Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford

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СКАЧАТЬ spurr of provocation unto them, who rune allready, if not because you need it, yet because I owe it in love & dutie. And first, as we are daly to renew our repentance with our God, espetially for our sines known, and generally for our unknowne trespasses, so doth y^e Lord call us in a singuler maner upon occasions of shuch difficultie & danger as lieth upon you, to a both more narrow search & carefull reformation of your ways in his sight; least he, calling to remembrance our sines forgotten by us or unrepented of, take advantage against us, & in judgmente leave us for y^e same to be swalowed up in one danger or other; wheras, on the contrary, sine being taken away by ernest repentance & y^e pardon therof from y^e Lord sealed up unto a mans conscience by his spirite, great shall be his securitie and peace in all dangers, sweete his comforts in all distresses, with hapie deliverance from all evill, whether in life or in death.

      Now next after this heavenly peace with God & our owne consciences, we are carefully to provide for peace with all men what in us lieth, espetially with our associats, & for y^e watchfullnes must be had, that we neither at all in our selves doe give, no nor easily take offence being given by others. Woe be unto y^e world for offences, for though it be necessarie (considering y^e malice of Satan & mans corruption) that offences come, yet woe unto y^e man or woman either by whom y^e offence cometh, saith Christ, Mat. 18. 7. And if offences in y^e unseasonable use of things in them selves indifferent, be more to be feared then death itselfe, as y^e Apostle teacheth, 1. Cor. 9. 15. how much more in things simply evill, in which neither honour of God nor love of man is thought worthy to be regarded. Neither yet is it sufficiente y^t we keepe our selves by y^e grace of God from giveing offence, exepte withall we be armed against y^e taking of them when they be given by others. For how imperfect & lame is y^e work of grace in y^t person, who wants charritie to cover a multitude of offences, as y^e scriptures speake. Neither are you to be exhorted to this grace only upon y^e com̅one grounds of Christianitie, which are, that persons ready to take offence, either wante charitie, to cover offences, of wisdome duly to waigh humane frailtie; or lastly, are grosse, though close hipocrites, as Christ our Lord teacheth, Mat. 7. 1, 2, 3, as indeed in my owne experience, few or none have bene found which sooner give offence, then shuch as easily take it; neither have they ever proved sound & profitable members in societies, which have nurished this touchey humor. But besids these, ther are diverse motives provoking you above others to great care & conscience this way: As first, you are many of you strangers, as to y^e persons, so to y^e infirmities one of another, & so stand in neede of more watchfullnes this way, least when shuch things fall out in men & women as you suspected not, you be inordinatly affected with them; which doth require at your hands much wisdome & charitie for y^e covering & preventing of incident offences that way. And lastly, your intended course of civill comunitie will minister continuall occasion of offence, & will be as fuell for that fire, excepte you dilligently quench it with brotherly forbearance. And if taking of offence causlesly or easilie at mens doings be so carefuly to be avoyded, how much more heed is to be taken y^t we take not offence at God him selfe, which yet we certainly doe so oftē as we doe murmure at his providence in our crosses, or beare impatiently shuch afflictions as wherwith he pleaseth to visite us. Store up therfore patience against y^e evill day, without which we take offence at y^e Lord him selfe in his holy & just works.

      A 4. thing ther is carfully to be provided for, to witte, that with your com̅one imployments you joyne com̅one affections truly bente upon y^e generall good, avoyding as a deadly [41] plague of your both com̅one & spetiall comfort all retirednes of minde for proper advantage, and all singularly affected any maner of way; let every man represe in him selfe & y^e whol body in each person, as so many rebels against y^e commone good, all private respects of mens selves, not sorting with y^e generall conveniencie. And as men are carfull not to have a new house shaken with any violence before it be well setled & y^e parts firmly knite, so be you, I beseech you, brethren, much more carfull, y^t the house of God which you are, and are to be, be not shaken with unnecessarie novelties or other oppositions at y^e first setling therof.

      Lastly, wheras you are become a body politik, using amongst your selves civill govermente, and are not furnished with any persons of spetiall eminencie above y^e rest, to be chosen by you into office of goverment, let your wisdome & godlines appeare, not only in chusing shuch persons as doe entirely love and will promote y^e com̅one good, but also in yeelding unto them all due honour & obedience in their lawfull administrations; not behoulding in them y^e ordinarinesse of their persons, but Gods ordinance for your good, not being like y^e foolish multitud who more honour y^e gay coate, then either y^e vertuous minde of y^e man, or glorious ordinance of y^e Lord. But you know better things, & that y^e image of y^e Lords power & authoritie which y^e magistrate beareth, is honourable, in how meane persons soever. And this dutie you both may y^e more willingly and ought y^e more conscionably to performe, because you are at least for y^e present to have only them for your ordinarie governours, which your selves shall make choyse of for that worke.

      Sundrie other things of importance I could put you in minde of, and of those before mentioned, in more words, but I will not so farr wrong your godly minds as to thinke you heedless of these things, ther being also diverce among you so well able to admonish both them selves & others of what concerneth them. These few things therfore, & y^e same in few words, I doe ernestly com̅end unto your care & conscience, joyning therwith my daily incessante prayers unto y^e Lord, y^t he who hath made y^e heavens & y^e earth, y^e sea and all rivers of waters, and whose providence is over all his workes, espetially over all his dear children for good, would so guide & gard you in your wayes, as inwardly by his Spirite, so outwardly by y^e hand of his power, as y^t both you & we also, for & with you, may have after matter of praising his name all y^e days of your and our lives. Fare you well in him in whom you trust, and in whom I rest.

      An unfained wellwiller of your hapie

       success in this hopefull voyage,

      John Robinson.

      This letter, though large, yet being so frutfull in it selfe, and suitable to their occation, I thought meete to inserte in this place.

      All things being now ready, & every bussines dispatched, the company was caled togeather, and this letter read amongst them, which had good acceptation with all, and after fruit with many. Then they ordered & distributed their company for either shipe, as they conceived for y^e best. And chose a Governor & 2. or 3. assistants for each shipe, to order y^e people by y^e way, and see to y^e dispossing of there provissions, and shuch like affairs. All which was not only with y^e liking of y^e maisters of y^e ships, but according to their desires. Which being done, they sett sayle from thence aboute y^e 5. of August; but what befell them further upon y^e coast of England will appeare in y^e nexte chapter.

      8. Chapter

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      Off the troubls that befell them on the coaste, and at sea being forced, after much trouble, to leave one of ther ships & some of their companie behind them.

      [42] Being thus put to sea they had not gone farr, but M^r. Reinolds y^e master of y^e leser ship complained that he found his ship so leak as he durst not put further to sea till she was mended. So y^e m^r. of y^e biger ship (caled M^r. Jonas) being consulted with, they both resolved to put into Dartmouth & have СКАЧАТЬ