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Priscilla, or, Trials for the truth. Banvard, Joseph, (1810–1887).
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pp. 272 and 273.

PRISCILLA, OR, TRIALS FOR The Truth.
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PRISCILLA; OR, TRIALS FOR THE TRUTH. AN HISTORIC TALE OF THE PURITANS AND THE BAPTISTS.

BY

REV. JOSEPH BANVARD,

AUTHOR OF PLYMOUTH AND THE PILGRIMS, NOVELTIES OF THE NEW WORLD, ROMANCE OF AMERICAN HiSTORY, &C., &C.APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION.

BOSTON: HEATH AND GRAVES, 79 CORNHILL.

1854.
page: 0-5[View Page 0-5] Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by HEATH AND GRAVES, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.

PREFACE.

PRINCIPLES which are as familiar to us as "household words" were not understood two centuries ago. The progressive development of some of these was marked by great social convulsions, attended with much personal suffering. This was evinced in working out the great idea of religious liberty. In our enjoyment of this inestimable boon, we should not forget the sacrifices that it cost. We should frequently contemplate them, both to enliven our gratitude for the blessings we possess, and to learn lessons of wisdom from the errors or misfortunes of others.

The past is filled with waymarks for the guidance of the present and the future. And page: 6-7[View Page 6-7] though these waymarks be in some instances stained with blood, or charred with fire, that fact only makes it the more important for us to learn the relations which they sustain to human freedom. It is not wise to ignore the errors of former ages. We should profit from their experience. The rocks on which others have struck should serve us as beacons. Only a few years have elapsed since, even in Massachusetts, the sword of state was wielded for the defence of religious opinions. The church was under the protection of the civil power. Practically, religious liberty was unknown. Those who presumed to differ in their ecclesiastical views and practices from the "powers that be," were exposed to various penalties. This, however, was the error of the age, and therefore not peculiar to the Puritans.

In the present volume we have avoided all unjust aspersions upon the early planters of New England. We have indulged in no anathemas. We cheerfully acknowledge our reverence for their earnest, though austere piety, and our high appreciation of the results of their sufferings and their toils. Still they were not perfect. In some respects their principles were erroneous and their measures severe. No valid reason exists why this fact should be concealed. On the contrary, its contemplation, in the proper spirit, may be productive of good.

This work is not one of mere fiction. Though a vein of imagination pervades it, it is only like a silken thread, on which are strung golden beads of truth. In our account of the important events connected with the treatment of Puritans by the Episcopal hierarchy of England, and of the Baptists by the Puritans of New England, we have conformed to the authentic records of that period. Our information was derived, in part, from the narratives of the sufferers themselves, and partly from the general histories of that age. Since that time page: 8-9 (Table of Contents) [View Page 8-9 (Table of Contents) ] the world has made progress. The descendants of those who then administered, in this commonwealth, the civil and ecclesiastical power, have outgrown the idea that the union of church and state is the best form of human government, or even essential to the best interests of religion. Whilst the descendants of those who then suffered even unto blood, for conscience sake, are far from cherishing any animosity towards the present generation for those errors of a by-gone age.

CONTENTS.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

  • 1. ILLUSTRATED TITLE PAGE.
  • 2. THE DETECTION, 83
  • 3. THE DELIVERANCE, 199
  • 4. MIDNIGHT CONVERSATION, 255
  • 5. THE SEIZURE, 272
  • 6. THE TRIAL, 301
  • 7. THE CONSULTATION, 324
  • 8. THE BAPTISM, 367
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