N20568:5068
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of martyrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of marytrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].
New-York: printed by William Durell, 1794
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
I Say to my wife, and to my children; The Lord gave you unto me, and the Lord hath taken me from you, and you from me: blessed be the name of the Lord. I believe they are blessed who die in the Lord. God careth for sparrows, and for the hairs of our heads. I have ever found him more faithful and favourable, than is any father or husband. Trust ye therefore in him by the means of our dear Saviour Christ's merits: believe, love, fear, and obey him: pray to him, for he hath promised to help. Count me not dead, for I shall certainly live, and never die. I go before, and you follow after, to our long home. I go to the rest of my children, Susan, George, Ellen, Robert, and Zechariah: I have bequeathed you to the only Omnipotent.
I Say to my wife, and to my children; The Lord gave you unto me, and the Lord hath taken me from you, and you from me: blessed be the name of the Lord. I believe they are blessed who die in the Lord. God careth for sparrows, and for the hairs of our heads. I have ever found him more faithful and favourable, than is any father or husband. Trust ye therefore in him by the means of our dear Saviour Christ's merits: believe, love, fear, and obey him: pray to him, for he hath promised to help. Count me not dead, for I shall certainly live, and never die. I go before, and you follow after, to our long home. I go to the rest of my children, Susan, George, Ellen, Robert, and Zachary: I have bequeathed you to the only Omnipotent.
I say to my dear friends of Hadley, and to all others who have heard me preach, that I depart hence with a quiet conscience, as touching my doctrine, for which I pray you thank God with me. For I have, after my little talent, declared to others those lessons that I gathered out of God's book, the blessed Bible. Therefore if I, or an angel from heaven should preach to you any other gospel than that ye have received, God's great curse be upon that preacher.
BEWARE for God's sake that ye deny not God, neither decline from the word of faith, lest God decline from you, and so ye do everlastingly perish. For God's sake beware of popery, for though it appear to have in it unity, yet the same is vanity and antichristianity, and not in Christ's faith and verity.
BEWARE of the sin against the Holy Ghost, now after such a light opened so plainly and so simply, truly, thoroughly, and generally to all England.
THE Lord grant all men his good and holy Spirit, increase of his wisdom, contemning the wicked world, hearty desire to be with God and the heavenly company, through Jesus Christ, our only mediator, advocate, righteousness, life, sanctification, and hope, Amen, Amen. Pray, pray.
ROWLAND TAYLOR departing hence in sure hope, without all doubting of eternal salvation, I thank God my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ my certain Saviour, Amen.
February 5, 1555.
"THE Lord is my light and my salvation: whom then shall I fear?" Psalm xxvii.1.
"GOD is he that justifieth: who is he that can condemn?" Rom. viii.33, 34.
"IN thee, O Lord, have I trusted, let me never be confounded." Psal. xxxi.1.
ON the morning after Dr. Taylor had supped with his wife in the Compter, which was the fifth day of February, the sheriff of London with his officers came by two o'clock, and brought forth Dr. Taylor, and without any light led him to the Woolpack, an inn without Aldgate. Dr. Taylor's wife, suspecting that her husband would that night be carried away, watched all night in St. Botolph's church-porch without Aldgate, having with her two children, the one named Elizabeth, of thirteen years of age, (who being left without father or mother, Dr. Taylor had charitably brought up from three years old) the other named Mary, Dr. Taylor's own daughter.
WHEN the sheriff and his company came against St. Botolph's church, Elizabeth cried, saying, O my dear father! mother, mother, here is my father led away. Then his wife said, Rowland, Rowland, where art thou? For it was a very dark morning, that the one could not see the other. Dr. Taylor answered, Dear wife, I am here, and stopped. The sheriff's men would have led him forth; but the sheriff said, Stay a little, masters, I pray you, and let him speak to his wife, and so they staid.
THEN she came to him, and he took his daughter Mary-in his arms; and he, his wife, and Elizabeth, kneeled down and said the Lord's prayer. At which sight the sheriff wept much, and so did several others of the company. After they had prayed, he rose up and kissed his wife, and shook her by the hand, and said, Farewell, my dear wife, be of good comfort, for I am quiet in my conscience. God shall stir up a father for my children. And then he kissed his daughter Mary, and said, God bless thee, and make thee his servant: and kissing Elizabeth, he said, God bless thee. I pray you all stand strong and steadfast unto Christ and his word, and beware of idolatry. Then said his wife, God be with thee, dear Rowland, I will with God's grace meet thee at Hadley.
THEN she came to him, and he took his daughter Mary-in his arms; and he, his wife, and Elizabeth, kneeled down and said the Lord's prayer. At which sight the sheriff wept much, and so did several others of the company. After they had prayed, he rose up and kissed his wife, and shook her by the hand, and said, Farewel, my dear wife, be of good comfort, for I am quiet in my conscience. God shall stir up a father for my children. And then he kissed his daughter Mary, and said, God bless thee, and make thee his servant: and kissing Elizabeth, he said, God bless thee. I pray you all stand strong and stedfast unto Christ and his word, and beware of idolatry. Then said his wife, God be with thee, dear Rowland, I will with God's grace meet thee at Hadley.
AND so he was led forth to the Woolpack, and his wife followed him. As soon as they came to the Woolpack, he was put into a chamber, wherein he was kept with four yeomen of the guard, and the sheriff's men. Dr. Taylor, as soon as he was come into the chamber, fell down on his knees, and gave himself wholly to prayer. The sheriff then seeing Dr. Taylor's wife there, would in no case grant her to speak any more with her husband, but gently desired her to go to his house and take it as her own, and promised her she should lack nothing, and sent two officers to conduct her hither. Notwithstanding, she desired to go to her mother's, whither the officers led her, and charged her mother to keep her there till they came again.
