The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
Extracted Textually from the Gospels

Compiled by Thomas Jefferson

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CHAPTER 1.

Now it came to pass in those days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be
enrolled.
2 (And this enrollment was the first which was made
when Quirinius, was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own
city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the
city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house
and lineage of David,
5 To be enrolled with Mary his betrothed, being then
with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the
days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And when eight days were accomplished for the
circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS.
9 And when they had performed all things according to
the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to
their own city Nazareth.
10 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

And when he was twelve years old, they went up to
Jerusalem, unto the feast according to the custom.
12 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they
returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem;
and his parents knew not of it.
13 But they, supposing him to have been in the
company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among
their kinsfolk and acquaintances.
14 And when they found him not, they turned back
again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
15 And it came to pass, that after three days they
found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the
teachers, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
16 And all that heard him were astonished at his
understanding and answers.
17 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his
mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with
us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
18 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth,
and was subject unto them.
19 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and
Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Ituraea and of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the
tetrarch of Abilene,
21 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests,
22 Appeared John the Baptist in the wilderness.
23 Now the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair,
and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was
locusts and wild honey.
24 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea,
and all the region round about Jordan,
25 And were baptized of him in Jordan.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to
be baptized of him.
27 And Jesus himself, when he began his ministry, was
about thirty years of age.
28 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his
mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they
continued there a few days.

And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem.
30 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and
sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
31 And when he had made a scourge of cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen;
and poured out the changers’ coins, and overthrew their
tables;
32 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these
things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of
merchandise.
33 After these things came Jesus and his disciples
into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them,
and baptized.

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison,
he departed into Galilee;
35 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold
upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake,
his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.
36 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for
thee to have thy brother’s wife.
37 Therefore Herodias had a grudge against him, and
would have killed him; but she could not:
38 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just
man and holy, and protected him; and when he heard him,
he was sore perplexed, yet he heard him gladly.
39 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on
his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains,
and chief men of Galilee;
40 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came
in, and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat with
him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me
whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
41 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask
of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
42 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What
shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
43 And she came in immediately with haste unto the
king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me
straightway in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
44 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his
oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he
would not refuse her.
45 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and
commanded his head to be brought: and he went and
beheaded him in the prison,
46 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to
the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the
sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
48 And they were astonished at his teaching: for he
taught them as one that had authority, and not as the
scribes.

At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the
corn fields; and his disciples were an hungred, and
began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
50 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him,
Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do
upon the sabbath day.
51 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David
did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with
him;
52 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat
the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat,
neither for them which were with him, but only for the
priests?
53 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the
sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the
sabbath, and are guiltless?

And when he was departed thence, he went into their
synagogue:
55 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand
withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to
heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
56 And he said unto them, What man shall there be
among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall
into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on
it, and lift it out?
57 How much then is a man of more value than a sheep!
Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath days.
58 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the sabbath.

But the Pharisees went out, and held a council against
him, how they might destroy him.
60 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from
thence: and great multitudes followed him.

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into
a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God.
62 And when it was day, he called unto him his
disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he
named apostles;
63 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his
brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
64 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and
Simon called the Zealot,
65 And Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,
who became a traitor.
66 And he came down with them, and stood in the
plain; and there was a great company of his disciples,
and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and
Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon,
which came to hear him.

CHAPTER 2.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a
mountain: and when he was set down, his disciples
came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the
earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain
mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you.
13 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have
received your consolation.
14 Woe unto you that are full now, for ye shall
hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn
and weep.
15 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of
you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
its savour, wherewith shall it again be salted? it is
thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and
to be trodden under foot by men.
17 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set
on an hill cannot be hid.
18 Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a
bushel, but on a lampstand; and it giveth light unto
all that are in the house.
19 Let your light so shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
21 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled.
22 Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least
of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
23 For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven.

Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be
in danger of judgment:
25 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with
his brother shall be in danger of judgment: and
whosoever shall abuse his brother, shall be in danger
of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire.
26 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought
against thee;
27 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy
way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come
and offer thy gift.
28 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou
art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary
deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee
to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
29 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means
come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing.

Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit
adultery:
31 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart.
32 And if thy right eye causeth thee to offend,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into
hell.
33 And if thy right hand causeth thee to offend, cut
it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for
thee that one of thy members should perish, and not
that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
34 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his
wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
35 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away
his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth
her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her
that is divorced committeth adultery.

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said to them of
old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt
perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
37 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by
heaven; for it is God’s throne:
38 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool:
neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great
King.
39 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because
thou canst not make one hair white or black.
40 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay,
nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
42 But I say unto you, That ye resist not him that
is evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other also.
43 And if any man will sue thee, and take away thy
coat, let him have thy cloak also.
44 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain.
45 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that
would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
47 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, pray for
them that persecute you;
48 That ye may be the children of your Father which
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust.
49 For if ye love them which love you, what reward
have ye? do not even the tax-gatherers the same?
50 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye
more than others? do not even the Gentiles so?
51 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to
receive, what gain have ye? for sinners also lend to
sinners, to receive as much again.
52 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend,
hoping for nothing in return; and your reward shall be
great, and ye shall be the children of the Most High:
for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
53 Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

CHAPTER 3.

Take heed that ye do not your good works before men,
to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of
your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound
a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand
know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they
may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy inner
chamber, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee.
7 And when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the
heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for
their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a
sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that
they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto
thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also.
22 The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore
thine eye be sound, thy whole body shall be full of
light.
23 But if thine eye be not sound, thy whole body
shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that
is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
riches.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Be not concerned for
your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the
life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not of much more
value than they?
27 Which of you by being concerned can add one hour
to his life?
28 And why are ye concerned for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the
field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the
oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith?
31 Therefore be not concerned, saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we
be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of
all these things.
33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you.
34 Have therefore no concern for the morrow: for the
morrow shall have concern for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
36 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be
judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.
37 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over, shall men give into your bosom .38 And why
beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
39 Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Let me pull
out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in
thine own eye?
40 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of
thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast
out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them
under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
42 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
43 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened.
44 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask
bread, will he give him a stone?
45 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
46 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your
Father which is in heaven give good things to them that
ask him?
47 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the
law and the prophets.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,
and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat:
49 But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
51 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
52 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
53 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither
can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
54 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the fire.
55 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
56 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the
evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
57 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day
of judgment.
58 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by
thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock:
60 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.
61 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand:
62 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall of it.
63 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching:
64 For he taught them as one having authority, and
not as their scribes.

CHAPTER 4.

When he was come down from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him.
2 And he went round about the villages, teaching.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
4 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.
5 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
6 Now one of the Pharisees desired him that he would
eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and
sat down to meat.
7 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a
sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the
Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster vial of ointment,
8 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began
to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the
hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed
them with the ointment.
9 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it,
he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a
prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman
this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
10 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have
somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
11 There was a certain creditor which had two
debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the
other fifty.
12 And when they had nothing to pay, he graciously
forgave them both. Which of them, therefore, will love
him most?
13 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to
whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly judged.
14 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon,
Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my
feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of
her head.
15 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the
time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
16 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this
woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
17 There came then his brethren and his mother, and,
standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
18 And the multitude sat about him, and they said
unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without
seek for thee.
19 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother,
and my brethren?
20 And he looked round about on them which sat about
him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
21 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same
is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
22 In the mean time, when there were gathered
together a multitude of many thousands of people,
insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to
say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the
leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
23 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be
revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
24 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness
shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have
whispered in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon
the housetops.
25 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of
them that kill the body, and after that have no more
that they can do.
26 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear
him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into
hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
27 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And
yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
28 But even the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than
many sparrows.
29 And one of the company said unto him, Master,
speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with
me.
30 But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or
a divider over you?
31 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of
all manner of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth
not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
32 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The
ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
33 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall
I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
34 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my
barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods.
35 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much
goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat,
drink, and be merry.
36 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy
soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast provided?
37 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and
is not rich toward God.
38 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say
unto you, Be not concerned for your life, what ye shall
eat; neither for your body, what ye shall put on.
39 The life is more than meat, and the body is more
than raiment.
40 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor
reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and yet
God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the
fowls!
41 And which of you with being concerned can add to
his stature one cubit?
42 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is
least, why are ye concerned for the rest?
43 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not,
they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
44 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day
in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how
much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
45And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, neither be ye of a concerned mind.
46 For all these things do the nations of the world
seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of
these things.
47 But rather seek ye his kingdom; and these things
shall be added unto you also.
48 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
49 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide
yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the
heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth,
neither moth destroyeth.
50 For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also.
51 Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps
burning;
52 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for
their lord, when he will return from the wedding feast;
that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him
immediately.
53 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he
cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that
he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to
meat, and will come forth and serve them.
54 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come
in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those
servants.
55 And this know, that if the goodman of the house
had known what hour the thief would come, he would not
have suffered his house to be broken through into.
56 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man
cometh at an hour when ye think not.
57 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this
parable unto us, or also unto all?
58 And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and
wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his
household, to give them their portion of meat in due
season?
59 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing.
60 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him
ruler over all that he hath.
61 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the
menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink, and
to be drunken;
62 The lord of that servant will come in a day when
he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not
aware, and will cut him in sunder.
63 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and
prepared not himself, neither did according to his will,
shall be beaten with many stripes.
64 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy
of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:
and to whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask the more.
65 And he said also to the people, When ye see a
cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There
cometh a shower; and so it is.
66 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There
will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
67 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky
and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern
this present time?
68 And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is
right?
69 While thou goest with thine adversary to the
magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that
thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to
the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,
and the officer cast thee into prison.
70 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till
thou hast paid the very last mite.

CHAPTER 5.

There were present at that season some that told him
of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled
with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that
these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans,
because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam
fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners
above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish.
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig
tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought
fruit thereon, and found none.
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard,
Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this
fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it
the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone
this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: but if not, then thou
shalt cut it down.

And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine
with him: and he went in, and sat down at meat.
11 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he
had not first washed before dinner.
12 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees
make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but
your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
13 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is
without make that which is within also?
14 But give alms of such things as ye have; and,
behold, all things are clean unto you.
15 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and
rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over justice and
the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to
leave the other undone.
16 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost
seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
17 Woe unto you! for ye are as graves which are not
seen, and the men that walk over them are not aware of
them.
18 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto
him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
19 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye
lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye
yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your
fingers.
20 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the
key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them
that were entering in ye hindered.
21 And as he departed from thence, the scribes and
the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to
provoke him to speak of many things:
22 Laying wait for him, to catch him in some saying.
On that same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by
the sea side.
24 And great multitudes were gathered together unto
him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole
multitude stood on the shore.
25 And he spake many things unto them in parables,
saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
26 And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up:
27 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not
much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they
had no deepness of earth:
28 But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and
because they had no root, they withered away.
29 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung
up, and choked them:
30 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some
thirtyfold.
31 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
32 And when he was alone, they that were about him
with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
34 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and
snatcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is
he which received seed by the way side.
35 But he that received the seed into stony places,
the same is he that heareth the word, and at once with
joy receiveth it;
36 Yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for
a while: and when tribulation or persecution ariseth
because of the word, he quickly falleth away.
37 He also that received seed among the thorns is he
that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and
the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and it
becometh unfruitful.
38 But he that received seed into the good ground is
he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; he also
beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty.

And he said unto them, Is a lamp brought to be put under
a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a
lampstand?
40 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be
manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that
it should come to light.
41 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good
seed in his field:
43 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed
tares among the wheat, and went his way.
44 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
45 And the servants of the householder came and said
unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy
field? from whence then hath it tares?
46 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The
servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up?
47 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
48 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Then he departed from the multitude, and went into the
house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare
unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
50 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the
good seed is the Son of man;
51 The field is the world; the good seed are the
children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children
of the wicked one;
52 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the
angels.
53 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of the age.
54 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that
cause men to sin, and all them which do iniquity;
55 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
56 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let
him hear.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid
in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth,
and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath,
and buyeth that field.
58 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
59 Who, when he had found one pearl of great value,
went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that
was cast into the sea, and gathered fish of every kind:
61 Which, when it was full, they drew it to shore,
and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but
cast the bad away.
62 So shall it be at the end of the age: the angels
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the
just,
63 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
64 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all
these things? They say unto him, Yea.
65 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe
which is instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth
forth out of his treasure things new and old.
66 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man
should cast seed upon the ground;
67 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the
seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
68 The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first
the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear.
69 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately
he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of
God? or with what parable shall we describe it?
71 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it
is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be
in the earth:
72 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh
greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches;
so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow
of it.
73 And with many such parables spake he the word unto
them, as they were able to hear it.
74 And without a parable spake he not unto them: but
when they were alone, he expounded all things to his
disciples.

CHAPTER 6.

And as they went in the way, a certain man said unto
him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
2 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head.
3 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said,
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
4 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead:
but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
5 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee;
but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at my
house.
6 But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his
hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God.

And after these things he went forth, and saw a
publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom:
and he said unto him, Follow me.
8 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
9 And Levi made him a great feast in his house: and
there was a great company of publicans and
10 Many publicans and sinners sat also together with
Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they
followed him.
11 And when the scribes which were Pharisees saw him
eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his
disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with
publicans and sinners?
12 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that
are whole have no need of the physician, but they that
are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
13 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man
teareth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon
an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent,
and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not
with the old.
14 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else
the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and
the bottles shall perish.
15 But new wine must be put into new bottles.

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these
parables, he departed thence.
17 And when he was come into his own country, he
taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were
astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom,
and these mighty works?
18 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother
called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and
Simon, and Judas?
19 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence
then hath this man all these things?
20 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto
them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own
country, and in his own house.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with
compassion on them, because they were distressed, and
downcast, as sheep having no shepherd.
22 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to
send them forth by two and two;
23 And charged them, saying, Go not into the way of
the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter
ye not:
24 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.
25 Take ye neither gold, nor silver, nor copper in
your purses,
26 Nor bag for your journey, neither two coats,
neither shoes, nor yet a staff: for the workman is
worthy of his meat.
27 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go
thence.
28 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
29 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come
upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return
to you.
30 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your
words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake
off the dust of your feet.
31 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of
judgment, than for that city.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent
as doves.
33 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to
the councils, and they will scourge you in their
synagogues;
34 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings
for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the
Gentiles.
35 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye
into another:
36 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing
covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall
not be known.
37 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in
light: and what ye hear whispered in the ear, that
proclaim ye upon the housetops.
38 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not
able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell.
39 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one
of them shall not fall on the ground without the will of
your Father.
40 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
41 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than
many sparrows.
42 And they went out, and preached that men should
repent.
43 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto
Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done,
and what they had taught.

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would
not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
45 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and
certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
46 And they saw some of his disciples eat bread with
defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands.
47 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they
wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of
the elders.
48 And when they come from the market, except they
wash, they eat not. And many other things there be,
which they have received to hold, as the washing of
cups, and pitchers, and copper vessels.
49 And the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk
not thy disciples according to the tradition of the
elders, but eat bread with defiled hands?
50 And when he had called all the people unto him, he
said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and
understand:
51 There is nothing from without a man, that entering
into him can defile him: but the things which come out
of him, those are they that defile the man.

And when he was entered into the house from the people,
his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
53 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without
understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever
thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot
defile him;
54 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into
the belly, and goeth out into the waste? (Thus declared
he all meats clean.)
55 And he said, That which cometh out of the man,
that defileth the man.
56 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders,
adulteries,
57 Covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
envy, slander, pride, foolishness:
58 All these evil things come from within, and defile
the man.
59 And from thence he arose, and went into the region
of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would
have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

CHAPTER 7.

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus,
saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set
him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.

Woe unto the world because of its stumbling blocks! for
it must needs be that stumbling blocks come; but woe to
that man by whom the stumbling block cometh!
6 And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to
stumble, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed,
rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into
everlasting fire.
7 And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it
out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to
enter into life with one eye, rather than having two
eyes to be cast into hell fire.

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of
them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and
nine upon the mountains, and goeth and seeketh that
which is gone astray?
9 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto
you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety
and nine which went not astray.
10 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is
in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he
shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
12 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee
one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established.
13 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto
the church: but if he neglect even to hear the church,
let him be unto thee as a Gentile man and a publican.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven
times?
15 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until
seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a
certain king, which would settle accounts with his
servants.
17 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought
unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
18 But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his
lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and
children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
19 The servant therefore fell down, and bowed before
him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay
thee all.
20 Then the lord of that servant was moved with
compassion, and released him, and forgave him the debt.
21 But the same servant went out, and found one of
his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred denarii:
and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat,
saying, Pay me that thou owest.
22 So his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all.
23 And he would not: but went and cast him into
prison, till he should pay the debt.
24 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they
were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all
that was done.
25 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said
unto him, Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all that
debt, because thou didst beseech me:
26 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy
fellowservant, even as I had mercy on thee?
27 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto
him.
28 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto
you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his
brother.

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face into
every city and place, whither he himself would come.
30 And he said unto them, The harvest is great, but
the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his
harvest.
31 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs
among wolves.
32 Carry neither purse, nor bag, nor shoes: and
salute no man by the way.
33 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say,
Peace be to this house.
34 And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall
rest upon him: if not, it shall turn to you again.
35 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking
such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of
his hire. Go not from house to house.
36 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
37 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you not, go ye into the streets of the same, and
say,
38 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth to
our feet, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be
ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you.
39 But I say unto you, that it shall be more
tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

Now the Jew’s feast of tabernacles was at hand.
41 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart
hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may
see the works that thou doest.
42 For no man doeth any thing in secret, if he
himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these
things, shew thyself to the world.
43 For even his brethren did not believe in him.
44 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet
come: but your time is alway at hand.
45 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth,
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are
evil.
46 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up unto this
feast: for my time is not yet full come.

When he had said these words unto them, he abode still
in Galilee.
48 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he
also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in
secret.
49 Now the Jews sought him at the feast, and said,
Where is he?
50 And there was much murmuring among the people
concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others
said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
51 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the
Jews.
52 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up
into the temple, and taught.
53 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How hath this man
received learning, having never studied?
54 Jesus answered them, and said,
55 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of
you keepeth the law? Why do ye seek to kill me?
56 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil:
who seeketh to kill thee?
57 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one
work, and ye all marvel.
58 Moses gave unto you circumcision; (not because it
is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath
do circumcise a man.
59 If a man on the sabbath receive circumcision, that
the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at
me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the
sabbath day?
60 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
with righteous judgment.

Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he,
whom they seek to kill?
62 And, lo, he speaketh openly, and they say nothing
unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the
Christ?
63 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such
things concerning him; and the chief priests and the
Pharisees sent officers to seize him.
64 So there was a division among the people because
of him.
65 And some of them would have seized him; but no man
laid hands on him.
66 Then came the officers to the chief priests and
Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not
brought him?
67 The officers answered, Never man spake like this
man.
68 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also
deceived?
69 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees
believed in him?
70 But this people who knoweth not the law are
accursed.
71 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus
beforetime, being one of them,)
72 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him,
and know what he doeth?
73 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of
Galilee? Search, and thou shalt find that out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet.
74 And every man went unto his own house.

CHAPTER 8.

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the
temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat
down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman
caught committing adultery; and when they had set her in
the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was caught
committing adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should
be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, to test him, that they might have
cause to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with
his finger wrote on the ground.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up
himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin
among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and with his finger
wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, began going out one by
one, beginning at the eldest: and Jesus was left alone,
and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, he said unto
her, Woman, whither are they gone? hath no man condemned
thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do
I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

And as he passed by, he saw a man which was blind from
his birth.
13 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who
did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born
blind?
14 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor
his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by
the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other
way, the same is a thief and a robber.
16 But he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep.
17 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his
voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth
them out.
18 And when he bringeth forth his own sheep, he goeth
before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his
voice.
19 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee
from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
20 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth
down his life for the sheep.
21 He that is an hireling, and not the shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth them.
22 He fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth
not for the sheep.
23 I am the good shepherd, and know my own, and am
known of mine.
24 And other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and put him to a
test, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how
readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right:
this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto
Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which
stripped him of his raiment, and beat him, and departed,
leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest
that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place,
came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on
him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring
in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and
brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow, he took out two denarii, and
gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of
him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come
again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then
said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a
certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said
unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught
his disciples.
39 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
40 Give us each day our daily bread.
41 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every
one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into
temptation.
42 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a
friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto
him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
43 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me,
and I have nothing to set before him?
44 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble
me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with
me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
45 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give
him, because he is his friend, yet because of his
importunity he will rise and give him as many as he
needeth.
46 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.
47 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened.
48 If a son shall ask a fish, will he for a fish give
him a serpent?
49 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a
scorpion?
50 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him?

CHAPTER 9.

And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one
of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath
day, that they watched him.
2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him
which had the dropsy.
3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and
Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath
day, or no?
4 But they held their peace.
5 And he saith unto them, Which of you shall have a
son or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway
pull him out on the sabbath day?
6 And they could not answer him to these things.
7 And he put forth a parable to those which were
bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief
places; saying unto them.
8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding feast,
sit not down in the highest place; lest a more
honourable man than thou be bidden by him;
9 And he that bade thee and him shall come and say to
thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to
take the lowest place.
10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the
lowest place; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may
say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou
have honour in the presence of them that sit at meat
with thee.
11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased;
and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou
makest a dinner or a feast, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich
neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee.
13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot
recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the
resurrection of the just.
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great feast,
and bade many:
16 And sent his servant at the time of the feasst to
say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are
now ready.
17 And they all with one consent began to make
excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece
of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee
have me excused.
18 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
19 And another said, I have married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come.
20 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these
things. Then the master of the house being angry said to
his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes
of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the
maimed, and the blind, and the halt.
21 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou
hast commanded, and yet there is room.
22 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into
the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.
23 For I say unto you, None of those men which were
bidden shall taste of my supper.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth
not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish it?
25 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and
is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to
mock him,
26 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able
to finish.
27 Or what king, going to make war against another
king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he
be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh
against him with twenty thousand?
28 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off,
he sendeth an embassy, and desireth conditions of peace.

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners
for to hear him.
30 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying,
This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
31 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
32 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in
the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until
he find it?
33 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his
shoulders, rejoicing.
34 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with
me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
35 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
36 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if
she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the
house, and seek diligently till she find it?
37 And when she hath found it, she calleth her
friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice
with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
38 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth.
39 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
40 And the younger of them said to his father,
Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.
And he divided unto them his living.
41 And not many days after, the younger son gathered
all together, and took his journey into a far country,
and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
42 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty
famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
43 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of
that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed
swine.
44 And he would fain have filled his belly with the
husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
45 But when he came to himself, he said, How many
hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to
spare, and I perish with hunger!
46 I will arise and go to my father, and will say
unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and
before thee,
47 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make
me as one of thy hired servants.
48 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he
was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him.
49 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy
to be called thy son.
50 But the father said to his servants, Bring
forthwith the best robe, and put it on him; and put a
ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
51 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and
let us eat, and be merry:
52 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he
was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
53 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came
and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
54 And he called one of the servants, and asked what
these things meant.
55 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy
father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath
received him safe and sound.
56 But he was angry, and would not go in: therefore
came his father out, and entreated him.
57 But he answering said to his father, Lo, these
many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at
any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a
kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
58 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath
devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for
him the fatted calf.
59 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me,
and all that I have is thine.
60 It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;
and was lost, and is found.

CHAPTER 10.

And he said also unto his disciples, There was a
certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same
was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, What is this
that I hear of thee? give an account of thy stewardship;
for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 And the steward said within himself, What shall I
do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I
have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out
of the stewardship, they may receive me into their
houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto
him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto
my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he
said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and
write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou?
And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said
unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the dishonest steward,
because he had done wisely: for the children of this
world are wiser in their dealings with their own
generation than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by
means of the mammon of this world; that, when it faileth
you, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much: and he that is dishonest in the
least is dishonest also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful with the
worldly mammon, who will commit to your trust the true
riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is
another man’s, who shall give you that which is your
own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon.
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard
all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify
yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for
that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination
in the sight of God.

Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another,
committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is
put away from her husband committeth adultery.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
18 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus,
which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
19 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell
from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
20And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried;
21 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom.
22 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy
on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented
in this flame.
23 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted here, and
thou art tormented.
24 And beside all this, between us and you there is a
great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from
hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence.
25 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that
thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
26 For I have five brethren; that he may warn them,
lest they also come into this place of torment.
27 But Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and
the prophets; let them hear them.
28 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent.
29 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one
rose from the dead.

Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but
that occasions of stumbling will come: but woe unto him,
through whom they come!
31 It were better for him that a millstone were
hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than
that he should cause one of these little ones to
stumble.
32 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother sin,
rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
33 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a
day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee,
saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
34 But which of you, having a servant plowing or
keeping sheep, will say unto him when he is come from
the field, Go straightway and sit down to meat?
35 But will not rather say unto him, Make ready
wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me,
till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt
eat and drink?
36 Doth he thank that servant because he did the
things that were commanded him?
37 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those
things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
servants: we have done only that which was our duty to
do.
38 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when
the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and
said, The kingdom of God cometh not with signs that are
observed:
39 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of man.
40 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they
were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them
all.
41 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they
did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they
planted, they builded;
42 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it
rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed
them all.
43 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of
man is revealed.
44 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop,
and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to
take it away: and he that is in the field, let him
likewise not return back.
45 Remember Lot’s wife.
46 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose
it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
47 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men
in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall
be left.
48 Two women shall be grinding together; the one
shall be taken, and the other left.

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that they
ought always to pray, and not to faint;
50 Saying, There was in a certain city a judge, which
feared not God, neither regarded man:
51 And there was a widow in that city; and she came
unto him, saying, Render justice for me against mine
adversary.
52 And he would not for a while: but afterward he
said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard
man;
53 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will render
her justice, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
54 And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge
saith.
55 And shall not God render justice for his own
elect, which cry day and night unto him? Shall he delay
long over them?
56 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?
57 And he spake this parable unto certain which
trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and
despised others:
58 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a
Pharisee, and the other a publican.
59 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican.
60 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all
that I gain.
61 And the publican, standing afar off, would not
lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
62 I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified rather than the other: for every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into
a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha
received him into her house.
64 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat
at the Lord’s feet, and heard his word.
65 But Martha was busy about much serving, and came
to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my
sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore
that she help me.
66 But the Lord answered and said unto her, Martha,
Martha, thou art concerned and troubled about many
things:
67 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

CHAPTER 11.

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished
these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came
into the region of Judaea beyond Jordan;
2 And great multitudes followed him.
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, testing him, and
saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for any cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not
read, that he which made them at the beginning made them
male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain
shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to
give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness
of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but
from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his
wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery.

The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so
with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this
saying, save they to whom it is given.
12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born
from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs,
which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs,
which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of
heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him
receive it.

Then were there brought unto him little children, that
he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the
disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and
forbid them not, to come unto me: for to such belongeth
the kingdom of heaven.
15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed
thence.

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Master, what
good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Wherefore asketh thou me
concerning that which is good? there is none good but
one; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt
do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt
not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things
have I kept: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go
and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou
shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went
away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto
you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom
of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God.
25 When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly
amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With
men this is impossible; but with God all things are
possible.
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire
labourers for his vineyard.
28 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a
denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
29 And he went out about the third hour, and saw
others standing idle in the marketplace,
30 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard,
and whatsoever is right I will give you. So they went
also.
31 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour,
and did likewise.
32 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found
others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye
here all the day idle?
33 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.
He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard.
34 And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard
saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give
them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
35 And when they came that were hired about the
eleventh hour, they received every man a denarius.
36 And when the first came, they supposed that they
should receive more; but they likewise received every
man a denarius.
37 And when they had received it, they murmured
against the goodman of the house,
38 Saying, These last have laboured but one hour, and
thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the
burden and heat of the day.
39 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I
do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a
denarius?
40 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give
unto this last, even as unto thee.
41 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with
mine own? Or is thine eye envious, because I give
freely?
42 So the last shall be first, and the first last.

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
44 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus,
which was the chief among the publicans, and he was
rich.
45 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could
not for the press, because he was little of stature.
46 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore
tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
47 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up,
and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;
for to day I must abide at thy house.
48 And he made haste, and came down, and received him
joyfully.
49 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying,
He is gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
50 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord:
Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;
and if I have taken any thing from any man by false
accusation, I restore him fourfold.
51 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation
come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of
Abraham.
52 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost.

And as they heard these things, he continued and spake a
parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because
they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately
appear.
54 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a
far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and then
to return.
55 And he called ten of his servants, and delivered
them ten pounds, and said unto them, Do business with
this till I come.
56 But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy
after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign
over us.
57 And it came to pass, that when he was returned,
having received the kingdom, then he commanded these
servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the
money, that he might know how much every man had gained
by trading.
58 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath
gained ten pounds more.
59 And he said unto him, Well done, thou good
servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very
little, have thou authority over ten cities.
60 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath
gained five pounds.
61 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over
five cities.
62 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is
thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
63 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere
man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and
reapest that thou didst not sow.
64 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will
I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I
was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and
reaping that I did not sow:
65 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the
bank, that at my coming I might have received it with
interest?
66 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him
the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
67 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten
pounds!)
68 I say unto you, That unto every one which hath
shall more be given; from him that hath not, even that
which he hath shall be taken away.
69 But those mine enemies, which would not that I
should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them
before me.
70 And when he had thus spoken, he went before,
ascending up to Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 12.

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come
to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent
Jesus two disciples,
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village which is
before you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied,
and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say,
The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send
them.
4 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded
them,
5 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them
their clothes, and he sat thereon.
6 And a very great multitude spread their garments in
the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and
strewed them in the way.
7 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city
was moved, saying, Who is this?
8 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves,
Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is
gone after him.
9 Now there were certain Greeks among them that came
up to worship at the feast:
10 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of
Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we
would see Jesus.
11 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and then Andrew
and Philip tell Jesus.
12 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come,
that the Son of man should be glorified.
13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
14 And he left them, and went out of the city into
Bethany; and he lodged there.
15 And on the morrow, when they were come from
Bethany, 16 Jesus went into the temple, and began to
cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats
of them that sold doves;
17 And would not suffer that any man should carry any
goods through the temple.
18 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer
for all nations? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
19 And the chief priests and scribes heard it, and
sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him,
because all the people was astonished at his teaching.
20 And when even was come, they went out of the city.

And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking
in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and
the scribes, and the elders,
22 And he said unto them, But what think ye? A
certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and
said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
23 And he answered and said, I will not: but
afterward he repented, and went.
24 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And
he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
25 Which of the twain did the will of his father?
They answer, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I
say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into
the kingdom of God before you.

Hear another parable:
27 A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge
about it, and digged a pit for the winepress, and built
a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a
far country.
28 And at the harvest season he sent to the
husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the
husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
29 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him
away empty-handed.
30 And again he sent unto them another servant; and
they wounded him in the head, and sent him away
shamefully handled.
31 And again he sent another; and him they killed;
and many others, beating some, and killing some.
32 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he
sent him also last unto them, saying, They will
reverence my son.
33 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This
is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance
shall be our’s.
34 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him
out of the vineyard.
35 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do?
he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give
the vineyard unto others.
36 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard
his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
37 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they
feared the multitude, because they took him for a
prophet.

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by
parables, and said,
39 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king,
which made a marriage feast for his son,
40 And sent forth his servants to call them that were
bidden to the wedding feast: and they would not come.
41 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell
them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my
dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready: come unto the marriage feast.
42 But they made light of it, and went their ways,
one to his farm, another to his business:
43 And the remnant took his servants, and treated
them shamefully and slew them.
44 But the king was wroth: and he sent forth his
armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city.
45 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is
ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
46 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as
ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast.
47 So those servants went out into the highways, and
gathered together all as many as they found, both bad
and good: and the wedding hall was furnished with
guests.

But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
49 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in
hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless.
50 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand
and foot, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might
entangle him in his talk.
53 And they sent out unto him their disciples with
the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art
true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither
deferrest thou to any man: for thou regardest not the
station of men.
54 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it
lawful to pay taxes unto Caesar, or not?
55 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said,
Why do ye test me, ye hypocrites?
56 Shew me the tax money. And they brought unto him a
denarius.
57 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and
superscription?
58 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto
them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are
Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
59 When they had heard these words, they marvelled,
and left him, and went their way.

The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that
there is no resurrection, and asked him,
61 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having
no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise
up seed unto his brother.
62 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the
first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having
no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
63 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the
seventh.
64 And last of all the woman died also.
65 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she
be of the seven? for they all had her.
66 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not
knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
67 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor
are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven.
68 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have
ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God,
saying,
69 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of
the living.
70 And when the multitude heard this, they were
astonished at his teaching.

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them
reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of
all?
72 And Jesus answered him, The first is, Hear, O
Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
73 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and
with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
74 The second is thus: Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these.
75 On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.
76 And the scribe said unto him, Thou speakest
rightly, Master, in that thou hast said, God is one; and
there is none other but he:
77 And to love him with all the heart, and with all
the understanding, and with all the strength, and to
love thy neighbour as thyself, is more than all whole
burnt-offerings and sacrifices.

CHAPTER 13.

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his
disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’
seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for
they say, and do not accordingly.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they
themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men:
they make broad their phylacteries, and lengthen the
fringes of their garments,
6 And love the place of honour at feasts, and the
chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of
men, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one
is your Father, which is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your
Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be
humbled; and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:
14 For ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and
when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of
hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say,
Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but
whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is
bound thereby!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the
gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is
nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon
it, he is bound thereby.
19 Ye blind men: for whether is greater, the gift, or
the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth
by it, and by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by
it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the
throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye pay tithe of mint and dill and cummin, and have
omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice,
mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, without
leaving the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and
swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and
excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is
within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may
be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead
men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto
men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish
the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our
fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in
the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye
are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the condemnation of hell?

And Jesus sat opposite the treasury, and beheld how the
people cast money into the treasury: and many that were
rich cast in much.
35 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw
in two mites, which make a penny.
36 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow
hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into
the treasury:
37 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but
she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all
her living.
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and
his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings
of the temple.
39 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these
things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left
here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown
down.
40 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the
mountains:
41 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to
take any thing out of his house:
42 Neither let him which is in the field return back
to take his cloak.
43 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days!
44 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter,
neither on the sabbath day:
45 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was
not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be.
46 Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Now learn a parable from the fig tree; When its branch
is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that
summer is nigh:
48 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these
things, know that he is near, even at the doors.
49 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the
angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
50 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be.
51 For as in the days that were before the flood they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
52 And knew not until the flood came, and took them
all away; so shall the coming of the Son of man be.
53 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.
54 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one
shall be taken, and the other left.

Watch therefore: for ye know not what day your Lord doth
come.
56 But know this, that if the goodman of the house
had known in what watch the thief would come, he would
have watched, and would not have suffered his house to
be broken into.
57 Therefore be ye also ready.
58 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his
lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them
their meat in due season?
59 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing.
60 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him
ruler over all his goods.
61 But and if that evil servant shall say in his
heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
62 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and
to eat and drink with the drunken;
63 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when
he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not
aware of,
64 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his
portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.

CHAPTER 14.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to
meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took
no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their
lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered
and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom! Go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their
lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your
oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there
be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them
that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;
and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage feast; and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I
know you not.
13 Watch therefore.
14 For it shall be like unto a man travelling into a
far country, who called his own servants, and delivered
unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two,
and to another one; to every man according to his
several ability; and then took his journey.
16 Straightway he that had received the five talents
went and traded with the same, and made therewith other
five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also
gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in
the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants
cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And he that had received five talents came and
brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained
beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and
faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and
said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents:
behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and
said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man,
reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where
thou hast not strewn:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in
the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I
sowed not, and gather where I have not strewn:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to
the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have
received mine own with interest.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it
unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall more be given,
and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not
shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
31 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be filled with revellings, and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and so that day come upon you
suddenly like a snare.
32 For it shall come upon all them that dwell on the
face of the whole earth.
33 But watch ye always and pray, that ye may be with
strength to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory:
35 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and
he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth the sheep from the goats:
36 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but
the goats on the left.
37 Then shall the King say unto them on his right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
38 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
invited me in:
39 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
40 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty,
and gave thee drink?
41 When saw we thee a stranger, and invited thee in?
or naked, and clothed thee?
42 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came
unto thee?
43 And the King shall answer and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me.
44 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand,
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels:
45 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
46 I was a stranger, and ye invited me not in: naked,
and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not.
47 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger,
or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee?
48 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not to me.
49 And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

CHAPTER 15.

It was now two days until the passover, and the feast
of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put
him to death.
2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be
an uproar of the people.
3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the
leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an
alabaster vial of ointment of spikenard very precious;
and she brake the vial, and poured it on his head.
4 But there were some that had indignation within
themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment
made?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three
hundred denarii, and have been given to the poor. And
they rebuked her.
6 But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her?
she hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have the poor with you always, and
whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have
not always.
8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand
to anoint my body for burying.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto
the chief priests,
10 And said unto them, What will ye give me if I will
deliver him unto you? And they weighed unto him thirty
pieces of silver.
11 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray
him.

Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the
disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt
thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
13 And he said, Go into the city to a certain man,
and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand;
I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
14 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them;
and they made ready the passover.
15 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the
twelve.
16 And there arose also a dispute among them, which
of them should be accounted the greatest.
17 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise
authority upon them are called benefactors.
18 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest
among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is
chief, as he that doth serve.
19 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat,
or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but
I am among you as he that serveth.

And while they supped,
21 Jesus riseth from supper, and laid aside his
garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
22 After that he poureth water into a basin, and
began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with
the towel wherewith he was girded.
23 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith
unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
24 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou
knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
25 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my
feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me.
26 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet
only, but also my hands and my head.
27 Jesus saith to him, He that has washed needeth not
save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye
are clean, but not all.
28 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said
he, Ye are not all clean.
29 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken
his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them,
Know ye what I have done to you?
30 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for
so I am.
31 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your
feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
32 For I have given you an example, that ye should do
as I have done to you.
33 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not
greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater
than he that sent him.
34 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do
them.

When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and
testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
that one of you shall betray me.
36 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting
of whom he spake.
37 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his
disciples, whom Jesus loved.
38 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him and said,
Ask him who it should be of whom he spake.
39 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him,
Lord, who is it?
40 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a
sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the
sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said,
42 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love
one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love
one another.
43 By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.
44 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall fall away
because of me this night:
45 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men
shall fall away because of thee, yet will I never fall
away.
46 I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and
to death.
47 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall
not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny
that thou knowest me.
48 Peter said unto him, Though I must die with thee,
yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the
disciples.

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called
Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here,
while I go and pray yonder.
50 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
51 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch
with me.
52 And he went a little farther, and fell on his
face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will,
but as thou wilt.
53 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them
asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch
with me one hour?
54 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
55 He went away again the second time, and prayed,
saying, My Father, if this cup may not pass away from
me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
56 And he came and found them asleep again: for their
eyes were heavy.
57 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed
the third time, saying the same words.
58 Then cometh he to the disciples, and saith unto
them, Are ye still sleeping, and taking your rest?

CHAPTER 16.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with
his disciples through the Kidron valley, where was a
garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.
2 Now Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place:
for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
3 Judas then, having received a band of soldiers and
officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh
thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
5 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail,
master; and kissed him.
6 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, do that for which
thou art come.
7 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should
come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek
ye?
8 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith
unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him,
stood with them.
9 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he,
they drew backward, and fell to the ground.
10 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they
said, Jesus of Nazareth.
11 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if
therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
12 Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and seized
him.
13 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus
stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck
the servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear.
14 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword
into its place: for all they that take the sword shall
perish by the sword.

In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye
come out as against a thief with swords and staves for
to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple,
and ye laid no hold on me.
16 Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
17 And there followed him a certain young man, having
only a linen cloth upon his naked body; and they laid
hold on him:
18 But he left the linen cloth, and fled from them
naked.

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to
Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the
elders were assembled.
20 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another
disciple: now that disciple was known unto the high
priest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the
high priest.
21 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out
that other disciple, which was known unto the high
priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and
brought in Peter.
22 And the servants and officers stood there, who had
made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed
themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed
himself.
23 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto
Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He
saith, I am not.
24 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They
said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his
disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.
25 One of the servants of the high priest, being his
kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see
thee in the garden with him?
26 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock
crew.
27 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said
unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me
thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
28 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples,
and of his teaching.
29 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I
ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither
the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said
nothing.
30 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what
I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
31 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers
which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand,
saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
32 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear
witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?
33 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and
there were assembled all the chief priests and the
elders and the scribes.
34 Now the chief priests and all the council sought
for witness against Jesus to put him to death; but found
none.
35 For many bare false witness against him, but their
witness agreed not together.
36 And there arose certain, and bare false witness
against him, saying,
37 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that
is made with hands, and within three days I will build
another made without hands.
38 But not even in this regard did their witness
agree together.
39 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and
asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it
which these witness against thee?
40 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again
the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
41 But he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not
believe:
42 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me.
43 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God?
And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
44 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith,
What need we any further witnesses?
45 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And
they all condemned him to be worthy of death.
46 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his
face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy:
and the guards did strike him with the palms of their
hands.

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the Praetorium:
and it was early; and they themselves went not into the
hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might
eat the passover.
48 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What
accusation bring ye against this man?
49 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a
malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto
thee.
50 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge
him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto
him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
51 Then Pilate entered into the Praetorium again, and
called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of
the Jews?
52 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of
thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
53 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and
the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast
thou done?
54 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:
if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants
fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but
now is my kingdom not from hence.
55 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king
then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every
one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
56 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he
had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and
saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
57 But they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth
up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning
from Galilee to this place.
58 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how
many things they witness against thee?
59 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the
man were a Galilean.
60 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto
Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself
also was in Jerusalem at that time.

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he
was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had
heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some
miracle done by him.
62 And he questioned with him at great length; but he
answered him nothing.
63 And the chief priests and scribes stood by and
vehemently accused him.
64 And Herod with his soldiers dealt with him
contemptuously, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a
gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
65 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made
friends together: for before they were at enmity between
themselves.
66 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief
priests and the rulers and the people,
67 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me,
as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I,
having examined him before you, have found no guilt in
this man touching the charges whereof ye accuse him:
68 No, nor yet Herod: for he sent him again to us;
and, lo, nothing worthy of death has been done by him.
69 I will therefore chastise him, and release him.

CHAPTER 17.

Now at the feast the governor was wont to release
unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
2 And they had then a notable prisoner, called
Barabbas.
3 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate
said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you?
Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
4 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Moreover, while he was set down on the judgment seat,
his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do
with that just man: for I have suffered many things this
day in a dream because of him.
6 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the
multitude that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy
Jesus.
7 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether
of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said,
Barabbas.
8 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with
Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let
him be crucified.
9 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done?
But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be
crucified.

Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had
scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
11 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into
the Praetorium, and gathered unto him the whole band of
soldiers.
12 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they
put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and
they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying,
Hail, King of the Jews!
13 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and
smote him on the head.
14 And after that they had mocked him, they took the
robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and
led him away to crucify him.

Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he
was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
16 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed
innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see
thou to that.
17 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the
temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
18 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and
said, It is not lawful for to put them into the
treasury, because it is the price of blood.
19 And they took counsel, and bought with them the
potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
20 Wherefore that field is called, The Field of
Blood, unto this day.

And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon
of Cyrene, coming out of the country, and on him they
laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
22 And there followed him a great company of people,
and of women, which bewailed and lamented him.
23 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and
for your children.
24 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which
they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs
that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
25 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains,
Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
26 For if they do these things in a green tree, what
shall be done in the dry?
27 And there were also two other, malefactors, led
with him to be put to death.

And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called
the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew
Golgotha:
29 There they crucified him, and two other with him,
on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
30 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross.
And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE
JEWS.
31 This title then read many of the Jews: for the
place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city:
and it was written in Hebrew, and Latin, and Greek.
32 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate,
Write not, The King of the Jews; but, This man said I am
King of the Jews.
33 Pilate answered, What I have written I have
written.
34 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus,
took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier
a part; and also his undergarment: now the undergarment
was without seam, woven from the top to the bottom.
35 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not
rend it, but cast lots for it, in order to determine
whose it shall be.

And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their
heads,
37 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and
buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the
Son of God, come down from the cross.
38 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with
the scribes and elders, said,
39 He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the
King of Israel: let him now come down from the cross,
and we will believe in him.
40 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he
will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
41 And one of the malefactors which were hanged
railed on him, saying, Art thou not the Christ? Save
thyself and us!
42 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost
not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation?
43 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due
reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing
amiss.
44 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and
his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clophas, and Mary
Magdalene.
46 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the
disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his
mother, Woman, behold thy son!
47 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!
And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own
home.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
49 Some of them that stood there, when they heard
that, said, This man calleth for Elijah.
50 And straightway one of them ran, and took a
sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a
reed, and gave him to drink.
51 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elijah
will come to save him.
52 Jesus, when he had cried out again with a loud
voice, yielded up the ghost.
53 And many women were there beholding afar off,
which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
54 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s
sons.
55 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of
preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the
cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath was an high
day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken,
and that they might be taken away.
56 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the
first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
57 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was
dead already, they brake not his legs:
58 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his
side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
59 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a
disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,
besought Pilate that he might take away the body of
Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and
took the body of Jesus.
60 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first
came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh
and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
61 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in
linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews
is to bury.
62 Now in the place where he was crucified there was
a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was
never man yet laid.
63 There laid they Jesus,
64 And rolled a great stone to the door of the
sepulchre, and departed.

Permission is hereby granted to any individual to copy any or
all the materials contained herein for non-commercial personal
use.

Common Sense
By Thomas Paine

Introduction

PERHAPS the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.

As a long and violent abuse of power is generally the means of calling the right of it in question, (and in matters too which might never have been thought of, had not the sufferers been aggravated into the inquiry,) and as the king of England hath undertaken in his own right, to support the parliament in what he calls theirs, and as the good people of this country are grievously oppressed by the combination, they have an undoubted privilege to inquire into the pretensions of both, and equally to reject the usurpations of either.

In the following sheets, the author hath studiously avoided every thing which is personal among ourselves. Compliments as well as censure to individuals make no part thereof. The wise and the worthy need not the triumph of a pamphlet; and those whose sentiments are injudicious or unfriendly, will cease of themselves, unless too much pains is bestowed upon their conversion.

The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which, their affections are interested. The laying a country desolate with fire and sword, declaring war against the natural rights of all mankind, and extirpating the defenders thereof from the face of the earth, is the concern of every man to whom nature hath given the power of feeling; of which class, regardless of party censure, is

THE AUTHOR.

Philadelphia, Feb. 14, 1776.

OF THE ORIGIN AND DESIGN OF GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL. WITH CONCISE REMARKS ON THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION

SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.

In order to gain a clear and just idea of the design and end of government, let us suppose a small number of persons settled in some sequestered part of the earth, unconnected with the rest, they will then represent the first peopling of any country, or of the world. In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought. A thousand motives will excite them thereto, the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same. Four or five united would be able to raise a tolerable dwelling in the midst of a wilderness, but one man might labor out the common period of life without accomplishing any thing; when he had felled his timber he could not remove it, nor erect it after it was removed; hunger in the mean time would urge him from his work, and every different want call him a different way. Disease, nay even misfortune would be death, for though neither might be mortal, yet either would disable him from living, and reduce him to a state in which he might rather be said to perish than to die.

Thus necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form our newly arrived emigrants into society, the reciprocal blessings of which, would supersede, and render the obligations of law and government unnecessary while they remained perfectly just to each other; but as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice, it will unavoidably happen, that in proportion as they surmount the first difficulties of emigration, which bound them together in a common cause, they will begin to relax in their duty and attachment to each other; and this remissness, will point out the necessity, of establishing some form of government to supply the defect of moral virtue.

Some convenient tree will afford them a State-House, under the branches of which, the whole colony may assemble to deliberate on public matters. It is more than probable that their first laws will have the title only of Regulations, and be enforced by no other penalty than public disesteem. In this first parliament every man, by natural right will have a seat.

But as the colony increases, the public concerns will increase likewise, and the distance at which the members may be separated, will render it too inconvenient for all of them to meet on every occasion as at first, when their number was small, their habitations near, and the public concerns few and trifling. This will point out the convenience of their consenting to leave the legislative part to be managed by a select number chosen from the whole body, who are supposed to have the same concerns at stake which those have who appointed them, and who will act in the same manner as the whole body would act were they present. If the colony continue increasing, it will become necessary to augment the number of the representatives, and that the interest of every part of the colony may be attended to, it will be found best to divide the whole into convenient parts, each part sending its proper number; and that the elected might never form to themselves an interest separate from the electors, prudence will point out the propriety of having elections often; because as the elected might by that means return and mix again with the general body of the electors in a few months, their fidelity to the public will be secured by the prudent reflection of not making a rod for themselves. And as this frequent interchange will establish a common interest with every part of the community, they will mutually and naturally support each other, and on this (not on the unmeaning name of king) depends the strength of government, and the happiness of the governed.

Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz., freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with snow, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason will say, it is right.

I draw my idea of the form of government from a principle in nature, which no art can overturn, viz., that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered; and with this maxim in view, I offer a few remarks on the so much boasted constitution of England. That it was noble for the dark and slavish times in which it was erected is granted. When the world was overrun with tyranny the least therefrom was a glorious rescue. But that it is imperfect, subject to convulsions, and incapable of producing what it seems to promise, is easily demonstrated.

Absolute governments (though the disgrace of human nature) have this advantage with them, that they are simple; if the people suffer, they know the head from which their suffering springs, know likewise the remedy, and are not bewildered by a variety of causes and cures. But the constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies, some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine.

I know it is difficult to get over local or long standing prejudices, yet if we will suffer ourselves to examine the component parts of the English constitution, we shall find them to be the base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded with some new republican materials.

First.- The remains of monarchical tyranny in the person of the king. Secondly.- The remains of aristocratical tyranny in the persons of the peers. Thirdly.- The new republican materials, in the persons of the commons, on whose virtue depends the freedom of England.

The two first, by being hereditary, are independent of the people; wherefore in a constitutional sense they contribute nothing towards the freedom of the state.

To say that the constitution of England is a union of three powers reciprocally checking each other, is farcical, either the words have no meaning, or they are flat contradictions.

To say that the commons is a check upon the king, presupposes two things.

First.- That the king is not to be trusted without being looked after, or in other words, that a thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy. Secondly.- That the commons, by being appointed for that purpose, are either wiser or more worthy of confidence than the crown.

But as the same constitution which gives the commons a power to check the king by withholding the supplies, gives afterwards the king a power to check the commons, by empowering him to reject their other bills; it again supposes that the king is wiser than those whom it has already supposed to be wiser than him. A mere absurdity!

There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the world, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore the different parts, unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and useless.

Some writers have explained the English constitution thus; the king, say they, is one, the people another; the peers are an house in behalf of the king; the commons in behalf of the people; but this hath all the distinctions of an house divided against itself; and though the expressions be pleasantly arranged, yet when examined they appear idle and ambiguous; and it will always happen, that the nicest construction that words are capable of, when applied to the description of something which either cannot exist, or is too incomprehensible to be within the compass of description, will be words of sound only, and though they may amuse the ear, they cannot inform the mind, for this explanation includes a previous question, viz. How came the king by a power which the people are afraid to trust, and always obliged to check? Such a power could not be the gift of a wise people, neither can any power, which needs checking, be from God; yet the provision, which the constitution makes, supposes such a power to exist.

But the provision is unequal to the task; the means either cannot or will not accomplish the end, and the whole affair is a felo de se; for as the greater weight will always carry up the less, and as all the wheels of a machine are put in motion by one, it only remains to know which power in the constitution has the most weight, for that will govern; and though the others, or a part of them, may clog, or, as the phrase is, check the rapidity of its motion, yet so long as they cannot stop it, their endeavors will be ineffectual; the first moving power will at last have its way, and what it wants in speed is supplied by time.

That the crown is this overbearing part in the English constitution needs not be mentioned, and that it derives its whole consequence merely from being the giver of places pensions is self evident, wherefore, though we have and wise enough to shut and lock a door against absolute monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough to put the crown in possession of the key.

The prejudice of Englishmen, in favor of their own government by king, lords, and commons, arises as much or more from national pride than reason. Individuals are undoubtedly safer in England than in some other countries, but the will of the king is as much the law of the land in Britain as in France, with this difference, that instead of proceeding directly from his mouth, it is handed to the people under the most formidable shape of an act of parliament. For the fate of Charles the First, hath only made kings more subtle not- more just.

Wherefore, laying aside all national pride and prejudice in favor of modes and forms, the plain truth is, that it is wholly owing to the constitution of the people, and not to the constitution of the government that the crown is not as oppressive in England as in Turkey.

An inquiry into the constitutional errors in the English form of government is at this time highly necessary; for as we are never in a proper condition of doing justice to others, while we continue under the influence of some leading partiality, so neither are we capable of doing it to ourselves while we remain fettered by any obstinate prejudice. And as a man, who is attached to a prostitute, is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favor of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one.

OF MONARCHY AND HEREDITARY SUCCESSION

MANKIND being originally equals in the order of creation, the equality could only be destroyed by some subsequent circumstance; the distinctions of rich, and poor, may in a great measure be accounted for, and that without having recourse to the harsh, ill-sounding names of oppression and avarice. Oppression is often the consequence, but seldom or never the means of riches; and though avarice will preserve a man from being necessitously poor, it generally makes him too timorous to be wealthy. But there is another and greater distinction for which no truly natural or religious reason can be assigned, and that is, the distinction of men into KINGS and SUBJECTS. Male and female are the distinctions of nature, good and bad the distinctions of heaven; but how a race of men came into the world so exalted above the rest, and distinguished like some new species, is worth enquiring into, and whether they are the means of happiness or of misery to mankind.

In the early ages of the world, according to the scripture chronology, there were no kings; the consequence of which was there were no wars; it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion. Holland without a king hath enjoyed more peace for this last century than any of the monarchial governments in Europe. Antiquity favors the same remark; for the quiet and rural lives of the first patriarchs hath a happy something in them, which vanishes away when we come to the history of Jewish royalty.

Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honors to their deceased kings, and the Christian world hath improved on the plan by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!

As the exalting one man so greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, so neither can it be defended on the authority of scripture; for the will of the Almighty, as declared by Gideon and the prophet Samuel, expressly disapproves of government by kings. All anti-monarchial parts of scripture have been very smoothly glossed over in monarchial governments, but they undoubtedly merit the attention of countries which have their governments yet to form. Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s is the scriptural doctrine of courts, yet it is no support of monarchial government, for the Jews at that time were without a king, and in a state of vassalage to the Romans.

Near three thousand years passed away from the Mosaic account of the creation, till the Jews under a national delusion requested a king. Till then their form of government (except in extraordinary cases, where the Almighty interposed) was a kind of republic administered by a judge and the elders of the tribes. Kings they had none, and it was held sinful to acknowledge any being under that title but the Lords of Hosts. And when a man seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of kings he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven.

Monarchy is ranked in scripture as one of the sins of the Jews, for which a curse in reserve is denounced against them. The history of that transaction is worth attending to.

The children of Israel being oppressed by the Midianites, Gideon marched against them with a small army, and victory, through the divine interposition, decided in his favor. The Jews elate with success, and attributing it to the generalship of Gideon, proposed making him a king, saying, Rule thou over us, thou and thy son and thy son’s son. Here was temptation in its fullest extent; not a kingdom only, but an hereditary one, but Gideon in the piety of his soul replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, THE LORD SHALL RULE OVER YOU. Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor but denieth their right to give it; neither doth be compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive stile of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper sovereign, the King of Heaven.

About one hundred and thirty years after this, they fell again into the same error. The hankering which the Jews had for the idolatrous customs of the Heathens, is something exceedingly unaccountable; but so it was, that laying hold of the misconduct of Samuel’s two sons, who were entrusted with some secular concerns, they came in an abrupt and clamorous manner to Samuel, saying, Behold thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways, now make us a king to judge us like all the other nations. And here we cannot but observe that their motives were bad, viz., that they might be like unto other nations, i.e., the Heathen, whereas their true glory laid in being as much unlike them as possible. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us; and Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, THEN I SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM.

According to all the works which have done since the day; wherewith they brought them up out of Egypt, even unto this day; wherewith they have forsaken me and served other Gods; so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice, howbeit, protest solemnly unto them and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them, i.e., not of any particular king, but the general manner of the kings of the earth, whom Israel was so eagerly copying after. And notwithstanding the great distance of time and difference of manners, the character is still in fashion. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people, that asked of him a king. And he said, This shall be the manner of the king that shall reign over you; he will take your sons and appoint them for himself for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots (this description agrees with the present mode of impressing men) and he will appoint him captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground and to read his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots; and he will take your daughters to be confectionaries and to be cooks and to be bakers (this describes the expense and luxury as well as the oppression of kings) and he will take your fields and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants; and he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give them to his officers and to his servants (by which we see that bribery, corruption, and favoritism are the standing vices of kings) and he will take the tenth of your men servants, and your maid servants, and your goodliest young men and your asses, and put them to his work; and he will take the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants, and ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen, AND THE LORD WILL NOT HEAR YOU IN THAT DAY. This accounts for the continuation of monarchy; neither do the characters of the few good kings which have lived since, either sanctify the title, or blot out the sinfulness of the origin; the high encomium given of David takes no notice of him officially as a king, but only as a man after God’s own heart. Nevertheless the People refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, Nay, but we will have a king over us, that we may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles. Samuel continued to reason with them, but to no purpose; he set before them their ingratitude, but all would not avail; and seeing them fully bent on their folly, he cried out, I will call unto the Lord, and he shall sent thunder and rain (which then was a punishment, being the time of wheat harvest) that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, IN ASKING YOU A KING. So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not, for WE HAVE ADDED UNTO OUR SINS THIS EVIL, TO ASK A KING. These portions of scripture are direct and positive. They admit of no equivocal construction. That the Almighty hath here entered his protest against monarchial government is true, or the scripture is false. And a man hath good reason to believe that there is as much of kingcraft, as priestcraft in withholding the scripture from the public in Popish countries. For monarchy in every instance is the Popery of government.

To the evil of monarchy we have added that of hereditary succession; and as the first is a degradation and lessening of ourselves, so the second, claimed as a matter of right, is an insult and an imposition on posterity. For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever, and though himself might deserve some decent degree of honors of his contemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them. One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion.

Secondly, as no man at first could possess any other public honors than were bestowed upon him, so the givers of those honors could have no power to give away the right of posterity, and though they might say, “We choose you for our head,” they could not, without manifest injustice to their children, say, “that your children and your children’s children shall reign over ours for ever.” Because such an unwise, unjust, unnatural compact might (perhaps) in the next succession put them under the government of a rogue or a fool. Most wise men, in their private sentiments, have ever treated hereditary right with contempt; yet it is one of those evils, which when once established is not easily removed; many submit from fear, others from superstition, and the more powerful part shares with the king the plunder of the rest.

This is supposing the present race of kings in the world to have had an honorable origin; whereas it is more than probable, that could we take off the dark covering of antiquity, and trace them to their first rise, that we should find the first of them nothing better than the principal ruffian of some restless gang, whose savage manners of preeminence in subtlety obtained him the title of chief among plunderers; and who by increasing in power, and extending his depredations, overawed the quiet and defenseless to purchase their safety by frequent contributions. Yet his electors could have no idea of giving hereditary right to his descendants, because such a perpetual exclusion of themselves was incompatible with the free and unrestrained principles they professed to live by. Wherefore, hereditary succession in the early ages of monarchy could not take place as a matter of claim, but as something casual or complemental; but as few or no records were extant in those days, and traditionary history stuffed with fables, it was very easy, after the lapse of a few generations, to trump up some superstitious tale, conveniently timed, Mahomet like, to cram hereditary right down the throats of the vulgar. Perhaps the disorders which threatened, or seemed to threaten on the decease of a leader and the choice of a new one (for elections among ruffians could not be very orderly) induced many at first to favor hereditary pretensions; by which means it happened, as it hath happened since, that what at first was submitted to as a convenience, was afterwards claimed as a right.

England, since the conquest, hath known some few good monarchs, but groaned beneath a much larger number of bad ones, yet no man in his senses can say that their claim under William the Conqueror is a very honorable one. A French bastard landing with an armed banditti, and establishing himself king of England against the consent of the natives, is in plain terms a very paltry rascally original. It certainly hath no divinity in it. However, it is needless to spend much time in exposing the folly of hereditary right, if there are any so weak as to believe it, let them promiscuously worship the ass and lion, and welcome. I shall neither copy their humility, nor disturb their devotion.

Yet I should be glad to ask how they suppose kings came at first? The question admits but of three answers, viz., either by lot, by election, or by usurpation. If the first king was taken by lot, it establishes a precedent for the next, which excludes hereditary succession. Saul was by lot, yet the succession was not hereditary, neither does it appear from that transaction there was any intention it ever should. If the first king of any country was by election, that likewise establishes a precedent for the next; for to say, that the right of all future generations is taken away, by the act of the first electors, in their choice not only of a king, but of a family of kings for ever, hath no parallel in or out of scripture but the doctrine of original sin, which supposes the free will of all men lost in Adam; and from such comparison, and it will admit of no other, hereditary succession can derive no glory. For as in Adam all sinned, and as in the first electors all men obeyed; as in the one all mankind were subjected to Satan, and in the other to Sovereignty; as our innocence was lost in the first, and our authority in the last; and as both disable us from reassuming some former state and privilege, it unanswerably follows that original sin and hereditary succession are parallels. Dishonorable rank! Inglorious connection! Yet the most subtle sophist cannot produce a juster simile.

As to usurpation, no man will be so hardy as to defend it; and that William the Conqueror was an usurper is a fact not to be contradicted. The plain truth is, that the antiquity of English monarchy will not bear looking into.

But it is not so much the absurdity as the evil of hereditary succession which concerns mankind. Did it ensure a race of good and wise men it would have the seal of divine authority, but as it opens a door to the foolish, the wicked; and the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppression. Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.

Another evil which attends hereditary succession is, that the throne is subject to be possessed by a minor at any age; all which time the regency, acting under the cover of a king, have every opportunity and inducement to betray their trust. The same national misfortune happens, when a king worn out with age and infirmity, enters the last stage of human weakness. In both these cases the public becomes a prey to every miscreant, who can tamper successfully with the follies either of age or infancy.

The most plausible plea, which hath ever been offered in favor of hereditary succession, is, that it preserves a nation from civil wars; and were this true, it would be weighty; whereas, it is the most barefaced falsity ever imposed upon mankind. The whole history of England disowns the fact. Thirty kings and two minors have reigned in that distracted kingdom since the conquest, in which time there have been (including the Revolution) no less than eight civil wars and nineteen rebellions. Wherefore instead of making for peace, it makes against it, and destroys the very foundation it seems to stand on.

The contest for monarchy and succession, between the houses of York and Lancaster, laid England in a scene of blood for many years. Twelve pitched battles, besides skirmishes and sieges, were fought between Henry and Edward. Twice was Henry prisoner to Edward, who in his turn was prisoner to Henry. And so uncertain is the fate of war and the temper of a nation, when nothing but personal matters are the ground of a quarrel, that Henry was taken in triumph from a prison to a palace, and Edward obliged to fly from a palace to a foreign land; yet, as sudden transitions of temper are seldom lasting, Henry in his turn was driven from the throne, and Edward recalled to succeed him. The parliament always following the strongest side.

This contest began in the reign of Henry the Sixth, and was not entirely extinguished till Henry the Seventh, in whom the families were united. Including a period of 67 years, viz., from 1422 to 1489.

In short, monarchy and succession have laid (not this or that kingdom only) but the world in blood and ashes. ‘Tis a form of government which the word of God bears testimony against, and blood will attend it.

If we inquire into the business of a king, we shall find that (in some countries they have none) and after sauntering away their lives without pleasure to themselves or advantage to the nation, withdraw from the scene, and leave their successors to tread the same idle round. In absolute monarchies the whole weight of business civil and military, lies on the king; the children of Israel in their request for a king, urged this plea “that he may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles.” But in countries where he is neither a judge nor a general, as in England, a man would be puzzled to know what is his business.

The nearer any government approaches to a republic, the less business there is for a king. It is somewhat difficult to find a proper name for the government of England. Sir William Meredith calls it a republic; but in its present state it is unworthy of the name, because the corrupt influence If the crown, by having all the places in its disposal, hath so effectually swallowed up the power, and eaten out the virtue of the house of commons (the republican part in the constitution) that the government of England is nearly as monarchical as that of France or Spain. Men fall out with names without understanding them. For it is the republican and not the monarchical part of the constitution of England which Englishmen glory in, viz., the liberty of choosing a house of commons from out of their own body- and it is easy to see that when the republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. My is the constitution of England sickly, but because monarchy hath poisoned the republic, the crown hath engrossed the commons?

In England a king hath little more to do than to make war and give away places; which in plain terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.

THOUGHTS OF THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS

IN the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense; and have no other preliminaries to settle with the reader, than that he will divest himself of prejudice and prepossession, and suffer his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves; that he will put on, or rather that he will not put off the true character of a man, and generously enlarge his views beyond the present day.

Volumes have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and America. Men of all ranks have embarked in the controversy, from different motives, and with various designs; but all have been ineffectual, and the period of debate is closed. Arms, as the last resource, decide the contest; the appeal was the choice of the king, and the continent hath accepted the challenge.

It hath been reported of the late Mr. Pelham (who tho’ an able minister was not without his faults) that on his being attacked in the house of commons, on the score, that his measures were only of a temporary kind, replied, “they will fast my time.” Should a thought so fatal and unmanly possess the colonies in the present contest, the name of ancestors will be remembered by future generations with detestation.

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. ‘Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent- of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. ‘Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union, faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; The wound will enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters.

By referring the matter from argument to arms, a new area for politics is struck; a new method of thinking hath arisen. All plans, proposals, &c. prior to the nineteenth of April, i.e., to the commencement of hostilities, are like the almanacs of the last year; which, though proper then, are superseded and useless now. Whatever was advanced by the advocates on either side of the question then, terminated in one and the same point, viz., a union with Great Britain; the only difference between the parties was the method of effecting it; the one proposing force, the other friendship; but it hath so far happened that the first hath failed, and the second hath withdrawn her influence.

As much hath been said of the advantages of reconciliation, which, like an agreeable dream, hath passed away and left us as we were, it is but right, that we should examine the contrary side of the argument, and inquire into some of the many material injuries which these colonies sustain, and always will sustain, by being connected with, and dependant on Great Britain. To examine that connection and dependance, on the principles of nature and common sense, to see what we have to trust to, if separated, and what we are to expect, if dependant.

I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert, that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat; or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had any thing to do with her. The commerce by which she hath enriched herself are the necessaries of life, and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe.

But she has protected us, say some. That she hath engrossed us is true, and defended the continent at our expense as well as her own is admitted, and she would have defended Turkey from the same motive, viz., the sake of trade and dominion.

Alas! we have been long led away by ancient prejudices and made large sacrifices to superstition. We have boasted the protection of Great Britain, without considering, that her motive was interest not attachment; that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account, from those who had no quarrel with us on any other account, and who will always be our enemies on the same account. Let Britain wave her pretensions to the continent, or the continent throw off the dependance, and we should be at peace with France and Spain were they at war with Britain. The miseries of Hanover last war, ought to warn us against connections.

It hath lately been asserted in parliament, that the colonies have no relation to each other but through the parent country, i.e., that Pennsylvania and the Jerseys, and so on for the rest, are sister colonies by the way of England; this is certainly a very roundabout way of proving relation ship, but it is the nearest and only true way of proving enemyship, if I may so call it. France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be our enemies as Americans, but as our being the subjects of Great Britain.

But Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young; nor savages make war upon their families; wherefore the assertion, if true, turns to her reproach; but it happens not to be true, or only partly so, and the phrase parent or mother country hath been jesuitically adopted by the king and his parasites, with a low papistical design of gaining an unfair bias on the credulous weakness of our minds. Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers off civil and religious liberty from every Part of Europe. Hither have they fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home pursues their descendants still.

In this extensive quarter of the globe, we forget the narrow limits of three hundred and sixty miles (the extent of England) and carry our friendship on a larger scale; we claim brotherhood with every European Christian, and triumph in the generosity of the sentiment.

It is pleasant to observe by what regular gradations we surmount the force of local prejudice, as we enlarge our acquaintance with the world. A man born in any town in England divided into parishes, will naturally associate most with his fellow parishioners (because their interests in many cases will be common) and distinguish him by the name of neighbor; if he meet him but a few miles from home, he drops the narrow idea of a street, and salutes him by the name of townsman; if he travels out of the county, and meet him in any other, he forgets the minor divisions of street and town, and calls him countryman; i.e., countyman; but if in their foreign excursions they should associate in France or any other part of Europe, their local remembrance would be enlarged into that of Englishmen. And by a just parity of reasoning, all Europeans meeting in America, or any other quarter of the globe, are countrymen; for England, Holland, Germany, or Sweden, when compared with the whole, stand in the same places on the larger scale, which the divisions of street, town, and county do on the smaller ones; distinctions too limited for continental minds. Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province, are of English descent. Wherefore, I reprobate the phrase of parent or mother country applied to England only, as being false, selfish, narrow and ungenerous.

But admitting that we were all of English descent, what does it amount to? Nothing. Britain, being now an open enemy, extinguishes every other name and title: And to say that reconciliation is our duty, is truly farcical. The first king of England, of the present line (William the Conqueror) was a Frenchman, and half the peers of England are descendants from the same country; wherefore by the same method of reasoning, England ought to be governed by France.

Much hath been said of the united strength of Britain and the colonies, that in conjunction they might bid defiance to the world. But this is mere presumption; the fate of war is uncertain, neither do the expressions mean anything; for this continent would never suffer itself to be drained of inhabitants to support the British arms in either Asia, Africa, or Europe.

Besides, what have we to do with setting the world at defiance? Our plan is commerce, and that, well attended to,will secure us the peace and friendship of all Europe; because it is the interest of all Europe to have America a free port. Her trade will always be a protection, and her barrenness of gold and silver secure her from invaders.

I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation, to show, a single advantage that this continent can reap, by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge, not a single advantage is derived. Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be paid for buy them where we will.

But the injuries and disadvantages we sustain by that connection, are without number; and our duty to mankind I at large, as well as to ourselves, instruct us to renounce the alliance: Because, any submission to, or dependance on Great Britain, tends directly to involve this continent in European wars and quarrels; and sets us at variance with nations, who would otherwise seek our friendship, and against whom, we have neither anger nor complaint. As Europe is our market for trade, we ought to form no partial connection with any part of it. It is the true interest of America to steer clear of European contentions, which she never can do, while by her dependance on Britain, she is made the make-weight in the scale of British politics.

Europe is too thickly planted with kingdoms to be long at peace, and whenever a war breaks out between England and any foreign power, the trade of America goes to ruin, because of her connection with Britain. The next war may not turn out like the Past, and should it not, the advocates for reconciliation now will be wishing for separation then, because, neutrality in that case, would be a safer convoy than a man of war. Every thing that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ’tis time to part. Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong and natural proof, that the authority of the one, over the other, was never the design of Heaven. The time likewise at which the continent was discovered, adds weight to the argument, and the manner in which it was peopled increases the force of it. The reformation was preceded by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home should afford neither friendship nor safety.

The authority of Great Britain over this continent, is a form of government, which sooner or later must have an end: And a serious mind can draw no true pleasure by looking forward, under the painful and positive conviction, that what he calls “the present constitution” is merely temporary. As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of our duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix our station a few years farther into life; that eminence will present a prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from our sight.

Though I would carefully avoid giving unnecessary offence, yet I am inclined to believe, that all those who espouse the doctrine of reconciliation, may be included within the following descriptions:

Interested men, who are not to be trusted; weak men who cannot see; prejudiced men who will not see; and a certain set of moderate men, who think better of the European world than it deserves; and this last class by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the cause of more calamities to this continent than all the other three.

It is the good fortune of many to live distant from the scene of sorrow; the evil is not sufficiently brought to their doors to make them feel the precariousness with which all American property is possessed. But let our imaginations transport us for a few moments to Boston, that seat of wretchedness will teach us wisdom, and instruct us for ever to renounce a power in whom we can have no trust. The inhabitants of that unfortunate city, who but a few months ago were in ease and affluence, have now no other alternative than to stay and starve, or turn out to beg. Endangered by the fire of their friends if they continue within the city, and plundered by the soldiery if they leave it. In their present condition they are prisoners without the hope of redemption, and in a general attack for their relief, they would be exposed to the fury of both armies.

Men of passive tempers look somewhat lightly over the offenses of Britain, and, still hoping for the best, are apt to call out, Come we shall be friends again for all this. But examine the passions and feelings of mankind. Bring the doctrine of reconciliation to the touchstone of nature, and then tell me, whether you can hereafter love, honor, and faithfully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword into your land? If you cannot do all these, then are you only deceiving yourselves, and by your delay bringing ruin upon posterity. Your future connection with Britain, whom you can neither love nor honor, will be forced and unnatural, and being formed only on the plan of present convenience, will in a little time fall into a relapse more wretched than the first. But if you say, you can still pass the violations over, then I ask, Hath your house been burnt? Hath you property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, then are you not a judge of those who have. But if you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then are you unworthy the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant.

This is not inflaming or exaggerating matters, but trying them by those feelings and affections which nature justifies, and without which, we should be incapable of discharging the social duties of life, or enjoying the felicities of it. I mean not to exhibit horror for the purpose of provoking revenge, but to awaken us from fatal and unmanly slumbers, that we may pursue determinately some fixed object. It is not in the power of Britain or of Europe to conquer America, if she do not conquer herself by delay and timidity. The present winter is worth an age if rightly employed, but if lost or neglected, the whole continent will partake of the misfortune; and there is no punishment which that man will not deserve, be he who, or what, or where he will, that may be the means of sacrificing a season so precious and useful.

It is repugnant to reason, to the universal order of things, to all examples from the former ages, to suppose, that this continent can longer remain subject to any external power. The most sanguine in Britain does not think so. The utmost stretch of human wisdom cannot, at this time compass a plan short of separation, which can promise the continent even a year’s security. Reconciliation is was a fallacious dream. Nature hath deserted the connection, and Art cannot supply her place. For, as Milton wisely expresses, “never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep.”

Every quiet method for peace hath been ineffectual. Our prayers have been rejected with disdain; and only tended to convince us, that nothing flatters vanity, or confirms obstinacy in kings more than repeated petitioning- and nothing hath contributed more than that very measure to make the kings of Europe absolute: Witness Denmark and Sweden. Wherefore since nothing but blows will do, for God’s sake, let us come to a final separation, and not leave the next generation to be cutting throats, under the violated unmeaning names of parent and child.

To say, they will never attempt it again is idle and visionary, we thought so at the repeal of the stamp act, yet a year or two undeceived us; as well me we may suppose that nations, which have been once defeated, will never renew the quarrel.

As to government matters, it is not in the powers of Britain to do this continent justice: The business of it will soon be too weighty, and intricate, to be managed with any tolerable degree of convenience, by a power, so distant from us, and so very ignorant of us; for if they cannot conquer us, they cannot govern us. To be always running three or four thousand miles with a tale or a petition, waiting four or five months for an answer, which when obtained requires five or six more to explain it in, will in a few years be looked upon as folly and childishness- there was a time when it was proper, and there is a proper time for it to cease.

Small islands not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. In no instance hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet, and as England and America, with respect to each Other, reverses the common order of nature, it is evident they belong to different systems: England to Europe- America to itself.

I am not induced by motives of pride, party, or resentment to espouse the doctrine of separation and independence; I am clearly, positively, and conscientiously persuaded that it is the true interest of this continent to be so; that every thing short of that is mere patchwork, that it can afford no lasting felicity,- that it is leaving the sword to our children, and shrinking back at a time, when, a little more, a little farther, would have rendered this continent the glory of the earth.

As Britain hath not manifested the least inclination towards a compromise, we may be assured that no terms can be obtained worthy the acceptance of the continent, or any ways equal to the expense of blood and treasure we have been already put to.

The object contended for, ought always to bear some just proportion to the expense. The removal of the North, or the whole detestable junto, is a matter unworthy the millions we have expended. A temporary stoppage of trade, was an inconvenience, which would have sufficiently balanced the repeal of all the acts complained of, had such repeals been obtained; but if the whole continent must take up arms, if every man must be a soldier, it is scarcely worth our while to fight against a contemptible ministry only. Dearly, dearly, do we pay for the repeal of the acts, if that is all we fight for; for in a just estimation, it is as great a folly to pay a Bunker Hill price for law, as for land. As I have always considered the independency of this continent, as an event, which sooner or later must arrive, so from the late rapid progress of the continent to maturity, the event could not be far off. Wherefore, on the breaking out of hostilities, it was not worth the while to have disputed a matter, which time would have finally redressed, unless we meant to be in earnest; otherwise, it is like wasting an estate of a suit at law, to regulate the trespasses of a tenant, whose lease is just expiring. No man was a warmer wisher for reconciliation than myself, before the fatal nineteenth of April, 1775 (Massacre at Lexington), but the moment the event of that day was made known, I rejected the hardened, sullen tempered Pharaoh of England for ever; and disdain the wretch, that with the pretended title of Father of his people, can unfeelingly hear of their slaughter, and composedly sleep with their blood upon his soul.

But admitting that matters were now made up, what would be the event? I answer, the ruin of the continent. And that for several reasons:

First. The powers of governing still remaining in the hands of the king, he will have a negative over the whole legislation of this continent. And as he hath shown himself such an inveterate enemy to liberty, and discovered such a thirst for arbitrary power, is he, or is he not, a proper man to say to these colonies, “You shall make no laws but what I please?” And is there any inhabitants in America so ignorant, as not to know, that according to what is called the present constitution, that this continent can make no laws but what the king gives leave to? and is there any man so unwise, as not to see, that (considering what has happened) he will suffer no Law to be made here, but such as suit his purpose? We may be as effectually enslaved by the want of laws in America, as by submitting to laws made for us in England. After matters are make up (as it is called) can there be any doubt but the whole power of the crown will be exerted, to keep this continent as low and humble as possible? Instead of going forward we shall go backward, or be perpetually quarrelling or ridiculously petitioning. We are already greater than the king wishes us to be, and will he not hereafter endeavor to make us less? To bring the matter to one point. Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern us? Whoever says No to this question is an independent, for independency means no more, than, whether we shall make our own laws, or whether the king, the greatest enemy this continent hath, or can have, shall tell us, “there shall be now laws but such as I like.”

But the king you will say has a negative in England; the people there can make no laws without his consent. in point of right and good order, there is something very ridiculous, that a youth of twenty-one (which hath often happened) shall say to several millions of people, older and wiser than himself, I forbid this or that act of yours to be law. But in this place I decline this sort of reply, though I will never cease to expose the absurdity of it, and only answer, that England being the king’s residence, and America not so, make quite another case. The king’s negative here is ten times more dangerous and fatal than it can be in England, for there he will scarcely refuse his consent to a bill for putting England into as strong a state of defence as possible, and in America he would never suffer such a bill to be passed.

America is only a secondary object in the system of British politics- England consults the good of this country, no farther than it answers her own purpose. Wherefore, her own interest leads her to suppress the growth of ours in every case which doth not promote her advantage, or in the least interfere with it. A pretty state we should soon be in under such a second-hand government, considering what has happened! Men do not change from enemies to friends by the alteration of a name; and in order to show that reconciliation now is a dangerous doctrine, I affirm, that it would be policy in the kingdom at this time, to repeal the acts for the sake of reinstating himself in the government of the provinces; in order, that he may accomplish by craft and subtlety, in the long run, wha he cannot do by force ans violence in the short one. Reconciliation and ruin are nearly related.

Secondly. That as even the best terms, which we can expect to obtain, can amount to no more than a temporary expedient, or a kind of government by guardianship, which can last no longer than till the colonies come of age, so the general face and state of things, in the interim, will be unsettled and unpromising. Emigrants of property will not choose to come to a country whose form of government hangs but by a thread, and who is every day tottering on the brink of commotion and disturbance; and numbers of the present inhabitant would lay hold of the interval, to dispose of their effects, and quit the continent.

But the most powerful of all arguments, is, that nothing but independence, i.e., a continental form of government, can keep the peace of the continent and preserve it inviolate from civil wars. I dread the event of a reconciliation with Britain now, as it is more than probable, that it will be followed by a revolt somewhere or other, the consequences of which may be far more fatal than all the malice of Britain.

Thousands are already ruined by British barbarity; (thousands more will probably suffer the same fate.) Those men have other feelings than us who have nothing suffered. All they now possess is liberty, what they before enjoyed is sacrificed to its service, and having nothing more to lose, they disdain submission. Besides, the general temper of the colonies, towards a British government, will be like that of a youth, who is nearly out of his time, they will care very little about her. And a government which cannot preserve the peace, is no government at all, and in that case we pay our money for nothing; and pray what is it that Britain can do, whose power will be wholly on paper, should a civil tumult break out the very day after reconciliation? I have heard some men say, many of whom I believe spoke without thinking, that they dreaded independence, fearing that it would produce civil wars. It is but seldom that our first thoughts are truly correct, and that is the case here; for there are ten times more to dread from a patched up connection than from independence. I make the sufferers case my own, and I protest, that were I driven from house and home, my property destroyed, and my circumstances ruined, that as man, sensible of injuries, I could never relish the doctrine of reconciliation, or consider myself bound thereby.

The colonies have manifested such a spirit of good order and obedience to continental government, as is sufficient to make every reasonable person easy and happy on that head. No man can assign the least pretence for his fears, on any other grounds, that such as are truly childish and ridiculous, viz., that one colony will be striving for superiority over another.

Where there are no distinctions there can be no superiority, perfect equality affords no temptation. The republics of Europe are all (and we may say always) in peace. Holland and Switzerland are without wars, foreign or domestic; monarchical governments, it is true, are never long at rest: the crown itself is a temptation to enterprising ruffians at home; and that degree of pride and insolence ever attendant on regal authority swells into a rupture with foreign powers, in instances where a republican government, by being formed on more natural principles, would negotiate the mistake.

If there is any true cause of fear respecting independence it is because no plan is yet laid down. Men do not see their way out; wherefore, as an opening into that business I offer the following hints; at the same time modestly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myself, than that they may be the means of giving rise to something better. Could the straggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently form materials for wise and able men to improve to useful matter.

Let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly domestic, and subject to the authority of a continental congress.

Let each colony be divided into six, eight, or ten, convenient districts, each district to send a proper number of delegates to congress, so that each colony send at least thirty. The whole number in congress will be at least three hundred ninety. Each congress to sit….. and to choose a president by the following method. When the delegates are met, let a colony be taken from the whole thirteen colonies by lot, after which let the whole congress choose (by ballot) a president from out of the delegates of that province. I the next Congress, let a colony be taken by lot from twelve only, omitting that colony from which the president was taken in the former congress, and so proceeding on till the whole thirteen shall have had their proper rotation. And in order that nothing may pass into a law but what is satisfactorily just, not less than three fifths of the congress to be called a majority. He that will promote discord, under a government so equally formed as this, would join Lucifer in his revolt.

But as there is a peculiar delicacy, from whom, or in what manner, this business must first arise, and as it seems most agreeable and consistent, that it should come from some intermediate body between the governed and the governors, that is between the Congress and the people, let a Continental Conference be held, in the following manner, and for the following purpose:

A committee of twenty-six members of Congress, viz., two for each colony. Two members for each house of assembly, or provincial convention; and five representatives of the people at large, to be chosen in the capital city or town of each province, for, and in behalf of the whole province, by as many qualified voters as shall think proper to attend from all parts of the province for that purpose; or, if more convenient, the representatives may be chosen in two or three of the most populous parts thereof. In this conference, thus assembled, will be united, the two grand principles of business, knowledge and power. The members of Congress, Assemblies, or Conventions, by having had experience in national concerns, will be able and useful counsellors, and the whole, being empowered by the people will have a truly legal authority.

The conferring members being met, let their business be to frame a Continental Charter, or Charter of the United Colonies; (answering to what is called the Magna Charta of England) fixing the number and manner of choosing members of Congress, members of Assembly, with their date of sitting, and drawing the line of business and jurisdiction between them: always remembering, that our strength is continental, not provincial: Securing freedom and property to all men, and above all things the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; with such other matter as is necessary for a charter to contain. Immediately after which, the said conference to dissolve, and the bodies which shall be chosen conformable to the said charter, to be the legislators and governors of this continent for the time being: Whose peace and happiness, may God preserve, Amen.

Should any body of men be hereafter delegated for this or some similar purpose, I offer them the following extracts from that wise observer on governments Dragonetti. “The science” says he, “of the politician consists in fixing the true point of happiness and freedom. Those men would deserve the gratitude of ages, who should discover a mode of government that contained the greatest sum of individual happiness, with the least national expense.”- Dragonetti on Virtue and Rewards.

But where says some is the king of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.

A government of our own is our natural right: And when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness of human affairs, he will become convinced, that it is in finitely wiser and safer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting event to time and chance. If we omit it now, some Massenello* may hereafter arise, who laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect together the desperate and the discontented, and by assuming to themselves the powers of government, may sweep away the liberties of the continent like a deluge. Should the government of America return again into the hands of Britain, the tottering situation of things, will be a temptation for some desperate adventurer to try his fortune; and in such a case, what relief can Britain give? Ere she could hear the news the fatal business might be done, and ourselves suffering like the wretched Britons under the oppression of the Conqueror. Ye that oppose independence now, ye know not what ye do; ye are opening a door to eternal tyranny, by keeping vacant the seat of government.

(*Thomas Anello, otherwise Massenello, a fisherman of Naples, who after spiriting up his countrymen in the public market place, against the oppression of the Spaniards, to whom the place was then subject, prompted them to revolt, and in the space of a day became king.)

There are thousands and tens of thousands; who would think it glorious to expel from the continent, that barbarous and hellish power, which hath stirred up the Indians and Negroes to destroy us; the cruelty hath a double guilt, it is dealing brutally by us, and treacherously by them. To talk of friendship with those in whom our reason forbids us to have faith, and our affections, (wounded through a thousand pores) instruct us to detest, is madness and folly. Every day wears out the little remains of kindred between us and them, and can there be any reason to hope, that as the relationship expires, the affection will increase, or that we shall agree better, when we have ten times more and greater concerns to quarrel over than ever?

Ye that tell us of harmony and reconciliation, can ye restore to us the time that is past? Can ye give to prostitution its former innocence? Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America. The last cord now is broken, the people of England are presenting addresses against us. There are injuries which nature cannot forgive; she would cease to be nature if she did. As well can the lover forgive the ravisher of his mistress, as the continent forgive the murders of Britain. The Almighty hath implanted in us these inextinguishable feelings for good and wise purposes. They are the guardians of his image in our hearts. They distinguish us from the herd of common animals. The social compact would dissolve, and justice be extirpated the earth, of have only a casual existence were we callous to the touches of affection. The robber and the murderer, would often escape unpunished, did not the injuries which our tempers sustain, provoke us into justice.

O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.

OF THE PRESENT ABILITY OF AMERICA, WITH SOME MISCELLANEOUS REFLECTIONS

I HAVE never met with a man, either in England or America, who hath not confessed his opinion, that a separation between the countries, would take place one time or other. And there is no instance in which we have shown less judgment, than in endeavoring to describe, what we call, the ripeness or fitness of the Continent for independence.

As all men allow the measure, and vary only in their opinion of the time, let us, in order to remove mistakes, take a general survey of things and endeavor if possible, to find out the very time. But we need not go far, the inquiry ceases at once, for the time hath found us. The general concurrence, the glorious union of all things prove the fact.

It is not in numbers but in unity, that our great strength lies; yet our present numbers are sufficient to repel the force of all the world. The Continent hath, at this time, the largest body of armed and disciplined men of any power under Heaven; and is just arrived at that pitch of strength, in which no single colony is able to support itself, and the whole, who united can accomplish the matter, and either more, or, less than this, might be fatal in its effects. Our land force is already sufficient, and as to naval affairs, we cannot be insensible, that Britain would never suffer an American man of war to be built while the continent remained in her hands. Wherefore we should be no forwarder an hundred years hence in that branch, than we are now; but the truth is, we should be less so, because the timber of the country is every day diminishing, and that which will remain at last, will be far off and difficult to procure.

Were the continent crowded with inhabitants, her sufferings under the present circumstances would be intolerable. The more sea port towns we had, the more should we have both to defend and to loose. Our present numbers are so happily proportioned to our wants, that no man need be idle. The diminution of trade affords an army, and the necessities of an army create a new trade. Debts we have none; and whatever we may contract on this account will serve as a glorious memento of our virtue. Can we but leave posterity with a settled form of government, an independent constitution of its own, the purchase at any price will be cheap. But to expend millions for the sake of getting a few we acts repealed, and routing the present ministry only, is unworthy the charge, and is using posterity with the utmost cruelty; because it is leaving them the great work to do, and a debt upon their backs, from which they derive no advantage. Such a thought is unworthy a man of honor, and is the true characteristic of a narrow heart and a peddling politician.

The debt we may contract doth not deserve our regard if the work be but accomplished. No nation ought to be without a debt. A national debt is a national bond; and when it bears no interest, is in no case a grievance. Britain is oppressed with a debt of upwards of one hundred and forty millions sterling, for which she pays upwards of four millions interest. And as a compensation for her debt, she has a large navy; America is without a debt, and without a navy; yet for the twentieth part of the English national debt, could have a navy as large again. The navy of England is not worth, at this time, more than three millions and a half sterling.

The first and second editions of this pamphlet were published without the following calculations, which are now given as a proof that the above estimation of the navy is a just one. (See Entick’s naval history, intro. page 56.)

The charge of building a ship of each rate, and furnishing her with masts, yards, sails and rigging, together with a proportion of eight months boatswain’s and carpenter’s sea-stores, as calculated by Mr. Burchett, Secretary to the navy, is as follows:

For a ship of 100 guns £35,553
90 £29,886
80 £23,638
70 £17,785
60 £14,197
50 £10,606
40 £7,558
30 £5,846
20 £3,710
And from hence it is easy to sum up the value, or cost rather, of the whole British navy, which in the year 1757, when it was as its greatest glory consisted of the following ships and guns:

Ships Guns Cost of one Cost of all
6 100 £35,533 £213,318
12 90 £29,886 £358,632
12 80 £23,638 £283,656
43 70 £17,785 £746,755
35 60 £14,197 £496,895
40 50 £10,606 £424,240
45 40 £7,758 £344,110
58 20 £3,710 £215,180
85 Sloops, bombs,
and fireships, one another £2,000 £170,000
Cost £3,266,786
Remains for guns £229,214
Total £3,500,000
No country on the globe is so happily situated, so internally capable of raising a fleet as America. Tar, timber, iron, and cordage are her natural produce. We need go abroad for nothing. Whereas the Dutch, who make large profits by hiring out their ships of war to the Spaniards and Portuguese, are obliged to import most of the materials they use. We ought to view the building a fleet as an article of commerce, it being the natural manufactory of this country. It is the best money we can lay out. A navy when finished is worth more than it cost. And is that nice point in national policy, in which commerce and protection are united. Let us build; if we want them not, we can sell; and by that means replace our paper currency with ready gold and silver.

In point of manning a fleet, people in general run into great errors; it is not necessary that one-fourth part should be sailors. The privateer Terrible, Captain Death, stood the hottest engagement of any ship last war, yet had not twenty sailors on board, though her complement of men was upwards of two hundred. A few able and social sailors will soon instruct a sufficient number of active landsmen in the common work of a ship. Wherefore, we never can be more capable to begin on maritime matters than now, while our timber is standing, our fisheries blocked up, and our sailors and shipwrights out of employ. Men of war of seventy and eighty guns were built forty years ago in New England, and why not the same now? Ship building is America’s greatest pride, and in which, she will in time excel the whole world. The great empires of the east are mostly inland, and consequently excluded from the possibility of rivalling her. Africa is in a state of barbarism; and no power in Europe, hath either such an extent or coast, or such an internal supply of materials. Where nature hath given the one, she has withheld the other; to America only hath she been liberal of both. The vast empire of Russia is almost shut out from the sea; wherefore, her boundless forests, her tar, iron, and cordage are only articles of commerce.

In point of safety, ought we to be without a fleet? We are not the little people now, which we were sixty years ago; at that time we might have trusted our property in the streets, or fields rather; and slept securely without locks or bolts to our doors or windows. The case now is altered, and our methods of defence ought to improve with our increase of property. A common pirate, twelve months ago, might have come up the Delaware, and laid the city of Philadelphia under instant contribution, for what sum he pleased; and the same might have happened to other places. Nay, any daring fellow, in a brig of fourteen or sixteen guns, might have robbed the whole Continent, and carried off half a million of money. These are circumstances which demand our attention, and point out the necessity of naval protection.

Some, perhaps, will say, that after we have made it up with Britain, she will protect us. Can we be so unwise as to mean, that she shall keep a navy in our harbors for that purpose? Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavored to subdue us, is of all others the most improper to defend us. Conquest may be effected under the pretence of friendship; and ourselves, after a long and brave resistance, be at last cheated into slavery. And if her ships are not to be admitted into our harbors, I would ask, how is she to protect us? A navy three or four thousand miles off can be of little use, and on sudden emergencies, none at all. Wherefore, if we must hereafter protect ourselves, why not do it for ourselves? Why do it for another.

The English list of ships of war is long and formidable, but not a tenth part of them are at any one time fit for service, numbers of them not in being; yet their names are pompously continued in the list, if only a plank be left of the ship: and not a fifth part, of such as are fit for service, can be spared on any one station at one time. The East, and West Indies, Mediterranean, Africa, and other parts over which Britain extends her claim, make large demands upon her navy. From a mixture of prejudice and inattention, we have contracted a false notion respecting the navy of England, and have talked as if we should have the whole of it to encounter at once, and for that reason, supposed that we must have one as large; which not being instantly practicable, have been made use of by a set of disguised tories to discourage our beginning thereon. Nothing can be farther from truth than this; for if America had only a twentieth part of the naval force of Britain, she would be by far an over match for her; because, as we neither have, nor claim any foreign dominion, our whole force would be employed on our own coast, where we should, in the long run, have two to one the advantage of those who had three or four thousand miles to sail over, before they could attack us, and the same distance to return in order to refit and recruit. And although Britain by her fleet, hath a check over our trade to Europe, we have as large a one over her trade to the West Indies, which, by laying in the neighborhood of the Continent, is entirely at its mercy.

Some method might be fallen on to keep up a naval force in time of peace, if we should not judge it necessary to support a constant navy. If premiums were to be given to merchants, to build and employ in their service, ships mounted with twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty guns, (the premiums to be in proportion to the loss of bulk to the merchants) fifty or sixty of those ships, with a few guard ships on constant duty, would keep up a sufficient navy, and that without burdening ourselves with the evil so loudly complained of in England, of suffering their fleet, in time of peace to lie rotting in the docks. To unite the sinews of commerce and defence is sound policy; for when our strength and our riches, play into each other’s hand, we need fear no external enemy.

In almost every article of defence we abound. Hemp flourishes even to rankness, so that we need not want cordage. Our iron is superior to that of other countries. Our small arms equal to any in the world. Cannon we can cast at pleasure. Saltpetre and gunpowder we are every day producing. Our knowledge is hourly improving. Resolution is our inherent character, and courage hath never yet forsaken us. Wherefore, what is it that we want? Why is it that we hesitate? From Britain we can expect nothing but ruin. If she is once admitted to the government of America again, this Continent will not be worth living in. Jealousies will be always arising; insurrections will be constantly happening; and who will go forth to quell them? Who will venture his life to reduce his own countrymen to a foreign obedience? The difference between Pennsylvania and Connecticut, respecting some unlocated lands, shows the insignificance of a British government, and fully proves, that nothing but Continental authority can regulate Continental matters.

Another reason why the present time is preferable to all others, is, that the fewer our numbers are, the more land there is yet unoccupied, which instead of being lavished by the king on his worthless dependents, may be hereafter applied, not only to the discharge of the present debt, but to the constant support of government. No nation under heaven hath such an advantage as this.

The infant state of the Colonies, as it is called, so far from being against, is an argument in favor of independence. We are sufficiently numerous, and were we more so, we might be less united. It is a matter worthy of observation, that the more a country is peopled, the smaller their armies are. In military numbers, the ancients far exceeded the moderns: and the reason is evident, for trade being the consequence of population, men become too much absorbed thereby to attend to anything else. Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence. And history sufficiently informs us, that the bravest achievements were always accomplished in the non-age of a nation. With the increase of commerce England hath lost its spirit. The city of London, notwithstanding its numbers, submits to continued insults with the patience of a coward. The more men have to lose, the less willing are they to venture. The rich are in general slaves to fear, and submit to courtly power with the trembling duplicity of a spaniel.

Youth is the seed-time of good habits, as well in nations as in individuals. It might be difficult, if not impossible, to form the Continent into one government half a century hence. The vast variety of interests, occasioned by an increase of trade and population, would create confusion. Colony would be against colony. Each being able might scorn each other’s assistance: and while the proud and foolish gloried in their little distinctions, the wise would lament that the union had not been formed before. Wherefore, the present time is the true time for establishing it. The intimacy which is contracted in infancy, and the friendship which is formed in misfortune, are, of all others, the most lasting and unalterable. Our present union is marked with both these characters: we are young, and we have been distressed; but our concord hath withstood our troubles, and fixes a memorable area for posterity to glory in.

The present time, likewise, is that peculiar time, which never happens to a nation but once, viz., the time of forming itself into a government. Most nations have let slip the opportunity, and by that means have been compelled to receive laws from their conquerors, instead of making laws for themselves. First, they had a king, and then a form of government; whereas, the articles or charter of government, should be formed first, and men delegated to execute them afterwards: but from the errors of other nations, let us learn wisdom, and lay hold of the present opportunity- to begin government at the right end.

When William the Conqueror subdued England he gave them law at the point of the sword; and until we consent that the seat of government in America, be legally and authoritatively occupied, we shall be in danger of having it filled by some fortunate ruffian, who may treat us in the same manner, and then, where will be our freedom? where our property?

As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of all government, to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which government hath to do therewith. Let a man throw aside that narrowness of soul, that selfishness of principle, which the niggards of all professions are so unwilling to part with, and he will be at once delivered of his fears on that head. Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society. For myself I fully and conscientiously believe, that it is the will of the Almighty, that there should be diversity of religious opinions among us: It affords a larger field for our Christian kindness. Were we all of one way of thinking, our religious dispositions would want matter for probation; and on this liberal principle, I look on the various denominations among us, to be like children of the same family, differing only, in what is called their Christian names.

Earlier in this work, I threw out a few thoughts on the propriety of a Continental Charter, (for I only presume to offer hints, not plans) and in this place, I take the liberty of rementioning the subject, by observing, that a charter is to be understood as a bond of solemn obligation, which the whole enters into, to support the right of every separate part, whether of religion, personal freedom, or property, A firm bargain and a right reckoning make long friends.

In a former page I likewise mentioned the necessity of a large and equal representation; and there is no political matter which more deserves our attention. A small number of electors, or a small number of representatives, are equally dangerous. But if the number of the representatives be not only small, but unequal, the danger is increased. As an instance of this, I mention the following; when the Associators petition was before the House of Assembly of Pennsylvania; twenty-eight members only were present, all the Bucks County members, being eight, voted against it, and had seven of the Chester members done the same, this whole province had been governed by two counties only, and this danger it is always exposed to. The unwarrantable stretch likewise, which that house made in their last sitting, to gain an undue authority over the delegates of that province, ought to warn the people at large, how they trust power out of their own hands. A set of instructions for the Delegates were put together, which in point of sense and business would have dishonored a school-boy, and after being approved by a few, a very few without doors, were carried into the house, and there passed in behalf of the whole colony; whereas, did the whole colony know, with what ill-will that House hath entered on some necessary public measures, they would not hesitate a moment to think them unworthy of such a trust.

Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things. When the calamities of America required a consultation, there was no method so ready, or at that time so proper, as to appoint persons from the several Houses of Assembly for that purpose and the wisdom with which they have proceeded hath preserved this continent from ruin. But as it is more than probable that we shall never be without a Congress, every well-wisher to good order, must own, that the mode for choosing members of that body, deserves consideration. And I put it as a question to those, who make a study of mankind, whether representation and election is not too great a power for one and the same body of men to possess? When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.

It is from our enemies that we often gain excellent maxims, and are frequently surprised into reason by their mistakes. Mr. Cornwall (one of the Lords of the Treasury) treated the petition of the New York Assembly with contempt, because that House, he said, consisted but of twenty-six members, which trifling number, he argued, could not with decency be put for the whole. We thank him for his involuntary honesty.*

*Those who would fully understand of what great consequence a large and equal representation is to a state, should read Burgh’s political Disquisitions.

To conclude: However strange it may appear to some, or however unwilling they may be to think so, matters not, but many strong and striking reasons may be given, to show, that nothing can settle our affairs so expeditiously as an open and determined declaration for independence. Some of which are:

First. It is the custom of nations, when any two are at war, for some other powers, not engaged in the quarrel, to step in as mediators, and bring about the preliminaries of a peace: but while America calls herself the subject of Great Britain, no power, however well disposed she may be, can offer her mediation. Wherefore, in our present state we may quarrel on for ever.

Secondly. It is unreasonable to suppose, that France or Spain will give us any kind of assistance, if we mean only to make use of that assistance for the purpose of repairing the breach, and strengthening the connection between Britain and America; because, those powers would be sufferers by the consequences.

Thirdly. While we profess ourselves the subjects of Britain, we must, in the eye of foreign nations, be considered as rebels. The precedent is somewhat dangerous to their peace, for men to be in arms under the name of subjects; we on the spot, can solve the paradox: but to unite resistance and subjection, requires an idea much too refined for common understanding.

Fourthly. Were a manifesto to be published, and despatched to foreign courts, setting forth the miseries we have endured, and the peaceable methods we have ineffectually used for redress; declaring, at the same time, that not being able, any longer to live happily or safely under the cruel disposition of the British court, we had been driven to the necessity of breaking off all connection with her; at the same time assuring all such courts of our peaceable disposition towards them, and of our desire of entering into trade with them. Such a memorial would produce more good effects to this Continent, than if a ship were freighted with petitions to Britain.

Under our present denomination of British subjects we can neither be received nor heard abroad: The custom of all courts is against us, and will be so, until, by an independence, we take rank with other nations.

These proceedings may at first appear strange and difficult; but, like all other steps which we have already passed over, will in a little time become familiar and agreeable; and, until an independence is declared, the continent will feel itself like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its necessity.

APPENDIX

SINCE the publication of the first edition of this pamphlet, or rather, on the same day on which it came out, the king’s speech made its appearance in this city. Had the spirit of prophecy directed the birth of this production, it could not have brought it forth, at a more seasonable juncture, or a more necessary time. The bloody-mindedness of the one, show the necessity of pursuing the doctrine of the other. Men read by way of revenge. And the speech instead of terrifying, prepared a way for the manly principles of independence.

Ceremony, and even, silence, from whatever motive they may arise, have a hurtful tendency, when they give the least degree of countenance to base and wicked performances; wherefore, if this maxim be admitted, it naturally follows, that the king’s speech, as being a piece of finished villainy, deserved, and still deserves, a general execration both by the congress and the people. Yet as the domestic tranquility of a nation, depends greatly on the chastity of what may properly be called national manners, it is often better, to pass some things over in silent disdain, than to make use of such new methods of dislike, as might introduce the least innovation, on that guardian of our peace and safety. And perhaps, it is chiefly owing to this prudent delicacy, that the king’s speech, hath not before now, suffered a public execution. The speech if it may be called one, is nothing better than a wilful audacious libel against the truth, the common good, and the existence of mankind; and is a formal and pompous method of offering up human sacrifices to the pride of tyrants. But this general massacre of mankind, is one of the privileges, and the certain consequences of kings; for as nature knows them not, they know not her, and although they are beings of our own creating, they know not us, and are become the gods of their creators. The speech hath one good quality, which is, that it is not calculated to deceive, neither can we, even if we would, be deceived by it. Brutality and tyranny appear on the face of it. It leaves us at no loss: And every line convinces, even in the moment of reading, that He, who hunts the woods for prey, the naked and untutored Indian, is less a savage than the king of Britain.

Sir John Dalrymple, the putative father of a whining jesuitical piece, fallaciously called, The address of the people of ENGLAND to the inhabitants of America, hath, perhaps from a vain supposition, that the people here were to be frightened at the pomp and description of a king, given, (though very unwisely on his part) the real character of the present one: “But,” says this writer, “if you are inclined to pay compliments to an administration, which we do not complain of,” (meaning the Marquis of Rockingham’s at the repeal of the Stamp Act) “it is very unfair in you to withhold them from that prince, by whose NOD ALONE they were permitted to do anything.” This is toryism with a witness! Here is idolatry even without a mask: And he who can calmly hear, and digest such doctrine, hath forfeited his claim to rationality an apostate from the order of manhood; and ought to be considered- as one, who hath, not only given up the proper dignity of a man, but sunk himself beneath the rank of animals, and contemptibly crawl through the world like a worm.

However, it matters very little now, what the king of England either says or does; he hath wickedly broken through every moral and human obligation, trampled nature and conscience beneath his feet; and by a steady and constitutional spirit of insolence and cruelty, procured for himself an universal hatred. It is now the interest of America to provide for herself. She hath already a large and young family, whom it is more her duty to take care of, than to be granting away her property, to support a power who is become a reproach to the names of men and Christians. Ye, whose office it is to watch over the morals of a nation, of whatsoever sect or denomination ye are of, as well as ye, who are more immediately the guardians of the public liberty, if ye wish to preserve your native country uncontaminated by European corruption, ye must in secret wish a separation But leaving the moral part to private reflection, I shall chiefly confine my farther remarks to the following heads:

First. That it is the interest of America to be separated from Britain. Secondly. Which is the easiest and most practicable plan, reconciliation or independence? with some occasional remarks.

In support of the first, I could, if I judged it proper, produce the opinion of some of the ablest and most experienced men on this continent; and whose sentiments, on that head, are not yet publicly known. It is in reality a self-evident position: For no nation in a state of foreign dependance, limited in its commerce, and cramped and fettered in its legislative powers, can ever arrive at any material eminence. America doth not yet know what opulence is; and although the progress which she hath made stands unparalleled in the history of other nations, it is but childhood, compared with what she would be capable of arriving at, had she, as she ought to have, the legislative powers in her own hands. England is, at this time, proudly coveting what would do her no good, were she to accomplish it; and the Continent hesitating on a matter, which will be her final ruin if neglected. It is the commerce and not the conquest of America, by which England is to be benefited, and that would in a great measure continue, were the countries as independent of each other as France and Spain; because in many articles, neither can go to a better market. But it is the independence of this country on Britain or any other which is now the main and only object worthy of contention, and which, like all other truths discovered by necessity, will appear clearer and stronger every day.

First. Because it will come to that one time or other. Secondly. Because the longer it is delayed the harder it will be to accomplish.

I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking the spacious errors of those who speak without reflecting. And among the many which I have heard, the following seems the most general, viz., that had this rupture happened forty or fifty years hence, instead of now, the Continent would have been more able to have shaken off the dependance. To which I reply, that our military ability at this time, arises from the experience gained in the last war, and which in forty or fifty years time, would have been totally extinct. The Continent, would not, by that time, have had a General, or even a military officer left; and we, or those who may succeed us, would have been as ignorant of martial matters as the ancient Indians: And this single position, closely attended to, will unanswerably prove, that the present time is preferable to all others: The argument turns thus- at the conclusion of the last war, we had experience, but wanted numbers; and forty or fifty years hence, we should have numbers, without experience; wherefore, the proper point of time, must be some particular point between the two extremes, in which a sufficiency of the former remains, and a proper increase of the latter is obtained: And that point of time is the present time.

The reader will pardon this digression, as it does not properly come under the head I first set out with, and to which I again return by the following position, viz.:

Should affairs be patched up with Britain, and she to remain the governing and sovereign power of America, (which as matters are now circumstanced, is giving up the point entirely) we shall deprive ourselves of the very means of sinking the debt we have or may contract. The value of the back lands which some of the provinces are clandestinely deprived of, by the unjust extension of the limits of Canada, valued only at five pounds sterling per hundred acres, amount to upwards of twenty-five millions, Pennsylvania currency; and the quit-rents at one penny sterling per acre, to two millions yearly.

It is by the sale of those lands that the debt may be sunk, without burden to any, and the quit-rent reserved thereon, will always lessen, and in time, will wholly support the yearly expense of government. It matters not how long the debt is in paying, so that the lands when sold be applied to the discharge of it, and for the execution of which, the Congress for the time being, will be the continental trustees.

I proceed now to the second head, viz. Which is the earliest and most practicable plan, reconciliation or independence? with some occasional remarks.

He who takes nature for his guide is not easily beaten out of his argument, and on that ground, I answer generally- That INDEPENDENCE being a SINGLE SIMPLE LINE, contained within ourselves; and reconciliation, a matter exceedingly perplexed and complicated, and in which, a treacherous capricious court is to interfere, gives the answer without a doubt.

The present state of America is truly alarming to every man who is capable of reflection. Without law, without government, without any other mode of power than what is founded on, and granted by courtesy. Held together by an unexampled concurrence of sentiment, which is nevertheless subject to change, and which every secret enemy is endeavoring to dissolve. Our present condition, is, legislation without law; wisdom without a plan; a constitution without a name; and, what is strangely astonishing, perfect Independence contending for dependance. The instance is without a precedent; the case never existed before; and who can tell what may be the event? The property of no man is secure in the present unbraced system of things. The mind of the multitude is left at random, and feeling no fixed object before them, they pursue such as fancy or opinion starts. Nothing is criminal; there is no such thing as treason; wherefore, every one thinks himself at liberty to act as he pleases. The tories dared not to have assembled offensively, had they known that their lives, by that act were forfeited to the laws of the state. A line of distinction should be drawn, between English soldiers taken in battle, and inhabitants of America taken in arms. The first are prisoners, but the latter traitors. The one forfeits his liberty the other his head.

Notwithstanding our wisdom, there is a visible feebleness in some of our proceedings which gives encouragement to dissensions. The Continental Belt is too loosely buckled. And if something is not done in time, it will be too late to do any thing, and we shall fall into a state, in which, neither reconciliation nor independence will be practicable. The king and his worthless adherents are got at their old game of dividing the continent, and there are not wanting among us printers, who will be busy spreading specious falsehoods. The artful and hypocritical letter which appeared a few months ago in two of the New York papers, and likewise in two others, is an evidence that there are men who want either judgment or honesty. It is easy getting into holes and corners and talking of reconciliation: But do such men seriously consider, how difficult the task is, and how dangerous it may prove, should the Continent divide thereon. Do they take within their view, all the various orders of men whose situation and circumstances, as well as their own, are to be considered therein. Do they put themselves in the place of the sufferer whose all is already gone, and of the soldier, who hath quitted all for the defence of his country. If their ill judged moderation be suited to their own private situations only, regardless of others, the event will convince them, that “they are reckoning without their Host.”

Put us, says some, on the footing we were in the year 1763: To which I answer, the request is not now in the power of Britain to comply with, neither will she propose it; but if it were, and even should be granted, I ask, as a reasonable question, By what means is such a corrupt and faithless court to be kept to its engagements? Another parliament, nay, even the present, may hereafter repeal the obligation, on the pretence of its being violently obtained, or unwisely granted; and in that case, Where is our redress? No going to law with nations; cannon are the barristers of crowns; and the sword, not of justice, but of war, decides the suit. To be on the footing of 1763, it is not sufficient, that the laws only be put on the same state, but, that our circumstances, likewise, be put on the same state; our burnt and destroyed towns repaired or built up, our private losses made good, our public debts (contracted for defence) discharged; otherwise, we shall be millions worse than we were at that enviable period. Such a request had it been complied with a year ago, would have won the heart and soul of the continent- but now it is too late, “the Rubicon is passed.”

Besides the taking up arms, merely to enforce the repeal of a pecuniary law, seems as unwarrantable by the divine law, and as repugnant to human feelings, as the taking up arms to enforce obedience thereto. The object, on either side, doth not justify the ways and means; for the lives of men are too valuable to be cast away on such trifles. It is the violence which is done and threatened to our persons; the destruction of our property by an armed force; the invasion of our country by fire and sword, which conscientiously qualifies the use of arms: And the instant, in which such a mode of defence became necessary, all subjection to Britain ought to have ceased; and the independency of America should have been considered, as dating its area from, and published by, the first musket that was fired against her. This line is a line of consistency; neither drawn by caprice, nor extended by ambition; but produced by a chain of events, of which the colonies were not the authors.

I shall conclude these remarks, with the following timely and well intended hints, We ought to reflect, that there are three different ways by which an independency may hereafter be effected; and that one of those three, will one day or other, be the fate of America, viz. By the legal voice of the people in congress; by a military power; or by a mob: It may not always happen that our soldiers are citizens, and the multitude a body of reasonable men; virtue, as I have already remarked, is not hereditary, neither is it perpetual. Should an independency be brought about by the first of those means, we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a race of men perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the event of a few months. The reflection is awful- and in this point of view, how trifling, how ridiculous, do the little, paltry cavillings, of a few weak or interested men appear, when weighed against the business of a world.

Should we neglect the present favorable and inviting period, and an independence be hereafter effected by any other means, we must charge the consequence to ourselves, or to those rather, whose narrow and prejudiced souls, are habitually opposing the measure, without either inquiring or reflecting. There are reasons to be given in support of Independence, which men should rather privately think of, than be publicly told of. We ought not now to be debating whether we shall be independent or not, but, anxious to accomplish it on a firm, secure, and honorable basis, and uneasy rather that it is not yet began upon. Every day convinces us of its necessity. Even the tories (if such beings yet remain among us) should, of all men, be the most solicitous to promote it; for, as the appointment of committees at first, protected them from popular rage, so, a wise and well established form of government, will be the only certain means of continuing it securely to them. Wherefore, if they have not virtue enough to be Whigs, they ought to have prudence enough to wish for independence.

In short, independence is the only bond that can tie and keep us together. We shall then see our object, and our ears will be legally shut against the schemes of an intriguing, as well as a cruel enemy. We shall then too, be on a proper footing, to treat with Britain; for there is reason to conclude, that the pride of that court, will be less hurt by treating with the American states for terms of peace, than with those, whom she denominates, “rebellious subjects,” for terms of accommodation. It is our delaying it that encourages her to hope for conquest, and our backwardness tends only to prolong the war. As we have, without any good effect therefrom, withheld our trade to obtain a redress of our grievances, let us now try the alternative, by independently redressing them ourselves, and then offering to open the trade. The mercantile and reasonable part of England will be still with us; because, peace with trade, is preferable to war without it. And if this offer be not accepted, other courts may be applied to.

On these grounds I rest the matter. And as no offer hath yet been made to refute the doctrine contained in the former editions of this pamphlet, it is a negative proof, that either the doctrine cannot be refuted, or, that the party in favor of it are too numerous to be opposed. Wherefore, instead of gazing at each other with suspicious or doubtful curiosity, let each of us, hold out to his neighbor the hearty hand of friendship, and unite in drawing a line, which, like an act of oblivion, shall bury in forgetfulness every former dissention. Let the names of Whig and Tory be extinct; and let none other be heard among us, than those of a good citizen, an open and resolute friend, and a virtuous supporter of the RIGHTS of MANKIND and of the FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA.

EPISTLE TO QUAKERS

To the Representatives of the Religious Society of the People called Quakers, or to so many of them as were concerned in publishing a late piece, entitled “THE ANCIENT TESTIMONY and PRINCIPLES of the people called QUAKERS renewed with respect to the KING and GOVERNMENT, and Touching the COMMOTIONS now prevailing in these and other parts of AMERICA, addressed to the PEOPLE IN GENERAL.”

THE writer of this is one of those few, who never dishonors religion either by ridiculing, or cavilling at any denomination whatsoever. To God, and not to man, are all men accountable on the score of religion. Wherefore, this epistle is not so properly addressed to you as a religious, but as a political body, dabbling in matters, which the professed quietude of your Principles instruct you not to meddle with.

As you have, without a proper authority for so doing, put yourselves in the place of the whole body of the Quakers, so, the writer of this, in order to be on an equal rank with yourselves, is under the necessity, of putting himself in the place of all those who approve the very writings and principles, against which your testimony is directed: And he hath chosen their singular situation, in order that you might discover in him, that presumption of character which you cannot see in yourselves. For neither he nor you have any claim or title to Political Representation.

When men have departed from the right way, it is no wonder that they stumble and fall. And it is evident from the manner in which ye have managed your testimony, that politics, (as a religious body of men) is not your proper walk; for however well adapted it might appear to you, it is, nevertheless, a jumble of good and bad put unwisely together, and the conclusion drawn therefrom, both unnatural and unjust.

The two first pages, (and the whole doth not make four) we give you credit for, and expect the same civility from you, because the love and desire of peace is not confined to Quakerism, it is the natural, as well as the religious wish of all denominations of men. And on this ground, as men laboring to establish an Independent Constitution of our own, do we exceed all others in our hope, end, and aim. Our plan is peace for ever. We are tired of contention with Britain, and can see no real end to it but in a final separation. We act consistently, because for the sake of introducing an endless and uninterrupted peace, do we bear the evils and burdens of the present day. We are endeavoring, and will steadily continue to endeavor, to separate and dissolve a connection which hath already filled our land with blood; and which, while the name of it remains, will be the fatal cause of future mischiefs to both countries.

We fight neither for revenge nor conquest; neither from pride nor passion; we are not insulting the world with our fleets and armies, nor ravaging the globe for plunder. Beneath the shade of our own vines are we attacked; in our own houses, and on our own lands, is the violence committed against us. We view our enemies in the characters of highwaymen and housebreakers, and having no defence for ourselves in the civil law; are obliged to punish them by the military one, and apply the sword, in the very case, where you have before now, applied the halter. Perhaps we feel for the ruined and insulted sufferers in all and every part of the continent, and with a degree of tenderness which hath not yet made its way into some of your bosoms. But be ye sure that ye mistake not the cause and ground of your Testimony. Call not coldness of soul, religion; nor put the bigot in the place of the Christian.

O ye partial ministers of your own acknowledged principles! If the bearing arms be sinful, the first going to war must be more so, by all the difference between wilful attack and unavoidable defence.

Wherefore, if ye really preach from conscience, and mean not to make a political hobby-horse of your religion, convince the world thereof, by proclaiming your doctrine to our enemies, for they likewise bear ARMS. Give us proof of your sincerity by publishing it at St. James’s, to the commanders in chief at Boston, to the admirals and captains who are practically ravaging our coasts, and to all the murdering miscreants who are acting in authority under HIM whom ye profess to serve. Had ye the honest soul of Barclay* ye would preach repentance to your king; Ye would tell the royal tyrant of his sins, and warn him of eternal ruin. Ye would not spend your partial invectives against the injured and the insulted only, but like faithful ministers, would cry aloud and spare none. Say not that ye are persecuted, neither endeavor to make us the authors of that reproach, which, ye are bringing upon yourselves; for we testify unto all men, that we do not complain against you because ye are Quakers, but because ye pretend to be and are NOT Quakers.

*”Thou hast tasted of prosperity and adversity; thou knowest what it is to be banished thy native country, to be overruled as well as to rule, and set upon the throne; and being oppressed thou hast reason to know now hateful the oppressor is both to God and man. If after all these warnings and advertisements, thou dost not turn unto the Lord with all thy heart, but forget him who remembered thee in thy distress, and give up thyself to follow lust and vanity, surely great will be thy condemnation. Against which snare, as well as the temptation of those who may or do feed thee, and prompt thee to evil, the most excellent and prevalent remedy will be, to apply thyself to that light of Christ which shineth in thy conscience and which neither can, nor will flatter thee, nor suffer thee to be at ease in thy sins.”- Barclay’s Address to Charles II.

Alas! it seems by the particular tendency of some part of your Testimony, and other parts of your conduct, as if all sin was reduced to, and comprehended in the act of bearing arms, and that by the people only. Ye appear to us, to have mistaken party for conscience, because the general tenor of your actions wants uniformity: And it is exceedingly difficult to us to give credit to many of your pretended scruples; because we see them made by the same men, who, in the very instant that they are exclaiming against the mammon of this world, are nevertheless, hunting after it with a step as steady as Time, and an appetite as keen as Death.

The quotation which ye have made from Proverbs, in the third page of your testimony, that, “when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him;” is very unwisely chosen on your part; because it amounts to a proof, that the king’s ways (whom ye are so desirous of supporting) do not please the Lord, otherwise, his reign would be in peace.

I now proceed to the latter part of your testimony, and that, for which all the foregoing seems only an introduction, viz:

“It hath ever been our judgment and principle, since we were called to profess the light of Christ Jesus, manifested in our consciences unto this day, that the setting up and putting down kings and governments, is God’s peculiar prerogative; for causes best known to himself: And that it is not our business to have any hand or contrivance therein; nor to be busy-bodies above our station, much less to plot and contrive the ruin, or overturn any of them, but to pray for the king, and safety of our nation, and good of all men: that we may live a peaceable and quiet life, in all goodliness and honesty; under the government which God is pleased to set over us.” If these are really your principles why do ye not abide by them? Why do ye not leave that, which ye call God’s work, to be managed by himself? These very principles instruct you to wait with patience and humility, for the event of all public measures, and to receive that event as the divine will towards you. Wherefore, what occasion is there for your political Testimony if you fully believe what it contains? And the very publishing it proves, that either, ye do not believe what ye profess, or have not virtue enough to practice what ye believe.

The principles of Quakerism have a direct tendency to make a man the quiet and inoffensive subject of any, and every government which is set over him. And if the setting up and putting down of kings and governments is God’s peculiar prerogative, he most certainly will not be robbed thereof by us; wherefore, the principle itself leads you to approve of every thing, which ever happened, or may happen to kings as being his work. Oliver Cromwell thanks you. Charles, then, died not by the hands of man; and should the present proud imitator of him, come to the same untimely end, the writers and publishers of the Testimony, are bound by the doctrine it contains, to applaud the fact. Kings are not taken away by miracles, neither are changes in governments brought about by any other means than such as are common and human; and such as we are now using. Even the dispersing of the Jews, though foretold by our Savior, was effected by arms. Wherefore, as ye refuse to be the means on one side, ye ought not to be meddlers on the other; but to wait the issue in silence; and unless you can produce divine authority, to prove, that the Almighty who hath created and placed this new world, at the greatest distance it could possibly stand, east and west, from every part of the old, doth, nevertheless, disapprove of its being independent of the corrupt and abandoned court of Britain; unless I say, ye can show this, how can ye, on the ground of your principles, justify the exciting and stirring up of the people “firmly to unite in the abhorrence of all such writings, and measures, as evidence a desire and design to break off the happy connection we have hitherto enjoyed, with the kingdom of Great Britain, and our just and necessary subordination to the king, and those who are lawfully placed in authority under him.” What a slap in the face is here! the men, who, in the very paragraph before, have quietly and passively resigned up the ordering, altering, and disposal of kings and governments, into the hands of God, are now recalling their principles, and putting in for a share of the business. Is it possible, that the conclusion, which is here justly quoted, can any ways follow from the doctrine laid down? The inconsistency is too glaring not to be seen; the absurdity too great not to be laughed at; and such as could only have been made by those, whose understandings were darkened by the narrow and crabby spirit of a despairing political party; for ye are not to be considered as the whole body of the Quakers but only as a factional and fractional part thereof.

Here ends the examination of your testimony; (which I call upon no man to abhor, as ye have done, but only to read and judge of fairly;) to which I subjoin the following remark; “That the setting up and putting down of kings,” most certainly mean, the making him a king, who is yet not so, and the making him no king who is already one. And pray what hath this to do in the present case? We neither mean to set up nor to put down, neither to make nor to unmake, but to have nothing to do with them. Wherefore your testimony in whatever light it is viewed serves only to dishonor your judgment, and for many other reasons had better have been let alone than published.

First. Because it tends to the decrease and reproach of religion whatever, and is of the utmost danger to society, to make it a party in political disputes. Secondly. Because it exhibits a body of men, numbers of whom disavow the publishing political testimonies, as being concerned therein and approvers thereof. Thirdly. Because it hath a tendency to undo that continental harmony and friendship which yourselves by your late liberal and charitable donations hath lent a hand to establish; and the preservation of which, is of the utmost consequence to us all.

And here, without anger or resentment I bid you farewell. Sincerely wishing, that as men and Christians, ye may always fully and uninterruptedly enjoy every civil and religious right; and be, in your turn, the means of securing it to others; but that the example which ye have unwisely set, of mingling religion with politics, may be disavowed and reprobated by every inhabitant of America.

-THE END-

Source: Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, printed by W. and T. Bradford, Philadelphia, 1791.

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http://forums.devshed.com/ PR 4
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/ PR7
http://forums.dzone.com/ PR 5
http://forums.ilounge.com/ PR 3
http://forums.macosxhints.com/ PR 6
http://forums.myspace.com/ PR 7
http://forums.mysql.com/ PR 7
http://forums.oracle.com/forums PR 6
http://forums.oreilly.com/ PR 6
http://forums.photobucket.com/ PR 5
http://forums.practicallynetworked.com/ PR 3
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/ PR 6
http://forums.seo.com/ PR 4
http://forums.seo.com/ PR4
http://forums.seochat.com/ PR6
http://forums.seochat.com/ PR6
http://forums.seroundtable.com/ pr 6
http://forums.site-reference.com/ PR4
http://forums.slickdeals.net/ pr 5
http://forums.sun.com PR 6
http://forums.techarena.in/ PR 5
http://forums.techguy.org/ PR 5
http://forums.ukwebmasterworld.com/ PR 3
http://forums.windowsforum.org/ PR 4
http://forums.xandros.com/ PR 5
http://freehostforum.com/ PR 3
http://frogengine.com/forum/ pr 4
http://geekvillage.com/forums/ PR 4
http://getpaidforum.com/forums/index.php pr 4
http://googlecommunity.com/ pr 6
http://googlecommunity.com/forum/ PR 5
http://groups.google.com/group/feedburner PR 7
http://highrankings.com/forum/ PR 5
http://hothardware.com/cs/forums/ PR 4
http://htmlforums.com/ PR 5

http://ibm.com/developerworks/forums

http://irishwebmasterforum.com/ PR 3
http://istoritve.com/ pr 5
http://linuxquestions.org/questions PR 6
http://marketingchat.org/forum/index.php pr 4
http://microsoft.com/communities/forums PR 4
http://mkpitstop.co.uk/forum pr 4
http://mynextcollege.com pr 4
http://namepros.com pr 5
http://notebookforums.com/ PR 3
http://novatechforums.com/ PR 3
http://opensourcephoto.net/forum/ PR 4
http://opentravelinfo.com/ pr 5
http://ozzu.com/ PR 5
http://phpbb.com/community/ PR 4
http://promojunkie.com/forum/ PR 3
http://rss-forum.de/ PR 6
http://searchen.com pr 5
http://searchengineforums.com/ PR 6
http://security-forums.com/ PR 6
http://seomeeting.com pr4
http://siteownersforums.com/ PR 4
http://sitepoint.com/forums/ PR 6
http://sitepoint.com/forums/ PR7
http://smallbusinessforums.org PR 5
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/For…-US/categories PR 6
http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/ PR 6
http://stackoverflow.com/ PR 7
http://startups.co.uk/ pr 6
http://submitexpress.com/bbs/ pr 6
http://talkfreelance.com/ PR 3
http://talk-mania.com/ PR 3
http://tech.lds.org/forum/ PR 4
http://techforums.net/ PR 2
http://tech-forums.net/pc/ PR 3
http://techmindz.com/ PR 2
http://techsupportforum.com/ PR 5
http://techtalkz.com/ PR 4
http://theadminzone.com/forums/ PR 5
http://toronto-forums.com/ PR 3
http://triphp.com pr 4
http://unix.com/ PR 5
http://v7n.com/forums/ PR 4
http://wahm.com/forum/default.asp pr 6
http://wbtalk.com/ PR 1
http://webdesignforums.net/ PR 4
http://webdevforums.com/ PR 2
http://webdigity.com/ PR 4
http://webhostingchat.com/forum PR 3
http://webhostingtalk.com/ PR 7
http://webmasterforums.net/ PR 3
http://webmaster-forums.net/ PR 4
http://webmasterize.com PR 4
http://webmasterlingo.com/ PR 3
http://webmastershelp.com/ PR 4
http://Webmaster-Talk.com pr 6
http://webmasterworld.com/ PR 6
http://webopedia.com/quick_ref/forums.asp PR 3
http://webproworld.com/index.php PR 5
http://websitebabble.com/ PR 4
http://websitebabble.com/ PR4
http://webworkshop.net/seoforum/ PR 2
http://webxpertz.net/forums/ PR 5
http://wickedfire.com/ PR 4
http://wickedfire.com/ PR4
http://wordpress.org/support/ PR 8
http://zymic.com/forum/ PR 6

The more you post the links you will create. Any and all link creation can help you the search engine rankings. It works best if you can consistently post.

Cheers

ZV3.net

Keith Cash

Page rank can be important to how Google’s search engine will look at your blog or website.

Anyway, How is your page rank???? and does it matter to you?

I have had some good luck in the Search engine world by creating a site and in 8 days it goes to front page Google of its niche keywords and #4 on the List. Sweet. Then there are projects that I have been going on for months, sorry to say this project is not showing up in any of the three big search engines. This project, the keywords are very high competitive. On this one I will just have to keep moving forward.  In the world of SEO you need to keep doing something. Wish me luck on this one.

Cheers

ZV3.net

Ramblings of an internet entrepreneur. Delivered with knowledge, personality, humor and passion

Cheers