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                        A letter of Mr. Mitchell 

Concerning Goodm: Scotts children viz that of 18 & y^t of 16 yeers of age (for

touching that of 12 y^r is noe Question as being clearly in minority) I concurr

with your apprehension viz. That being according to their years & capasity

of competent knowledge & blameless life, & willing to submitt to discipline they

are to be Baptized   ffor:

1  Though I dare not peremptorily conclude that w^ch some have gathered from

Exod 30. 12-16 viz that all under 20 years old are Ecclesiastically in mino

-rity, yet neither would I Reject it, for it is very considerable: but mē thinks

that place in Gall 4: 1. 2 seemes to Intimate that while they are not

sui Juris[21] but under the government, Disposal & appointment of their parents

they are reputed as in minority.

2 When God takes in the parents he takes in all their children that doe no[t][22]

obicem ponere,[23] or not reject the covenant but according to their capacity doe

imbrace it: we have noe reason to doubt but there were children of diverse age

in the houses of Liddeah & y^e Jaylour (& some in the latter of capable of being

spoaken to & instructed Acts 16 32.) But they being (such of them as were

near growne) willing to goe along wth their parents in the same profession &

ingagement were baptized with them: Soe Exod 12 48.

3  Either the persons in Question are of age, or not of age, if not they ar[e]

without scruple to be baptized on parent’s account as in minority: If the[y]

be of age & soe can be accounted in the understanding to hold forth y^e qualificati

ons above mentioned according to the Synods 5^th proposition,[24] I se noe rea

son to scruple their being Baptized upon their own account.

4  It may be considered whether this parent & these children were not

[at least de Jure[25]) of the visible church before Even from their infancy &

they are not now Subjects of election out of the church so members so to be

baptized.

5  ffavores sunt ampliandi[26] is a maxime that the frame & spirit of the gos

-pell seems to approve & hold forth in reference to such cases as these: If we

should reject such hopefull, willing & teachable children as these are; And (as

it were) tell them they have noe part in the lord, & leave them out of the pa[rt]

of the visible church; methinks our hearts would tell us that Jesus Christ would

not doe soe if he were heer administring, or ordering his disciples to administer

as sometimes he was

S C I have given you my sudden & present apprehensions, w^ch I should have chosen

to have bin excused from did not love & respect command me to say somewhat

to your letter: make not too much up of the hasty lines, I write to noe more

But yourself & m^r  Shepard. w^th affectionate greetings, & wellwishes to you both

& to m^rs Phillips in hast I take leave & Remayne

                                     Yours in all due Respects

                                     Jonathan Mitchell

Cambridg January 18.

       1664.