

        And yet I
        
         may
        
        swear, and
        
         must
        
        too; 'tis due
       
        Both to my
        
         Heav'nly
        
        and my
        
         Earthly
        
        King:
       
        If I
        
         assent,
        
        it must be
        
         full
        
        and
        
         true
        
        ;
       
        And if I
        
         promise
        
        I must
        
         do
        
        the thing.

        I am no
        
         Quaker,
        
        not at all to swear:
       
        Nor
        
         Papist,
        
        to swear
        
         East,
        
        and mean the
        
         West
        
        :
       
        But am a
        
         Protestant,
        
        and shall declare
       
        What I
        
         cannot,
        
        and what I
        
         can
        
        protest.

        I never will endeavor Alteration
       
        Of Monarchy, or of that Royal Name:
       
        Which God hath chosen to command this Nation;
       
        But will maintain his
        
         Person, Crown
        
        and
        
         Fame,

        What
        
         He
        
        commands, if
        
         Conscience
        
        say not nay,
       
        (For Conscience is a greater King than He)
       
        For
        
         Conscience
        
        sake, not
        
         Fear,
        
        I will obey;
       
        And if not
        
         active, passive
        
        I will be.

        I'II pray, That all his Subjects may agree,
       
        And never more be
        
         crumbled
        
        into
        
         Parts
        
        :
       
        I will endeavor that His Majesty
       
        May not be
        
         King of Clubs,
        
        but
        
         King of Hearts.

        The
        
         Royal Oak
        
        I swear I will defend;
       
        But for the
        
         Ivy
        
        which doth hug it so,
       
        I swear that is a
        
         Thief,
        
        and not a
        
         Friend
        
        ;
       
        And about
        
         Steeples
        
        fitter for to grow.

        The
        
         Civil Government
        
        I will obey,
       
        But for
        
         Church Policy
        
        I swear I doubt it:
       
        And if my
        
         Bible
        
        want th'
        
         Apocrypha,
        
        I swear my Book may be complete without it.

        I dare not swear
        
         Church-Government
        
        is
        
         Right
        
        As it should be: but this I dare to swear,
       
        If they should put me to 't, the Bishops might
       
         Do better
        
        and
        
         be better
        
        than they are.

        Nor will I swear for all that they arc worth;
       
        That Bishoprics will stand, and Doomsday see.
       
        And yet I will swear the Gospel holdeth forth;
       
        Christ with his Mysteries till then will be.

        That
        
         Peter
        
        was a
        
         Prelate,
        
        they aver;
       
        But I will not swearit when all is said and done:
       
        But I dare swear, and hope I shall not err,
       
        He preached a
        
         hundred
        
        Sermons to their
        
         one.

         Peter
        
        a
        
         Fisher
        
        was, and he
        
         caught
        
        men;
       
        And
        
         they
        
        have
        
         Nets,
        
        and in them
        
         catch
        
        men too:
       
        Yet I will not swear they are alike; for them
       
        He
        
         caught
        
        he
        
         saved
        
        ; these
        
         catch,
        
        and them
        
         undo.

        I dare not swear that
        
         Courts Ecclesiastic
        
        Do in their Laws make
        
         just
        
        and
        
         gentle
        
        Votes:
       
        But I will be sworn that
        
         Burton, Prynne
        
        and
        
         Bastwick,
        
        Were once
        
         Ear-witnesses
        
        of harsher
        
         Notes.

         Archdeacons, Deans
        
        and
        
         Chapters
        
        are brave men
       
        By
        
         Canon,
        
        not by
        
         Scripture
        
        ; but to this,
       
        If I be called I will swear and swear agen,
       
        That no such
        
         Chapter
        
        in my
        
         Bible
        
        is.

        I will not condemn those
        
         Prechyterians who
        
        Refused Bishoprics and might have had 'cm:
       
        But
        
         Mistress Calamy,
        
        I will swear, does do
       
        As well as if she were a
        
         Spiritual Madam.

        For
        
         Holy Vestments
        
        I will not take an Oath,
       
        Which
        
         Linnen
        
        most
        
         Canonical
        
        may be:
       
        Some are for
        
         Lawn,
        
        some
        
         Holland,
        
        some
        
         Scotch-clothe,
        
        And
        
         Hemp
        
        for some is fitter than all
        
         three.

         Paul
        
        had a
        
         Cloak,
        
        and
        
         Books,
        
        and
        
         Parchments
        
        too;
       
        But that he wore a
        
         Surplise
        
        I will not swear:
       
        Nor that his
        
         Parchments
        
        did his
        
         Orders
        
        show,
       
        Or in his
        
         books
        
        there was a
        
         Common-Prayer.

        I own
        
         Assistance
        
        to the King by Oath;
       
        And if he please to put the Bishops down,
       
        (As who knows what may be) I should be loath
       
        To see
        
         Tom Beckets Mitre
        
        push the
        
         Crown.

        And yet
        
         Church-Government
        
        I do allow,
       
        And am contented
        
         Bishops
        
        be the men:
       
        And that I speak in earnest, here I vow
       
        Where we have
        
         One
        
        I wish we might have
        
         Ten.

        In fine, the
        
         Civil Power
        
        I will obey;
       
        And seek the Peace and Wellfare of the Nation:
       
        If this would not do, I know not what to say;
       
        But farewell
        
         London,
        
        farewell
        
         Corporation
        
        ;

LONDON, Printed Anno Domini, MDC LXX.