Roger Crab (1621 – 11 September 1680) was an English soldier, haberdasher, herbal doctor and writer who is best known for his ascetic lifestyle which included Christian vegetarianism. Crab fought in the Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War before becoming a haberdasher in Chesham. He later became a hermit and worked as a herbal doctor. He then joined the Philadelphians and began promoting asceticism through his writings.
Early life
Crab was born in Buckinghamshire in 1621. At the time of his birth his mother had an annual income of £20. As a young man, he began trying to find a way to live a perfect life. In 1641 he ceased eating meat, dairy and eggs. He also chose to be celibate.
Views
Crab was an anti-sabbatarian. He did not observe Sunday as a non-working day, and was put in the stocks for it. He was a pacifist, and had radical views on the evils of property, the Church, and universities.
Crab held the unorthodox view that meat-eating was the cause, rather than a consequence of, the Biblical fall of man. By the age of 20, Crab was living on a diet of vegetables and water "avoiding butter, cheese, eggs, and milk." Crab argued that "eating of flesh is an absolute enemy to pure nature" and believed there was a connection between meat-eating and aggression.
Works
Crab wrote his autobiography while living in Ickenham.
- Dagons-Downfall; or, the Great idol digged up root and branch (London 1657). ( – in which he declared that the Sabbath had been turned into an idol).
- Gentle correction for the high flown backslider, or, A soft answer to turn away strife : being a general answer (in few words) to some queries, and defamations thrown out by the furious spirit in some of the people called Quakers against the rationalls (London: Printed by J.B 1659).
- A tender salutation, or, The substance of a letter given forth by the Rationals, to the despised remnant and seed of God, in the people called Quakers (London: Printed by J.B 1659).
A Reply to the Gentle Correction was made by George Salter (London: printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and mouth neer Aldersgate 1659):
Death
In 1680, Crab died at the age of 59 in Bethnal Green, and was buried at Stepney Churchyard. His tombstone has the following epitaph:
Legacy
Christopher Hill suggested that Crab may have been the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's character the Mad Hatter.