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The Reformation · 1612
A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity
Thomas Helwys · c. 1575–c. 1616
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What it is
An argument that the king has no authority over conscience, and that heretics, Turks, Jews, and whomsoever ought not to be punished for their religion.
Why it lasted
The first published plea in English for universal religious liberty. Helwys sent a signed copy to James I and died in Newgate prison.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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