Part I. now very little difference between them. In the Doctrinal Parts of Chriftianity they agree with the Church of England, as her Doctrines are fet down in the XXXIX Articles. The Differences lie in the outward Administration of Ecclefiaftical Government, who fhall appoint the Governors of the Church, and what Sub-ordination there fhall be or not be between them. The Presbyterians allow of no Sub-ordination in the Perfons of their Minifters, but then they reach that every Minifter ought alfo to be Obedient to the Clafs under which he lives, and that Clafs to a Synod Provincial, National or Oecumenical; and that the Power of Ordination ought to refide in the Class ; and that none ought to adminifter the Sacraments that are not Ordain'd by the Impofition of Hands of other Minifters. In the Government of the Church they call in Lay-Elders, and for the taking care of the Poor, they make use of Deacons. This, which is the Difcipline of the Kirk of Scotland, where alfo a fuller Account fhall be given of it, has been very little us'd fince the Restoration of King Charles 11 in England.

Anabaptifts.] The great Conftituent Doctrine of these Men, is their entire difallowing of Infant Baptifm; and in the Baptifm of Adults, they conftantly make ufe of Dipping. In appointing Paftors, fome of them ufe Impofition of Hands. Some, though not many of them, fcruple the Lawfulness of paying Tyths, and fome obferve the Jewish Sabbath. The Number of thefe, as diftin&t from the former, is comparatively very fmall, most of them being lifted under the former Denomination.

Quakers. These are a diftin&t Body from all the other Diffenters, difagreeing in Doctrine and Practice from all alike, and teaching in truth, a diftinct Religion from every other Body of the Chriftians throughout the World. Their Adver faries have of late Years charg'd them with a Denial of all the Fundamentals of Chriftianity. They are a diftin&t Political Body, govern'd with great Regularity by Laws and Rules of their own making: And in their outward Deportment, they study to appear as contrary to the reft of Mankind as they poffibly can.

For their Faith, the fairest Account we can take of it, will be from an Apology which Robert Barclay, one of their own Body, prefented to King Charles II.

In this there is no mention of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, nothing of the Incarnation of Jefus Chrift, and of his being actually thereupon God-Man, of the Plenary Satisfaction which be gave to the Divine Juftice for the Sins of Men by his Death, of his Afcenfion into Heaven with the Jame Body, with which he appear'd to St. Thomas after his Refurrection, of his conftant Interceffioz at the Right Hand of the Father for all Mankind, nor of the Resurretion of the Body.

Thefe

"

These Articles the Quakers have been charg'd with denying, before the Writing of Robert Barclay's Apology, and more vigorously fince. In Defence for themselves they fay, That they own the Three that bear Record in Heaven, 1 John v. 7. But the Terms, Perfon and Trinity they reject, as not Spiritual; and they fay farther, That the Word Perfon is too Grofs to express fuch an Union. They refufe therefore to fubfcribe the Nicene and Athanafian Creeds, and they feem to accufe the Doctrines therein contained of Polytheism. As to the Doctrine of the Incarnation, as the Church of England holdeth it, they are not clear. They keep to no Scripture Phrafes, and own that the Godhead dwelt Bodily in Jefus ; but whether they mean any more thereby, than that the Light, which they call the Chrift within, dwelt in the Man Chrift Jefus fully, and was given to him without Measure, is uncertain; For when they have been charg'd with Affirming, That there is no other Chrift but what is within them, they reply thus, "When we fay there is no "other Chrift than what is within us, we fay true, because Chrift, as God, cannot be divided, and the Measure or Ma"nifeftation of the Spirit of Chrift in us, is not another, "but a Manifestation of the fame Chrift, which did in fulness " and bodily dwell in the Man Jefus." They never fpeak of the Hypoftatical Union of the two Natures, Divine and Human, in the Perfon of Jefus Chrift. Some of them have been charg ed with allegorizing away the whole Hiftory of the Crucifixi on of Jefus Chrift at Jerufalem, and of his Refurrection and Afcenfion; but this their Vindicators deny, and many of them have been very explicit in their Acknowledgment of the Reality of that Hiftory; "though they utterly deny that the outward Perfon who fuffered his Body to be Crucified by the Jews, without the Gates of Jerufalem, is properly the Son of "God." It will not be difficult to collect how far they agree with the Church of England, in the Doctrine of the full and fufficient Oblation and Satisfaction which Jefus Chrift made for the Sins of all Mankind at his Death. As to the Refurrection of the Body, what they pofitively mean by it, they have never yet explain'd: Negatively they affert, that the fame Natural and Fleshly Body, which was here upon Earth, shall not rife, and in that they are very explicit, and pretend to prove their Affertion from St. Paul's Account of the Refurrection, 1 Cor. 15.

A famous Leader of this Sect was one George Fox, a Journeyman Shoemaker of Manchester, who first Preach'd up thefe Do&trines at Derby, in the Year 1650. He was a very Illiterate Man, and fo continu'd to his dying Day. At first he was follow'd by feveral Mechanicks and Women in the North of England, who were accus'd of Blafphemy, and himself was Try'd for it at Lancaster and Acquitted. By degrees they got Southward, and they are now reckon'd to be above 50000 in Great

Britain.

Part I. Britain. For the first ten Years after their Appearance, many of them in their Meetings were feiz'd with fuch ftrange Shak ings and Convulfions, that they appear'd to be Poffefs'd, but thefe Motions have been long difus'd: But from thence they had the Name of Quakers, which they have never taken to themfelves, but have affum'd the Title of the People of God, and when they fpake one of another, they ufe the Word Friend. At first they had no fuch thing as Church-Government, and every Man Spake, and A&ted, and Directed, and Admonished all Things, as he apprehended himself to be directed by the Light within; but as they grew Numerous, they found this would not keep them fufficiently together; and fo under the Direction of their firft Founder, George Fox, they formed themselves into a regular Body, and obferv'd a ftated Difcipline, in which (tho' withour pretending to any thing like Coerfion) they are as United, and understand the State of one another, as well as any Society of Men whatsoever, Civil or Ecclefiaftical in Chriften

dem.

Their Meetings, by which they A&t as a Society, are of feveral Sorts, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, Second-Days Meetings, and Meeting of Sufferings,

Their Monthly and Quarterly Meetings are held in the feveral Countries in which they live, and according as their Settlements are more Numerous and Thick, fo more or fewer Towns fend Deputies to thefe Affemblies. In their Meetings, they take Examinations of the State of every Town in which they dwell; they enquire who ftand faft to their Rules and Orders, and who backflide from them, who write against them; who pays Tythes and Church-Wardens Rates; who fuffer for Nonpayment of either; and who are Married by Priests; and accordingly they Cenfure or Encourage. There they Excommunicate, and there upon occafion they receive into Communion again: And of all this they keep exa&t Regifters in Books provided for that purpose.

From these Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, Appeals lie to their rearly ones. Thefe Yearly Meetings are always held in London, which is the Center of Communion of all the Quakers throughout the World: Thither Deputies come from all Parts of Great-Britain, Ireland, Holland, Germany and the Plantations, in which laft they have many Numerous Settlements. This Meeting is ufually held in White-Hart-Court in Grace-Church-Street, in a Commodious Room built on Purpofe; Thither are Tranfmitted Accounts of whatsoever has been in all Monthly and Quarterly Meetings all the World over; There, Directions are given concerning Friends Behaviour relating to Tyths and Rates, and ufing Guns in Ships; concerning difperfing of Books; there the Publick Accounts are Audited, and proper Inftruments are given to their respective Deputies, for them to ob

serve,

ferve at their return home; they fend also a Yearly Epistle to all their Settlements, giving Inftructions and Admonitions proper to the Occafion to be read in the Monthly and Quarterly Meeting of Friends throughout the World.

The Second Days Meeting, is a standing Committee, refiding at London, which meets every Monday in the Year; its Members are their principal Teachers refiding in or near the City; their Bufinefs is to attend every particular Exigency relating to the Body, which may happen from one Tearly Meeting to another; but more particularly they are to Examine, Approve and Licenfe all Books Printed or Reprinted for the Service (as they call it) of the Truth.

The Meeting of Sufferings, is one of the ancienteft Affemblies they have; Its regular Time of Meeting is every fix Weeks; its Business is to receive Complaints out of all Parts of England and Wales, from those who have Suffer'd for Non-Payment of Tyths and Rates, and to take care how to procure them Relief, either by fending them Money, or by Solliciting their Causes above, or both. This Meeting has a Fund on purpose to carry on this Affair Sometimes they receive Directions from the rearly Meetings, to fend down Directions to the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings concerning Friends Books, in which Matter the Quakers are particularly careful and exact.

CHA P. II.

of English Computation, Numbring, Weights, Meafures, Money.

[English Computation.]

THE English Nation, as most of the other States that with

drew themselves from under the Bishop of Rome's ufurp'd Authority before the Year 1582. did till lately ftill observe the Ancient Account made by Julius Cafar, Forty three Years before the Birth of Chrift, which is therefore call'd the Old Stile, or Julian Account; the other observ'd at present by most European Nations, is call'd the New Stile, or Gregorian Account; and is, by reafon of the aforefaid 10 Days taken away, with the Biffextile the laft Year, now 11 Days before ours, for the beginning of Months, and for all fixed Feftivals; but various for all moveable Feafts.

Eafter,

Part. I. Eafter, and the other moveable Feafts in England, are most certainly thus found; Shrove-Tuesday, is always the first Tuesday after the first New Moon after January, and the Sunday following is Quadragefima, and the fixth Sunday after is Eafter-day, and the fifth Sunday after Eafter is Rogation-Sunday, and the Thurfday following, being Forty Days after the Refurrection, is Afcenfion-Day, Ten Days after which, or Fifty Days after Eafter, is Pentecoft, or Whitfunday, and the Sunday following is Trinity-Sunday: Which Computation of the Church of England, agrees with all the Eastern Chriftian Churches, but with none of the Weflern. Yet it cannot be denied, but that this old Computation may fometimes be inconvenient: For the Year beginning the 25th of March, according to the Computation of the Church of England, two Eafters may happen in one Year; as in the Year 1667, the first Eafter fell out the 25th of April, and the fecond the 22d of March following, and not one Eafter in the enfuing Twelve Months, as the Author of this Treatife obferved formerly in his Proposals to the Parliament, concerning England's Wants.

Advent-Sunday hath a peculiar Rule, and is always the fourth Sunday before Christmas-Day, or the nearest Sunday to St. Andrew'sDay, whether before or after.

The Year in England, according to the Cycles of the Sun and Moon, and according to Almanacks, begins on the first of January; but the English Church begins the Year from the Day of Chrift's Incarnation, on the 25th of March; which is alfo obferv'd in Spain; Yet the Portuguese (as in divers Countries in Africa) begin their Year on the 29th of Auguft; the Venetians on the first of March, according to the Epact; the Grecians on the longeft Day; as the old Romans did on the shortest Day; which two laft feem to have most Reason, as beginning just at the Peroidical Day of the Sun's Return.

The Natural Day, confifting of Twenty four Hours, is begun in England, according to the Cuftom of the Egyptians and Ancient Romans, at Mid-night, and counted by Twelve Hours to Mid-day, and again by Twelve Hours to next Midnight; whereas in Italy, Bohemia, Poland, and fome other Countries, their Account is from Sun-fetting by Twenty four of the Clock, to the next Sun-fetting; and at Noremberg and Wirtemberg in Germany, according to the old Jewish and Babylonian Account, they begin at the first Hour after Sun-rifing, to count of the Clock, and fo again at the 1ft Hour after Sun-fetting; but Aftronomers accommodating their Calculations to the most noble Time of the Day, begin their Account from Noon to Noon, as do ftill the Arabians and fome others.

English