predictions of the overthrow of popery, and the landing of the prince of orange in the west written by george wither esquire, in the year 1660 ; and some proposals for perpetual parliament written by the same author in 1652. wither, george, 1588-1667. 1689 approx. 9 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 3 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-02 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a66767 wing w3179 estc r12194 12931264 ocm 12931264 95675 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a66767) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 95675) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 993:21) predictions of the overthrow of popery, and the landing of the prince of orange in the west written by george wither esquire, in the year 1660 ; and some proposals for perpetual parliament written by the same author in 1652. wither, george, 1588-1667. 4 p. s.n., [london : 1689?] reproduction of original in huntington library. caption title. in verse. imprint taken from nuc pre-1956. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng anti-catholicism -great britain -poetry. religion and politics -england -early works to 1800. great britain -history -restoration, 1660-1688 -poetry. 2005-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-09 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2005-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion predictions of the overthrow of popery , and the landing of the prince of orange in the west : written by george wither esquire , in the year 1660. and some proposals fo●… ▪ perpetual parliamen● written by the same author in 1652. to act the last scene which proceeds their doom , they now new vampt upon the stage are come ; and , though that with the king , as if his friends they seem to side , they come for other ends , which he not yet discerning , in his grace vouchsafes them a considerable place , and of prevailing they already boast , as if they saw the lamb and all his host quite overthrown , which me as confident hath made that god their proud hopes will prevent , and overthrow that tyranny out-right , by what they dream shall raise it to its height . but many tryals must the saints abide , and very much their patience will be try'd here and elsewhere before that act is done , which with an anti-mask is now begun . our friends inhabiting beyond the waters , and who were of our tragedy spectators , now twenty years ( though they perceive it not , or seem not to perceive it ) in that lot which these have cast for us , designed are ( or in what follows next ) to have a share , for hamans purs on foot ; not only here , but likewise almost every other where . and these think that to take them by his gin , with most speed , is , with us first to begin . but there 's a counter-mine , which will be sprung , to blowup them , and all their mines e're long , &c. — wherein they see the beasts late deadly wound nigh cur'd to be , they on a sudden , are become as jolly , as if they thought it to be cured wholly ; and , to impose their mark , will now begin to be more strict than ever they have been ; so that e're long , few men shall live in peace , bear office , or a free estate possess where they have power , unless they marked are in hand , or forehead , with their character . but , if that , whereof some imperfect views far off appear , accordingly ensues , there will to thwart their hopes , a new star blaze within the west , that shall the world amaze ; and influences through the vniverse so quickly , and prodigiously disperse , that , aided by concurring constellations , it shall have some effects upon most nations , and cause such changes , as will make a stand in those attempts which they have now in hand . yet know , it will but a diversion be , not that which must from bondage set us free . we , on this side the water are not yet , confus'd enough , that order to beget which must establish us , and shall therefore pursue self-interest a little more . with new wine our old bottles must be fill'd , ( endangering wine and bottles to be spill'd ) till such as are in power be pleased to hear the counsel of a slighted engineer . with new cloth our old garments patcht must be , ( whereby the rents made wider ye shall see ) till every old rag be worn out , and then the robe so rent shall be renew'd again . and they that own it , be secured more , and much more dignified , than heretofore . if they who must compleat it , make their choice by lot divine , as well as humane voice . whereto self-seekers never will agree , until enforced by some streights they be . before the sons of jacob entrance found into their promis'd land , they had a round , or progress to fulfil , and many years they in the desarts were probationers , by several hardships , thereby to improve the seeds of faith , new sown at their remove from egypt , and by signs and wonders shown to make unto themselves their frailties known . but they at each restraining of their lust , brake forth into repinings and distrust ; yea , into flat rebellion , into rearing of idols ( when his law god was preparing ) into a wicked causless murmuring against the means of their delivering from egypt's . tryal , and into wishes vain , that they might thither back return again ▪ for which of many hundred thousands none enjoy'd the promis'd rest , but two alone . and we are just like them , yea , we have done , since god , to bring us from our thrall begun , the very same things in the wilderness of our probation ; and our carcases shall there be left , unless we do betimes make an attonement for our passed crimes ; and with unfeignedness that course pursue which leads unto the rest , that is in view , &c. there is a course whereby , without disgrace , or danger , you may bring that work to pass , and free your selves from that great cost and pain , which without thanks or profit you sustain ; afflicting others too , by those confusions which are increast by your irresolutions . until a better therefore shall appear , be pleased that expedient to hear , and by those preventions , or that good it promiseth , you find a likelihood , take heed , that no self-interest , divert that approbation , whereunto your heart inclineth you ; for god will find you out , and cross the counter-work you go about . in england and in wales , there is a shire , for ev'ry week that 's numbred in the year . by twelve , according to the months divide the counties , with their persons qualified for knights and burgesses , proportioning as near as may be , to an equalling the number of the whole , so , or so many unto each month , without omitting any . ascertain then , the month and day , wherein each twelfth part an election shall begin ; ( the middle of the week , appearing best , as being furthest from the day of rest . ) on each first wednesday , of each month , let those by whom our deputies are to be chose , respectively convene in ev'ry shire , upon that month , and wednesday ev'ry year , which is to them assign'd ; and having chosen , ( at months end ) let each twelfth part , of the dozen , send up their chosen men , to represent their shires and boroughs in the parliament ; and on that very day , in which they come , let all their predecessors give them room . thus one month some , and month by month for ever let each twelfth part , still orderly persever to take a turn , till ev'ry shire hath had a month in ev'ry year ; and having made their choice , let them still enter and withdraw successively by a perpetual law , no man a place of trust , supplying there , at one election , longer than one year . the book intituled , the perpetual parliament , is designed to be reprinted , and presented to all the members . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a66767-e10 printed anno 1652. the committee; or popery in masquerade l'estrange, roger, sir, 1616-1704. 1681 approx. 12 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 2 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-05 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47830 wing l1227 estc r216545 99828272 99828272 32699 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47830) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 32699) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1927:13) the committee; or popery in masquerade l'estrange, roger, sir, 1616-1704. 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. printed by mary clark, for henry brome, at the gun in st. paul's church-yard, london : 1681. attributed to l'estrange by wing. text printed in four columns. upper half of the sheet is an engraved allegorical plate, attacking commonwealth parliamentarians, the solemn league and covenant, the regicides, and various dissenting sects. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng dissenters, religious -england -controversial literature -early works to 1800. religion and politics -england -early works to 1800. lampoon -early works to 1800. religious satire, english -early works to 1800. great britain -history -restoration, 1660-1688 -humor -early works to 1800. 2003-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-02 john latta sampled and proofread 2004-02 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the committee or popery in masquerade . the explanation . behold here , in this piece , the plague , the fate of a seditious schism in church , and state : its rise , and progress ; with the dire event of a blind zeal , and a pack'd parliament . it was this medly that confounded all ; this damn'd concert of folly and cabal , that ruin'd us : for ye must know , that fools are but state-engins ; politicians tools ground to an edg , to hack , and hew it out ; till by dull sots knaves ends are brought about . think on 't , my masters ; and if e're ye see this game play'd o're again , then think of me. you 'l say this print's a satyr . against whom ? those that crown'd holy charles with martyrdom . by the same rule the scripture you 'l traduce , for saying christ was crucifi'd by th' iews : nay , and their treasons too agreed in this ; by pharisees betray'd ; and with a kiss : conscience , the cry ; emanuel was the word ; the cause , the gospel , but the plea , the sword. [ a ] now lay your ear close to that nest of heads . look , don't ye see a streaming ray , that sheds a light from the cabal down to the table ; t' inspire , and push on an enthusiast rabble ? in that box sits a iunto in debate , upon their sovereigns and three kingdoms fate : they 're hot , and loud enough . attend 'um pray'e , from point to point ; and tell us what they say . is it resolv'd then that the king must down ? not for a world ; we 'l only take his crown : he shall have caps , and knees still ; and the fame of a fair title , and imperial name : but for the sword ; the power of war , and peace ; life and death ; and such fooleries as these ; we 'l beg these boons our selves : and then , in course , what cannot be obtain'd by prayer , we 'l force . it rests , now , only ; by what arts and friends , methods , and instruments , to gain these ends. first , make the people sure ; and that must be by pleas for conscience , common liberty : by which means , we secure a popular voice for knights and burgesses , in the next choice . if we can get an act , then , to sit on till we dissolve our selves , the work 's half-done . in the mean while , the pulpits , and the presses must ring of popery , grievances , addresses , plots of all sorts , invasions , massacres , troops under ground , plague-plaisters , cavaliers : till , mad with spite and iealousie , the nation cry out , as one man , for a reformation . having thus gain'd the rabble ; it must be our next part , the common-council to secure : and then ; let king , law , church , and court-cabal vnite , and do their worst ; we 'l stand 'em all. our design 's this ; to change the government ; set up our selves ; and do 't by a parliament . and this t' effect needs only resolution ; we 'l leave the tumults to do execution . the popish lords must out , bishops must down ; strafford must dye ; and then , have at the crown . we will not leave the king , one minister ; the house , one member ; but what we prefer : no nor the church , one levite ; down they go : we , and the 'prentices will have it so . [ b ] this was scarce sooner said , than the thing done : for up starts little isaac , in the room of loyal gourney , with a sword in 's hand ; the ensign of his new-usurpt command : out of his mouth , a label , to be true to the design of the caballing crew : [ c ] his holiness at 's elbow ; heart'ning on , a motly schism ; half-pope , half-puritan ; who , while they talk of vnion , bawl at rome ; revolt , and set up popery at home . [ d ] now , bring your eye down to the board ; and see th' agreement of that blest fraternity : cov'nanters all ; and by that holy band sworn en'mies to th' establisht law o' th' land. these are the men that plague all parliaments for the impossible expedients of making protestant dissenters , one , by acts of grace , or comprehension : when by their very principles , each other thinks himself bound to persecute his brother . they never did , they never can unite in any one point , but t' o'rethrow the right : nor is 't at all th' intent of their debate to fix religion , but t' embroil the state ; ill accidents and humours to improve , under the fair pretexts of peace , and love ; to serve the turn of an vsurping power . but read the minutes , and they 'l tell ye more . [ e ] take a view , next , of the petitioners . but why , ( you 'l say ) like beasts to th' ark in pairs ? not to expose the quaker , and the maid , ( by lust to those brutalities betray'd ) as if those two sects more addicted stood to mares , and whelps , than other flesh and blood : no , but they 're coupled here , only to tell the harmony of their reforming zeal . [ f ] now wash your eyes , and see their secretarius of vncouth visage ; manners most nefarious ; plac'd betwixt pot and pipe , with pen and paper ; to shew that he can scribble , tope , and vapour : beside him , ( craving blessing ) a sweet babby ; ( save it ! ) the very image of the daddy ! he deals in sonnets , articles , takes notes , frames histories , impeachments , enters votes , draws narratives , ( for four pound ) very well ; but then 't is forty more , to pass the seal . beside his faculty , at a dry bob , that brings him many a comfortable job . [ g ] mark , now , those club-men ; that tumultuous rout crown , bible , magna charta , under foot ! those banners , trophies ; and the execrable rage , and transports of an incensed rabble ! here , the three states in chains ; and there , the head of a good king , by rebels murthered . and all this while , the creatures of those knaves , that blew the coal , themselves , the greatest slaves . what devil could make men mad , to this degree ? only mistaken zeal , and iealousie . liberty , conscience , popery , the pretence ; rapine , blood , sacriledge , the consequence . [ h ] let 's cross the way , now , to the doctors side . 't is a good , pretty girl , that holds his head ! what 's his disease , sweet-heart ? nay , that 's a question ; his stomach 's foul , perhaps , 't is ill digestion ; but 't is a mercy , 't comes so finely away : here 's canons , surplices , apocrypha ! look what a lump there lies of common-prayer . ay , but the cross in baptism , that lies there : o , how he reacht ; and still , as i provok'd him , he 'd heave for life ; 't was ten to one 't had choakt him ! nay verily ; this stuff , in holder-forth , may be as much as a man's life is worth . how do ye sir ? why somewhat more at ease , since i 've discharg'd these legal crudities . but if your stomach be so extremely nice ; what course d' ye take ? o , i have good advice : all the dissenting protestant-divines ; there 's not a man in the whole club , but joyns . this pect'ral , ●ou must know , keeps me alive ; sequester'd livings are preservative ! but for the sovereign remedy of all , the only , never-failing cordial ; there 't is upon that shelf : that composition th' assembly took , it self , in my condition . the tears of widows , orphans hearts , and blood they made their daily drink , their daily food : behold our christian cannibal's oblation , to auspicate their moloch reformation . [ i ] well! but what means this excremental swarm of humane insects ? how they fret , and storm ; grin at the vomit ; and yet for all this pother ; at the same time , lie teizing one another . alas ! 't is too , too true , you 've hit my grief : and there 's no help , no help for 't ; no relief . while they joyn'd hands with vs , against the crown , and church ; how sweetly the lords work went on ! but when we came to plant our directory , ' bless me , what freaks they play'd ! you know the story . oh! of themselves , they 're e'en a vip'rous brood ; begot in discord , and brought up with blood. 't was we that gave 'em life , credit , and name , till the vngrateful brats devour'd their dam. what could ye look for else ? for 't is dominion , that you do all contend for , not opinion . if you 'l have any government ; then say , which party shall command , and which obey . power is the thing ye both affect , and hate , every one would , ye cannot , all be great . this is , in short , the sum of the contest ; still he that 's up , 's an eye-sore to the rest. presbytery breeds worms : this maggot-fry is but the spawn of lawless liberty . license , is like a sea-breach to your grounds ; suffer but one flaw , the whole country drowns . london : printed by mary clark , for henry brome , at the gun in st. paul's church-yard , 1681. ecclesia & factio a dialogue between bow-steeple dragon and the exchange grasshopper. ward, edward, 1667-1731. 1698 approx. 20 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-07 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a67501 wing w733 estc r8751 12381564 ocm 12381564 60782 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a67501) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 60782) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 904:37) ecclesia & factio a dialogue between bow-steeple dragon and the exchange grasshopper. ward, edward, 1667-1731. 16 p. [s.n.], london : 1698. reproduction of original in huntington library. a satire, in verse. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng religion and politics -anecdotes. 2003-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-05 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2003-05 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion ecclesia & factio . a dialogue between bow-steeple dragon , and the exchange grashopper . london , printed in the year , 1698. ecclesia & factio . a dialogue , &c. dragon . tell me proud insect , since thou can'st not fly , by what assistance thou art hopp'd so high : the busie swarms of gnats and wasps around , with hum , and buz , thy revelations sound , and cry in thee ( alone ) their happiness is found . me they despise , and thee they praise aloud , admire thee , and adore thee as a god : misled by false enthusiastick light , they 've rais'd thee now to a destructive hight , who restless strive'st , by thy accustom'd ways , to stain those glories , which thou ne'er cou'dst raise ; and like your dam ( the babylonian beast ) cry down those truths ( by which mankind are blest ) which reason , well as faith , makes manifest . grashopper . thy scaly body , and aspiring wings , thy furious tallons , and thy frightful stings , makes thee seem monstrous to our milder flock , who dreaded once , but now disdains thy yoke : you 'd bind our souls , b'omnipotence made free , and rob us of that heav'n-born libertie , to which we have a right , as clea● as thee . my sons thou wou'dst unreasonably confine to worship god , within no walls but thine , as if the prayers , from other temples sent , of sighing souls , who faithfully repent , were scorn'd , and by repulsion backward driven , vanish'd in air , and reach'd no ear of heaven . where is its goodness ? what avails its grace , if our sincere repentance wants access , thro' heav'ns respect to either time , or place ? those measures but our own projections be , vnminded of the great eternitie , whose love divine moves round the sinful ball , to bless each wretch , who on his mercies call , without regard to place , no matter where , if the heart 's contrit , and the mind sincere . our humble guide the great example yields , who pray'd and preach'd in gardens , mounts , and fields : temples but sacred from their use became , our piety makes any house the same : where e'er we in th' almighty's name repair , omnipotence hath promis'd to be there . besides — our prayers ( by which all-pitty'ng heav'n we move , to grant us his inestimable love , when with true zeal our pious souls are warm'd ) makes the place holy , wheresoe'er perform'd . dragon . thou know'st i 'm founded on a fateless rock , freed from the danger of an envious shock , scripture's my bass , immovable i stand , guarded by lawful pow'r , on ev'ry hand . establish'd by a national consent , preach faith , and charity , do ills prevent ; and for the truths i teach , am made predominant . stedfast and pure , from innovations free , preserv'd intire from mutabillity ; safe from your pride , and envy , arm'd with law , to humble stiff precisians , who withdraw from my communion , conscious to agree with heads uncover'd , or a bended knee , and think a bow a rank idolitry . religion , like a prince , tho' ne'er so pure , by pow'r to punish , must be made secure , or else your saints , to reformation given , would quickly cut ten thousand paths to heaven . could i from factious insolence be free , and live unstain'd , without an enemy , ( but that , till thou art crush'd , can never be ) then church , and state might happily unite , to mankinds safety , and to heav'ns delight : but you , by pride , are swell'd to such a rage , ( fed by the vice of a corrupted age ) that now you strike , with envy , at my pow'r , and aim'st above my sacred head to tow'r : but all in vain — for that blest edifice can never drop , which , when assail'd , good heav'n is still the prop. you urge a barn , or stable , where you meet , a field , a coffee-house , dancing-school , or street , are fit for heav'nly worship , and for prayer sacred , as unpoluted temples are . rare arrogance indeed , so vilely prone , to justify irreverence to a god-head done . a room where men their common lusts pursue , drink , swear , lye , cheat , all worldly-business do , in christian reason , is a hopeful place to beg god's presence , or expect his grace ; whilst his own house , for holy use ordain'd , to him erected , by our sins unstain'd , shall be despis'd , and unregarded stand , a useless fabrick , in an impious land : yet do'st thou grumble in oppressive tones , and rail at me for persecutions . if you , thro' studdi'd prejudice , retire from what the laws of god , and man require , a legal force may justly then be us'd ; such factious serpents may in time be bruis'd : my pow'r's from god , and in his word declard , to those who to my laws bear no regard , heav'ns punishments are just , as to the good reward . the scriptures whatsoe'er i teach contain , what 's easie i recite , what 's hard explain : virtue commend to practice , sin reprove , excite to faith , hope , charity , and love : obedience , loyalty , repentance , prayer , the use of what we spend , or what we spare . truth i advance , and what is false suppress , you can no more than these , i do no less . then tell me what strange feavour in the head , at first those superstitious frenzys bred ? from whence you raise that causeless discontent , which makes you from my temples thus dissent ? grashopper . superfluous rites there are , which you maintain , and hold as decencies , which i think vain . look back upon your boasted pedigree , one part deriv'd of romes idolatry , from whose fantastic customs you have drawn , spuare caps , low bows , your surpliss , and your lawn . proud lazy prelates , with pluralities , who speak but by their hair-brain'd deputies , whose iunior years no truths obscure can reach ; and seldom are so wise , as those they teach . your mass-like service , with your noisie toots , of hum drum organs , fiddle faddles and flutes , your high-flown doctrins to advance a state , and please it , till vnlawfully made great , then turn your holy flat'ries to its fate . these i dislike , from these ( in chief ) dissent , as quite repugnant to the lords intent . these are the sumptious trappings of the whoar , the marks and patches which she always wore . these are her studdi'd , and prevailing charms , which , but the looser part of fancy warms , and draws unwary youth to her adult'rous arms. dragon . external order first informs our sence , and raises in us a due reverence , either towards place , or person , where we see concurrent parts , in noble form , agree , and tend to a peculiar harmonie . or why did the creator shape the world from a dark mass , together rudely hurl'd ? but that , in ev'ry part , mankind should see , the strokes of an allpow'rful deity . from whence the light of faith does first arise , and makes our reason subject to our eyes , for ev'ry wond'rous work of heav'n we see , gives fresh assurance of eternitie ; and by its graseful order strikes an awe , humbles our souls , and does obedience draw , by natural means , to heav'n , and natures law : therefore , such decent rites do i dispense , as best shall humble , and affect the sense ; and in my sons beget a graceful reverence . how insolent it looks ? how evil bred , t' approach god's presence with a cover'd head ? yet to a great-man couch , with hat in hand , and bare , before the wealthy idol , stand . or at devotion so neglectful be , as quite abandon all humilitie ; and rather than to bended-knees submit , in disrespectful postures , lolling sit . next , with church-government you disagree , and causlesly condemn our hierarchie : rail at my bishops , angry at their state , and envy them , whose merit made them great ; the learn'd , and pious characters they wear , hath rais'd them to the dignities they bear . unstain'd their lives , they are as guardians chose , to save the church from errour , and from foes : without whose conduct , and authoritie , religions pristine state can never be kept from erroneous innovations free , but stand expos'd to every abuse , that each fanatick whimsie shall produce . then sure such men , who by a painful life , ( thro' grace ) to knowledge more sublim'd arive ; and , with the piercing eyes of reason , see thro' all the mist'ries of divinitie , justly deserve a spiritual advance , above an unlearn'd , or a half-learn'd dunce ; whose rowling eyes , feign'd looks , and yawning jaws , can nothing utter , but with hums , and haughs ; inspir'd with ignorance , then roars aloud audacious nonsense , to a brainless croud : t is these , who from their cradle are misled , and backward taught , to factious pulpits bred , who , with impetuous vi'lence , headlong run , pursuing ills , their rebel si'res begun . thus in their fathers faults they persevere , and , by instinct of nature , envious dunces are : these , thro' their barren ignorance , exclaime against all order , and the church defame . pelting with factious , and calumnious lyes , that sacred pow'r , to which they cannot rise : spurning at all ecclesiastick pomp , true zealous sons of the detested rump , waiting the lucky minute to be turn'd up trump . grashopper . these bald aspersions , from afar you fetch , serve , but as bullets , to enlarge the breach . why so disturb'd , so scornful , and so high ? you 're but a weather-cock as well as i. boast of fix'd fundamentals , yet i find , for interest , you can turn with ev'ry wind. where 's right divine , your passive , and your non , the bubble's once blown up , now , poh , they 're gon . where is your loyalty , so subt'ly shown , sometimes to th' prince , and sometimes to the throne , sometimes to both , sometimes to ne'er a one : thus is it logically plac'd behind so many school-boys querks , 't is hard to find . when the great change ( by heav'ns permition ) try'd your churches doctrine , and her clergies pride , some conscientious fools , 't is true , tur●'d out , but all the wiser sheepheards fac'd about ; and , like good men , could blacken and upbraid that sinking pow'r , for which before they pray'd . dragon . scandal ( as you are wont ) i know you chuse , as the best weapon , of offence , to use , whether , on search , it true , or false be found , no matter which , if you can make it wound . but know my armour 's temper'd against fate ; and much to hard , for you to penetrate : the iron walls , my treasur'd truths defend , reverb'rate all the poisonous balls you send . you charge me with the want of loyalty , that am the chief support of monarchy : by my high priest the holy oyl 's apply'd , by me kings reign , are crown'd , and sanctifi'd ; i am on earth their safety , and to heav'n their guide . by me the factious falshoods are supprest , scatter'd by restless rebels , to molest the happy quiet of a peaceful reign , which traitors envy , and blind fools disdain . duty to kings , i to the public teach , to loyalty excite , perswade , beseech , that all things to the throne be easie made , and him thereon be rev'renc'd , and obey'd . what are all these , but marks of loyaltie , religious graces , manifest in me , virtues , i find , too bright for thy dull eyes to see . but pray your reasons to the world impart , why now you from your old opinion start . in happy days , when charles the scepter swai'd , when base designs , by you know who , were lai'd , then all your awkward , canting brood profest 't was damnable , the bread of life to tast , within my sacred temple-walls , but now , what then you held so dang'rous , you allow . if once 't was an offence so great , we know ( as you maintain'd , full twenty years ago ) 't is now the same , and ever will be so . why do the grandees of your leering tribe , ( who from rank dugs their prejudice imbibe ) so curb their malice , as conform of late , and with my flocks they envy , congregate . oft on a sabaths morning have i seen rich awful zealots , of a bulkey mein , cheat heaven , and dissemble with the state , to be by flatt'ry , and deceit made great ; visit my temples , seem devout as saints ; and for their int'rest , turn base sicophants : thus with my worship , thro' design , agree , and only mimmick , what they hate to be , to climb , unfairly , to authoritie . then , by their own corrupted whimsies led , where the rape meet , and common ills are bred ; there hear the church , from whence they came , lampoon'd , and true religion , by an ape buffoon'd ; who o'er his cushion , full of yawn , and hum , stands gaping like the bear that beats the drum. thus is the afternoon at meeting spent , the morning in the church , at sacrament : rare pious christians , full of faith , and grace , to thus with heav'n , dissemble for a place ; and pawn their souls to purchase sword or mase . if i am right , and from mistakes most free , why do they not conform intire to me ? if your dark system , they believe most true , why not alone communicate with you ? those who for int'rest , carry fair with both , are just to neither , by their faith or troth : but plung'd between two crimes , to greatness bent , erre with the wrong , and from the right dissent . grashopper . if you make laws t' eclips my purer light , and rob my sons , of what 's their native right , the fault 's not theirs , 't is you incur the blame , the cunning's on their side , on yours the shame . why not by birth , and christia● knowledge free to riches , honour , and authoritie ? why must these worldly comforts rest in you ; or your sons count all pow'r and place their due ? why may not mine as well assist the state , and in as great attempts , prove fortunate ? if you such laws procure , such pow'r possess , as prove a hind'rance to our happiness , how can you iustly blame us , to evade , and leap o'er all the stumbling-blocks you 've laid ? if you such bars to our preferments make , as oaths , and sacraments , for your own int'rest sake , it is no crime in us , the same to break or take . if you attempt , thro' pride , to keep us low , and we , thro' cunning , your designs o'erthrow , call it not cozening heaven , but out-witting you . dragon . no laws can such loose principles restrain , no force can bind you , but a golden chain . int'rest i find , is the prevailing tye , makes you approve , conform , dissent , deny , oppose the right , or the wrong justisie . int'rest , from me first made you seperate , and become rival to the church , and state. int'rest dispos'd you to intestine jars , improv'd to bloody , and domestick wars ; wherein being flatter'd with unjust success , trampl'd on merit , spit in virtues face , riffled the throne , and stain'd the judgment-seat , with crimes too black , and dreadful to repeat ; as if to you , omnipotence had given , a sanguine , not a milky-way to heaven . still are your thoughts by wild ambition tost , aiming to gain that pow'r , you justly lost : at all ellections , busie are your brood , heaving and shoving 'gainst the public good. on all promotions , zealously intent , sqneese , bawl , and jostle , till their breaths are spent ; kick , cuff , and scandal ( heedless of the laws ) tongues , feet , and arms , all working for the caufe ; to raise some meager darling of their own , faction in whose penurious looks is shown : rich by meer chance , or fraud , not great by merit grown . who can lye , cant , dissemble , or forswear , declaim against , or hear the common-prayer ; thro' all opinions halt , to lamely reach the chair . who can his conscience , to his interest mould , run with the court , or with the city hold . and without shame , can true reflections face , or bear all scandal , with a comely grace . and will his pow'r beyond just bounds extend , to injure foes , or to advance a friend ; or any thing will do ; to serve a factious end. these are the worthy dolts , your sons advance , by their false poles , and double diligence . these are the men of merit , they provide , to row , and toe , against the wind and tide ; who in tempestious discords , they create , sail quite repugnant to the church and state : yet to such outward godliness seem bent , to church they 'll come , tho' in their hearts dissent : but for no faith , will either hang , or starve , both god and mammon , for advancement serve ; thus seasonably comply , or in fit times can swerve . if such unsteddy rovers bear command , whilst men of worth , shall unregarded stand , by law , and nature , qualifi'd for trust , to something fix'd , and known in all things just. i● men like these , shall be by fraud put by , and yield their rights to the pedantick fry ; england must soon from all her greatness fall , and mourn her ancient glories funeral . which heaven prevent — and ( that she may once more her grandure boast ) retrieve her virtues , now so nearly lost ; and from all factious quarrels , and despights , preserve the king , church , nation , and our rights : that in one faith , we may united be , and accord sweetly , in just harmonie . finis . a short, legal, medicinal, useful, safe, easie prescription to recover our kingdom, church, nation from their present dangerous, distractive, destructive confusion and worse than bedlam madnesse seriously recommended to all english freemen who desire peace, safety, liberty, settlement. by william prynne, esq; a bencher of lincolns-inne. prynne, william, 1600-1669. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a56207 of text r219708 in the english short title catalog (wing p4080a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 22 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a56207 wing p4080a estc r219708 99831160 99831160 35623 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a56207) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 35623) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2095:15) a short, legal, medicinal, useful, safe, easie prescription to recover our kingdom, church, nation from their present dangerous, distractive, destructive confusion and worse than bedlam madnesse seriously recommended to all english freemen who desire peace, safety, liberty, settlement. by william prynne, esq; a bencher of lincolns-inne. prynne, william, 1600-1669. [8] p. [s.n.], london : printed in the year of general monck's invasion, 1659. caption title on p. 3 reads: a short, legal, medicinal, useful, safe, easy, prescription, &c. signatures: a⁴. copy imperfect; leaves mutilated at head with loss of pagination. reproduction of the original in the bodleian library, oxford. eng catholic church -controversial literature -early works to 1800. religion and politics -england -early works to 1800. great britain -history -puritan revolution, 1642-1660 -early works to 1800. a56207 r219708 (wing p4080a). civilwar no a short, legal, medicinal, useful, safe, easie prescription to recover our kingdom, church, nation from their present dangerous, distractive prynne, william 1659 3715 122 0 0 0 0 0 328 f the rate of 328 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the f category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2002-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2002-04 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2002-05 tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread 2002-05 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-06 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a short , legal , medicinal , useful , safe , easie prescription to recover our kingdom , church , nation from their present dangerous , distractive , destructive confusion and worse than bedlam madnesse ; seriously recommended to all english freemen who desire peace , safety , liberty , settlement . by william prynne , esq a bencher of lincolns . inne . judges 19. 30. consider of it , take advice , and speak your mindes . prov. 12 , 19 , 20. deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil : but to the counsellors of peace is joy : there shall no evil happen to the just , but the wicked shall be filled with mischief . london : printed in the year of general monck's invasion , 1659. a short , legal , medicinal , useful , safe , easy , prescription , &c. the ambition , treachery , turbulency , avarice , and late infused jesuiticall principles of some swaying officers in the parliaments army , aspiring after the supream authority , government , and publick revenues of our three kingdomes , having so far corrupted their judgments , seared their consciences , depraved their wills , and hardned their hearts , as openly , frequently to violate all sacred oaths , vows , covenants , obligations , trusts , commissions , engagements , to the late king , his heirs and s●●cessors ; the old parliament , kingdome , nation ; ( for whose defence , they were originally raised , commissioned ) and to their own new-created anti-parliamentary junctoes , conventions , protectors , and conventicies , which they have all successively subverted , engrossing the soveraign royall , and parliamental power into their own hands , a opposing and advancing themselves ( by meer treachery , perjury , violence , and other desperate wayes of unrighteousnesse ) like that man of sin , and mystery of iniquity , above all that is worshipped and called god ; making no lesse then three publick revolutions of our government , and forcibly dissolving two parliaments ( as they deemed them ) of their own modelling , b convening , within six moneths space , last past ; and thereby made our formerly renowned nations , the scorn , reproach , wonder , derision of all the world ; themselves the monsters of men , the shame of christianity , chivalry ; exposed our three nations to the uttermost extremity of danger , by new unpresidented ataxies , divisions , encroachments upon their hereditary rights , liberties , properties , caused a totall decay of all sorts of trade , justice , legall proceedings at home , and occasioned a speedy , much feared ivasion from our potent combined popish adversaries abroad , when thus miserably distracted , discontented , impoverished , and totally disabled to repulse them : it is high time for every publick-spirited elishman , in this strange , distracting confusion , ( which hath almost as much divided , discontented all conscientious officers , souldiers in the army , navy , as the people of all callings , conditions ) to contribute their best advice , by all just , legall , hopefull , speedy wayes , agreeable with the lawes of god , and the land , and those rights , liberties of the people , ( the defence whereof all officers , souldiers in the army , have so * frequently , constantly avowed they were principally raised , and resolved to defend , though they have hitherto failed in their promises ) to recover us ou● of the labyrinth of our almost inexetricable ●mazing confusions , settle o● pernicious distractions , and prevent that visible , imm●nent , universall desolation , else likely to fall upon our church , state , nation , rel●gion , beyond all possibil●ty of escape , through the army officers rash destructive counsells , and violations of their trusts , oaths , engagements , both as souldiers , christians , and members of the k●ngdome . the onely just , legall , probable means now left that i can prescribe , both for our nation , churches , armies present and future safety too ( if they will cordially and christianly submit thereto , as they oug●ht in conscience , justice , prudence ) is , 1. for all the antient nobility of the kingdome ( the c hereditary great counsell and counsellors of the nation in all actuall interregnums , and publick confusions , ( as our historians , law-books , and the commons themselves in the long parliament resolved ) both by custome , law , right ) to assemble themselves by common consent at westminster , or so many of them at least , or their heirs if dead , who constantly adhered to the long parliament ; and there to issue out writs according to the statute of 16 ca●o●● cap. 1. on the third monday of nov●mber next , under 12 or more of their hands and seals , for a free and legall election of knights , citizens , burgesses , barons , in every city , county , borough , port , according to former usage , to appear at the parl●ament-house in westminster , the third monday in january next ●●●suing , at a parliament then and there to be held , in such manner and form as this act prescribes ; wherein such proposalls and counsells may by common consent be pursued , as may through gods blessing , soon restore our pristine peace , trade , honour , wealth , prosperity , felicity , settlement , and secure us from all future changes . 2ly . for all freeholders in every county of the kingdome , at the next county court in november , to meet together , and make choise of the ablest , honestest , ●●●est , stoutest gentlemen for their sheriffs , to keep the peace of the county , command the militio , suppresse all insurrections , elect , return knights , citizens , burgesses , to serve in parliament , and execute the office of a sheriff ; it being their antient legal right and priviledge , by speciall grants of our kings , both in and out of parliament , which none in late , or present power ought to encroach upon , or deprive them of , and they are all now bound to exercise and maintain for their own preservation and safety . this their right i shall clearly evidence beyond contradiction . 1 by the peoples ancient right edward the confessors time , or before , in their folkmo●● to chuse an he●etoke ( a baron or person of quality ) in every county , in nature of a ca●●●in , who had the power of the county and militia in every shire 〈◊〉 et uicec●mites provinciatum et cemitatuum ●ligi beb●nt per singu●os cemitatus in pleno folkmoto : as sheriffs of provinces and counties ought to be chosen in every county ; as you may read at large in mr. lambards arckaion , ● . 135 de hetetochiis ; in sir henry spelmans glossarium , dux & heretochius , p. 232 , 348 349. my soveraign power of parliaments , part 2. p. 24 , 25. cooks 2 institutes , p. 174 , 175. 2 by rot claus. anno 16 johannis regis , part 2. m. 2. dorso . dominus rex concessit baro●…ibus suis , militibus & liber è tenentibus de cornubia , qued habeant vicecomitem de aliquo ipsorum ad electionem eorum . idem vero barones , mi●…ites , & ●…iberè ten●…ntes conce●…sserunt willielmo 〈◊〉 , quod h●…beat hund●…edum de estweneleser ad feodi firmam , sibi & haeredibus suis imperpetuum , per dimidium marci argenti , ad ●…estum sancti michaelis reddendum . 3ly . by rot. pat. an. 5 h. 3. memb. 6. h. dei gratia &c. archiepiscopis , episco i●… , c●…mitibus b●…ronibus , militibus , libere tenentibus & al●…is omnibus de com. corn●…b . salut●…m . 〈◊〉 quod concessimus vobis quod l●…beram 〈◊〉 electionem el●…gend vobis in vicecomi●…em nostrum unum de com. 〈◊〉 . et ideo veb●…s mandamus quod ●…ligatis tres ●…ideles & discr●…tes de com cornu●… . & illos nobis praesentari fac . apud london in octab. clausi pasche , & nos 〈◊〉 ex illis t●…ibus prout nob●…s placuerit . vobis dabimus ad 〈◊〉 . et interi●…s commissimus com. tatum illum cornub. cum emnibus illis 〈◊〉 ad 〈◊〉 dilecto & fideli nost●…o reginaldo de valle●…orta 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 que mind ●…mus qualinus eidem reginaldo usque ad piaedictum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & respondentes in omnibus , tanquam vic. nostro & 〈◊〉 nostro , 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 , &c. t. 〈◊〉 . de bu●…go , &c. 〈◊〉 westm. x●…viij d●…e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 0. 4y . by b●…t . 10. h. 3. memb. 4. r●…x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 〈◊〉 , prio●…ibus , comitibus baronibus , militibus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & omnibus aliis de communibus 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 q●…od 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 de . willo : sil henr. ad v●…c nost●…um 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nost●…um 〈◊〉 . et ideo vobis mandamu●… quo●… 〈◊〉 vic nostro 〈◊〉 nobis 〈◊〉 i●…tendentes fitis & 〈◊〉 . in 〈◊〉 &c. teste rege apud w●…nton x●…vij die jan. 5ly . by mat. paris , mat. westminster , daniel , and others , who record , that in the 45 year of king henry the 3d , the king placed new sher●ff● in every county , displacing the sheriffs the barons and people had made ; whereupon the people in eve●y county , manfully resisted the sheriffs , and would not obey , nor regard nor answer them in any thing , whereat the king was much troubled . much less then ought they now to ob●y any sheriffs obtruded on them by the army officers , or any other illegal us●rped power . 6ly . by the statute of articuli super chartas , anno 28 e. 1. chap. 8. the king hath granted to his people , that they shall have the election of sheriffs in every shire ( where the shrivalty is not of fee ) if they w●●● and chap. 13. for as much as the king hath granted the election of s●eriffs to the commons of the shire , the king willeth , that they shall chuse such sheriffs as shall not charge them , and that they shall not put in any officer for rewards or bribes . and that they shall not lodge too oft in one place , nor with poor persons , nor with men of religion . by which statutes , ( being but confirmations of the peoples former rights by custom , or kings g●an●s 〈◊〉 which some of them encroached , which was the occasion of these acts ) all counties used to elect their sheriffs : and if they elected any mean or unfitting person , as they sometimes did , he then commanded them by his writs to chuse another who was fit to discharge that office ; witness this memorable record ensuing . cl. 31 e. 2. m. 13. dur●● . rex coronatoribus & toti communitati comitatum salop. & stafford . salutem . cum nuper pro communi utilitate regni nostri inter alia concesserimus populo ejusdem regni , quod habeat si voluerit electionem vic. in singulis comitatibus dicti regni cum opus fuerit vicecom . praedict. in eisdem , ubi videlicet vicecomes de feodo non existit . ac rieus : de harleigh p●r vos in vic. comitatuum praed●ctorum nuper electus , ad officium illud faciendum minus sufficiens est , sicut ex testimonio fidedigno accepimus : vobis manda●●● quod aliquem qui melius sciat & possit officio vic. dictorum comitatum intendere & utilior fuerit ad idem of fictum exequendum in vic. corundem comitatuum pro vobis , si volueritis , eligatis , & ipsum sic electum per aliquem legalem & circumspectum hominem ex parte vestra cum literis , vestris patentibus sub sig●●is sex de discretioribus & probioribus mil. eorund●m comitatuum thess. & baronib . nostris de scaccario in erastino sancti michaelis prox suturi sine dilatione praesente●is , ut ipse tunc ibidem praestito sicut mo●is est sacrament● , extunc ea faciat & exerceat , que ad of sicium vicecomitis peatinent in com . prudictis . et habeat●s ●bi tunc hoc breve . scituri , quod si talem per vos electum modo praedicto non praesentaveritis coram prafatis thess. & baronibus nostris in crastin● pradicto , praedicti thes. & barones extunc nobis de ali● vicecomite vobis praeficiendo in defectu vestri providebunt . teste rege apud sarum . vvi . die april . 8ly . by claus. 12 e. 3. pars 2. m. 15. claus. 13 e. 3. pars 3. dors . 16. claus. 14 e. 3. pars 2. m. 3. de uicecemitibus eligendis per totam angliani : wherein are several writs issued authorizing and commanding the people to elect their sheriffs in every county throughout england , with other records to the like effect over-tedious to recite at large . 9ly . by mr. lambards archaion . f. 135. and sir edward cooks 2. institutes on magna charta , p. 174 , 175 , 558 , 559 , 566. who resolve , that sheriffs in antient times were and oft to be chosen by the freeholders , of the county in the county court , as conservators of the peace , coroners , verderers , constables , petty constables , were then and since elected likewise by the people ; as well by the kings writs , as without them , in cases of necessity . xly. by the constant custome of all corporations which are counties within themselves , having power annually to chuse sheriffs only by the kings charters , without any special writ , as london , bristol , glocester , york , canterbury coventry , &c. use to do . therefore every county in england and wales , may do the like without any speciall writs , being a necessary annuall , antient standing office , especially in these confused times , when none have any legall authority to issue out writs or commissions to elect or swear sheriffs , by vertue of the premised statutes : and the army-officers , with other self-created usurping powers , may as lawfully obtrude mayors , sheriffs , and other officers on every corporation of england without their election , and deprive them of their freedome to elect them ; as thrust sheriffs , justices of the peace , coroners , or other eligible officers upon counties ; and rob them of this their just ancient right and priviledge ; now strenuously to be revived , asserted for their common safety , against all encroachments thereon . the statute of westminster 1. ch. 5. enacting , declaring , that all elections ought to be free , and not disturbed by force of arms under grea● forfeitu●es by no great men nor others . 3ly . let all counties , cities , boroughs , ports , make choice of the wisest , ablest , stout●st , discreetest persons , such as are best affected to peace , settlement , and the nations publi●e interest , for their knights , citizens and burgesses ; not of raw , unexperienced , timorous , or time-serving , unstable , self-seeking , turbulent men . 4ly . let all counties , cities , noblemen , gentlemen , yeomen , clergy-men , and freemen of the nation , unanimously resolve , to obey no new , illegall , tyrannical , upstart powers , officers , conventicles , committees or counc●ls of men whatsoever forcibly obtruded on them ; nor to execute any of their orders or commands ; but onely to obey such legal officers as themselves shall legally elect , or a free parliament duly elected by them : nor pay any taxes , customs , imposts , excises , contributions whatsoever , to any officers , souldiers , collectors , but such as shall be imposed by common consent in a free and lawfull parliament , it being their antient birthright ( for defence whereof the army was first raised ) ratified not only by sundry antient statutes , and the late petition of right , but several acts , votes , declarations , judgments of the last long parliament of king charls , acknowledged in the instrument of government it self , the late petition and advice , the armies own former declarations , and the late dissolved juncto in their very last knack of the 12. of this instant october , their plea and papers since . 5ly . if any officers , and souldiers of the army , out of faction , ambition , self-ends , or jesuitical seduction , shall obstinately , traiterously , maliciously , or tyrannically oppose the people in their elections of sheriffs , knights , citizens , burgesses , or levy any taxes , excises upon them by armed violence , contrary to all their former-forfeited , now-expired commissions , declarations , engagements ; let them unanimously declare and proceed against them as professed publick enemies , traitors to their native countrey ; who by their former and late treacheries , rebellions , and unwarrantable proceedings against all their superiors , ( transcending all presidents in profane or sacred stories ) have actually in law , justice , forfeited not onely all their commissions , commands , and arrears of pay , but their very lives , lands , estates ; and that our whole 3. nations by their solemn league and covenant , for their own future preservation , are obliged to bring them to publike justice , as themselves have proceeded against hundreds , nay thousands of other delinquents not half so criminal as themselves : and thereupon intreat all other officers , souldiers in the army , who have any fear of god , or love to themselves , their posterities , or native countrie remaining in their brests , as moses did the congregation of israel in the rebellion of korah , dathan , and abiram , who mutinied the people against him and aaron , numb. 16. depart i pray ye from the tents of these wicked men , and touch nothing of theirs , lest ye be consumed in all their sins . so they gat up from the tabernacle of korah , dathan , and abiram on every side . and as many officers , souldiers , as shall thereupon desert the tents of their rebellious commanders , and contribute their assistance ●…or the speedy calling and safe 〈◊〉 of a f●…ee , lawfull parliament , without any ●…uture mutinies , to interrupt o●… d●…ssolve it when convened according to the premised statute of 16 〈◊〉 , c. 1. let them be assured of their full arrears , and indempn●…ty fo●… what is past , wh●…ch none else b●…t a free and lawful parliam●…nt can grant them ; all ●…ther indempn●…ties being vo●…d in law . and if this will not satisfi●… , let them b●…ware , lest the earth cleave osunde●… that is under them ; and 〈◊〉 swallow them up 〈◊〉 , with their houses , men , goods , and all appertaining to them , and they perish from among the 〈◊〉 , as korah , 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 , with their families and adherents ●…id , by this or some other exemplary judgments , and a universal insurrection of our three whole discontented , oppressed , rained nations against them , which they may justly fear and expect , if they believe there is a righteous god that judgeth in the earth , a lord of hosts able to scatter , puni●…h , execute vengeance on them here , and cast them into hell for ever hereafter , for their manifold unlamented , reiterated , transcendent reb●…llions : or repute these texts canonical , which i shall recommend to their saddest meditations . prov. 29. 10. he that being often rep●…oved hard●…eth his neck sh●…ll suddenly be destroyed , and that without remedy , ( as the late anti-parliamentary junctoes , and protectors have been ) prov. 11. 21. though hand go in hand , yet the wicked shall not go unpunished . psal. 68. 21. god shall wound the head of his enemies , and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses . ezech. 24. 14. i the ●…ord h●…ve spoken it , it shall come to passe , i will do it ; i will not go back , neither will i spare , neither will i repe●…t ; but according to thy wayes and accordings i will recompence , and th●…y shall judge thee , saith the lord . col. 3. 25. he that doth wrong , shall receive according to the wrong done , and there is no respect of persons w●…th god ; ●…ho can in a moment as easily destroy an whole army , and great host of men ( as he did * sennacheribs , 〈◊〉 , and other armies ) as any one single person . october the 〈◊〉 1659. the day of king-condemning john 〈◊〉 death , and translation to his proper place and arraignment in the highest court of 〈◊〉 . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a56207e-190 a 2 thess. 2. 3. 4. b see their declaration , may 6. 1659. * see their collection of engagements , remonstrances , &c. for setling the subjects in their just liberties and freedoms , london , 1657. c see my plea for the lords , p. 43. 51 , to 60. de com. cornub . de v●…wct . electo in com. su●… . & d●…rset . de vic. elig . * 2 kings 13. 35. 2 ch●…on . 13. 16 , 17. an answer to pereat papa, or, a reply by way of letter from a gentlewoman to a person of quality commending to her consideration a paper entituled pereat papa, or, reasons why popery should not inherit the crown. gentlewoman. 1681 approx. 22 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a25565 wing a3372 estc r18359 11938290 ocm 11938290 51223 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a25565) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 51223) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 48:28) an answer to pereat papa, or, a reply by way of letter from a gentlewoman to a person of quality commending to her consideration a paper entituled pereat papa, or, reasons why popery should not inherit the crown. gentlewoman. 4 p. s.n., [london? : 1681] caption title. at head of page: answer a fool according to his folly. place and date of publication from wing. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng kings and rulers -succession. religion and politics -england. 2007-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-01 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-03 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-03 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an answer to pereat papa : or , a reply by way of letter from a gentlewoman to a person of quality ; commending to her consideration a paper entituled pereat papa ; or , reasons why popery should not inherit the crown . answer a fool according to his folly. sir , had the paper you sent me , intituled pereat papa , or reasons why popery should not usurp the crown , come accidentally to my hands , and had not been seriously recommended to my observation by you , i should have concluded its author had jocularly intended , or to , use his own phrase , conceived , and that very candidly , such reason● proper to burlesque , a late design for altering the succession , on account of that so often baffled a cause called popery . but instructed by your letter from so wild a reflection , i begin to consider it as the labours of some grand sage — ignoramus of the common-law , which furnishes its students with reasons intelligent to none but themselves ; but reasons , since he is pleased to call them , so let them be ; for should a filly woman venture to question that title , she might perhaps anger some terrible judge that daily deals out death with the like logick . therefore with humble submission to such powerful disputants , who can destroy by president those they cannot confute , i will give you my observations thereupon , and first upon his preamble , in these following words . it is conceiv'd , and that very candidly , without prejudice to others judgments , or troubling our selves with that so often baffled a cause called popery , that a papist ought not to inherit or succeed to the management of the crown . ans . now as to his candid conceiving , without prejudice to his judgment , i humbly conceive , that those quaint words , and all the rest so ill put together , are meer non-sence ; and that without the help of his title it would be hard to find out his meaning to be , that a papist ought not to succeed to the crown : his first pretended reason is , r. 1. in strictness of law , because one so qualifyed hath wilfully disabled or rendered himself uncapable of that benefit which the common-law ( after the usual course of descent ) doth positively require , for 't is presumable , that he that succeeds in the office of the crown should be legally adopted to execute so great a trust ; and therefore if minus idoneus not sufficiently ballasted with the notions and intrigues of state , others are to govern in aid of him , as in case of ideocy , lunacy , or the like , and the parliament is bound ( as trusted to redress grievances and secure the nation ) to place it where religion and propertie shall be adjudged most safe . ans . here he would be thought a lawyer , a calling i have not profest , because i observe women are rarely made judges ; but yet i am not so ignorant of the common-law , but that i have heard it defin'd to be right reason , guided by ancient usage : therefore if this gentleman had brought but one president where a papist had been put by the crown , meerly for being such , he had saved himself and his readers much trouble in composing and observing so many nothings , as his eight unintelligable reasons amount to : but in the name of wonder , how does a papist prince incapacitate himself for the crown by the common-law , ( after the usual course of descent ) when from the time of the conquerour there has been one and twenty of that religion , and but five of the reformed church , have worn the imperial crown of this realm ; but to speak to the purpose , it is plain that the common-law alters not the succession on account of religion , nor indeed on any account whatsoever , no not if the king be minus idoneus , infant , ideot , or lunatick : for right reason , continual usage , with numberless presidents in this and other her●ditary monarchies , teach us . that such alterations would do more harm to religion and property , than any of those temporary inconveniences , so that the common-law , both by president and right reason , abhors his reason : and what the power or duty of parliaments in this case is , i am sure is a theame too high for him or me to define ; therefore i will pass on to his 6 pretended presidents of that nature , and if any of them proves the least part of his purpose , i will submit my reason to be the slave of incoherency for ever . president the 1st . edgar ethling , ( as stories agree ) was the undoubted heir , yet vvilliam the norman , commonly called the conquerour , was call'd in to oppose harold , and invested with the crown , and ethling for ever an exile and disinherited . 2dly . after him succeeded his second son , william rufus , and not robert the eldest . ans . by his leave , stories do not agree , that william was called in , though edgar the right heir 't is true was put by , but 't is as true ( that stories agree ) that liberty and property were thereupon destroyed ; for william divested whom he pleas'd of their lands , to gratifie his fellow conquerours : nor did the second william deal kindlier with any whom he suspected had the least eye to his brother robert's signiority ; nor was the nation freed from this tyranny untill the blood of the right saxon heir edgar was again inocculated into the crown by the wife of henry the first . would any man then in his right wits write such presidents in order to preserve religion and property ? 3dly . king john not only laid aside arthur plantaginet , his elder brother's son , but likewise put him to death . ans . by this president ignoramus discovers his morals ; for that king john usurp'd against his nephew arthur none denys ; and that thereupon ensued bloody intestine broyls , with the loss of normandy &c. with other national miseries , the constant consequences of such mutations , but that he murther'd his nephew he ever denyed ; though had our lawyer been of his council , he might have boasted it , because 't is two to one , the young prince stood popishly affected . 4thly . in cicily there was lately a great contest between the two sons of charles the second , martellus and robert , and i find the crown awarded to robert the youngest , as , magnus dignus ad regandum . 5thly . alexander was demanded to whom he would bequeath his scepter , he said , to the worthiest , and to him whose sword hath the sharpest point ; meaning , to him whose vertues were most luculent , and of the brightest integrity , according to the disposition of jacob , passing by manasses , and conferring the blessing on ephraim the younger , as most deserving and acceptable to god. ans . now would i defie your author , or the most cunning sophister on earth , to make these two presidents , or any part of them , to quadrate in the least with his title to them : there are several presidents of this nature , but he is extream lucky in his choice , both of words and matters which are nothing to the purpose , and above all in the next . 6thly . the state of france rejected the king of navarr , and appointed henry the fourth to reign over them , because of another religion , in leaving god , and complying with their church , to gain a crown , with what a tragical end did they reward him ? ans . would not this president give me just cause to believe , that the gentleman was burlesqueing his cause ; for who could think a man so ill verst in history , should pretend to quote presidents from it ; they rejected , says he , the king of navarr for henry the fourth ; and why could he not have said , they rejected again henry the fourth for the king of navarr ; and so it had been a noble president to such as did not know that henry the 4th , and the king of navarr , were one and the same person : but why should i concern my self with so impertinent a paper ; for indeed all his presidents are as much to the purpose , as the reply to ones demand , why the devil was generally painted with horns ? how says the other , did you never read in scripture , that the devil goes about like a roaring lyon , seeking whom he may devour . therefore , not much to combate a nothing . i will only observe the gentleman strangely forgot one president , proper indeed to his principals and morals , that is , the deposal and murther of charles the first , on pretence , amongst other falshoods , that he favoured popery ; this truly , as to his design , is worth a thousand such as he hath quoted . reas . 2. can it be thought but that he that succeeds in the crown , should not succeed concurrentibus his qui in jure requiserunt , as the civil law expresses it , that in all the concerns thereof , which are the laws , principally those that relate to religion , and not for one man led away with a purblind perverseness , renouncing the religion he knows not why , ( and so wilfully attainting himself ) to inthrall the nation in superstition and tyranny ; for regularly in all parts , where popish lords are in the church , there tyranny of course rages in the state. ans . can this be thought to look to any reasonable man like reason , for , except a scrap of latine , ( whereby the gentleman pretends to the civil law , of which he understands as much as of the common , or history ) there is not one word to the purpose ; for , what can purblind perverseness , or wilfully attainting himself mean more than mallice , as the whole sentence indeed is intended for , concluding with a positive falseness , since it is well known we owe our thanks for magna charta , and other franchises to popish princes . reas . 3. 't is a maxime amongst lawyers , that , lex facit regem ; and maxims must not be denyed ; if so , then to speak out after the true intendment of the law ; he that comes not to the crown satiatim , as the law notifies , and prescribes , 't is no lawful succession , but down-right usurpation , and without scruple it is in the devoir of every good christian to withstand an usurper , it being undoubtedly more pleasing to god to put one man by who thus wilfully disables himself , and withall most shamefully usurps , than expose millions of souls to damnation , and the streets to flow with blood , by suffering that religion to creep in , whose reformation ( at the milder rate ) will certainly prove fire and faggot . for this very cause mecha was removed from being queen , by her son king asa , for making an idol in a grove , incited thereunto by the prophet azariah . ans . i will believe it is a maxime , and by it is only meant : that by the law , the next of blood , is made king ; for as to his inference , 't is malicious , trayterous , and ridiculous , setting up in every pretended good christian , a power to depose any prince he pleases to call an usurper ; for his fire and faggots they are meerly wildfire in his own brains , as his example of king asa is , who only took from his mother the dignity of a queen : for the regal power was before in himself , and sure he had reason to suppress in his first subject so great an example of idolatry . reas . 4. the succession of the crown and a common descent much differ , for if an heir that 's a subject prove loose and debauch'd it little damnifies the publick , more deserving persons may haply step into his possession , and be more serviceable to the publick ; the dammage is still but private to his own family . but in case of the crown , there is none so senseless but must needs conceive the dammage most fatal , because universal , the whole nation must inevitably suffer , religion be subverted , and property destroyed , and the whole people in danger of their lives . 't is well known in the private case , the heir is usually thrown off and dis-inherited , if an entail , it may be destroyed , and the law justifies it . the like in the publick of the throne ( the grand inquisitors of state and conservators of the liberties of england ) the parliament may for weighty causes refuse the heir presumptive , and for the safety of the nation , settle it where they in honour and prudence conceive most proper . ans . what shall i say more to all this new-nothing , but that 't is not fit he or i should limit the power of the king in his parliament ; but 't is to be supposed that they will know best how to obey new laws , who are not factious against the old , as your author most impudently appears to be , notwithstanding his golden rule . reas . 5. we read in scripture , which is the golden rule we must walk by ; that libnah revolted from jehoram because he had forsaken the god of his fathers , and so we had better forsake man and adhere to god in keeping our religion , than trust to man and lose god , to be unavoidably destroyed here , and hereafter irrecoverably damned in serving baal , and parting with the divinity now establisht . ans . this might have past as well for a president , as a reason , but that he infers from it a necessity to revolt from the worship of baall , for the divinity establisht , which priviledge by my consent no body shall deny him , since he has already made a revolt from common-sense and humanity , by so many vain and chymerical suppositions as are put together in this and his next reason . reas . 6. when rehoboam had prepared a huge army to reduce the israelites , he was forbidden by the prophet , thus saith the lord , ye shall not go up nor fight against your brethren , for this is for me , mark , he calls them brethren not rebels . passive obedience therefore is simple and fit for tame owls that know no better , now god has discover'd the snare and the pit of ruins that the pope and the devil has prepar'd for us , if we do not timely countermine it by cautionary laws to suppress those that dig'd it , we may in a short space be thrown into it head-long and no one pity us . but the right line with some shallow pated talkers , is a noli me tangere , so sacred forsooth , that we must venture body and soul in subjecting our selves to all the curses imaginable that hell it self can inflict on us , rather than in the least alter or controul it , a very frivolous caveat , and not to be heeded , humane examples , as i shewed before , have voted against it , and the scripture warrants it , samuel foretold in the case of saul that he would be rejected for his disobedience , though not his person degraded or deposed , yet that the kingdom should both be remov'd from his line and tribe , which was done accordingly , and transferred on david . this proves very fully that heirs , or next in succession , are not so immoveably placed , but that they may lawfully ( on just cause ) be displaced , if not legally quallified , and others put up for gods glory in their rooms . god raised jehu to purge idolatry against the house of ahab , all the sons of ahab were beheaded , and in a manner his whole line cut off , for his good service he had a promise of a special blessing for his issue to continue the throne to the fourth generation , several other instances i could give , but this may suffice . in brief there is no reformed church , from the first waldenses of lyons and languedock to this very day , but have held it lawful . ans . through all the railing and no reason of this long reason , i will only pick out these observations ; first , that the author is no true son of the church of england , who has always taught her children passive obedience at least , for which they are by our mannerly statists branded with the titles of tame owls and shallow pated talkers . secondly , that he has cast an aspersion on all the reformed churches , from the first waldenses , &c. to this day , for holding his wild principles and bloody examples lawful . thirdly , what greater advantage he could have given the jesuits , falsly charged with such principles , to retort them on the reformers , i cannot tell , but this am sure , if it be true , it is a fair caveat to all princes , not subject to such doctines , to be careful of their spreading in their dominions , for at worst 't is less dangerous to have one mad deposer , called the pope , at a distance , then to have every town in ones dominions crouded with such soveraign judges , whose sentences may be executed according to this divinity by every desperate hand . reas . 7. 't is conceited by half-witted states-men , that restrictive laws may prevent all mischief , and secure the protestants : a very vain opinion , and most fallacious ; for laws will never bind , but more enrage , shackle him as you will , and load him with ne're so many laws , when king , he and his party will be restless , till they have set themselves at liberty , and to have the protestants under ; when king he is not impeachable , and the posse regni will then be at his disposal . when the wolf is shepherd , the flock is very safe indeed , and like to be well look't to ; after all denounceable at will ; for if his party now commit such outrages , that no age can parallel , what will they do then ? now no man safe in his bed , then none safe at all ; they will adventure to murder people covertly , and in their houses , for they hold it no more sin than to kill a dog. ans . the gent. might have been more mannerly in his character , if it be considered what states-man has lately in council , or rather to the parliament , declared his opinion for the restrictive laws under a right succession ; whose declaration ought to have made that matter , a noli me tangere , at least to any private person : but he that dare speak evil of dignities , and brand superiours with the title of half-witted states-men , would , had he but half the courage that he has malice , commit greater outrages , than fancy can make the others guilty of . reas . 8. in fine , be sure he and his party ( which will daily encrease , and the protestants decline ) will soon get an opportunity , either by stratagem , or open force , to avoid all laws , though they are ne're so strong and wary , and so impossible to be safe without a protestant successor . ans . this prophetical reason , in fine , is at best but one doctors opinion , and , i doubt me , but a meer mountebank at the pulse of a kingdom : of which i will assure you , sir , i perceive by his paper he knows so little , that a better discourse often comes ex tempore from a good woman at a gossiping upon the same subject . for the whole , 't is an unconnext rapsody of meer words , interlaced with scraps of latine , brought in to as little purpose as his presidents ; so that if he be your acquaintance ( for friend he cannot be to so worthy a person ) perswade him to keep his ignorance out of paper hereafter ; and his impudence , to treat of subjects so much above his comprehension , will pass off well enough in coffee-houses , where to rail sufficiently against popery , is policy to the purpose : to which crouds of unthinking praters , i freely bequeath him , as i do my self , to be for ever , yours . sir , since my answer to yours , in slight observations , on pereat papa , i find the author so fond of his folly , as to put it in print , though with a little alteration , i suppose by direction from the printer , for he has chang'd his first president ; not into better sense , nor a jot more to his purpose , but into something that shews he has been told by some body , that henry the fourth of france , was the rejected king of navar ; but his historian , it seems , could not inform him , that the crown was setled on his head , and that he had a long , glorious , and prosperous reign , till assassinated by a desperate , barbarous , and irreligious villain , upon a private revenge as was ever believed , and has been since confest by ravillacks brother on his death-bed in germany . the printer too had the manners , i suppose , against the authors will , to leave out the witty epithet of tame owls , given to the passive obedience in his sixth reason ; other material change there is none , and you must pardon this , being printed since : 't is pity the world should see the coxcomb uncorrected , and that by the hand of a woman , the provocation whereof , i suppose , made him appeal to the more judicious in print , and has forced me to do the same , with this addition to my first sentence — bray a fool in a mortar , and he will not return from his folly . a fannaticks addresse humbly presented to the king and his peers, and also to his people in their representative, the commons house of parliament ... discovering to them, the innocency of his actings in the midst of the late revolutions of governments in this nation ... / by henry adis ... adis, henry. 1661 approx. 42 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26410 wing a577 estc r20288 12609657 ocm 12609657 64317 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26410) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 64317) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 339:23) a fannaticks addresse humbly presented to the king and his peers, and also to his people in their representative, the commons house of parliament ... discovering to them, the innocency of his actings in the midst of the late revolutions of governments in this nation ... / by henry adis ... adis, henry. 17 p. printed for the author ..., london : 1661. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng dissenters, religious -england. religion and politics -england. freedom of religion -england -history -17th century. 2003-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-04 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-03 melanie sanders sampled and proofread 2005-03 melanie sanders text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a fannaticks addresse humbly presented to the king and his peers , and also to his people in their representative , the commons house of parliament , assembled and sitting at westminster : discovering to them , the innocency of his actings in the midst of the late revolutions of governments in this nation ; with the resolves of them that walk with him , and the qualifications of those they intend to have communion withal . by henry adis , a baptized believer , undergoing the name of a free-willer ; and also most ignomineously by the tongue of infamy , called a fannatick , or a mad man. phil. 4. 5. let your moderation be known to all men , the lord is at hand . london , printed for the author , an upholdster , living in princes-street , near covent-garden , 1661. a fannaticks addresse humbly presented to the king and his peers , and also to his people in their representative , the commons house of parliament , assembled and sitting at westminster , &c. for as much , as several that lately took upon them the places of trust , government and authority in these nations , under a pretence of making such a reformation in church and state , as was agreeable both to the law of god , and the best reformed churches ; and yet their ends in all this , the event did clearly evidence , was nothing either more or less , but to advance and set up self , and self-interests ; the which that they might the better , and with the more self-security effect , they proclaimed liberty of conscience , that so they might gain a party to stand for and by them , if necessity required ; in which time of freedome , a small party . ( the searcher of all hear●s right well knoweth ) enjoyed our liberties under them , with an utter detestation both to their acts of violence , oppression , and self-servings , with our continual bearing our testimony against them , in those actions , as it fell in our way , both in discourses and teachings ; but more publickly in my books , printed and published in the year , 1648. called , the symptomes of ruin , or , the sword and famine , the attendants of oppr●ssion ; as also in that book , intituled , a cup for the city and her adherents ; and in that poem , called , a spie for justice , sent out of the tower chamber of the fleet ; in all which it will evidently appear , that for mine own part i could not own , nor in the least allow of their violence nor oppression : and the better to clear to the whole nation , our innocency and the cleanness of our hands , as to all manner of acts of violence , and oppression , i caused 1500. declarations to be printed and published , the 12th . day of the 11th . month , vulgarly called january , in the year 1659. which is also joyned to the latter end of my fannaticks mite , cast into the kings treasurie ; in which i declared my judgement , and the judgement of that small company that were in society with me , both concerning fighting , swearing , and government , and our obedience to magistracy , and magistrates , and our present disrelish to them then in being , as in the 23 , and 24. lines of the said declaration , ( if recourse thereunto had ) is evident : and yet notwithstanding , my self with two more of the said declarers , in this late imprisonment , about the late insurrection , and also upon refusing to ingage to the king by an oath , we have been cruelly imprisoned , in the gate-house dungeon , and two of us also most abusively ( with others ) were printed as traytors , although the thought of those , and such like acts of violence , and bloodshed , are even an abhorring to our souls . and seeing we have the word of the king passed to us , for our protection under him , in our liberties in our meetings , to discharge our duty to our god , and each to other , in that way that god hath manifested himself unto us in his revealed will , the holy scriptures of truth , so long as we on our parts without acts of violence , hostility , plottings , contrivings , or underminings , shall behave our selves peaceably and quietly under him . and seeing we on our parts , have never in the least forfeited our priviledges , by any thing that we have either acted , or in the least intended , and yet our peaceable and quiet meetings , have been beset with rude and debauched souldiers , rending and swearing , attended with the rude rabble ; and that since our late inlargement by the kings coronation favour ; and all this for speaking in the name of jesus of nazareth , a man approved of god , acts 2. 22. he that is pretendedly owned of you all , and contended for by you all ; and yet such is the inveteracy of the spirits of some , that they are eagerly fighting against those that in the singleness of their souls serve this jesus in the footsteps of the flock of god gone before ; of whom , because the king , the nobility , and the generality of the commonnalty of this land of our nativity , are misinformed of some of us , and that we with some , are of the judgement , that killing is no murther ; intend to lay a punishment upon us ; for the guilt and opinions of some , whom we as little own , as they that are ready to inflict the punishment ; i have therefore thought good once more to set pen to paper , and in plainness of speech , to give the king and his people , and you their representative , a fresh discovery of the intents of our hearts , and the bent of our spirits , in the singleness of our souls , in the sight and presence of him , who is the searcher of all hearts , that sin ▪ revenging god who is of a more purer eye , then to approve off , or to behold iniquity with approbation thereunto . i shall therefore declare our judgements as to the present governour , and government , and our opinion touching government simply so considered ; and then i hope daniel like , neither the king , his people , nor you their representative , shall find any just cause against us , save in the matters of our god ; in which ( the lord assisting us ) we shall resolve in gods way to go on in , and if therein we perish , we perish . and therefore first of all , i shall let you know , that we do own government , and that we both do and shall resolve to be obedient to governours , because they be ordained of god , according to rom. 13. 1 , 2. and therefore on our parts we dare not resist them , but shall according to vers . 7. render unto them tribute , custom , fear and honour : and for as much as we have seen the hand of him who changeth the times and seasons , who removeth kings and setteth up kings , dan. 2. 21 , 37. dan. 5 , 18 , 19. 1 sam. 15. 1 , 23. 1 sam. 16. 12. to be great in this change in setting up charles the second ; we do therefore own him to be the lawful king of these three nations of england , scotland and ireland ; and to whom we shall willingly submit in all civil things , that we do find to be agreeable to the mind of god , revealed in that directory , his holy scriptures of truth ; and if at anytime he shall require from us any thing that we cannot in conscience actually obey him in , we shall not in the least resist him violently , nor by force of arms oppose him , but shall patiently suffer under him the penalties for our not obeying him ; and as we own him , so we shall receive , own and obey actively or passively , all others his civil magistrates , set up and sent by him , for the punishment of evil doers , and the praise of them that do well , according to 1 pet. 2. 13 , 14. and this we shall do in the singleness of our souls , without evasions , equivocations , or mental reservations . secondly , as we do own magistracy to be of god ; so we cannot look upon our selves to be concerned in the affairs of this , or any other nation , so as to have to do with government , as to our own particulars , although we were indowed with such qualications and estates , as might render us capable thereof ; because we look upon our selves to be a people chosen out of the world , and such as shall be hated of the world , joh. 15. 19. and for the sake and name of christ shall be haled before kings , rulers , governonrs , magistrates , and councils of this world , as he himself hath foretold us , mat. 10. 17 , 18. mark 13. 9. for all that will live godly in christ jesus shall suffer persecution , 2 tim. 3. 12. and therefore we look upon it to be our duties , to behave our selves as pilgrimes and strangers on earth , as the flock of god gone before us did , and were , heb. 11. 13. 1 pet. 2. 11. and to sit loose to the things of this world , and to use the world as if we used it not , and as not abusing it , 1 cor. 7. 30 , 31. but that our moderation therein and in all things , may be known to all men ; because the lord is at hand , phil. 4. 15. and not martha-like to be too much cumbred with the things of this world , but with mary , to look after that one thing necessary , and to choose that good part which shall not be taken from us , luke 10. 41 , 42. and as we are risen with christ , so to seek those things which are above , where christ sitteth at the right ha●d of the father , col. 3. 1. and so to lay up for our selves treasures in heaven , where neither rust nor moth do corrupt , and where thieves cannot break thorow , nor steal , mat. 6. 20. thirdly , we shall and do own the parliament of england , convened and gathered together by the kings writs , to be the lawful and onely lawful assembly of the nation , for the confirming , establishing , making and repealing of laws and statutes , for the better well-being of the nation in civil things ; but we cannot find from the word of god , any warrant for the greatest of men or councils , either civil or ecclesiastical , to alter or abrogate any of the laws of god made by that great council of heaven ; or to prescribe any other kind or manner of worship , then what the great jehovah in his magna charta , the holy scriptures of truth , hath established , rratified and confirmed , by miracles , signs , and wonders , and divers gifts of the holy ghost , according to his own will , heb. 2. 4. and in which the flock of god gone before us acted , who continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship , and in breaking of bread and prayer , acts 2. 42. to which directory onely , we both do must and shall conform to and none other . and if by the hands of the rude multitude , by your continued tolleration , or otherwise by your appointments , we shall therein or therefore perish , we perish . yet i cannot but by the way let you know , that for some time past i have observed and taken special notice , that when parliaments have gone about that work , of setling and ordering of matters concerning the worship and service of god , their designes have suddenly been blasted , their councils confounded , and their enemies forreign or domestick , increased ; by which means they have been forced to leave that work , or else by the hands of those that called them , or by the armies force they have been violently dispersed . and now i shall really inform you of our resolutions herein , and shall declare , that if this great assembly shall go on to intermedle with the regulating of our consciences , as to the worship and service of our god , or give it into the hands of the church-men of england so to do , we shall not by force of armes , nor the least violence oppose them , nor comply with any that shall oppose them ; neither shall we resolve to conform to them in the least , in what is inconsistent with the laws of our god , left us in scripture record : but under our penalties , for our refusals , we shall with israel of old , groan under such egyptian bondage ; and we question not , but that the captain of our salvation , in his own due time , by a mighty hand , and a stretched out arm , will release and relieve us , to the comfort of his poor oppressed suffering ones , and to the confusion of his , and his peoples enemies ; and with israel of old , we shall resolve to stand still and behold the salvation of our god , which he will work for us , let our sufferings be under ( you , or them ) what they will , for our not actually obeying mans traditions . fourthly , we look upon it to be our bounden duty notwithstanding , though we suffer for it by the hands of men , yet to follow the direction of king jesus the captain of our salvation , who himself was made perfect through sufferings , heb. 2. 10. who , that his own flock might the better avoid that great danger of forswearing , either by ignorance , forgetfulness , mistakings , or by reason of fear , favour or affection , he perswadeth them not to swear at all , mat. 5. 34. who also telleth us , mat. 5. 20. t●● except our righteousness , shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees , we shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven ; and therefore , in vers. 37. he requireth , that our yea should be yea , and our nay nay ; and he addeth this as a reason , for saith he , whatsoever is more then this cometh of evil , or of that evil one : as much as if he should have said , when you either assert or deny a thing , you shall do it with such singleness of heart , and such sincerity of soul , being in me , or in my way order or worship , as that you shall not cause the name of god , nor his gospel to be blasphemed or evil spoken off , by reason of your deceitful denyals or affirmings , but that you speak the truth in me , who a● made of my father unto you , both wisdom , righteousness , sanctification , and redemption ; and so am become to you the lord your righteousness , iere. 23. 6. who as i judge , doth not tye us distinctly to the circumstance of the termes , yea and nay , but to the substance of the verity or truth of the thing asserted , although the termes may differ , as do his own , who saith , verily verily , i say unto you , john 3. 3. who also useth the same expression above twenty times in that gospel by saint john , the which verily , verily , had it been an evil , or if it had come of that evil one , and he himself speaking it had been his evil , to have tied us from it , as an evil , and yet acted it himself ; and so he would have layed himself under a guilt , the which to say , i really believe is no less then blasphemy : so that he tieth us , as i judge , not to the circumstance of the words , but to the substance of the matter , and that without swearing , in saying , swear not at all : so that though we cannot swear to king charles , yet we can and shall be freely willing to promise to king charles , what we can safely and upon a scripture account promise . and as we are not our selves free to plot , contrive , nor by force of armes to undermine him , nor his government ; so to prevent the shedding of blood , and the breach of the peace of the three nations , we shall and will be ready and willing to discover all plots , conspiracies , or any thing that by force of arms we shall know of against him , to some justices of the peace , or other his ministers , within 24. hours after the knowledge of such plot or force intended ; and shall resolve ( the lord assisting us ) to be as true and faithful in our yeas and nays , whether promisary or testimonial , to king charles and his subjects , of what rank or quality soever they be , as our brethren of holland are to their states , and to their fellow citizens and townsmen ; and we hope our performances therein will be found far more real , then the multitudes either are or have been , who have been ready to swear for his to day , and against it to morrow , whose own interests generally cause their mouthes to open , in such swearings and forswearings , more then conscience ; the which we dare not do , lest we be found transgressing the law of our saviour , and his faithful servant , who say , swear not , and swear not at all , mat. 5. 34. jam. 5. 12. fifthly , we look upon it to be our duties , to be a peaceable , a quiet , a harmless , and an innocent people , and to keep our selves from all manner of acts of war , uiolence , and hostility ; because to kill , inslave , bring under , ruine , or destroy our friends , were most inhumane ; and to do so to our enemies , we dare not , because our law-giver by his faithful servant , rom. 12. 17. &c. requireth us to recompence to no man evil for evil ; but that we provide things honest in the fight of all men ; and that if possible , as much as in us lyeth , we should live peaceably with all men ; who requireth us not to avenge our selves but rather to give place unto wrath ; because it is written , vengeance is mine , and i will repay it , saith the lord : therefore saith he , if thine enemy hunger , feed him , if he thirst , give him drink ; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head ; and be not overcome with evil , but overcome evil with good : yea , and so saith our saviour himself , mat. 5. 44. but i say unto you , love your enemies , blesse them that curse you , do good to them that hate you , and pray for them that despitefully use you ; that you may be ( or that you may evidence your selves to be ) the children of your father , which is in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil , and on the good , and his rain to fall on the just , and on the unjust : for if you love them which love you , what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same ? and if ye salute your brethren onely , what do ye more then others ? do not even the publicans the same ? be ye therefore perfect , even as your father which is in heaven is perfect . and we look upon it to be our duties to follow our lord and master , who left himself a pattern for us to follow , who saith , mat. 11. 29. learn of me , for i am lowly and meek , and ye shall find rest for your souls ; who , saith the apostle , 1 pet. 2. 21. 23. when he was reviled , reviled not again , when he suffered , he threatned not ; but committed himself to him who judgeth righteously . much more might be said to their particular , the which for brevity sake i shall omit ; and shall thus affirm , that for this cause , and such requirements as these are , we dare not have to do with weapons of war , nor that the acts of violence in any case be found in our hands , no not for the best things , and to advance or promote either the gospel or kingdom of christ by any such way or means , we dare not in the least have so much as a thought , but look upon it to be our duties patiently to wait and earnestly , according to that other requirement of christ , to pray , that his kingdom may come , that so his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven , mat. 6. 10. and as we have declared in the said declaration , in 1659. that we could not hold society with , nor own those that were in the same faith and order with us , and from whom we then stood at a distance , that acted with the carnal weapon , weapons of war , and acts of hostility then ; so still , we look upon it to be our bounden duty so to do , because it is so frequently forbidden in scripture , and also because it bringeth such an odium upon the truth , and also upon the peaceable pe●ple of god that are in gospel order , and walk close to the appointments of christ in all his ordinances , and in church-fellowship , as it is at this day : and therefore we cannot have to do with any such as do so act , or that look upon it to be their liberties , or priviledges so to act ; and shall have as little to do with them now as then , or with any one that hath so acted , unless they shall freely relinquish the same , and shall acknowledge their failing and evil in their so acting , whether it be either against , or for king charles the first , or king charles the second ; it being so cleerly made out to us , and also to several of them that formerly so acted from the holy scriptures , to be contrary to the qualifications of a gospel disciple , to have to do with the weapons of war , or the sword of slaughter , whose weapon onely ought to be the sword of the spirit , which is the word of god , to cut down , kill and slay , wound and bring under every imagination , and every high thought , that exalteth it self against the knowledge of jesus christ ; and to bring every soul to the obedience of christ , in all his lawes , statutes , ordinances , and appointments : in order whereunto , sixthly , we look upon it to be agreeble to the pure will and mind of god , th●t there be a free toleration for men and women to worship god , without either constraint or restraint ; and that no acts of violence be used against them therein , to force the conscience of any , no not of the meanest of the sons and daughters of men , of what perswasion or judgement soever they be of ; because jesus christ out of that exceeding love of the father , was sent to lay down his life for the sins of the world , john 1. 29. and to be a redemption for that first transgression , heb. 9. 15. under the guilt of which all the whole bulk of mankinde that ever were , are , or ever shall be , by imputation , do lie under ; and from the punishment of which by jesus christ they shall all be released , and restored , rom. 5. 18. and not onely so , but they are also by jesus christ , that second adam , brought into a capacity to have that salvation that is in christ jesus , with eternal glory , 2 tim. 2. 10. whose work was to come to seek and to save that which was lost , as he himself saith , luke 19 , 10. and therefore he gave out his universal commission , the benefit whereof extendeth to all ; and therefore to be preached to all , mat. 28. 19. mark 16. 15. and we having this universal gospel to preach , to wit , that god was in christ reconciling the world unto himself by jesus christ , not imputing their trespasses unto them , and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation ; now then we are ambassadours for christ , as though god did beseech you by us ; we pray you ( yea ) ( you great tall cedars of england ) [ we pray ] you in christ stead be ye reconciled unto god , 2 cor. 5. 19 , 20. and have a care i beseech you in the fear of the great jehovah , that ye neither slight our message , as you tender the good of your own souls to eternity ; neither be ye , i pray you , as those pharisees , and hypocrites , against whom a wo was pronounced by our master king jesus , mat. 23. 13. who shut up the kingdom of heaven against men , who neither desired to go in themselves , nor suffered those that were entring to go in : o i beseech you have a care of this , for men are backward enough of themselves , and should you but seem to hinder them , haply their disobedience may be put upon your score ; and he that is found forwards now to hinder , will be found most guilty at that day , when christ shall dispence to every man according as his work shall be , 2 cor. 5. 10. o i beseech you once again , yea and again i intreat you , have a care every one of you , as you tender your own good to eternity , that you hinder none , though never so rich , nor never so poor ; for god is no respecter of persons , but in every nation , he that feareth him and worketh righteousness , is accepted of him , acts 10. 34. hinder none , be they never so young , nor never so old ; for our housholder the master of our family , jesus christ who is a son over his own house , comes to some early in the morning , mat. 20. 1 , &c. even whilst they are tender & young , even so soon as they come to reason and understanding , god by the incomings of his holy spirits , comes to hire them into his vineyard ; to some he comes at the third hour , in their youth , to others at the sixth hour in their manhood , to others at the ninth hour in their declining age ; and to some again at the 11th . hour , even in their old age : o then i say again , i beseech you have a care , that none be hindred of their entrance into the vineyard of christ , of no age or sex whatsoever ; for he may be loytring in the market place of the world this day , that may be hired into the vineyard of jesus christ to morrow ; for christ of a persecuting saul , may suddenly make a preaching paul , one voice from heaven can do it ; through mercy i know it by good experience , and therefore i am the boulder to assert it ; and that provoketh me the more earnestly , to beg again and again , that no violence be used , because the housholder , mat. 20. 1. is said to hire , not to frighten , nor beat , force , or constrain , but to hire labourers , to go into his vineyard , telling them what they shall have for their pains , if they will labour when they are there ; and as i told the king in my fannaticks mite , in page the ninth of the last impression , that a gospel minister was not as a general in an army , to frighten , beat , or fight men into faith ; but as an embassadour , to perswade and invite , and gently treat with , and to intreat into the way of god ; the one being gospel or evangelical , but the way of force being diabolical and of the devil , and proceedeth from the fruits of the flesh ; a part whereof i told the mayor of london , in christian love to his soul , the danger thereof , in my alarm given to him in his quarters , in page 34. in which some of them are clearly laid down , and how they will exclude a soul from heavens glory . again , it is required , that all things be tryed , and that which is good be held fast ; but how shall there be a trying of all things , if there be a constraint onely to one ? for how can there be a choice , where the tryi●g any but one is restrained ? the which restraint confounds the choice . again , if those of the episcopal government , do look upon toleration or libertie of conscience , simply so considered , to be a sin , then i query if it be not an evil to tolerate any ? and whether that evil is not then more aggravated , if they shall tolerate that opinion or religion that they would have us swear against , because they say it is idolatrous and sinful ? and whether there is not a farther aggravation , if the worser be allowed , and the better be suppressed ? and whether they will not evidence themselves to be such , as judge not as god judgeth , if they shall tolerate the great , the rich and mighty , and suppresse the mean , the poor and the low ? when god respecteth not persons , but in every nation , he that feareth him , and worketh righteousness , is accepted of him . and therefore i would earnestly beg every one , ( the bent of whose spirit carryeth him that way ) according to the requirement of the apostle , to try their spirits whether they are of god or not , 1 joh. 4. 1. and to examine their wisdom in this case of persecution , whether it be that wisdom that is from above , which is first pure , then peaceable , gentle , and easie to be intreated , full of mercy and good fruits , without partiality , without hypocrisie , jam , 3. 17. whether it be without partiality ? whether they would be willing to be served so themselves ? whether if they have at any time undergone persecution for conscience sake , and have not cryed out against it as abominable , as the roman catholicks and episcopals have done , in that grand usurper oliver cromwels dayes , and the general baptists , confident i am , should have done , had he longer continued ; even as they with others now do , and as that people of the presbyterian perswasion suddenly ( unless my judgement greatly fail me ) will do , if this horrid rome-bred persecu●ing spirit , still be predominant in england ; which is contrary to the true spirit of god , whose fruit is love , joy , peace , long suffering , gentleness , goodness , meekhess , and temperance ; against which there is no law : no law of god , although there be now some lawes of man intended to be made against them : o that this were taking upon your spirits , that now sit at the stern ! was not your loyalty to king charles the first , and king charles the second , a great cause of your hardships , most of you ? how fared it with you , you that were continually in england ? was not those that bo●e sway in england your continual tormentors , your fear and dayly dread ? and those that were away , did not they feel the smart of it ? did you not all both abroad and at home , cry out of oppression , cruelty and tyranny ? did you cry out of them , and think you that others , will not cry out of you , if you be found such actors to others ? was it evil in them to use you so , for your loyalty to king charles ? and can you be so cruel to those that are loyal to king jesus , and never acted any thing against king charles the first , nor king charles the second , or against the meanest of you , nor ever took part with them that did ? did the hand of god follow them for their cruel and unjust actings to you and the king , as most of you do say it did ? and can you be the same to others for their loyalty to him who hath righted you of them , and brought you : your own again ; and that against some of them too , that never got the worth of one ●ar●●ing by all their pillagings , plunderings , or sales , neither of goods nor lands ? can you be contented to enjoy your own ? and are you not willing that those that never harmed you , should enjoy theirs ? are you glad that you are brought into the land of your nativity again ? and would you now most cruelly justle others out ? are you now setting up that worship , that you judge to be agreeable to the mind of god ? and will you now force others to forsake what they are perswaded to ? oh! t●at you would but consider , what your own oppressions were , and who you are now about to oppress ; let not your fury , nor revenge fall heavy upon the innocent ; why should iniquity and injustice be found in your hands ? oh! consider with your selves apart , and discourse it each with other seriously ▪ what such a judgment , as i in the singleness of my soul have laid before you , can , or ever did do you harm ; who never did any acts of violence for , nor against you or the king ; nor ever shall resolve to do ; who have not gone with a defensive weapon so much as to defend my self with , above this fifteen years ; and am of the same judgment with our brethren of holland , whose innocent and harmless behaviour , confident i am , many of you in that time of your absence from this land of your nativity , are well acquainted with ; the which i am confident the strictest of you have no just exception against , either for endeavouring to undermine government , or to pull down governours , or by fraud or force , to have to do with any mans possession , goods , or estate ; who am willing to do by another , as i would have another do by me , and am as willing another should live as my self ; whose indeavour in all my teachings , have been to perswade persons to forsake and avoid all acts of violence and oppression , and to cleave to god with purpose of heart , and to perswade those that have owned god in his own way , to continue stedfast in the same , and to prove faithful to him , whose lawes teach the best loyalty to our earthly princes , and purest love to all , yea to our very enemies ; who with single-heartedness to all , and without either fawning or flattery , have and shall still resolve to tell every one , with whom i have to do , the worst of their condition , and shew them the danger they are in , by reason of their misactings ; with an earnest desire that in order to their eternal well-being , they would refuse the evil and choose the good. and so i have at this time done with you , the great council of the nation , and if for my plainness of speech either as to the matter or manner of it , you shall become mine enemy , because i deal so plainly with you , i shall let you know , that notwithstanding , i shall in the singleness of my soul pray for you , and for your convertion , not in the least indeavouring , or plotting your confusion . and now i shall earnestly desire both the king , his people , and you their representative , to judge with equity our innocent cause , that so when you shall your selves be summoned at that great session , before that great tribunal and righteous judge , who shall give to every man according as his work shall be , that then you be found innocent and without blame , as to your actings against the peaceable ones of christs flock , whose sentence , of either , come , ye blessed , inherit the kingdom ; or , go ye cursed into everlasting fire , will be of an eternal extent , and that upon the account of mens actings to his people , either for doing them good , or for refusing to do them that good they might have done them ; who looketh upon what is either neglected or done to them , to be done unto himself : and hence it is , that he uttered that from heaven , saying , saul , saul , why persecutest thou me ? i am jesus whom thou persecutest , acts 9. 3 , 4. and after the same manner will be his sentence at that great day of account , even , go ye cursed into everlasting fire , prepared for the devil and his angels ; for when i was hungry ye fed me not , and naked , ye clothed me not , sick and in prison , and ye visited me not ; for inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these little ones , ye did it not unto me . o then i beseech thee , whoever thou be , that art of a persecuting spirit ; i say again i would beg thee seriously to consider , o persecuting spirit , that if the lord christ , will thus severely punish the neglecting the doing good to his people , when hungry , naked , sick , and imprisoned ; what then will be the portion of those that cause them to come into such difficulties and straits , as imprisonments , hungrings , nakedness , and sickness ; and cause them to be thrown as it were on heapes , one upon another , as some of the baptists lately have been in one room some 9. foot broad , and 14. foot long in new gate ? and much after the same way in several other gaols and prisons in the nation ; enough to breed infections and diseases , had not the god whom we serve appeared mightily in our behalfes . and seeing the eternal sentence , will be so severe against such violent actors , in love to their souls i cannot choose but give them a timely caution , and in their behalfes with that servant of the lord , deut. 32. 29. cry out and say , o that they were wise , that they would understand this , that they would consider their latter end. and now let not the king , his peers , nor his people , be angry , and i will speak but this once more in the behalf of my self , and all that are of the separation , of what judgement soever , that so if possible i may be instrumental , that the peace of the nation be preserved , and kept ; and this i shall humbly beg , that if you are not willing that we should serve our god , in that way which we have received , but that we shall be taken into custody for our so doing ; that then you would commissionate some peace officers for that work to have to do with us ; and that we be not left to the mercy of the rude multitude , nor the violent laws of the mercenary souldiers , whose actings towards the peaceable , have been very rude and inhumane , in london and westminster ; where at one meeting , they wounded one man so dangerously on his — arm , that it is greatly feared , he will lose the use of one of his hands . at another meeting-place ▪ they rudely came and drank up the wine that was provided by that congregation , to celebrate that holy ordinance of communicating at the table of the lord. at another meeting-place , the congregation being generally dispersed before they came , in revenge whereof the souldiery set on the rude multitude , to break in pieces the table that they used to make use of to celebrate the lords supper upon . at another meeting-place , they rudely behaved themselves , violen●●y casting some of them head-long down the stairs , but the stairs being winding , and some people upon them , the force of the falls ( through mercy ) being thereby broken , there was not much harm done as to the people , the greatest harm that was done , was by one of the souldiers to himself ; for he set that up then upon his own score , the which ( unrepented off ) will exclude him heavens glory , if the saying of our apostle be true , in 1 cor. 6. 9. who would not have men to be deceived , for saith he , neither fornicators , nor idolaters , nor adulterers , nor effeminate , nor abusers of themselves with man-kinde , nor thieves , nor covetous , &c. shall inherit the kingdom of god : and such was one of them , as i am informed , by one who saith , that at the very interim of time charged him with it , in the face of the congregation ; and if such acts of deceit should be winked at and allowed , we should be in as bad a condition , as when our houses were searched , upon the late insurrection , when , who would , came and forced into houses , and took and bore away what they pleased , to the great hinderance of some , as can be clearly evidenced : and when our pockets were searched in the main guard , and our knives and other things taken from us , and never restored to us again : and if such acts of violence be not restrained , our peaceable and well governed land , in a short time may ( it is to be feared ) become acheldama . and therefore in the behalf of my self , and all others , whose light it is to walk in a separated way , if by your appointments , we shall be taken into custody for our peaceable meeting together , in the service of our god ; i shall humbly beg , that we may have the priviledges of free-born englishmen , and that which the worst of offenders enjoy ; who though the lawes both of god and man , will condemn to the shamefullest death , yet they are apprehended by peace-officers , and peaceably preserved from the hands of violence and cruelty , till they be legally charged , adjudged and condemned ; the which security , if this great assembly shall vouchsafe us , and that the nation be forbidden to make any tumultuous insurrections , contrary to the peace of the nation , and that they forbear to commit any acts of violence upon us , either in our peaceable assemblings together , or apart at our habitations , or elsewhere , till further order from the assembly ; the which if this national assembly shall vouchsafe us the privilede of , we shall in all humility and thankfulness acknowledge it : but if not , yet it shall be our great care in our meetings , to perform our duties in obedience to our god , and to follow that christian advice of his servant , in 1 tim. 2. 1. to make prayers , supplications , intercessions , and giving of thanks for all men , for kings , and all that are in authority ; that under them we may lead a peaceable and quiet life in all godliness and honesty ; because it is good and acceptable in the sight of god our saviour : and this shall be the resolution of him , whose onely end and aim is the glory of god , the good of the king , the well-being of his people , and the eternal benefit of all your souls ; who in the singleness of heart , in the sight of the all-seeing god , shall subscribe himself , a friend to your souls , in order to your eternal well-being , in the behalf of himself , and those he hath communion withal . henry adis. the end . little benjamin or truth discovering error: being a clear and full answer unto the letter, subscribed by 47 ministers of the province of london, and presented to his excellency, january 18. 1648. to inform the ignorant satisfie the desirous of the concurrent proceedings the parliament and army. in taking away the life of charles stuart, late king of england, together with, &c. / by a reall lover of all those, who love peace and truth. february 17. 1648. imprimatur gil. mabbot. reading, john, 1588-1667. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a92209 of text r205982 in the english short title catalog (thomason e544_4). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 45 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 12 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a92209 wing r449 thomason e544_4 estc r205982 99865194 99865194 117431 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a92209) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 117431) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 84:e544[4]) little benjamin or truth discovering error: being a clear and full answer unto the letter, subscribed by 47 ministers of the province of london, and presented to his excellency, january 18. 1648. to inform the ignorant satisfie the desirous of the concurrent proceedings the parliament and army. in taking away the life of charles stuart, late king of england, together with, &c. / by a reall lover of all those, who love peace and truth. february 17. 1648. imprimatur gil. mabbot. reading, john, 1588-1667. [4], 16 p. printed at london, for george whittington, at the blew anchor in cornehill, neer the royall exchange, [london] : 1648 [i.e. 1649] attributed to john reading. annotation on thomason copy: "feb: 19". reproduction of the original in the british library. the words "inform the ignorant satisfie the desirous" and "the concurrent proceedings the parliament and army" on the title page are enclosed in brackets. eng charles -i, -king of england, 1600-1649 -early works to 1800. religion and politics -england -early works to 1800. a92209 r205982 (thomason e544_4). civilwar no little benjamin or truth discovering error:: being a clear and full answer unto the letter, subscribed by 47 ministers of the province of l reading, john 1649 7982 24 0 0 0 0 0 30 c the rate of 30 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-03 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-05 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-05 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion little beniamin or truth discovering error : being a clear and full answer unto the letter , subscribed by 47 ministers of the province of london , and presented to his excellency , january 18. 1648. to inform the ignorant of the concurrent proceedings to satisfie the desirous of the parliament and army . in taking away the life of charles stuart , late king of england , together with , &c. by a reall lover of all those , who love peace and truth . goe in dethrone sin . psal. 149. 9. execute upon them , the judgement written : this honour have all the saints . job 32. 22. i know not to give flattering titles : in so doing my maker would soon take me away february 17. 1648. imprimatur gil . mabbot . printed at london , for george whittington , at the blew anchor in cornehill , neer the royall exchange , 1648. the epistle to the reader . courteous reader , &c. i doubt not but this , like benjamine , although the least and last brought forth , may nevertheles be much desired , imbraced , & have a portion with his brethren , not to say a double one , he comes in a plain dresse , and speaks in a home , clear , and genuin sence , with faithfullnesse to the matter in hand : with arguments well grounded upon scripture & reason ; & all scripture is given by inspiration of god , and is profitable , comprehending all truth in the letter of the written word , whereunto we do well to take heed , as unto a light that shineth in a darke place ( to wit , our understandings , darkned through the ignorance that is in us ) untill the day ( of the light of the lord ) dawne , and the day starre ( of the spirit of life ) arise in our hearts . then shall wee not thinke more highly of our selves then we ought to thinke , but thinke soberly , according as god hath dealt to every man , the measure of faith , but for those whosoever they bee , that will walke in their owne way pretending truth , where none is , and like * proud ephraim reproach , and provoke that supreame authority , which god hath honoured , and the nation chosen , let them take heed they no more peirce at their heart , through the sides of the generall , and his councell , who act by their authority . but let them feare , and remember that justice may , and must reach them , if they persist , as those ephramites did , ( which god forbid ) and lost 42000 of that tribe by so doing in that war . and now i recommend you to the ensuing treatise , and to the spirit of truth , to discover and to guide us into all truth . and rest a hearty lover of every son of truth . j. r. truth discovering error . for as much as divers ministers of the gospell ( as they stile themselves ) in the province of london , in their letter to the lord generall and his councell , presented to his excellency febr. 18. 1648 did neglect the grace of truth and sobernesse , contrary to their duty , as appeares in st. paul , who when reproached by festus , answered , i am not mad most noble festus , but speake forth the words of truth and sobernesse ; therefore according to the gift of the spirit , and measure of grace that is given to me , the weakest of christians , i shall proceed to answer the untruths and manifest reproaches cast upon his excellency and the generall councell therein . first , therefore unto pag. 1. 2. whereas you acknowledge , you were invited , but did refuse any such meeting as was proposed unto you by the generall councell ; and that you do give his lordship and his councell the reason of that refusall , &c. to this i answer , that the reasons of this your refusall are meere pretences , grounded upon your owne wils , and upon a bare opinion of some of your brethrens dislike of their late actions , &c. you not considering that your brethren are as fallible as your selves : and that you have done contrary to the gospell practise , in refusing any such meeting as was proposed unto you ; to informe and instruct them cleerely by reason , well grounded upon scripture truth ; also by your carping at , and traducing their honest , just , and faithfull proceedings , legally grounded upon their commissions , and their authority derived from the parliament , for the welfare and safety of this nation , besides your reproaches cast upon them ; whereas you ought to have dealt with them in all humility and love , much more then * paul did to f●st●● , ( for that you were much more obliged unto them ) also to king agrippa and bernice . and thus st. luke presented his gospell unto most excellent theophilus , * which you have not done ; and therefore it is evident that you have passed your owne bounds , and acted beyond your sphere , the which you have most injuriously and unjustly applied unto them , not onely in this , but in many other calumniations in the rest of your letter , as shall be cleerely proved . therefore to proceed . secondly , whereas you tax them of injustice , pag. 3. saying : but as if the justnesse of your way were already granted by us , we were onely invited to contribute our assistance , in prosecution of what you had undertaken , which we conceive to be out of your sphere ; and for us to have joyned in any consultation of this nature , would have made us accessary unto them , and guilty of the evill which is in them , and even partakers of other mens sinnes , contrary to the apostles rule , who bids us abstaine , even from all appearance of evill , and have no fellowship with the unfruitfull works of darknesse , but reprove them rather . i answer : friends , had you any reason to cast this odium upon them , except to exasperate the malignant spirits of the people to sedition , by perswading them , that the generall and his councell are the vilest of sinners ? acting without their sphere , in the unfruitfull works of darknesse . and do you not in this make way to the malignant multitude to thinke that the generall and his councell are in as evill a capacity as themselves , in acting according to their owne wils , for that you do perswade them , that they act without their sphere ; and that their consultations and concurrence with the parliament , in execution of justice upon the king and his adherents , might have been opposed by them ; not considering with your selves , that his excellency and his councell are authorized and impowered by their commissions from the parliament , for the defence of the people , from which they ought not to decline ; and in which thing god hath helped them against all his and their enemies , in the greatest exigencies of distresses , from time to time , as much as any army since the daies of gideon . and are they not also bound by their covenant to bring delinquents to condigne punishment , of whom the king was chiefe ? o that you had seene , and pull'd the beame out of your owne eye first , else how can you see cleerely to cast the mote out of your brothers eye ; but i spare , &c. onely judge not , that ye be not judged . thirdly , againe , whereas you alledge , it is already sufficiently knowne ( besides all former miscarriages ) what attempts have of late been put in practice against lawfull authority , especially by the late remonstrance and declaration published in opposition to the proceedings of parliament , as also by seazing and imprisoning the kings person without knowledge and consent of parliament . i answer : men who are authorized and intrusted by the parliament , to act for the nation in generall , as the lord generall and his officers are , may not be able at all times to stay for particular directions , and yet attempt nothing against lawfull authority , so long as they act onely for the good and safety of the people , as they did , and therefore are now cleered by the parliament for their so doing . you might also very well re-mind how they remonstrated to the parliament , what they would do upon good grounds , long enough before they proceeded to action ; all which time there was no ordinance or act of parliament made to restraine them , as there is now made to justifie them in all their proceedings . fourthly , and whereas you accuse them , of their late actions towards many of the members of the honourable house of commons , forcibly hindering above one hundred of them for sitting in parliament , and imprisoning many of their persons , calling it an unparalleld violence , many of them being knowne to be men of eminent worth and integrity , who have given most ample 〈…〉 of their reall affections to the good of the parliament . i answer : that if they did seclude so many , and imprison many of their persons , yet their worthines , either as members of the house , or men of eminency and integrity , who had given most ample testimony of their reall affection to the good of the kingdom , was not the cause therof , as you say , but their persisting to do an unworthy act after they were admonished , pursuing their designe in behalfe of the king , against the safety of the people ; and some other unworthy actions of some of them , preceding that one act . you have the like case in * ad 〈…〉 jah , joab and abiather , men of eminent worth , and two of them of great trust and integrity , who had suffered with david in all his afflictions , joab exposing his life in all davids and the peoples warres , for the safety of the kingdome all his daies , save onely in this last action , consulting with and helping adoniiah , davids eldest sonne alive , and not yet declared against , as heire apparent to the kingdome : nor had david then declared for solomon , whom god had designed to be ruler of his people ; and yet upon this occasion , not onely joab must have his other personall transgressions put into the ballance with this nationall one , and be put to death , but abiather also ; although the lords annoynted , having by this one offence forfeited his authority , and deserved to die , must be thrust out of the high priesthood , and be sent to anothoth , to his owne lands , as a peculiar favour shewed to him , in that his life was spared , because he bare the arke of the lord before david ; and yet his father and all his family , save onely * himself , were destroyed by saul for davids sake , and abiathers sons , did also hazard their lives , to give david intelligence when he fled from absolom . fiftly , whereas you say , page 4. remember the advice of solomon , feare thou the lord and the king , and meddle not with them that are given to change , &c. and then say , the feare of god therefore ( whose ordinance is violated when magistracy is opposed ) makes us afraid of medling with those who without any colour of legall authority , meerly upon presumption of strength , shall attempt such changes as these are , &c. i answer : that what you have peremptorily asserted , is not proved , and may be retorted ; for st. paul , rom. 13. 1 , 2. having laid downe every christians duty , to the end that they knowing these higher powers ( when lawfull ) kings , rulers , &c. may not resist them ; he sets them forth by their constitution ( viz. that ) rulers are not a terrour to good works , but to the evill . wherein he implies this doctrine , that what rulers soever , kings or others , who decline their duty , and contrary to their constitution , become a terrour to good works , and justifie the evill ( viz. ) wilfully and publiquely perverting the law , and do ordinarily introduce an arbitrary , tyrannicall , and unjust course , acting against the publique good and safety , to the ruine of the people , who have intrusted them ; such do thereby lose their power , and cease to be rulers , and ought to be declared * and proceeded against for such . for these tyrants calling good evill , and evill good , are abomination to the lord , and do forfeit their authority thereby , by the testimony of the gospell . st. paul , acts 22. 45. appealing unto annanias , as high priest in the jewish acceptation , and as he had esteemed of him , when he was a persecutor , and received authority from him , being one of the estates of the elders of jerusalem , st. pauls saying , i persecuted this way ( to wit which he now professed ) unto the death , binding and delivering unto prison both men and women , as also the high priest doth beare me witnesse ; but within a few daies after he denieth his authority and rule , calling him the accident , whited wall , a colour that makes faire shew , but hath no substance ; for in truth ananias had forfeited his authority and rule . and st. paul gives the reason , saying , for sittest thou to judge me after the law , and commandest me ( to wit arbitrarily and tyrannically ) to be smitten contrary to the law . and therefore he affirmed , that he knew not that he was the high priest , ( although in the jewish acceptation , he both knew and had appealed unto him as high priest ) and confirmeth it with scripture , saying , it is written , thou shalt not speake evill of the ruler of the people . this truth considered , how then could you charge his excellency and the councell ▪ it have violated gods ordinance , by opposing magistracy , without any colour of legall authority , seeing they have concurred with , and are justified by the parliament in all their proceedings against the king ; and for that he long since had forfeited his power and authority , much more than ananias , detesting himselfe of all , and dis-obliging this parliament , army , and people , of their allegiance to him , and also subjected himselfe unto the power of the parliament , and justice of the lawes of this land , for the following reasons : first , because the kings of the gentiles were alwaies by humane institution , intrusted for the safety of the people , and are no sacred annoynted types of christ , king of the church , as the kings of iudah and israel were , and received their institution to that end from god . secondly , because our king hath been a terrour to good works , and justified the evill , and evill doers , for many yeares before he raised warre upon the parliament and people ) by forcing ship-money and loanes by his privie seale , and monopolies of all kindes , oppressing and persecuting his subjects in an arbitrary way , by star-chamber and counsell-board censures , losse of member and blood , and stigmatizings , &c. thirdly , persisting in full opposition to the parliaments humble suits and declarations made unto him , shewing that whensoever the king makes warre upon the parliament , it is a breach of the trust reposed in him by his people , contrary unto his oath ; and tends to the dissolution of this government ; which truth fully appeares at this day . they further declared , that whosoever shall serve and assist him in such warre , are traytors by the fundamentall lawes of the kingdome ; and have been so adjudged by two acts of parliament , and ought to suffer as traytors . fourthly , he afterwards did indeavour with a high hand utterly to subvert salus populi , and to destroy this nation , by setting up his standard , and waging open warre upon the parliament , and against all his good and loyall subjects . fiftly , by his prosecution of two warres , in destroying the precious lives of very many , together with the rapines and ruines of millions of people , in these three nations . sixthly , for that the king despising good and faithfull counsell , when seasonably given him by the parliament , of whom he ought to have received it ; wholly adhered unto , animated and followed , perverse , foolish , slanderous , wicked , proud , malitious , haughty , deceitfull , and murtherous mens counsell , who endeavoured utterly to root out , extirpate , and extinguish the very name and being of all those who were the faithfull of the land , and endeavoured a thorow reformation ; of all wicked and unrighteous practises in the king , his family and kingdomes . seventhly , by betraying his subjects into the enemies hands abroad ( to wit ) in the isle of hee , and in neglecting to relieve his subjects in ireland , against those most barbarous and bloody enemies , and in bringing of them , and other forraigners from other * nations in upon us . eightly , for that the king with all his trayterous forces , did continue to resist the parliament and this army raised by their power and authority , for the defence of this nation , untill they had subdued them , and made the king their conquered prisoner , after which time he ceased not to persist in his former designes . ninthly , by his transgressing transcendently , more than saul did , for he onely spared gods enemies , for which his kingdome was taken from him , and given unto david ; but our saul destroyed the lords dearest friends , his first borne , his peculiar treasure and jewels , most deare and tender unto him ; he that toucheth them , toucheth the apple of his eye ; these are his truly annoynted ones , he hath reproved kings for their sakes ; saying , touch not mine annoynted , and do my prophets no harme . now , forasmuch as the powers that be , are ordained ( or ordered ) of god , and god hath so ordered it , that this army , contrary to the endeavours , strivings , and expectations of their enemies multiplied plots and practises , openly perpetrated against them in all parts of england , wales , ireland and scotland , &c. besides all the in-workings and secret plots in the parliament and city , and in all other places against them , as also by many of them who call themselves ministers of the gospell . i say , seeing god hath so ordered all , that this army should prevaile against all , and subdue all unto the immediate supreame power of the parliament , and by their authority and commissions given to them . how is it then , that ye who are teachers of others your selves , are not yet ashamed to violate gods ordinance , by piercing and wounding of that authority which god hath set up in the parliament : through the sides of the generall , his councell , and this army ; you having presumed upon the fluid and vulgar opinion , of your authority with the rude multitude of malignants , to counter-check and controule all , and with one breath to have cried up the kings life into safety , and to have freed his person from justice , saying , the lord hath said it , as those 400. prophets said to ahab . zedekiah smiting micaian on the cheek , because he declared gods will for ahabs death . sixthly , whereas you say , we have not forgotten those declared grounds and principles , upon which the parliament at first took up arms , and upon which we were induced to joyne with them , from which we have not hitherto declined , and we trust through gods grace never shall , &c. i answer to page 5 , 6. that it is well knowne , the first grounds and principles of the parliament were for salus populi ; and it had beene well if you your selves , and every member of the house also , had not declined , but acted upon that principle ever since : and although i grant you , the kings practises upon the parliament was an high violation to their priviledges , and an act so injurious and destructive to the good of the kingdome . yet i answer : it was but while the parliament , and those five members were fixed for the publick good and safety of the people , but since that , many of the members declining that principle , desired the king rather than the safety of the people , by whom they were intrusted for the good of this nation . therefore upon that occasion they were very justly secluded and imprisoned , without that , that the army did act any violence upon the parliament , or made any breach of their priviledges , as you have inferred , and for that the foresaid members were not seized upon , when they were assembled in the house , but without doores , and for acting , against the safety of the people . and without that , that the parliament is not now free , and full , and as really , as when the king would have seized on the five members ; for the parliaments being free , and full , doth not consist in a multitude , who are contrary minded , and principled , but the parliament is free , and full , because they now do act unanimously for the safety of the people , and the good of the nation , blessed be god for it , and blessed bee the repairers of the breach , and the restorers of paths to dwell in . and without that , that his excellency or the councell of warre , are but private persons , in referrence to the power of magistracy , or have usurped an authority over king and parliament , or have medled with affaires which belong not to them ( as is suggested by you ) but have onely performed their duty , to that end for which they were entrusted , and authorized by the parliament , in defence of this nation : and therefore they could not have neglected what they have done ; without breach , of publicke trust , reposed in them . and most repugnant , to the lawes of god , nature , and nations , together with the dictates of reason , and neglect of their commission . seventhly , and to pag. 7 , 8● together with the rest of your letter tending to that purpose . i answer , and retort the matter , falsly surmised by you , against the generall and his councell . that the king alone , did divest himselfe , and by his owne doings subvert and overthrow the whole frame and foundamentall constitution of the government of the kingdome , according to the parliaments forecited declarations of may 20 1642. and therefore it was , and is now high time ( after so long an interruption of enemies ) for the parliament and army , concurrently , to appear to do their duty , not only by executing justice upon the person of the king , and his adherents , but also in new moddling and settling such a frame and fundamentall constitution of government in the kingdome , as god shall put into their hearts , to be most convenient , and usefull , for the wellfare and safety of the people . and for the maintenance of religion , their priviledges , lawes , and liberties , against all malignant councells and designes , for introducing of an arbitrary and tyrannicall power , and against all irregular proceedings of private persons ( tending to the subversion of the parliament army or people ) whither pretended ministers of the gospell , or others , by what soever falacious device presented , to delude ; deceive , and pervert the people , by perswading them that his excellency , the councel , and the army , have failed in performing of their duty to the * king in the severall oathes and covenants generally taken , throughout the kingdome ; and in the protestation of may 5. 1641. i further answer . you have not considered that the king did since that time refuse all the good and faithfull councell , of the parliament , and by setting up his standard , waging and persisting to wage an open warre upon them , and against all his good and faithfull subjects , whereby hee did head all the heads of the malignants , and became the cheifest , and did thereby divest himself of all royal majesty , splendor , power authority , honor , and estate , and did disoblige the parliament , army and people of their protestations , oaths ; vowes , and covenants made in his behalf , by his said wilfull opposing & rejecting of them , when seasonably offered unto him , without that , that ( as you have alleadged in pag. 9. ) there was any similitude of agreement in their oath , and covenant taken , towards the king , and that which the people made with zedekiah , or that the army did despise , or breake any such oath and covenant , and thereby violated gods word , and more righteous oath , to provoke the wrath of the lord against them , at is untruly suggested ; therefore to use your own words of reproof . it is not high time that you would commune with your own hearts , consider the evill of your owne wayes , and turn from them ? and have you not done to the generall and his councell , as the prophet shemiah , and the prophet n●adia , and the rest of the prophets did unto nehemiah , when he enquired of them , to put them in feare ? and have you not feigned these things out of your own heart , to weaken their hands from the worke ( of the lord ) that it might nor have been done ? and is not this a strong motive to the generall , and every one of his councell , and army , who love the lord with all their heart , to be very couragious , and to pray as nehemiah did , now therefore , o god strengthen my hands ? and for instruction , i shall take your own words , intreating you to remember from whence you are fallen , and repent , and do your first workes , &c. and also how hath the parliament ( and army ) which sustained the force , and opposition of professed enemies for many years , been made contemptible , and torne in peeces , by ( you their ) professed friends in one day ? how is the golden cord of government broken in sunder , and the honor and the authority of magistrates laid in the dust ? by your misapplications in this one letter , as if you were ignorant , that the supreame power is in the parliament , and that the army , have their power from them , and doe act together with them , for the safety of the people . and was not this a declared ground , and cheif principle , upon which , the parliament first raised armes , and upon which wee were induced , to joyne with them , and from which the now members , and those who adhere to them , have not declined from the beginning . and oh , that you had not brought against them a exyling accusation , whereby you speak evill of those things , you seem not to know , but what you onely seem to know by naturall bruitish reason , grounded upon outward honour and profit , like those filthy dreamers , whom jude speaketh of ( who taking their owne opinion for the oracle of god , do spiritually ) defile the flesh , despise dominion , and speake evill of dignities , wo unto them for they have gon in the way of caine ( swelling against their brethren whom god hath preferred , and accepted , ) ( and to obtaine corruptable , honour , riches , and greatnesse of the world have ) ranne greedily , after the error of balaam , for reward , and ( swallowed up with earthly-mindednesse , have ) perished in the gainesaying of core . you like these are murtherers , complainers , walking ( not after gods written truth , even as they also — dreamed , but ) after your own lust , your mouth speaking great swelling words , having mens persons in admiration , because of advantage , the parliament and generall with this army , even those moseses , or moses , whom ye have refused , saying who made * you a ruler , and a judge , the same did god send , to be our rulers , and deliverer . take heed therefore of levelling your selves with them , saying , you take too much upon you ; nor be not mutineers like corah , dethan , and abiram ; lest a more spirituall judgement do consume you , and your names be written in the earth , whilest yee your selves call justice and righteousnesse , murder , in those who did proceed to execute judgement upon those against whom they were bound to do it by the covenant . and whereas you do affirme , that the * tenure of the scriptures , constant judgement , and doctrine of protestant divines , both at home and abroad , do fully concur in their judgements with you . how can that be , when as there was never like example of any king before this , who did so wilfully diminish , and totally devest himselfe of all his majestie , just power , and greatnesse , by adulterating himselfe and spending his strength with strangers , against his cordiall , faithfull , and espoused people ? was it not then high time for his espousals to have a bill of divorse ? and did not this grand pretended father of this nation , destroy a multitude of his best children ? and would he not gladly have slaine all the rest , upon further opportunity ? was it not then high time the parliament should execute judgement upon him ? that god and all the world may be witnesses , they would give him no further opportunity or meanes , either by cohabitation or communion to destroy them ? and did not the peoples spirits groane in them , and their backs bow under the burden of their irrepairable losse , untill they were in some measure eased ? therefore examine your own hearts as in the sight of god ( to retort your own words ) and make the case your owne , as nathan made the parable davids , in that you have jesuitically , under pretence of religion and conscience , raised false and reproachfull imputations upon the generall and his councell , traducing and aspercing them with evill , that you may the more easily divide the peoples affections from them , and sowing sedition in their hearts , beget in them an evill opinion of authority , and make them ready to rise up in rebellion against the parliament and army , upon any opportunity from the enemies at home , or from abroad ? are not these your owne new * modelized dividing , destructive principles , contrived against the safety of the people , and tending to the dissolution of the parliament and army ? making way to all kinde of ignorance , errour , superstition , and licentiousnesse . by wedding the people to your own dreams instead of gods lively oracles , and the plain , free , and powerfull dispensation of the scriptures , which is the way of gods spirit , to guide his people into all truth ; be not deceived , god is not mocked , for whatsoever a man soweth , that shall he also reape ; god will render to every man according to his works , for there is no respect of persons with him . eighthly , whereas you say to the generall and his councell : we desire you would not be too confident in your former successes , if god have made you prosper while you were in his way , this can be no warrant for you to walk in wayes of your own . &c. i answer , this is one of your former pretences , multiplied by supposition , and cannot be proved by truth of scripture , and reason well grounded thereon , and therefore to this , with the rest of your generall charge , in the last part of this your letter , i shall by scripture and reason , prove , that the generall and his councell are now in gods way , as much as ever , and may expect successe , and a blessing from god therein . first , because the generall and his councell , do , and have performed their duty , in al their proceedings , concurring with the parliament , to execute justice upon the grand delinquent , and also upon some of the chiefe of his * wicked counsellors and adherents secondly , for that the king , their conquered and captivated prisoner , by the rule , lex talionis , ought to be done unto as he did unto others ; and this adoni-bezek , a heathen king , acknowledged , saying , as i have done , so god hath done unto me ; and they brought him to jerusalem ( the place of publike justice ) and there he died ; and although agag said , surely the bitternesse of death is past , yet samuel in this very case said , as thy sword hath made women childlesse , so shall thy mother be childlesse among women ; and samuel hewed agag in peeces before the lord in gilgall . thirdly , in that the king with al his heathen adherents , took counsel together against the lord , and against his annoynted , saying , let us breake their bonds in sunder , and cast their cords from us ; and making war upon them , they compassed the camp of the saints about , even the beloved city mount si●● where the saints receive their commission from the great king , king of kings ; to have a two edged sword in the●● hands , to execute judgement upon the heathen , and punishments upon the people , to bind their kings with chains , and their nobles with fetters of iron , to execute upon them the judgement written , this honour have al the saints . is there not then a strong tye of holy writ , upon our parliament and army to prosecute , and execute judgement , not only upon the head malignant , the king , but also upon others , the heads of his wicked adherents , although none others , have been so exemplary before them ? fourthly for that the king did use false dealing , in pretending the kingdomes welfare and safety , sealed with most solemne abjurations , and execrations * against himselfe , his throne , and posterity , thereby to hide his iniquity from the eyes of the people , that he might the more easily seduce them to beleife , and to joyn with him ? and was not this the highest cruelty , and means that could be , to bring gods heavy wrath upon his * owne head , and to dethrone his posterity ? for the lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine . * as a roaring lyon , and a ranging beare , so is a wicked ruler over his people , and are not such destructive beasts to be taken and destroyed . also it is written , a man that doth violence to the blood of any person , shal fly to the pit , let no man stay him , god makes no destinction of king or begger , he is no respecter of persons , but the soule that furneth it shall die , no man ought to stay him from it . king * ahab and queen jezabell must dye , because nabeth is unjustly cut off , and his vineyard taken from him . moreover , the dogges must eate her flesh , and lick up his blood , and also , his son king joram being slaine , must bee cast * into the very same plat of ground . and was not the king the occasion and contriver , of the first blood-shed ? and did he not persist to destroy multitudes of his most faithfull peoples lives and estates , many yeares together ? and can wee thinke god hath forgot to be just ? ahab and jezabels sin , was covered over , with as much piety as might be , but god will not he mocked , for whatsoever a mansoweth , that shall he also reap . god will 〈◊〉 through kings in the day of his wrath . fifthly , for that it was the parliament and armies duty , when god had delivered the king into their hands , and left him at their dispose , * to execute judgement upon him , and to secure themselves and the people , who have alwaies stuck close unto them , in their greatest distresses ? hath not the king been a corrupt fountaine , poysoning every streame and rivolet he had accesse unto ? and would he not have done so still , if he had not been cut off ? and is not justice executed , a good meanes to establish the faithfull of the land , in rest and peace , with their lives , estates , lawes , liberties , and priviledges , antiently and inherently in themselves ? and have they not with much expence of blood , losse of friends , and hardship , now through gods singular goodnesse regained all , upon a * good , just cause , and title , by right of conquest ? is it not then their duty to keep their own , which god hath possest them of ? did not jephthah and israel do so , with that which was the amorites by originall right ? they onely won it by the sword , and did weare it . sixthly , did not the eminency of the kings person , agravate his sinne and judgement , and make him successelesse ? and was it not coniah king of judahs case ? as i live saith the lord , though coniah the son of je●●●akim king of judah , were the signet upon my right hand , yet will i pluck him thence . and againe , write ye this man childlesse , * a man that shall not prosper in his daies ; for no man of his seed shall prosper , sitting upon the throne of david , and ruling any more in iudah . wisdome is better than weapons of war , but one sinner destroyeth much good . and is it not great wisdome , that they have executed speedy judgement upon the king and his adherents ; and thereby endeavoured , as much as may be , to preserve the kingdome from further war ? seventhly , hath not the parliament the power and authority for making , and executing law ? and is it not most righteous and just for the reasons foregoing , that the king , and other the heads of his adherents , should be subject unto the power , authority , and unto law and justice ▪ now upon all the foregoing considerations , and conclusions of scripture and reason , is it not abundantly prov●● that the generall and his councell , are now in gods way , and may expect successe , and a blessing from god , and are safely guided by the spirit of truth ? that the meanes they ●●e are justifiable , with in their sphere , charge , and duty , agreeable to the lawes of god , nature , and nations , together with the dictates of reason . but as for you , you have murmured , reproached , and traduced them very much , in this your letter , and have most highly provoked the lords wrath against your selves , by opposing of those unto whom the lord hath manifested his own power , love , and goodnesse , and therefore you have added this evill unto all your sins , to ask you such a king to rule over you , one who was corrupted , stained , and rejected of god , in point of government , and not without blemish , as saul was , when desired by the people , and yet god saith , in so doing , they had rejected him . and the people did very sensibly confesse the lords justice , and wrath against them , for that they had added this evill ( of asking them a king ) unto all their sins : in creating samuel to pray unto the lord for them , that they dye not . o that you and all the people in this nation who are guilty in this kinde , were but as sensible of gods wrath against you all , and that you would confesse and forsake your sin , that ye may finde mercy but if ye will not walke in gods way and counsell , according to the truth , plainly and sincerely set forth unto you , if ye shall still do wickedly , ye shall he consumed , both ye and your king , but i hope better things of you for the future , and that you will keep your selves within your own sphere , preach wholsome doctrine , and not meddle injuriously with state-matters , but if at any time you are thereunto called or invited , i beseech you to speak and publish nothing , but the words of sobernels and truth . finis . febr. 17 , 1648. imprimatur gilbert mabbot . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a92209e-360 judg. 12 1. &c. notes for div a92209e-500 minst . 1. answ . * act. 26. 24. &c. * luk. 1. 3 , 4. minist. 2. answ . minist. 3. answ . minist. 4. answer . * as in 1 kings 1. 52. & chap. 2. 12. &c. to ver. 35. is very apparent , and in the former part of the first chapter . * for that abiather escaped away . minist. 5. answ . * in this case the tyrant nero was by the senate of rome sentenced to be whipt thorow the city , and thrown down the tarpeian rock , so then even nature it self concurred with st. paul in those very people to whom he had written &c. the athe●ians and lacedemonians were full of these examples , act. 22. 4 , 5. & 23. 3 , 5. parliament declaration 20 may , 1642. ●… . rich. ● . ●hen . 4. * witnesse the iermine horse , spanish fleet , and the scots invasion . iosh. 15. exod. 4. 22. & 19. 5. zach. 2. 8. psal. 105. 14 , 15. 1 ●●…a . ch. 22. ●inist . answ . note 〈…〉 . i say 58. 1● . * here you wilfully forget that part of the covenant viz. to bring delinquents to concligue punishment , and was not he the cheif ? jude . * to wit , the parliament and his excellency . * their owne words retorted * o most shamefull presumption and pride , for they are all quite contrary to you , t. c. alstedius , &c. remember the scribes and pharises , 10. 7. 47 , 48 , 49. * retorted . gal. 6. minist. 8. answer . * stiled parliam . decl. 20 may , 1642. iudg. 5. 6 , 7. sam. 15. 32 , 33 psal. 2. rev. 20. 9. psal. 149. * in some of his declarations praying god to deal with him and his , according to his integrity , when he disquite contrary to what he had avowed . * which god hath already fulfilled , prov. 28. 15. * yet he was an anoynted tipe of christ , as all the kings of israel were . 2 kin . 24. 25 , 26. * and was not the first blood shed in , ●r neer the place , wher the king died , countenanced by himsel●e 〈◊〉 his own 〈…〉 ement ? * psa. 14. 9. * note this wel iudg. 11. 19 , 20. ier. 22. 24. 30. * to within respect of kingly government , else not . conclusion . ● sam. 12. ult. a fannaticks letter sent out of the dungeon of the gate-house prison of vvestminster: to all his brethren in the three nations at liberty; and also in the several goales and dungeons therein, that are under all the principles of the doctrines of christ, heb. 6. i, 2. by henry adis, a baptized believer, undergoing the name of a free-willer; and also most ignomineously by the tongue of infamy, called a fannatick, or a mad man. adis, henry. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a75884 of text r208012 in the english short title catalog (thomason e1084_6). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 71 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 13 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a75884 wing a579 thomason e1084_6 estc r208012 99867020 99867020 119310 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a75884) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 119310) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 161:e1084[6]) a fannaticks letter sent out of the dungeon of the gate-house prison of vvestminster: to all his brethren in the three nations at liberty; and also in the several goales and dungeons therein, that are under all the principles of the doctrines of christ, heb. 6. i, 2. by henry adis, a baptized believer, undergoing the name of a free-willer; and also most ignomineously by the tongue of infamy, called a fannatick, or a mad man. adis, henry. 25 p. printed by s. dover for the author, and are to be sold at book-sellers shops, london : 1660. annotation on thomason copy: "march. 6.". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng dissenters, religious -england -early works to 1800. religion and politics -england -early works to 1800. freedom of religion -england -early works to 1800. a75884 r208012 (thomason e1084_6). civilwar no a fannaticks letter sent out of the dungeon of the gate-house prison of vvestminster: to all his brethren in the three nations at liberty;: adis, henry. 1660 12656 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 b the rate of 4 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-04 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-05 robyn anspach sampled and proofread 2007-05 robyn anspach text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a fannaticks letter sent out of the dungeon of the gate-house prison of vvestminster : to all his brethren in the three nations at liberty ; and also in the several goales and dungeons therein , that are under all the principles of the doctrines of christ , heb. 6. 1 , 2. by henry adis , a baptized believer , undergoing the name of a free-willer ; and also most ignomineously by the tongue of infamy , called a fannatick , or a mad man . gal. 5. 1. stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith christ hath made you free , and be not entangled again with the yoak of bondage . london , printed by s. dover for the author , and are to be sold at book-sellers shops , 1660. a fannaticks letter sent out of the dungeon of the gate-house prison of vvestminster , &c. dearly and well beloved brethren in the lord , it is the desire of my soul , that grace , mercy , truth , peace , love , gentlenesse , goodnesse , faith , meeknesse and temperance , to you be multiplyed , with all long-suffering and knowledge . brethren , when i enter into a serious consideration of what the flock of god gone before endured in their dayes , not onely by cruel mockings , deridings , and evil speakings , but also by whipings , imprisonments , buffettings , banishments , and painful deaths , patiently , chearfully , readily and willingly ; and all this that they might keep a good conscience towards god , in order to their producing his glory , and their own eternal good . i say , the serious consideration of this , is that which doth much encourage me , notwithstanding the many difficulties of this our day , to take up a resolution , to go on in my christian progresse by divine assistance , and not to look back , lest with lots wife , i become a standing monument of gods everlasting displeasure ; and therefore , these are earnestly to desire you also in gods fear , to persevere in that path , and to run swiftly towards perfection , in that race you have already made some progress in , beginning at heb. 6. 1 , 2. and so chearfully to passe thorow this valley of tears ; for he that runneth , obtaineth not the crown unlesse he strive lawfully , 2 tim. 2 ▪ 5. let us therefore so run that we may obtain , 1 cor. 9. 24. let us labour hard to get up sions hill , having a single eye to gods glory ; in which narrow way , you must expect the hedges to be lined on both sides , with multitudes of amalakites , shooting out their arrows , even bitter words , whose teeth are as sharp as arrows , and their tongue a sharp sword , psalm . 57. 4. who whet their tongue like a sword , and bend their bow to shoot those arrows , even bitter words , psalm . 64. 3. who are ready to say with those in jer. 18. 18. come and let us smite him with the tongue , and let us not give heed to any of his words ; to whom let me beg you in gods fear ; as you tender the honour of the gospel , and the reputation of your master ; king jesus , whom ( jew-like ) they so mock , scoff and jeer at , not to render to them evil for evil , nor reviling for reviling ; but contrariwise blesse , knowing that you are thereunto called , that ye should inherit the blessing ; for he that will love life and see good dayes , let him refrain his tongue from evil , and his lips that they speak no guile ; let him eschew evil , and do good , let him seek peace and ensue it ; for the eyes of the lord are over the righteous , and his ears are open unto their prayers ; but the face of the lord is against them that do evil ; and who is he that will harm you , if ye be followers of that which is good ? and if ye suffer for righteousnesse sake , happy are ye ; and be not affraid of their terror , neither be troubled , but sanctifie the ( lord in your hearts , and be ready alwayes to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you , with meeknesse and fear , having a good conscience ; that whereas they speak evil of you as evil doers , they may be ashamed , when they shall falsly accuse your good conversation in christ ; for it is better if the will of god be so , that ye suffer for well doing , then for evil doing ; for christ also hath suffered for sin●●●… the just for the unjust , psalm . 3. 9. &c. therefore let us look unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith , who for the joy that was set before him , endured the crosse , and despised the shame , heb. 12. 2. who is the captain of our salvation , and was made perfect through sufferings , heb. 2. 10. who was led as a lamb to the slaughter , and as a sheep before the shearer was dumb , so opened he not his mouth , acts 8. 32. for even hereunto were ye called , because christ also suffered for us , leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps , who did no sin , neither was guile found in his mouth ; who when he was reviled , reviled not again , when he suffered , he threatned not , but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously , 1 pet. 2. 11 , 12 , 13. therefore seeing we have taken his yoak upon us , let us learn of him who is lowly and meek ; and we shall find rest for our souls , mat. 11. 29. and let us not think to be above our master , for if they have called the master of the house belzebub , how much more them of his houshold ? and if they have so done to the green tree , what will they not do to the dry tree ? it is enough for the disciple to be as his master , and the servant as his lord ; and therefore let us consider what legacy our master hath left us , who saith , that in the world we shall have tribulation ; for behold saith he , i send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves , be ye therefore wise as serpents , but harmlesse as doves ; but beware of men , for they will deliver you up to the counsels , — and they will scourge you in their synagogues , and ye shall be brought before governours , and kings , for my names sake , for a testimony against them and the gentiles ; and ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake , mat. 10. 16. 18. 22. yea , the time will come , that if they shall kill you , they will think they do god good service ; and christ hath spoken these things , that we should not be offended , john 16. 12. therefore in our patience let us possesse our souls ; and blessed is he that shall not be offended in him ; for our light afflictions which are but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; whilest we look on the things which are not seen , and not on the things that are seen , for the things that are seen are temporal , but the things that are not seen , they eternal , 2 cor. 4. 17. and although no chastening at the present seemeth joyous but grievous , yet neverthelesse afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness , unto them that are exercised thereby , heb. 12. 11. and were it not ( that to the rejoycing of my soul ) i heard that your joy is full , as well in newgate , white-lyon , maydstone , alisbury , and in all other prison-holes , as it is super-abounding in the dark gate-house dungeon with us ; i should then have desired that the hands hanging down , and the feeble knees should have been held up and strengthened ; but seeing i hear that faith is every where upon the wing , and that the omni-present god is pleased to visit us in all our prison-holes , with the incomings of his comforting spirit , even to joy unspeakable and full of glory : i shall conclude with our apostle , and say , and that upon a good account to , that by the good hand of our god upon us , i see it is given unto us in the behalf of christ , not onely to believe , but also to suffer for his name sake ; and herein we have cause to joy and rejoyce in the lord , who by the incomings of his spirit , hath supported both you and us in this tryal , so as that we can with his people of old , joy in tribulations , knowing that tribulations worketh patience , and patience experience , and experience hope , and hope maketh not ashamed , because the love of god is spread abroad in our hearts . so that we can with our apostle upon a good account say , that , though we are troubled on every side , yet not destressed , we are perplexed , yet not in despair , persecuted but not forsaken , cast down but not destroyed , alwayes bearing about in our body the dying of the lord jesus christ ; for we which live , are alwayes delivered unto death for jesus sake ; and therefore let every soul of us , in singlenesse of heart , eye gods glory in our present sufferings , and take up that good resolution of our aged and faithful brother paul , acts 21. 13. and say ( if thereto called ) that we are willing in the behalf of christ , not onely to be bound and lie in bonds , but also to die for his name sake . and this is that which is the rejoycing of my soul , that in the midst of these sufferings , both by you and us , i cannot hear of one man of our society , that is found an evil doer in what is charged upon us , as to plotting , contriving or undermining , or in any act of hostility in disturbing the peace of the nation ; for herein we can safely and upon a good account appeal to our god , the searcher of all hearts , and can with confidence and boldnesse , in the faithfulnesse of our souls , to the faces of the greatest of men , affirm and say , we are not guilty of what we are charged withal , and that we are oppressed in judgements , and are injuriously torn from our callings and families , and most barbarously penned up in prison-holes ; and my self & some others of our society , thrust into a damp , dark dirty dungeon , without either light or air , bed or bedding , first nine , and after twelve of us together , scarce able to lie down one by another ; being thus used , not for what we have done , but for what we are ; nor for what is found in our houses , as to arms or ammunition : and that you may be satisfied in a measure with the truth of what my sufferings are and have been in this juncture of time , in this our cruel leading into captivity ; i shall lay down something upon the account of report , & also upon the account of action . and as for false rumors raised upon me , i was reported to say , that i hoped to wash my hands in the kings blood ; this was raised by one hopping jane , commonly so called , a notorious drunken swearing person , whose common conversation is , to go ranting , raving and singing like a bedlam along the streets , ( to the admiration of those that know her not ) pulling and haling gentlemen as they go along the streets , to get money of them , to buy ale to drink the kings health ; and this was reported that i should say at my shop door , on wednesday morning , the ninth day of the eleventh moneth , vulgarly called january , 1660. when i was not down my stairs in the shop all that morning , as i proved by three witnesses to the french papish fencer , that carried me away , for saying these words after he , and they that were with him , had searched my house for arms ; the which words , or any other tending to that , or any such horrid and wicked tendancy , god the searcher of all hearts knows , i never entertained so much as a thought of in the least ; and for my tongue to utter that which never came into my thoughts , seemeth to me a very strange thing , the which she her self hath since said to my wife , before some that heard her words , as to that particular , was not so . it is also further reported by others far and near , that i my self , that said wednesday night , had killed one of the constables watch-men ; when i was in custody as is aforesaid , by nine of the clock in the morning , and was that night with some forty more upon the main guard at white-hall , and was sent on thursday morning to the gate-house prison dungeon , where i now am . and further , it is commonly reported , that in my house when it was searched , there were several arms and ammunition found , with barrels of gun-powder ; and that there was a barrel of white gun-powder left at one mr. horses house in stannop-street , a coach-maker , to be conveyed to me ; when in truth i had no arms at all , nor any manner of powder ; but was so far from any such thing , as that i can boldly affirm it in the presence of god , that i have not had , nor carried so much as a defensive weapon this fifteen or sixteen years . and in 1659. i declared against the acting with the carnal weapon , and pleaded the unlawfulnesse thereof , as by the said declaration , in the end of my fannatick's mite cast into the kings treasury , is evident . more i might say as to matter of report , but i shall forbear and let you know , that my house was searched nine several times , twice before i was taken into custody , and seven times after i was in custody , and six times of that seven in one night , and by several parties ; so that i may say as to the malice of men , i am set up as their mark to shoot at , although my actings towards them are innocent and harmless . for i know nothing on my part as a cause of it , unless in my fannaticks mite , my bearing my testimony against the abominations of the times , in saying what i say therein , as to the madness of the rude multitude ; and in the revived and daily continued acts of folly in stage-playes , and the many bitter oaths and execrations uttered by unlawful game-players , & in the abominations of dammy and debauch'd bawdy-houses , the foul detestable shame of a christian kingdom ; or in what i say in page 49 , 50 , 51. of that mite , in that use of examination to the nation , considered as a nation ; or at my down-right and single-hearted conclusion of my epistle therein to the king dedicated ; or in my after-writing to the king , in that i give him some reasons , why i could neither swear nor fight for him : if these , or any thing of this kind , causeth them thus to become mine enemy , because i tell them and him the truth ; if it be this that renders me vile in their eyes , i must let them know in the words and resolution of david , and say , if this be to be vile , i according to the ability received , shall be yet more vile . but i shall proceed to discover to you what was acted , as to searching my house , and by what manner of persons , that so you may be sensible , whither we are posting , if they were legally commissionated . the second time that my house was searched , was by one john gosling , a known papist , and servant to mr. hillyard an apothecary in long-aker , who beyond his commission ( if he had one ) carried away ( he and his party and confederacy , captain wharton and others ) near 30 of my fannaticks mite , and got two shillings in money of me , pretending it for the souldiers . and about a week after , captain wharton and another of them , came and took forcibly out of my house , two more of my books , demanding more ; which he would have had , had there been any ready . and the next time that my house was searched , was when i was taken into custody , and that was by mounseir lawrence an italian , a papist , who keepeth a fencing school in stānnop-street . the next was by mounseir de la mane , a french-man , and a known papist , living in long-aker , a gilt-leather man . the next time , or another time , by one mr. kirbey , a cloth-drawer , in our own street ; a known papist also . and another time by anthony welch , a limping porter , living in mr. roberd's celler , in drury-lane , near russel-street ; whose horrid oaths , execrations and debauch'd actions , both to us , to mris. whitaker , richard day , and others , do bespeak him to be no better than an athiest . and as if all these actions and reports , were not enough to render me and you sufficiently odious to the view of the world , the weekly news-monger , falsly , injuriously , and most ignomineously in his weekly pamphlet , hath branded us with that most stigmatical title of traytors . to whom i would give this christian caution , that for the time to come , he take a special care of venting and inventing lies , lest the lord christ say one day to him , as once he said to some of abrahams fleshly seed , john 8. 44. ye are of your father the devil , and the works of your father ye will do ; he was a murtherer from the beginning , and abode not in the truth , because there is no truth in him ; when he speaketh a lie , he speaketh of his own , for he is a lyar , and the father of it ; and therefore i would have him further to consider the shame of it , for as the lip of truth shall be established for ever , so the lying lip is but for a moment , prov. 12. 19. and as a righteous man hateth lying , so a wicked man is loathsome , and cometh to shame , prov. 13. 5. and if we may believe the wisest of men , he telleth us , that he that hideth hatred with lying lips , and he that uttereth a slander , is a fool , prov. 10. 18. and farther , i would have him consider the great danger of it ; for first , lying lips are an abomination to the lord , but they that deal truly , are his delight , prov. 12. 22. secondly , these six things the lord hateth , yea , seven are an abomination unto him , a proud look , a lying tongue , and hands that shed innocent blood , an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations , feet that be swift in running to mischief , a false witnesse that speaketh lies , and him that soweth discord amongst brethren , proverbs 6. 16. thirdly , it will exclude him heavens glory ; for without are dogs , and sorcerers , and whoremongers , and murderers , and idolaters ; and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie , rev. 22. 15. for there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth , neither whatsoever worketh abomination , or maketh a lie , but they which are written in the lambs book of life , rev. 21. 27. but the fearful , and unbelieving , and the abominable , and murtherers , and whoremongers , and sorcerers , and idolaters , and all lyars , shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone , which is the second death , rev. 21. 8. but leaving the man to consider of his wicked action , in suffering his pen to run to that excesse , that causeth men to raise false reports upon the innocent ; i shall in love to his soul , earnestly desire him to set himself upon the effectual work of repentance , that so he may make his peace before he go hence and be no more ; that when time shall be no more , he may then have a well-being with him , who gives a being to all beings , in that kingdom that shall never fade away ; the which that you my brethren and i may make sure , let us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling , and let us not be slothful , but be followers of them , who thorow faith and patience , inherited the promises , heb. 6. 12. and let us be found in gods way , doing gods work , being fortified with christian courage and boldnesse , following the foot-steps of the flock of god gone before us , not at all fearing what man can do unto us ; for this is the requirement of our lord and master , mat. 10. 28. who saith , fear not him that can kill the body onely , and afterwards can do no more , but rather fear him , that after he hath killed the body , can cast both body and soul into hell , i say , fear him : and in his fear , let us be found in well-doing , endeavouring as much as in us lyeth , to see that the peace and welfare of the nation be secured ; for if every mans particular interest be involved in the general good , then it stands every particular man in hand , to study the good , peace , safety and welfare of the whole . to this end , let us take the advice of our apostle , 2 tim. 2. 3. even as good souldiers of jesus christ , to endure hardship , and take to us the whole armor of god , that we may be able to withstand in the evil day , and having done all , to stand ; let us stand therefore , having our loyns girt about with truth , and having on the brest-plate of righteousness , and our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; above all , taking the shield of faith , wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked ; and take the helmet of salvation , and the sword of the spirit , which is the word of god , praying with all prayers and supplication for all saints , ephes. 6. 13. &c. and for all men , for kings , and all that are in authority , 1 tim. 2. 1 , 2. yea , for our very enemies , and all that hate us , mat. 5. 44. and of them that persecute us , let us cry out , and say , in the words of that holy martyr and brother stephen , lord , lay not this sin to their charge , acts 7. 60. and in the words of our lord and master , john 13. 13. the captain of our salvation , heb. 2. 10. our elder brother , heb. 2. 11. let us cry out and say , father forgive them , they know not what they do , luk. 23. 34. and thus being furnished with the armour of righteousnesse , on the right hand , and on the left , 2 cor. 6. 7. let us behave our selves manfully , fighting the lords battel , even to the resisting unto blood , striving against sin , heb. 12. 4. striving together for the faith of the gospel , phil. 1. 27. not for the wealth , pomp , pleasure , pastimes , preferment , power nor dominions of the earth ; neither in the behalf of our selves nor others , no not in the behalf of our lord and master king jesus , to set him up as king ; for though i do really believe that jesus christ shall personally reign , yet his kingdom is not to be set up as some would have it ; for the seventh angel sounded , and there were great voices in heaven , saying , the kingdoms of this world , are become the kingdoms of the lord , and of his christ , and he shall reign for ever and ever , rev. 11. 15. for the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands , that smote the image on the feet , became a great mountain , and filled the whole earth , dan. 2. 35. and this was the confidence of that holy man , job 19. 25. for saith he , i believe that my redeemer liveth , and that he shall stand at the last day upon the earth : so also saith the prophet , zech. 14. 4. for his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of olives , which is before jerusalem , on the east ; and verse 9. and the lord shall be king over all the earth ; in that day , there shall be one lord , and his name one ; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea , and from the river , even to the ends of the earth ; for he must reign , till he hath put all enemies under his feet ; the last enemie that shall be destroyed , is death , 1 cor. 15. 25 , 26. yet this kingdom shall not be set up by force of arms , neither shall his servants prepare it for him , but he for them ; for so saith he himself , john 14. 2. in my fathers house are many mansions , and i go to prepare a place for you ; and i will come to you again , and receive you to my self , that where i am , there ye may be also . and therefore he spake unto them a parable , because he was nigh to jerusalem , and because they thought that the kingdom of god should immediately appear . and a certain noble-man , went into a far countrey ; to receive for himself a kingdom , and to return , luke 19. 11 , 12. so that he shall give the kingdom to them , if we may believe himself ; for saith he , fear not , little flock , for it is your fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom , luke 12. 32. and i appoint unto you a kingdom , as my father hath appointed unto me , that ye may eat and drink at my table ; in my kingdom , and sit on thrones , judging the twelve tribes of israel , luke 22. 29. but we are yet in the kingdom of christs patience , and not in the kingdom of his power ; for if we may believe himself , he telleth us , john 18. that his kingdom is not of this world ; for this is esaus kingdom ; and so saith the lord to esdras , for when jacob and esau were born unto isaac , jacobs hand held fast the heel of esau ; for esau is the end of this world , and jacob is the beginning of that which is to come , 2 esdras 6. 8 , 9. and indeed this is esau , or the evil ones kingdom ; for satan is the god of this world ; and so saith our apostle , 2 cor. 4. 3 , 4. if our gospel be hid , it is hid to them that are lost , in whom the god of this world , hath blinded the minds of them that believe not , lest the glorious light of the gospel of jesus christ should shine unto them ; and so saith the devil to christ , mat. 4 , 8 , 9. when he set him upon an high mountain , and shewed him all the glory of the world , and said unto him , all this will i give thee , if thou wilt fall down and worship me . and the lord christ is so far from reproving the falshood of it , as that he saith , john 14. 13. the prince of this world cometh , but he ha●h no part in me , and john 16. 11. the prince of this world is judged . and to evidence that antipathy , that there is between these two kings kingdoms , and the subjects thereof , the apostle queries with those that had engaged for that king and kingdom , when they were fighting and quarrelling for the things of a temporal kingdom , from whence ( saith he ) comes wars and fightings among you , come they not hence even of your lusts , that war in your members ? ye lust , and have not , ye kill , and desire to have , and cannot obtain ; ye fight and war , yet ye have not , because ye ask not ; ye ask , and receive not , because ye ask amiss ; ye adulterers and adulteresses , know ye not , that the friendship of the world is emnity with god ; whosoever therefore will be a friend to the world , is an enemy to god , james 4. 1. &c. and because ye are chosen out of the world , therefore the world will hate you , yet that hatred is not to be requited with hatred again , but with love and good works , according to mat. 5. 44. so that no acts of violence or hostility , is to be found in the hands of canaans subjects , but they are patiently to wait for the coming of christ . for so perswadeth our apostle , be patient , brethren , unto the coming of the lord ; behold , the husband-man waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth , and hath long patience for it , until he receive the early and latter rain : be you also patient , stablish your hearts , for the coming of the lord draweth nigh , jam. 5. 7. and although we are redeem'd with the blood of the lamb , and are made kings and priests to god , and to christ , and shall live and reign with christ a thousand years , rev. 20. 4. 6. rev. 5. 10. yet we ought to have no acts of violence found in our hands to procure or set it up ; but this is the mistake between those that are so eager to set up christs kingdom by violence , and undermining of states and governments , and us that expect it , and yet can act no acts of violence : they expect him to reign spiritually in his people ; and we according to the scriptures , do look for him to come and reign personally with his : they look to have dominion , power and earthly authority by him , and to have their judges restored as at the first , and that on this side the grave ; whilest we wait for a manifestation of christ from heaven ; at which appearance we do expect , and that upon a scripture account , that those that fall asleep in the faith of jesus , shall then appear with jesus ; and that them that are then found in the actual faith of jesus , shall live together with them with jesus , 1 thes. 4. 14. when that same jesus which was taken up into heaven , shall so come in like manner as he went into heaven , acts 1. 11. for behold , he cometh with clouds , and every eye shall see him , and they also which piersed him , rev. 1. 7. in which patient waiting of ours , we must expect , according to the saying of our apostle , that we must through many tribulations , enter into the kingdom of heaven , acts 14. 22. our lord and master was pleased to strip himself of glory , and became obedient to that ignomineous death of the cross for our sakes , to bring us to glory , and shall we then grudg for his sake , to go by the cross to inherit that glory ? o my brethren , in gods fear consider what ye do , turn not your backs upon jesus christ , but as ye have set your hand to the plow , so look not back ; for if any man draw back , my soul shall have no pleasure in him , heb. 10. 38. and whosoever will deny me before men , him will i also deny before my father which is in heaven , they were his own words , mat. 10. 33. in whose mouth there was sound no guile ; who also telleth us , that the time will come , that if they kill us , they will think they shall do god good service , john 16. 2. and seeing we do at this day both see and feel so much in order to the fulfilling of this scripture , in this juncture of time , wherein iniquity doth so much abound , and that the love of many do wax cold ; let us consider in gods fear , what our work is in this our day , that so we may be sound doing gods work , in gods way , although it be to the losse of our liberty , goods , yea and life and all , rather than lose all to eternity . and therefore for my part , i shall resolve , god assisting me according to the ability received , to make use of that sword of the spirit , which is the word of god , to the hewing down of all iniquity , transgression and sin , both root and branch , as near as i can in all , ( and to speak scripture language ) from him that sitteth on the throne , to him that grindeth at the mill and draweth water : and to endeavour such a reformation in all , as that god may build up the nation , and make our land as it is now , abounding in all excesse of ryot , to be as one day it shall be said of jerusalem , even a praise of the whole earth ; and if in this i am looked upon to be vile , i shall by divine assistance , resolve to be yet more vile ; and shall first begin this work at home ; and now i speak of home , i shall begin to look home , and as the husband-man and the merchant , take the time of their best leasure to make up their inventory ; so shall i , for being haled from my lawful employments , having little else to do in my dark , dolesome , drowsie , damp dungeon , i shall see what i am worth , that so i may set my house in order whilest i have time ; for age tells me , i cannot live long , and almost every day an alarm for death is sounding in mine ears , tear me and ram me , sink me and dam me , telling me , some to my face , and others behind my back , that i am not long liv'd , and that i must suddenly prepare for death , because of my judgement , notwithstanding the kings word passed to us from breda and since , for a peaceable enjoying our meeting upon our good behaviour , the which i shall bid defiance to any man that can say , it was ever tainted ; i have therefore set pen to paper , and have added this my inventory , the which haply may seem impertinent in this place , yet i judge the conclusion may be very comfortable ; and as the husband-man and merchant , so shall i ; the husband-man making his inventory , which we will suppose thus , imprimis , hay barns empty , and hay-stack-roomes railed round , with corn barns , and graineries empty , swept and garnished , in which there is nothing of l. s. d. any considerable value . but that which will make a mends for all , is , item , in the harvest crop , abundance of hay , to the raising of stacks , and filling the hay barn and lofts ; and of wheat , rie , barlie , oats , beans and pease , to the filling the barns and graineries , having increased some thirty , some sixty , and some an hundred fould , with the multiplicity both of summer and winter fruits , both of the orchards and cherry grounds , with the abundance of wall fruits , and fragrant-flowers , sweet herbs of all kinds appearing , like the hour of plenty ; together with the sweet encrease of that little , yet profitable creature , the bee ; the which being added to the fore part of the inventory , being as aforesaid , not of l. s. d. any considerable value . doth in the whole amount to , l. s. d. a good considerable sum . and the merchant , when he maketh his inventory , he doth it at his best leasure , when the venture is out-bound ; the which we will suppose this , imprimis , two or three large vast warehouses , empty and neatly cleansed , onely in one corner two or three empty casks , with some odd pack-cloaths and cording ; and all l. s. d. not worth setting down . but item the return of the venture , a gallant , lusty stout tall ship , of a vast burthen , deeply laden , and well man'd , in-bound at the havens ▪ mouth , ready the next tide , being a spring and a fresh smart gale of wind , filling the fore sale , the top sale , the sprit sale , and the mizen , running before the wind , like the post that sides for his life , the antient flying , and the pilat for the safe convey of the vessel carefully instructing the steers-man at the helm , as occasion serves , with a star-bord , lar-bord , port , steady , loof , non-neer ; and the master gunner and his mate fiering , to the rejoycing the heart of the owner , 13. 17. 19. or 21. great guns , the sea-men and marriners with all speed , striking and furling their sails , coming to anchor , and making to shore , to liver the ship , being richly laden with the best and choisest indian trade , and being home bound , coasting from one countrey to another port , being enriched with the choisest and best commodities of those countries and havens , by which means , though the inventory , as to the former part of it , amounts to l. s. d. no great matter . yet the return of the venture so supposed , as aforesaid , doth raise the total sum to l. s. d. hundreds thousands ten thousands . thus we see the husband-mans harvest , and the merchants return after their patient waiting , makes a mends for all . therefore by the way , a word to my brethren , that are already in prison , with my self , and those that do every hour expect the same measure to be met to them ; and that not upon the account of any real mis-actings found or known , either by them or us , as by plotting , contriving or undermining the present government ; but onely and alone , because we desire and endeavour to keep the testimony of a good conscience , and to prove faithful and loyal to our head and soveraign , our supream , our king , our lord and master jesus christ , whose laws teach the best loyalty to our earthly kings , and purest love to our princes , nay to our very enemies . i say to my brethren imprisoned , and the rest yet at liberty , i shall give the advice of the spirit , recorded in james 5. 9. 10. be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the lord ; behold the husband-man waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth , &c. be ye also patient , stablish your hearts , for the coming of the lord draweth nie ; and let us not be weary in well doing , for in due time we shall reap if we faint not , gal. 6. 9. the which reaping time is , that which fills up my inventory , and will make a mends for all , and raise my total sum to a considerable value ; for as i am a trades man , my estate as to temporals , amounts but to a small value ; as , imprimis , my houshold goods and wearing apparil , being very little , and very mean , and therefore of l. s. d. very little worth . item , in my shop and ware-house , what is left by the hand of oppression ; is , l. s. d. scarce worth valuing . so also as i am a christian , my condition in gross is this , not l. s. d. worth setting down . imprimis , my footsteeps watched , and my actions weighed by an unjust weight and ballance , and mete by a false measure , by which means is produced false reports , opprobious speeches , cruel mockings , scoffings , jeerings and deridings , false accusations , and evil surmisings ; and my whole trade heaven-wards , arraigned , judged and condemned as utterly lawlesse and unlawful ; and my commodities sent me from thence , counterfeit and carnal , adulterated and abominable , sinful and schismatical , wavouring and unstable , whimsical and giddy , fantastical and fannatical , formal and faithlesse , papal and prophane ; by all which it may evidently appear , that as to my present estate and condition among men , i have l. s. d. very little comfort . and to speak in the words of our apostle , if in this life onely we had hope in christ , we were of all men most miserable ; but now is christ risen from the dead , 1 corinthians 15. 19 , 20. and therefore , item , in the resurrection day , they that have done good , shall arise of the resurrection of life , john 5. 39. for if we have been planted into the likenesse of his death , we shall also be in the likenesse of his resurrection ; and christ being raised from the dead , dieth no more , death hath no more dominion over him , rom. 6. 5. 9. so also is the resurrection of the dead , it is sown in corruption , it is raised again in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonour , it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power ; it is sown a natural body , it is raised a spiritual body . and as we have born the image of the earthly , so also shall we bear the image of the heavenly , 1 cor. 15. 43 , 44 , 49. and thus shall we be recompenced at the resurrection of the just , luk. 14. 14. this shall we have after we have lived in reproach , infamy and ignomy ; this shall we have if we worship not the beast , nor his image , neither receive his mark in our foreheads , nor in our hands ; though we have been villified and undervalued , railed at and reproached , buffetted and whipped , banished or imprinsoned ; nay , though we shall lose our lives , provided it be only for the witness of jesus , and the word of god , we shall have our part in the first resurrection : and blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection , on such the second death shall have no power ; but we shall be priests to god and to christ , and shall reign with christ a thousand years , rev. 20. 4 , 5 , 6. for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet : and when all things shall be subdued unto him , then shall also the son himself be subject unto him , that put all things under him , that god may be all in all , 1 cor. 15. 25 , 28. for it is a faithful saying , that if we be dead with him , we shall also live with him ; if we suffer , we shall also reign with him , 2 tim. 2. 10 , 11. therefore , item in the harvest crop , abundance of plenty , for in due time we shall reap if we faint not : and whatsoever a man soweth , that shall he also reap ; for he that soweth to the flesh , shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the spirit , shall of the spirit reap life everlasting , gal. 6. 7 , 8 , 9. and he that goeth on weeping , bearing precious seed , shall doubtless come again and bring his sheaves with him ; for they that sow in tears , shall reap in joy , psal. 126. 56. thus weeping may endure for a night , but joy cometh in the morning . in the morning of the resurrection , sorrow and mourning shall vanish away as the dew before the morning sun ; for god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death , nor sorrow , nor crying , neither shall there be any more pain , for the former things are passed away , rev. 21. 4. and the lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall lead them unto living fountains of water ; and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes , rev. 7. 17. yea , he will swallow up death in victory , and the lord god will wipe away teares from all faces , and the reproach of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth , for the lord hath spoken it ; and it shall be said in that day , this is our god , we have waited for him , and he will save us ; this is the lord , we have waited for him , we will be glad and rejoyce in his salvation , isa. 25. 8 , 9. for in his presence is fulness of joy , and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore , psal. 16. 11. thus our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with that glory that shall be revealed in us , rom. 8. 18. for our light a●●●i●…ions , which are but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , whilest we look at the things that are not seen , and not on the things that are seen ; for the things that are seen are temporal , but the things that are not seen they are eternal , 2 cor. 4. 17. and now my brethren , seeing it is so , that there comes so much , and such great benefit to us by our sufferings , let us chearfully go on in gods way , continuing faithful to the death , that so we may attain the crown of life : and let us follow the lamb wheresoever he goeth , though to the cross , that so we may attain the crown , we shall be great gainers by it : and if we make that use of our sufferings that god intendeth , our faith , our patience , our joy , our love , our peace , and all will be tryed , strengthened , and much bettered . and in conclusion we shall reap the benefit of it , so as that we shall have cause to say with his servant of old , psal. 11 9. 75. i know o lord , that thy judgements are right , and that thou of faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled . and again , by our afflictions we shall evidence our selves to be sons and not bastards ; for whom the lord loveth he chasteneth , and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth ; if ye endure chastening , god dealeth with you as with sons ; for what son is it whom the father chasteneth not ? but if ye be without chastizements , whereof all are partakers , then are ye bastards and not sons , heb. 12. 6 , 7 , 8. god is now preparing a people for himself ; and as persons are to be fitted ; hewen and squared for the building of god , before they can be fit matter for his building here , as they must be lively stones before they can be duly put into his building , the church ; so he is now trying his stones for his heavenly building ; he now sitting as a refiner and purifier of silver ; and is now trying the sons of levi , and shall purge them as gold and silver ; and he that is not now found gold , silver or precious stones , will be consumed , his out-side formality will be proved to be hypocrisie : he that now hath not oyl in his vessel will walk in the dark , for profession is almost out of fashion , and he that now hath not habakkuks faith will not stand : he that now finds out a by-way to deny christ , vvill not be found worthy of him ; novv the day vvill try him ; he that vvould not leave his lust , his pride , his vanity , his hunting after his profit , will now evidence himself who he was ; for two men walking together , and a third following them as a servant , it is hard to guess whose servant he is ; but when they part , the servant will follow his own master : christ and reputation , credit or fame have in this nation walked hand in hand a long time together ; but now they are parting , it will suddenly now be evidenced whose servants professors are : and the master without all question will pay them their wages ; the lord is now dealing with his people , as once constantius dealt with his subjects : and would king charles the second have done so , he would have had far better attendants , then now he hath . in the ecclesiastical history , eusebius pamphilius in his first book of the life of constantine , in his twelfth chapter , speaketh to this purpose ; that the magistrates in every province , by the command of the former tyrannical emperors , did cruelly and grievously oppress the christians , and brought them to martyrdom , in so much that godly men were very scarce ; at which constantius , the father of constantine , was much troubled ; who when he came to succeed in the empire , and having a desire to try his courtiers ( saith the story ) he began to contrive a strong and admirable plot ; for he granted free leave to all his officers , and men of dignity , to offer sacrifices unto devils ; and yet to give their attendance in court , and keep their places ; and those that would not perform those accursed sacrifices should be banished the court and dismissed his service : whereupon his courtiers being divided into a double faction , presently discovered their minds and affections : and many were the number of idolaters ; whereupon this worthy constantius discovering his own plot , he reproved those that were fearful and desirous to keep their places , approving and commending the other for their constancy in gods cause , rejecting the idolaters as traytors to god , and not worthy of his service : for how ( said he ) can they be faithful to me their emperour , who have revolted from their god ? so that he presently banished them from his court , and made those that were approved to be constant in giving their testimony to the faith , near officers unto him for the securing of his own person , saying , that such men were to be accounted as his most familliar friends , and to be esteemed of more then great treasures . thus we have briefly characteriz'd the father of constantine by the actions of his life , by which any one may clearly discern that god gave him prosperous success in his affairs , and gave him a different heart from his predecessors : for having a long time performed many vertuous and royal actions , at length having suppressed the superstitious adoration of their heathen gods , he acknowledged the only true god , governor of all things ; and strengthned his family by keeping religious men to pray for him and his ; and spent the residue of his life with great commendations in peace and tranquility , living without troubles , or being troublesome , which the vulgar account a great happiness ; so he governed his wife , children and family very quietly and peaceably all the time of his reign ; and devoted them and himself to the service of god , so that his royal palace seemed to be a religious temple , in which there were holy and religious men , that offered up their incense of prayers for the emperours safety , even then when among the heathen it was a dangerous thing to be called a religious man , or one that served god . and all the harm i wish king charles the second is , that he were but a second constantius , that he had such a court , and such a guard , such a ministry and such a magistracy , such a nobility and such a gentry , such a yeomandry and such a peasantry ; that all from the highest to the lowest were such as truly feared god and hated covetousness , that every relation might act so faithfully towards their god , and each to other in love , peace and unity , that the god of peace might take a delight to dwell amongst us , when all abomination ( babylon like ) might be cast into the sea of forgetfulness . and seeing such a people would make so happy a prince : o friends ! let us hold fast our integrity , that so we may be a blessing to our prince here , and obtain the blessing hereafter . for they that shall be with the lamb are such as shall be found faithful , and worthy , and chosen , for they are virgins , and have not defiled themselves with women , they have not intermingled themselves with the abominations of the great whore , nor her adulterous brood . and if we will have one like the son of god , comforting and supporting , walking with and refreshing us in that hot furnace of affliction that is heating for us ; let us with shadrach , meshach , and abednego , keep close to our god , and let us not be careful to answer the desires of men , dan. 3. 25. but in all humility let us patiently suffer under them , in so doing our comfort will be great , though our sufferings be many ; yea though our lives lye at stake , and we also lose them ; yet if our saviours words be true , we shall find them ; for if we with our apostle do fight the good fight of faith , we may expect to lay hold of eternal life ; this is a faithful saying , for if we suffer with him , we shall reign with him ; but if we deny him , he will also deny us , 2 tim. 2. 12. and therefore let us take up a resolution to follow him in this our day , in singlenesse of soul , and in our innocency , that we may be blameless and harmless ; the sons of god without rebuke in the midest of a crooked and perverse generation , among whom shine ye as lights in the world , phil. 2. 15. giving no offence in any thing that the ministry be not blamed ; but in all things approving our selves as the ministers of god in much patience , in affliction , in necessities , in distresses , in stripes , in imprisonments , in tumults , in labours , in watchings , in fasting ; by pureness , by knowledge , by long-suffering , by kindness , by the holy ghost , by love unfeigned , by the word of truth , by the power of god , by the armour of righteousness , on the right hand and on the left ; by honour and dishonour , by evil report and good report , as deceivers and yet true , as unknown and yet well known , as dying and behold we live , as chastened and not killed , as sorrowful yet alwayes rejoycing , as poor yet making many rich , as having nothing yet possessing all things , 2 cor. 3. for ye see your calling brethren , how that not many wise men after the flesh , not many mighty , not many noble are called ; but god hath chosen the foolish things of the world , to confound the wise ; and god hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty , and base things of the world , and things that are despised , hath god chosen ; yea , and things which are not , to bring to nought the things that are , that no flesh should glory in his presence . and seeing it is so , my brethren , i shall earnestly desire you in the words of our apostle , that you also who are troubled , rest patiently with us when the lord jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire , taking uengeance on them that know not god , and that obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ , who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord , and from the glory of his power , when he shall come to be glorified in his saints , and to be admired in all them that beléeve , because our testimony among you was beléeded . so that as you have cause to joy in us , so we have great cause of rejoycing in you , that we yet stand fast in one faith ; and the churches of god have cause to glory in you for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure , which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of god , that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of god , for which we also suffer , 2 thess. 2. and thus , if any of us suffer as christians , let us not be ashamed , but let us glorifie god on this behalf . as for you , my brethren , that are of kent , and other places , who have all your livelihoods , and some of you all that you could be trusted for ; as you are servers in of stores and officers in ships , and seamen , and labourers in the several yards appertaining to shipping , my trouble is great for you , to hear of your deplorable and sad condition , in that officers make such use of your tenderness of conscience in that you cannot swear , so barbarously to use you , refusing to let you have supplies for the relieving your poor families ; yet be of good comfort , and roul your selves upon the all-sufficient god : for mine own part i cannot but be a fellow feeler of your sad conditions , for the case is mine own , with one that is too great for me to deal withal , and for more then i am worth ; but wait we upon god , and in his due time he will relieve us . and therefore let us comfort our selves in the lord , and here what the apostle speaks , james 5. 1. who saith , go to now ye rich men , wéep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you , your riches are corrupted , and your garments moth-eaten ; your gold and silver is corrupted , and the rust of them shall be a witness against you , and shal eat your flesh as it were fire : ye have heaped treasure together for the last dayes ; behold the hire of the labourers which have reaped down your fields , which is of you kept back by fraud , cryeth , and the cry of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the lord of the sabbath : ye have lived in pleasures on the earth , and been wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter , ye have condemned and killed the just , and he doth not resist you : be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the lord . and consider , that there is one in power in heaven above them ; and one in earth that is his vicegerent intrusted under him , and set up by him , to be a terrour to evil-workers , and a praise to them that do well ; who in due time may be made acquainted of it , and give a remedy in it . in the mean time , my beloved brethren , be ye steadfast , unmoveable , alwayes abounding in the work of the lord , for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the lord . to conclude , i shall impart unto you my resolution freely , and shall let you know as to my present condition , though i am in a dungeon , yet i had rather be there , ( as through mercy i can say i am with a clear conscience ) then be in the kings palace with a clogged conscience ; for mine own part i with others have had tenders of liberty upon engaging as others did ; the which we dare not do least we ensnare our selves ; for now we are as to our meetings , in this condition , we have yet the word of a king for the quiet enjoyment of our meetings , the which we had from breda , and since confirmed to some of our friends by verbal expressions , as well as in the act of oblivion , and in his declaration for ecclesiastical affairs , and that upon condition ; which condition is not yet , nor ( god assisting ) never shall on our part be broken : for as we have publickly declared our selves in former times under the other powers , to be a peaceable people , and utterly against both swearing and fighting , as by my declaration annexed at the end of my fannaticks mite is apparent , the which through mercy i shall resolve rather to die , then in the least to violate ; and here some men are ready to say as once the brethren of david did to him , who queried the reason of davids forwardness in the work of god ; whose answer was , is there not a cause ? 1 sam. 17. 29. so must i say at this day , is there not a cause ? is not the israel of god now defied by the great goliahs of our times ? therefore i must say as once jeptha did in another case , judg. 1 1. 35. i have opened my mouth to the lord , and i cannot go back : and when i am solicited and perswaded to betray the cause of christ , and break his lawes by complying with engagements and oathes ; i must say as once that servant of the lord said , nehem. 6. 11. should such a man as i take sanctuary ? should such a man as i betray and break the lawes and cause of christ ? i that have been evil spoken of by the separation for separating from the separation , though i have never been condemned justly by the separation for any such separation ; i say , if such a man as i , should now seek to secure my self after all my separation , i should be the most abominablest person in the world , and might justly be condemned with the world . i know that by what i have said , i must set up my self more publickly for a mark to be shot at : yet i must discharge my conscience as to what i have been , and what i am ; that so i may not be thought either better or worse than what i am : and if therein i become nothing as to my earthly being , yet i matter it not , so i keep a good conscience void of offence , both towards god , and towards man : and if in the innocency of my soul i perish , i perish : and i shall rather chuse to perish a thousand times , then in the least ( knowingly ) either to violate the least law of god , or betray the cause of christ , or do any thing that may dishonour the gospel of christ , or cause his name to be evil spoken of : and although there be such a charge ( as i hear there is given ) to have such a special eye to me ; i know not for what , unless for my good advice to the king : yet it shall neither force me to violate my conscience , nor forfeit my liberty as to our meetings ; but i shall patiently bear my imprisonment till the lord shall in his mercy release me ; hanging yet upon the kings word to be made good to me , and the rest of our peaceable judgement , who are falsly accused , and some of us unjustly imprisoned , and to the wounding of our good names as traytors . yet i say again , i shall resolve ( god assisting me ) to continue , faithfully waiting upon god in his own way , in the integrity of my soul , because better is the poor that walketh in his integrity , then he that is perverse in his lips , and is a fool , prov. 19. 1. for the integrity of the upright shall guide them , but the perversness of transgressors shall destroy them , and the righteousness of the upright shall direct his way , whilest the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness , prov. 11. 3 , 5. and thus whilest the just man walketh in his integrity , his children are blessed after him , prov. 20. 7. the premises considered , it shall be the desire of my soul to go on waiting upon god , earnestly begging in the behalf of the king and his people , that there may be such a right understanding of things , that justice be so duely administred , as that the righteous be not as the wicked , nor the innocent as the guilty , lest the cry of the many oppressed families come up into the ears of the great and just jehovah , that sin-revenging god , who is of a more purer eye then to behold iniquity , so as to approve of it , or those that act in it . thus having given you an accompt both of my innocency and integrety , both what i am , and what ( by divine assistance ) i shall resolve to be , notwithstanding the noysomness of the place i am in , and the hardships that i , and those that are with me , do undergo therein ; our livelyhoods chiefly depending upon our daily handy labours , being torn from our callings , and families , tyed up from getting our own bread , and brought into worse then an egyptian bondage , and contrary to the law both of nature and nations ; who though we are the kings prisoners , yet we have not ( as i said before ) neither beds nor bedding , meat nor money , nay , not so much as a drop of water but what we are forced to purchase with our money ; the which if we have not , nor friends to bring them to us , we must in reason inevitably perish , the which notwithstanding , though we undergo , yet i shall resolve still to endure , rather then set my hand to folly , either to violate my conscience , by breaking the least law of god , or in the least to give my consent to the making my self guilty by paying traytors fees , which is double fees , or any fees at all , seeing i am not guilty of what i am laid in for ; but shall resolve to go on in my christian progress , as a christian ought to do ; and shall desire to wait upon god in prayer and supplication for such a right understanding of things , as that the evil doer only may be punished , & that the meetings of the peaceable people of god , according to the kings promise , may be still continued ; praying for the king and his people , although at present my professed enemies , and to remain till death , your faithful brother and fellow prisoner for christ , henry adis. from my close constraint , the kings courtesie , for my christian counsel , the gate-house dungeon ; damp and dark , void of light , darker then night ; once a den for thieves , but now a house of prayer ; my contented castle , till christ clear me . the end . an usefull case of conscience discussed and resolved concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters, infidels, hereticks, or any other known enemies of truth and godlinesse. by master george gillespie, late minister at edinburgh. whereunto is subjoyned a letter, written by him to the commissioners of the generall assembly, in the time of his sicknesse: together with his testimony unto this truth, written two dayes before his death. gillespie, george, 1613-1648. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a42772 of text r213029 in the english short title catalog (wing g762a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 67 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 21 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a42772 wing g762a estc r213029 99825556 99825556 29940 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a42772) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 29940) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1793:30) an usefull case of conscience discussed and resolved concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters, infidels, hereticks, or any other known enemies of truth and godlinesse. by master george gillespie, late minister at edinburgh. whereunto is subjoyned a letter, written by him to the commissioners of the generall assembly, in the time of his sicknesse: together with his testimony unto this truth, written two dayes before his death. gillespie, george, 1613-1648. [2], 34 p. by the heires of george anderson, for andro wilson, printed at edinburgh : anno 1649. marginal notes. reproduction of the original in the harvard university library. eng religion and politics -scotland -early works to 1800. a42772 r213029 (wing g762a). civilwar no an usefull case of conscience discussed and resolved, concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters, infidels, hereticks, or any gillespie, george 1649 12415 97 35 0 0 0 0 106 f the rate of 106 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the f category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2003-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-01 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2004-01 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an usefull case of conscience discvssed and resolved , concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters , infidels , hereticks , or any otber known enemies of truth and godlinesse . by master george gillespie , late minister at edinburgh . whereunto is subjoyned a letter , written by him to the commissioners of the generall assembly , in the time of his sicknesse : together with his testimony unto this truth , written two dayes before his death . printed at edinburgh , by the heires of george anderson , for andro wilson , anno 1649. the preface . this following question and case of conscience , as it was handled and resolved by mr. gillespie in some sermons delivered by him , about the time of contriving the late war against the kingdome of england , being much desired by many who heard of it , that it might be for publike use , and at last yeelded to by the author before his death . his friends have thought it necessary to publish the same , together with these testimonies wherewith he sealed this trueth herein contained , in the time of his sicknesse , and immediatly before his death . ane usefull case of conscience discussed and resolved , concerning associations and confederacies with idolaters , infidels , hereticks , or any other known enemies of truth , and godlinesse . while i have occasion to speak of humanne covenants , it shall not be unprofitable to speak somewhat to that question so much debated , as wel among divines , as among polititians and lawyers , whether a confederacy and association with wicked men , or such as are of another r●ligion , be lawfull , yea , or no . for answer whereunto shortly , let us distinguish . 1. civill covenants . 2. ecclesiasticall , sacred or religious covenants . 3. mixed covenants , partly civil , partly religious . the last two being made with wicked men , and such as differ in religion from us . i hold to be unlawfull , and so do the best writers . when the israelites are forbidden a covenant with the canaanites , speciall mention is made of their gods , al●ars , images , exod. 23. 32. and 34. 13 , 14. iud ▪ 2●2 . that no such superstitious , unlawfull , worship might be tolerated . as for civill covenants , if they be for commerce or peace , which were called {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} they are allowed according to the scriptures . gen. 14 13. gen. 31. 44. 1 kings 5 ▪ 12. ier. 29 7. rom. 12 18 such covenants the vene●●ans have with the turke , because of vicinity : such covenants also ch●istian emperours of old , had sometimes with the pagans . it was the breach of a civill covenant of peace with the turke , that god punished so exemplarly in vladyslius king of hungary : but if the civill covenant be such a covenant as the grecians called {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , to joine in military expeditions together , of this is the greatest debate and controversie among writers ; for my part , i hold it unlawfull with diverse good writers ; and i conceive that exod. 34. god forbiddeth not only religious covenants with the canaanites , but even civill covenants , vers. 12. and conjugall covenants , vers. 16. which is also iunius his opinion in his analysis upon that place . the reason for the unlawfulnesse of such confederacies are brought . 1. from the law , exod. 23. 32. and 34. 12 15. deut. 7. 2. yea god maketh this a principall stipulation and condition upon their part , while he is making a covenant with them , exod. 34 10. 12. iud. 2. 1 , 2. and lest it should be thought that this is meant only of these seven nations enumerate , deut. 7. the same law is interpret of four other nations , 1 kings 11. 1 , 2. so that 't is to be understood generally against confederacies with idolaters and those of a false religion : and the reason of the law is morall and perpetuall , viz. the danger of ▪ ensnaring the people of god ; therefore they were forbidden to covenant either with their gods , or with themselves , for a conjunction of counsels , and familiar conversation ( which are consequents of a covenant ) draweth in end to a fellowship in religion . 2. from disallowed and condemned examples , as asa his covenant with benhadad , 2. chron. 16. to vers. 10 ▪ and ahaz , his covenant with the king of assyria , 2 kings 16. 7. 10. 2 chron. 28. 16 ▪ to 23. and if it should be objected , these are but examples of covenants with idolatrous heathens , there is not the like reason to condemne confederacies and associations with wicked men of the same religion ; i answer . 1. it holds à fortiori against confederacies with such of the seed of iacob , as had made defection from true religion , for as grotius de jure belli & pacis lib. 2. cap. 15. numb. 9. noteth , god would have such to be more abominated then heathens , and to be destroyed from among their people , deut. 13. 13. besides this i adde , 2. we have in other scriptures exemples , which meet with that case also ; for iehosaphats confederacy with ahab : 2. chron. 18. 3. with chron. 19. 2. and after with ahaziah , 2 chron. 20. 35. are condemned , which made iehosaphat ( although once relapsing into that sin ) yet afterwards mend his fault , for he would not again joine with ahaziah , when he sought that association the second time , 1 kings 22. 49. so amaziah having associate himself in an expedition with the isra●lites , when god was not with them , did upon the prophets admonition disjoyne himself from them and take his hazard of their anger : 2 chron. 25 ▪ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ▪ lavater upon the place applying that example , noteth this as one of the causes why the christian wars with the turke had so ill successe , why saith he , consider what souldiers were imployed , this is the fruit of associations with the wicked . 3. these confederacies proceed from an evill heart of unbelief , as is manifest by the reasons which are brought against ahaz his league with benhadad , 2 chron. 16. 7 , 8 , 9. and by that which is said against the confederacy with the king of assyria , isay 8. 12 , 13. for as calvin upon the place noteth , the unbeleevers among the people considering their own inability for managing so great a war , thought it necessary to have a con●ederacy with the assyrians ; but this was from faithlesse feares , from want of faith to stay and rest upon god as alsufficient . 4. if we must avoid fellowship and conversation with the sons of belial , ( except whe●e natu●all bonds or the necessity of a calling tyeth us ▪ psal. 6. 8. prov. 9. 6. & 24. 1. 2 cor. 6 14 , 15. & if we should account gods enemies our enemies , psal 139. 21. then how can we joyne with them , as con●ederates and associates , for by this means we shal have fellowship with them , and look on them as friends . now as to the arguments which use to be brought for the contrary opinion . first t is objected that a●raham had a confederacy with aner , eschol , and mamre , genesis 14. 13. abraham with abimelech , genesis 21. 27. 32. and isaac with abimelek , gen. 26. iacob with laban , gen. 31. 44. solomon with hiram . 1 kings 5. 12. answ. 1. it cannot be proved that these confederates of abraham , isaac , and solomon , were either idolaters or wicked : laban indeed was an idolater : but there are good interpreters who conceive that abrahams three confederates feared god ; and that abimelech also feared god , because he speaketh reverently of god , and ascribeth to god the blessing and prosperitie of those patriarchs . 't is presumed also that hiram was a pious man , because of his epistle to solomon , 2 chron. 2. 11 , 12. however , 2. those confederacies were civill , either for commerce , or for peace and mutuall security that they should not wrong one another , as that with laban , gen. 31. 52. and with abimelech , gen. 26. 29. which kinde of confederacy is not controverted . 't is objected also that the maccabees h●d a covenant with the romans and l●cedemonian● , 1 macca . 8. and 12. 1 , 2 , answ. 1. that covenant is disallowed by many good writers ; yea t is observed from the story that they had not the better , but the worse successe , nor the lesse but the more trouble following it . 2. the story it self , 1 macc. 1. 12. tells us that the first motion of a confederacy with the heathen in those times proceeded from the children of belial in israel . lastly , it may be objected that persons discontented , and of broken fortunes were gathered to david ; and that he received them , and became a captain unto them , 1 sam. 22. 2. answ. 1. some think ( and 't is probable ) they were such as were oppressed and wronged by saul● tyranny , and were therefore in debt and discontented , and that david in receiving them was a type of christ who is a refuge for the afflicted , and touched with the feeling of their infirmities . 2. whoever they were , david took care that no prophane nor wicked person might be in his company , psal 101. yea , psal. 34. 11. ( which was penned at that same time when he departed from achish and became captain of those 400. men ) he saith to them , come ye children hearken unto me , i will teach you the fear of the lord . 3. i shall bring a better argument from davids example against the joyning with such associates in war as are known to be malignant and wicked . psal. 118. 7. the lord taketh my part with them that help me , therefore i shall see my desire upon mine enemies , psal. 54. 4. the lord is with them that uphold my soul . upon this last place , both calvin and gesuerus observe , that although davids helpers were few and weak , y●t god being in them , and with them , his confidence was that they should prove stronger then all the wicked : he intimateth also , that if he had not known that god was with his helpers , leading and inspiring them , he had looked for no help by them : 2 chron. 25. 7 , 8. that davids helpers in the war were lookt upon as sincere , cordiall , and stirred up of god , may further appear from 1 chron. 12. where david joyneth with himself fidos homines qui idem cum eo sentirent saith lavater on the place , faithfull men of his own minde : he addeth , that they were such as hated sauls impiety and injustice , and loved davids vertue . vict. strigelius calls them , fideles amicos , faithfull friends . the text it self tells u● , that diverse of them joyned themselves to david while he was yet in distresse and shut up in zicklag : vers. 1. ( which was an argument of sincerity : ) also , that some of benjamin ( sauls own tribe ) adjoyned themselves to david , and the spirit came upon amasa● , who by a speciall divine instinct spake to assure david of their sincerity , vers. 2. 16. 18. they also who joined themselves with david after sauls death , vers. 23. were not of a double heart . but of a perfect heart . vers. 33. 38. and they all agreed that the first great businesse to be undertaken , should be religion , the bringing back of the arke : 1 chron. 13. 3 , 4. this point of the unlawfulnesse of confederacies with men of a false religion is strangely misapplyed by lutherans , against confederacies with us , whom they call calvinists : so argueth tarnovius tract. de foederib . but we may make a very good use of it : for as vve ought to pray and endeavour that all who are christs may be made one in him , so we ought to pray against and by all meanes avoide fellowship , familiaritie , mariages , and militarie confederacies with known wicked persons , and such as are of a false or hereticall religion . i shall branch forth this matter in five particulars , which god forebade to his people in reference to the canaanites and other heathens which also ( partly by parity of reason , partly by concluding more strongly ) will militate against confederacies and conjunctions with such as under the profession of the christian religion do either maintain heresies and dangerous errors , or live a prophane and wicked life . first , god forbade all religious covenants with such , and would not have his people to tolerate the gods , images , altars , or groves of idolaters : exod. 23. 32. and 34. 13. deut. 7. 5. iud. 2. 2. and although the letter of the law mention this in reference to the canaanites , yet the best reforming kings of iudah applyed and executed this law , in taking away the growes and high places abused by the iewes in their superstion : and what marvell ? if such things were not to be tollerated in the canaanites , much lesse in the iewes . theodosius is commended for his suppressing and punishing hereticks . 2. god forbade familiar conversation with these heathens , that they should not dwell together with his people , nay , nor in the land with them , exod. 23. 33 lest one of them being familiar with an israelite , might call him to a feast , and make him eat of things sacrificed to idols , exod. 3● . 15. compare this with iud. 1. 21. psal. 106. 35. now the apostle layeth much more restraint upon us , from conversing , eting and drinking with a scandalous christian , 1 cor. 5. 11. then with a pagan or unbeleever , 1 cor. 1. 27. there is a conversing and companying with wicked persons , which is our affliction , not our fault , that is when we cannot be rid of them , do wh●t we can , 1 cor. 5. 10. which is an argument against separating and departing from a true church , because of scandalous persons in it . the apostle gives this check to such , go where they will , they shall finde scandalous persons , all the world over . there is again a conversing and companying with wicked persons , which naturall and civile bonds , our neare relations , or our calling tyeth us unto , as between husband and wife , parent and child , pastor and people , magistrate and those of his charge . but wittingly and willingly to converse and have fellowship either with hereticall or prophane persons , whether it be out of love to them and delight in them , or for our own interest or some worldly benefit , this is certainly sinfull and inexcusable . if we take care of our bodily safety , by flying the company of such as have the plague , yea if we take care of the safety of our beasts , and would not to our knowledge suffer a scabbed or rotten sheep to infect the rest , shall we not much more take care of our own and neighbours souls , by avoyding and warning others to avoide the fellowship of the ungodly , whereby spirituall infection comes . remember it was but a kinde visit of iehosaphat to a●ab which was the occasion of ingageing him into a confederacy with that wicked man . 2 chron. 18. 2 , 3. 3. god forbade conjugall covenants or marrying with them . exod. 34. 16. deut. 7. 3. the rule is the same against matching with other wicked persons , whether idolaters or professing the same religion with us . we read not of idolatry or any professed doctrinall differences in religion between the posterity of s●th and the posterity of cain , yet this vvas the great thing that corrupted the old world and brought on the flood , that the children of god joyned themselves in mariage with the prophane , gen. 6. 1 , 2 , 3. iehoram married not an heathen , but the daughter of ahab ; but 't is marked , hee did evil , as did the house of ahab ; and vvhat is the reason given for this ? for the daughter of ahab was his wife . 2 kings 8. 18. and by and by , vers. 27. the like is marked of ahaziah the son of iehoram , vvho did evill in the sight of the lord as did the house of ahab , for he was the son in law of the house of ahab the apostle peter supposeth that christians marrie such as are heires together of the grace of life . 1 peter 3. 7. see also , prov. 31. 30. 4. god forbade his people to make with the canaanites foedus deditionis or subactionis , or ( as others speak ) pactum liberatorium , he would have his people shew no mercy to those whom he had destinate to destruction , deut. 7. 2. herein ahab sinned , making a brotherly covenant of friendship with benhadad , when god had delivered him into his hand , 1 kings 20. 32 , 33 , 34. so in all christian common wealths , the magistrate gods vicegerent ought to cut off such evil doers as gods word appointeth to be cut off , davids sparing of ioab and shimei , being partly necessitate thereto , partly induced by politicall reasons , ( whereof he repented when he was dying , nor could his conscience be at ease till he left a charge upon solomon for executing justice upon both ioab and shimei , 1 kings 2. 5 , 6 , 8 , 9. ) are no good presidents or warrands to christian magistrates to neglect the executing of justice . t is a better president which david resolveth , upon more deliberatly , psal. 101 ▪ 8. i will early destroy all the wicked of the land , that i may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the lord . marke this all , of what degree or quality soever , without respect of persons , and that early and without delay . lastly , and even ioab himself was so far punished by david , that he was cast out of his place and command , 2 sam. 19 13. and 20. 4. 5. the law is also to be applyed against civill covenants , not of pea●e , or of commerce , but of warre ; that is , a league offensive and defensive , wherein wee associate our selves with idolaters , infidels , hereticks or any other known enemies of truth or godlinesse , so as to have the same friends or enemies . a covenant of peace or commerce with such may happen to be unlawfull , in respect of some circumstances , as when peace is given to those rebels , murderers , incendiaries in the kingdome , who by the law of god ought to be destroyed by the hand of justice , or vvhen commerce vvith idolaters is so abused , as to furnish them vvith the things that they are knovvn to make use of in their idolatry . but as for {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , a confederacy ingageing us into a war vvith such associates , 't is absolutely and in its ovvn nature unlavvfull : and i finde it condemned by good writers , both of the popish party of the lutheran party , and of the orthodoxe party . some of all these are before cited , what holinesse god required in the armies of israel , see deut. 23. 9. 11. 12 , 13 , 14. we may well argue as isidorus pelusiota doth , lib. 3. epist. 14. if the law was so severe against such uncleannesses as were not voluntary , how much lesse would god suffer such as did voluntarily and wickedly defile themselves . t is marked as a part of abimelechs sin , iud. 9 4 ▪ that he hired vaine and light persons which followed him . god would have amazia● to dismisse an hundred thousand men of israel being already with him in a body , and told him he should fall before the enemy if these went with him , because god was not with them , 2 chron. 25 7. &c. if they had not yet been gathered into a body , it had been much to abstain from gathering them , upon the prophets admonition , but this is much more , that he sends them away after they are in a body , and takes his hazard of all the hurt that so many inraged souldiers could do to him or his people , and indeed they did much hurt in going back , vers. 13 yet god rewarded amaziahs obedience with a great victory . in the last age shortly after the begun reformation in germany , this case of conscience concerning the unlawfulnesse of such confederacies was much looked at . the city of strafburg . anno , 1529. made a defensive league with zurik , berne , and basil , qui & vicini erant , & dogmate magis conveni●bant saith sleidan , they were not onely neighbours , but of the same faith and religion , therefore they made a confederacy with them . about two years after the elector of saxony refused to take into confederacy those helvetians , because although they were powerfull , and might be very helpfull to him , yet they differing in religion , concerning the article of the lords supper , he said , he durst not joyne with them as confederates , lest such sad things might befall him , as the scripture testifieth to have befallen those who for their help or defence took any assistance they could get . the rule was good in thesi , although in that particular case misapplyed . the very heathens had a notion of the unlawfulnesse of confederacies with wicked men , for as victorinus strigelius on 2 chron. 25. noteth out of aschylus his tragedy entituled seven to thebe , amphiaraus a wise and vertuous man was therefore swallowed up in the earth with seven men and seven horses , because he had associate himself , with tydeus , capaneus , and other impious commanders marching to the seige of thebei , lastly take this reason for further confirmation , as we must do all to the glory of god , so we must not make warres to our selves , but to the lord ; hence the book of the wars of the lord . num. 21. 14. and , the battell is not ours , but the lords . 1 sam. 25. 28. 2. chron. 20. 15. now how shall we imploy them that hate the lord , to help the lord ? or how shall the enemies of his glory do for his glory ? shall rebels and traitors be taken to fight in the kings wars ? offer it to thy governour , as it is said mal. 1. see if he would take this well . as for the objections from scripture , they are before answered . there are many other exceptions of mens corrupt reason , which yet may be easily taken off , if we will receive scripture light . that very case of iehosophats ; confederacy with ahab , taketh off many of them ; for although 1. iehosophat was a good man and continued so after that association , not drawn away into idolatry , nor infected with ahabs religion , but only assisting him in a civile businesse . 2. ahab lived in the church of israel which was still a church , although greatly corrupted , and he was no professed hater of god ( only he had professed to hate micajah the man of god ) yea lately before this he appeared very penitent , and some think iehosaphat now judged charitably of ahab , because of that great humilation and repentance of his , which god did accept ; so far , as to reward it with a temporall sparing mercy , 1 kings 21. at the end : then followes immediatly chap. 22. iehosaphats association with him . although iehosaphat was also joined in affinity vvith ahab , ahabs daughter being married to his son . 3. the enemy was the king of syria , and iehosaphat doth not joine with a wicked man against any of gods people , but against the infidell syrians ; even as amaziah was beginning to joine with those of the ten tribes against the edomites . 4. the cause seems to have been good , as carthusian on 1 kings 22. 3. and lavater upon 2 chron. 19 2. note . for ramoth●gilead was a city of refuge , pairt●ining to the levites in the tribe of god , and should have been restored by the king of syria to ahab , according to their covenant , 1 kings 20 , 34. daneus brings that same example of ahabs going up against ramoth gilead , to prove that 't is just to make war against these who have broken covenant with us . 5. iehosaphats manner of proceeding was pious in this respect , that he said to ahab , enquire i pray thee of the word of the lord to day , and again , is there not here a prophet of the lord besides , he enquireth ultr● , and seeks all the light he could there have in point of conscience from prophets of the lord , which makes it probable that those 4●0 . prophets did not professe , or were not known to iehosaphat to be prophets of baal ; but were lookt upon as prophets of the lord , as cajetan thinketh . therefore they answer also in the name of the lord , the lord shall deliver it . 't is not likely that iehosaphat would desire the prophets of baal to be consulted , or that he would hearken to them more then to the prophet of the lord micajah ; yet in this he failed extremly , that he had too far engaged himself to ahab , before the enquiring at the word of the lord . how ever , it seems , he was by this enquiring seeking a faire way to come off again . 6. iehosaphats end was good , martyr on 1 kings 22. thinks iehosaphat entered into this confederacy with ahab , for the peace and safety of his kingdome , and to prevent a new war between iudah and israel , such as had been between asa his father , and baasha king of israel , for which end also carthusian ●bid . thinks that iehosaphat took ahabs daughter to his son . yet notwithstanding of all this the prophet iehu●aith to him , 2 chron. 19 2 shouldest thou help the ungodly , or love them that hate the lord . the lxx , read hated of the lord , which comes all to one thing . and lest it should be thought a veniall or light matter , he addeth , therefore is wrath upon thee from before the lord . so that from this example we learn , that let us keep our selves unspotted of the false religion or errours of those with whom we associate , let wicked men seem never so penitent , and our relations to them be never so near , let the common enemy be an infidell , let the cause be never so good , let the manner of proceeding be never so pious , and the end also good : yet all this cannot excuse nor justifie confederacies and associations with wicked and ungodly men . and if god was so angry at iehosaphat , when there were so many things concurring as might seem to excuse or extenuate his fault , it being also in him a sin of infirmity only , and not without a reluctation of conscience , and a conflict of the spirit against the flesh ( which pareus upon 1 kings 22. doth well collect from his desire of enquiring at the word of the lord , that he might have occasion to come off ) how much more will god be angry with such as go on with an high hand in this trespasse , casting his word behind them , and hating to be reformed . if it be further objected , that we are not able without such confederacies and help to prosecute a great war alone . this also the holy ghost hath before hand answered , in the example of ahaz his confederacy with the king of assyria ; for he had a great war to manage , both against the syrians , and against the king of israel , 2 kings 16. 7. also against the edomites and philistins , 2 chron. 28. 16 , 17 , 18. yet although he had so much to do , this could not excuse the confederacy with the assyrian : he should have trusted to god , and not used unlawfull means . god can save by few as well as by many ; yea sometimes god thinks not fit to save by many . iud. 7. it shall not be the strength of battell to have unlawfull confederates , but rather to want them , exod. 23. 22. if it be said it is dangerous to provock and incense many wicked men by casting them off . this is plainly answered from the example of amaziah and the 100000. men of israel with him of which before . if furthermore objection be made , that we must be gentle and patient towards all , and in meeknesse instruct those that oppose themselves , 2 tim. 2. 24 , 25. answ. 1. yet he bids us turne away from the wicked , ibid. ch. 3. 5. we ought in meeknesse to instruct even him that is excommunicate , 2 thess. 3. 15. yet we are there warned , vers. 14. to have no company with him . 2. the angel of the church at ephesus , is at once commended , both for his patience , and that he could not bear them which were evill . i shall adde five distinctions which will take off all other ojections that i have yet met with . 1. distinguish between a confederacy which is more discretive and discriminative , and a confederacy which is more unitive . and here is the reason why covenants of peace and commerce even with infidels and wicked persons are allowed , yet military associations with such , disallowed : for the former keeps them and us still divided as two : the latter unites us and them , as one , and imbodieth us together with them : for thuc●dides defines {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} to be such a covenant as makes us and our confederates to have the same friends and enemies ; and t is mentioned by writers as a further degree of union then {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} or covenants of peace . 2. distinguish between endeavour of duty and the perfection of the thing : which answers that exception , o then , we must have an army all of saints , ( it should bee said , without any known wicked person in it ; ) now even as t is our dutie to endeavour a purging of the church from wicked and scandalous persons , yet when we have done all we can , the lords field shall not bee perfectly purged from tares till the end of the world , matth. 13. so when we have done all that ever we can to avoid wicked persons in an expedition , yet we cannot be rid of them all ; but we must use our utmost indeavours , that we may be able to say , t is our affliction , not our fault . 3 distinguish between some particular wicked persons , here and there mixing themselves with us ; and between a wicked faction and malignant party : the former should be avoided as much as is possible : but much more a conjunction with a wicked faction . david would by no meanes meet and consult with the kabal meregn●m , the assembly of malig●ants ; neither did he only shunne to meet and consult with vaine persons ; who openly shew and bewray themselves ; but even with dissemblers , or ( as the chaldee ) with those that hide themselves that they may do evill . psal. 26. 4 , 5. we can know better how to do with a whole field of tares in which is no wheat , then we can do with tares growing here and there among the wheat . 4. distinguish between such a fellowship with some wicked persons , as is necessary ( which is the case of those that are married , and of parents and children ) or unavoidable , which is the case of those , whose lot is to cohabite in one town , or in one family , in a case of necessity travelling or sayling together ; distinguish , i say , between these and an elective or voluntary fellowship with wicked men , when love to them , or our own benefite draweth us thereunto . we neither loose naturall bonds , nor require impossibilities , but that we keep our selves pure by not choosing or consenting to such fellowship . 5. distinguish between infidels , hereticks , wicked persons , repenting and those who go on in their trespasse : what ever men have been , yet as soone as the signes of repentance and new fruits appear in them , we are ready to receive them into favour and fellowship : then indeed the wolfe shall dwell with the lamb , and the cow and the bear shall feed , their young ones shall lye down together , meaning such as were wolves , leopards , beares , and now begin to change their nature : not so with the obstinate , contumacious and impenitent , who still remain wolves , &c ▪ let us now , 1. examine our selves , whether there be so much tendernesse of conscience in us , as to close vvith those scripture truths , or whether we are still in a way of consulting vvith flesh and blood . 2. be humbled for former miscarriages and failings in these particulars , and for not vvalking accurately according to these scripture rules . 3. bevvare for the future : remember and apply these rules vvhen vve have to do vvith the practise of them . and that i may drive home this naile to the head , i adde ( beside what was said before ) these reasons and motives . first , t is a great judgement when god mingleth a perverse spirit in the midst of a people , isay 19. 14. shall we then make that a voluntary act of our own , which the word mentioneth as a dreadfull judgement ? with this spirituall judgement is oftentimes joyned a temporall judgement as 2 chron. 16. 9. and 20. 37. and 28. 20. so hos. 5. 13. 7 , 8 , compared with hos. 8. 8 , 9. where their judgement , soundeth forth their sin as by an eccho : the chaldee paraprase in the place last cited saith , the house of israel is delivered into the hands of the people whom they loved . secondly , remember what followed upon gods peoples mingling themselves with the heathen , psal. 106. 35. they were mingled among the heathen and learned their workes . hos. 7. 8. e●hraim he hath mixed himself among the people , that is , by making confederacies with the heathen , ( as lu●ther expounds the place ) and by seeking their help and assistance , hos. 5. 13. but what followes , ephraim is a cake not turned , hot and overbaken in the neither side , but cold and raw in the upper side . this will prove the fruit of such confederacies and associations , to make us zealous for some earthly or humane thing , but remise and cold in the things of christ ; to be too hote on our neither side , and too raw on the upper side . whereas not mingling our selves with the wicked : we shall through gods mercy be like a cake turned , that heat and zeal which was before downward , shall now be upward , heavenward , godward , let it be also remembred , how both ahaz , ●kings 16. 10 and asa himself , 2 chron. 16. 10. ( though a good man ) were drawn into other great sins upon occasion of these associations with the enemies of god and his people : this sin will certainly ensnare men in other sins . t is well said by calvin upon ezek. 16. 26. that as we are too prone of our selves to wickednesse , so when we enter into confederacies with wicked men , we are but seeking new tentations , and as it were a bellows to blow up our own corruptions , as wine being mixed with water loseth of its spirits , and white being mixed with black , loseth much of its vvhitenesse : so the people of god , if once mixed vvith vvicked enemies , shall certainly losse of their purity and integrity . thirdly , as these unlavvfull confederacies dravv us both into great judgements and great sins , so into a great security and stupidity under these great plagues and sins , vvhich vvill make the estate of such to be yet vvorse , hos. 7. 9. after ephraims mixing himself among the people , t is added , strangers have devoured his strength , and he knoweth it not , yea , gray haires are here and there upon him , yet he knoweth it not : although his confederates have distressed him , and not strengthned him , and although there may be observed in him diverse signes of a decaying dying condition , yet he knowe● it not , nor takes it to heart ; the same thing is insisted upon vers . 11. ephraim als●● is like a silly dove without heart ; they call to egypt , they go up to assyria . he is as voide of understanding as a silly dove , whose nest being spoiled , and her young ones token from her ( vvhich the chaldee paraphrase addeth for explications cause ) yet she still returneth to those places vvhere , and among those people by vvhom she hath been so spoiled ; so israel vvill still bee meddling vvith those that have done him great hurt . fourthly , vve finde that such confederacie or association either vvith idolaters or knovvn impious persons , is seldome or never recorded in the book of god , vvithout a reproof , or some greater marke of gods displeasure put upon it . if it vvere like the polygamie of the p●triarchs , often mentioned and not reproved , it vvere the lesse marvell to hear it so much debated . but novv vvhen god hath purposely set so many beacons upon those rockes , and shelves that we may beware of them , o why shall we be so mad , as still to run upon them . it was reproved in the time of the judges , iudg. 2. 1 , 2 , 3. it was reproved in the time of the kings ; a●abs covenant with benhadad , asa's covenant with benhadad , ahaz his confederacy with the assyrian ; iehosaphats association , first with ahab , then with ahaziab : amaziahs association with those 100000. men of ephraim , when god was not with them , all those are plainly dis●llowed and condemned . moreover that reproof , ier. 2. 18. and now , what hast thou to do in the way of egypt , to drink the waters of sihor ? or what hast thou to do in the way of assyria , to drink the waters of the river ? the chaldee hath thus ; what have yee to do to associate with pharaoh king of egypt — and what have ye to do to make a covenant with the assyrian ? again after the captivity , ezra 9. the iewes mingling of themselves with the heathen is lamented . fifthly , the great and precious promises of god , may encourage us so , as we shall never say to the wicked , a confederacy : for upon condition of our avoiding all such confederacies and con●unctions , god promiseth never to break his covenant with us , iudg. 2. 1 , 2. and to receive us as his sons and daughters , 2 cor. 6. 14 16 , 17 , 18. sixthly , t is one of gods great mercies which he hath covenanted and promised , i will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgresse against me , ezek. 20. 38. why should we then forsake our own mercy , and despise the counsell of god against our own soules ? seventhly , as it was in asa his experience , 2 chron. 16. 7● 8. so it hath been in our own , god hath done his greatest works for us , when we were most unmixed with such men . there is another objection , which at the writing hereof i have met with : 't is davids confederacy and association both with abn●r , 2 sam. 3. 12 , 13. and with amasa , 2 sam. 19. 13. whom according to agreement he made generall of of his hoste , 2 sam. 20. 4. although both of them had been davids enemies , and born arms against him , abner being also scandalous , both for his whoredome , 2 sam. 3. 7. and his treachery against ishbosheth in aspyring to the crown ( which is collected from his going in unto saules concubine , as absolom did unto davids afterward ) yea for that he had born arms against david , when he knew that god had swo●n to make david king , and so against the light of his conscience , 2 sam 3. 9. 18. answ. 1. peter martyr commenting upon those places , disalloweth davids practise in both these cases , especially his league with abner . should we follow these two examples , not being allowed or commended in scripture ? or should we not rather avoid such consederacies , because of many examples thereof , plainly condemned in the word of god ? 2. whatsoever may be conceived to be allowable or excusable in these examples of david yet it cannot be applyed , except in like cases . when david●ovenanted with abner , he was but king of iudah , abner undertaks to bring about all israel to him , and that he should make him reigne over all the tribes , whereas otherwise there was no appearance of davids subduing of all the other t●ibes ; but by a long and bloudy war . again when david cov●nanted and capitulated with amasa , he was in a manner fled our of the land for absolon , 2 sam. 19. 9. and was forced to abide in the land of gilead beyond iordan , fearing also ( as interpreters observe ) that the men of iudah having strengthened ierusalem and kept it with a garrison for absolom and having done so much in assisting absolom against david , should grow desperate in holding out against him , hoping for no mercy , therefore he is content to make amasa generall of his army , upon condition that he would cause the men of iudah to bring him back to ierusalem , which amasa moves the men of iudah to do ; 2 sam. 19. 14. for it was done by his authoritie , as iosephus also writeth , nor could it be done without his authority , for absolom and ahitophel being dead , amasa had the whole power and sole headship of that army and of all that faction that had followed absolom . now then let them that will plead for the lawfulnesse of confederacies with wicked persons from these examples of david , first make the case alike , that is , that the wicked one have power of an army , and of a great part of the body of a kingdome , to make them either continue in rebellion and enmity or to come in and submit . next let it be remembred that both abner and amasa did a great service , ( which was most meritorious at the hands of men ) for the good , peace , and safety of king and kingdom , and they did it at that time also when david was but weak , and they had power enough to have continued a war against him . which is a very rare case , & far different from the case of such as have done & are doing all that they can to pervert and mislead many thousands of the people of god , instead of reduducing many thousands to obedience , as abner and amasa did . 3. there are some other answers proper to the one case and the other . there is nothing in the text to prove , that david made such a covenant with abner , as the grecians call {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , or that the covenanted to make him general of his army , ( as afterwards he covenanted with amasa ) for at that time he could have no colour of reason for casting ioab out of his place , as afterwards he had ; therefore i understand with sanctus that the league which abner sought from david was foedus pacis , a covenant of peace , hyerome readeth , fac mecum amicitias , make friendship with me , for before , they had been enemies , so that this league is not of that kind which is chiefly controverted . as for amasa , i shall not go about ( as some have done ) to excuse or extenuate his fault in joining with absolom , as not being from any malice or wicked intention against david his uncle ; but there is some probability that amasa was a penitent and hopefull man . sure david had better hopes of him , then of ioab : and if it be true which iosephus writeth that before david sent zadok and abiathar to the men of iudah and to amasa , frequent messages came from them to the king , desireing to be received into his favour ; however amasa being so willing and ready to do so much for david , when hee might have done so much against him , david as he could not do his busines without him , so he had some ground to hope well of him ; considering withall that amasa was not set upon this businesse by any offence or displeasure at the other party , as abner was . 4. even as this example , so far as concerneth the laying aside and casting off of ioab , and not preferring his brother abisha in his room ( both of them being guilty of abners bloud . 2 sam. 3. 3● . and both of them being too hard for david ) helpeth to strengthen that which i have been pleading for . the point being now so fully cleared from scripture , there is the lesse reason to argue contrariwise from humane exemples in christian states and common wealthes . the word of god must not stoupe to mens practises , but they to it . yet even among those whose exemple is alledged for the contrary opinion , there want not instances for cautiousnesse and conscientiousnesse in choosing or r●fusing confederats : as namely among the helvetians or su●●zers . they of zurik and berne , when once refo●med renounced , their league made before with the french king , for assisting him in his wars , and resolved only to keep peace with him ; but would not continue the league of {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , or joining with him in his wars . and whatsoever were the old leagues about 300 years ago , mutually binding those cantons each to other , for aid and succour , and for the common defence of their countrey , and for preservation of their particular rights and liberties , and for a way of decideing controversies and pleas between men of one canton and of another , ( which leagues are recorded by those that write of that common wealth ) yet after the reformation of religion , there was so much zeal on both sides , that it grew to a war between the popish and the protestant cantons , wherein as the popish side strengthened themselves by a confederacy with ferdinand the emperours brother , so the protestant side , zurik , berne , and basil entered into a confederacy , first with the city of strasburgh , and shortly thereafter with the lantgrave of hesse , that thereby they might be strengthened and aided against the popish cantons . the differences in religion put them to it to choose other confederates . neverthelesse , i can easily admit vvhat lavater judiciously observeth , upon ezek. 16. 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. that covenants made before true religion did shine among a people are not to be rashly broken , even as the beleeving husband ought not to put away the unbeleeving wife , whom he married when himself also was an unbel●ever , if she be willing still to abide with him . whatsoever may be said for such covenants , yet confederacies with enemies of true religion , made after the light of reformation , are altogether unexcusable . peradventur some have yet another objection : this is an hard saying ( say diverse malignants ) we are looked upon as enemies , if we come not in and take the covenant , yet when we are come in and have taken the covenant , we are still esteemed enemies to the cause of god , and to his servants . answer , this is just as if those traitors , covenant-breakers , and other scandalous persons , from which the apostle bids us turne away , 2 tim. 3. 5. had objected , if we have no forme of godlinesse , we are looked upon as aliens , and such as are not to be numbred among gods people , yet now when we have taken on a forme of godlinesse , we are in no better esteem with paul , but still he will have christians to turne away from us : yea , t is as if workers of iniquity living in the true church , should object against christ himself , if we pray not , if we hear not the word , &c. we are not accepted , but rejected for the neglect of necessary duties , yet when we have prayed , heard , &c. we are told for all that , depart from me ye warkers of iniquity , i never knew you . men must be iudged according to their fruits , according to their words and works , and course of living ; and if any who have taken the covenant shew themselves in their words and actions to be still wicked enemies , our eyes must not be put out with their hand at the covenant . if any disaffected shall still insist and say ; but why then are we received both to the covenant and to the sacrament , nay , why are we forced and compelled into the covenant . answ. 1. if any known malignaut or complier with the rebels or with any enemy of this cause hath been received either to the covenant or sacrament , without signes of repentance for the former malignancy , and scandale ( such signes of repentance i mean , as men in charity ought to be satisfied with ) 't is more then ministers and elderships ●an answer 〈◊〉 to go● , or to the acts and constitutions of this nationall church . i trust all faithfull and conscientious ministers have laboured to keep themselves pure in such things . yea the generall assembly hath ordained that known compliers with the rebels , and such as did procure protections from the enemy , or keep correspondence and intelligence with him , shall be suspended from the lords supper , till they manifest their repentance before the co●gregation . now if any after signes and declaration of repentance have turned again to their old wayes of malignancy , their iniquity be upon themselves , not upon us . 2. men are no otherwise drawn or forced into the covenant , then into other necessary duties . nay it ought notto be called a forceing or compelling . are men forced to ●pare their neighbours life , because murthet is severly punished ? or are men compelled to be loyall , because traitors are exemplarily punish●d● there may and must be a willingnesse and freenesse in the doing of the contrary duty ; although great sins must not go away unpunished . men are not compelled to vertue , because vice is punished , else vertue were not vertue . those that refuse the covenant reproach it , or rail against it , ought to be looked upon as enemies to it , and dealt with accordingly : yet if any man were known to take the covenant against his will , he were not to be received . 3. these two may well stand together , to censure the contempt or neglect of a duty , and withall to censure wickednesse in the person that hath taken up the practise of the duty . if any israelite would not worship the true god , he was to be put to death , 2 chron. 15. 13. but withall , if , worshipping the true god , he was found to be a murtherer , an adulterer , &c. for this also he was to be put to death . the generall assembly of this church hath appointed that such as after admonition continue in an usuall neglect of prayer , and the worship of god in their families , shall be suspended from the lords supper , till they amend . yet if any man shall be found to make familie worship a cloak to his swearing , drunkennesse , adultery or the like , must these scandalous sinnes be uncensured , because he hath taken upon him a forme of godlinesse ? god forbid . 't is just so here , ref●●sers of the covenant and railers against it , are justly censured ? but withall if wickednesse and malignancy be found in any that have taken the covenant , their offence and censure is not to be extenuated , but to be aggravated . i had been but very short in the handling of this question if new objections coming to my eares had not drawn mee forth to this length . and now i find one objection more . some say , the arguments before brought from scripture prove not the unlawfulnesse of confederacies and associations with idolaters . hereticks or prophane persons of the same kingdom , but only with those of another kingdome . answ. 1. then by the concession of those that make the objection , 't is at least unlawfull to associate ourselves with any of another kingdome , who are of a false religion or wicked life . 2. if familiar fellowship even with the wicked of the same kingdom be unlawfull , then is a military association with them unlawfull ; for it cannot be without cousulting , conferring , conversing frequently together . it were a prophane abusing and mocknig of scripture to say , that we are forbidden to converse familiarly with the ungodly of another kingdom , but not with the ungodly of the same kingdome , or that we are forbidden to marry with the ungodly of another kingdome , but not with the ungodly of the same kingdome ; for what is this but to open a wide gate upon the one hand , while we seem to shut a narrow gate upon the other hand ? 3. were not those military associations , 2 chron. 19. 2. and 25. 7 , 8. condemned upon this reason , because the associats were ungodly , haters of the lord , and because god was not with them . now then à quatenus ad omne . the reason holds equally against associations with any of whom it can be truly said , they are ungodly , haters of the lord , and god is not with them . 4. god would have the camp of israel altogether holy and clean , deut. 23. 9. to 14. clean from whom ? not so much from wicked heathens ( there was not so much fear of that ) as from wicked israelites . 5. saith not david , i will early destroy all the wicked of the land , psal. 1 1 8. and , de● part from me all ye workers of iniquity , psal. 6. 9. how can it then be imagined that he would make any of them his associats and helpers in war ? amandus polanus coment. in ezek. 16 , 26 , 27 , 28. qui ecclesie scortation●●● , bac est , idololatriam vel falsam doctrinam , & consedrations cum impis reprehendit , non est h●reticus , non est shismaticus , nonest ingratus advers● 〈◊〉 ecclesiam● ali●qui● 〈◊〉 ezekiel cum jeremiâ , aliisu●● prophetis , f●iss●t 〈…〉 . to the right reverend , the commission of the generall assembly . my very reverend and dear brethren , although the lords hand detaineth me from attending your meetings , yet as long as i can write or speak , i dar not be silent , no● conceal my thoughts of any sinfull and dangerous course in the publick proceedings . having therefore heard of some motions and beginnings of complyance with those who have been so deeply engaged in a war distructive to religion , and the liberties of the kingdomes ; i cannot but discharge my conscience in giving a testimony against all such complyance . i know , and am perswaded , that all the faithfull witnesses that gave testimony to the thesis , that the late engagement was contrary and distructive to the covenant , will also give testimony to the appendi● : that complyance with any who have beene active in that engagement is most sinfull and unlawfull . i am not able to expresse all the evils of that complyance , they are so many ; sure i am , it were a hardening of the malignant party , a wounding of the hearts of the godly ; a infinite wronging of those who from their affection to the covenant and cause of god , have taken their life in their hand ; a great scandall to our brethren of england , who as they have been strengthened and encouraged by the hearing of the zeal and integrity of the well affected in this kingdome , and how they opposed the late engagement : so they would be as much scandalized to hear of a complyance with malignants now . yea , all that hear of it might justly stand amazed at us , and look on us as a people insatuated , that can take in our besome the fiery serpents that have slung us so sore . but above all , that which would heighten this sin even to the he●vens , is this , that it were not only a horrible backsliding , but a backsliding into that very sin which was specially pointed at , and punished by the prevalencie of the malignant party : god justly making them thornes and scourges who was taken in as friends , without any reall evidence or fruits of repentance . alas , shall we split twise upon the same rock , yea , run upon it , when god hath set a beacon on it ; shall we be so demented as to fall back into the same sin , which was ingraven with great letters in our late judgement ; yea , i may say , shall wee thus out-face and out-dare the almighty by protecting his and our enemies , when he is persecuring them , by making peace and friendship with them when the anger of the lord is burning against them , by setting them on their feet , when god hath cast them down ; oh shall neither judgements nor deliverances make us wise ; i must here apply to our present condition , the words of ezra . and after all this is come upon us for our evill deels , and for our great trespasse , seeing that thou our god hast punished us lesse then our iniquities deserve , and hath given us such deliverance as this : should we again break thy commandements and joyne in affinititie with the people of these abominations ; wouldest thou not be angry with us , till thou hast consumed us , so that there should be no remnant nor escaping ? o happy scotland if thou canst now improve aright and not abuse this golden opportunitie , but if thou wilt help the ungodly , and love them that hate the lord , wrath upon wrath , and wo upon wo shall be upon thee from the lord . this testimony of a dying man , ( who expects to stand shortly before the tribunall of christ ) i leave with you my reverend brethren , being confident of you through the lord , that ye will be no otherwise minded but that as men of god , moved with the zeal of god , you will freely discharge your consciences against every thing which you see listing up it self against the kingdome of the lord jesus : this shall be your peace and comfort in your latter end ; now the god of all grace establish you , and direct you , and preserve you all blamelesse to the end , and bring others out of the snare that hanker after that complyance . so prayeth , your most affectionate brother to serve you in what i can to my last . george gillespie . kirkcaldie , september 8. 1648. the testimony of mr. george gillespie against association and complyance with malignant enemies of the truth and godlinesse : written two dayes before his death . seing now in all appearance the time of my dissolution is very near , altho i have in my latter wil declared my minde of publick affaires , yet i have thought good to adde this further testimony , that i esteem the malignant party in these kingdomes , the seed of the serpent , enemies to pietie , and presbyteriall government , ( pretend what they will to the contrary ) a generation that have not set god before them . with the malignants are to be joyned the prefane and scandalous , from all which , as also from heresies and errors , the lord i trust is about to purge his churches . i have often comforted my self ( and still do ) with the hopes of the lords purging this poluted land , surely the lord hath begun and will cary on that great work of mercy , and will purge out the rebels : i know their will be alwayes a mixture of hypocrites , but that cannot excuse the conniving at grosse and scandalous sinners . this pu●ging work which the lord is about , very many have directly opposed and said by their deeds , we will not be purged nor resined , but we will be joyning and mixing our selves with these whom the ministers preach against as malignant enemies to god and his cause . but let him that is filthy , be filthy still , and let wisdome be justifyed of her children . i recommend to them that fear god , sadly and seriously to consider that the holy scripture doth plainly hold forth . 1. that the helping of the enemies of god , or joyning and mingling with wicked men , is a sin highly displeasing . 2. that this sin hath ordinaryly ensnared gods people into diverse other sins . 3. that it hath been punished of god with grievous judgements . 4. that utter destruction is to be feared , when a people after great mercies and judgements relapse into this sin , ezra . 9. 13. 14. upon these and the like grounds for my own exoneration , that so necessary a trueth want not the testimony of a dying witnesse of christ , also the unworthiest among many thousands : and that light may be h●ld forth , and warning given , i cannot be silent at this time ; but speak by my pen when i cannot by my tongue , yea , now also by the pen of another , when i cannot by my own , seriously and in the name of jesus christ , exhorting , and obtesting all that fear god and make conscience of their wayes , to be very tender and circumspect , to watch and pray that they be not ensnared in that great dangerous sin of conjunction or complyncae with malignant or profane enemies of the truth , under whatsoever prudentiall considerations it may be vernished over , which if men will do , and trust god in his own way , they shall not only not repent it , but to their greater joy and peace of gods people , they shal see his work go on and prosper gloriously . in witnesse of the premisses , i have subscribed the same with my hand at kirkcaldy , decemb. 15. 16●8 . before these witnesses , m. f. carmichael minister at markings , and m. alex. moncrief minister at skonie . sic subscrib. . george gillespie . f. c. witnes . a. m. witnes . followeth that part of mr. gillespie his letter-will , unto which the former testimony relateth . being through much weaknesse and sicknesse in expectation of my last change , i have thought good by this my letter-will under my hand to declare first of all that the expectation of death which appeareth not to be far off doth not shake me from the faith and truth of christ which i have pro●essed and preached ; neither do i doubt but this so much opposed covenant and reformation of the three kingdomes is of god and will have a happy conclusion . it hath pleased god who chooseth the foolish things of this world to confound the wise , and the things that are not to confound the things that are to imploy me ( the unfittest and unworthiest among many thousands ) in the advanceing and promoting of that glorious work ; and now i repent no forwardnesse or zeal that ever i had therein , and dare promise to as many as wil befaithful and zealous in the cause of god , it shall be no grief of heart to them afterward , but matter of joy and peace ; as this day i find it , through gods mercypassing by my many and great infirmities , & approving my poor endevours in his cause . but if there be a falling back to the sinne of complyance with malignant ungodly men , then i look for the breaking out of the wrath of the lord till there be no remedy . o that there were such a spirit at least in such of our nobility as stand for the trueth that they may take more of gods counsell , and leane lesse to their owne reason and understanding . as from dangers on the other hand from sectaries , i have been and am of the opinion that they are to be prevented and avoided by all lawfull means ; but that the dangers from malignants are nearest and greatest in this kingdome . kirkcaldie , september 1. 1648. finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a42772e-190 z●ppe●us . de pol , mos. lib. 6. cap. 4. pelar●us in deut. 7. 1 , 2 , 3. pareus in gen. 14. revetus in exod. 23. 32 tarnovius tract. de foederibus . see victor . srigel . in 7 paralip . 25. 2. also zepperus , pelargus , tarnovius , ubi supra . lavater in 2 paralip . 25. & in ezek. 16. 26. p. martyr loc. com. clas. 4. cap. 16. 〈◊〉 . 23. & comment . in 1 reg. 15. 17. &c. the same thing is holdenby tst●tus in 3. reg. 15. quest . 24. corn . a lapide in 3. reg. 22. 3. socral . hist lib. 5. cap. 10. sleid. comment . lib. 7 pag. 106. ibid. lib. 8. pag. 127. de helvetiis in foedus recipiendis , quod civitates valde cupiebant , saxo per legatos respondet , quoniam de coena dom. diversum sequantur dogma non sibi licere societatem cum ipsis ullam coiri : quante sit ipsorum conjunctio , propter vires atque potentiam , non se quidem latere , sed ●o sibi minime respiciendum esse , ne tristis inde sequatur exitus , quod iis accidisse scriptura testetur , qui muniendi sui causa , cujusque modi praesidiis usi ●uissent . vide etiam pag. 133. quod si zuingliani faterentur errorem atque desisterent , comprehen di etiam in hac pace , sin minus , tum desere●dos , nec anxilii quicquam eis communicandum , neque f●dus ullum cum ipsis faciendum esse . et infra lib. 9. pag. 156. et recipiendos esse placet in hoc foedus ( smalcaldicum ) qui velint atque cupiant , modo doctrinam auguste propositam in commitiis pro●iteantur , & sortem communem subeant . polit. christ . lib. 7. cap. 1. kekerm . de repub. spart . disp. 4. lib. 2. cap. 20. sanctius & corn a la●ide in 2 sam. 19. antiq. jud. lib. 7. cap. 10. tostatus in 2 reg. 17. quaest. 24. antiq. lib 7. cap. 10 see m. fox acts and monuments vol. 2. page 86. 9. 870. edi● 1589. see the estates principalitis & empires of the world , translated by grimstou pag. 364. to 370. acts and mo●uments nbi supra , pag. 872. slcid. com. lib. 7. pag. 106. 119. 120. notes for div a42772e-5380 this far did the author write with his own hand , two dayes before , his death but finding his weaknesse encrease , that he was able to writ no more , he dyted that which followeth . heauen and earth, religion and policy. or, the maine difference betweene religion and policy. written by c.l. lever, christopher, fl. 1627. 1608 approx. 93 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 64 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a05380) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 8964) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1245:14) heauen and earth, religion and policy. or, the maine difference betweene religion and policy. written by c.l. lever, christopher, fl. 1627. [8], 116, [2] p. printed by h. b[allard] for ieffrey chorlton, and are to be sold at his shop, at the great north dore of paules church, [london] : 1608. dedication signed: christopher leuer. the first leaf is blank except for signature-mark "a". with a final errata leaf. heading to dedication in seven lines. variant: heading in eight lines. reproduction of the original the union theological seminary (new york, n.y.). library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng political ethics -early works to 1800. religion and politics -early works to 1800. 2003-08 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-09 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-10 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2003-10 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-12 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion heauen and earth , religion and policy , or , the maine difference betweene religion and policy . written by c. l. printed by h.b. for ieffrey chorlton , and are to be sold at his shop , at the great north dore of paules church 1608. the contents of the chapters . 1 of religion . pag. 1. 2 of policie . 8. of their diuers workings : 3 in respect of the cath. church . 16. 4 of the clergie . 32. 5 of state. 48 6 of the soueraigne of state. 56 7 of state gouernours . 66 8 of subordinate gouernors . 75 9 of honour , military , of honour , courtly . 86 10 of prosperous fortune . 100. to the most reverend father in god , richard , by divine prouidence archbishop of canterbury , primate and metropolitane of all england , chancellor of the vniuersity of oxford , and one of his maiesties most honorable priuie counsell . may it please your grace : i humbly present you this tract of religion and policy , wherin i acknowledge the disproportion betweene the matter and the manner i giue it . yet because it is a seruice of duety , it may therefore please your grace to accept it . the reason of my vndertaking it , is the duety of christian conscience , which bindeth every man to some profitable performance . and because god hath not yet beene pleased to giue me particular place of seruice , wherein i might imploy his talent with more aduantage , i ( therefore ) endeauour my selfe in such trauell wherein god may receiue his part of honour , his seruants their parts of profit , and my selfe the discharge of christian duetie , all which respects are the lawes & restrictions of euery lawfull worke . the reason of dedication is the reuerence your grace doth merit from all them , who professe learning . in which number , though i be the meanest ( in respect both of nature and fortune ) yet beeing bound with others , i ( like them ) both declare and direct my selfe to your grace in my labours of best performance . againe , the fitnes of your place with this argument , doth challenge the dedication , because the execution of your high calling , is a continuall exercise of religion and religious policy ; the weapons and prouident armour whereby both church and state are secured from vngodly practise : the which ( as your grace best knoweth ) hath bin that murthering gun-shot bent against the truth of religion , and the peace of christian states . for these respects i haue both writ , and giuen this trauell to your grace , humbly acknowledging my duety , and the meanenesse of my deseruing . your graces in all duty and humble seruice , christopher leuer . to the reader . it is the common custome to intreate fauour from courteous readers : the custome is not good , and therfore i vse it not ; for if the matter merit , or the men bee courteous , the sute of fauour will bee easily granted ; if otherwise , it is but a needelesse shame to beg a commendation where it is not . and therefore i ( willingly ) leaue to euery man the liberty of his iudgement , and expose this tract to general censure . faults escaped are corrected in the last page . heauen and earth , religion and policy . or the maine difference betweene religion and policie , of the vndiuided nature of religion . chap. i. the best policie is religion , and the best religion is not politique , but simple , pure , & without duplicitie . for as the vniting of many persons in one diuinitie , is the highest vnderstanding of gods nature : so in the seruice of god ( religion ) vnitie is the best demonstration of the truth thereof . there is but one way to heauen , be-because but one christ in heauen , by whom ( and by whom onely ) there is happie passage . this holy trauaile is called religion , in whose practise the choice of gods creatures exercise their gifts of grace , the induments of gods sacred spirit . 2 religion then is the holy exercise of gods sacred worship , whose precise forme is appointed by god in the witnesse of holy scripture . it is an exercise for the pleasure , and for continuall practise . it is holy , because god is the obiect : the forme is precise , for the singularitie , and it is iudged by the scripture , because they are the best , and the onely witnesses of the will of god. 3 as god is , so is religion , one , and but one . for as pluralitie of gods , so pluralitie of religions is idolatrie . for god being aboue all in euerie sense of dignitie , will haue his seruice speciall , and peculiar to himselfe , by himselfe appointed , and distinguished from all other orders of seruice . 4 the diuers names of religions , are but names , and not religions : as the diuers names of gods were not gods but idols . and this is worthie of note , that these fabulous gods of the heathen were all of them ( in their kinde ) seruants to the most supreme god , the lord iehouah . the planets in their spheres , the elements in their nature , and all heauenly and earthly powers were seruants to the will of god , moouing at his pleasure , who by their motion & influence , did faithfully execute their offices wherunto they were assigned . 5 for there is a sense of religion in the nature of all creatures ; who ( though they want instructions ) wil by their naturall instinct apprehend the generall vnderstanding of a god , and according to their discretions , frame such seruice and ceremonies , as may please that supposed deitie . and from hence doth arise the number of fabulous superstitions and strange religions , from the blind and vnlearned deuotion of men meerely naturall : who being taught by the wisdome of nature , there was a god ; would by a consequence of reason conclude there must be a religion , a seruing of that god : which they not vnderstanding nor able to comprehend without diuiue teaching , erred in their blind constructions , and so beleeued and taught that for religion , which was most irreligious and vngodly . 6 of all the creatures of god only man hath failed in the knowledge of this high mysterie , who though his soule be of a substance most diuine , and his vnderstanding more apprehensiue then many the rest of gods creatures : yet he ( and not they ) hath failed in this weightie performance ; and they ( and not he ) haue obserued the law of nature , which to them is the law of god , and the exercise of their religion . the heauens cast their influence vpon earth , for the generation of all creatures : the elements performe their assigned offices , who , though they haue disagreeing natures ( the hot and cold , the moist and drie , interchangeably fighting ) yet ( in this seruice of their god ) they conspire and friendly conioyne , and giue both their natures and substances to continue in the world a succession of liuing creatures . in like maner the rest of gods creatures , euerie thing in his order and nature , performing the will of god who made them . 7 the learning of nature then can teach vs the necessitie , ( and the vndiuided nature ) of religion : for the naturall creatures denie all diuersitie in the order of holy religion . for in all the creatures of god ( saue man ) their nature is their religion , against which they are not moued but by violence . 8 againe , vniformitie in the order of religion , is confirmed by the sentence of euerie mans iudgement . for though the world be at this day ( and euer was ) diuided into infinite number of opinions , euerie time , and euerie place of men differing in their opinions of religion : yet neuer any would defend pluralitie of religions : euery man damning all diuersitie to that he himselfe maintained . 9 and therefore it is both the iudgement of nature , of sense , and of diuinitie , that the true , ancient , and catholique religion , is of the same nature with god , one , most absolute and sufficient , which needeth no second , neither can admit pluralitie . of the diuers natures of policy . chap. ii. the generall name of policie ( like the double face of ianus ) respecteth two seueral obiects ; the better hath regardful eie to honesty , and lawfull warrant onely , the other beholdeth all things with indifferent eie , not respecting lawfulnes , but conueniency in euery practise . the better is the care of good men , the worse the care of euill men ; the one doth merite no allowance , the other the best allowance of our fauours ; the one deserueth to bee damned , as a violence to the order of good gouernement : the other to bee esteemed lawful and most conuenient in a christian state , being a most godly prouidence , and a strength without which no state can stande in the flourish of prosperous fortune . 2 for a christian common weale ( and a christian church also ) hath often times very needfull vse of policie : the which may most lawfully be vsed , the policie being lawfull and proportionable to the rules of religion . for religion is like the sunne in the firmament , from which all liuing creatures receiue light & heat ; and policy may bee compared to the starres , whose borowed lights serue the necessities of men in many weighty occasions . and as ( at night ) the sunne doth leaue vs to the direction of the starres : so according to the necessitie of time , wee ought to resort to the policy and directions of wise men ; especially then when our directors ( like the starres ) order vs not by their owne light , that is , by their owne wisedomes , but after the square of holy religion ; the which like the sun is the bodie and store-house of all light , that is , of all truth and lawfulnesse . this is not the common vnderstanding of policy , which is euer taken in the euill and worse sense : whereby the name of lawfull policie doth often times receiue much iniury . for the euill shiftings of leaud men are called policy , not that they are so ; but because their euil instruments are commonly men very cautulous , of deepe apprehension and great spirit . for spirit , and the gifts of nature , ( in any one not gratious ) cannot be withheld from most dangerous and high attempting , : their spirits make them bolde , and their prompt vnderstandings able to trauell with dangerous fortune in the affaires of highest state . 4 the abuse then of euill men , maketh that haue euil name , whose nature is not euill . for the prouidence of god is a most diuine policie , and the cares of holy and good men , are likewise politique preuentions : whereby they both lawfvlly and to good purpose exercise their wisdomes , euer obseruing that their meanes and end where to the worke be honest and allowable . against this policie i except not , but commend it rather , as the most necessarie prouidence in the best and wisest sort of people . 5 but from this i must distinguish that common exposition of policie , vngracious and dishonest contriuements , wherein the great polititians of the world haue proceeded so farre , and with such varietie of precept and example , as would require more time then a mans life to vnderstand them . in which sense the whole world ( almost ) is become politique , some of euerie place , and of euerie qualitie , coueting to be thought iudicious , and of more then common knowledge in this secret and forbidden art ; wherein it were much better to be ignorant : insomuch as both the base & the ambitious spirit , trauell alike to be learned in this kinde of policie . and in the meanest and most vnworthy trades , there are many principles of this secret arte , whereby the base professors ( many times ) raise themselues , and fortunes to a wonderfull degree of estimation . and this their speedie rising cannot be by honest and allowable meanes ; therefore by this art of policie , which howsoeuer they would craftily excuse as the lawfull secret of their trades ( by themselues called crafts ) yet is that but a craftie cosening of their consciences , and a politique inriching of their crafts . 6 and this is that vnlawfull policy which in this place i vnderstand : when the subtill wits of craftie men contriue their subtilties , for the better compassing of their vnlawfull purposes , or when men pursue lawfull ends by vnlawfull & dishonest meanes . and this in men of great place , & hie attempting is called policy . in the baser sort , cosenage or craft , the diuers subiects giuing diuers names to that which is of one nature , wheresoeuer it be ; & that is sinne , wickednes , and villany . 7 it is therefore the circumstance in policle , that maketh the maine difference in the natures thereof . policie being iudged good , or bad , according to the working meanes , and not according to euent and prosperous fortune , an opinion ( not of religious , but ) of damned policie : for it is not possible that a good cause should produce a bad effect , but it is possible and very common , that euill meanes doe often reach their desired ends , which in the iudgement of prophane policie is commendable , but in the wisedome of religion , it is damnable and most vniustifiable . 8 thus then i diuide this name of policie , into these disagreeing natures . holy , and prophane . holy policie , is that which is iustifiable by the law of god : prophane is that which respecteth neither religion , nor honestie ; but imbraceth the most base meane , if it may aduantage the desired end . the better policie is a seruant , the worse is an enemie to the state of holy religion . the one doth make religion the leuell of all that purpose whereto it aymeth , the other maketh it a colourable meanes to reach other ends lesse godly . and these two arein continuall faction , the one offending , the other defending the state of religion . of the contrary workings of religion and policy , in respect of the catholike church . chap. iii. it is most true , that there is no excellencie on earth , which doth not suffer wrong by the enuie of euill . for though vertue cannot be suppressed by the opposition of vice , yet is it manie times much obscured by so bad a neighbourhood : and like the sun in his eclipse withheld from glorious appearing . and this is naturall in the natures of all euill things , to maligne the prosperitie of goodnesse in what speciall subiect soeuer it be . this may be also a speciall obseruation from the nature of all things , that whatsoeuer is vertuous , is directed by rules , and by lawfull directions : and whatsoeuer is vicious is not thus directed , but helpeth it selfe by the cunning workings of policie , and bad practise . 2 for god ( in the first creation ) made the world , and the infinite varietie of his creatures like a consort of so many conspiring parts : yet hath the curse of sinne interrupted that vniuersall harmonie , whereby the world is now in disagreeing parts and discord . 3 for before that sinne made this alteration in the state of things , there was no opposition but all things conspired the glory of god , with generall consent and acclamation : and then vertue was not bounded betweene two extremities , neither had good any opposition of euill , there being neither vice , nor euill in the frame of gods creation . but with sinne hath this opposition entred , and in the fulnesse of time , and not before , it shal be ended . 4 from this first cause is deriued the wicked trade of euill policie , wherein many men exercise their best : and most forcible indeuours with such appetite and pleasure , as if the practise were honest , holy , and meritorious . neither doe these men trauel lesse in these vanities then the most painfull in their exercise of holinesse and religion ; yet with much vnequall successe , and with much diuers workings . the maine difference is in their ends , whereto they direct their labours ▪ religion respecteth heauen , policie the earth . there is great difference also in their meanes by which they worke , and compasse their ends : the one being tied to a necessitie of iustnesse ; the other not limited by any law , taketh libertie vpon all occasions . and to one of these two doe all the vnderstanding men in the world apply themselues , either to religion , or to policie , either to be good , or to bee great , in the little number of their dayes here on earth . 5 and though gods sacred worship be ordered by most certaine directions from god himself ; yet haue men dared to touch this holy arke with their prophane hands , and to intermeddle their folly with the wisdome of god , altering the most allowable formes of holy order , whereby they iudge their iudge of indiscretion , and contradict the spirit and power of him who made them . 6 these vngodly workings are caused by the vainglorious spirits of men , who affecting popularitie and greatnesse haue not spared to violate the most holy ordinance of god , wherby to aduantage them in their euill ends . for the whole world is a general free-schoole , wherein al sciences , and euery art is both taught and learned . the highest learning in this schoole is diuinitie ; the whole number of the professors whereof , make the militant catholik church , where there is continuall teaching , and liuing in the rules of holy religion . against this learning hath the world opposed it selfe : and according to the order of schooles begun their enuie with sophistrie and cunning disputatiō . and this was in the first yeres of the primitiue church , the which opposition being but weake , yet valiantly resisted gained the church a greater reputation , though that enemie could neuer yet be silenced . 7 the second attempt against the catholique church was persecution ; and this was in the time of the tyrant emperours , the which was continued with such vehemence and furie , as if the sacred fire of religion had beene extinguished , and the face of the catholique church for euer defaced . these times were like the time of ahab king of israel , when as elias thought the whole bodie of the church remained onely in his particular life . a most wonderfull distresse that the most sacred spouse of christ should for securitie flie to the holy temples of the holie ghost , and there take sanctuarie , & liue in the persons of some few particular men only . it had beene most wonderfull had not the lord iesus himselfe done more wonderfully , and suffered a greater extremitie , euen death , and a cursed death vpon the crosse ; euen so lord iesus , because it was thy pleasure . but this extremitie did vanish with time , and then againe the church obtained the garland . 8 but the nature of euill which cannot be satisfied , would yet again attempt against the catholique church : and whereas before neither perswasion , nor force could preuaile , the last & strongest practise is policie , where with these euill ministers haue preuailed more , then by all other maner of attempts whatsoeuer . this is that secret iniurie , who as k. dauid saith , eateth his bread at his table , yet seeketh to destroy him . for so doe many of these polititians who liue by the profits of the church , yet betray the church and spoile her of her highest ornaments . 9 and though i be most far from that damned opinion of athiesme , that religion is nothing but a policie , wherby the libertie of men is restrained from the violence of their natures , yet i am most certainly perswaded , that in the common exercise of religion may be learned the highest vnderstanding of most dangerous practises . and that the catholike church of god , ( which in it selfe is most holy and without imputation ) hath indured the greatest violence that can be in any men of place and dignity in this holy order , being men least affected to holinesse of life , but most dangerous & deepe practisers in this forbidden arte of wicked policie . 10 neither ought this to hinder the true worth and reputation of gods church , that euill men worke their bad dessigne vnder the pretence of so sacred a presence . for wee knowe that the very deitie of god is not free from mens presumptions : the proud and the ambitious men of the world hauing dared to create manie deities , and many gods : sometimes the starres sometimes stones , wood , and mettals , sometimes the figures of beasts , and sometimes ( a matter more vile , ) themselues a deity worse then beastes : all which though they were most horrible and damned in such as wrought them ; yet did not their impieties ( any whit ) detract from the maiestie of god , which cannot receiue violence from any mans euill practise . 11 so the state of the true catholique church , though men haue dared to offer iniuries to the most holy orders thereof , to misinterpret & misapplie hir most diuine mysteries , to intrude among her sacred teachings , positions , and doctrines , not onely diuers , but aduerse to her orthodoxall and most ancient true principals : nay to obscure ( as much as man may ) the verie diuinitie of that mother of vs all , that true ierusalem , by making the state of that most sacred state , the trauel of policie , and the exercise of most vngodly designes : yet ought we not for this to condemne or iudge the church : but euill men , who are the cause of these prophane iniuries , the holy church being of like diuine nature as christ iesus , her most holy husband , whom though his enemies place with theeues and malefactors , yet was he most iust , most innocent , & most meritorious . and though the most precious mettall of truth be intermingled with drosse , and grosse mettals , yet the spirit of wisedome can diuide them , and the triall of holy scriptures ( like the touchstone ) will discouer all sophistication , & distinguish truth from error , and religion from policie . 12 catholique religion is the base or foundation whereupon the catholique church consisteth : the religious policie is the supporter of that body of religion : but politick religion is an enemy most aduerse , both to religion & religious policy . and this is a grounded and a most familiar iudgement to distinguish these different natures by their denominations . for religious policy is most lawfull , most conuenient , but politick religion is most vnlawfull and inconuenient . 13 the necessary vse of religion in the catholique church is not disputable , being a truth of generall grant : for as our naturall bodies cannot liue or moue without our soules , so the sacred bodie of the church cannot be the liuing spouse of christ , if shee be not inspired and moued by religion the soule of the catholique church , wherby , and wherein euery member of that mysticall bodie doeth moue to his perfection . 14 the lawfull vse of christian policie in the catholike church , is preuention : for whatsoeuer is required of a christian to do , is prescribed in the rules of holy scripture : but the rules of preuenting euill , is rather left to the aduised iudgement of christian policy , there being no other rules for that but honesty and lawfull warrant , because of the much variety of mens practises , which require variable and many diuers preuentions . and therefore hath the wisedome of god left this care without rule to the wisdome of men , with this restriction only : that the purpose and meanes of euery worke be conformed to the iudgment of religion against which there is no excuse or exception . 15 religion , and religious policy then are not onely of conueniency , but of necessity in the catholique church . religion doth direct how we our selues shold do wel ; religious policy , doth likewise teach vs how to preuent the euill deeds of our owne , and gods enemies . and these are the two needfull hands ( not onely of the church , but of euery particular holy man in the church , ) whereby good workes are wrought and euil works preuented ; and whatsoeuer conspires not with these , conspires against god , against the catholique church , and against the lawfull vse of christian policy . there is also a policy in the church , and not of the church , and this is enemy to the former ; the which two ( like children of diuers fathers ) liue in one house with implacable displeasure ; and this is made knowne by his effects , for by his working meanes it is not easily discouered by reason of dissimulation and false pretence , which in this politique regarde is most regarded . 16 this hath precedent in those churches of christian name , whose integritie is either lost or defaced , and whose discipline is made a mixture of holy and prophane posititions , where the pretences and purpose vtterly disagree ; men shawd●ing their vngodly ends with most faire and holy intendments . and this is the error of those politique christian churches ; that whereas there is but one obiect of all diuine seruice ( which is god ) they haue many obiects , and many ends , for their directions ; making vile purposes to share with god in the exercise of his seruice . 17 and from this one ground is the cause of euery inconuenience in christian churches , when the glory of god is not principally , but respectiuely considered ; wherof proceedeth , that canons , ordinances and the decrees of ecclesiasticall states looke with double eies vpon two seuerall obiects , greatnes and goodnesse , the first of choice , the other for conueniencie , or necessary circumstance , whereby they would conioyne these in participation , which are most different both in their natures and in the order of nature . for as the distance betweene heauen and earth , so ( and much more ) is the difference betweene god and this world ; truth and error , religion and policy . 18 therefore in the catholique church , religion is of soueraigne necessity . religious policy is likewise necessary and of much conuenience . but politique religion is not onely vnusefull in the church of god : but of necessitie to bee excluded from all holy exercise . in respect of the clergie . chap. iiii. the word of god ( diuine scripture ) is subiect both to false construction , and misapplicatiō . the church of god is not free from the enemies both of truth and peace : the officers in the holy orders of the church are not free from their staines and inputations , whereby they debase the dignitie of their reuerend places , and expose their estimation to common reproch ; therefore ( as in all ) so in them also and in their profession , there are these two diuers and disagreeing natures of religion and policy . 2 euery man is bound by his christian place , to the duetie of region ; but clergie men are more strictlie bound , being men of speciall choice , select and dedicate to god and his seruice onely , and therfore is their obligation double , and their condition restrained from that libertie , which either is lawfull , or not so faultie in others as in them . 3 for ( as the holy offering , so ) these holy offerers , ought to be vnspotted , vnblamed , and vnbleamisht , euen the fairest and the best of all gods creatures , to whom he hath assigned offices of highest estimation ; making them mediators to his onely mediator , and cotinuall waiters in his presence : by whom he doth conferre his gifts of grace , and the hope of heauen . 4 such ought all to be ( and such are many ) in this holy order , whose liues conforme the condition of their calling ; who not regarding earthly considerations , fixe their eyes onely on god , attending all occasions to demonstrate their dutie and diligence in their high and chargable calling . for howsoeuer ( in the base estemation of most base people , ) that reuerend place is disgracefully reputed , because prophane men iudge a holy cause , enuiously , and not deseruingly , yet in true vnderstanding it is much otherwise , they being inferioures to no degree or dignitie on earth ; ( saue the supreme authoritie of the prince which representeth the maiestie of god ; and ( by much , ) exceeding al in the worth of their laboures , and in the purpose of their holy busines . 5 men of holy order thus affected , are the very mappes of religion , and religious policy , from whose liues may bee learned what religion is , whose examples may serue for the rules of holinesse , and for demonstarions , to point out the direct passage to euerlasting happines . 6 for there is this difference betweene diuine and humane offices ; all humane seruice is tied to attend conueniencie and the opportunitie of times ; but diuine seruice hath imployment at all times , and vpon all occasions : and therefore is a strict holinesse of life required in church-men , because their liues must perswade and teach religion , that what they deliuer at once in their preaching , they may alwaies example it in their liuing , whereby their diuine office is held in continuall practise , benefiting the catholique church at all times , and vpon all occasiones . 7 and this is that religious dutie required in men of religious place , to which strictnes euery man in holy orders is bound of necessitie and more then others : for as in the affaires of earthly state , such as are neerest the person of their prince in fauour and place , and attend those state offices of higest consideration , doe take that charge and those honours with solemne oth and protestation , to be assured and diligent in the trust commended to them ; so in these spirituall affaires of greater consequence , there is no man hath entertainmet in such busines , before hee protest and vowe his continuall and vtmost indeauor , whereby he doth solemnly indent with god , and binde himselfe to the due execution of his christian office . 8 religion then in religious men , is not of conueniencie onely , but of necessitie ; necessarie in all degrees of men , but of double vse in the clergie : for ( besides the particular profit which redounds to him that is religious , ) it gaineth much reuerence , and great authority from generall reputation ; and giueth good testimonie of the truth of such doctrine as from such men shall be deliuered . for there is no better way to gaine credit to what we perswade , then by conforming our workes to our words , fetching example from our owne liues to confirme our owne doctrine . 9 to be thus affected is the necessary condition of euery pastorall office , whose directions must tend onely ( and alway ) at the glory of god ; without affecting the glory , or the profits of this life : yet may religious men be ( lawfully ) the owners , both of wealth and dignitie , but with purpose onely to make them serue a more necessary seruice , and supply the occasions of holy purpose . 10 for god hath made all things for his owne glory ; neither doth the hauing of gods earthly blessings , hinder any in his holy resolution , if he himselfe bee holy and resolute . for if his resolution be holy , and his purpose resolute , there is nothing able to remoue such constancie , and then prosperous fortune doth not hinder but forward a christian resolution . for wealth and the dignity of high place , are the gifts of god , wherewith he doth reward the seruices of men , and therefore good men inioy them of right ; but euill men by vsurpation . there is this difference also in the owners of earthly blessings ; that good men haue them giuen , but euill men take them , either by force or fraude , the latter sort make them their vtmost desired end whereto they aspire ; the former make them seruiceable meanes onely , to attend and forward better purposes . in the better they are but seruants to religious seruice , in the worse they are instruments of euill policy . 11 and these prouocations are so powerfull in mans nature , as that euery degree of humane life hath receiued some infection from that poyson : euen the holiest rank of men , whose places are ( and euer haue beene ) of most reuerend estimation , men of religious name and place , who haue abiurde the vanities of this life , and haue dedicate themselues and their indeauours to god , and godly cares onely ; euen many of these men lose their lawfull ayme and shoote at such markes they ought not to leuell at : making religion but to shaddow policy , and their good place to countenance their bad practise . 12 this affection in these men is dangerous , and a most desperate inconuenience in many considerable respects . first the seruice of god is thereby preuented . secondly their pastorall function is neglected , whereby the soules of many thousands are in danger . thirdly their reuerend profession doth receiue scandall . fourthly the peace and prosperity of state is interrupted . lastly the most desperate hazard of their soules , is desperatly ventured : which assuredly must answere all neglect and all colorable practise , in the strict obseruance of their religious office . 13 and though the danger be most certaine , & the threats most terrible , denounced by god himselfe against al offenders in that kind ; and though ( in respect of their knowledge ) they haue best vnderstanding , what the dangers is of such offence : yet so strong is vile sinne in mans nature , that these vowed & profest enemies of sinne , are oftentimes vanquished by these meane temptations ; and suffer their spirituall courage to bee daunted with base incounter . 14 and this is most wonderfull , that such as know this danger , will notwithstanding run desperately to most assured destruction : damning themselues with their owne consent , and with the iudgement of their owne knowledge . that such as be gods embassadours , and beare the message of eternall life ; such as stand in gods presence to mediate and to make atonement for the sins of many , yet forget themselues in a care of most importance ; such as dispose the spirituall fauours of gods mercy , breathing abundance of grace with their holy teaching , yet themselues barren of all grace , and of all such particular application . the cause of this contrary disposition of name and nature in many of religious place , is not to be found in the search of reason ; being an inserutable secret in the secret will of god. 15 such vnfortunate men are they , who hauing vndertaken the most serious of all seruices , ( the seruice of the almightie ) binding themselues in a double obligation , their vow of baptisme , and the vow of their profession ; dare , ( and doe ) notwithstanding infringe their serious promise , and fall off from the seruice and charge they haue vndertaken . and such are all they who enter religious place , and assume that reuerend forme , for any by-respect , either of profit or preferment , or for any other cause , then such as may directly conspire the glory of god , and the aduancement of his church , which is the vtmost end of euery christian office . 16 such men doe not proportion the reuerence of their place , neither can merit the recompence of their seruice . but as their name and nature vtterly disagree ; so their place and merit shall haue no proportion : for god will discouer their hypocrisie ; and iudge them according as they are , and not as they seeme to be : for howsoeuer they beare the name and formes of religious men , yet haue such nothing of religion but the name : they themselues being in their purpose wicked , and in their religion politique . 17 this vnlawfull and wicked policy in men of religious name & dedication , is in their purpose , in their practise , and in their preaching ▪ in all which many men offend and declare themselues politique and not religious . policy in the purpose of clergie men , is either when they compasse those reuerend places by indirect meanes ; or when they propose priuate ends , or vngodly purposes . the first sort are all they who intrude themselues into that sacred calling by fauour , friend , insinuation , or base barganing : all which enter vncalled , and therefore want the promise of diuine assistance . the latter fort are such , who vndertake that serious charge ( not with purpose to discharge the duety of the place ) but onely to gleane the profits which from thence arise ; whereby they enioy plenty and easie life ; wherein they place felicity : and wherewith their base desires are satisfied . 18 policy in practise , is when men abandon the care of their religious offices : to trauell in the affaires of politique state : and of this sort there are hot and cold practitioners . the cold are they who continue a generall estimation of holines , with which mist they blind the common eye , couering their politique designes with the mantle of holinesse & faire pretence . the hot polititian priest shames not to discouer himselfe , & his politique intendments ; entering the field of disputation , to conclude by argument the lawfulnes of his most vnlawfull trade of life . and such are all they , who trauell ( not in the consultations of state ) but in the plotting , attempting , and finishing of state designes : whereby murthers , asasinates , and the most desperate attempts against christian states , and christian gouernors of states , are by them both inuented and attempted . 19 policy in preaching , is when such labour hath not religious but politique ends : and this is either in false doctrine or false purpose . policy in false doctrine , is when men in their preachings maintaine false positions , such as being credited of the vulgar may gaine them their vnlawfull end : whether it be profit , pleasure , reputation , or the enuy of others : all which respects haue had place in the holy seats of pulpits . and those reuerend places are by euill men thus vsed , because of the great authority they haue to perswade the faith and force of all men . the policy of false purpose in preaching , is whē men deliuer truth of doctrine , but with false intention , hauing regard to priuate ends more then to publique profiting . and such is that plausable teaching , wherewith the giddy people are wonderfully delighted , when men affect a singularity , & proude themselues in the vanity of popular fauor , with which poison many learned and diligent preachers haue bin tainted . 20 all these ( and euery one of these ) in their kinde faile in the maine execution of their religious office , whose precise rules lead men to god-ward by direct lines , and not by circular . thus we see that the waies from god are many , but the way to god is but one ; happy are they who tread that path : for though the world busie it selfe about many things , there is but one thing necessary : that is religion . in respect of state. chap. v. it is needefull wee distinguish heathenish from christian states , because of their disagreeing formes of gouernment . it is needefull also to distinguish christian states , as they are diuided , and to vnderstand such a christian common-wealth , as liueth in vnity with the catholique church of god , and in the exercise of true religion : because such a state doth square out her forme of gouernment by religious rules , and not by the iudgement of sense and politique aduice onely ; for the states of infidels are directed by politique reason onely , because they respect greatnes without goodnes . the states of politique christians , are ordered by the rules both of religion & policy , compounding their gouernment of this vnequall mixture : but the states of best christians , haue onely one director , ( who is god ) by whose reuealed will they are in euery circumstance of state commanded . 2 and though religion be the mistres in euery true christian state by whose directions the whole gouernment is ordered : yet there is a lawfull and a christian policy , which is hand-maide and faithfull seruant to this mistres ; by whom she is faithfully attended in many needefull considerations : whatsoeuer policy ( therefore ) is conforme to the iudgment of religion , is not to be iudged an enemy , but a seruant in a christian state : but if at any time that seruant policy offend the mistris of the house , which is religion , policy then ( with hagar ) must be banished the house of faith , ( and with her euill fruite ) trauell the wildernes . 3 and by this onely rule we may discerne all true christian states from all diuersity , for if religion be the mistris and command the state , that state is ( vndoubtedly ) the true forme of christian gouernment ; but if policy bee either the mistris and command religion ; ( as in heathen states ) or that policy be a fellow wife with religion as in many christian states , it is not possible that state can haue true christian gouernment : for religion is like god , who can admit no competitor , and though it could , yet where soueraignty is diuided to two equals , there is continuall occasion of quarrel , and a continuall slaughter of peace . for the confusion of order doth ( of necessity ) arise from diuersitie of directions . 4 religion then must in all true christian states solely command ; policy likewise is to be admitted in christrian sates if it be religious : if not , there is no consideration can make it lawfull ; but ought by all possible meanes to be auoyded ; as the poyson of a state , and as the capitall enemie to religion and religious policy . 5 but from hence may seeme to rise a doubt of much difficultie ; by what speciall rules the lawfulnes or vnlawfullnes of policy may be iudged ; because that many christian ▪ states vtterly disagre in their iudgment of lawfull policy , euery common-wealth and euery kingdome , defending the lawfullnes of such politique practise , as is then in profitable vse , whereby the aduancement of their prosperous fortunes , is any way furthered , or the spoyle of their enemies occasioned . 6 to this i answere , that howsoeuer the practises of all times , and of euery people haue had some defence to giue them a coulorable shew of lawfulnesse : and though in our times the most damned politique proiects , haue found friends to excuse them , approuing most damned conspiracy , in canonising the conspirators : yet is such iudgementrespectiue , and not truely deliuered , such being corrupt iudges , who behold these monstrous crimes with fauourable eyes , and sparing iudgement . 7 therefore to auoyd all partialitie , let the infallible rule of gods word determine this controuersie . yet euen in that there is doubt because of the variable constructions of that sacred authority , euery man giuing gods word a sense to his own liking , whereby the doubt is lesse resolued , and the truth wrapt vp in the folds of much controuersie . it is therefore the best and the most impartiall iudgement , to iudge euery cause by his effect , and these policies by their ends to which they leuell ; for if to goodnes , they will then proportion their policies to honesty and lawfull warrant : but if to greatnes , or to any other sinister respect , their policy is euill ; and will be apparently iudged by religious iudgement . 8 there is also this wisedome in the wisedome of christian states ; that howsoeuer the limmes of vnlawfull policy ought not to haue being in the body of any christian state , because of the dissimilitude and aduersenes betweene that and religious policy , yet it is most needfull that christian states be furnished with such choice instruments of state , as may haue vnderstanding in the most secret knowledge of euery state practise , how vnlawful soeuer ; for that euill cannot be preuented which is not knowne , and men may safely know that which they may not practise : for euill may be in the knowledge of any man , but it is only in the practise of bad men . 9 therefore in all consultations of state , religion must be our star , from which we must receiue our direction : & by whose iudgement we ought to vnderstand what is conuenient or lawfull , and what is not in a christian common-wealth . religious policy also hath most needfull imployment in christian states ; & therfore the best , & the best ablemen in kingdomes and states haue that prouident care assigned them , being a wisdom aboue the reach of common capacity : wherewith god is pleased , his church aduanced , kingdomes continued in reputation and greatnes : which without such prouidence would ( like vnrepiared building ) rotte and ruine in their decaye . 10 but all the trickes of euill policy ( like so many . traytors to god , to his church , and to all christian society ) ought to bee banished the confines of euery christian place , and to be excluded the consultations of reuerend & honorable senators , and to haue place onely in their knowledge , but neuer in their consent and practise . in respect of the prince of soueraigne of state. chap. vi. t the prince is the soueraigne or principall of euery state : by whom the lawes haue authority , and the life of execution . and therefore these respects are most considerable in his person : on whose good or euill disposition the good or euill fortunes of a kingdome dependeth . euery prince in his kingdome , being the helme by which the whole body is moued and inforced to mooue as hee is moued . for princes are the precedents of god in respect of vniuersall power and generall obedience . for as god the king of all the world , doth moue all occasions in the world at his pleasure : altering , translating , and establishing , according to his diuine wisedome : euen so kings here on earth , ( the petite resemblances of god : ) alter and confirme ( at their pleasure ) within their own liberty & iurisdiction : bineding their subiects to conformity and generall consent . 2 and for this cause they are called gods : because ( like god ) they haue generall power ouer the states of all their subiects . and as the dignity of a prince doth worthily challenge a prerogatiue ouer all degrees of men : so in them there is a naturall descent of noblenes and pregnancy of spirit , whereby they are made fit to manage those weighty and great occasions which are common in the care of their gouernment . 3 therefore in them there is most soueraigne vse of religion and religious policy , without which they cannot discharge the duety of their kingly office to god , supply the necessities of their kingdomes , nor support their kingly reputations . all which necessary seruice hath beene the practise and pleasure of all religious kings of former times , & wil be in the race of holy kings for euer . 4 if then i be demanded what is first and principally required in the person of a prince , i will answere , religion : if what is next , i will answere , religion : if i be still further vrged , i would still answere , religion ; for that must be the first , the middle , and the last of all his cares , and that principall whereupon his kingly building can onely haue sure foundation . 5 religion then is the necessary in the person of euery christian prince ; all other cares being but seconds and subordinate to this one most absolute : for therfore are kings , potentates , and superiours ordained of god , and therfore haue they authority of superintendance ouer multitudes of people ( not for themselues or for their owne glory , but ) for the seruice of their master and supreme soueraigne , who hath giuen them these dignities for the seruice of holy church , that by their authority men may be forced to the obedience of holy religion ; and that the disobedience of their people may be reduced vnder a ciuill and a christian gouernement : and therefore are kings and queenes called the nurse-fathers and mothers of the catholique church , because their national church and euery child of grace in that church liueth vnder their tuition and their protection : for which they are countable before gods tribunall . 6 againe religion is not onely of necessity in the person of a prince , but of religious politique consequence also ; for that prince or potentate who is truely religious , hath not onely for his recompence the rewards of heauen ( which notwithstanding doeth abudantly satisfie more then any mans desert ) but also all other temporall blessings doe ( of necessity ) depend vpon the fortunes of him that is religious . and therefore peace , plenty , honour , victory , all these , or as much of these as in the wisdome of god is thought conuenient for their happines , are alwaies found in the fortunes of holy princes : to whom god doth apply himselfe and the largenes of his bounty , when they apply themselues to god , and to the seruice of catholique religion . and this is conforme to that iudgement of diuinity : first seeke the kingdome of god , and all other blessings shall be cast vpon thee . 7 as religion is most necessary , so religious policy is much required in the person of a prince , because euery christian kingdome consisteth of two states , ecclesiasticall and ciuill : the which like a body and a soule are vnited and made one state vnder the gouernment of one absolute prince . and as the naturall body and soule of a man , liue not by one and the same meanes , though both participate their seuerall blessings : so in the state of christian kingdomes , the church is the soule , the state is the body , whereof is compounded a christian kingdome . and therefore is it a speciall wisedome in the discretion of princes , to order this soule , and this body of state by proper and peculiar directions . for many things are needfull in the church , which are not in the state , and many things lawful in the state , which are not in the church , the state hauing ( by much ) a greater liberty in her directions . 8 for the state then it is needefully required , that the prince bee politique , and haue vnderstanding in secrets of most curious search ; wherein he must bee moderated by his christian iudgement , that no vnlawfull policy enter further then his knowledge , whereby his kingly reputation should bee stained with vngodly practise . and therefore whatsoeuer is euill must be onely knowne : and whatsoeuer is good must be onely practised : especially with kings , whose seates are aboue all men , because they ought to bee neerest god in sanctimonious life , being neerest him in place : and because , all mens eyes are vpon them , and euery mans desire is to fashion them . 9 for me to aduise a prince and to giue directions , would assuredly be thought presumption , because flattery , and feare , haue corrupted the writings of many men : most men applauding the fortunes of the present times , how vnfortunate so euer : and flatering the prince vnder whom they liue in the exercise of much vnlawfulnes . whereby such writers deny god , deny their acknowledgement of truth : and deny that seruice to their king and nation , whereby both king and kingdome might be benefitted ; of which base feare i will euer be innocent . and therefore i would boldly declare my iudgement euen in this particular ; but that the christian labour , of a christian king hath preuented me : whose learned iudgement and kingly experience hath made him better able to aduise ( in all such directions ) then my selfe , or then any man ( i thinke ) this day liuing . 10 these things ought a prince to doe . now what he ought not to doe , must be considered , which briefely is but this ; that his proceedings in the administration of his kingly office , bee not vniustifiable before god and conscience , that in his consultations of state ; and in the exercise of armes , ( wherein ther is ineuitable necessity of policy , and stratagemes ) there be not admitted an vnlimited liberty of all policie , whereby the cause without the effect , and the effect without the cause is barely considered : but that god may bee still in the eye of all such busines ; and that the iudgement of religion may determine all state consultations , what is , or what is not lawfull in euery worke of state. 11 and therefore ( of antient it is ) that in the state counsells of christian kingdomes , religious men , either archbishops , or bishops haue had , ( and haue ) precedency in all such honorable assembly of states men , because their iudgements might determine the lawfulnes or vnlawfulnes of such policies as in that assembly of senators were propounded . therefore in euery action , and in euery consultation of state , wherein there is necessary vse of policy , it is most needefull that the prince declare himselfe religious ; and that hee iudge euery practise ; and euery policy by lawfulnes and not by conueniencie onely . in respect of state gouernours . chap. vii . in this particular of state gouernors , it may seeme that not religion but policy is most considerable ; because in their common busines of state ( wherin they haue continuall trauell ) they commonlie incounter with many politique and desperate designes in the secret practise of their state enemies . against which practise , their wisedomes aduise vpon such politique preuentions as may best frustrat the euill purpose of their enemies . and therefore it may seeme that the seruice of their place , doth challenge a liberty in the vse of all policy , being to incounter with polititians , and practises of all natures . 2 to which i answere , that there is no such necessitie of euill policy , in these worthy senators of states , for euill is not to be resisted with euill , but with goodnesse : neither is religious policy so defectiue , as to be supplide with vngodly practise , or not of it selfe to furnish the wisedomes of men with sufficient strength against al vnlawful attempts and all pestilent contriuements . 3 and therefore ( as all men , so ) states-men are bound within the limits of honesty and lawfull warrant , beyond which there is no policy or practise can be lawfull . this strictnes of lawfull policy , is the square wherewith euery religious states-man in the world doth fashion all his policies ; in which conscionable consideration , there is both pietie , and policy : pietie in conforming obedience to holy rule ; and policy , in obseruing such order in their counsels as may make the practise fortunate & assured ; because that god doth euer forward the lawfulnes of proceeding , but doth often oppose his power against iniurious and vnlawful policies . 4 neither is it of any perswasion , that the great polititians of the world , not onely practise , but publish vnlawfull policies , framing arguments of conueniency to conclud against the testimony of god , and religion , because such men ( howsoeuer of christian name ) were notwithstanding of heathenish iudgement and of diuellish disposition ; in whom & in whose iudgement may be obserued this most grosse error ; that whereas all the trauels of state , are onely seruices done for the state of religion ; they would haue religion with all other occasions , serue for the aduancement of state. by which most iniurious & wicked iudgement , they would depose the king to aduance the subiect , and diuorce the wife to marry the maid : but as themselues , so their reason is wicked and senselesse ; for as the soule doth exceede the body in the dignity of their natures , so doth the church the state , and so doth religion policy . 5 it is also very worthy of note that the antient romanes , ( a people most famous for ciuill gouernement ) in the time of their aristocracie , being gouerned by consuls and senators , had ( in all their great affaires of state ) a precise regard to honesty ; and that no dishonourable practise might euer disgrace the trophy of their victories . and this scruple they were taught by the wisedome of nature , and by their great experience in ciuill gouernment . and therfore in them it was strange and worthy , that hauing no diuine law , but the law of nature ( only ) to instruct them , yeelded themselues notwithstanding to this obedience , whereto they were not forced , but onely by their owne election . and this their naturall deuotion to the law of nature , may iudge and condemne all dishonourable and dishonest practise in the christian world . 6 and though the christian world be full of example which haue deuised and practised proiects of most fearefull remembrance ; and though many of these practisers haue beene men of state in religious states : yet is that of no perswasion to corrupt the noble and religious affection of religious gouernours of states , because discreete men liue not by example but by rule , for rule is euer constant and certaine , but custome and examples are not , but shift their fashion according to mens diuers dispositions . and therefore such examples are like sea-markes , which allure not the prouident passengers to approch , but to shunne them rather ; and by these euill examples of bad men are good men admonished , and resolued in their honest and godly resolutions . 7 therefore in the strictnes of conscience , euery counsellor of state , and euery politique instruction of euery counsellor is bound with certaine limitations , beyond which they cannot goe without offence . for if the policy he aduiseth respect the church and the state of religion ; such policy must either directly , or by necessary consequence intend the glory of god ; otherwise the policy is bad practise , and the polititian wicked . 8 againe , if the counsellor aduise in matter of state and ciuill gouernement , in such aduice there must be charity , lest for some vngodly respect they aduise not the profit , but the calamity of many thousands : such was the counsell rehoboham had giuen him by his yong polititians . 9 lastly , if the counsell we giue concerne our enemies ; yet there is a mercy euen in that respect : for in euery man of godly disposition , there is a gratious pity which will disswade ( not the dammage , but ) the destruction of our enemies . the want of this pity was punished in that diuellish politique counsell of hammon , who because his reuenge was bloody ; had therefore god for his enemy and his destruction . 10 in respect of gouernours of state then , religion and policy are most considerable : religion being the vtmost end , whereto they direct their lawfull policies : and good policy , the meanes whereby their religious states stand and flourish in prosperous reputation . and vndoubtedly the truth of christian religion ( in al christian states ) may be argued from the obseruation of their state practise ; and from the lawfull proceeding of politique gouernment . 11 for if the politique state be found guilty of dishonourable practise ; it layeth an imputation and iealousie on the state of religion : but if the politique state be iustifiable in her proceedings , it argueth the iustnes and truth of the state of religion : because where the state is not tempted to euill , which is much more subiect to such temptation ; it is of great likely-hood that the church is vntainted , and in the state of truth and holy discipline . 12 and in this respect hath god beene fauourable to this nation beyond comparison : hauing giuen it such soueraignes of state , and state gouernors as no christian nation can out-glory it ; descending still a succession of both sorts of gouernors , principals and secondaries ; whereby both states of religion and religious policy flourish in this kingdome in their lawfull and religious exercise . of subordinate gouernours in the common affaires of state. chap. viii . svbordinate gouernours in the state , are iudges , iustices , and their inferiour officers , who by reason the executions of their offices depend vpon certaine satutes & state directions , are therefore bound to a strictnes of iustice , from which they rightfully cannot wander , and therefore in the iust discharge of their offices , they haue nothing at their owne election : but are tied by necessity to iudge and determine as the law shal lead them . therefore in them there is little vse of policy , because the seruice of their place is execution , and not inuention : to doe as they are directed , and not to direct how to doe . for the wisedome of policy is direction , but the life of iustice is execution . 2 for as euery action of our bodies receiue directions from the soule how to moue , how to speake , how to worke ; & according to such direction is euery action formed : so the subbordinate magistrate , doth nothing of himselfe but as his superiours direct him , they giuing him rules and proportions to command and restraine him . 3 for the king is the head of euery body politique ; his counsellors of state , are those diuine faculties in the head : reason , vnderstanding , iudgement , &c. by whose directions the whole body is ordered and disposed : the instrumentall parts , such as the eies , the hands , the feete , &c. resemble subordinate officers , who administer and execute , as the head directs them . the truncke or bulke of the body is the vulgar , who communicate the profits of the whole body ; yet in respect of gouernment , they are meerely passiue , hauing diuine and humane lawes , ( and their officers ) to order them , in euery circumstance of their life . 4 thus ought euery body politique to bee disposed , euery difference of degree obseruing iust proportion , as god , as nature , and as order hath disposed them . therefore in subordinate officers of state , there is a dutie of conformity , which commands them as they command inferiours : whereby the libertie of euill affected men is restrained from much iniurious violence , which authoritie would giue to bloodie , or ambitious natures . 5 for in men not rightly affected , there is no heauen , no hell , no wound of conscience so powerfull to correct and withhold from iniury , as penalty and seuere law , because they are but doubtfully , but this certainly beleeued , and therefore is it a speciall prouidence of state , to limit all subordinate authoritie ; and to leaue nothing to libertie and common discretion , wherein would bee disorder and confusion , but to giue authoritie with limits and restrictions commanding both the matter and the manner of euery lawfull proceeding in a common-wealth . 6 in inferiour magistracie then , there is not that needfull vse of much policy , as in soueraigne and state authority , a faithfull diligence being principally required in their seruice to do onely that which they are directed . and this was seriously regarded in the romane gouernment , where inferiour officers might doe nothing ( not onely not against , but not ) without superiour authority , where such neglect was punished with death ; euen in them who had deserued nobly . 7 religion and conscience then is principally and solely required in such magistracie , the which dutie in them discharged , where in all controuersies of titles , or executions of iustice , the true end and purpose of euery law is barely considered ; no partiall regard had to friend , or friendly fauours , whereby the sentence and iudgement of lawes may destroy their iustice , and sincerity . 8 and from whence do arise infinite of inconueniencies , the greatest enemies of peace and iustice , the calamitie of a christian state , and the distroyers of many wealthy states ; all which euils would be auoyded , if law-controuersies were decided without friuolous protractions , and and with a conscionable vnderstanding of the law , the reuerend sages of the law , deliuering the true sense of euery statute , and the true worth of euery title , with single eye and without partiall affection : whereby the swarmes of contentious wranglers , might want argument of strife , and imploy their paines in more conscionable seruices ; and whereby the common-wealth should not want the profitable imployment of honest and painefull men in their callings ; who often times lose their whole estate by attending the law defence of some litle parte thereof . therefore in these officers and in this authoritie there is most needefull vse of conscience ; and that no policy but onely religion may giue them and their place direction . 9 this is the common duty , but not the common practise of subordinate officers , who ( notwithstanding their little vse of policy , yet ) many times vse policy , and bad policy more then conscience and religion : whereby the reuerend and worthy place it selfe , is held in iealousie ; and the common reputation disgraced , by the base vsage of some particulars . 10 but it were a bad argument , to conclude against a generall profession by particular instance , or condemne the abused , because of the abusers ; for among all degrees of men , and in euery place and profession there are euer some guilty of dishonest , and vngodly practise . if christ chuse twelue , there is on diuell , and therefore in our elections among twenty there may be twelue diuels . and vndoubtedly it is no wrong to report , that in all estates , degrees , and professions of men , the worse part is by much the greater : for as the way to heauen , so the way to honesty and vpright dealing is hard , and the passage narrow , and fewe there be that enter that path ; but most happie are they whosoeuer they bee , who refuse to be vnfaithfull , despising the vanities of this life , because their hope and confidence doth repose in the trust of gods prouidence . 11 whosoeuer then hath place in these subordinate affaires of state , ( whether it be in the course of law or in the course of common iustice ) if he decline from the rules of equity and honest proceeding , his practise is but policy , and the vse he maketh of law is most vnlawfull ; for howsoeuer it is but reasonable that the profits of euery mans place , ( that hath imployment in the state ) should support him , and gaine him such proportion of maintenance as the countenance of his place requireth ; yet he that applieth the seruice of his place , to his owne profitable vses ( onely ) is most vniustifiable in the iudgement of conscience , because he faileth in the maine purpose of his calling , which is the common good and not his owne good ; the prosperity of state , and not the thriuing of his owne state . 12 and herehence it is , that such as by these meanes raise their base beginning to an extraordinary degree of fortune , haue their conscionable dealing much suspected ; because the lawfull profits of their place , cannot so speedily nor so highly raise them . and therefore let euery man in such place be assured , that as the conscionable discharge of his office is a matter of high merit , a religious care , and a seruice very gratefull in the eyes of god : so to be withdrawne with the perswasion of any by-respect , from the true purpose of his office , is a practise of euill policy , whereof the seruice of his place hath no need , and whereof hee ought to bee altogether ignorant . 13 and let no man encourage himselfe in these vanities with the hope of prosperous fortune , or with the loue he hath to the glory & profits of this life . for at the instant of dying , al the profits and al the pleasures in the world cannot giue a man that comfortable farewell , as al such haue who die with the witnes of good conscience : for good conscience sweetneth the sorrowes of death , & maketh the pangs of death pleasurable : whereas oftentimes the hauing of much causeth the loue of much , & a loathnes and extream sorrow to leaue our heaped pleasures . and therefore in the discharge of euery duty , let a man loue conscience rather then profit , and religion rather then policie . in respect of honour , military , courtly . chap. ix . the names of honor are the rewards of vertuous deedes , or the gifts of princly fauour . they are giuen men for distinction , that by them may be knowne who are gratious , vertuous , or of honorable merit . and therefore do all men greatly desire these titles of honour , because they giue men speciall reputation ; and perswade the world that such honours could not bee had without speciall deseruing . and among the honourable there are none more noble then such , as aspire the degrees of honour by the steps of vertuous reputation : because they persue ( not the name but ) the nature of honourable action , hazarding themselues ( thorow many dangers and difficulties ) to attain so faire a name . 2 and this was the cause that in the old world the most forward and valiant spirits ( howsoeuer of noble or princely birth ) thought themselues dishonourable and but of common worth , before they wonne their honorable name by some braue aduenture ; neither would those tims inuest men with dignities of honor , that were not either braue in action , or graue in consultation , either senators or souldiers ; because such men are the onely weapons and armour of a kingdome , whereby the enemy is both resisted , preuented , and vanquished . 3 and as those times , so these times make it the generall ayme whereto they leuell al their honors : though there is no king or state but doth often misse in many particulars . and therefore in respect the nobility are of best estimation , and commonly of best merit , these respects of religion and policy are very considerable in them , their affection to good or bad , being of great consequence in a kingdome , hauing authority and interest in the hearts and estates of many . 4 if we should reduce to memory the honourable and famous men of former times , and should number vp their memorable victories , what charge , what care , and what trauel they haue spent for the honor of christendome and the christian religion : it will appeare that neuer any had better zeale to fight gods quarrell then they , many of them vowing the whole seruice of their liues to those holy warres , the which they maintained with so much resolution and valour , that their renowne is ( like their happines ) eternall . 5 againe , if we search the records of time and inquire after the most worthy and famous stats-men ; we shall finde their names in the ranke of honourable personages ; who in their counsell chambers , haue preuented conspiracies , and ouerthrowne huge armies of resolued enemies . for ( besides their gifts of nature , ) they are extraordinarily fitted for these affaires , by speciall and painefull education . 6 and therefore the great empires of all times haue had care to elect such choice particulars from among their nobility as were of best sufficiency ; vpon whose wisedomes the strength and state of the whole empire reposed . such was vlysses , amomg the geekes , and quintus fabius , among the romans : & such hath our nation had , ( and yet hath ) many vpon whose vigilancie , and trus● , the affaires of greatest state do principally depend . 7 to vnderstand these titles of honour i will distinguish them : they are either deriued , or giuen ; deriued honours are such as descend by inheritance in a succession of vntainted blood . honor by gift , is when any one for his honorable deseruing hath such command or place giuen him , as for his owne , life makes him of honorable estimation : the which honour , though it descend not ( like the former ) to posterity , yet is it of very noble deseruing , and doth conclude the worthinesse of him so honored . 8 there is an honour also without name , vnknowne and vnregarded , which ( being hid in the darknes of aduersity and poore fortune ) cannot appeare to knowledge , nor raise itselfe to deserued dignity . for in many men who haue the formes of basenes and contemptible fortune , there is a braue and noble disposition , whereby they are fitted for all honourable exercise : the which though it want the imployment of honorable action , whereby their worth would be both knowne and honoured , yet there is no power of fortune can depresse their generous spirits , or disgrace them in their owne vnderstandings . 9 and therefore some are honored by nature & not fortune , as these poore ones ; some are honored by fortune and not nature , as many rich ones : and some are honoured both by nature and fortune , and such are both good and gratious in the eye of the world . 10 to consider then how these import this purpose of religion and policy , we must againe diuide the degrees of honor into militarie and courtly , because their diuers imployments haue great dissimilitude . and first for military honour , the which in the christian world hath had such noble exercise , as that the prosperitie of religion may seeme to haue marcht vnder the hope of their victorious colours . 11 and this is euident in the view of former times when religigious zeale did incense the noble spirits of generous and braue gentlemen , to spend both their substance and liues in the seruice of religious warres , against all the prophane enemies of the name of , iesus both turke , and euery other mis·beleeuer , by whose victorious hands the enemies of god were kept back from the spoile they intended on christian religion . 12 and among these many , may be specially remembred , such as by speciall obligation , did binde themselues to intend these holy warres onely , and such were those knights of rodes , of malta , and ierusalem , and others : who notwithstanding their knowledge ( in the true sense of religon ) did wander from the line of truth in many particulars ; yet in respect of their maine execution they were very noble and worthy personages , and such as haue well deserued an honorable remembrance . 13 besides these profest religious warriours , were there many others of honorable name : whose valours haue wonne much honour in the christian warres : many of them ( and some of this nation ) out-truding the barbarous and prophane people from the holie land , made famous by the birth and temporall life of christ iesus . to reckon vp the particulars , either of their names , or of their noble deeds ( in this kind ) would require much labour and large circumstance , the which i carefully auoide ; because they are already made famous in writings of much more learned sufficiencie . 14 these and such as these who haue ( for religious respect only ) entred these quarels and exercised their valours , for the aduancement of catholique religion only , without all priuate direction to any by-respect whatsoeuer , haue beene moued and ordered in their honorable attempts by religion , and not by policy , because they intended ( not their priuate but the generall care of christendome . 15 but if i should strictly examine the poceedings of these latter times , and make curious search of euery cause and purpose of our christian wars , it may be doubted that not religion but policy doth both occasion , & direct many of them : and that not the good of religion , but the greatnes of empire is principally regarded , religion being onely a pretended cause , whereupon to ground some colorable excuse , to make such practise seeme honest and commendable , which in truth is dishonest , and not allowable . 16 therefore in euery honorable exercise of armes among christians there must be a iust and no pretended cause to mooue offence : for he that laboureth to colour his purpose , doth thereby conclude his owne guilt , and the vnlawfulnes of his practise , which if it were honest would not neede any false colour to make it seeme so , for truth and lawfull proceeding are iustifiable of themselues , neither doth truth euer maske her face , or shame at her open apperance . therefore all such colourable practise is not warranted by religion , neither doth it labour religious cause ; but by politique meanes it reacheth and principally intendeth a politique end . 17 in respect also of courtly honour , are these respects of religion and policy , of much consequence ; because the most honourable in princes courts , haue the highest cares in common-wealths , and because they are neere the person of the prince , who commonly is either better or worse , according as his honourable company is affected . for the best indowments of nature are many times corrupted by society , which hath a greater power of perswasion , then instruction or argument : therefore is it most needefull that the honourable in courts fashion the whole passage of their liues by religious rules , and shunne all dishonourable and dishonest contriuements : because of their neere familiarity with the prince , by whom he is aduised , ordered , and exampled . 18 and such ( no doubt ) there are many , in many princes courts who proportion all their proceedings by wisedome and religious iudgement : seruing god and their nation in the conscionable discharge of their high offices ; and bettering the disposition of their prince , by their vertuous examples , which prouoke a princely minde to imitation , that cannot bee better taught then by example . and these honourable paterns are most worthy , and most religious , who double the recompence of their reward , being obedient in so high a calling . 19 there are commonly in all courts , others of much diuers nature , who when they haue obtained those names of honour , disproportion their practise to their honorable names , prouing not onely vile and base in the vngodly behauiour of their life : but very pestilent to their nation , and a very poison to their prince , by whom he is with-held from godly purposes and flattered in vice and misdemeanors . 20 and such are those court-parasits , who feede their princes appetite with variety of euil , applying the command of his regall authority , either to his or their owne vngodly purposes ; whereof all times haue example , and whereof this kingdome hath had a wofull experience . and these howsoeuer they attaine the names of honour , and liue in the number and fellowship of christians , yet the exercise of their life is base and most ignoble ; and their religion is nothing but a wicked trade of damned policy . 21 therefore , ( as in all other affaires ) so in all honourable affaires , there is a duety of holines , which limits euery passage of their life , which ( being obserued ) it giueth a gratious lustre to their nobility , and maketh them honourable in the presence of god , and to liue in the ranke of his seruants , ( then which there cannot be a greater honour , ) but whosoeuer shall disgrace or despise this duety of conscience , god will repute him base , and disgrace the glory of his nobilitie . of religion and policy in respect of prosperous fortune . chap. x. prosperous fortune is in euery mans care , because all men trauell to attaine such fortune , wherein they place prosperity . and from hence may be considered the wonderfull varietie of mens pleasure , from the variety of their desired fortunes , euery man coueting content , but with much disagreement in their election , insomuch as that which is painefully sought by one , is carefully auoided of another , and that which is hatefull to one , is to another most delightfull . 2 and this doth not onely happen in the diuers natures of good and euill , but both good and euill haue this variety in their delights : euery vertuous man preferring the exercise of some one vertue before all other ( wherto his nature is most inclinable ) and euery vitious man , preferring ( in his choice election ) some particular vice , more then other , whereto his sensuall appetite is most affected . 3 this variety doth reduce it self to these two beginnings : either to good or euill ; and therefore though the particulars very much disagree , yet in their generall ayme , they all direct themselues to one of these two ends , vertue or vice , religion or policie . 4 and here hence it is that euery man ( in the purpose of his life ) is either good or bad , framing the whole disposition of his life , according to his election of these two ends . for in men well affected , their consents neuer yeelde to any vngodly practise , though the infirmity of their nature force them to much vnlawfulnes ; and therefore though they doe euill , it is not of choice , but of infirmity . but of the contrary , men resolued in euill , inlarge the corruption of their nature ; giuing both wil and desire to forward & assist them in their vnlawful delights . in the former there is a sense of sorrow , and a desire of amendment , caused by the perswasion of conscience : in the latter there is no remorse , though the conscience both iudge and condemne , and therefoe they refuse to apprehend the knowledge of their owne misery ▪ & silence the● offended consciences , which wold both correct & reforme them . 5 thus ( in their seuerall kindes ) are men affected : the good 〈◊〉 good in their intention , though they faile in many particulars of their life : the bad euer bad both in act and purpose . and to one of those two doeth euery man conforme his life ; either to vertue or vice ▪ either to religion or policie ; for this distinction is in all estates of men , and in euery quality and profession of people , from the monarch to the meanest of all men , euery man ( in his estate and degree ) pressing to one of these two ends , the which he aspireth with strong purpose , and with all forceable indeauour . 6 and because that prosperous fortune doth seeme to be the vtmost end of euery badde mans practise ; therefore is in of moment to consider the diuers natures of religion and policy in men of prosperous fortune ▪ for it is not of necessarie consequence that because euill m●n affect onely the prosperitie of this life ; therefore prosperous fortune is altogether to be despised or neglected , and to be altogether out of the cares of good men ; for good men may care for that which euill men care for , but they may not ( like euill men ) care onely for that , but that god may be the main purpose of all their cares ; and that all other things bee onely so farreforth cared for , as may administer to a mans christian necessity . 7 if i should discend to particulars , and examine the seuerall degrees of men , their estates , their offices or whatsoeuer aduancement of their fortunes ▪ if i should search the secrets of arts , of trades and mecha●icall labours , whereby base and small beginnings in things swell to 〈◊〉 mons●●●●● largenes 〈◊〉 i should inquire ●●terallable meanes of aduancement and ●inde my selfe to declare the lawfulnes ▪ and vnlawfulnes of euery particular , i should ( not only ) weary my self with ●uch busines ; but offend the well disposed with the knowledge of much misery . therefore i will sparingly deliuer my iudgement in this large theame : being rather content to offend my selfe with silence , then others with vnprofitable knowledge . 8 prosperous fortune , if by honest and allowable meanes obtained and with regardful moderation spent and vsed , is a blessing from the hands of god , which hath some little resemblance to eternall happines ▪ though in comparison of their worth there is no proportion . but if temporall blessings bee either vniustly gotte , or vngodly spent ; they then nothing benefit their owners , but are seruants of their shame , and earnest causers of euerlasting torment . 9 with this vnderstanding may men of all degrees iudge themselues and examine the particular of their owne fortunes . for the seuerity of conscience giueth no dispensation or libertie to any one , but with one and the same eye beholdeth all men , and euery action of euery man , without all personall respect . the prince ( whom men dare not iudge ) is iudged by conscience ; and the meanest and most deiected ( whom men despise ) is regarded of conscience ; there being but one law of conscience for all sorts of men . 10 and by this iudgement are men taught to know themselues , and to haue true vnderstanding of their estates , whereby they may know their present condition , and ( thereafter ) either hope or feare the euent of future times . this iudgement also can best determine the difference of religion and policie in prosperous fortunes ; their lawfulnes or not , and whether religion or policie hath had preheminence , in the getting , or in the dispending of our fortunes . 11 for it is needefully required in the fortunes of euery good man , that he both purchase lawfully , and spend honestly : for men may not challenge interest in any part of gods blessings without some maner of desert : neither ( when he hath thē ) may he vse them at his pleasure , but so dispose them as the great master of all hath commanded ; because men of great fortune are but gods officers , to whose trust hee hath pleased to commit the imployment of some part of his benefits . 12 therefore both in the winning and wearing of temporall blessings , there is a dutie of conscience , which bindeth all degrees of men , with impartiall and like seueritie . the prince may not ariue his soueraignetie either by power or policy ; if he haue not iust cause and rightfull claime . great men ought not purchase honourable name with dishonest action ; but rather winne the garland of honor by their noble deseruing . the rich ought not to pursue the possession of wealth with such vehemence and strong appetite , imbracing the exercise of euery sinne that may aduantage , but rather to possesse wealth with feare ; because that god will require at their hands a iust discharge of their stewardship : and so in euery other degree of fortune , there is a lawfull proceeding to be regarded ; whereby may bee knowne ; whether men aspire their prosperous fortunes by good or euill meanes , by religion , or by policie . 13 the like care is required in the disposing of temporal blessings ; that such ( to whom god shall please to giue them ) may so imploy them , as that gods husbādry be not idle , but in profitable imploiment : & that seeing god hath made them stewards & ouerseeres in the world ( which is gods house ) and hath giuen them place and authoritie ouer the rest of their fellow seruants , it is most reasonable that they spend gods gift , to gods glory , and like men faithful & prouident , supply to all such christian necessities , as may any way distresse their fellow seruants ; lest otherwise the master of the family ( god ) call them to a rekoning , and so both depriue & discharge them . 14 and let all men remember , how great , how rich , or how noble soeuer they be that it is better to be good then to be great : and that holy men ( how poore soeuer ) haue a higher place in gods fauour , then the most mighty on earth ( if they be not holy ) for these are but stewards and seruants , but the other are children and inheritors of the kingdome of god , for whose sakes the world is made rich with temporall blessings . 15 let them remember also that if god giue them the blessings of his hands , honour , riches , prosperity , &c. he hath also giuen them duties , and lawfull imployment for their gifts , of which they must bee carefull , and onely carefull ; auoyding both improfitable and dishonest expence . 16 but ( before all ) let them most carefully remember , that god is a father of many children , and that his sonnes and daughters here ( in his earthly house ) passe their time thorow many difficulties , and many hard extremities ; and that god hath made the noble , and the rich his officers and houshold seruants , to distribute his temporall blessings in conuenient proportion to all , but especially to the children of faith : and therefore how detestable to god , would their negligence bee , who seeing the children of god indure the extremities of hard fortune , & ( somtimes ) the very cause of god ( religion ) disgracefully reputed , are notwithstanding content to be lookers on , and rather to loade the burthen of their miseries , then any way to supporte or ease them : whereby the true owners are depriued the benefit of their owne , and whereby the treasurers of gods wealth purchase to themselues a greeuous damnation , debasing and impouerishing the sons and daughters of god , to rase and inrich their owne bastards , ( that is , their wicked and base affections . ) therefore in all the degrees of prosperous fortune there is a dutie of conscience , with bindeth all men to god in strict obligation ; the which bond whosoeuer shall forfet , doth dangerously hazard the destruction of his soule , and doth declare against himselfe that he is not religious , but meerely politique . the conclusion . thvs i haue ( according to my vnderstanding ) deliuered the true natures of religion and policy , how they may , ( & how they neuer can ) conspire in any one particular ; which is onely then , when they meete in the line of truth , and both of them intend one purpose in their passage . for lawfull and vnlawfull practises , are like heauen and earth , betweene which there is an immense space , and a most full opposition of nature . for neither can the heauens and the earth ioyne their substance before the generall destruction of the world : neither can religion and vnlawfull policy , conspire friendly in any one act , but where there is a destruction of truth and a persecution of orderly proceeding . but ( like the enmity of fire and water ) these enemies religion and policy , quarrell wheresoeuer they meete , and triumph in the spoyle of one another . this knowledge i haue thought good to publish to euery mans vnderstanding , because of the generall abuse of lawfull policy , growne common in the traffick of most base imployments , men of all sort and of euery disposition of nature ( saue the best ) making vnlawfull policies the steppes of their reputation ; whereby they ascend the dignitie of high place , and prosperous fortune , and whereby they vse those temporall blessings of god to most vngodly purpose , euen to the dishonour of god who gaue them , and to the disgrace of religion , ( gods cause ) and the religious ( gods children ) to whom all the gifts both of grace and nature doe ( most properly ) belong . i haue forborne to giue particular disgrace to any man , or to any profession of men , because i would not offend , but rather admonish and remember all men what that duety is , which is almost forgot to be a duty : for to make particular application is not my office , but the office of conscience , which hath a greater authority ; and doth perswade and preuaile in euery mans affections , that hath the least-indument of grace . to whom i onely direct my selfe in this charitable office : and for whose good ( my christian name ) shall euer make me a seruant , which hath made mee enemy to godlesse and wicked people , and to their vnlawfull and damned policies . finis . errata . pag. 11. lin . 18. r. they . p. 22. l. 20. r. enemy . p. 23. l. 15. r. many . p. 27. l. 12. r. are . p. 40. l. 23. r. danger . p. 79. l. 23. r. hence . p. 93. l. 18. r. rhodes . citt and bumpkin in a dialogue over a pot of ale concerning matters of religion and government l'estrange, roger, sir, 1616-1704. 1680 approx. 120 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 21 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-08 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47820 wing l1216 estc r15090 12940677 ocm 12940677 95878 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47820) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 95878) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 388:9) citt and bumpkin in a dialogue over a pot of ale concerning matters of religion and government l'estrange, roger, sir, 1616-1704. [2], 38 p. printed for henry brome ..., london : 1680. a reply to charles blount's appeal from the country to the city. cf. kitchen, g. sir roger l'estrange, p. 255-256. a second part was published in the same year. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng blount, charles, 1654-1693. -appeal from the country to the city. religion and politics -england -anecdotes. great britain -politics and government -1660-1688 -anecdotes. 2003-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-04 john latta sampled and proofread 2004-04 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-07 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion citt and bumpkin . in a dialogue over a pot of ale , concerning matters of religion and government . london , printed for henry brome at the gun in s. pauls church-yard , 1680. citt and bumkin , in a dialogue , &c. citt. so that you would know , first , how we manag'd the petition ; and secondly , how it came to miscarry . bum. those are the two points , citt , but first take off your pot , and then tell your story ; you shall have mine afterward . citt. there was no way , you must know , to carry the business clear , without getting a vote of common-council for the petition ; and so making it an act of the city : and in order to this end , we planted our committees every where up and down , from algate to temple-barr , at convenient distances ; some few of them in taverns but most at coffee-houses ; as less liable to suspition . now we did not call these meetings , committees , but clubs ; and there we had all freedom both for privacy and debate : while the borough of southwark , westminster , and the suburbs , proceeded according to our method . bum. and what were these committees now to do ? citt. their commission was to procure subscriptions , to justify the right of petitioning , and to gain intelligence : and then every committee had one man at least in it that wrote short-hand . bum. well , and what was he to do ? citt. it was his part to go smoking up and down from one company to another , to see who was for us , and who against us : and to take notes of what people said of the plot , or of the kings witnesses , or against rhis way of petitioning . bum. but how came those committees ( as ye call 'um ) by their commissions ? citt. for that , let me tell you , we had two grand committees , that adjourn'd from place to place , as they saw occasion : but they met most commonly at two coffee-houses ; the one near guild-hall , the other in the strand ; for you must take notice that we went on , hand in hand with our neighbours in the main design . bum. but you do not tell me yet who set up the other committees . citt. these two grand committees , i tell you , nominated and appointed the sub-committees , gave them their orders , and received their reports : it was their office moreover to digest discoveries , and informations ; to instruct articles , improve accusations , manage controversies , defray the charge of intelligencers , and gatherers of hands , to dispose of collections ; to influence the anglicus's and domesticks , and fortify those that were weak in the faith ; to furnish matter sometimes for narratives . — bum. what dost thou-mean by narratives , citt ? citt. they are only strange storys ; as that of the dragon in essex ; earth-quakes , sights in the air , prodigies , and the like . bum. one would think it should not be worth their while , to busy their heads about such fooleries as these . citt. now this is thy simplicity bumpkin , for there is not any thing that moves the hearts of the people so effectually toward the work of the lord , especially when the narrative carries some historical remarque in the tayl of it : as for the purpose , this or that happen'd in such a kings reign , and soon after such and such troubles befell the church and state : such a civil war , such or such a persecution , or invasion follow'd upon it . when the people perceive once that the lord hath declared himself against the nation , in these tokens of his displeasure , the multitude seldom fail of helping the judgment forward . bum. i don't know what ye call your committees , but our gentry had their meetings too ; and there was a great lord or two among 'um that shall be nameless . citt. we could shew you othergates lords among us , i 'le assure you , then any you have ; but let that passe . bum. you told me that your committees were to procure subscriptions ; we were hard put to 't , i 'm sure , in the country to get hands . citt. and so were we in the city bumpkin ; and if it had not been to advance the protestant interest , i 'de have been torn to pieces by wild horses , before i de have done what i did . but extraordinary cases must have extraordinary allowances . there was hardly a register about the town that scap'd us for names : bedlam , bridewell , all the parish-books , nay the very goals , and hospitalls ; we had our agents at all publick meetings , court , church , change , all the schools up and down ; masters underwrit for their children , and servants , women for their husbands in the west-indies , nay we prevail'd upon some parsons , to engage for their whole congregations ; we took in iack straw . wat tyler , and the whole legend of poor robins saints into our list of petitioners ; and the same names serv'd us in four or five several places . and where 's the hurt of all this now ? so long as the cause it self is righteous . bum. nay , the thing was well enough citt , if we could but have gone through with it : and you shall see now that we were put to our shifts in the country , as well as you in the city . i was employ'd you must know , to get names at four shillings a hundred , and i had all my real subscriptions written at such a distance , one from another , that i could easily clap in a name or two betwixt 'um ; and then i got as many school-boys as i could , to underwrite after the same manner , and after this , i fill'd up all those spaces with names that i either remember'd , or invented my self , or could get out of two or three christning-books . there are a world ( ye know ) of smiths , browns , clarks , walkers , woods , so that i furnish'd my catalogue with a matter of fifty a piece of these sir-names , which i christen'd my self . and besides , we had all the non-conformist ministers in the country for us , and they brought in a power of hands . citt. what do you talk of your non-conformists ? they do but work iourney-work to ours . we have the heads of all the protestant dissenters in the nation here in this town , why , we have more religion , bumpkin , in this city , then you have people in your whole country . bum. ay , and 't is a great blessing too , that when professors are at so mighty variance among themselves , there should be so wonderfull an agreement in the common cause . citt. and that 's notably observ'd , bumkin ; for so we found it here . the presbyterian got hands of his party ; the independent of his ; the baptist of his ; the fifth-monarchy man of his ; and so throughout all our divisions : and we had still the most zealous man in his way , to gather the subscriptions : and when they had completed their roll , they discharg'd themselves as naturally into the grand committee , as rivers into the sea. and then we were sure of all the republlcans . bum. but after all this care and industry , how was it possible for the business to miscarry ? citt. why i know 't is laid in our dish , that when we had set the whole kingdome agogg upon petitioning , our hearts would not serve us to go through stitch , and so we drew our own necks out of the collar , and left the countries in the lurch . bum. nay that 's the truth on 't , citt ; we stood all gaping for london to lead the way . citt. the great work that we look't upon was the gaining of a well-affected common-councill ; which we secur'd upon the election , with all the skill , and watchfullness imaginable . bum. and that was a huge point citt ; but how were ye able to compasse it ? citt. why we had no more to do , then to mark those that we knew were not for our turns , either as courtiers , or loose-livers , or half-protestants , and their business was done . bum. we went the same way to work too in the country , at all our elections ; for it is a lawfull policy , you know , to lessen the reputation of an enemy . citt. nay we went further still ; and set a report a foot upon the exchange , and all the coffee-houses and publique houses thereabouts , which held from change-time , till the very rising of the common-councill , when the petition was laid aside ; that past so currant , that no mortall doubted the truth on 't . bum. but you ha' not told me what that report was yet . citt it was this , that the king had sent a message to the city to let them understand that he took notice how much they stood affected to the petition ; that he expected they would proceed upon it ; and that his majesty was ready to give them a gracious answer . bum. but was this fair dealing , brother ? citt. did not abraham say of sarah , she 's my sister ? bum. well thou' rt a heavenly man , citt ! but come to the miscarriage it self . citt. after as hopefull a choice as ever was made , we procur'd a common-councill : where the petition was put to the vote , and it was carry'd in the commons by two voyces , for the presenting it , and by fourteen , or fifteen votes in the court of aldermen , on the negative . bum. so that your damn'd aldermen , and our damn'd justices , have ruin'd us both in city and country . citt. hang'um , they are most of them church-papists ; but we should have dealt well enough with them , if it had not been for that confounded act for regulating corporations . bum. prethee let me understand that , for i know nothing on 't . citt. take notice then that this devillish statute has provided , that no man shall serve as a common-councell man , but upon condition of taking three oaths , and subscribing one declaration , therein mention'd ; and having taken the sacrament of the lords supper , according to the rites of the church of england , within one year next before his election . now it so fell out , that what with this act , and a court-letter for putting it in execution , a matter of thirty of our friends were put by , as not duly qualify'd ; and upon this pinch we lost it . nay let me tell ye as a friend , there were at least twenty or thirty of the rest too , that would hardly have past muster . bum. but is this certain ? citt. why i am now in my element , bumkin ; for thou know'st my education has been toward the law. bum. this was a plaguy jobb , citt , but we must look better to our hitts next bout . citt. nay my life for thine we 'll have another touch for 't yet but tell me in short ; how came you off with your petition in the country ? bum. it went on for a good while prettily well at the quarter-sessions ; till at last one cross-grain'd curr there upon the bench claw'd us all away to the devill , and get an order of court against it , while you would say what 's this . citt. but what did he say ? bum. oh there was a great deal of stuff on 't ; the king , and the judges ( he said ) had declared it to be seditious , and so they were to take it . that they sat there to keep the kings peace , not to countenance the breaking of it ; and then ( says he ) these fellows don't know what they would have . one petitions for chalk , and another for cheefe ; the petition was at first for the meeting of the parliament ; and then they came to twit the king with his coronation-oath , and then , delinquents must be brought to punishment ; and then the parliament was to sit as long as they pleas'd ; and at last , every man must be mark'd for a common enemy that would not subscribe it . so that first they would have the parliament sit ; and then they 'd cut'um out their work ; and in fine , it was little other then a petition against those that would not petition . he said there were ill practices in the getting of hands ; and so they threw out the petition , and order'd an enquiry into the abuses . citt. well , there 's no remedy but patience . bum. i had need of patience i 'm sure , for they 're examining the hands allready , as hard as they can drive ; you 'l see me in the gazette next thursday , as sure as a gun. citt. why then we must play the domestique against him , next fryday , bum. nay , i 'm sure to be trounc'd for 't to some tune , if i be taken . citt. pre'thee what art affraid of ? there 's no treason in getting hands to a petition man. bum. no , that 's true ; but i have put in such a lurry of dog-rogues ; they cry they 're defam'd , with a fox , they 'le have their remedy ; and they make such a bawling . citt. come , come , set thy heart at rest : and know that in this city th' art in the very sanctuary of the well-affected . but 't is good however to prepare for the worst , and the best ( as they say ) will help its self . but art thou really afraid of being taken ? bum. and so would you be too , if you were in my condition , without a penny , or a friend in the world to help ye . citt. thou art two great owls , bumkin , in a very few words . first , thou hast great friends and do'st not know no't , and secondly thou do'st not understand the blessing , of having neither friends , nor money . in one word , i 'll see thee provided for ; and in the mean time , give me thy answer to a few questions . i make no doubt but they that put thee into this trust , and employment of helping on the petition , are men of estate , and men well-inclin'd to the publique cause . bum. o , their landlords and masters are men of huge estates ; but 't is the tenants , and the stewards that i have to do withall . but then ( do you mark me ) those people are all in all with their masters . citt. i suppose you may be known to the landlords and masters themselves too . do they ever take any notice of you ? bum. yes , yes ; i go often to their houses man , and they speak mighty kindly to me ; and there 's nothing but honest obadiah , and good obadiah at every turn ; and then the men take me into the kitchin , or into the cellar , or so . and let me tell you citt , if it had not been for them once , i had been plaguyly paid off in the spirituall court upon a certain occasion . citt. that 's a very good sign of affection to the cause , as i told thee : and it would be never the worse if they were under a cloud at court ; for an honest revenge , ye know goes a great way with a tender conscience . bum. i have hear'd some inkling that way , but we 'le scatter no words . citt. they never speak any thing to you in private , do they ? as of grievances , ( i mean ) religion , the liberty of the subject , and such like ? bum. no , no , but they talk as other people do , of the plot , and the jesuits , and popery , and the french king , and so . citt. and what is the reason now , do ye think , that you are not receiv'd into their bed-chambers , their closets , into their arms , and into their very hearts , as well as some other people as we kaow ? bum. alas ! what should they do with me ? i 'm not a man fit to keep them company . citt. why then honest bumpkin , here 's a golden sentence for thee ; be taken , sifted , imprison'd , pillory'd , and stand true to thy principles , and th' art company for the best lord in christendom . they i never dare to trust thee till th' art iayl and pilloryproof ; and the bringing of thee into a jayl would be a greater kindness , then the fetching of another man out . bum. prethee cit , tell me one thing by the way , hast thou ever made tryal of this experiment thy self ? citt. to tell thee as a friend , i have try'd it , and i 'm the best part of a thousand pound the better for 't . 't is certainly the high way to preferment . bum. and yet for all this , citt , i have no minde in the world to be taken . citt. and that 's because th' art an arrant buzzard ; the lord deliver me from a fellow that has neither mony , nor friends , and yet 's afraid of being taken . why 't is the very making of man a mans fortune to be taken . how many men are there that give mony to be taken , and make a trade on 't ; nay happy is the man that can but get any body to take him . why i tell ye , there are people that will quarrel for 't , and make friends to be taken . 't is a common thing in paris , for a man in one six months , to start out of a friendless , and monyless condition , into an equipage of lacquays and coaches ; and all this by nicking the blessed opportunities of being discreetly taken . bum. i have heard indeed of a man that set fire to one old house , and got as much mony by a brief for 't , as built him two new ones . citt. have not i my self heard it cast in a fellows teeth , i was the making of you , sirrah , thoughy ' are so high now a body must not speak to you : you had never been taken and clapt up , sirrah , but for me . bum. father ! what simpletons we country-folks are to you citizens ! citt. now put the case bumpkin , that you were taken , examin'd and committed , provided you stand to your tackle , y' are a made man already ; but if you shrink in the wetting , y' are lost . bum. pray'e what do you mean by standing to my tackle ? citt. you must be sure to keep your self upon a guard , when y' are before the iustice ; and not to be either wheedled , or frighten'd into any discovery ; for they 'le be trying a thousand tricks with you . bum. but may i deny any thing that 's charg'd upon me , point-blank , if i be guilty of it ? citt. yes , in the case of self-preservation , you may ; but you must be sure then that no body can disprove you ; for if it be known , 't is a scandall , and no longer lawfull : your best way will be not to answer any questions against your self . bum. but now you have brought me into a goal , you would do well to tell me how i shall get out again . citt. why before you turn your self thrice in your kennell , ( if baylable ) y' are out again , upon a habeas corpus : but in the mean time , the town rings of your commitment , the cause of it , and how bravely you carry'd it upon your examination ; all which shall be reported to your advantage ; and by this time , y' are celebrated for the peoples martyr . and now come in the bottles , the cold-pies , and the guynnies : but you must lay your finger upon your mouth , and keep all as close as if the fayries had brought it . bum. pre thee , citt , were thou ever bound prentice to a statesman ? citt. no , not altogether so neither ; but i serv'd a conveninent time in two of his majesties houses ; and there i learnt my politiques ; that is to say , in newgate , and the gate-house ; two schools ( says one ) that send more wise men into the world , then the four inns of court. now let your suffering be what it will , the merit of it will be rated according to the difficulty and hazzard of the encounter : for there 's a great difference betwixt the venture of a pillory , and of a gibbet . but in what case soever ; if you stand fast , and keep your tongue in your head , you shall want neither mony , nor law ; nor countenance , nor friends in the court , nor friends in the iury. bum. hold , hold , citt ; what if all my great friends should deceive me at last ? citt. they 'le never dare to do that , for fear you should deceive them . i have found the experiment of it my self , and every term yields us fresh instances of people that make their fortunes in a trice , by a generous contempt of principalities , and powers . bum. thou' rt a brave fellow citt ; but pre'thee what may thy employment be at present , if a body may ask thee ? citt. i am at this present , bumpkin , under the rose , a secretary-extraordinary to one of the grand committees i told thee of ; and my business is to draw up impeachments , informations , articles ; to lick over now and then a narrative ; and to deal with the mercuries to publish nothing against the interest of that party : and in fine , there 's hardly any thing stirs , but i have a finger in 't . mine is a business i can tell you , that brings in money . bum. i make no doubt on 't citt : but could ye put me in a way to get a little money too ? citt. we 'l talk of that presently . you may think perhaps now the city-petition's blown off , that our committee will have nothing to do . but , i do assure you , businesse comes in so fast , upon us , that i shall never be able to go through it without an assistant ; and if i find you fit for 't , you shall be the man. — nay hold , let me speak , first ; do you continue the use of your short-hand ? bum. yes , i do ; and i have mended my bastard-secretary very much since you saw it . citt. will you be iust , diligent , and secret ? bum. i 'le give you what security you 'le ask , for my truth and diligence ; and for my secrecy , i could almost forget to speak . citt. that figure pleases me ; but i must shrift you further . how stands your appetite to wine and women ? bum. why truly at the rate of other flesh and blood . citt. 't is not to barrye neither ; but what liberties ye take , let them be private , and either to advance the common-cause , or at spare hours . bum. you cannot ask or wish more then i le do . citt. only a word or two more , and then i 'le let you into nay affairs . what course did you propound to your self , in case your petition had succeeded ? i ask this , because you seem so much troubl'd at the disappointment . bum. why if this petition had gone on , and the parliament had met , i was promis'd fonr or five petitions more ; one against danby , and the lords in the tower , another for the sitting of this parliament , till they had gone through all they had to do ; a third , for taking away the bishops votes , a fourth for the remove of evill counsellours ; and a fifth for putting the militia into safe hands . citt. these points you must know , have been a long time upon the anvill ; and our friends have instructions all over the kingdom , to proceed upon them to shew the miraculous union of the nation . but do you think because the first petition has receiv'd a checque , and the parliament is prorogu'd , that therefore the other petitions must fall to the ground ? bum. i cannot well see how it should be otherwise . citt. why then let me tell you , bumpkin , we 'l bring the whole business about again , and carry it on , in spite of fate : for we have better heads at work perhaps then you are aware of . bum. ay , but what hands have we citt ? for it will come to that at last . citt. those heads will find hands , never trouble your self , if there should be occasion ; but 't is too early-days for that sport yet . 't was an unlucky thing however to be so surpriz'd ; for our friends did no more dream of the sacrament , then of their dying day . bum. well there 's no recalling of what 's past : but the question is how we shall avoid it for the time to come . citt. nay bumpkin , there 's a trick worth two of avoiding it , we 'l take it next bout , and then we 're safe ; we 'l carry it , i 'le undertake by fifty voices . bum. but cannot the aldermen hinder you from putting it to the vote ? citt. 't is the custom of the city i confess , for the lord mayor to summon and dissolve common-councils , and to put all points to the question ; but we 'l finde a cure for that too . 't is a thing we 've been a good while about already ; the bringing down the authority of the city into the major part of the commons . bum. now if the mayor and aldermen should be aware of this , they 'l never endure it ; but we must leave that to time . but hark ye citt. i thought our friends refusing of the sacrament had been matter of conscience . citt. why so it is man , but take notice then , that you are to distinguish of consciences : there is , first , a plain , simple conscience , and that 's a conscience that will serve well enough to keep a man right , if he meet with nothing else to put him out of the way . and then there 's a conscience of state , or profit ; and that conscience yields , as a less weight does to a greater ; an ounce turns the scale , but a pound carries the ounce , and no body blames the weaker for being over-power'd by the stronger . there is a conscience of profession too ; which is a conscience that does not so much regard the reason of the thing , as the being true to a party , when a man has past his word : and this is the conscience of a man of honour , that fights for his whore. there is likewise a conscience of religion , and that 's a quiet peaceable conscience , that rests in the affections of the heart , in submission to lawfull institutions ; and in serving god , and doing good to our nighbour , without noise or ostentation . bum. well , but i see a great many very consciencious men that love to pray and sing psalms next the street , that their neighbours may hear 'um ; and go up and down shaking of their hands , and wringing of their hands , crying out of the calves of bethel , and the high places , popery , prelacy , and the common-prayer , in such a manner , that 't would grieve a bodies heart to see ' um . citt. these are consciencious men bumpkin , and this is the conscience of state or profit , that i told ye of . bum. ay , but i have seen some men in fits of the spirit , jump , and sting about a pulpit so desperately , that they set the children a crying to have 'um let out . one while they 'd raise themselves upon their tip-toes , and roar out upon a suddain , you 'd have thought they had been pinch'd with hot irons ; and then all in an instant , they 'd dop down again , that ye could hardly see 'um ; and so fall into a faint , lamenting voice , like the grone of a poor woman three quarters spent in labour . nay there was one of 'um that gap'd , and held his mouth open so long , that people cry'd out , the man has a bone in his throat . these must needs be very consciencious men , citt. citt. they are so bumpkin , but 't is the same conscience still ; for it works all manner of ways . we took up this mode i suppose , from the transports , and grimaces of the pagan priests , in the ceremony of their sacrifices , which had a very effectual operation upon the people . bum. nay citt , these men have a holy way of language too , as well as of behaviour , for all their talk is of heaven , and heavenly things , the saints and the new jerusalem ; they deal mightily , in expositions upon the viols , and the little horn : and then they are bitterly severe against wicked magistrates , and those that lord it over gods heritage . they are in fine a very consciencious sort of people . citt. oh beyond question so they are : but this is still a branch of the same conscience . i have known indeed some people so transported with this same talkative holiness , that it has been a kind of spiritual salivation to 'um ; they continue spitting when they have not one drop of moisture left 'um in their bodies . bum. prethee citt , tell me in honest english , where shall a body finde the simple , and the religious consciences thou told'st me of ? citt. why every man living has the former of 'um , but takes no notice on 't : but for the latter sort , 't is very scarce ; and you shall finde more of it perhaps in one iayle , or in one hospital , then in all the courts of christendom . it is commonly the blessing of men in years , in sicknesse , or in adversity . bum. ah citt , that i were but as capable of learning as thou art of teaching ! pre'thee explain thy self a little upon the conscience of profession too . citt. observe me what i say then , bumpkin ; there is a profession , particular , and general : particular , as when one cavalier serves another in a duell , he 's oblig'd to 't by the profession of a sword-man , without formalizing upon the cause . there 's a conscience of profession even among the banditi themselves . what is it but the profession of presbytery , that makes the whole party oppose episcopacy ; as the independents do presbytery ; the republicans , monarchy , and the like . bum. now i thought that there might have been conscience of state , as well as of profession in these cases . citt. thou sayst very well , bumpkin , and so there is , and of profit too ; and it was much the same case too , throughout the circle of our late revolutions , when we swore and vow'd from the oaths of allegiance , and canonical obedience , to the protestation , the solemn league and covenant , the engagement , the negative oath , the oath of abjuration , and so till we swore round , into the oath of allegiance again . bum. what do you mean now by your generall profession ? citt. i mean the subordination of a partiall to a generall , of a private profession to a publick ; as thou seest in the late times , bumpkin , how strictly the divided reformers kept themselves to this rule , so long as the common enemy was upon his legs . bum. but who do you mean by the common enemy ? citt. i mean , the court , and the church-party . so long ( i say ) all our brethren of the separation joyn'd as one man , against that inordinate power ; and herein we were conscienciously true to our general profession ; but so soon as ever we had subdu'd that popish and tyrannicall interest , through the conscience of our general profession , we then consulted our particular ; and every man did conscienciously labour for the establishment of his own way . but now we come to the great nicety of all ; that is to say , the conscience of making a conscience of using any conscience at all : there 's a riddle for ye , bumpkin . bum. i must confess i do not understand one bitt on 't . citt. that 's for want of a discerning spirit bumpkin . what does conscience signifie to the saints , that are deliver'd from the fetters of morall obligations , by so many extraordinary and over-ruling priviledges , which are granted in a peculiar manner to the people of the lord ? what 's he the better , or the worse , for keeping or for breaking the ten commandments , that lies under the predestinarian fate of an unchangeable necessity and decree ? what needs he care for any other guide , that carries within himself an infallible light ? or he for any rule at all that cannot sin ? for the same thing may be a sin in another man , which in him is none . bum. really this is admirable : so that we that are the elect are bound up by no laws at all , either of god or of man. citt. why look you now for that ; we are , and we are not. if it so happens that the inward and invisible spirit move us to do the same thing , which the outward , and visible law requires of us ; in that case we are bound ; but so , as to the spirit , not to the law : and therefore we are bid to stand fast in our christian liberty . bum. that 's extreamly well said , for if we christians should be shackled with human laws , which can only reach the outward man , then are the heritage of the lord , in no better condition then the wicked , and the heathen . citt. oh! th' art infinitely in the right : for if it were not for this christian liberty , we could never have iustify'd our selves in our late transactions : the designe of overturning the government had been treason ; taking up arms against the king , rebellion ; dividing from the communion of the church had been schism ; appropriating the church plate , and revenues to private uses , had been sacriledge ; entring upon sequester'd livings had been oppression : taking away mens estates had been robbery ; imprisoning of their persons had been tyranny ; using the name of god to all this , would have been hypocrisy , forcing of contradictory oaths had been impiety , and shedding the blood both of the king , and his people , had been murther : and all this would have appear'd so to be , if the cause had come to be try'd by the known laws either of god , or of man. bum. make us thankfull now ! what a blessed state are we in , that walk up to our calling , in simplicity and truth , whose yea is yea , and whose nay is nay . 't is a strange way thou hast , citt , of making things out to a man. thou wert saying but now , that the same thing may be a sin in one man , and not in another . i 'm thinking now of the jesuites . citt. oh that 's a iugling , equivocating , hellish sort of people ; 't is a thousand pitties that they 're suffer'd to live upon the earth ; they value an oath no more then they do a rush. those are the heads of the plot now upon the life of the king , the protestant religion , and the subversion of the government . bum. ay , ay , citt , they 're a damn'd generation of hell-hounds . but , as i was thinking just now ; we have so many things among us , like some things among them , that i have been run down some times allmost , as if we our selves were jesuites ; though i know there 's as much difference , as betwixt light , and darknesse : and for my part , i defie them as i do the devill . but citt thou hast so wonderfull a way of making matters plain , i 'de give any thing in the world thou'dst but teach me what to say in some cases , when i 'm put to 't . one told me 'tother day , you are rather worse then the iesuites ; ( says he ) for when they break an oath , they have some mental reservation or other for a come-off : but you swallow your perjuryes , just as cormorants do eeles ; an oath 's no sooner in at one end , then out at t'other . citt. let your answer be this , bumpkin , that the law-maker is master of his own laws ; and that the spirits dictating of a new law , is the superseding of an old one . bum. these are hard words , citt ; but he told me further , don't you justifie king-killing ( says he ) as well as the iesuits ? only they do 't with pistol , dagger , and poyson ; and you come with your horse , foot , and cannon : they proceed by excomunicating , and deposing ; by dissolving the character , first , and then destroying the person ; and just so did you. first , ye depos'd the king , and then ye beheaded charles stuart . and then you need never go to rome for a pardon , when every man among you is his own pope . citt. now your answer must be this ; that we had , first , the warrant , for what we did , of an extraordinary dispensation . ( as appear'd in the providence of our successes ) secondly , we had the laws of necessity , and self-preservation to support us . and thirdly , the government being coordinate , and the king only one of the three estates ; any two of the three might deal with the third as they thought fit : beside the ultimate soveraignty of the people , over and above . and now take notice , that the same argument holds in the subversion of the government . bum. now you have arm'd me thus far , pray'e help me on , one step farther ; for i was hard put to 't not long since , about the businesse of the protestant religion . what is that , i pray'e , that ye call the protestant religion ? citt. you are to understand , that by the protestant religion is meant the religion of the dissenters in england , from the church of england ; as the first protestants in germany 1529. ( from whom we denominate our selves ) were dissenters from the church of rome : and so call'd from the famous protestation they enter'd against the decree of the assembly at spires , against anabaptists . bum. so that i perceive we set up the protestant religion ; we did not destroy it : but they prest it then , that the church of england was a protestant church , and that the jesuites had only design'd the destruction of it , where as we did actually execute it . citt. your answer must be , that the church of england , though it be a little protestantish , it is not yet directly protestant : as on the other side , it is not altogether the whore of babilon , though a good deal whorish ; and therefore the reply to that must be , that we did not destroy , but only reform it . bum. why i have answer'd people out of my own mother-wit , that we did but reform it . and they told me again , the cutting of it off root and branch , was a very extraordinary way of reforming . citt. the answer to that is obvious , that the cutting off root and branch , is only a thorow , or a higher degree of reforming . but upon the whole matter , it was with us and the iesuites , as it was with aaron and the magicians ; we did both of us , make froggs , but we alone had the power to quicken the dust of the land , and turn it into lice . thou art by this time , i presume , sufficiently instructed in the methods , and fundamentalls of the holy cause . i shall now give you some necessary hints , to fit , and quallify you for the province that i intend you . but besure you mind your lesson . bum. as i would do my prayers , citt , or i were ungratefull , for you have made me for ever . citt. come we 'l take 'tother sup , first , and then to work . who wayts there without ? two potts more , and shut the door after ye . a great part of your businesse , bumpkin , will ly among parliament-rolls , and records ; for it must be our post to furnish materialls to a caball only of three persons , that may be ready upon occasion , to be made use of by the grand committes . bum. my old master would say that i had as good a guesse at a musty record , as any man ; and 't was my whole employment almost , to hunt for presidents . nay the people would trust me with great bags home to my lodging ; and leave me alone sometimes in the offices for four and twenty hours together . citt. but what kind of presidents were they that ye lookt for ? bum. concerning the kings prerogative , bishops votes , the liberty and property of the subject ; and the like : and such as they wanted , i writ out . citt. but did you recite them whole ? or what did you take , and what did you leave ? bum. we took what serv'd our turn , and left out the rest ; and sometimes we were taken tripping , and sometimes we scap'd : but we never falsify'd any thing . there were some dogged passages , indeed we durst not meddle with at all ; but i can turn ye to any thing you have occasion for , with a wet-finger . citt. so that here●s one great point quickly over ; in thy being train'd to my hand : a man might lay thee down instructions , now , for thy very words , looks , motions , gestures ; nay thy very garments ; but we 'l leave those matters to time , and study . it is a strange thing how nature puts her self forth , in these externall circumstances . ye shall know a sanctifi'd sister , or a gifted brother more by the meene , countenance , and tone , then by the tenour of their lives , and manners . it is a comely thing for persons of the same perswasion , to agree in these outward circumstances , even to the drawing of the same tone , and making of the same face : always provided , that there may be read in our appearances , a singularity of zeal , a contempt of the world , a fore-boding of evills to come ; a dissatisfaction at the present times ; and a despair of better . bum. why this is the very part , that i was made for ; these humours are to be put on , and off ; as a man would shift his gloves ; and you shall see me do 't as easily too ; but the language must be got , i phansy , by conversing with modern authours , and frequenting religious exercises . citt. yes , yes , and for a help to your memory i would advise you to dispose of your observations into these three heads , words , phrases , and metaphors : do you conceive me ? bum. there 's not a word you say , falls to the ground . and i am the more sensible of the force of words , looks , tones , and metaphors ( as ye call 'um ) from what i finde in my self . ours certainly may be well term'd a powerfull ministry , that makes a man cry like a child at the very noyse of a torrent of words that he does not understand one syllable of . nay , when i have been out of reach of hearing the words , the very tone and look , has melted me . citt. thou canst not but have heard of that moving metaphor of the late reverend mr. fowler : lord sowse us ; ( says he ) lord dowse us , in the powdering-tubb of affliction ; that we may come forth tripes worthy of thy holy table . who can resist the inundation of this rhetorique ? but let us now pass from the generall ornaments of our profession , to the particular businesse of our present case . i need not tell you , bumpkin , of the plott , or that we are all running into popery ; and that the best service an englishman can do his country , would be the ripping up of this designe to the bottom . bum. i am so much of your opinion , that you have spoken my very thoughts . citt. bethink your self , bumpkin ; what papists do you know ? bum. oh , hang 'um all , i never come near any of ' um. citt. but yet you may have heard , perhaps , of some people that are popishly affected . bum. yes , yes ; there are abundance of them. citt. can you prove that ever they sayd , or did any thing , in favour of the papists ? bum. nay there 's enough of that i believe ; but then there are such huge great men among ' um . citt. pluck up a good heart bumpkin ; the greater , the better ; we fear 'um not . rub up your memory , and call to minde what you can say upon your own knowledge , and what you have heard ; either about sir edmond-bury godfrey , the plott ; the traytors that suffer'd , or the kings evidence . bum. i have seen people shrug sometimes , and lift up their hands and eyes , and shake their heads , and then they would clutch their fists , look sour , make mouths , and bite their nails , and so : and i dare swear i know what they thought . citt. ah bumpkin , if they had but so much as mutter'd , they 'd been our own . bum. well but hark ye citt , i hear people swear , or in words to this effect ; why may not a man as well swear , in signs to this effect ? and that they lifted up their eyes , and hands , bent their fists , knit their brows , and made mouths , to this or that effect ? citt. no , that will never do bumpkin , but if thou could'st but phansy that thou heard'st them speak . bum. why truly i never thought on 't , but i saw a parson once , the tears stood in his eyes , as one of 'um went by to execution . but your surcingle-men , ( as our doctor told us last lords day ) are all of 'um papists in their hearts . citt. why what 's the common-prayer book bumpkin , but a mess of parboyl'd popery ? bum. i 'm a dog , if our minister does not pray for the queen still . citt. nay , we are e'en at a fine pass , when the pulpit prays for the queen , and the bench drinks the duke of yorks health . but to the point , bethink your self well ; a man may forget a thing to day , and recollect it to morrow . take notice however , that it is another main point of your instructions to procure informations of this quality . bum. i 'le fit you to a hair for that matter : but then i must be running up and down ye know , into taverns , and coffee-houses , and thrusting my self into meetings , and clubs . that licks mony . citt. never trouble your self for that , you shall be well paid and your expences born : beside so much a head from the state , for every priest that you discover . bum. well! these priests and jesuites are damn'd fellows . citt. and yet let me tell you bumpkin , a bare fac'd papist is not half so bad as a papist in masquerade . bum. why what are those i prethee ? citt. they are your will-worship-men , your prelates brats : take the whole litter of 'um , and you 'l finde never a barrel better herring . let me tell thee in love bumpkin , these curs are forty times worse to us then the iesuits themselves ; for the one is an open enemy , the other lies gnawing like a canker in our bowells . and then being train'd up to latin and greek , there 's no opposing of the power of godlinesse to the sophistry of human reason : beside that , the law is for us in the one case , and against us in the other . bum. which way shall we go to work then , to deal with this generation of men ? citt. we must joyn the wisdom of the serpent , to the innocence of the dove ; and endeavour to compass that by stratagem , which we cannot gain by argument . but now am i going to open a mistery to thee , that 's worth — bum. prethee the worth on 't citt : for talk is but talk , the worth is the main point . citt. why then let me tell thee bumpkin , the mistery that i am about to disclose to thee , was worth to our predecessours not long since , no less then three kingdoms , and a better penny . but i 'le seal your lips up , before i stir one step further . bum. why look ye citt , may this drink never go thorough me , if i ever blab one syllable of any thing thou tell'st me as a secret. citt. hold , hold , bumkin , and may it never come up again if thou do'st ; for we 'l have no shifting . bum. and may it never come up again neither if i do . citt. well , i 'm satisfy'd , and now give attention ; thou seest how unanimously fierce all the several parties of the protestant dissenters are against the papists . whence comes this conjunction , i prethee , of so many separate congregations , that are many of them worse then papists , one to another ? there must be in it , either conscience , or interest : if it were conscience , we should fall foul one upon another , and for matter of interest ; when the papists are destroy'd , we are but still where we were . bum. this is a crotchet , citt , that did not fall under my night-cap . citt. be enlighten'd then . it is not the destruction of those that are really papists , that will do our work ; for there 's nothing to be got by 't . but it must be our business to make those people pass for papists , that are not so , but only have places to lose : such as we our selves , by the removal of them , may be the better for ; and this , bumpkin must be our master-piece . bum. i had this very phansy my self , citt ; but it stuck betwixt my teeth , and would not out . citt. you hear now in general , what is to be done ; you must be next instructed in the acts of raising , cherishing , and fomenting such opinions ; in what cases to improve them , and where to apply them . bum. i 'm perswaded my masters brother had this very thing in his head , though he never made any words on 't to me , he had got a list of all the considerable offices and employments in the kingdom : and i remember he was us'd to say , that most of the respective officers were either corrupt , or popishly affected . if they were publick ministers ; either the kings councells were betray'd , or they put him upon governing in an arbitrary way , and without parliaments : as for the judges there was either bribery , absolute power , or oppression laid to their charge ; and so all the rest were branded for frauds , imbezilments , and the like , according to the quality of their businesse : all the governours of towns , castles , and forts , were popishly inclin'd ; and not to be trusted . and then all ecclesiasticall officers , whatsoever , within four or five , were half way at rome already . citt. this is well remembred , bumpkin ; now 't is worth a bodies while to make these blades passe for papists , and traitors , that leave good offices behinde ' um . nay , we must not suffer so much as any man , either of brains , or fortune ( that does not joyn with us ) to passe untainted . bum. thou say'st right , citt ; for whosoever is not with us , is against us . citt. thou hast spoken patt to this point , bumpkin ; but yet thou begin'st at the wrong end ; for you must first get the skill of raising , and improving a report , before ye come to the fixing of it : for that 's a nicety not to be medled with , till we come to the taking out of the very pins , and the unhinging of the government ; so that the first clamour must be level'd point-blank at some known , and eminent papists . bum. well , but what shall we charge 'um with ? citt. why , if we were once at the bottom of this plot ( which , upon my soul , bumpkin , is a most hideous one ) and wanted matter for another , i would charge them with a designe of betraying us to a foreign enemy . bum. as how a forreign enemy pre'thee ? citt. as thus : i would charge 'um with holding an intelligence with the emperor of morocco , for the landing of five and thirty thousand light-horse men upon salisbury plain . bum. pre'thee , citt , don't romance . citt. pre'thee do not balderno , ye should say ; speak statutable english , ye fool you . thou think'st perhaps that the people will not believe it : observe but what i say to thee ; let it but be put into the protestant domestique , that his imperiall majesty is to hold up his hand at the kings bench-barr for 't , and let me be dogs-meat if they do not swallow that too . why pre'thee , bumkin , we must make 'um believe stranger things than this , or we shall never do our businesse . they must be made to believe that the king intends to play the tyrant ; that all his counsellors are pensioners to the french king ; that all his enemies are turn'd his friends , o' th sodain , and all his friends , his enemies ; that prelacy is anti-christian ; all our clergy-men , papists , the liturgy the masse-book , and that the ten commandments are to be read backward . bum. blesse me , citt , what do i hear ? citt. come , come , sirrah ; y' are under an oath ; and this is the plain truth on . what is it to thee and me , i pre'thee , whether the great ministers be true , or false ; or what religion , the clergy are of , so long as their livings ye rogue , are orthodox , and their offices well-affected . bum. this does qualifie , i must confesse . but you were saying , that the first clamour should be levell'd at some known and eminent papists : now what comes after that , i beseech you ? citt. you may safely mark all their friends then for popishly-affected ; and so consequently on all that love them , and all that they love. when this opinion is once started , 't is an easy matter , by the help of invention , and story , to improve it ; and by this means we shall come , in a short time to secure all the councils of the nation to our party , that are chosen by suffrage . if you were read in history you would sinde , that still as the papists set the house on fire , the non-conformists took the opportunity of rosting their own eggs. bum. yes , yes , i understandye . as for example now , one goes to the lords in the tower , another ( as you were saying ) drinks the dukes health , a third prays for the queen : a fourth phansies two plots ; a fifth refuses the petition , a sixth speaks well of my lord chief justice , or calls the protestant domestick a libel . all these now are popishly-affected . citt. save your breath bumpkin , and take all in one word : whosoever will not do as we would have him shall be made so . but now to the matter of invention , and story ; i hate the over-hearing of discourses , in blinde allyes , and such ordinary shams : i 'm rather for coming downright to the man , and to the poynt ; after the way of the protestant domestique . bum. ay , ay : there 's your free speaker . well citt , the king wants such men about him . but pre'thee hear me ; is it certain his majesty has lent the king of france three millions ? citt. no , no ; some two and a half ; or thereabouts . bum. why , if the king would but make a league now with the swiss to keep the turk off , that way ; and another with the protestants in hungary , to keep off the french , the whole world could never hurt us . citt. nay that 's true enough , but then the pole lies so damnably betwixt us and the baltique . bum. i 'de not value that a half-penny , so long as we have the waldenses to friend . citt. and then new-england lies so conveniently for provisions . but what do you think of drawing nova scotia , and geneva into the alliance ? bum. ay , but there 's no hope of that : so long as the king follows these counsells . citt. thou art a great read man i perceive in the interests of states . bum. i have always had a phansy to stows survey of london , and those kinde of books . citt. but good bumpkin , what 's thy opinion of the bishops votes , in case of life and death ? bum. ay , or in cases of heaven and hell either . why as true as thou art a man citt , we have but three protestant bishops in the nation ; and i am told they are warping too . citt. prethee why should we look for any protestant bishops in the kingdom , when there 's no protestant episcopacy in the world ? but for all this , we may yet live to see the rufling of their lawn sleeves . bum. oh , now i think on 't ; didst thou ever reade the story of moses and the ten tables ? citt. the two tables in the mount thou mean'st . bum. gad i think 't is the two tables . i read it in print to'ther day , in a very good book , that as sure as thou art alive now , the bishops in henry the 8th . made the ten commandments . citt. why that was the reason , bumpkin , when the lords and commons put down bishops , they put down the ten commandments too ; and made new ones of their own. and dost not thou take notice that they put down the lords prayer too , because 't was akinn to the popish pater-noster ? and then for the creed , they cast it quite out of the directory . bum. now as thou lay'st it down to me , the case is as clear as christal . and yet when i 'm by my self sometime , i 'm so affraid methinks of being damn'd . citt. what for , ye fop you ? bum. why for swearing , lying , dissembling , cheating , betraying , defaming , and the like . citt. put it at worst , do not you know that every man must have his dos of iniquity ? and that what you take out in one way you abate for in another , as in profaning , whoring , drinking , and so forth . suppose you should see poyson set in capital letters , upon seaven vials in a laboratory ; 't were a madness i know , for any man to venture his life upon 'um , without a taster . but having before your eyes so many instances , of men that by drinking of these poysonous liquors , out of a consumptive , half-starv'd , and heart-broken condition , grow merry , fat , and lusty , would not you venture too ? imagine these seven waters to be the seven deadly sins , and then make your application . bum. nay , the case is plain enough , and i cannot see why that should be a poyson to me , that 's a preservative to another : only our adversaries twit us with objections of law forsooth , and religion . citt. wherefore the discipline of the late times sav'd a great deal of puzzle . mr. prynn sent his clients to mr. case for religion ; and mr. case , in requital , sent his to mr. pryn for law ; which kept up a concord among the well-affected . but your lesson in both these cases , falls into a very narrow compass . bum. pray'e let it be plain that i may understand it ; and short that i may remember it . citt. keep close only to these three positions : first , that the king is one of the three estatos ; secondly , that the sovereign power is in the people ; and thirdly , that it is better to obey god , then man. these fundamentals will serve to guide ye in allmost any dispute upon this matter , that can occur to you . bum. but what becomes of me , if my adversaries should turn the question another way ? citt. i 'le fortify you there too . and let me tell you that he 'l have much ado to keep himself clear of one of these two rocks : either of dashing upon the plott , or upon the liberty of the subject . as for example , there 's l'estrange ; as wary a dog perhaps , as ever pist ; and yet ye shall see how we have hamper'd him. i writ the thing my self , ye must know , though it comes out in the name of the authour of the weekly pacquet of advice from rome . 't is dedicated to both houses of parliament ; and design'd just for the 26th . of ianuary : so that if the parliament had set , there would have been means us'd to have had him question'd for 't . bum. gad , i know where y' are now . 't is in the preface to the history of the damnable popish plott . citt. ay , that 's it . i 'le give ye first , the words in 't that concern l'estrange , and you shall then see the writings of his that i have reflected upon . bum. oh , 't is a devillish witty thing , citt ; i have seen it . methinks the rogue , should hang himself out of the way : i 'le go to mans coffee-house and see how he looks on 't . citt. no , no , pox on him ; he 's an impudent curr ; nothing less than a pillory will ever put him out of countenance . this toad was in newgate , i know not how long ; and yet he 'l take no warning . bum. you must consider , citt , that he writes for money ; o my soul , they say , the bishops have given him five hundred guynnyes . but pre'thee citt ; hast not thou seen the answer to the appeal , expounded . citt. yes , but i ha' not read it . bum. why then take it from me , citt , 't is one of the shrewdest pieces that ever came in print . l'estrange , you must know , wrote an answer to the appeal . citt. we 've a sweet government the while , that any man should dare to fall foul upon that appeal . bum. well , but so it is ; and another has written notes upon him : you cann't imagine citt , how he windes him about 's finger ; and calls him fidler , impudent , clod-pate ; and proves , him to be a jesuite , and a papist , as plain as the nose of a mans face : he shews ye how he accuses the kings evidence ; and that he is in both plots , in i know not how many places . citt. i have known the man a great while ; and let me tell ye in private , i am to draw up articles against him . but i have been so busy about my lord chief iustices articles , and other articles against a great woman , that lay upon my hand , that i could not get leisure ; and yet i should have met with him long e're this too , for all that , but that the committee sits so cursedly late : and then they have cut me out such a deal of work about the succession . well i heard a great lord say , that that history of his deserv'd to be burnt by the hand of the common hangman . bum. bravely sayd , citt , i faith : who knows but we two may come to be pillars of the nation ? thou shalt stand up for the city , and i for the country . enter trueman out of a closet . citt. trepan'd , by the lord , in our own way . trueman . nay hold , my masters ; we 'l have no flinching . sit down , ye had best , without putting me to the trouble of a constable . citt. why we have said nothing , sir , that we care who hears ; but because you seem to be a civill gentleman , my service to you , sir. bum. ay , sir ; and if you 'l be pleas'd to sit down and chirp over a pot of ale as we do , y 're wellcome . true. very-good ; and you are the representative ( forsooth ) of the city , and you , of the country . two of the pillars of the nation , with a horse-pox ; a man would not let down his breeches in a house of office that had but two such supporters . do not i know you , citt , to be a little grubstreet-insect , that but 'tother day scribled handy-dandy for some eighteen-pence a iob , pro and con , and glad on 't too ? and now , as it pleases the stars , you are advanc'd from the obort , the miscarriage , i mean , of a cause-splitter , to a drawer-up of articles : and for your skill in counterfeiting hands , preferr'd to be a sollicitor for fobb'd petitions : you 'l do the bishops bus'nesse , and you 'l do the dukes bus'nesse ; and who but you , to tell the king when he shall make war , or peace ; call parliaments , and whom to commit , and whom to let go ? and then in your fuddle , up comes all ; what such a lord told you , and what you told him ; and all this pudder against your conscience too , even by your own confession . citt. y' are very much mis-inform'd of me , sir. true. come , i know ye too well to be mistaken in you ; and for your part , bumpkin , i look upon you only as a simple fellow drawn in . bum. not so simple neither , it may be , as you take me for . i was a justices clerk in the countrey , till the bus'nesse of the petitions ; and my master was an honest gentleman too , though he 's now put out of commission : and to shew ye that i am none of your simple fellows ( do ye mark ) if ye have a minde to dispute upon three points , i 'm for you . first , the king is one of the three estates ; secondly , the sovereign power is in the people . and thirdly , 't is better to obey god then man. citt. always provided , bumpkin , that the gentleman take no advantage of what 's spoken in discourse . true. no , there 's my hand i will not ; and now let 's fall to work . if the king of england be one of the three estates , then the lords and commons are two thirds of the king of england . bum. oh pox , you 've a minde to put a sham upon the plot , i perceive . true. nay , if y' are thereabouts : — well ; if the soveraignty be in the people , why does not the law run in the name of our sovereign lords the people ? bum. this is a meer jesuitical trick , to disparage the kings witnesses ; for they are part of the people . now do you take up the cudgels , citt. true. do so , and we 'l make it a short business , and let 's have no shifting . now to shew ye that i gave good heed to your discourse , i 'le run over the heads of it as you deliver'd them . first , for committees , and grand committees , what are they compounded of , but republicans , and separatists , a medly of people disaffected both to church and state ? this you cannot deny ; and that they would not suffer any man otherwise affected , to mingle with them . now beside the scandal , and ill example of such irregular conventions , whoever considers their principles , may reasonably conclude upon their designs : for they are wiser , i hope , then to lay their heads together to destroy themselves . citt. but it is hard , if protestants may not meet as well as other people . true. yes , protestants may meet , but not in the quality of conspirators , no more then conspirators , may meet under the cloak , and colour of protestants . the intent of the meeting is matter of state , and you turn it off , to a point of religion . citt. but is it not matter of religion to joyn in a petition for the meeting of a parliament , to bring malefactors to a tryall , and to extirpate popery ? true. such a petition as you instance in , is in the appearance of it , not only lawfull , but commendable ; but then it must be promoted by lawfull means , and under decent circumstances . 't is a good thing to preach , or catechize , but it is not for a lay-man presently to pluck the parson out of the desk , or pulpit , that he himself may do the office. it is a good thing to execute iustice , but yet a private man must not invade the iudgment-seat , though it were to passe even the most righteous sentence . citt. the king may chuse whether he 'l grant or no ; so that without invading his right we only claim the liberty of presenting the request . true. that may be well enough at first ; but still , after one refusal , and that with a publick interdict on the neck on 't , forbidding the pursuance of it ; such a petition is not by any means to be repeated . first , out of respect to regal authority : secondly , as the king is the sole iudge of the matter : thirdly , upon the importunity , it is not so properly desiring of a thing , as tugging for it . fourthly , it tends many ways to the diminution of his majesties honour , in case it be obtain'd : for it implys , either levity , or fear ; or ( to make the best on 't ) the king confers the obligation , and the heads of the petition receive the thanks . now adde to all this , the suborning of subscriptions , and the inflaming of parties , , what can be more undutifull or dangerous ? citt. but do not you find many honest and considerable men concern'd in these petitions ? true. yes , in several of them i do ; and the main reason is this. there 's no man under five and fifty , at least , that is able to give any account , of the designe , and effects of this way of petitioning in forty and forty one , but by hear-say : so that this nation proceeds mostly upon the maxims , and politiques , which that republican humour deliver'd over to us : but yet let the thing , or the manner of it be as it will , those that disarm'd , and turn'd back the kentish petitioners at london-bridg . those that wounded , and murther'd the surry-petitioneres in the palace yard , only for desiring a peace , and in order to the preservation of his late majesty : those people methinks , that were fo outrageous against those petitions ( and several others of the same kind ) should not have the face now to be fo violent , for this. and whoever examines the present roll , will find the old republicans to be the ring-leaders . bum. really , citt , the man speaks reason . tru. consider then the mean ways ye have of advancing your pretensions , by falshoods , and scandals , to disappoint honest men of elections ; the use ye make of the most servile instruments , to promote your ends ; your fawning methods of popularity toward the rabble ; your ways of undermining the government of the city , as well as of the nation ; your worse then iesuitical evasions in matter of conscience ; your non-sensical salvo's , and expositions of christian liberty ; your putting out the church of englands colours , and calling your selves protestants , when you are effectually no better then algerines , and pyrating even upon christianity it self ; your beating of the wood , in the history of our most seditious times , to start presidents and records in favour of your own disloyal purposes . the pharisaical distinguishing of your selves from the profane ( as you are pleas'd to stile all others , even in your dresse , tone , language , &c. your uucharitable bitternesse of spirit ; your lying in wait for blood ; and laying of snares for the unwary and the innocent ; and still vouching an inspiration for all your wickednesse ; your gathering of all winds toward the raising of a storm ; your unity in opposition , and in nothing else : your clamours , and invectives against priests , and iesuits , when it is the church of england yet , that feels the last effect of your sacrilegious rage . 't is not so much the officers of the church , and state , that are popishly affected , but the offices themselves ; and those in the first place ( as you chuse your sins too ) that are most beneficiall . to say nothing of your wild impostures upon the multitude . — citt. now you talk of impostures , what do you think of l'estrange's history of the plot , and his answer to the appeal ? whether are those pamphlets , impostures upon the multitude , or not ? tru. you were saying e'en now , that the history of the damnable popish plot was of your writing ; answer me that question , first ; was it so , or not ? citt. no , it was not of my writing ; it was done by a protestant-club . tru. why then let me tell ye , if a man may believe the preface to that club-history , or the notes upon the answer to the appeal ( for i have read them all : ) l'estrange's pamphlets are great abuses upon the people : but if you had the books about ye , the matter were easily clear'd , by comparing them ▪ citt. by good luck we have 'um all about us , that can any way concern this question . and look ye here now . first , he calls his abridgement of the tryals , the history of the plot , without mentioning one word of the original contrivance , the preparatives , manner of discovery , and other remarkables essential to a history . 2. he omits staly's and reading's tryals , which yet sure had relation to the plot. 3. in his epistle , he seems to drown the popish plot with suggestions of an imaginary one of the protestants . 4. the amusing people with such stories , is notoriously a part of the ▪ grand popish designe . 5. whereas he tells us , that not one material point is omitted , most readers cannot finde the substantial part of mr. bedloes evidence against wakeman , ( p. 46 of the tryall ) so much as hinted at : not to mention the gross shuffles , and omissions in pag. 77. and elsewhere . 6. he charges the printed tryals ( in his freeborn subiect p. 15. ) with many gross incoherences , and very material mistakes ; yet instances but one , and corrected too , as an erratum . 7. when our posterity shall urge these tryals for proof against papists , how easily may the subtle villains stop their mouths , by alledging from this authour that no heed is to be given to the said tryals ; ( being so publickly own'd by a person of his note , and late qualification ) to be guilty of so many , and such very material mistakes . true. observe here , first l'estrange expounds his history in the title page , by restraining it to the charge and defence of the persons there mentioned : beside that he calls it an historical abstract , and a summary , in his epistle . 2. staleys trial had no relation at all to the plot , and reading was not try'd for 's life ; and so not within the compass of his intention exprest in the preface . 3. the epistle acknowledges a detestable plot , and a conspiracy : but advises moderation , and that the rabble may not dictate laws to authority ; for that licence was the cause of the late rebellion . 4. it was more then a story , the murther of the late king , and the subversion of the government , and the suppressing of these necessary hints , and cautions is notoriously a part of the grand phanatical design . 5. in l'estranges history , here pag. 79 and 80. there 's every particular of mr. bedloes evidence in sir george wakemans tryal , pag. 46. with many other passages over and above : whereas your damnable history here pag. 295. falls short at least by one half. and then for the shuffles , and omissions reflected upon , pag. 77. see l'estranges words , pag. 88. the lord chief iustice ( says he ) after some remarkes upon the romish principles , summ'd up the evidence , and gave directions to the iury : which is the substance of the page cited in the preface . touching your elsewhere , it is in plain english , no where . 6. look ye , here 's more juggling . he says several gross incoherences , and you have made them many : and then you have left out the parenthesis , ( especially in the latter of them ) which varies the case too . and i remember again , that the erratum was supply'd after l'estrange had corrected it : and sure it was a gross one too , to expose a protestant gentleman for a papist , nine times in two pages . i could shew ye several other material mistakes , but one shall serve for all . pag. 45. ( as i take it ) of irelands tryal ; which you will finde charg'd upon the press , in l'estranges history , pag. 18. 7. pray'e mark me now : l'estrange findes errours of the press in the other tryals and rectifies them , in his own : now if posterity shall finde in the right , that the other are wrong , they are in no danger of being misled by the one , in what is corrected by the other : and if they do not read the right copy at all , there 's no harm done to the other , but they must take it as they finde it . so that this remark is so far from disparaging the proceedings , that a greater right can hardly be done to publick iustice by a pamphlet . but now let the epistle speak for it self . to the reader . there has not been any point , perhaps , in the whole tract of english story , either so dangerous to be mistaken in , or so difficult , and yet so necessary to be understood , as the mystery of this detestable plot now in agitation . ( a judgement for our sins , augmented by our follies , ) but the world is so miserably divided betwixt some that will believe every thing , and others nothing , that not only truth , but christianity it self is almost lost between them ; and no place left for sobriety and moderation . we are come to govern our selves by dreams and imaginations ; we make every coffee-house tale an article of our faith ; and from incredible fables we raise invincible arguments . a man must be fierce and violent to get the reputation of being well-affected ; as if the calling of one another damned heretique , and popish dog , were the whole sum of the controversie . and what 's all this , but the effect of a popular licence and appeal ? when every mercenary scribler shall take upon him to handle matters of faith , and state ; give laws to princes ; and every mechanique sit judge upon the government ! were not these the very circumstances of the late times ? when the religious jugglers from all quarters fell in with the rabble ; and managed them , as it were , by a certain sleight of hand : the rods were turned into serpents on both sides ▪ and the multitude not able to say , which was aaron , and which the enchanter . let us have a care of the same incantation over again . are we not under the protection of a lawfull authority ? nor was there ever any thing more narrowly sifted , or more vigorously discouraged , then this conspiracy . reformation is the proper business of government and council ; but when it comes to work once at the wrong end , there is nothing to be expected from it , but tumult and convulsion . a legal and effectual provision against the danger of romish practices and errours , will never serve their turn , whose quarrel is barely to the name of popery , without understanding the thing it self . and if there were not a roman catholick lef● in the three kingdoms , they would be never the better satisfied , for where they cannot find popery , they will make it : nay and be troubled too that they could not find it . it is no new thing for a popular out-cry , in the matter of religion , to have a state-faction in the belly of it . the first late clamour was against downright popery ; and then came on popishly affected ; ( that sweeps all . ) the order of bishops , and the discipline of the church took their turns next ; and the next blow was at the crown it self ; when every man was made a papist that would not play the knave and the fool , for company , with the common people . these things duly weighed , and considering the ground of our present distempers ; the compiler of this abridgment reckoned that he could not do his countrymen a better office , than ( by laying before them the naked state of things ) to give them at one view , a prospect , both of the subject matter of their apprehensions , and of the vigilance , zeal , and needful severity of the government on their behalf . to which end , he hath here drawn up an historical abstract of the whole matter of fact concerning those persons who have hither to been tryed for their lives , either upon the plot it self , or in relation to it : opposing authentick records to wandring rumours ; and delivering the truth in all simplicity . he hath not omitted any one material point : there is not so much as one partial stroke in it ; not a flourish , nor any thing but a bare and plain collection , without any tincture either of credulity , or passion . and it is brought into so narrow a compass too , that it will ease the readers head , as well as his purse ; by clearing him of the puzzle of forms , and interlocutories , that serve only to amuse and mislead a man , by breaking the order , and confounding the relative parts of the proceeding . having this in contemplation ; and being at the same time possest of a most exact summary of all passages here in question ; this reporter was only to cast an extract of these notes into a method : especially finding , that upon comparing the substance of his own papers , with the most warrantable prints that have been published ; his own abstract proved to be not only every jot as correct , but much more intelligible , which being short and full ; he thought might be useful , and find credit in the world upon its own account , without need of a voucher . true. you have now the whole matter before you ; the epistle , ye see , justifies it self : and then for the narrative , i dare undertake he shall yield up the cause , if you can but produce any one material point , which he hath either falsify'd , palliated , or omitted , in the whole proceeding . but to be plain with you , citt , one of the authours of your preface is a common setter , a forger of hands , a little spy upon the swan in fishstreet ; a hackny sollicitor against both church and state : you know this to be true citt ; and that i do not speak upon guess ; so that calumny , and false witnessing is the best part of that authours trade . and then the pretended history is a direct arraignment of the government . he takes up the king and council , pag. 381. reflects upon the iudges in the very contents , and elsewhere ; he descants upon the duke of york , in opposition to the express sense and declaration of the bench , pag. 145. and has the confidence yet to dedicate this gally-mawfry of audacious slanders to the two houses of parliament . there is little more in the whole , then what has been eaten and spew'd up again thirty times over : and the intire work is only a medly of rags , and solaecisms , pick'd up out of rubbish , and most suitably put together . citt. you may take his part as ye please , but there 's a famous lecturer charg'd him publiquely for popery , in his answer to the appeal ; and for falling upon dr. lloyd . true. he did so ; but at the same time that lecturer found no fault with the appeal it self ; and the best on 't is , his tongue 's no more a slander then his pen : and whoever reads what he has written concerning the late king , and the episcopal church , will think never the worse of l'estrange for what he says . now for the reverend dean of bangor , i dare say he never spake , or thought of him , but with veneration . let me see the book . look ye here , 't is pag. 18. in l'estrange's impression , and 't is pag. 15. in this ; and here 's the point [ their loyalty and good service paid to the king ( says the appealer speaking of the papists ) was meerly in their own defence ] now see l'estrange's reply upon it , if it lies ( says he ) as a reproach upon them that they did not serve the king out of loyalty ; that which they did , was yet better then not serving him at all ; and better in a higher degree still , then fighting against him . and a little after . it is worth the observation , that not a man drew his sword in the opposite cause , who was not a known separatist ; and that on the other side , not one schismatick ever struck stroke in the kings quarrell . and now for your notes upon his answer , they are so silly , that it were ridiculous to reply upon 'um [ who knows ( says he ) but the regicides were papists in disguise , pag. 19. ] and a deal of such senselesse stuff ; enough to turn a bodies stomach . and if you 'd inform your self of his malice ; look ye here pag. 4. p. 9. and p. 33. how he palliates , if not justifies , the late rebellion , the murther of the arch-bishop of st. andrews , and the drawing of the sword against the king. briefly , 't is an insipid bawling piece of foolery , from one end to the other . and it is not but that i highly approve of your zeal for the discovery of the plot , and suppressing of popery ; but we are not yet to trample upon laws , and publique orders , for the attaining even of those glorious ends . but now i think on 't ; deal freely with me ; did you really go to the registers ye spake of , to furnish names for your subscriptions ? citt. no ; that was but a flourish : but all the rest we literally did . true. are not you conscious to your selves of your iniquities ? who made you a commissioner for the town , or you for the country ? but we are like to have a fine business of it , when the dreggs of the people set up for the representatives of the nation ; to the dishonour of the most considerable , and sober part of the kingdome . pre'thee bumpkin , with thy poles , and baltiques , how shouldst thou come to understand the ballance of empires ? who are delinquents , and who not ? the right of bishops votes ? and you ( forsooth ) are to teach the king when to call a parliament , and when to let it alone . and are not you a fine fool i' the mean time , to drudg fot the faction that sets ye on , to be afterwards made a slave for your pains ? and then for you , citt , with your mouldy records , your co-ordinate estates , and your sovereign power of the people . do not i know all your fallacies , your shifts , and hiding-holes ? there 's not one step you set , but i can trace you in 't : you have your spies upon all libraries , as well as conversations ; your agents for the procuring of old manuscripts , and records , and for the falsifying of new ones , to make them look like old ones . nay , the papers of state themselves had much ado to scape ye . those that assert the iust rights of the crown , you either bury or conceal ; only publishing the presidents of seditious times , in vindication of such principles . citt. i must confess i take the government to be co-ordinate , and the king one of the three estates , with submission to be better inform'd . true. if it be so , how comes it that the house of commons even in their most popular seasons , have still own'd the crown of england to be imperial ? how comes it that all our laws are call'd the kings laws : all our courts of iustice his majesties courts , and all publick causes try'd in the kings name , and by the authority of his majesty ? citt. but have not the two houses their share in the legislative power ? true. you must distinguish betwixt the consent , and the sanction ; the preparatory part is their's , the stamp is the kings : the two houses consent to a bill ; it is only a bill , when it is presented , and it remains yet a bill , even when the king has consented to it ; and in this common consent , in order to a law , the two houses may be said to share with his majesty : but then the fiat , that superinduces an authority , and is only , and properly the act of legislation , is singly in the king. so that though they share in the consent , they have no pretence at all to the sanction : which is an act of authority ; the other but of agreement . and yet again , admitting your coordination ; first , every king runs the hazzard of his crown upon every parliament he calls : for that third estate lies at the mercy of the other two : and further , 't is a kinde of ringing the changes with the government , the king and lords shall be uppermost one day , the king and commons , another , and the lords and commons , the third : for in this scale of constitution whatsoever the one will not , the other two , may . citt. well ; but ours is a mixt government , and we are a free people . tru. if ours be a mixt government , so as to any popular participation of power with the king ; then it is not a monarchy : ( which is the government only of one ) but if you 'l call it a qualifi'd government ; so as to distinguish it from an absolute and unlimited government , i●le agree with you . but let the government be what it will , and where it will , let it do right or wrong , it is equally unaccountable , for there lies no appeal , but to a superiour , and the supreme has none but god himself . citt. but if we be a free people , have not we as much right to our liberties , as the king has to his crown ? true. yes , we have , but the king has this advantage of us , that we may forfeit our liberties but he cannot forfet his crown . citt. what if a king will transgresse all the laws of god and man ? may not the people resume their trust ? tru. no , not unlesse you can produce an expresse stipulation to that very purpose . but let me shew you , first , the errour of taking that to be a trust from the people , which , in truth , is an ordinance of providence , for all power is from god : and secondly , the absurdity of the very supposition , even in the case of a trust conferr'd by the people . if the king breaks his trust , the people resume it : but who are these people ? if a representative , they are but trustees themselves , and may incur a forfeiture too , by the same argument . where are we next then ? for if it devolves to the loose multitude of individuals , ( which you will have to be the fountain of power ) you are then in an anarchy , without any government at all ; and there you must either continue in a dissociated state , or else agree upon uniting into some form of regiment , or other : and whether it be monarchy , aristocracy , or democracy ; it comes all to a point . if you make the government accountable upon every humour of the people , it lapses again into a confusion . to say nothing of the ridiculous phansy of a sovereignty in the people upon this account ; that they can never be so brought together either to establish or to dissolve a government , as to authorize it to be the peoples act. for there must be , first , an agreement to meet and consult . secondly , an agreement upon the result of that debate ; and any one dissenter spoils all , where every individuall has an equall right : so that unlesse the people be all of the same minde , this supposition will be found wholly impractible and idle . citt. but is there no fence then against tyranny ? true. only patience , unless you run into anarchy , and then into that which you call tyranny again ; and so tread eternally that circle of rigour and confusion . in fine , the question is this , whether people had better run certainly into confusion to avoid a possible tyranny , or venture a possible tyranny , to avoid a certain confusion . citt. but where we finde positive laws and provisions to fail us , may we not in those cases , betake our selves to the laws of nature and self-preservation ? true. no , ye may not ; for many reasons . first , it makes you iudges , not only whon those laws take place , but also what they are . secondly , the government is dissolv'd , 〈◊〉 subjects may go off or on at pleasure . thirdly , self-preservation is the plea only of individuals ; and there can be no colour for the exposing of the publick in favour of particulars . what would ye think of a common seaman that in a storm should throw the steers-man over-board , and set himself at the helm ? or of a souldier that shou'd refuse a dangerous post for fear of being knock'd on the head , when the whole army , depends upon the maintaining of that pass . citt. pray'e tell me what it is that you call government , and how far it extends ▪ for you were saying even now , that the reason of all governments is alike . true. government is the will , and power of a multitude , united in some one person , or more , for the good , and safety of the whole . you must not take it that all governments are alike ; but the ratio of all governments is the same in some cases . as in the instance of self-preservation ; which is only pleadable by the supream magistrate , in bar to all general exceptions ; for he is first , presumed in reason , to be vested with all powers necessary for the defence , and protection of the community : without which his authority is vain . he is secondly , oblig'd in du●y to exert those powers for the comm●● good : and he is thirdly , entrusted with the judgment of all exigences of state , be they greater or lesse ; wherein the publick good may be concern'd . now put the case that a magistrate should make a wrong iudgment of matters , and misemploy those powers ; it were an infelicity in the administration ; but the sacredness of authority is still the same : and he is a mad man , that plucks down his house , because it rains in at the window . and in case of the magistrate , it is not so much he , as they ; for the king is ( as i said before ) the united power and will of the people . and so fare ye well . the end. errata . page ● . line 24. for his , reade this . p. 3. l. 27. for religion r. religions . p. 1● l. 25. for hands , r. heads . p. 22. l. 9. for on all , r. on to all . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a47820-e80 committees to promote the petitions . their powers and instructions . two grand committees . the office of the grand committees . stories of prodigies startle the common people . the way of getting hands in and about london . several ways of getting hands in the country . the protestant dissenters great promoters of the petition . tricks to defeat elections . the petition laid aside in the common-council . the act for corporations brake the neck on 't . the petition baffled in the country . the blessing of having neither friends nor mony. methods of popularity . a golden sentence . a jayl is the high-way to preferment . a salvo for a lye. the benefits of a prison . the secretary to a grand committee . other petitions upon the anvi● . a designe upon the common-council . distinctions of consciences . consciences of state or interest . not many religious consciences . a conscience of profession . a conscience of using no conscience at all . of christian liberty . the extent of it . jesuites and phanatiques compar'd . a vast difference betwixt them . their practises compar'd . the fanaticks clear'd . of dissenting protestants . the meaning of root and branch . rolls and records hunted for presidents . lessons of behaviour for the well-affected . the force of looks and tones . a moving metaphor . signs in evidence . sad times . church-men worse to dissenters then jesuites . the strange agreement of dissenters . the scope of that agreement . who are popishly affected in the first place . a heavy charge . nothing incredible . popish ministers may have orthodox offices . who are popishly affected . matters of moment . the brethren are only for profitable sins . three positions . l'estrange confuted . citt drawing up articles . enter trueman . citt's faculty and employment . bumpkins account of himself . bumpkin's way of argument . the composition of the committees . what petitions warrantable and what not . no petition to be press'd after prohibition . the nation poyson'd with false principles . the injustice of our common wealths-men . the mean ways of promoting their designs . reflexions upon l'estrange . the fore going reflections answer'd . notes for div a47820-e26720 the epistle to l'estra●ge's history of the plot. l'estranges narrative justify'd . his adversary detected a bold and sencelesse libell . l'estrange charg'd as a papist , by a certain lecturer . the ground of his accusation . a gross cheat upon the nation . lewd practises of the faction . against co-ordination . it is the sanction makes the law , not the consent . the inconveniences of a co-ordination supposed . of a mixt government and a qualifi'd . power is from god , not from the people . soveraignty of the people most ridiculous . self-preservation is no plea for the people . what government is . certain priviledges essential to government . 