or
corrupt ends, in later and corrupt times, to flatter, fawn, and work
upon the corrupt nature in men, brought in that false and senseless way
of speaking you to one, which has since corrupted the modern languages,
and hath greatly debased the spirits and depraved the manners of
men;--this evil custom I had been as forward in as others, and this I
was now called out of and required to cease from.

"These and many more evil customs which had sprung up in the night of
darkness and general apostasy from the truth and true religion were
now, by the inshining of this pure ray of divine light in my
conscience, gradually discovered to me to be what I ought to cease
from, shun, and stand a witness against."[176]

[176] The History of Thomas Elwood, written by Himself, London, 1885,
pp. 32-34

These early Quakers were Puritans indeed. The slightest inconsistency
between profession and deed jarred some of them to active protest.
John Woolman writes in his diary:--

"In these journeys I have been where much cloth hath been dyed; and
have at sundry times walked over ground where much of their dyestuffs
has drained away. This hath produced a longing in my mind that people
might come into cleanness of spirit, cleanness of person, and cleanness
about their houses and garments. Dyes being invented partly to please
the eye, and partly to hide dirt, I have felt in this weak state, when
traveling in dirtiness, and affected with unwholesome scents, a strong
desire that the nature of dyeing cloth to hide dirt may be more fully
considered.

"Washing our garments to keep them sweet is cleanly, but it is the
opposite to real cleanliness to hide dirt in them. Through giving way
to hiding dirt in our garments a spirit which would conceal that which
is disagreeable is strengthened. Real cleanliness becometh a holy
people; but hiding that which is not clean by coloring our garments
seems contrary to the sweetness of sincerity. Through some sorts of
dyes cloth is rendered less useful. And if the value of dyestuffs, and
expense of dyeing, and the damage done to cloth, were all added
together, and that cost applied to keeping all sweet and clean, how
much more would real cleanliness prevail.

"Thinking often on these things, the use of hats and garments dyed with
a dye hurtful to them, and wearing more clothes in summer than are
useful, grew more uneasy to me; believing them to be customs which have
not their foundation in pure wis