A DIALOGUE, BETWEEN George Keith, AND AN Eminent Quaker, ●elating to his coming over to the Church of England.  
With some modest Reflections on Mr. Keith's Two first Sermons, Preached at St. George's Buttolph's Church on Sunday May the 12th. 1700.  
LONDON, Printed in the Year, 1700.   

A DIALOGUE, BETWEEN George Keith, and an Eminent Quaker, etc.  GEorge Keith. 
Well Friend; what does my Quandum Brethren say of me since I left their Society.  Quaker. 
Say of thee, marry, no more than what 〈◊〉 and most good People think of thee.  G. K. 
Prithee what's that?  Q. 
Why, to be plain with thee, thou are a me●●● Weathercock and a Friend to nothing, but the Mammon o● Unrighteousness; and having left the Truth and the Light for the Wages of Sin; therefore consequently thou ar● in the Gaul of Bitterness and in the Bond of Iniquity.  G. K. 
Nay, this is no more than what I expected from a Quaker, but Spleen and ill Nature, for I have experinced to my cost, that nothing but Nonsense and Contradiction will be Relished among you: It's well known I left you for no other cause, but for your Erroneous and Vile Principals, in appearing to the World to be Peaceable Humble, Hon●●●, True, and Sincere, when in Reality, your Society is made up of little else, but Envy secret Malice, Bitterness, Pride, Deceit, and Fraud. Though covered over with the notion of Sainctty, and this is the real Fundamentals of your Hocus Pocus, or Art of Ledgerdmain, and is at this Day very finely Acted and Humoured among you.  Q. 
Well George I am not inclined to Quarrel with thee neither am I prepared to enter into a Dispute with thee at this time, by reason Satan has not only puffed thee up, but furnished thee with railing accusation against us: But leaving the Lord to rebuke thee, I shall only ask thee some Questions, and so proceed moderately in serious Discourse.  G. K. 
You may ask me what Questions you please (provided they be not Impertinent ones) I will endeavour to Answer them, as well as I can.  Q. 
Pray George tell me, why thou lefts the Religion thou weret brought up in, and join thyself to our Profession, if thou didst not see something in it, that invited thee to it? And if thou sawest any thing amongst us, (especially in the Doctrinal part) that was so very Wicked, Vile and Erronous, as thou seemest to Insinuate, 'tis strange, being so cunning as thou art, thou didst not find it out till now, having been so long amongst us.  G. K. 
As to your first Question, its true, I was at first mightily taken with your modest Apparel, Behaviour, abstenace from Oaths, and abundance of other pretended Virtues, these were the delusive Bats that caught me, and many others, and was so cunningly Supported with that new invented Prattle, (I want say Doctrine) of the Light within, that your Villainy and Deceit, were so Dark without that, I could not quickly discern it: And to the other Question 'tis well known both in Pensilvania and other places, I long ago openly Protested against many of your Errors, and notorious Impieties, and by God's blessings Convinced many of their Wickedness, who are now ready to Confess that presumptuous notion of the Light within was nothing but the Spirit of Error and Delusion.  Q. 
Well I see thy carnal Thoughts gins to prompt thee to Passon and Heat, but it being no new thing in thee I pass it by: But I must tell thee, thy hopping from Perk to Perk, after this rate makes thee in my opinion smell very Rank of a late Salamanca Dr. though in Charity to thy aged Carcase, I wish thee better Success, than he had, and leave thy deserts to thyself.  G. K. 
I see nothing but Sense comes amiss to a Quaker; here's a Comparison with a Contradiction in the Belly of it, the Doctor you speak of revolted from the Church to the Baptist, and I from the Baptist to the Church, so that her's a down right Contrarity in stead of a Parralle.  Q. 
Pray George been't so Angrey, the Comparison is not so Wide as its Odious, for you both hopped, and both to one Church too, though not both at a time, nor both one way, for now I think on't the Baptist and Church of England made an Exchange, for Two turn Coates, but which has got the best Bargain is hard to Determine.  G. K. 
Well, well for all your Reflections 'tis well known I am highly esteemed of and I am satisfied that I am Changed for the Better, and as for others who have changed their Opinions in Religion (which you are pleased to call hoping) if they keep out from herding among the Quakers there may be some hopes of them, but if once deluded and decoyed with your pretended Light within, it proves such a Cloak for Deceit and Knavery that very few, without a Miracle are reclaimed; it being little less than bewitching.  Q. 
Nay I have promised, I will not engage in a Quarrel, with thee therefore for bare these tart Arguments, and tell me what an Auditory thou hadst at Billingsgate Steeplehouse Sermons.  G. K. 
I assure you a very numerous Company, came both fore, and afternoon, of all Ages and Qualities, which is an infailible argument of their approving my Doctrine.  Q. 
Not at all George in my Opinion, for I have seen almost as great a Crowd at Bedlam, to hear and see the mad Folks there, and indeed it's no strange thing to see the Multitude run after Novelties, an instance of which we had not long since of the White Parson, who Preached against Hirlings, and though a Docterin quite contrary to thine, he drew more numerous Multitudes after him than came to thy Sermon.  G. K. 
Here's another fine comparison again, but you mistake the place, its Grace-church street Meeting House, that is a more nearer Type of Bedlam, it being thronged always so full of Fools and Mad Men, both Speakers and Hearers being little better; and to render the Emblem more exact, the Holder's Forth are not only gifted with the motions, actions, and postures of Lunatics, but they humour their very Tone too to a Miracle.  Q. 
Truly George thy Tongue's no slander otherwise perhaps I might frame an answer suitable enough to thy raillery; But to let thee see my good nature, I can as easily forgive thee for what thou hast done, as some Charitable People, Cherish Old Lame Defective and Foundered Horses, for the strength they had formerly. Yet before we part I must tell thee that the White Parson 's Doctrine and thine in some measure agrees for tho' he Preached down hire because he had lost it, thou Preached it up in hopes to obtain it.  G. K. 
You talk of good Nature, when 'tis well known, you are altogether strangers to it, else what means your Tribe by calling me Liar, False, Treacherous, and Deceitful Man, Wicked and Malicious, and for no other cause but by exposing their ernonious and false Principals; therefore knowing my Innocency, and their odious Clamours, and false Accusations, the Crime will lie at their Doors in calling Names; and I shall bear Revile with the greater Patience.  Q. 
But George those things, which thou now callest, Vile, Error, and Heresies, thou for some Years preached up and Applauded, and didst affirm, that in so doing thou hadst a divine Sense and Acceptance, and that thou very zealously Laboured to defend them, by many cunning Arguments.  G. K. 
I deny that I ever so much as Endeavoured to defend those vile Errors, which oppose the four great Fundamental Doctrine of the Christian Religion, which I have since charged them with, or indeed any other Article of the Christian Faith, prorerly so called: But suppose I did endeaver to mantain, your Heritical Notions (while under a mistaken zeal) is that an Argument of my doing so always: Must Paul be thought an unsound Christian, because he was once a Persecuting Jew, and continue a Persecuter, and a blind Leader of the Blind, for fear of being called an Apostate, from the Principles he retained in the Days of his Ignorance; If this be the sense of your Arguments, you may with as much reason Exclaim against the Man, who used for several Years last passed, to walk willfuly about the Streets without , and be angey with him for Clothing himself, because he used to go Naked, as to rail at me for leaving that Society, which my Conscience as well as Reason tells me is most notoriously Misled, but no wonder to hear Quakers Argue at this rate, when they themselves are constant in nothing, but Contradiction and Nonsense; for if any one should ask what Religion you profess, I am sure no better Answer could be made than that no body knows, nor yourselves neither; therefore it's great Pity, this Inscription is not set over all the Doors of your Meeting-Houses, viz. This Place is Dedicated to the unknown God.  Q. 
Away with this Sophistry, and Critical Reflections; I plainly perceive that thy Back is Risen in a great measure against me; prithee George abate thy carnal passion, and lay aside all prejudice and ill Will: For to be plain with thee if thy separation from us be purely for Conscience sake, I am so far from blaming thee that I highly commend thee, but if this change proceeds from the hopes of worldly Gain or self Interest thou are in a most sad and deplorable Pickle, and consequently, will add but little Credit to the Church of England, or solid satisfaction to thyself, in the long run.  G. K. 
'tis but lost Labour to discourse with such an Iliterate Coxcomb as a Quaker; have not I sufficiently informed the World in my two Sermons lately published, that it was the Quakers vile Errors base Principals, wild Frentick, and abominable Delusions, which you so much cry up for the true Light and movements of the Spirit, the caused me to Relinquish their Society, and no any Interest of Worldly advantage as many o● you so falsely, as well as foolishly Imagine.  Q. 
Well George if it prove so 'twill be thy own another Day. But 'tis a Riddle to me, to see thee play Fas. and Lose at this strange rate, and to tell thee freel my thoughts, thy Black Gown don't at all become thee however thou thinks of thyself, I mean as to thy outward Tabernacle, for inwardly the Light has been long Extinguished: Therefore I leave thee as a lost and undone Vessel: For thy very Sermons bespeaks thee no less.  G. K. 
I value not what the Quakers say of me I am sure my Sermons has gained a general approbation and kind reception, and had been much esteemed had not an Ignorant and Illiterate Person of your Society thrown out a shame one to disgrace me, it being stuffed with nothing but impertinence, trash and ridiculous Nonsense from one end to the other, which plainly shows the Malice, Envy Govetousness and Fraud of those sort of People, notwithstanding, their pretended Light purity, honesty and plain dealing, so at present Farewell.   
FINIS.