Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH COLONIAL LITERATURE
2.3.1 Of Plymouth Plantation
(1620–1647)
BOOK I
Chapter I
It is well knowne unto ye godly and judicious, how ever since ye rst breaking
out of ye lighte of ye gospell in our Honourable Nation of England, (which was ye
rst of nations whom ye Lord adorned ther with, ater yt grosse darknes of popery
which had covered & overspred ye Christian worled,) what warrs & opposissions
ever since, Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts,
from time to time, in one sorte or other. Some times by bloody death and cruell
torments; other whiles imprisonments, banishments, & other hard usages; as
being loath his kingdom should goe downe, the trueth prevaile, and yechurches of
God reverte to their anciente puritie, and recover their primative order, libertie, &
bewtie. But when he could not prevaile by these means, against the maine trueths
of ye gospell, but that they began to take rootting in many places, being watered
with ye blooud of ye martires, and blessed from heaven with a gracious encrease;
He then begane to take him to his anciente strategemes, used of old against the
rst Christians. That when by ye bloody & barbarous persecutions of ye Heathen
Emperours, he could not stoppe & subuerte the course of ye gospell, but that it
speedily overspred with a wounderfull celeritie the then best known parts of ye
world, He then begane to sow errours, heresies, and wounderfull dissentions
amongst yeprofessours them selves, (working upon their pride & ambition, with
other corrupte passions incidente to all mortall men, yea to ye saints them selves
in some measure,) by which wofull eects followed; as not only bitter contentions,
& hartburnings, schismes, with other horrible confusions, but Satan tooke
occasion & advantage therby to foyst in a number of vile ceremoneys, with many
unprotable cannons & decrees, which have since been as snares to many poore
& peaceable souls even to this day. So as in ye anciente times, the persecutions by
ye heathen & their Emperours, was not greater then of the Christians one against
other; the Arians & other their complices against ye orthodoxe & true Christians.
As witneseth Socrates in his 2. booke. His words are these; The violence truly
(saith he) was no less than that of ould practised towards ye Christians when
they were compelled drawne to sacrice to idoles; for many indured sundrie
kinds of tormente, often rackings, dismembering of their joynts; conscating
of ther goods; some bereaved of their native soyle; others departed this life
under ye hands of ye tormentor; and some died in banishmte, never saw ther
cuntrie againe, c.
The like methode Satan hath seemed to hold in these later times, since ye
trueth begane to springe & spread after ye great defection made by Antichrist, yt
man of sine.
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