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02 - The New Atlantis - Sir Francis Bacon · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Section two, during which time we had every hour joy
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  Speaker 1: of the amendment of our sick, who thought themselves cast
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  Speaker 1: into some divine pool of healing. They mended so kindly
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  Speaker 1: and so fast. The morrow after our three days were past,
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  Speaker 1: there came to us a new man that we had
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  Speaker 1: not seen before, clothed in blue as the former was,
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  Speaker 1: save that his turban was white with a small red
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  Speaker 1: cross on the top. He had also a tippet of
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  Speaker 1: fine linen. At his coming in, he did bend to
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  Speaker 1: us a little and put his arms abroad. We of
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  Speaker 1: our parts saluted him in a very lowly and submissive manner,
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  Speaker 1: as looking that from him we should receive sentence of
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  Speaker 1: life or death. He desired to speak with some few
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  Speaker 1: of us, whereupon six of us only stayed, and the
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  Speaker 1: rest avoided the room. He said, I am by office
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  Speaker 1: governor of this house of strangers, and by vocation I
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  Speaker 1: am a Christian priest, and therefore am come to you
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  Speaker 1: to offer you my service, both as strangers and chiefly
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  Speaker 1: as Christians. Some things I may tell you, which I
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  Speaker 1: think you will not be unwilling to hear. The State
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  Speaker 1: hath given you license to stay on land for the
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  Speaker 1: space of six weeks, and let it not trouble you
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  Speaker 1: if your occasions ask further time, for the law in
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  Speaker 1: this point is not precise, and I do not doubt
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  Speaker 1: but myself shall be able to obtain for you such
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  Speaker 1: further time as may be convenient. Ye shall also understand
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  Speaker 1: that the stranger's house is at this time rich and
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  Speaker 1: much aforehand, for it hath laid up revenue these thirty
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  Speaker 1: seven years for so long it is since any stranger
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  Speaker 1: arrived in this part. And therefore take ye no care.
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  Speaker 1: The state will defray you all the time you stay.
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  Speaker 1: Neither shall you stay one day the less for that,
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  Speaker 1: as for any merchandise you have brought, ye shall be
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  Speaker 1: well used and have your return, either in merchandise or
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  Speaker 1: in gold and silver. For to us it is all one.
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  Speaker 1: And if you have any other request to make, hide
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  Speaker 1: it not, for ye shall find we will not make
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  Speaker 1: your countenance to fall. By the answer ye shall receive
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  Speaker 1: only this. I must tell you that none of you
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  Speaker 1: must go above a karan, that is, that is, with them,
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  Speaker 1: a mile and in half from the walls of the city,
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  Speaker 1: without a special leave. We answered, after we had looked
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  Speaker 1: awhile one upon another, admiring this gracious and parent like usage,
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  Speaker 1: that we could not tell what to say, for we
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  Speaker 1: wanted words to express our thanks, and his noble, free
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  Speaker 1: offers left us nothing to ask. It seemed to us
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  Speaker 1: that we had before us a picture of our salvation
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  Speaker 1: in heaven. For we that were a while since in
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  Speaker 1: the jaws of death, were now brought into a place
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  Speaker 1: where we found nothing but consolations. For the commandment laid
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  Speaker 1: upon us, we would not fail to obey it, though
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  Speaker 1: it was impossible, but our heart should be inflamed to
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  Speaker 1: tread further upon this happy and holy ground. We added
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  Speaker 1: that our tongues should first cleave to the roofs of
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  Speaker 1: our mouths, ere we should forget either his reverend person
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  Speaker 1: or this whole nation in our prayers. We also, most
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  Speaker 1: humbly besought him to accept of us as his true servants,
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  Speaker 1: by as just a right as ever men on earth
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  Speaker 1: were bounden. Laying and presenting both our persons and all
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  Speaker 1: we had at his feet. He said he was a
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  Speaker 1: priest and looked for a priest's reward, which was our
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  Speaker 1: brotherly love and the good of our souls and bodies.
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  Speaker 1: So he went from us not without tears of tenderness
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  Speaker 1: in his eyes, and left us also confused with joy
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  Speaker 1: and kindness, saying amongst ourselves that we were come into
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  Speaker 1: a land of angels, which did appear to us daily
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  Speaker 1: and prevent us with comforts which we thought not of
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  Speaker 1: much less expected. The next day, about ten of the clock,
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  Speaker 1: the governor came to see us again, and after salutations,
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  Speaker 1: said familiarly that he was come to visit us, and
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  Speaker 1: called for a chair, and sat him down, And we,
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  Speaker 1: being some ten of us, the rest were of the
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  Speaker 1: meaner sort or else gone abroad, sat down with him.
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  Speaker 1: And when we were set he began, Thus, we, of
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  Speaker 1: this island of Bensalem, for so they call it in
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  Speaker 1: their language, have this that, by means of our solitary situation,
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  Speaker 1: and of the laws of secrecy which we have for
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  Speaker 1: our travelers, and our rare admission of strangers, we know
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  Speaker 1: well most part of the habitable world, and are ourselves unknown. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: because he that knoweth least is fittest to ask questions,
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  Speaker 1: it is more reason for the entertainment of the time
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  Speaker 1: that YE ask me questions than that I ask you.
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  Speaker 1: We answered that we humbly thanked him that he would
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  Speaker 1: give us leave so to do, and that we conceived
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  Speaker 1: by the taste we had already that there was no
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  Speaker 1: worldly thing on earth more worthy to be known than
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  Speaker 1: the state of that happy land. But above all we said,
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  Speaker 1: since that we were met from the several ends of
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  Speaker 1: the world, and hoped assuredly that we should meet one
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  Speaker 1: day in the Kingdom of Heaven, for that we were
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  Speaker 1: both parts Christians. We desired to know in respect that
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  Speaker 1: land was so remote and so divided by vast and
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  Speaker 1: unknown seas, from the land where our Savior walked on earth,
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  Speaker 1: who was the apostle of that nation, and how it
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  Speaker 1: was converted to the faith. It appeared in his face
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  Speaker 1: that he took great contentment in this our question. He said,
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  Speaker 1: YE knit my heart to you by asking this question
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  Speaker 1: in the first place, for it sheweth that you first
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  Speaker 1: seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and I shall gladly and
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  Speaker 1: briefly satisfy your demand. About twenty years after the ascension
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  Speaker 1: of our Savior, it came to pass that there was
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  Speaker 1: seen by the people of Renfusa, a city upon the
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  Speaker 1: eastern coast of our island. Within night. The night was
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  Speaker 1: cloudy and calm, as it might be some mile into
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  Speaker 1: the sea, a great pillar of light, not sharp, but
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  Speaker 1: in form of a column or cylinder, rising from the
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  Speaker 1: sea a great way up towards heaven. And on the
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  Speaker 1: top of it was seen a large cross of light,
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  Speaker 1: more bright and resplendent than the body of the pillar,
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  Speaker 1: upon which so strange a spectacle. The people of the
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  Speaker 1: city gathered apace together upon the sands to wonder, and
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  Speaker 1: so after put themselves into a number of small boats
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  Speaker 1: to go nearer to this marvelous sight. But when the
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  Speaker 1: boats were come within about sixty yards of the pillar,
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  Speaker 1: they found themselves all bound, and could go no further. Yet,
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  Speaker 1: so as they might move to go about, but might
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  Speaker 1: not approach nearer. So as the boats stood all as
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  Speaker 1: in a theater, beholding this light as an heavenly sign.
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  Speaker 1: It so fell out that there was in one of
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  Speaker 1: the boats one of the wise men of the society
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  Speaker 1: of Salomon's House, which house or college, my good brethren,
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  Speaker 1: is the very eye of this kingdom, who, having awhile
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  Speaker 1: attentively and devoutly viewed and contemplated this pillar and cross,
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  Speaker 1: fell down upon his face, and then raised himself upon
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  Speaker 1: his knees, and lifting up his hands to heaven made
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  Speaker 1: his prayers in this manner, Lord, God of heaven and Earth,
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  Speaker 1: Thou hast vouchsafed of thy grace to those of our order,
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  Speaker 1: to know Thy works of creation and the secrets of them,
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  Speaker 1: and to discern, as far as appertaineth to the generations
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  Speaker 1: of men, between divine miracles, works of nature, works of art,
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  Speaker 1: and impostures and illusions of all sorts. I do here
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  Speaker 1: acknowledge and testify before this people that the thing which
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  Speaker 1: we now see before our eyes is thy finger and
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  Speaker 1: a true miracle. And forasmuch as we learn in our
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  Speaker 1: books that thou never workest miracles but to divine and
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  Speaker 1: excellent end. For the laws of nature are thine own laws,
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  Speaker 1: and thou exceedest them not. But upon great death cause
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  Speaker 1: we most humbly beseech THEE to prosper this great sign,
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  Speaker 1: and to give us the interpretation and use of it
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  Speaker 1: in mercy, which thou dost in some part secretly promise
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  Speaker 1: by sending it unto us. When he had made his prayer,
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  Speaker 1: he presently found the boat he was in movable and unbound,
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  Speaker 1: whereas all the rest remained still fast, And taking that
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  Speaker 1: for an assurance of leave to approach, he caused the
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  Speaker 1: boat to be softly and with silence rowed towards the pillar.
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  Speaker 1: But ere he came near it, the pillar and cross
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  Speaker 1: of light break up and cast itself abroad, as it were,
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  Speaker 1: into a firmament of many stars, which also vanished soon after,
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  Speaker 1: and there was nothing left to be seen but a
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  Speaker 1: small arc or chest of cedar, dry and not wet
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  Speaker 1: at all with water, though it swam. And in the
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  Speaker 1: fore end of it, which was towards him, grew a
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  Speaker 1: small green branch of pond. And when the wise man
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  Speaker 1: had taken it with all reverence into his boat, it
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  Speaker 1: opened of itself, and there were found in it a
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  Speaker 1: book and a letter, both written in fine parchment and
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  Speaker 1: wrapped up in sindons of linen. The book contained all
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  Speaker 1: the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, according
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  Speaker 1: as you have them, for we know well what the
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  Speaker 1: churches with you receive. And the Apocalypse itself and some
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  Speaker 1: other books of the New Testament, which were not at
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  Speaker 1: that time written, were nevertheless in the book. And for
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  Speaker 1: the letter, it was in these words. I Bartholomew, a
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  Speaker 1: servant of the Highest and apostle of Jesus Christ, was
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  Speaker 1: warned by an angel that appereth to me in a
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  Speaker 1: vision of glory, that I should commit this ark to
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  Speaker 1: the floods of the sea. Therefore I do testify and
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  Speaker 1: declare unto that people, where God shall ordain this ark
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  Speaker 1: to come to land, that in the same day is
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  Speaker 1: come unto them salvation and peace and good will from
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  Speaker 1: the Father and from the Lord Jesus. There was also
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  Speaker 1: in both these writings as well the book as the
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  Speaker 1: letter wrought a great miracle conformed to that of the
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  Speaker 1: Apostles in the original gift of tongues. For there being
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  Speaker 1: at that time in this land Hebrews, Persians, and Indians,
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  Speaker 1: besides the natives. Every one read upon the book and
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  Speaker 1: letter as if they had been written in his own language.
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  Speaker 1: And thus was this land saved from infidelity, as the
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  Speaker 1: remainder of the old world was from water by an
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  Speaker 1: ark through the apostolical and miraculous evangelism of Saint Bartholomew.
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  Speaker 1: And here he paused, and a messenger came and called
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  Speaker 1: him from us. So this was all that passed in
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  Speaker 1: that conference. The next day, the same governor came again
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  Speaker 1: to us immediately after dinner and excused himself, saying that
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  Speaker 1: the day before he was called from us somewhat abruptly,
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  Speaker 1: But now he would make us amends and spend time
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  Speaker 1: with us if we held his company and conference agreeable.
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  Speaker 1: We answered that we held it so agreeable and pleasing
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  Speaker 1: to us, as we forgot both dangers past and fears
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  Speaker 1: to come for the time we hear him speak, and
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  Speaker 1: that we thought an hour spent with him was worth
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  Speaker 1: years of our former life. He bowed himself a little
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  Speaker 1: to us, and after we were set again, he said, well,
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  Speaker 1: the questions are in your part. One of our number said,
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  Speaker 1: after a little pause, that there was a matter we
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  Speaker 1: were no less desirous to know than fearful to ask,
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  Speaker 1: lest we might presume too far. But encouraged by his
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  Speaker 1: rare humanity towards us, that could scarce think ourselves strangers,
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  Speaker 1: being his vowed and professed servants, we would take the
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  Speaker 1: heartiness to propound it. Humbly, beseeching him if he thought
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  Speaker 1: it was not fit to be answered that he would
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  Speaker 1: pardon it. Though he rejected it, we said, we well
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  Speaker 1: observed those his words which he formerly spake, That this
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  Speaker 1: happy island where we now stood was known to few,
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  Speaker 1: and yet knew most of the nations of the world,
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  Speaker 1: which we found to be true, considering they had the
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  Speaker 1: languages of Europe and knew much of our state and business.
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  Speaker 1: And yet we in Europe, notwithstanding all the remote discoveries
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  Speaker 1: and navigations of this last age, never heard of the
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  Speaker 1: least inkling or glimpse of this island. This we found
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  Speaker 1: wonderful strange, for that all nations have inter knowledge one
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  Speaker 1: of another, either by voyage into foreign parts or by
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  Speaker 1: strangers that come to them. And though the traveler into
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  Speaker 1: a foreign country doth commonly know more by the eye
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  Speaker 1: than he that stayeth at home can by relation of
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  Speaker 1: the traveler, yet both ways suffice to make a mutual
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  Speaker 1: knowledge in some degree on both parts. But for this
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  Speaker 1: island we never heard tell of any ship of Theirs
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  Speaker 1: that had been seen to arrive upon any shore of Europe,
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  Speaker 1: nor of either the East or West Indies, nor yet
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  Speaker 1: of any ship of any other part of the world
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  Speaker 1: that had made return from them. And yet the marvel
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  Speaker 1: rested not in this, for the situation of it, as
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  Speaker 1: his lordship said in the secret conclave, of such a
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  Speaker 1: vast sea, might cause it. But then that they should
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  Speaker 1: have knowledge of the language's books, affairs of those that
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  Speaker 1: lie such a distance from them. It was a thing
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  Speaker 1: we could not tell what to make of, for that
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  Speaker 1: it seemed to us a conditioner and propriety of divine
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  Speaker 1: powers and beings to be hidden and unseen to others,
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  Speaker 1: and yet to have others open and as in a
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  Speaker 1: light to them. At this speech, the Governor gave a
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  Speaker 1: gracious smile and said that we did well to ask
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  Speaker 1: pardon for this question. We now asked for that it
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  Speaker 1: imported as if we thought this land a land of magicians,
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  Speaker 1: that set forth spirits of the air into all parts
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  Speaker 1: to bring them news and intelligence of other countries. It
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  Speaker 1: was answered by us all in all possible humbleness, but
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  Speaker 1: yet with a countenance, taking knowledge that we knew that
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  Speaker 1: he spake it, but merrily that we were apt enough
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  Speaker 1: to think that there was somewhat supernatural in this island,
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  Speaker 1: but yet rather as angelical than magical. But to let
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  Speaker 1: his lordship know truly what it was that made us
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  Speaker 1: tender and doubtful to ask this question. It was not
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  Speaker 1: any such conceit, but because we remembered he had given
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  Speaker 1: a touch in his former speech that this land had
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  Speaker 1: laws of secrecy, touching strangers to this he said, you
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  Speaker 1: remember it aright. And therefore in that I shall say
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  Speaker 1: to you which it is not lawful for me to reveal,
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  Speaker 1: but there will be enough left to give you satisfaction.
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  Speaker 1: You shall understand that which perhaps you will scarce think credible,
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  Speaker 1: that about three thousand years ago or somewhat more, the
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  Speaker 1: navigation of the world, especially for remote voyages, was greater
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  Speaker 1: than at this day. Do not think with yourselves that
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  Speaker 1: I know not how much of it is increased with
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  Speaker 1: you within these six score years. I know it well,
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  Speaker 1: And yet I say greater then and now. Whether it
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  Speaker 1: was that the example of the ark that saved the
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  Speaker 1: remnant of men from the universal deluge gave men confidence
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  Speaker 1: to adventure upon the waters, or what it was, but
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  Speaker 1: such is the truth. The Phoenicians and especially the Tyrians
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  Speaker 1: had great fleets, so had the Carthaginians, their colony, which
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  Speaker 1: is yet further west toward the east. The shipping of
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  Speaker 1: Egypt and of Palestine was likewise great. China also and
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  Speaker 1: the great Atlantis that you call America, which have now
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  Speaker 1: but junks and canoes, abounded then in tall ships. This island,
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  Speaker 1: as appeareth by faithful registers of those times, had then
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  Speaker 1: fifteen hundred strong ships of great content. Of all this
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  Speaker 1: there is with you sparing memory or none, but we
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  Speaker 1: have large knowledge thereof. At that time this land was
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  Speaker 1: known and frequented by the ships and vessels of all
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  Speaker 1: the nations before named, And as it cometh to pass,
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  Speaker 1: they had many times men of other countries that were
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  Speaker 1: no sailors that came with them, as Persians, Chaldeans, Arabians,
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  Speaker 1: so as almost all nations of might and fame resorted
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  Speaker 1: hither of whom we have some stirps and little tribes
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  Speaker 1: with us at this day, and for our own ships.
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  Speaker 1: They went sundry voyages, as well as to your straits,
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  Speaker 1: which you call the pillars of Hercules, as to other
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  Speaker 1: parts in the Atlantic and mediterrane seas, as to Paguin,
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  Speaker 1: which is the same with Cambellene and Quinsy, upon the
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  Speaker 1: Oriental seas, as far as to the borders of the
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  Speaker 1: East Tartary. At the same time, and an age after
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  Speaker 1: or more, the inhabitants of the great Atlantis did flourish.
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  Speaker 1: For though the narration and description which is made by
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  Speaker 1: a great man with you, that the descendants of Neptune
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  Speaker 1: planted there, and of the magnificent temple, palace, city, and hill,
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  Speaker 1: and the manifold streams of goodly navigable rivers, which has
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  Speaker 1: so many chains environed the same site and temple, and
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  Speaker 1: the several degrees of ascent, whereby men did climb up
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  Speaker 1: to the same as if it had been a scala
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  Speaker 1: coele be all poetical and fabulous. Yet so much as
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  Speaker 1: true that the said country of Atlantis, as well as
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  Speaker 1: that of Peru, then called Coya, as that of Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: then named Tyrone Belle, were mighty and proud kingdoms in arms,
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  Speaker 1: shipping and riches, so mighty as at one time, or
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  Speaker 1: at least within the space of ten years, they both
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  Speaker 1: made two great expeditions, they of Tyrone Belle through the
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  Speaker 1: Atlantic to the mediterrane Sea, and they of Coya through
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  Speaker 1: the South Sea upon this hour island. And for the
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  Speaker 1: former of these, which was into Europe, the same author
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  Speaker 1: amongst you, as it seemeth, had some relation from the
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  Speaker 1: Egyptian priest whom he cited end of Section two