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<ETS>
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<DATE>2013-05-14</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B120817.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A83972">
<STC T="W">E2993</STC>
<STC T="T">e404_30</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99862352</BIBNO>
<VID>114509</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>ENGLANDS Mad Petition To the Right HONOURABLE The, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The Humble Petitions of above 12. Millions of Well-affected (before &s;o ill di|&s;tracted) people of all &s;orts, Ages, Sexes and &s;i&s;es within the Kingdome of <HI>England</HI> and Dominion of <HI>Wales,</HI> all de&s;iring the enlargement of <HI>Bedlam,</HI> and o|ther re&s;pective place in the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> with other Cities, Towns, and Boroughs, throughout the Kingdome and Dominion afore|&s;aid.</P>
<P>Pre&s;ented to the Hou&s;es on Thur&s;day, <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> 26. 1647.</P>
<P><ADD>Aug: 27</ADD> Printed at <HI>London</HI> betwixt <HI>Bi&s;hops-gate-&s;treet</HI> and <HI>More|fields,</HI> in the yeare of <HI>Englands</HI> recovery of her madne&s;&s;e, 1647.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Right Honourable the, &amp;c. The Humble Petition, &amp;c.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Humbly &s;heweth,</HEAD>
<P>_THat whereas wee your Honours poore Petitioners, having mo&s;t lamentably &s;erved more then a Pen|tarquie (even almo&s;t the time of an Apprenti&s;hip) to the Lunary profe&s;&s;ion (or Art Mad-cap) where|in we have beene &s;o mi&s;erably proficient, that <HI>He|ro&s;trates Franci&s;cus Gaticus, Balthazar de Ca&s;tro, Diego Engrenis,</HI> and even <HI>Adam Bolacius</HI> him&s;elfe (&s;o celebrated by Antiquity) were but meere novices to us; wee doe out-&s;trip in mad hu|mours all our Predece&s;&s;ours; what&s;oever mad exploits have bin reported as done heretofore, to ours will hold no parallel; wee have exceedingly &s;urpa&s;&s;ed all the mad &s;havers, mad Compani|ons, mad Blades, mad Rognes, mad Ra&s;calls, mad <HI>Toms,</HI> mad <HI>Maudlins,</HI> mad <HI>Be&s;&s;es,</HI> and mad-caps what or who&s;oever: How we have ju&s;tifi'd the premi&s;es in the&s;e late pa&s;t yeares, hath been &s;ufficiently, and if it be po&s;&s;ible, more then apparent to all Chri|&s;tendome; <HI>England</HI> was the Theater for action, and the gazing (and admiring world) the Spectators; were ever any of our Predece&s;&s;ours &s;o franticke, as to engage Lives and Fortunes in as unnaturall warre again&s;t an unequalled vertuous King, our dread, undoubted, and Anointed Soveraigne? Were ever Turkes, Tartars, or Caniballs, &s;o barbarou&s;ly inclined as wee have been, making no e&s;teeme not difference between blood and blood; kindred or alien? Hath not the father murdered the &s;on, the &s;onne the father; brother hath (<HI>Gaine</HI>-like) kill'd brother, the unckle &s;laine his nephew, and the nephew his Unckle, and thought they had done good and godly &s;ervice? Have wee not beene &s;o franticke, that without any legall con&s;ideration or &s;u&s;pi|tion of eyes or thoughts; wee have madly di&s;located a principall
<PB N="2" REF="3">Joynt of our Parliament (and indeed next to the head) and yet we are &s;o con&s;operated in our Lethargy, that wee have not &s;o much as mention'd it for a fault, and that is the Places and Vo<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">es of the Bi&s;hops, for ever &s;ince Parliaments have beene u&s;ed in <HI>England,</HI> all till this pre&s;ent) have con&s;i&s;ted of Lords Spirituall and Temporall, and the Hou&s;e of Commons, but now the&s;e &s;pi|rituall Lords (which are the Bi&s;hops) are not once nam'd (nor thought on) and yet wee pretend for a legall and compleat Par|liament, is not this extreame madne&s;&s;e? what is, if this bee not, when &s;uch a notorious thing as this is, &s;hall pa&s;&s;e by (and through) &s;o many eyes and eares, without taking notice of?</P>
<P>In the next place, have we not madly thru&s;t out of doores our ancient and Orthodox Faith, and both willingly &amp; fooli&s;hly lent our hands to pull in unheard of Noveli&s;me, Phanta&s;tick profa|nation, and even Mimicie in Divine Wor&s;hip? Wee have tran|&s;lated the Epi&s;copall Cathedra, to the Coblers Chayre; the Doctors Pulpit, to the Coopers Tub; the Ea&s;t and We&s;t end of the Church, to the Taylors Tables end; and the Weaver, (who&s;e &s;huttle runnes through his braines as well as his Loome) takes upon him to bee a wre&s;ter of Gods Word (out of its proper &s;ence) becau&s;e it &s;hall bee like him&s;elfe, void of good &s;ence: The Plebean will bee a Predicater of highe&s;t My&s;teries; and the Sylve&s;trick Swaine is become a Reverend Rabin of Re|velations.</P>
<P>Nay, moreover (Right Horrible) wee your poore Petitio|ners are &s;o egregiou&s;ly infatigated, and &s;o &s;trenuou&s;ly infatuated with the prepo&s;terous vaine of Diabolicall zeale, that to bla&s;|pheme God &s;eriou&s;ly, and rayle again&s;t our Soveraigne &s;incere|ly, hath in&s;tead of Athei&s;me and Trea&s;on, beene accounted (a|mong us &s;pirituall mad people) for Religious duties; our wo|men (a thing unexampled in any precedent age, whom the A|po&s;tle prohibits &s;peaking in the Church) are growne &s;o impu|dently mad, that they a&s;&s;ume the office of Preaching; &s;o that it well appeares (Right Horrible) that betweene the Incubus and the Succubus, (tho&s;e male and female Devils) the&s;e Predicating Trade&s;-men, and the&s;e di&s;-illuminated women were begotten; and although <HI>Humphrey</HI> thinkes the time too long to bee barr'd from <HI>Jones</HI> bed, for the month of her lying in, but makes u&s;e of
<PB N="3" REF="3">(in the intrim) his double-diligent Nur&s;e, or his Neighbours wives a&s;&s;i&s;tance, under the pretence of a tollerated Gander|month, yet hee (and indeed all wee mad people) thinkes it a &s;mall matter to &s;eperate gracious <HI>Charles</HI> and <HI>Mary,</HI> not for a month, or months, but for whole yeares; what madne&s;&s;e ever equall'd this? What Spirit but the Devill can dictate &s;uch hor|rid and mi&s;chievous thoughts as wee have been po&s;&s;e&s;t with (and hope to be di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;t of by your pious endeavours?)</P>
<P>Wee old men and women, who&s;e age &s;hould admit of no no|veltie, are as farre intoxicated with the &s;upine Sallad of this il|literate Lettice, that forgetting all antiquity (and the example of our prudent Predece&s;&s;ours) wee have (as being indeed turn'd children againe) as greedily &s;uckt in the Milke of Schi&s;me, and overthrow of Government, as the younge&s;t addle braine of them all. Wee of the middle &s;ort (of men) have madly arm'd our &s;elves, madly marcht into the Field, madly waged Battell, madly kill'd one another, not regarding (as before is mentioned) ei|ther Proximity, Con&s;anguinity, Affinity, Alliance, Chri&s;tianity, Vicinity, or Naturall Affection. Wee the women, both old, middle aged, and young, have with our tongues beene as active (as men with their hands) to draw the cords of ruine upon the whole Nation, as if wee had beene to per&s;wade all Chri&s;tendome to take up Armes (again&s;t Chri&s;ts) and our common enemy the Turke. Wee the younger &s;ort of men, Boyes, Apprentices, and Striplings, (e&s;pecially in and about the Cities of <HI>London,</HI> and <HI>We&s;t.</HI> Villages adjacent, and Lines of Communication, have madly put our &s;elves forward by the notion and example of mad, blood-thir&s;ty Reformadoes and Commanders, to &s;et the &s;aid City, and con&s;equently the whole Kingdome on a flame of a new and mo&s;t horrible de&s;tructive warre.</P>
<P>Briefely (right Horrible) we your Petitioners, of all Ages, Sorts, Sizes, Sexes, Sects, and Complexions, have madly involved our &s;elves in an (almo&s;t) univer&s;all Lunacie and Apo&s;ta&s;ie from God and our King; from Religion, to Sen&s;ualitie; from Vertue, to Vice; from Cha&s;titie, to Lubricitie; from Chri&s;tian Charitie, to Heatheni&s;h Crueltie; from Unitie, to Singularitie; from Pietie, to Hypocri&s;ie; from Veritie, to Vanitie; from Humili|tie, to Superbitie; from Moderation, to O&s;tentation; from the
<PB N="4" REF="4">right under&s;tanding of Divine My&s;teries, to blind Zeale with|out knowledge; and from the Path of Heaven, to the Wayes of Hell, eternall Death and De&s;truction. This our deplorable Condition, be plea&s;ed with your Power and Charitie rightly to con&s;ider; and weighing in the Ballance of your unque&s;tionable (and infallible) Intelects, every Part, Parcell, Branch, and Bud of the premi&s;es, vouch&s;afe to let our mad Petition finde as fa|vourable acce&s;&s;e to your Honours, as many Petitions (in the like nature) have found heretofore: The &s;umme of all our de|&s;ires is, that you will take into mature con&s;ideration (and com|mi&s;eration) That whereas a great multitude of people, of both Sexes, commonly called Mad people (but nothing neere &s;o Mad as wee) are confined in an Ho&s;pitall, betweene <HI>Bi&s;hops-gate-&s;treet</HI> and <HI>More-fields,</HI> vulgarly named <HI>Bedlam</HI> (or <HI>Bethlem</HI>) that you will be plea&s;ed to turne them out into the wide world, and let us (for &s;o many as the &s;ayd Ho&s;pitall can containe) to be po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed of their roomes: for indeed the ca&s;e is plaine (and there|fore con&s;iderable) that tho&s;e people (for the mo&s;t part) grew di&s;tracted through &s;uper-abundant Love, not finding a r<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">cipro|call corre&s;pondencie in affection; but (wretched) wee are Mad through &s;uperabundance of Malice, wee mo&s;t madly and de&s;pe|rately hating, maligning, abu&s;ing (both with Tongue and Hand) a gracious, loving, mercifull, pious, and prudent King (the mir|ror of Monarchs and example of Princes) who all this too long time of our hayre-brayn'd Di&s;traction, hath wooed and invited us to his Highne&s;&s;e love, patiently expecting the returning of our Sences to their offices, and us to our ju&s;t obedience: but all to little, or no purpo&s;e; we were madly re&s;olv'd, and &s;o went madly on, to our owne and the hazard of the whole Kingdomes Ruine.</P>
<P>Furthermore, be plea&s;ed to take notice, that the &s;aid Ho&s;pi|tall being very &s;mall (in re&s;pect of our va&s;t number) to give a charitable Purge to all the Pri&s;ons in and about the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> the Villages adjacent, and Lines of Communication, and al&s;o to all other re&s;pective Pri&s;ons throughout the Kingdome of <HI>England</HI> and the Dominion of <HI>Wales,</HI> wherein are mo&s;t unnaturally and cruelly inclo&s;ed and detained many hone&s;t, &s;ober, wi&s;e, di&s;creet, religious, and ver|tuous
<PB N="5" REF="4">Knights, E&s;quires, Gentlemen, and others of good ranke and qualitie, onely (and &s;olely) for their integritie and loyaltie to God and his Anoynted; the&s;e wee would likewi&s;e (by the afore&s;aid Purge) have relaxed, di&s;charged, and re&s;tored both to their Liberties and Livelyhoods, wee madly po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing their pla|ces: notwith&s;tanding the premi&s;&s;es, wee doe de&s;ire (in this ge|nerall worke of Ju&s;tice and Mercie) to except &s;ome who are now in Pri&s;on (among tho&s;e &s;ober men afore&s;aid) that are al|together (if not madder) as mad as the madde&s;t of us all, and chiefely (as the Chiefe indeed) <HI>John Lilburne,</HI> who being a mad Lieutenant-Colonel alreadie, wee de&s;ire to make Commander in Chiefe of all our Mad multitude.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, when by the&s;e Chaynes of Affliction wee &s;hall be re|&s;tor'd to our lo&s;t Wits, that then you will be mildly plea&s;ed to accept of a &s;ober Petition for our lo&s;t Rights, Religion, Lawes, Liberties, and Priviledges, all which wee (mi&s;erable mad people) have purchas'd with the lo&s;&s;e of our Wits, and Loyaltie, and &s;ome of us, Lims and Livings.</P>
<P>This if your Wi&s;domes &s;hall thinke convenient to grant, it will be a Beacon to your Charitie, a Lanthorne to your Lenitie, a Mirror of your M<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">rcie, and a Trumpet to your Fame; and wee your poore Petitioners (as in dutie obliged) &s;hall be ever be|holding to your Clemencie, and alwayes pray for your encrea&s;e of Grace, and Loyaltie towards God and <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> and an equall, legall, and charitable di&s;tribution of all the Wealth which you (by your Wit and Subtletie) have gotten of us fooli&s;h Mad People, &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="poetic postscript">
<HEAD>A Po&s;t&s;cript concerning the deliverie and Receit of the fore&s;aid Mad Petition.</HEAD>
<LG>
<L>No &s;ooner this Petition came unto</L>
<L>the hands of tho&s;e to whom it was pre&s;ented,</L>
<L>But all of them (as well the high as low)</L>
<L>began to rave; Thus being di&s;contented,</L>
<L>They gave this An&s;wer: Why, you frantick Elves,</L>
<L>Sue you to us, who are &s;tark mad our &s;elves?</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<PB N="6" REF="5">
<L>Have you not danced after our mad Pipe?</L>
<L>have we not beene examples to you all?</L>
<L>Thinke you, if that our wits were &s;ound and ripe,</L>
<L>we could our &s;elves &s;tand by, and &s;ee you fall?</L>
<L>No, no, <HI>Plebeians,</HI> wee'l no further wrong you,</L>
<L>We are as mad as he that's mad'&s;t among you.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Yet be you comforted (and &s;o are wee)</L>
<L>hoping we &s;hortly &s;hall our wits recover;</L>
<L>Wee &s;omething now regard his Maje&s;tie,</L>
<L>&s;o let the people doe all <HI>England</HI> over:</L>
<L>Then, by Gods Ble&s;&s;ing, (to our joy and gladne&s;&s;e)</L>
<L>Wee &s;hall &s;ee <HI>England</HI> cured of her Madne&s;&s;e.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>By th'influence of that bright Northern Star,</L>
<L>which now au&s;piciou&s;ly upon us &s;hines,</L>
<L>Mad <HI>England</HI> &s;hall regaine her wits &s;o far,</L>
<L>that all &s;hall pray&s;e his Name, who thus inclines</L>
<L>The hearts of Subjects to their Soveraign Prince;</L>
<L>O &s;uch a Cure, Mad <HI>England</HI> lack'd long &s;ince.</L>
</LG>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
