<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2008-06-03</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use FRONT, BODY, BACK or rarely GROUP
x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH BIBL OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c.
x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE -|
x Check q; startq endq Q
- Check ligatures if in black letter &abper; &abpro; &abus; &abquod; &absed; &abser; &abcon; &abrum; &abis;
x Check for &punc; and correct if time-effective
x ot / ol / of and at / al / ar
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs
x Final validate

Corrected [  ] illegible groups out of [  ].
Converted [  ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible".
DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A85386">
<STC T="W">G1153</STC>
<STC T="T">E26_18</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99859368</BIBNO>
<VID>111442</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>CALUMNY
ARRAIGN'D AND CAST.
<HI>OR</HI>
A Briefe An&s;wer to &s;ome extravagant
and rank pa&s;&s;ages, lately fallen from the pen of
WILLIAM PRYNNE, E&s;quire, in a late Di&s;|cour&s;e,
entituled, <HI>Truth Triumphing over Fal&s;hood,</HI> &amp;c.
again&s;t M^r <HI>John Goodwin,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Wherein the loyall, unfeigned and un&s;tained affecti|on
of the &s;aid <HI>John Goodwin</HI> to the Parliament, and Ci|vill
Magi&s;tracie, is irrefragably and fully vindica|ted
and a&s;&s;erted again&s;t tho&s;e broad and unchri&s;tian
imputations, mo&s;t untruly &s;ugge&s;ted in
the &s;aid Di&s;cour&s;e again&s;t him.</P>
<P>By the &s;aid JOHN GOODVVIN.</P>
<BIBL>P&s;al. 56. 5.</BIBL>
<Q>Every day they wre&s;t my words: all their thoughts are again&s;t me for evill.</Q>
<BIBL>P&s;al. 120. 2.</BIBL>
<Q>Deliver my &s;oule, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitfull tongue.</Q>
<BIBL>Gal. 3. 4.</BIBL>
<Q>Have yee &s;uffered &s;o many things in vaine? if yet it be in vaine.</Q>
<Q>Praeceptum trahit praeceptum, &amp; tran&s;gre&s;&s;io trahit tran&s;gre&s;&s;ionem. Dictum He|braeorum.
<HI>ex Mercero in</HI> <BIBL>Prov. 22. 4.</BIBL></Q>
<Q>Apologiae nullas aures inveniunt: calumniae omnes praeoccupant. <HI>Oecolam. Epi&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>Licen&s;ed Entered and Printed according to Order.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON;</HI>
Printed by <HI>M. Simmons</HI> for <HI>Henry Overton,</HI> and are to
be &s;old at his Shop in <HI>Popes</HI>-head-Alley. 1645.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="author to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>READER;</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_MY bu&s;ine&s;&s;e with thee (at pre&s;ent)
is not much. Onely upon occa&s;ion
of tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages of my <HI>Antago|ni&s;t,</HI>
replied unto in the follow|ing
Di&s;cour&s;e, I could not with|out
breach of dutie, but admini|&s;ter
this Pre&s;ervative unto thee
again&s;t the danger of very many
writings on that &s;ide; that if
thou beleeve&s;t them, e&s;pecially in what they pre&s;ent concern|ing
either the per&s;ons or opinions of their Adver&s;aries,
without &s;trict examination, thou art like to imbrace <HI>nubem
pro Junone,</HI> and to match thy under&s;tanding with untruth.
Which kind of marriage oft-times and in many ca&s;es, proves
of as &s;ad and unhappie con&s;equence unto men, as <HI>Ahabs</HI>
joyning him&s;elf in this relation with <HI>Jezabel</HI> did unto him;
concerning whom the &s;acred Record avoucheth this; That
<HI>there was none like Ahab, who did &s;ell him&s;elf to work
wickedne&s;&s;e in the &s;ight of the Lord, whom Jezabel
his wi&s;e provoked</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">1 King. 21. 25.</NOTE>. Errors and mi&s;pri&s;ions concerning
the per&s;ons, practi&s;es, and opinions of men, having taken the
<PB REF="3">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="3">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="4">
fancies and imaginations of &s;ome men, many times work
them into very uncouth, violent, un&s;eemly, and unchri&s;tian
di&s;tempers, which makes them out of mea&s;ure forgetfull of
them&s;elves, and of all rules of rea&s;on, equitie, and good con|&s;cience,
in their repre&s;entations of, and conte&s;tations again&s;t
both the one and the other. E&s;pecially when the &s;peciall and
particular points of difference between them and others, are
of a difficult eviction and clearing on their parts, the re|&s;entment
hereof is a &s;ore temptation upon them to make ma|ny
a voyage beyond the line of Truth, to fetch Apes and Pea|cocks,
and I know not what mon&s;ters both of practi&s;es and
opinions to be&s;tow upon them; that &s;o the uncontroverted
di&s;paragement which they hope to derive upon their oppo&s;ites
by &s;uch imputations as the&s;e, may help to mediate the like
di&s;paragement of their judgements in tho&s;e other matters of
difference, in the thoughts and minds of men. Nor doth an
Accu&s;er (ordinarily) open his mouth to that widene&s;&s;e, or
lift up his voyce to that &s;trength and &s;traine of clamour,
when he can come by any thing that is reall and matter of
truth, to make his accu&s;ation, as when he is con&s;trained to
&s;erve his di&s;po&s;ition in that kinde, with that which is ficti|tious,
and pretended onely. The <HI>Jews</HI> that &s;ought the &s;up|pre&s;sion
and ruine of our Saviour, not being able to prove
any thing of reall demerit again&s;t him (for <HI>Pilate</HI> him&s;elf
<HI>knew well that they had delivered him out of envie</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Mat. 27. 18.</NOTE>)
thought to fill up the emptine&s;&s;e of their cau&s;e or accu&s;ation,
with the abundant loudne&s;&s;e and importunitie of their cla|mour
and cry: <HI>But they CRYED, AWAY WITH
HIM, AWAY WITH HIM: crucifie him.</HI>
And in another place, becau&s;e they could not <HI>with truth</HI>
reprove him of any &s;in<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Joh. 8. 46.</NOTE>; being put upon it to feigne, they
did it to purpo&s;e, and charged him with being <HI>a Samaritan
and having a Devill</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 48.</NOTE>.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>Who would have thought that the Gentleman (my An|tagoni&s;t
in the en&s;uing pages) or <HI>A. S.</HI> the Duplicator
again&s;t <HI>M. S.</HI> and &s;ome others of the &s;ame engagement,
that I could name, would ever have &s;ought protection for
the cau&s;e they de&s;ire to maintaine, at tho&s;e polluted San|ctuaries
of untruth! If our opinions know not how to
maintaine them&s;elves and live, without the undue di&s;|paragement,
or collaterall impeachment of tho&s;e who are
of oppo&s;ite judgement to us therein, it is a &s;ore te&s;timo|ny
again&s;t them, that they are but counterfeits, and not
of the royall line and race of Truth; who is able to main|taine
all her legitimate off-&s;pring, with her owne de|means,
and native inheritance, without the unju&s;t taxa|tions
of the reputation, practi&s;es, or opinions of her Ad|ver&s;aries.</P>
<P>Till the Sons of Difference in matters controver&s;iall,
give over all wre&s;ting (at lea&s;t, all wilfull wre&s;ting) and
perverting of the &s;ayings, doings, and opinions of their op|po&s;ites,
and catching at impertinencies and lighter over|&s;ights,
and lie clo&s;e in their rea&s;onings to the points in
difference; they will never doe any great matter, either
for the truth, or for their owne Repute, amongst &s;ober and
advi&s;ed men.</P>
<P>This briefe adverti&s;ement I thought needfull to impart
unto thee; and if thou ha&s;t the ta&s;te and reli&s;h of it in thy
&s;pirit, I have nothing by way of tran&s;action further with
thee (for the pre&s;ent) but onely to expre&s;&s;e my de&s;ires unto
God on thy behalf, that the peru&s;all of the little piece en&s;u|ing,
may either make or keepe thy thoughts &s;treight con|cerning
the man, (a friend of thine, who ever thou bee&s;t)
whom thou &s;halt finde fiercely accu&s;ed, and yet (I hope)
&s;ufficiently (though calmely) acquitted therein. It is a
<PB REF="5">
&s;peciall grace of GOD vouch&s;afed unto thee, to be pre|&s;erved,
from making that crooked, which he hath made
&s;treight.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>From my Study in Coleman&s;treet.
London. <DATE>Jan. 30. 1644.</DATE>
Thine in Him who is
our all in all,
JOHN GOODVVIN.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>Faults e&s;caped in &s;ome Copies.</HEAD>
<P>PAg. 5. l. 24. for, <HI>confidence,</HI> r. <HI>confidence.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 18. l. 24. for, <HI>rerum,</HI> r. <HI>reum.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ibidem.</HI> l. 30. for, <HI>contemned,</HI> r. <HI>continued.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 28. l. 6. for, <HI>rf,</HI> r. <HI>of.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 32. l. 30. for, <HI>right,</HI> r. <HI>Law.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 35. l. 18. for, <HI>declare,</HI> r. <HI>decline.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Pag. 39. l. 15. for,</HI> not onely, <HI>r.</HI> not onely not.</P>
<P>Pag. 42. l. 13. for, <HI>&s;hacking,</HI> r, <HI>&s;harking.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 44. l. 31. for, <HI>commodious,</HI> r. <HI>commodiou&s;ly.</HI></P>
<P>Pag. 46. l. 20. for, <HI>yet (and,</HI> r. (<HI>and yet.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>CALUMNY ARRAIGN'D
AND CAST.</HEAD>
<P>_SInce the fini&s;hing of my lately pub|li&s;h'd
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Innocency and Truth tri|umphing to|gether.</NOTE> Di&s;cour&s;e, my Antagoni&s;t having (as
it &s;eems by his own expre&s;&s;ion<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">My no|cturnall lucu|brations, bor|rowed from the houres al|lotted to my nece&s;&s;ary na|turall re&s;t, &amp;c. Epi&s;t. Dedic.</NOTE>) &s;acrificed
the <HI>nece&s;&s;ary naturall re&s;t</HI> of his body, upon the
&s;ervice of the un-nece&s;&s;ary and violent re&s;tle&s;|ne&s;&s;e
of his &s;pirit, hath thereby gotten the op|portunitie
of doing very good &s;ervice to the
way of <HI>Independencie</HI> (&s;o called) by &s;ending forth a Di&s;cour&s;e into
the world, intituled <HI>Truth triumphing over Fal&s;hood;</HI> i. (by the figure
<HI>Hypallage) Fal&s;hood triumphing over Truth:</HI> For whereas the weight
of his credit and reputation before lay &s;omewhat heavy upon the
&s;houlder of <HI>Independencie,</HI> and oppre&s;&s;ed it; by the unchri&s;tian ex|travagancie
and impertinencie of this Di&s;cour&s;e, he hath &s;o farre
eas'd and reduced the burthen&s;omne&s;&s;e of it, that it may now be
endured and borne without much detriment or di&s;advantage.
And doubtle&s;&s;e, Divine providence was above him in drawing this
acknowledgement and confe&s;&s;ion from him, that the&s;e <HI>Collections</HI>
or <HI>Lucubrations</HI> of his <HI>are di&s;tracted</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Ded. <HI>Prop&egrave; finem.</HI></NOTE> <HI>and impotent</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. to the Reader. <HI>Prop&egrave; finem.</HI></NOTE>: <HI>Di&s;tracted</HI>
they are in point of argument or rea&s;on; <HI>Impotent,</HI> in point of heat,
height, and pa&s;&s;ion. Or did we wave his own confe&s;&s;ion of the <HI>di|&s;tractedne&s;&s;e</HI>
of them, his expectation of &s;uch preferment for them
as <HI>the &s;atisfaction of the learned</HI><NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. to the Reader. <HI>Ver&s;us finem.</HI></NOTE>, yea, and <HI>conviction of all the
world</HI><NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 110. Ver&s;us finem.</NOTE>, were a demon&s;tration, and that <HI>&agrave; priori,</HI> of &s;uch a <GAP DESC="foreign">,
or affection cleaving to them. For can any man, with any con&s;i|&s;tency
of Rea&s;on, expect or think, that <HI>learned men,</HI> who have <HI>ri&s;en
early, and gone to bed late,</HI> be&s;towed much time and paines to inquire
<PB N="2" REF="6">
out the truth and certainty of what they hold and profe&s;&s;e, &s;hould
yet be &s;o de&s;ultorie and light in their judgements, as by a few <HI>in|dige&s;ted,
nocturnall</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. De|lic.</HI> non long&egrave; &agrave; fine.</NOTE>, <HI>&s;ubitane</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ibid. &amp; p. 1.</NOTE>, <HI>impotent</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. to the Reader.</NOTE> <HI>collections and lucu|brations</HI>
to be turned out of their way; e&s;pecially when the Colle|ctor
makes no more con&s;cience of &s;peaking truth in matters of fact
and of the mo&s;t obvious and ea&s;ie cognizance, then Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> in
many pa&s;&s;ages doth in the&s;e his <HI>lucubrations?</HI> Doth he think that
the elaborate and long-&s;tudied notions and apprehen&s;ions of <HI>lear|ned
men,</HI> are of no better u&s;e or worth, then onely to adorn the tro|phies
and <HI>triumphs</HI> of his extemporanie pen? If he expected &s;uch
ob&s;equiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Faith from the judgements of <HI>learned men</HI> to his
<HI>&s;ubitane and indige&s;ted collections,</HI> in matters of more difficultie and
weight, his method had been to have laid the foundation of &s;uch
credence, by &s;peaking Truth in tho&s;e things, which are every mans
inquirie and cognizance, and wherein the mi&s;carriage of his pen
is obvious unto all. For he that hath not &s;o much policie as <HI>in par|vis
&s;ibi fidem prae&s;truere,</HI> will never get an opportunitie <HI>magn&acirc; mer|cede
fallendi.</HI> And he that will not deale hone&s;tly in the light, who
will tru&s;t in the dark?</P>
<P>I &s;hall not (for the pre&s;ent) in&s;i&s;t upon the refutation of tho&s;e
twelve imputations in his Epi&s;tle to the Reader,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> wherewith he la|bours
to render the <HI>Independents</HI> odious; all and every of which,
(except the fift) are every whit as appliable (as I am able to de|mon&s;trate
in the &s;ight of the Sunne) to his partie, as to the <HI>Inde|pendents,</HI>
and &s;ome of them with farre more truth to the former,
then to the latter. And for that inference which he deduceth from
the fift particular there charged upon the <HI>Independents</HI> (which is
the &s;ting of the charge) as <HI>viz.</HI> that denying <HI>there is any Nationall
Church under the New Te&s;tament, they mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;itie deny one Article
of their Creede, That there is a Catholique Church;</HI> This <HI>Collection</HI>
(I &s;ay) is &s;o <HI>impotent and undige&s;ted,</HI> that <HI>he that runs may reade
Non &s;equitur</HI> written in the face of it.</P>
<P>Nor &s;econdly, do I intend to unbinde or meddle with that <HI>far|rago,</HI>
that bundle of blind learning; I mean, tho&s;e tran&s;criptions
and quotations, fetch'd many (if not mo&s;t) of them, out of the
<HI>darke&s;t times of Popery,</HI> (as him&s;elf &s;omewhere doth little le&s;&s;e then
confe&s;&s;e)<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Pag. 106.</NOTE> which are the bulkie and unweildie part of his di&s;|cour&s;e:
For, <HI>What communion hath light with darkne&s;&s;e?</HI> old ob|&s;olete,
<PB N="3" REF="6">
exolete Records, fetch'd out of <HI>the darke&s;t times of Popery,</HI> are
no <HI>Vrim</HI> and <HI>Thummim,</HI> no Oracles to be con&s;ulted about the mind
of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; no <HI>competent Judges</HI> or Interpreters of the Lawes
and Statutes of Heaven. The &s;aying of <HI>Cyprian</HI> is &s;ea&s;onable upon
this occa&s;ion: <HI>This is not to be e&s;teemed true Antiquity to under&s;tand,
quid hic out ille ante nos fecerit, aut docuerit, &s;ed quid is qui ante
omnes e&s;t Chri&s;tus, &amp;c.</HI> i. <HI>what this or that man did or taught before us,
but what hee did and taught who was before all, even Chri&s;t him&s;elfe,
who only is the way, the Truth, and the life, from who&s;e precepts we ought
not to digre&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cyprian</HI> ad Caecil. lib. 2. Ep. 3.</NOTE>. And be&s;ides, if M^r <HI>Prynnes</HI> hand was no &s;teadier,
in tran&s;cribing the&s;e old matters, then it hath been in &s;ome things
of later date concerning me, his Antiquity it &s;elf may have cau&s;e
enough to complain of being perverted into noveltie.</P>
<P>Nor thirdly, &s;hall I thru&s;t my &s;ickle into my brother <HI>Burtons</HI>
harve&s;t; but leave the latter part of the Di&s;cour&s;e unto him, ei|ther
to neglect, or an&s;wer, as God &s;hall direct him.</P>
<P>But fourthly, (and la&s;tly) I &s;hall briefly acquaint the Reader,
how unworthily my Antagoni&s;t hath dealt by me, (that I &s;ay not
by him&s;elf, and his own Reputation) fir&s;t, by a&s;&s;ertion of untruths;
&s;econdly, by cruell and unrea&s;onable wre&s;tings and torturing of
my words, to make them &s;peak what they never meant; thirdly,
(and la&s;tly) by &s;light and empty replies to things a&s;&s;erted and laid
down by me.</P>
<P><HI>For the fir&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> <HI>he cites my two Sermons (intituled</HI> Theomachia)
<HI>and my</HI> Innocencies Triumph, <HI>as</HI> denying (<HI>hee means di&s;&s;wading</HI>) all
oppo&s;ition in word, deed, or thought again&s;t the Way of Independency,
as a direct fighting again&s;t God<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Ded. p 3. paul&ograve; ab initio.</NOTE>; <HI>which is a mo&s;t notorious untruth;
all that I drive at in the&s;e Di&s;cour&s;es, is to di&s;&s;wade men from</HI> op|po&s;ing
this Way with an high hand, <HI>le&s;t in &s;o doing, men &s;hould</HI>
fight again&s;t God: <HI>there is no &s;uch a&s;&s;ertion as this which M^r</HI> Pryn
<HI>chargeth upon me, nor any neer it, or like unto it, in either of tho&s;e
Tracts. I no where affirm,</HI> all oppo&s;ition to this Way, <HI>whether</HI> in
word, deed, or thought, to be a direct fighting again&s;t God. <HI>Nay,</HI> p. 12.
<HI>of my</HI> Theomachia, <HI>I affirm the quite contrary,</HI> viz. that it is not
every degree or kinde of oppo&s;ing a Way or Doctrine which is from God,
which either the Text or the Doctrine calleth a fighting again&s;t God; but
only &s;uch an oppo&s;ing which is peremptory, and carried on with an high
hand, &amp;c.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="7">
<P>2. He cites my Sermon,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 4.</NOTE> preached <HI>Febr.</HI> 25. 1643. My <HI>Theomachia</HI>
and <HI>Innocencies Triumph,</HI> as holding forth this Po&s;ition, <HI>That every
particular Congregation of vi&s;ible Saints, and Independent Church, is
under the Government of Chri&s;t alone, as the</HI> ONLY <HI>Head, King,
Governour, Law-giver of it; and &s;ubject to</HI> NO OTHER JU|RISDICTION,
<HI>then that of Chri&s;t, his Word and Spirit, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE>
Which conclu&s;ion, though generally held and maintained by
Prote&s;tants again&s;t Papi&s;ts; and in that re&s;pect I need neither
be afraid, nor a&s;hamed to own it; yet if hee can find, or make out
with any tolerable con&s;truction of words and &s;aying, of any, or
all of tho&s;e pieces of mine which he chargeth with it, let Mr <HI>Pryn</HI>
be true, and me the lier. But if otherwi&s;e, <HI>currat lex,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>3. He chargeth me with affirming (in the fore-mentioned Ser|mon)
<HI>that it would be more ea&s;ie for me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 5.</NOTE> <HI>and I &s;hould rather yeeld to be
torn in pieces by wild hor&s;es, then &s;ubmit to &s;uch a Government which
proceeded from a Parliament cho&s;en by the Riffe-raffe of the world,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE> &amp;c.
Never was there an innocent and harmle&s;&s;e expre&s;&s;ion more cruel|ly
and de&s;pitefully handled, &s;ince the world was fir&s;t haunted with
a &s;pirit of unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and untruth. The pa&s;&s;age of mine,
repre&s;ented by M^r <HI>Prynne,</HI> as you have heard, was only this (I &s;hall
go as neer the very words as my be&s;t memory will lead mee; but
the effect and &s;ub&s;tance of the &s;aying I perfectly remember) <HI>It were
as ea&s;ie for mee to be torn in pieces by wild hor&s;es, as to &s;ubmit to any
Church-government what&s;oever, which is not agreeable to the Scriptures,
and minde of Chri&s;t.</HI> But to deny &s;ubjection unto a Government
which &s;hould <HI>proceed from a Parliament, becau&s;e cho&s;en by the Riffe-raffe
of the world</HI> (which terms I mean <HI>the Riffe-raffe of the world,</HI> are &s;up|po&s;itious
too, and none of mine) was &s;o far from my thoughts
in that Sermon, that I expre&s;ly declared, and &s;aid (as &s;everall of
tho&s;e that were examined about the Sermon before the Com|mittee,
there te&s;tified, and I nothing doubt, but to this day, do per|fectly
remember the &s;aying) that <HI>as a Church-government was not
therefore to be received or &s;ubmitted unto, becau&s;e it is injoyn'd by men;
&s;o neither is it therefore to be rejected, becau&s;e it is commanded by men.</HI></P>
<P>4. He cites the fore-mentioned Sermons (called <HI>Theomachia</HI>) as
holding forth this a&s;&s;ertion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 6.</NOTE> <HI>p. 48, 49, 50. that perchance all, or the
greate&s;t part of the Parliament and A&s;&s;embly are not indued with the
&s;anctifying Spirit of God,</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Pag. 156.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> If there be &s;o much as the lea&s;t hint
<PB N="5" REF="7">
or in&s;inuation of any &s;uch matter in any, in all of tho&s;e <HI>pages,</HI> I
&s;hall mi&s;tru&s;t either my eyes, or my <HI>&s;en&s;us communis</HI> for ever. But if
it be otherwi&s;e, M^r. <HI>Prynnes</HI> tongue and pen (as well they de&s;erve)
are like to beare the burthen of this my diffidence.</P>
<P>5. <HI>Hee cites the prementioned,</HI> Theomachia, <HI>with my</HI> two books
&s;ince, <HI>for</HI> crying up the Independent Way, as the very Government, Di&s;ci|pline,
Kingdome and Ordinance and Chri&s;t him&s;elf,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Pag. 134.</NOTE> &amp;c. <HI>whereas,</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, &s;ince the coming out of my <HI>Theomachia,</HI> I had put forth on|ly
one book (and that a very &s;mall one too, and which the violent
and mercile&s;&s;e proceedings of him&s;elf again&s;t mee, extorted from
me,) when this was affirmed and printed by him.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, there is no &s;uch <HI>cry,</HI> as that w^ch his fancie is trou|bled
with, to be heard throughout either the one of tho&s;e books,
or the other. So that here is a double notorious untruth in this quo|tation:
1. <HI>that I had &s;et forth two books, &s;ince my Theomachia: 2. that
in the&s;e two, as al&s;o in my Theomachia, I cryed up the Independent Way,
as the very Government, Di&s;cipline, Kingdome and Ordinance of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>6. Whereas hee avers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 7.</NOTE> that <HI>pending the complaint again&s;t me be|fore
the Committee for plundered Mini&s;ters, for &s;ome Antiparliamentary
pa&s;&s;ages</HI> (&s;o called by him) <HI>with other particulars, I ju&s;tified the &s;aid
pa&s;&s;ages again very un&s;ea&s;onably in the Pulpit on a &s;olemn fir&s;t day, and
likewi&s;e in two printed books, to the one whereof I prefixed my name</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Pag. 106.</NOTE>; the
truth is, fir&s;t, that (if my memory &s;erves me not as ill as Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI>
confidence &s;erveth him) I never <HI>ju&s;tified,</HI> nor medled with tho&s;e <HI>pa&s;|&s;ages</HI>
he &s;peaks of <HI>in the Pulpit,</HI> either <HI>on any &s;olemn fa&s;t day,</HI> or any
other, within that compa&s;&s;e he &s;peaks of: nor &s;econdly, had I ju|&s;tified
them in two books, when M^r. <HI>Pryns</HI> pen avouched it, though
by this time it may be interpreted that I have; nor thirdly, have I
put forth any book &s;ince, to which I have <HI>not prefixed my name;</HI> or
at lea&s;t &s;uffixed it to an Epi&s;tle, if not at large, yet by the initiall
letters of it. Therefore if M^r. <HI>Pryn</HI> implies, that I have publi&s;hed any
book within the time hee &s;peaks of, which I do not publikely own,
he is implicated with a further untruth in &s;uch his implication.</P>
<P>7. Whereas he affirms (with no want of confidence) <HI>that hee
hath el&s;ewhere an&s;wered, and fully refuted</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Pag. 106.</NOTE> <HI>the pa&s;&s;agers afore&s;aid;</HI> what
truth there is in this affirmation, let my la&s;t Di&s;cour&s;e<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Innocency and Truth tri|umphing to|gether.</NOTE> te&s;tifie.
He hath an&s;wered tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages of mine he &s;peaks of, much in
&s;uch a &s;en&s;e, and after &s;uch a manner, as M^r. <HI>Walker</HI> and M^r. <HI>Ro|burrough,</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="8">
have an&s;wered my <HI>Socinian</HI> errors: which <HI>An&s;wers</HI> hee
advi&s;eth his Reader to &s;ee (<HI>p.</HI> 109. in the margent) but tells him
not where they are to be <HI>&s;een.</HI></P>
<P>8. Whereas he chargeth me in my <HI>Innocencies Triumph</HI> (quarrel|ling
with the very title,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 8.</NOTE> as if it were unfit, and he unwilling that
<HI>Innocency</HI> &s;hould <HI>triumph</HI>) with <HI>denying tho&s;e very matters of fact which
I voluntarily confe&s;&s;ed in his hearing before the Committee</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Pag. 107. paulo ante me|dium.</NOTE>, <HI>for which
I was &s;eque&s;tred;</HI> the truth is, that there is no truth at all in this
his allegation or charge. For, fir&s;t, I am certain, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t
was pre&s;ent at the Committee, as well as M^r. <HI>Prynne;</HI> and certain I
am that in his hearing (which is every whit as good as M^r. <HI>Pryns</HI>)
I confe&s;&s;ed nothing there, which is denyed by me in my <HI>Innocencies
Triumph.</HI> I neither <HI>confe&s;&s;ed</HI> that <HI>I neglected my pari&s;hioners,</HI> nor that
<HI>I &s;eldome preached unto them,</HI> nor <HI>that I pre&s;cribe a Covenant to my In|dependent
Congregation, with in &s;tead of my pari&s;hioners I have gathered
to my &s;elf, before they be admitted;</HI> nor that <HI>I receive tithes of my pa|ri&s;hioners</HI>
in any other way, or after any other manner, then as I
declare and expre&s;&s;e in my &s;aid book. If I had <HI>confe&s;&s;ed any of the&s;e
things, either before the Committee,</HI> or any others, I had been of M^r.
<HI>Prynnes</HI> confederacie again&s;t mine own innocencie, and the truth.
But what I did <HI>confe&s;&s;e before the Committee,</HI> I confe&s;&s;e as plainly in
my <HI>Innocencies Triumph;</HI> as <HI>viz.</HI> fir&s;t, <HI>that I had refu&s;ed to baptize &s;ome
children of my pari&s;hioners</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Innocencies Triumph. <HI>p.</HI> 18. 19.</NOTE>. Secondly, <HI>that I had not admini&s;tred the
Sacrament to my Pari&s;h for &s;ome moneths</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE>. Again, &s;econdly, where|as
he &s;aith that <HI>I was &s;eque&s;tred</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE> by the Committee, for the mat|ters
before mentioned, and <HI>denyed by mee in my Innocencies Triumph,</HI>
in this hee a&s;per&s;eth the honourable Committee every whit as
much (if not more) then mee. For (doubtle&s;&s;e) it no way &s;tands
with their honour to <HI>&s;eque&s;ter</HI> a man for that which was never
done by him. Nor thirdly, do I know whether I may take Mr.
<HI>Prynnes</HI> word (it is now grown &s;o un&s;table) that I am <HI>&s;u&s;pended,
cen&s;ured,</HI> or <HI>&s;eque&s;tred</HI> by the Committee, either for the one thing, or
the other; and be&s;ides, a friend of mine, inquiring of &s;ome that are
Members of the &s;aid Committee concerning that &s;u&s;pen&s;ion or &s;e|que&s;tration
which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> &s;peaks of, received this an&s;wer from
them, that they knew no &s;uch thing. I &s;uppo&s;e it is not ordinary,
that a &s;entence or cen&s;ure &s;hould pa&s;&s;e in a Court of Ju&s;tice again&s;t
any man, and hee not to have any knowledge of it for &s;everall
<PB N="7" REF="8">
moneths together: but if it be &s;o, Gods will, and Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> wi&s;h,
(<HI>Fiat Ju&s;titia</HI>) in Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> &s;en&s;e, are fulfilled together.</P>
<P>9. He is not a&s;hamed to avouch,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 9.</NOTE> that <HI>I publi&s;h my brain-&s;ick jea|lou&s;ies
and &s;u&s;picions of the Parliament behind their backs in open Pul|pit,
and then to the whole world in print</HI> (a &s;trange mi&s;demeanor in|deed,
and more mon&s;trous and incredible, then ever committed
by the <HI>VERY Pope or Turk him&s;elf, or the great Antichri&s;t, or the
Arch-Prelate, or Oxford Aulicus, or the mo&s;t venemous Malignant,</HI> that
a man &s;hould doe that <HI>behind mens back,</HI> which he doth <HI>in print to
the whole world) of purpo&s;e to make my Auditors, Readers, jealous of
them, as men who invaded the very incommunicable royalties and privi|ledges
of Heaven</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 108. Circ&agrave; medium.</NOTE>: Whereas the God of Heaven, who knows my
<HI>purpo&s;e</HI> and intent in tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages (as in all my actions be&s;ides)
much better then Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> knows the contrary; and that my
purpo&s;e therein was &s;ingly and &s;imply, and with all faithfulne&s;&s;e,
as becomes a Mini&s;ter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to caution tho&s;e worthy per|&s;ons
of honor and tru&s;t, again&s;t that &s;nare of &s;inning again&s;t God,
into which great places of power and intere&s;t in the world are apt
to lead men before they are aware.</P>
<P>10. He chargeth my <HI>late Sermons and Pamphlets to have kindled
&s;uch unhappie flames of contention in our Church and State,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 10.</NOTE> <HI>as all the
teares of Repentance which I may &s;hed, will not be &s;ufficient to quench.</HI>
For my part I know of no &s;uch, I heare of no &s;uch, I know no
cau&s;e why I &s;hould imagine that any &s;uch <HI>unhappie flames</HI> as he
&s;peaks of, &s;hould be <HI>kindled</HI> by any of my <HI>Sermons</HI> or writings.
I have much more rea&s;on to conceive and think, that Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI>
writings charge mine with <HI>kindling flames of contention,</HI> much af|ter
the &s;ame manner, and upon the &s;ame terms, that one charged
<HI>Eliah</HI> with being the <HI>troubler of I&s;rael</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">1 King. 18. 17.</NOTE>: and that mine may re|charge
his, as the Prophet did that King<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">1 King. 18. 18.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>11. Whereas he further chargeth me,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 11.</NOTE> that in my <HI>Innocencies
Triumph, I &s;lander the Parliament more then before, and &s;hew my &s;elf a
man de&s;pi&s;ing Government (at lea&s;t any Church-Government the Parlia|ment
&s;hall e&s;tabli&s;h not &s;utable to my fancy) &s;elf-willed, and even &s;peaking
evill of Dignities, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 110. Circ&agrave; medium.</NOTE>; The truth is, that there is far more <HI>&s;lander</HI>
in the charge, then in the crime: the be&s;t is, that that book is open
before the world, to &s;ee and judge whether therebe, I doe not &s;ay
any a&s;per&s;ion of <HI>&s;lander,</HI> but &s;o much as the lea&s;t touch or tincture
<PB N="8" REF="9">
of any thing di&s;honourable to the Parliament, or to any <HI>Govern|ment</HI>
or <HI>Dignitie</HI> what&s;oever, <HI>becau&s;e not &s;utable to my fancie.</HI></P>
<P>12. Whereas he in&s;inuates a guilt upon me of <HI>Socinian errors</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 109. Paul&ograve; po&s;t ini|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4 letters">.</NOTE>,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 12.</NOTE>
and in his margent invites his Reader <HI>to &s;ee Mr. Walkers and Mr.
Roburroughs an&s;wers to them;</HI> the truth is, that in the <HI>An&s;wers</HI> he
&s;peaks of, his Reader may &s;ee and finde mi&s;takes of my opinion,
and confutations of tho&s;e mi&s;takes, as &s;ub&s;tantially managed as
want of apprehen&s;ion of my thoughts, and &s;omewhat el&s;e, was able
to manage &s;uch an enterprize: but for any <HI>Socinian errors</HI> of mine,
they are onely to be &s;eene in &s;uch books as were never written:
and then where the An&s;wers to them are to be <HI>&s;eene,</HI> remaines yet
as matter of further inquirie for Mr. <HI>Prynne.</HI></P>
<P><HI>For the &s;econd head propounded,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 13.</NOTE> <HI>the unrea&s;onable wre&s;ting,
torturing, and tormenting of my words, I &s;hall chiefly in&s;i&s;t upon
his paraphra&s;e upon that pa&s;&s;age, recited (in part) by him,</HI> p. 107.
(<HI>but mi&s;-cited in the margent, as touching the</HI> page, <HI>where it &s;tands
in my book). The tenor of the Pa&s;&s;age in this;</HI> If I have denyed the
lea&s;t dram or &s;cruple of that power which is truly Parliamentary, and
con&s;i&s;tent with the word of the great and glorious God (of which mi&s;de|meanor
I am not in the lea&s;t mea&s;ure con&s;cious unto my &s;elf as yet) I mo&s;t
&s;eriou&s;ly and &s;olemnly profe&s;&s;e in the pre&s;ence of this God (my con&s;cience
bearing me witne&s;s in the Holy Gho&s;t that I lie not) that I did it out of a
loving, tender and affectionate jealou&s;ie over the Parliament, le&s;t po&s;&s;ibly
they might da&s;h their foote again&s;t that &s;tone, by which all Rule and all
Authoritie and power will one day be broken in pieces. So that if either
my tongue or pen have in the lea&s;t mi&s;carried, it was, <HI>Error amoris,</HI>
not <HI>amor erroris,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>You have heard the text: and if you have
any mind to &s;ee darkne&s;&s;e brought out of light, hearken to the In|terpretation.</HI></P>
<P><HI>But good Sir</HI> (&s;aith this Intepreter, one, I may &s;ay of twentie
thou&s;and) <HI>can any rationall man think (though you &s;hould prote&s;t it ten
thou&s;and times over) that &s;uch Anti-Parliamentary pa&s;&s;ages as yours are,
&s;hould proceed from your love to the Parliament?</HI> Suppo&s;e the <HI>pa&s;&s;ages</HI> he
&s;peaks of were <HI>Anti-Parliaentary</HI> (an a&s;per&s;ion I conceive fully at|toned
in the foregoing di&s;cour&s;e) yet is it &s;o highly irrationall to
conceive they &s;hould <HI>proceed from love to the Parliament,</HI> (e&s;pecially
upon ten thou&s;and Affidavits made for it) that it mu&s;t be made
matter of a doubtfull di&s;putation, whether it be <HI>po&s;&s;ible</HI> for <HI>a ratio|nall
<PB N="9" REF="9">
man</HI> &s;o to think or conceive? Did Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> never heare of a
veine of people, who did <HI>bona animo mal&egrave; precaris,</HI> wi&s;h that which
was hurtfull to their friends, out of good affection towards them?
<HI>Seneca</HI> (I am certain) &s;peaks of &s;uch. And God him&s;elf is &s;aid to
have <HI>te&s;tified things again&s;t his people</HI> (as the former <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> tran&s;la|tion,
and <HI>Junius</HI> out of the Originall reads the place, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32. 46.)
Cannot a rationall man conceive that the&s;e things might proceed
from love and good affection in God towards this people, becau&s;e
they were <HI>again&s;t them?</HI> I cannot but think that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> him&s;elf
hath been <HI>Anti-Parliamentary,</HI> I meane, hath done &s;ome things,
(if not many) in their natures at lea&s;t, if not in their fruits and ef|fects,
prejudiciall to the honour and &s;afety of the Parliament, as
(by name) in repre&s;enting their cordiall Friends (as &s;ometimes his
con&s;cience, or &s;omething el&s;e prevailes with him to call them<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Though for the mo&s;t part really cordiall in their affe|ctions, actions to the Par|liament and Church of <HI>England</HI> (&s;pea|king of <HI>Inde|pendents</HI>) E|pi&s;t. Dedic. <HI>Circa initium.</HI></NOTE>)
unto them as di&s;-affected unto them, and <HI>as acting, and that &s;ucce&s;|&s;ively
again&s;t their juri&s;diction more de&s;perately then the wor&s;t Malig|nant,
Royali&s;t, Cavalier, on the Arch-Prelate him&s;elf</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 107. Circa finem.</NOTE>). Doubtle&s;&s;e,
&s;uch a practi&s;e as this, is in the nature and tendency of it very di&s;|&s;erviceable
to the Parliament; as making &s;ad (and &s;o indi&s;po&s;ing)
the hearts of tho&s;e, who&s;e inclinations otherwi&s;e &s;tand ready bent
with all chearfulne&s;s, to &s;erve the Parliament with all their &s;trength
and all their power, as (ble&s;&s;ed be God) they are re&s;olved to doe;
after the example of Chri&s;t, who continued &s;till to ca&s;t out Devils,
though repre&s;ented by the Phari&s;ees unto the people, as dealing by
<HI>Beelzebub</HI> the Prince of the Devils, in ca&s;ting them out. Compare
<HI>Mat.</HI> 9. 34. with <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. 22. &amp;c. So againe by repre&s;enting unto
them as peaceable, innocent and harmle&s;&s;e a generation of men, as
the land beares any, yea, per&s;ons as deeply and dearly devoted un|to,
of as high and honourable endeavours to promote the publick
peace both of Church and State, as tho&s;e that are <HI>extremely deroga|tory
and de&s;tructive unto both, yea, and great di&s;turbers of our Peace and
unitie</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. Dedic.</HI> Paulo po&s;t ini|tium</NOTE>. Yet againe when he infu&s;eth &s;uch notions and principles
<HI>into Kings, Magi&s;trates, highe&s;t civill powers,</HI> as this, that <HI>Chri&s;t hath
delegated his Kingly power unto them, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Full Reply.</HI> p. 7. Circ&agrave; ini|tium.</NOTE>. he &s;preads &s;nares of death
in their way, and tempts them to think higher thoughts of them|&s;elves
then He that is higher then the highe&s;t of them will beare.
Now however in the&s;e and &s;everall other things of like con&s;idera|tion
(which are ready too for in&s;tance) I ab&s;olutely conceive him
<PB N="10" REF="10">
to be very whit (yea, and much more) <HI>Anti-Parliamentarie,</HI> then
ever I have been in any pa&s;&s;ages what&s;oever, whether from my
tongue or pen; yet doe I not think but that I may very lawfully,
and without tre&s;pa&s;&s;ing upon the reputation of my rea&s;on, conceive
and think, that he did both the one and the other of the things
mentioned, <HI>out of love to the Parliament.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 14.</NOTE> The honey of the fore&s;aid pa&s;&s;age, by rea&s;on of an
ill dige&s;tion in his &s;tomach, breeds this cholerick argumentation:
<HI>If this proceeded from &s;uch affectionate jealou&s;ie over the Parliament, I
pray what made you &s;o &s;trangely, if not malignantly, jealous over them,
as to feare and pre&s;ume they might da&s;h their foote again&s;t that &s;tone,
which, &amp;c.</HI> Good Sir, let me &s;eriou&s;ly intreat you to be more <HI>jea|lous</HI>
over your pen for the time to come, and &s;ee to it, that in re|peating
and arguing mens words and &s;ayings, it deale more ho|ne&s;tly,
then to adulterate and imba&s;e them, as you doe both here
and el&s;ewhere in this di&s;cour&s;e. Doe I any where &s;ay that either I
<HI>feare,</HI> or <HI>pre&s;ume</HI> the Parliament might da&s;h their foote again&s;t the
&s;tone &s;poken of? Why then doe you repre&s;ent me <HI>&s;o &s;trangely, if not
malignantly, jealous over them,</HI> as to do both, both <HI>feare</HI> and <HI>pre&s;ume?</HI>
I confe&s;&s;e, I &s;hould be very <HI>&s;trangely jealous,</HI> or (however) very
<HI>&s;trangely</HI> affected in one kinde or other, both to <HI>feare</HI> and <HI>pre&s;ume</HI>
in re&s;pect of one and the &s;ame thing, as you <HI>feare</HI> not, but <HI>pre&s;ume</HI>
to &s;ay here that I doe. You find out I know not how many &s;ignifi|cations
(I beleeve more then ever any man did before you) of the
word <HI>Pre&s;ume,</HI> p. 109. to &s;alve the reputation of your pen in char|ging
me to have done that <HI>pre&s;umtuou&s;ly,</HI> which I never did at all,
or at mo&s;t very ignorantly; but is there any one among&s;t them all,
that is able to reconcile <HI>PRESVMPTION</HI> and <HI>FEARE,</HI> and
make them draw together in the &s;ame yoke? But this by the way.
Onely this I de&s;ire you would candidly account unto me, why you
tran&s;late my expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Le&s;t po&s;&s;ibly they might da&s;h,</HI> by <HI>fearing and
pre&s;uming they might da&s;h.</HI> I be&s;eech you deale ingenou&s;ly with your
&s;elf and me: is there not farre more <HI>malignancie</HI> in the interpreta|tion,
then in the text? or did you not &s;traine the <HI>roote</HI> overhard,
to make &s;uch an <HI>extraction</HI> as this out of it? Nay, out of the vehe|mencie
of your intention to make an unchri&s;tian advantage of your
Brothers words, did you not almo&s;t forget the proprietie of your
owne? I conceive I &s;hould &s;peak much beneath the line of Mr.
<PB N="11" REF="10">
<HI>Prynnes</HI> reputation for a Scholar, if I &s;hould expre&s;&s;e my &s;elf thus;
I <HI>feare and pre&s;ume</HI> that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> might doe that which is very
po&s;&s;ible for any man to doe. An Engli&s;h care any thing well pala|ted,
would find no plea&s;ant ta&s;te in &s;uch words.</P>
<P>But let us give Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> the libertie of an Interpreter or Tran|&s;lator,
who is not bound <HI>Verbum verbo reddere</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus Interpres. <HI>Hor. de Art.</HI></NOTE>,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 15.</NOTE> and accept of his
&s;ub&s;titues, <HI>pre&s;umption</HI> and <HI>feare;</HI> is either a <HI>feare,</HI> or a <HI>pre&s;umption</HI>
(or both) that a <HI>Parliament might,</HI> or may, <HI>da&s;h their foote again&s;t
that &s;tone</HI> I &s;peak of, any demon&s;tration or argument at all of &s;o
<HI>&s;trange a jealou&s;ie</HI> as he &s;peaks of, and which he is at a &s;tand with
him&s;elf, whether he &s;hould not call <HI>malignant?</HI> If any of the other
Apo&s;tles had <HI>feared</HI> or <HI>pre&s;umed,</HI> that <HI>Peter po&s;&s;ibly</HI> might fall (as he
did) by denying his Ma&s;ter, (as they had rea&s;on enough to have
done, in re&s;pect of that humane frailtie whereof the be&s;t men are
partakers, and <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elf was with the re&s;t) and had dealt lo|vingly
and faithfully with him to have kept him upright, by cauti|on,
coun&s;ell, or advice; had this been any argument at all, or &s;o
much as a colour of any &s;uch <HI>jealou&s;ie</HI> in them, which &s;hould have
carried in it any touch of <HI>malignancie</HI> towards him? When <HI>Paul
feared</HI> in the behalf of the <HI>Corinthians, Le&s;t by any means, as the Ser|pent
beguiled Eve through his &s;ubtiltie, &s;o their minds &s;hould be corrupted
from the &s;implicitie that is in Chri&s;t</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11. 3.</NOTE>; was this &s;o <HI>&s;trange a jealou&s;ie</HI>
over them? Indeed him&s;elf calls it <HI>a godly jealou&s;ie</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Ver. 2.</NOTE>: and in &s;uch a
&s;en&s;e, as <HI>godline&s;&s;e</HI> is <HI>&s;trange</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8.</NOTE> in the world, let Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> vote my
<HI>jealou&s;ie over the Parliament, STRANGE;</HI> and then he &s;hall be eas'd
of his &s;cruple, whether he &s;hould call it <HI>malignant,</HI> or no. But <HI>jacta
alea e&s;t;</HI> and he intends not to make a &s;tand here, but advanceth
thus.</P>
<P>Did the Parliament ever give you the lea&s;t colour or occa&s;ion of &s;uch
uncharitable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 16.</NOTE> unchri&s;tian, that I &s;ay not dete&s;table, jealou&s;ie? Could you
have harder or more jealous thoughts then the&s;e of the very Pope or Turk
him&s;elf, or of that Great Antichri&s;t, who exalts him&s;elf above all that is
called God? Can &s;uch jealou&s;ies as the&s;e i&s;&s;ue from any, but from a ranco|rous
or di&s;-affected heart towards the Parliament? or did ever &s;uch exe|crable
jealou&s;ies as the&s;e proceed from the heart, tongue, much le&s;&s;e the pen
of any Oxford Aulicus, or mo&s;t venomous Malignant to our Parliament?
<HI>The &s;traine of eloquence in the&s;e pa&s;&s;ages, may be thought above
the line of Mr.</HI> Prynnes <HI>Rhetorique;</HI> nor can I beleeve but that he
<PB N="12" REF="11">
had &s;ome &s;upernaturall a&s;&s;i&s;tance in the rai&s;ing and compo&s;ure of
them. And therefore whereas others (it's like) will be apt to cen|&s;ure
him more for a few &s;uch lines as the&s;e, then for many others
of a &s;ofter temper, and more plau&s;ible allay; I on the contrary,
can better beare with him in the&s;e, and be content to pa&s;&s;e by and
&s;pare him, as our Saviour &s;pared <HI>Peter,</HI> when he rebuked Satan in
his &s;tead<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. 23.</NOTE>. But did I know that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> would not accept of
this purgation, but when recovered out of that Tartarean Ec&s;ta&s;ie,
wherein he &s;pake this dialect of Dragons, would &s;till &s;tand by and
owne tho&s;e ebullitions of bloud, as the naturall and genuine pro|ductions
and fruit of his pen; I &s;hould hardly refraine from ta|king
a &s;olemne vow and prote&s;tation upon me in the &s;ight of God,
Angels, and men, never more to have to doe with him in word or
deed, at lea&s;t untill he repented, and turn'd Chri&s;tian. Well might
the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> pray to be <HI>delivered from unrea&s;onable men</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 3. 2.</NOTE>: They
that neither make u&s;e of their <HI>rea&s;on</HI> nor goodne&s;&s;e, (or charitie)
dwell in &s;uch a darkne&s;s which is inacce&s;&s;ible to all principles both
of Nature and Grace. For the pre&s;ent, though I think it not meet
for me &s;o far to di&s;-intere&s;&s;e my &s;elf of my libertie to comply with
&s;uch opportunities from Heaven, which may po&s;&s;ibly and unex|pectedly
come in my way, as ab&s;olutely to abjure all commerce with
him by pen; yet this I profe&s;&s;e, that I am as neere the brow of &s;uch
a re&s;olution, as ever I can goe without falling into it. From hence|forth
I &s;hall give Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> leave to write &s;tormes and tempe&s;ts,
whirlwinds and earth-quakes, thundering and lightning, mill|&s;tones
and mountains, (or if his pen knows how to utter it &s;elf in
any thing more formidable then the&s;e) better cheap, then hitherto
I have done: I &s;ee there is no <HI>mercy with him;</HI> and therefore I <HI>&s;hall
not feare him;</HI> no, nor in the mind I am in for the pre&s;ent, ever look
after him in his writings more, this an&s;wer fini&s;hed. But to his
lines (or, who&s;e-ever they be).</P>
<P>Fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 17.</NOTE> Doth Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> think that he is heire to that Laurell
which was long &s;ince wreath'd for the head of <HI>Socrates,</HI> reputed in
his dayes the Grand-Matter of wi&s;dome in the world;
<Q>Tanquam umbrae velitant alii; &s;olus &s;apit i&s;te?</Q>
Other men generally as well learned and Scholars by profe&s;&s;ion, as
others, yea, even tho&s;e in who&s;e affections neither my per&s;on nor
<PB N="13" REF="11">
cau&s;e were any wayes intere&s;&s;ed, gave te&s;timony to my <HI>Innocencies
Triumph</HI> (and con&s;equently to that pa&s;&s;age al&s;o &s;o cruelly handled
by Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>) as moderately and inoffen&s;ively written: onely
Mr. <HI>Prynne,</HI> as if his eyes were given him to condemne all the world
be&s;ides of blindne&s;&s;e, e&s;pies Bears and Tygers, Lyons and Dragons,
where other men &s;aw nothing but doves and &s;heep; di&s;covers <HI>fa|natique
jealou&s;ies, rancourou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>di&s;-affection of heart, execrable|ne&s;&s;e
of jealou&s;ies, Oxfordian Aulici&s;me, venomou&s;ne&s;&s;e of malignancie,</HI>
and I know not how many other &s;trains of mo&s;t portentuous and
hideous outrage <HI>again&s;t the Parliament,</HI> where no man be&s;ides him|&s;elf
either &s;aw or could &s;ee, any jot, tittle, letter, &s;yllable, word, or
&s;entence, but what both was and is of the faire&s;t con&s;i&s;tencie with
the honour, dignity, peace and &s;afety of the <HI>Parliament.</HI></P>
<P>But &s;econdly, how irrationall and weak is that demand of his;
<HI>Did the Parliament ever give you the lea&s;t colour or occa&s;ion of any &s;uch
uncharitable, unchri&s;tian, that I &s;ay not dete&s;table jealou&s;ie?</HI> as if to
feare, or think it <HI>po&s;&s;ible</HI> that men might be men, that is, do weak|ly
or unworthily, <HI>were an uncharitable, unchri&s;tian, dete&s;table, exe|crable
jealou&s;ie</HI> over them; Or, as if there were not ground and
rea&s;on enough, yea, and more then enough, in the very natures of
the be&s;t and holie&s;t of men, to judge that they may very <HI>po&s;&s;ibly</HI>
mi&s;carry, and that dangerou&s;ly, unle&s;&s;e they &s;hould adde <HI>ex &s;uper|abundanti,</HI>
&s;uch per&s;onall irregularities, as might further pre&s;age
their future falls, I wonder what Epithet or Name Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> will
find for that jealou&s;ie of an ancient Father over Kings, out of which
he uttered this &s;aying: <HI>Miror &s;i aliquis Rex &s;alvahitur;</HI> I wonder
that any King &s;hould ever be &s;aved. If &s;o be &s;uch a jealou&s;ie over
them, which only conceiveth a <HI>po&s;&s;ibility</HI> of their peri&s;hing, be <HI>un|charitable,
unchri&s;tian, dete&s;table exeorable;</HI> of what cen&s;ure is that
<HI>jealou&s;ie</HI> worthy of, which makes it matter of admiration that
any of them &s;hould be &s;aved? Con&s;idering that there hath &s;carce
(if at all) been any Councel or Synod &s;ince the Apo&s;tles dayes, but
which hath mi&s;carried and heterodogmatiz'd, more or le&s;&s;e; would
it be <HI>my uncharitable, unchri&s;tian, dete&s;table, execrable jealou&s;ie</HI> over
any Synod or Councel now fitting, to think that they al&s;o might
<HI>po&s;&s;ibly</HI> mi&s;carrie, unle&s;&s;e they gave &s;ome particular and &s;peciall oc|ca&s;ion
&s;o to think and conceive of them?</P>
<P><HI>But my Adver&s;arie hath not yet fini&s;hed his &s;evere Commenta|ries<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 19. M^r. Pryn, p. 108</NOTE>
<PB N="14" REF="12">
upon his gentle and harmle&s;&s;e Text; his pen moves forward
thus:</HI> Had you had any ju&s;t cau&s;e of &s;uch a jealou&s;ie, yet it had been
your duty privately to have informed your friends in Parliament with
it in a Brotherly Chri&s;tian way: but to publi&s;h the&s;e your brain-&s;ick
jealou&s;ies of them behinde their backs in open Pulpit, and then to the
whole world in print, of purpo&s;e to make your Auditors, Readers, jealous of
them, as tho&s;e who invaded the incommunicable Royalties and Priviledges
of Heaven, &amp;c. &mdash;or to defame or draw an odium or contempt upon them,
and prepare the people beforehand to oppo&s;e or reject what&s;oever Church-government
they &s;hall e&s;tabli&s;h, &amp;c. &mdash;is &s;uch a tran&s;cendent crime and
high affront again&s;t the Parliament, as you are never able to expiate:
and is &s;o far from extenieating, that it aggravates your former offences
beyond expre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, fir&s;t, that how&s;oever by rea&s;on of my yeeres, profe&s;|&s;ion,
and tenour of &s;tudies, it is (I confe&s;&s;e) a &s;hame to me, that I
&s;hould not be as able to teach M^r. <HI>Prynne</HI> his <HI>duty,</HI> as (it &s;eems) he
is to teach mee mine; yet glad and willing &s;hall I be to receive in|&s;truction,
were it from a far meaner hand then M^r. <HI>Prynnes,</HI> in any
thing that becomes me in a way of dutie to do. But,</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 20.</NOTE> whereas the tenour of his In&s;truction to me is this,
that <HI>it had been my duty privately to have informed my friends in Par|liament
with it in a Chri&s;tian Brotherly way;</HI> I perceive hee hath
heard of dealing with his friends in <HI>a Way</HI> which well becomes
him, as well as it doth mee; I mean, that which is <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> and
<HI>Brotherly.</HI> But it &s;eems, hee that <HI>teacheth another,</HI> doth not al|wayes
<HI>teach him&s;elf.</HI> For &s;ince <HI>the mountains were brought forth</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 90 2.</NOTE>
<HI>and &s;ettled</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Prov. 8. 25.</NOTE>, it may very probably be thought, that there was
never any &s;on of <HI>Adam,</HI> who&s;e pen made a broader digre&s;&s;ion from
that <HI>Chri&s;tian Brotherly way</HI> he &s;peaks of, then his own. For look
as low as the Earth is beneath the heavens; &s;o far is M^r. <HI>Prynnes
Way</HI> of dealing with his friends, beneath that which is <HI>Chri&s;tian
and Brotherly.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 21.</NOTE> whereas he conceives it had <HI>been my duty to have in|formed
my friends privately</HI> of what I preached and printed pub|likely
in the premi&s;&s;es; I conceive it had been his <HI>duty</HI> to have un|der&s;tood
him&s;elf better in the point, before hee had taken the
Chaire. For fir&s;t, the greate&s;t part of the things which I either
preached or printed in the premi&s;&s;es, concern'd only or chiefly
<PB N="15" REF="12">
tho&s;e to whom I preach'd, and the generalitie of men to whom
I printed, not the Parliament. That it is a terrible and mo&s;t
dreadfull thing for men <HI>to be found fighters again&s;t God,</HI> that it
is better and more righteous to obey God then men; that men
in great places, men of great parts, learning, and Grace, may
po&s;&s;ibly erre, and <HI>de facto</HI> have err'd from time to time, with &s;ome
few particulars more of like con&s;ideration (which are the &s;ub|&s;tance
of what was either preached or printed by mee in the pre|mi&s;&s;es)
are Doctrines of equall (if not of &s;uperiour) concern|ment
to the generalitie of the people, with the Parliament. As
for that pa&s;&s;age in my <HI>Innocencies Triumph,</HI> wherein I mention my
<HI>tender and affectionate jealou&s;ie over the Parliament, &amp;c.</HI> (the pa&s;&s;age
&s;o tenter'd, tortur'd and tormented by the evill &s;pirit which &s;o
much haunts M^r. <HI>Prynnes</HI> pen) it was occa&s;ioned (indeed nece&s;|&s;itated)
by his own mo&s;t unrea&s;onable, bloody, and importune
&s;ugge&s;tions, clamours and in&s;tigations of authoritie again&s;t mee:
in regard of which I had no other cour&s;e but to give a faire
and reall account out of what principle and motive (in reference
to the Parliament) I &s;pake &s;uch and &s;uch things, which were mo&s;t
unchri&s;tianly handled and mi&s;u&s;ed by his pen. Now then to
whi&s;per tho&s;e things in the eares only of a few, the knowledge
whereof concernes &s;o many thou&s;ands, is not <HI>the duty,</HI> but an high
prevarication of the <HI>duty</HI> of a Mini&s;ter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Secondly,
neither doth he know whether the Doctrines &s;o much que&s;tioned
and quarrelled by him, did, or do &s;o particularly concern <HI>my
friends</HI> in Parliament (by <HI>my friends,</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e hee means my
acquaintance: for otherwi&s;e I tru&s;t the whole number of that ho|nourable
A&s;&s;embly are <HI>my friends;</HI> at lea&s;t I know no cau&s;e but
why they &s;hould) as many other members of this A&s;&s;embly. If &s;o,
his ignorance in &s;uch a circum&s;tance as this, plainly proves that he
hath here <HI>prophe&s;ied</HI> above <HI>the analogie or proportion of</HI> his <HI>Faith</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.</NOTE>;
and con&s;equently, (even in his own notion of the word<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Pag. 109. paul&ograve; ante me|dium.</NOTE>) hath
done it <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY.</HI> Yea, thirdly, how doth
he know but that I did prevent the admonition or reproof of his
pen, by doing the very <HI>duty,</HI> for the neglect whereof I am &s;o deep|ly
cen&s;ured by him. I pre&s;ume that my acquaintance <HI>in the Parlia|ment</HI>
have not communicated unto him all things that have pa&s;|&s;ed
between me and them; therefore his ignorance in this parti|cular
<PB N="16" REF="13">
al&s;o, proves him (according to the re&s;pon&s;all of his own
Oracle, even now intimated) to have been &s;omewhat <HI>PRE|SVMPTVOVS</HI>
in his charge of neglect of <HI>Duty</HI> in mee.
Fourthly, and la&s;tly, there being nothing in the particulars ex|cepted
again&s;t, either <HI>preached or printed</HI> by mee, which in the
judgement of any indifferent or Chri&s;tian-&s;pirited man, is of any
hard or di&s;paraging reflexion either upon any particular per|&s;on
in the honourable A&s;&s;embly of Parliament, or upon this
A&s;&s;embly it &s;elf, there could be nothing in the publi&s;hing of them,
whether by <HI>preaching</HI> or <HI>printing,</HI> any wayes repugnant to any <HI>duty</HI>
lying upon me.</P>
<P>That which followes in the late tran&s;cribed pa&s;&s;age,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 22.</NOTE> as that
<HI>I publi&s;h my brain-&s;ick jealou&s;ies and &s;u&s;picions again&s;t them behind
their backs, of purpo&s;e to make my Auditors, Readers jealous of them,
as men who invaded,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>or to defame or draw an odium or contempt
upon them, to prepare the people before-hand to oppo&s;e or reject, what|&s;oever,
&amp;c.</HI> the&s;e things (I &s;ay) with many others of like calculati|on,
both in this and many other of his writings, are but the rea|&s;onle&s;&s;e
<HI>pre&s;umptions</HI> of his exa&s;perated, tran&s;ported, unchri&s;tiani|zed
&s;pirit, over-heat (it may be) with his <HI>nocturnall lucubrations,</HI>
and in part occa&s;ioned by the fuliginous vapors breathing &s;till up|on
him from his lamp; and in this regard, I judge them unwor|thy
to have <HI>day-light</HI> be&s;towed upon them for their refutation.
Hee talks of my <HI>brain-&s;ick jealou&s;ies and &s;u&s;picions;</HI> but the&s;e are
more then <HI>brain-&s;ick,</HI> even <HI>brain-dead</HI> calumniations and &s;lan|ders;
ten degrees (to &s;peak in his own language) more <HI>unchri&s;tian,
uncharitable, dete&s;table, execrable,</HI> then any (even the wor&s;t of) <HI>jea|lou&s;ies</HI>
or &s;u&s;picions what&s;oever. If he would but authorize mee to
rea&s;on after the rate of his Logique in rai&s;ing conclu&s;ions from his
premi&s;&s;es, I could prove (according to the tenor of &s;uch authori|tie)
that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> hath written again&s;t the Congregationall
Way, hath repre&s;ented tho&s;e that walk in it as <HI>extremely deroga|tory
and de&s;tructive both unto the Parliament and Church of Eng|lend</HI>
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Dedic. non long&egrave; ab mitio.</NOTE>, <HI>as great di&s;turbers of our publique peace and unity</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE>; hath &s;lan|dered
them in their &s;pirits, principles, practices, over and over<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> to the Reader, all mo&s;t through|out, and el&s;e|where in &s;eve|rall other of his writings, as his ful <HI>Re|ply,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE>;
hath <HI>pre&s;umptuou&s;ly</HI> attempted to infu&s;e &s;uch dangerous principles
as the&s;e into <HI>Kings, Magi&s;trates, and highe&s;t civill powers, that they
are Chri&s;ts Sub&s;titutes, Vicars, in point of Government</HI> (Church-government
<PB N="17" REF="13">
hee &s;peaks of<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Full Reply <HI>pag.</HI> 7.</NOTE>) that <HI>Chri&s;t hath delegated his King|ly
power unto them</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ibidem.</NOTE>, that <HI>it may pa&s;&s;e as tolerable, that Chri&s;t is King
alone over his Churches in matters of Faith,</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Full Reply</HI> p. 6. prop&egrave; fi|nem.</NOTE> &amp;c. with many others
of like undue in&s;inuation; I could prove (I &s;ay) by the Commi&s;|&s;ion
afore&s;aid, that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> hath done all the&s;e things <HI>on pur|po&s;e
to de&s;pite the Spirit of God,</HI> to defame the Go&s;pel, to make
the Wayes of godline&s;&s;e and Religion hatefull unto the world, to
increa&s;e divi&s;ions, to multiply di&s;tractions, to bring a &s;nare and
evill day upon the Parliament, to expo&s;e the whole Kingdome
to utter ruine and de&s;truction. Yea, the truth is, that there is a far
more rationall connexion between the premi&s;es la&s;t mentioned
from M^r. P<HI>ryn's</HI> pen, and &s;uch collections and conclu&s;ions as the&s;e;
then there is between tho&s;e premi&s;es of mine tran&s;cribed by him,
and the inferences which he extracts and deduceth from them.</P>
<P>A man might think that the Gentleman had by this time laid
out him&s;elf to a &s;ufficient proportion, in depraving both the ex|pre&s;&s;ions
and intentions of him, that never (to his be&s;t know|ledge)
did him the lea&s;t wrong, nor ever admini&s;tred the lea&s;t oc|ca&s;ion
of provocation; &mdash;<HI>Sed audi facinus majoris abollae.</HI></P>
<P>Your la&s;t clau&s;e (<HI>&s;aith he, yet further,</HI> p. 108.) And if continued, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
intimates and &s;peaks, aloud without any &s;training that the Parliament
for the pre&s;ent are guilty of da&s;hing their foot again&s;t Chri&s;t the Rock:
of claiming the mo&s;t &s;acred incommunicable royalties and priviledges of
heaven, and making them&s;elves equall with God: and that if they per|&s;evere
in the cour&s;e they have begun (to Reforme our Church, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>) it is
&s;uch an high provocation again&s;t the mo&s;t High, as will kindle a fire in
the bre&s;t of him who&s;e name is Jehovah; <HI>he &s;hould have &s;aid</HI> jealous,
(<HI>but that his pen hath contracted an ill habit of &s;tumbling</HI>) which
will con&s;ume and devoure, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Could all the malignant and Prelaticall
party in England lay a greater, wickeder, or more unju&s;t &s;candall in our
Parliament then this, or more defame them then by &s;uch a fal&s;e report?
enough to fire the whole Kingdome again&s;t them, as well as Gods
wrath, <HI>&amp;c. as it followeth in his mo&s;t unju&s;t and ignoble &s;train of</HI>
Calumny. <HI>But for an&s;wer,</HI></P>
<P>1. Doth a <HI>wicked</HI> or <HI>unju&s;t &s;candall</HI> u&s;e <HI>to fire Gods wrath again&s;t</HI>
tho&s;e upon whom it is ca&s;t, and who are the &s;ufferers. Though
the &s;in committed be <HI>enough to kindle a fire in the bre&s;t of him who&s;e
name is jealous,</HI> again&s;t tho&s;e, who&s;oever they be, that lie under the
<PB N="18" REF="14">
guilt of &s;uch a Commi&s;&s;ion; yet is there not the lea&s;t colour to
imagine, that the fal&s;e or &s;candalous imputation of it unto any,
&s;hould have the like operation, in re&s;pect of tho&s;e that are &s;o
&s;candaliz'd.</P>
<P>He tells me of my <HI>being a meer Divine,</HI> p. 109. <HI>and a man altogether
ignorant in the ancient Rights and Privileges of our Parliament,</HI> (with
how little pertinencie or advantage to his cau&s;e, &s;hall be taken into
con&s;ideration in due place.) And by &s;uch pa&s;&s;ages as this, it &s;eems
he is every whit as <HI>meer a Lawyer</HI> as I a <HI>Divine</HI> (and con&s;equently of
no &s;uch &s;uper-tran&s;cendent abilities neither, to di&s;cerne and judge
of the <HI>Rights and Privileges of Parliament,</HI> as will be manife&s;ted in
due time.) For he that knowes not, that God is no wayes offen|ded
with men for having <HI>wicked &amp; unju&s;t &s;candals</HI> ca&s;t upon them,
&s;urely had <HI>need to be taught what are the fir&s;t principles of the Oracles
of God</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Heb. 5. 12.</NOTE>. And</P>
<P>2. Whereas in the beginning of the la&s;t tran&s;cribed pa&s;&s;age, he
&s;peakes thus, <HI>Your la&s;t clau&s;e, And if continued, &amp;c. intimates and
&s;peakes loud without any &s;trayning, that, &amp;c.</HI> doth hee not &s;eem to re|joyce,
as if now he had met with a full fea&s;t, and had onely &s;cram|bled
for all he had gotten and &s;atisfied his hunger with till now?
And doth he not without any <HI>&s;trayning,</HI> &s;eem to imply, that all my
former <HI>clau&s;es without &s;training,</HI> would have &s;pake none of tho&s;e
things, which now by his rackes, &s;crews, and engines, he hath made
them to &s;peak? So that here we have <HI>confitentem rerum:</HI> oh that we
had but the Participle as well match'd as the Adjective, that is (by
interpretation) <HI>emendantem confitentem,</HI> and then let both our
<HI>bookes to the fire</HI> together, <HI>to purge out the dro&s;&s;e of them</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">What ever cen&s;ure you de&s;erve, I fear your book de|merits the fire to purge out this dro&s;s. p. 109.</NOTE>. But</P>
<P>3. <HI>The grand unhappine&s;&s;e of the man is, that what I &s;peake
onely in</HI> the&s;i, <HI>or in the generall throughout the whole period or
pa&s;&s;age, wherein this clau&s;e,</HI> And if contemned, &amp;c. <HI>&s;tands, hee here
repre&s;ents upon the Stage of his pa&s;&s;ion, as if it had been &s;poken</HI>
in hypothe&s;i, <HI>with particular and preci&s;e application to the Parlia|ment.
The whole period, though it be &s;omewhat long, yet that the
Reader may not be denied any part of his due in point of &s;ati&s;|faction,
I &s;hall tran&s;cribe,</HI> ab ovo u&s;que ad mala, <HI>as it begins at the
bottome of page</HI> 2. <HI>of my</HI> Innocencies Triumph. I confe&s;&s;e I am in the
habituall and &s;tanding frame of my heart and &s;pirit, tender and jealous
over all the world, and much more over tho&s;e who are deare unto me, but
<PB N="19" REF="14">
mo&s;t of all over tho&s;e who being deere unto me, are likewi&s;e more expo&s;ed
then others unto the tentation and danger of the &s;inne; extreamly jea|lous
and tender (I &s;ay) I am over &s;uch, le&s;t they &s;hould touch with any
title, or claim the mo&s;t &s;acred and incommunicable royalties and privi|leges
of heaven, and &s;o count it no robbery to make them&s;elves equall
to God; knowing mo&s;t a&s;&s;uredly, that this is a high provocation in the
eyes of the mo&s;t High, and if continued in, will kindle a fire in the brea&s;t of
him who&s;e name is Jealous, and will con&s;ume and devoure.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e I &s;pake in &s;ome pa&s;&s;ages before this, of the Parliament
by name; nor doe I deny all relation between this and the for|mer:
but all the relation that can rea&s;onably be imagined between
the one and the other, will not amount &s;o much as to a colourable
ju&s;tification of this high-handed and full-mouth'd charge, that the
latter <HI>&s;peaks aloud without any &s;trayning, that the Parliament is guilty
of da&s;hing, &amp;c. of claiming, &amp;c. And that if, &amp;c.</HI> The&s;e are every
whit as pure and clean &s;traines of that di&s;po&s;ition which acted in
the former part of this expo&s;ition, as any of tho&s;e other which
have playd before us already. And</P>
<P>4. Suppo&s;e the period had been perfectly Hypotheticall, and
the contents of it applied to the Parliament by name, yet it is farre
from &s;peaking the dialect that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> would fain force into
the mouth of it. He that &s;hall repre&s;ent the great evill or danger
of a &s;inne, as &s;uppo&s;e of oppre&s;&s;ion, drunkenne&s;&s;e, adultery, or the
like, unto a man, in the&s;e or the like terms, <HI>Know mo&s;t a&s;suredly,
that &s;uch a &s;inne is a mo&s;t high provocation in the eyes of the mo&s;t High:</HI>
and then &s;hould adde, <HI>And if continued in, will kindle a fire in the
brea&s;t of him who&s;e name is Jealous, &amp;c.</HI> doth no wayes &s;uppo&s;e, that
the per&s;on to whom &s;uch an addre&s;&s;e or repre&s;entation is made, is
under the pre&s;ent actuall guilt of the perpetration of &s;uch a &s;inne;
but onely demon&s;trates the dangerous and deadly con&s;equence
of it unto him, in ca&s;e he &s;hall be intangled with the guilt, and <HI>con|tinue</HI>
in the perpetration of it without repentance. Therefore Mr.
<HI>Prynnes lucubration and collection,</HI> that this clau&s;e, <HI>And if continued,
&amp;c. &s;peaks aloud without any &s;trayning,</HI> any &s;uch <HI>Parliamentary guilt</HI>
as he deciphers with his pen, is <HI>nocturnall,</HI> neither is there &s;o much
as a beam of the <HI>light</HI> of truth in it.</P>
<P>5. Whereas he chargeth that innocently-offending <HI>clau&s;e</HI> of
mine, <HI>And if continued, &amp;c.</HI> both <HI>to intimate and &s;peak aloud,</HI> and that
<PB N="20" REF="15">
<HI>without any &s;training,</HI> that high mi&s;demeanour lately mentioned,
(little le&s;&s;e then capitall to him that &s;hall avouch it) I cannot con|ceive
any regular con&s;i&s;tence in the charge. For though one and
the &s;ame man, who hath a liberty and power both to alter his
tone and voyce, and tenour of expre&s;&s;ion, may one while only <HI>inti|mate,</HI>
i. whi&s;per, or expre&s;&s;e a thing &s;paringly: and otherwhile, <HI>&s;peake</HI>
it out <HI>aloud,</HI> with a full and &s;trong voyce, (though hardly thus <HI>with|out
any &s;training</HI> at all) yet how one and the &s;ame <HI>clau&s;e</HI> in writing,
which hath neither principle nor &s;hadow of any variation or
change of expre&s;&s;ion in it, but is &s;till uniforme and &s;tanding both
in the matter <HI>which,</HI> and in the manner <HI>wherein,</HI> it &s;peaketh, &s;hould
both <HI>intimate</HI> (or whi&s;per) and yet <HI>&s;peak aloud</HI> too, one and the
&s;ame thing, is a &s;aying divided in it &s;elfe, and which my under&s;tan|ding
knoweth not how to make to &s;tand. But thus, God many
times makes both tongues and pens which imagine evill again&s;t o|thers,
<HI>to f<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ll upon them&s;elves</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 64. 8.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>6. And la&s;tly, whereas he pretends the forementioned clau&s;e,
<HI>And if continued, &amp;c.</HI> guilty of <HI>&s;peaking aloud and without any &s;trai|ning,</HI>
the prenamed enormitie, the truth is, that this charge <HI>&s;peaks
aloud and without any &s;training,</HI> that Mr. <HI>Prynne loves all devouring
words</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 52. 4.</NOTE>, whether they be words of <HI>&s;oberne&s;&s;e and truth</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Act.</NOTE>, or of ano|ther
in&s;piration. Is it not very &s;trange, and a miracles fellow (at
lea&s;t) if not a miracle, that Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> hearing &s;hould be &s;o predo|minant
in the world, that he alone &s;hould heare a <HI>loud &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">eaking,</HI>
where all the world be&s;ides could not heare the lea&s;t muttering or
whi&s;per? But when men have Brick to make, and want <HI>&s;traw,</HI> they
mu&s;t bee content to <HI>gather &s;tubble</HI> in &s;tead of it<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Exod. 5. 12.</NOTE>. The buil|ders
of Babel were fain to make u&s;e of <HI>&s;lime in &s;tead of mortar</HI><NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Gen. 11. 4.</NOTE>.
<GAP DESC="foreign">, were a generati|on
of men in <HI>Plato's</HI> dayes, &amp; the line (it &s;eems) is not yet extinct.</P>
<P>Many other pa&s;&s;ages there are in this <HI>Triumphing</HI> di&s;cour&s;e,
wherein the author doth mi&s;erable carnifice other words and pa&s;|&s;ages
of mine; but <HI>Cae&s;ars image and &s;uper&s;cription</HI> may bee &s;een in a
<HI>peny</HI><NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Mat. 22. 19, 20.</NOTE>, as well as in a pound.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e the great Guerdon and Crown for which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
runnes in this and other his <HI>lucubrations</HI> again&s;t me, is to transform
me into a man of a <HI>ranc<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">ous and di&s;affected heart again&s;t Parlia|ments</HI>
<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Pag. 108.</NOTE>, and to couple me with the <HI>wor&s;t Malignants, Royali&s;ts,
<PB N="21" REF="15">
Cavaliers, yea with the Arch-Prelate him&s;elf</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Pag. 107.</NOTE>; before I leave the point
in hand, I &s;hall briefly &s;pecifie, both what, in what degree I have
done, and continue yet doing from opportunitie to opportunitie,
to the utmo&s;t of my power, for the Parliament: and withall &s;o|lemnly
profe&s;&s;e in the &s;ight of God and men, that if either Mr.
<HI>Prynne,</HI> or any other man, can direct or &s;ay unto me, how, or what,
when, or wherein I may yet doe more for them, or &s;hew and ex|pre&s;&s;e
more love or affectionatene&s;&s;e unto them, then I have alrea|dy
done, and &s;till doe (upon occa&s;ion) daily; provided onely that
I may &s;ee and under&s;tand, that what &s;hall be required of me in this
kind, doth really and indeed, not in &s;hew and pretence onely, tend
to the benefit, honour and &s;afetie of the Parliament; I am ready
and willing, and doe by the&s;e pre&s;ents obliege and bind my &s;elf,
<HI>Te&s;tibus Coelo &amp; Terr&acirc;,</HI> to performe. I have once<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">See my <HI>Anti-Cavalieri&s;me.</HI></NOTE> and againe<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">See my <HI>Bonc</HI> for a Bi&s;hop.</NOTE> in
Print, with the utmo&s;t ingagement of my weak abilities in that
kind, a&s;&s;erted the Parliamentary cau&s;e again&s;t the Oxfordian; yea
(as far as I yet under&s;tand) I was the fir&s;t among&s;t all my Brethren
who &s;erve at the Altar, that ro&s;e up in this kind, for the Parlia|ment:
with what expo&s;all of my &s;elf to danger, on the one hand,
and with what &s;ucce&s;&s;e and advantage to the cau&s;e undertaken
by me on the other, many there are that know, and (I make no
que&s;tion) are ready upon occa&s;ion to declare and te&s;tifie. How
frequently, yea for many moneths together, when the Parlia|mentarie
occa&s;ions were mo&s;t urging and pre&s;&s;ing, (almo&s;t) un|interruptedly,
and with what fervency and conte&s;tation of &s;pirit,
I laboured by preaching to advance the &s;ervice; yea with what ala|critie
and importunity, I continually &s;ollicited and promoted all
Parliamentarie occa&s;ions, &s;uits, and motions recommended by Or|dinance
or otherwi&s;e; was openly te&s;tified by a Member of that
Honourable Committee before which I was called, <HI>pending</HI> the
complaint again&s;t me there. How many young men and others,
as faithfull as u&s;efull in the Armie as any others of their rank and
imployment what&s;oever, what by preaching, what by conference
and per&s;wa&s;ion, were through the ble&s;&s;ing of God, armed with
courage and re&s;olution by me for the warres, there are both in the
Citie, and in the Armie, more then a few that can informe. Nor
is it unknowne to thou&s;ands, with what contention and &s;triving
of &s;pirit, with what earne&s;tne&s;&s;e of prayer and &s;upplication I have
<PB N="22" REF="16">
without cea&s;ing in my publick prayers, commended the Parliament
with all their proceedings and affaires unto God; nor have my
later interce&s;&s;ions for them, either in &s;trength of affection, or in
any other de&s;ireable re&s;pect what&s;oever, given place unto my for|mer.
Without any di&s;paragement to M^r. <HI>Prynnes Ori&s;ons</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Dedic. <HI>in &s;ine.</HI></NOTE> be it
&s;poken, I may conjecture I have been both as frequent, and de&s;ired
to be as <HI>fervent</HI> in <HI>commending</HI> that <HI>Honourable A&s;&s;embly with all their
pious endeavours to the Divine Benediction,</HI> as him&s;elf. As touching
pecuniary expre&s;&s;ions of my &s;elf to and for the Parliament, my af|fections
may (perhaps) &s;uffer lo&s;&s;e and di&s;advantage in the thoughts
of &s;ome, who mea&s;ure by the Arithmeticall, in &s;tead of the Geome|tricall
proportion (by which our Saviour mea&s;ured the poore wid|dows
gift, ca&s;t into the trea&s;ury<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Mar. 12. 43.</NOTE>, and every mans expre&s;&s;ions of
him&s;elf in this kind &s;hould be mea&s;ured) yet I make no que&s;tion
but I can produce &s;peaking papers, (yea and men too, if need be)
that will abundantly te&s;tifie, that I have not been behind many of
tho&s;e who are before me for matter of e&s;tate, and who are look'd
upon too as men &s;ound-hearted to the Parliament. There hath no
propo&s;ition for advance of moneys, been at any time recommended
by the Parliament unto the Citie, that I know of, but hath been
entertained by me with a full proportion of my e&s;tate. And look
what I have been, and have appeared to be in publick, and in view
of many; the &s;ame have I bin al&s;o in all my more private intercour|&s;es
and colloques with men; &s;trengthning the hands of &s;ome which
began to be feeble and to hang downe, loo&s;ing the bands, re&s;olving
the doubts of others, &s;o &s;etting them at libertie to &s;erve the Parlia|ment,
who before were bound up, and could doe nothing. Nor
have I quitted my &s;elf at this rate in the Parliamentary &s;ervice, in
or about the Citie onely: but have been as diligent and faithfull an
Agent for them in the Countrey al&s;o where I have become, and
that not without &s;ome con&s;iderable &s;ucce&s;&s;e. <HI>I am a foole</HI> (I confe&s;&s;e)
to &s;peak all this of my &s;elf: but M^r. <HI>Prynne</HI> hath <HI>compelled</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 12. 11.</NOTE> me. If I be
yet defective and wanting in any thing that is my dutie to doe for
the Parliament, if there be any other &s;ervice or labour of love
wherein I may yet further expre&s;&s;e my &s;elf to, and for them; all
the powers of my &s;oule &s;tand ready bent and pre&s;t within me to
embrace the opportunitie, and to fall on upon the work. If for all
this I mu&s;t be numbred among&s;t men of <HI>rancorous and di&s;affected
<PB N="23" REF="16">
hearts</HI> again&s;t the Parliament, I &s;hall congratulate the felicitie of
tho&s;e that are better thought of; and yet &s;hall think mine own the
more Princely portion<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Reglum e&s;t mal&egrave; audire, cum bene fece|ris.</NOTE>. <HI>Mala opinio ben&egrave; parta delectat.</HI> A good
con&s;cience is never at the full of her &s;weetne&s;&s;e, light, and glorie,
but when uprightne&s;&s;e &s;uffers and is eclip&s;ed: the antiperi&s;ta&s;is of
outward &s;ufferings, intends the inward vigor and &s;trength of that
principle, out of which a good con&s;cience acteth, when &s;hee com|forteth.
If the affections of men to the Parliament, mu&s;t be com|pell'd
to hold up their hand and be tryed at M^r. <HI>Prynnes</HI> barre,
and the Law ruling there be this, that who&s;oever will not adore
M^r. <HI>Prynnes</HI> notion of an Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Juri&s;diction in the civill
Magi&s;trate, and &s;ubmit the cleare and light&s;ome deci&s;ions (at lea&s;t
in the eye of their judgement &amp; con&s;cience) of the Oracles of God
to the Spirit that &s;pake in old Stories, Statutes and Records <HI>in the
darke&s;t times of Popery,</HI> though they have given never &s;o &s;atisfactory
and abundant an account of the goodne&s;&s;e of their affection in this
kind otherwi&s;e, mu&s;t be condemned and ca&s;t as <HI>venemous Malig|nants
and underminers of the undoubted priviledges of Parliaments, &amp;c.</HI>
I confe&s;&s;e, that my affection will not abide the tryall of this fire.
Neverthele&s;&s;e, this I &s;olemnly promi&s;e and profe&s;&s;e, that if Mr.
<HI>Prynne</HI> or any other, &s;hall rea&s;onably demon&s;trate unto me truth
in either of the&s;e Po&s;itions; either 1. in this, that any thing is to be
e&s;teemed a Priviledge, which is not for the benefit, good, or &s;afety
of tho&s;e that &s;hall injoy it; or 2. in this, that &s;uch an Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Juri&s;diction or power, as Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> in all or mo&s;t of his di&s;cour|&s;es
upon this &s;ubject portraictures and &s;ets out, tends in the nature
and con&s;titution of it, to the benefit, &s;afety or good of the Parlia|ment;
I &s;hall &s;oone be his convert, and cau&s;e my pre&s;ent appre|hen&s;ions
in the point to bowe downe at the feet of his. This for
the &s;econd head propounded.</P>
<P>For the third and la&s;t, the in&s;ufficiencie, or (to &s;peak the dialect
of his own pen) the <HI>impotencie,</HI> of tho&s;e few exceptions which he
makes again&s;t &s;ome few particulars in my <HI>Innocencies Triumph,</HI> &s;uch
as he conceives (it &s;eems) to be more &s;oft and tractable under his
exceptious pen. Fir&s;t, to &s;alve a &s;ore that will never be perfectly
healed, to ju&s;tifie (I meane) his Indictment again&s;t me, that I did
not only or &s;imply <HI>undermine the undoubted priviledges of Parliament
by the very roots,</HI> (this being not a charge, as it &s;eems, worthy the
<PB N="24" REF="17">
indignation or di&s;content of Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> pen) but that I perpetra|ted
this high mi&s;demeanour <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY;</HI> he informes
us as matter of high concernment to his cau&s;e and honour, that
<HI>Grammarians, Lawyers, and Divines informe us, that the word,</HI> Pre|&s;umptuous,
<HI>comes from the verb,</HI> Prae&s;umo: which <HI>verb</HI> he <HI>pre&s;umes</HI>
will accommodate him with one or other of tho&s;e various &s;ignifi|cations,
which with great care and circum&s;pection that none be
wanting, he there mu&s;ters and enumerates. And becau&s;e the ho|nour
and validitie of this his purgation re&s;ts altogether upon &s;uch
&s;ignifications or acceptions of his <HI>verb,</HI> as are mo&s;t mens my&s;teries;
therefore in his margent he calls in <HI>Thomas Aquinas, Calepine,</HI> with
&s;ome others, for his compurgators. But</P>
<P>Good Sir; did you either expect or intend, that either the Par|liament
or your other readers, &s;hould be &s;o above mea&s;ure tender
either of your reputation or of mine, as that meeting with the word
<HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY</HI> in your indictment again&s;t me, they would
goe and &s;earch <HI>Calepine, Thomas Aquinas, Holy-oake, Media-villa,</HI>
and I know not how many more, to informe them&s;elves in how
many &s;en&s;es or &s;ignifications the word might be taken, le&s;t other|wi&s;e
they &s;hould take you tardy with an unju&s;t crimination, or me
with a foule crime? What you may conceive them likely to doe in
this kind out of tenderne&s;&s;e of re&s;pect to your reputation, I will
not prejudge: but to deale plainly with you, I expect no &s;uch quar|ter
from any of your Readers, for the pre&s;ervation of mine. They
that have a mind to beleeve you in that point of your charge, (yea
and indeed any other, con&s;idering other expre&s;&s;ions of yours of
the like importance) are like to take the word <HI>Pre&s;umptuou&s;ly,</HI> ac|cording
to the vulgar and mo&s;t familiar &s;ignification of it <HI>in com|mon
parlance,</HI> and that which is next at hand: in which &s;ignificati|on,
it doth nothing le&s;&s;e then import all that varietie you &s;peak of,
but a <HI>plaine wilfull</HI> (as your word el&s;ewhere is) <HI>perpetration of an
evill;</HI> and as for the three la&s;t &s;ignifications which you fa&s;ten up|on
it, as that it &s;ignifies, <HI>again&s;t Authoritie, or Lawes, or upon hopes
of impunitie;</HI> though I have not the Authors by me upon whom
you father the <HI>proprietie</HI> of the&s;e &s;ignifications, to examine the truth
of what in this you affirme; yet am I very &s;trong of Faith, that men
of learning and judgement (as mo&s;t of the Authors you cite were)
never a&s;&s;igned any of the&s;e three &s;en&s;es or importances, as the <HI>pro|per</HI>
<PB N="25" REF="17">
and legitimate acceptions or &s;ignifications of the word. When
<HI>John the Bapti&s;t</HI> told <HI>Herod</HI> (a man in great <HI>Authoritie</HI>) to his face,
that <HI>it was not lawfull for him to have Herodias his Brother Philips
wife</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Mat. 14. 4.</NOTE>, was this done <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> e&s;pecially in the
<HI>proper</HI> &s;ignification of the word? Againe, when <HI>Shadrach, Me&s;hach</HI>
and <HI>Abednego</HI> refus'd to &s;ubmit to that <HI>Decree</HI> or Law which <HI>Nebu|chadnezzar
and his Nobles</HI> had made, which commanded <HI>all to fall
downe and wor&s;hip the golden image which the King had &s;et up</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Dan. 3. 18.</NOTE>; and
&s;o when <HI>Daniel</HI> trangre&s;s'd that Law or Statute which <HI>Darius and
his Nobles</HI> had <HI>decreed and e&s;tabli&s;hed according to the Law of the
Medes and Per&s;ians, which altereth not</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Dan. 6. 8. 10.</NOTE>, by <HI>kneeling upon his knees
three times a day, praying unto, and prai&s;ing God, with his chamber-window
open towards Jeru&s;alem;</HI> did either of the&s;e &s;in, or doe any
thing (under the Interpretation afore&s;aid) <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY?</HI>
Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> him&s;elf (I pre&s;ume) dedicated the&s;e his <HI>Lucubrations</HI> to
the Parliament, <HI>upon hopes,</HI> yea <HI>upon</HI> more <HI>then hopes of impunitie,</HI>
upon hopes of Grace and Acceptation: hath he therefore done
<HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY?</HI> I am content in this &s;en&s;e to own the
word <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> in my prementioned charge; and
confe&s;&s;e that I did that, which he (calling it quite out of its name)
calls <HI>an undermining of the undoubted Priviledges of Parliament, &amp;c.
PRESVMPTVOVSLY. i.</HI> I did <HI>upon hopes,</HI> yea and &s;omewhat more
<HI>then upon hopes of impunitie,</HI> upon hopes of acceptation both with
God and men. And if Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> would have pleas'd but to have
declar'd in his margent or otherwi&s;e, that in the afore&s;aid indict|ment
he meant the word, <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> in this &s;en&s;e,
and no other; he had &s;aved me a double, and him&s;elf a &s;ingle la|bour,
(if not a double al&s;o) for I &s;hould not have lift up &s;o much
as a word of exception again&s;t it.</P>
<P>But let us &s;ee a little, how like a man he quits him&s;elf in vindi|cating
the truth and equitie of his &s;o-dearly-beloved terme, <HI>PRE|SVMPTVOVSLY,</HI>
as it &s;tands, or lies, (which you will) in the
controverted indictment. His fir&s;t &s;ignification of the <HI>verb PRAE|SVMO,</HI>
is <HI>to fore&s;tall;</HI> and to prove that in this &s;en&s;e of the word,
I committed the capitall crime objected <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI>
he rea&s;ons, or rather talks, thus. <HI>Fir&s;t you preached and printed tho&s;e
pa&s;&s;ages of purpo&s;e to fore&s;tall the Parliaments and A&s;&s;emblies pious re&s;o|lutions,
&amp;c.</HI> But Mr. <HI>Prynne,</HI> there is a rule in the civill Law (and
<PB N="26" REF="18">
becau&s;e there is &s;o much rea&s;on in it, I conceive your Common
Law complyes with it) which &s;ounds thus; <HI>Non e&s;&s;e, &amp; non appae|rere,
aequiparantur in Jure.</HI> How will you doe for witne&s;&s;e, or evi|dences
competent in Law, to make it appeare that <HI>I printed and
preached the pa&s;&s;ages</HI> you &s;peak of, for &s;uch a <HI>purpo&s;e</HI> as you pretend?
can you find the pre&s;ent thoughts or <HI>purpo&s;es</HI> of all particular men
in this age, in the ancient Records which beare date, from <HI>the
darkest times of Popery?</HI> Or hath the Omni&s;cient <HI>anointed</HI> your eyes
with any &s;uch eye-&s;alve, which makes you able to &s;ee into the
hearts and reins and &s;pirits of men? or have I acknowledged either
in writing or otherwi&s;e, any &s;uch intent or <HI>purpo&s;e</HI> as you &s;peak of,
in tho&s;e <HI>pa&s;&s;ages?</HI> or is it beyond the upper region of po&s;&s;ibilities,
that I &s;hould have any other <HI>purpo&s;e</HI> in them, then what you af|firme?
When you print, that <HI>I printed the pa&s;&s;ages</HI> you mention <HI>of
purpo&s;e to fore&s;tall the pious re&s;olutions of the Parliament;</HI> doe you
print this <HI>OF PVRPOSE to fore&s;tall the pious</HI> inclinations <HI>or re&s;olu|tions</HI>
of the Parliament, not to make more offenders by puni&s;hment,
then were made &s;uch before by delinquencie? Or when you <HI>print|ed,</HI>
that <HI>Chri&s;t hath delegated his Kingly Office unto Kings, Magi|&s;trates,
and highe&s;t civill powers</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Full Reply</HI> pag. 7. Circa initium.</NOTE>, did you <HI>print</HI> it <HI>of purpo&s;e</HI> to make
them think that they had as much power and Authoritie to make
Lawes for his Churches, as Chri&s;t him&s;elf hath? Such affirmations
and right-downe conclu&s;ions as the&s;e, are wor&s;e then the mo&s;t <HI>un|charitable,
unchri&s;tian, dete&s;table, execrable, groundle&s;&s;e, fanatique jea|lou&s;ies</HI>
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Pag. 108.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>The &s;econd &s;ignification of the auxiliarie verb, <HI>PRAESVMO,</HI> is
(as Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> from his Authors, or otherwi&s;e, informs us) <HI>to con|ceive
before-hand:</HI> and to prove that in this &s;en&s;e I tre&s;pa&s;&s;ed the tre&s;|pa&s;&s;e
of his complaint, <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> he advanceth with
this demon&s;tration. 2. <HI>To e&s;tabli&s;h and &s;upport that Independent way
which you had before-hand without any lawfull warrant conceived, ere
the Parliament had made choyce of, or &s;etled any Church-Government for
them, &amp;c.</HI> But good Sir, hath no man a lawfull warrant to con&s;i|der,
inquire after, (and con&s;equently, <HI>to conceive</HI>) what Chri&s;t hath
e&s;tabli&s;hed in point of Church-Government, untill <HI>the Parliament
hath made choyce of, or &s;etled</HI> &s;uch <HI>a Government?</HI> Every man hath
<HI>warrant enough,</HI> yea and that which is more then a <HI>warrant,</HI> an in|gagement
by way of dutie lying upon him; e&s;pecially <HI>Divines</HI> (as
<PB N="27" REF="18">
you call them) who&s;e particular calling and profe&s;&s;ion it is to
&s;earch the Scriptures, and to di&s;cover the mind of Chri&s;t there,
<HI>to conceive before-hand,</HI> if they be able, what tenour or forme of
Church-Government is mo&s;t agreeable to the mind of Chri&s;t; and
not to &s;u&s;pend their &s;tudies, inquiries, <HI>conceptions</HI> in that kinde, un|till
men have fram'd their conceptions or apprehen&s;ions for them.
The Parliament had <HI>not made choyce of,</HI> nor <HI>&s;etled</HI> any <HI>Church-Go|vernment</HI>
for Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> when he compos'd and printed his An|tapologie?
Did he therefore <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> to <HI>conceive it
before-hand,</HI> and &s;o peremptorily conclude for it as he hath done?
Whether yet they have made <HI>choyce of any,</HI> or no, I cannot &s;ay; I
have no demon&s;trative grounds to think they have: but certain I
am that they as yet have &s;etled none, and &s;o are &s;till at libertie to
choo&s;e another, in ca&s;e they have cho&s;en any. Hath not Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
then done <HI>PRESVMPTVOVSLY,</HI> to <HI>conceive a Government before-hand,</HI>
and to <HI>print</HI> for it, the Parliament as yet having <HI>cho&s;en none,</HI>
or however, <HI>&s;etled none?</HI> If Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> being a Lawyer, had <HI>a law|full
warrant to, conceive a Church-Government before-hand,</HI> as he hath
done, Church-matters being eccentricall to his profe&s;&s;ion; much
more hath he that is a <HI>Divine,</HI> and neverthele&s;&s;e becau&s;e he is <HI>a
meere</HI> one. Neither can the five <HI>Apolog.</HI> be &s;aid to have done this
fir&s;t, becau&s;e they rather &s;hew their own practi&s;e and de&s;ire libertie
therin, then peremptorily, (as &s;ome others) pre&s;cribe to others un|der
the notion of <HI>&s;chi&s;matiques and troublers of the publick peace,</HI> if
they be not of their minds in all things, about what they practi&s;e
and profe&s;&s;e, as (in their judgements) mo&s;t agreeable to the truth.</P>
<P><HI>A third &s;ignification of the</HI> verb <HI>we wot of, is according to Mr.</HI>
Prynnes <HI>Lexicographie,</HI> to u&s;urp or take that upon a man which belongs
not to him. <HI>And to prove that in this &s;en&s;e al&s;o I am a Son of</HI> PRE|SVMPTION
<HI>in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion voted by M^r.</HI> Prynnes <HI>pen, upon
me, he ri&s;eth up higher then yet in this in&s;ulting &s;traine.</HI> It was no
le&s;&s;e then high PRESVMPTION in you, being a meere Divine, and a
man altogether ignorant of, or unskilfull in the ancient Rights and Pri|viledges
of our Parliament (as your writings demon&s;trate, and your &s;elf
intimate, <HI>p.</HI> 5.) to undertake and judge of them &s;o peremptorily&mdash;When
as if you had knowne any thing concerning them, you might have
learned this among other things, that Divines are no competent Judges
of Parliaments priviledges: that the Priviledges, Rights and Cujiomes
<PB N="28" REF="19">
of our Parliaments, are onely to be judged and determined by the Parlia|ment
it &s;elfe, not in or by any other inferiour Court, &amp;c. <HI>In this pa&s;&s;age
there are &s;ome things true, and &s;ome things fal&s;e; and both the
the one and the other make</HI> aloud and without &s;training, again&s;t the
Author, <HI>and neither of them again&s;t me at all. For,</HI></P>
<P>1. If I be a man <HI>altogether ignorant if the ancient rights and pri|vileges
of Parliament,</HI> how come I to be charged, as <HI>a wilfull under|miner
or violator of them</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Full Reply in the very la&s;t clau&s;e.</NOTE>? Ignorance though it bee good for little,
but to cau&s;e men to &s;tumble and doe ami&s;&s;e; yet it is (for the mo&s;t
part) a pre&s;erver of men from offending <HI>wilfully,</HI> how ever it &s;elfe
may be a <HI>wilfull</HI> offence. <HI>Tho&s;e things</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Ari&s;totle) appeare to bee
involuntary,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ari&s;t. E|thic. ad Ni|chom. l. 3. c. 1.</NOTE> or unwillingly done, <HI>which are done either by externall
compul&s;ion, or out of ignorance.</HI> If I judge Mr. <HI>Prynne ignorant</HI> of that
government which the Scriptures hold forth, I cannot rea&s;onably
judge him a wilfull oppo&s;er of it.</P>
<P>2. If <HI>the Privileges, Rights and Cu&s;tomes of our Parliaments, be onely to
be judged and determined by the Parliament it &s;elfe, and not in or by any
other inferior Court,</HI> how comes Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> by his authority or com|mi&s;&s;ion
to <HI>judge and determine,</HI> that I have <HI>wilfully violated, pre&s;ump|tuou&s;ly
undermined the undoubted privileges of Parliament, by the very
roots?</HI> Surely he hath not the power which an <HI>inferiour Court</HI> of
Judicature hath, much le&s;&s;e is he <HI>the Parliament it &s;elfe:</HI> and yet he
undertakes to <HI>judge and determine,</HI> &amp; that po&s;itively and negatively,
(which I doe not) not onely the <HI>privileges</HI> them&s;elves of Parlia|ment,
but <HI>the very roots</HI> al&s;o of the&s;e <HI>privileges.</HI> If according to his
own a&s;&s;ertion, he hath <HI>no power or authority to judge or determine</HI> of
the <HI>privileges</HI> we &s;peak of, why doth he judge and cen&s;ure me as a
PRESUMPTUOUS <HI>underminer and violator of the&s;e privi|leges?</HI>
Can any man rea&s;onably pa&s;&s;e a &s;entence again&s;t another
as a delinquent in &s;uch and &s;uch ca&s;es, when as the ca&s;es them&s;elves
are not of his cognizance, nor lawfull for him to judge of?</P>
<P>3. If <HI>the Privileges and Rights of our Parliament bee onely to bee
judged by the Parliament it &s;elfe,</HI> upon what Chri&s;tian or indeed rea|&s;onable
foundation, &s;hall we a vouch the taking of the late Natio|nall
Vow and Covenant, wherein with <HI>our hands lifted up to the
mo&s;t high God</HI> (among other things) we &s;weare, <HI>that wee would &s;in|cerely,
really, and con&s;tantly, in our &s;everall vocations, endevour with
our e&s;tates, and lives, mutually to pre&s;erve the Rights and Privileges of
<PB N="29" REF="19">
Parliament, &amp;c.</HI> Did we &s;weare in this mo&s;t tremend and &s;olemne
manner, to pre&s;erve tho&s;e things, not onely that wee know not
what they are, but which it is not lawfull for us to enquire after, at
lea&s;t, not to judge and &s;ay what they are after our mo&s;t diligent
and faithfull enquiry after them? If before the taking of this cove|nant,
I had conceived, that what&s;oever Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> &s;hould plea&s;e to
avouch for Privilege of Parliament, I &s;hould have &s;tood bound by
the covenant taken, <HI>to maintain with my e&s;tate and life,</HI> for &s;uch; I
&s;hould rather have expo&s;ed both to the mercy and equity of the
Parliament by refu&s;ing it, then both the&s;e and my &s;elfe be&s;ides, to
the di&s;plea&s;ure of God, by &s;uch an unchri&s;tian, yea unrea&s;onable
and unmanlike action. Be&s;ides, Parliament privileges are either
fundamentall, generall, and common Rights of all nationall Bo|dies,
or el&s;e peculiar to this State; and &s;o al&s;o they are either &s;uch
as are by their con&s;tant practice commonly declared, or el&s;e more
re&s;erved for occa&s;ional emergencies. The two former are obvious to
judge of; and the latter al&s;o apprehen&s;ible upon their di&s;covery of
them, e&s;pecially with their grounds, el&s;e how could they have been
a&s;&s;i&s;ted in the defence of them all this time?</P>
<P>4. Whereas he vilifies, or in&s;ults over me as being <HI>a meere Di|vine,</HI>
I confe&s;&s;e I have not much to except again&s;t the di&s;parage|ment;
yet I de&s;ire leave to &s;peak the&s;e three things. 1. That if
Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> him&s;elfe had been <HI>a meere Divine,</HI> he had cho&s;en the bet|ter
part: and if he yet knew how to tranforme the skill which hee
hath in the Law, into a like proportion of &s;ound <HI>Divinity,</HI> he and
the Church &s;hould gain by it; &s;o great plenty is there of good
Lawyers, and &s;o few faithfull labourers in Gods harve&s;t.</P>
<P>2. Though I pretend to no great knowledge in any other Sci|ence,
but to that which is the glory of all the re&s;t (<HI>Divinity</HI> I mean)
no nor yet to one halfe of that knowledge in this, which my years
and opportunities, had not I been a &s;onne of folly and infirmities
above many, might well have furni&s;hed me with; yet can I not with
truth yeeld my &s;elfe &s;o <HI>meerly a Divine,</HI> as not to under&s;tand many
Principles and Maximes of rea&s;on, be&s;ides tho&s;e which I have lear|ned
from the Scriptures; As that every whole is more then any part
of it: That no effect can po&s;&s;ibly exceed the vertue or efficacy of the
totall cau&s;e thereof: That one part of any contradiction is verifi|able
of every thing: That the good of many other circum&s;tances
<PB N="30" REF="20">
being alike, is to be preferred before the like good of one, or of a
few: with many others of affinity with the&s;e. By the authority
and aid of which alone, without the concurrence or a&s;&s;i&s;tance of a|ny
Principle at all, proper to the Science of Divinity, I know (God
a&s;&s;i&s;ting) I am able to make good the ground which I have cho&s;en
to &s;tand upon in the controver&s;ies depending between Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
and me. Yea, I &s;hould injure mine own ignorance and weakne&s;&s;e,
and cen&s;ure them too deep, if I &s;hould deny but that I know &s;ome|what
in other Arts and Sciences al&s;o.</P>
<P>3. And la&s;tly, if I be <HI>a meer Divine,</HI> I remember I have read &s;ome
&s;uch ob&s;ervation as this for my comfort, that when the &s;treame of
endevours is divided, the waters of knowledge run but &s;hallow in
a plurality of channels, <GAP DESC="foreign">. But</P>
<P>5. Whereas he lifts up this Iron mace on high, and thinkes to
<HI>break all in peeces like a potters ve&s;&s;ell,</HI> that I have either &s;aid, or ever
&s;hall be able to &s;ay, to e&s;cape the pu&s;h of his pike, PRESUMP|TUOUSLY,
wherewith he makes at me in the pre-recited
charge, that <HI>Divines are no competent Judges of Parliaments privileges;</HI>
and that therefore it was <HI>no le&s;&s;e then</HI> PRESUMPTION, nay
then PRESUMPTION upon PRESUMPTION, <HI>then
high</HI> PRESUMPTION <HI>for me being a meer Divine, and a man
altogether ignorant in the ancient Rights and Privileges of our Parlia|ments,
to undertake to determine and judge of them &s;o peremptorily, &amp;c.</HI> I
an&s;wer.</P>
<P>1. <HI>If I had been</HI> altogether ignorant of the Rights and Privileges
of Parliament, <HI>I was not &s;o capable of ingaging my &s;elfe by that
&s;olemne vow, which is now upon me, for the</HI> maintaining <HI>of them</HI>
&s;incerely, really, con&s;tantly, <HI>&amp;c. For though a man may indefinitely
&s;wear to maintain the ju&s;t rights of &s;uch or &s;uch a Body, though
he know them not all di&s;tinctly, yet that he may &s;weare in judge|ment,
it is requi&s;ite he be not altogether ignorant of them. So that
if Mr.</HI> Prynnes <HI>doctrine in this point be true, it is more then time
for me to flie from my Covenant, as from a Serpent, and to abhorre
my &s;elfe in du&s;t and a&s;hes before the pre&s;ence of God, that ever I
took it. But ble&s;&s;ed be God, my</HI> ignorance of the Rights and Privi|leges
of Parliaments, <HI>is not &s;uch, but that I know many of them:
The&s;e by name (que&s;tionle&s;&s;e) are &s;ome of them;</HI> To bee the Sove|raigne
Tribunall, and &s;upreme Judicatory in the Kingdome: To have a
<PB N="31" REF="20">
Legi&s;lative power in civill affaires in re&s;pect of the whole Kingdome: To
have a power of di&s;charging or repealing all former Lawes and Statutes
that are found inconvenient for the State and Kingdome: To di&s;po&s;e of the
Militia of the Kingdom, for the &s;afety and be&s;t advantage thereof: To im|po&s;e
Rates and Taxes of money for the nece&s;&s;ary occa&s;ions of the King|dome;
to call even the greate&s;t Delinquents in the Kingdome to account,
and to inflict puni&s;hments upon them according to the nature of their
crimes: To defend, protect, and encourage, and that with an higher hand
then others can doe, tho&s;e that doe well, and live peaceably, and are &s;er|viceable
in their callings and imployments to the State. <HI>Be&s;ides many
others like unto the Starres in the Firmament of heaven, which
cannot be numbred.</HI></P>
<P>2. Whereas Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> to make light of darkne&s;&s;e, and to co|ver
the &s;hame of his darling (PRESUMPTUOUSLY) with
honor, thru&s;ts <HI>Divines</HI> out of doors, as <HI>no competent judges of Parlia|ments
privileges,</HI> he mu&s;t know from a <HI>meer Divine</HI> (if there be any
place left in him for an addition in that kind, and <HI>intus apparens</HI>
doth not <HI>prohibere alienum,</HI> with too &s;trong an hand) that <HI>Divines</HI> in
one re&s;pect, &amp; that of &s;overaigne con&s;ideration, are <HI>Judges</HI> of a bet|ter
&amp; more regular <HI>competencie</HI> of &s;uch things, then Lawyers are,
(without prejudice to that profe&s;&s;ion be it &s;poken) yea &amp; the <HI>meerer
Divine</HI> (in M. <HI>Pryns</HI> &s;en&s;e) the more competent Judge in this kind, as
the meere Phy&s;itian a more competent Judge of medicines then o|thers.
There is a double judgement or dijudication of Parliament
Privileges: the one po&s;itive or <HI>affirmative,</HI> the other privative or
<HI>negative.</HI> The po&s;itive or affirmative judgement wee &s;peake of,
con&s;i&s;ts in a faculty or ability of di&s;cerning what really and indeed
are the Privileges of Parliament: the judgement which <HI>I</HI> call <HI>ne|gative,</HI>
con&s;i&s;ts in the like faculty or ability of di&s;cerning, what are
not. For this is a mo&s;t certain and undoubted Maxime, That no|thing
that is &s;infull, or contrary to the will and word of God, can
po&s;&s;ibly be a privilege of Parliament. The rea&s;on whereof is plain:
Nothing that in the nature and direct tendencie of it, is di&s;honou|rable
or de&s;tructive to a creature, can po&s;&s;ibly bee any privilege
thereof. Now what&s;oever is &s;infull, and di&s;plea&s;ing unto God, is
in the nature and direct tendencie of it, di&s;honourable and de&s;tru|ctive
to the creature, as the whole tenour of the Scriptures (al|mo&s;t)
yea and the impre&s;&s;ions of naturall light and con&s;cience in
<PB N="32" REF="21">
all men, doe abundantly confirme. <HI>Ergo.</HI> So then the Scriptures
or word of God being the Standard or &s;upreme Rule whereby to
judge what is &s;infull, and con&s;equently de&s;tructive to the creature,
and what not; evident it is, that they who rea&s;onably may be pre|&s;um'd
to have the be&s;t knowledge and &s;ounde&s;t under&s;tanding in
the&s;e, are the mo&s;t competent Judges (from among&s;t men) in all
ca&s;es and que&s;tions, about what is &s;infull, and what not. And whe|ther
<HI>meere</HI> Lawyers, or <HI>meere Divines,</HI> may with more rea&s;on be pre|&s;um'd
to be men of this intere&s;t, let either Lawyers them&s;elves, or
Divines, or who ever will, judge. <HI>I had not known &s;inne</HI> (&s;aith the A|po&s;tle
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom. 7. 7.</NOTE>) <HI>but by the Law:</HI> He &s;peaks of the Law of God, not of any
law of men. And another Apo&s;tle to like purpo&s;e: <HI>Who&s;oever com|mitteth
&s;inne, tran&s;gre&s;&s;eth al&s;o the Law: for &s;inne is the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion
of the Law</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">1 Ioh. 3. 4.</NOTE>; &s;peaking as the other did, onely of the Law of God.
Now how&s;oever Mr. <HI>Prynnes meer Divines</HI> cannot rea&s;onably bee
&s;uppo&s;ed to have &s;pent &s;o much of their time in traver&s;ing and rea|ding
over the ancient Records of Parliamentary tran&s;actions, as
Lawyers have, nor con&s;equently to be &s;o able or ready as they, to
tell Stories in this kind, of what Parliaments formerly have done;
yet when any ca&s;e of con&s;cience, or que&s;tion ari&s;eth, about &s;uch
and &s;uch cu&s;tomes or pa&s;&s;ages in Parliaments, (call them <HI>Rights,
Privileges,</HI> or what you will) whether they were lawfull in point of
con&s;cience, and ju&s;tifiable in the &s;ight of God, or no, the meere
Lawyer with his bookes and records, mu&s;t &s;tand by, as having nei|ther
<HI>part nor fellow&s;hip</HI> in this Judicature; the <HI>meere Divine</HI> is the on|ly
<HI>competent Judge</HI> in the ca&s;e; yea, and this is confirmed by Parlia|ments
them&s;elves, who have decreed that in &s;ome Courts and Ca|&s;es,
Clergy-men, as &s;ome call them, &s;hould fit, and was the cu|&s;tome
till very lately in <HI>London</HI> it &s;elfe, the Bi&s;hop u&s;ually and by
right &s;itting at the Se&s;&s;ions of life and death; yea, and in ca&s;e of life,
if the Clergyman &s;aith, <HI>Legit ut Clericus,</HI> the Law &s;aves the man.
And if Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> conceives, that all cu&s;tomes or Pre&s;idents of Par|liaments
will make <HI>Privileges</HI> of Parliament, I conceive the pre&s;ent
Parliament will abhorre his conception; many of them being on|ly
matter of &s;orrow, &s;hame and caution, not of <HI>Privilege</HI> or ex|ample.
So then to deale clearly and unpartially between Lawyers
and Divines, touching their re&s;pective abilities and intere&s;ts for
di&s;cerning and <HI>judging</HI> of the <HI>Cu&s;tomes, Rights and Privileges</HI> (&s;o
<PB N="33" REF="21">
called) of <HI>Parliaments;</HI> The Lawyers intere&s;t and facultie (if he be
a Ma&s;ter in his profe&s;&s;ion) as &s;uch (I mean as a <HI>meere Lawyer</HI>) is
to collect, draw together, and pre&s;ent to view, all, and all man|ner
of Parliamentary tran&s;actions, pa&s;&s;ages, &s;tatutes, cu&s;tomes,
pre&s;idents, &amp;c. good and bad, one with another, without di&s;tin|ction,
out of their re&s;pective Records: but the intere&s;t and facul|ty
of the <HI>Divine</HI> (if he be a man worthy his profe&s;&s;ion) is to &s;ur|vey
this collection pre&s;ented unto him, to con&s;ider whether there
be nothing in them contrary to the will and mind of God decla|red
in his Word: (which contrariety di&s;&s;olves the authority and
intere&s;t of any <HI>Statute, Cu&s;tome, Pre&s;ident, what&s;oever</HI>) and &s;o to <HI>&s;e|parate
the vile from the pretious</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Ierem. 15. 19</NOTE>, that which hath a con&s;i&s;tence
with the word of God, from that which oppo&s;eth and con|tradicteth
it. The entrie &s;eries or &s;tory of Parliamentary pa&s;&s;ages,
is like the <HI>Polypus</HI> head, wherein there are ob&s;erved to bee
<GAP DESC="foreign">, many good things, and
many bad; the Statutes of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and <HI>the Statutes of Omri,</HI> the
manner of the hou&s;e of <HI>David,</HI> and <HI>the manner of the hou&s;e of Ahab,</HI>
are intermixed and wrapped up together there. Now alas, with
the <HI>meere Lawyer</HI> (I &s;peak of him, <HI>as &s;uch,</HI> and not as Chri&s;tian or
godly) all is fi&s;h that comes to net, <HI>all this Congregation is holy, even
every one of them</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Numb. 16. 3.</NOTE>; every Statute without exception, if unrepeal'd
on earth, though nullified in heaven before it was made, is &s;till va|lid,
and good in Law; every cu&s;tome, without difference, an un|doubted
<HI>privilege</HI> of Parliament: every pa&s;&s;age a &s;ufficient pre&s;ident
for after-imitation, <HI>the Statutes of Omri</HI> as good for his turn, and
in his eye, as the Statutes of <HI>Mo&s;es: the manner of the hou&s;e of
Ahab,</HI> as laudable as the manner of the hou&s;e of <HI>David,</HI> or of the
hou&s;e of God him&s;elfe: <HI>as is the good, &s;o is the bad,</HI> (to him) the Sta|tute
that cur&s;eth, as that which ble&s;&s;eth a Land. All this is evi|dent
from that voluminous coacervation of old matters, pa&s;&s;ages,
pre&s;idents, &amp;c. by Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> him&s;elfe in the former part of this
di&s;cour&s;e, many of them (as him&s;elfe intimates<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Pag. 106. l. 9. 10.</NOTE>) fetch'd out <HI>of the
darke&s;t times of Popery, and highe&s;t ruff of Pope, of Prelates:</HI> and yet
thinkes that the&s;e are <HI>enough to evict and convince me and all the world
be&s;ides, that I have not only violated, but denied, oppugned the privileges
of Parliament in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall affairs</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 110. in fine.</NOTE>. In the ca&s;e la&s;t pre&s;ented, ex|cept
the <HI>Divine</HI> &s;hall come with his fire from heaven, to &s;eparate
<PB N="34" REF="22">
and purge the <HI>Tinne from the Silver,</HI> and the Dro&s;&s;e from the Gold,
and be <HI>as the mouth of the Lord to take away the vile from the pretious</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Jer. 15. 9.</NOTE>,
that <HI>enmity unto God,</HI> and that unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which cleaveth, and
is like to cleave (notwith&s;tanding all that the <HI>meere Lawyer</HI> is able
to doe by way of reliefe) unto many the Lawes and Statutes of a
State or Kingdome, is like to be fir&s;t an heavie &s;courge, and rods of
Scorpions, for the puni&s;hment of the State; and in fine, the utter
ruine and de&s;truction of it. <GAP DESC="foreign"> (&s;aith the
Apo&s;tle<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 6.</NOTE>) i. <HI>the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h is death:</HI> The rea&s;on whereof he
gives in the next ver&s;e, which is this, <HI>becau&s;e the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h is
enmity again&s;t God.</HI> So that where&s;oever there is any <HI>enmity again&s;t
God,</HI> e&s;pecially if it utters it &s;elfe in any the con&s;ultations, acts, or
re&s;ults of <HI>the wi&s;dom of the fle&s;h,</HI> it di&s;po&s;eth the &s;ubject wherein it is
&s;ound, whether it be Per&s;on, Family, State, or Kingdome, unto
<HI>death.</HI> And whether this <HI>enmity again&s;t God</HI> which wee &s;peake of,
&s;ound in &s;ome of our lawes &amp; &s;tatutes yet unrepeal'd (if not in more
then is generally ob&s;erved and knowne) hath not made God an
enemy unto us, and &s;trengthened the arm of his di&s;plea&s;ure and in|dignation
again&s;t us, I leave to Divines of &s;ound judgement and
con&s;cience, to con&s;ider: yea and to &s;uch Lawyers who have &s;an|ctified
their profe&s;&s;ion with the &s;ound knowledge of <HI>the word of God
and prayer.</HI></P>
<P>By what hath been argued in this la&s;t pa&s;&s;age, evident it is, that
the skill, faculty, and intere&s;t of the Divine, (yea of the <HI>meere Di|vine</HI>)
to di&s;cerne and judge of the <HI>cu&s;tomes, rights, privileges of Par|liament,</HI>
is farre more u&s;efull and nece&s;&s;ary, then that of the <HI>meere
Lawyer.</HI> The rea&s;on is plaine; becau&s;e there is no manner of doubt
or que&s;tion to be made, but that what&s;oever is not &s;infull &amp; pro|hibited
by the word of God for them to doe, is an undoubted
<HI>privilege of Parliament,</HI> without the authority or contribution of
former pa&s;&s;ages or records: and on the contrary, what&s;oever is &s;in|full
and di&s;plea&s;ing unto God, can never make <HI>Privilege,</HI> as hath
been already argued and proved. Now then the faculty or skill of
the Lawyer, as &s;uch, excending it &s;elf only to the conqui&s;ition and
mu&s;tering together former tran&s;actions, pa&s;&s;ages and records of
Parliament, or at mo&s;t to a&s;&s;i&s;t in the literall explanation or inter|pretation
of them; but matter of &s;in, and what is lawfull by the law
of God, belonging properly to the cogniance of the Divine, it is
<PB N="35" REF="22">
as evident as evidence it &s;elf in her highe&s;t exaltation can make is,
that <HI>Divines</HI> are more u&s;efull, nece&s;&s;ary, yea and <HI>competent Judges</HI>
(in the &s;aen&s;e declared) of Parliamentary Priviledges, then Lawyers
are: Notwith&s;tanding</P>
<P>To the la&s;t recited pa&s;&s;age I an&s;wer 3. and la&s;tly; that whereas
my Adver&s;ary chargeth me, to have <HI>determined and judged of the an|cient
Rights and Privileges of our Parliaments &s;o peremptorily, &amp;c.</HI>
that this charge is like all or mo&s;t of the re&s;t, undue untrue; I doe
not meddle with any <HI>ancient Right or Priviledge of Parliament;</HI> I one|ly
argue and work upon the Principles of mine own Profe&s;&s;ion, the
<HI>Scriptures and Word of God:</HI> if the&s;e in their naturall and proper in|clination,
ducture, and tendencie, lead me to any &s;uch po&s;ition or
conclu&s;ion, which enterfeers with &s;omething which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
will needs call <HI>an ancient Right or Priviledge of Parliament,</HI> it is meer|ly
accidentall, and which I cannot with my Allegeance to Heaven,
nor otherwi&s;e then at the utmo&s;t perill of my &s;oule, no nor with|out
a &s;infull prevarication with that dutie which I owe to the State
I live in, decline. And therefore whereas</P>
<P>The 4^th &s;ignification which the Gentleman finds of the verb
<HI>Prae&s;umo</HI> (to &s;alve the mi&s;carriage of his pen, in the word, <HI>PRE|SVMPTVOVSLY)
is to doe a thing before a man be lawfully called to
it,</HI> and hereupon tells me that <HI>I had no lawfull calling or warrant
from Gods Word or our Lawes to handle the Juri&s;dictions and rights of
Parliament in my Pulpit,</HI> &amp;c. and concludes again&s;t me without
bayle or mainprize, that <HI>in this I was PRESVMPTVOVS by the
Scriptures owne definition,</HI> 2 Pet. 2. 10. I an&s;wer,</P>
<P>1. That the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> in the place cited, gives no definition
at all, of the word, <HI>Pre&s;umptuous,</HI> but onely &s;peaks of a wicked ge|neration
of men, <HI>who walk after the fle&s;h in the lu&s;t of uncleanne&s;&s;e, and
de&s;pi&s;e Government, pre&s;umptuous, &s;elf-willed, and they are not afraid to
&s;peak evill of dignities.</HI> Can a man gather any definition of <HI>Pre&s;ump|tion,</HI>
or of <HI>a Pre&s;umptuous man,</HI> from hence? When the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI>
confe&s;&s;eth him&s;elf to <HI>have been a Bla&s;phemer, Per&s;ecutor</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 1. 13.</NOTE>, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> doth he
give any <HI>definition</HI> of either? I had rather Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> &s;hould call
me a <HI>Pre&s;umptuous</HI> man a thou&s;and times over, then that he &s;hould
be able once to prove it out of any <HI>definition</HI> of S^t <HI>Peter.</HI> The Scrip|tures
which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> &s;till citeth, are acknowledged to be very
good; but he imployeth them again&s;t their wills; and &s;o their
<PB N="36" REF="23">
goodne&s;&s;e and his purpo&s;e, doe not greet or ki&s;&s;e each other. But</P>
<P>2. Whereas he tells me <HI>I had no warrant from Gods Word, or our
Lawes to handle the Juri&s;dictions or rights of Parliament in my Pulpit,
&amp;c.</HI> I fir&s;t demand what <HI>warrant from Gods Word or our Lawes</HI> hath
he, thus to calumniate a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, onely for his faith|fulne&s;&s;e
to God and men; to wring, wre&s;t, and wier-draw his
words and &s;ayings, as he hath done the&s;e ten times (at lea&s;t) in
this and his other writings? I &s;hall have my warrant, and that Au|thentique
enough, to &s;hew for what I have done, when his will be
to &s;eek for what he hath done, and (that which is wor&s;e) will no
where be found. As for his charge, that I <HI>handle the Juri&s;dictions
and rights of Parliament in my Pulpit, &amp;c.</HI> it is but a dead corps of
an accu&s;ation, without any life or &s;oule of Truth in it at all; and
may well be reputed free of the company of his other not more
foule then fal&s;e criminations. I never handled any &s;uch theame or
&s;ubject in my Pulpit as he talks of, except it were in pleading the
ju&s;tne&s;&s;e of their cau&s;e in the pre&s;ent warres, again&s;t the determi|nations
of the <HI>Oxford</HI> Schooles. I tru&s;t Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> will forgive me
this offence. But</P>
<P>3. If by <HI>handling the rights and Juri&s;dictions of Parliaments,</HI> he
means tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages wherein I argued again&s;t the lawfulne&s;&s;e of
&s;ubmitting unto any Government from men, except it be agreea|ble
al&s;o to the Word of God, and mind of Chri&s;t; or again&s;t any
lawfulne&s;&s;e of power in any civill Magi&s;trate or Magi&s;tracie what|&s;oever,
to make any &s;uch Lawes or Statutes in matters of Religion,
and which concerne the wor&s;hip of God, whereunto the &s;ervants
of God &s;hall &s;tand bound under mulcts and penalties to &s;ubmit,
whether they can <HI>with a good con&s;cience</HI> &s;ubmit unto them, or no;
if this be the tenor of my charge, I an&s;wer, that <HI>I have warrant</HI> both
<HI>from the Law of God,</HI> and <HI>from the Laws of the Land</HI> al&s;o, as farre as
I under&s;tand them, (and I hope I under&s;tand them &s;ufficiently in
this) to doe what&s;oever I have herein done. The warrant of a
Law, (whether we &s;peak of the Law of God, or of the Law of men)
for an action, doth not &s;tand onely in a po&s;itive or expre&s;&s;e injun|ction,
or declaration in the Law, that &s;uch or &s;uch an action, either
mu&s;t, or may be done: but al&s;o in the totall &s;ilence of the Law,
(directly and by evident con&s;equence) as touching any re&s;traint or
prohibition of the action. It is true, the totall &s;ilence of humane
<PB N="37" REF="23">
Lawes concerning many actions, doth not &s;imply and ab&s;olutely
warrant them for lawfull or good, (though this be true concern|ing
the Divine Law) but it warrants them &s;ufficiently again&s;t any
crime imputable, again&s;t any cen&s;ure or puni&s;hment infligible by
the Authoritie of &s;uch Lawes. <HI>Where no Law is</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom. 4. 15</NOTE>)
<HI>there is no tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion.</HI> So then, if among&s;t all the Laws and Sta|tutes
of the Land, there be no one Law or Statute to be found,
which prohibiteth or re&s;traineth a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel from
declaring and making known <HI>the whole coun&s;ell of God</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Act. 20. 27.</NOTE> unto men,
(of which wretched import I know none, yea I am &s;ecurely confi|dent
that there is none) then have I warrant &s;ufficient, in re&s;pect
of <HI>our Laws,</HI> both to <HI>preach</HI> and <HI>print</HI> what&s;oever I have done either
in the one or in the other, in the pa&s;&s;ages afore&s;aid: becau&s;e in them
I have neither <HI>preached</HI> nor <HI>printed</HI> any thing, but what is part of
the <HI>coun&s;ell of God,</HI> as I have abundantly manife&s;ted &amp; made good,
in &s;everall tracts, e&s;pecially in that which was la&s;t publi&s;hed<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Innocencie and Truth tri|umphing to|gether.</NOTE>,
again&s;t all oppo&s;ition and counter-rea&s;onings what&s;oever.</P>
<P>As for <HI>the word of God,</HI> I have not onely <HI>a warrant</HI> from thence,
to doe all that I did in the premi&s;es, but (that which is more then
a warrant, in the &s;en&s;e &s;pecified) precept upon precept, injunction
upon injunction, command upon command: yea I &s;tand here mo&s;t
deeply and dreadfully charged, as I will an&s;wer it at the great and
terrible day, <HI>when the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall be revealed from Heaven,
with his mightie Angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the Go&s;pel of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 1. 7, 8.</NOTE>,
to doe that which I did in <HI>the pa&s;&s;ages</HI> excepted again&s;t. <HI>I charge
thee therefore</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle to <HI>Timothy, a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel)
before God and the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;hall judge the quick and dead
at his appearing and his Kingdome: Preach the Word: be in&s;tant, in &s;ea|&s;on,
out of &s;ea&s;on; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-&s;uffering and Do|ctrine.
For</HI><NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4. 1, 2.</NOTE>, &amp;c. Peru&s;e the other Scriptures pre&s;ented unto you in
the margent<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 3. 10, 11. 18, 19, 20. Jer. 1. 17. E&s;a. 58. 1. Mat. 10. 27, 28 Act. 4. 19, 20. &amp; 20. 24, 25, 26, 27. Rom. 12. 6. 1 Pet. 4. 10, 11. 1 Cor. 9. 16. Tit. 1. 9. &amp; 3. 15, &amp;c.</NOTE>; behold, they lift up their voyces together, calling,
crying out amaine for all diligence, faithfulne&s;&s;e, zeale, undaunted|ne&s;&s;e
of courage and re&s;olution in tho&s;e who are entru&s;ted with
that great di&s;pen&s;ation of the mind and coun&s;ell of God in the be|half
of the world, in the di&s;charge of this mo&s;t high and honoura|ble
tru&s;t committed unto them. And therefore for Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
to charge me with <HI>boldne&s;&s;e, daringne&s;&s;e, audaciou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> for &s;tick|ing
<PB N="38" REF="24">
to, &s;tanding by, and maintaining what I have &s;aid and done
out of faithfulne&s;&s;e both unto God and men, and according to the
true tenor and intent of my Commi&s;&s;ion from Heaven; is as child|i&s;h
and weak, as if I &s;hould charge him with <HI>boldne&s;&s;e, daringne&s;&s;e,
audaciou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> for eating his bread, or pleading the righteous cau&s;e
of his hone&s;t client. He mi&s;takes his mark day and way, if he thinks
either to (rayle I might truely &s;ay, or) threaten me out of the way
and cour&s;e of my dutie, by his great words. <HI>Through Chri&s;t &s;trength|ning
me,</HI> it is as ea&s;ie for me to beare all his unju&s;t and <HI>hard &s;ayings,</HI>
as it is for him to &s;peak them: to &s;tand under, and carry the grea|te&s;t
burthen of infamie and reproach, as it is for him to lay it on;
yea to &s;uffer the wor&s;t and harde&s;t of &s;ufferings, as it is for him to
procure them. He that cannot <GAP DESC="foreign">, and that at any rate
what&s;oever, will never make <HI>good Souldier</HI> indeed for Je&s;us Chri&s;t.
His pen (I hope) you &s;ee, hath not pro&s;pered hitherto, in pleading
the cau&s;e of his client, PRESUMPTUOUSLY: he cannot finde
any one &s;ignification of the word, that will &s;tick or fa&s;ten.</P>
<P><HI>The fift and la&s;t &s;ignification, which he in&s;i&s;ts upon, is this. The
verb ye wot of,</HI> PRAESVMO, <HI>yet further &s;ignifies,</HI> to doe a thing
boldly, confidently, or ra&s;hly, without good grounds, &amp;c. <HI>To help him|&s;elf
at the dead lift he is now at, by this &s;ignification of his verb,
he &s;ets on thus;</HI> After you were que&s;tioned before a Committee of Par|liament
for tho&s;e very pa&s;&s;ages in your fir&s;t Sermon, as exceeding &s;canda|lous
and derogatory to the Members and Privileges of Parliament, yet
you in a daring manner, whilst you were under examination, audaciou&s;|ly
preached over the &s;ame againe for &s;ub&s;tance in your Pulpit on a &s;olemne
Fa&s;t day, and publi&s;hed them with additions in no le&s;&s;e then two printed
books: yea &s;ince your very cen&s;ure by the Committee for them, you have in
a higher &s;traine then ever gone on to ju&s;tifie them in print once more, in
your Innocencies Triumph (like an incorrigible Delinquent) wherein you
&s;lander the Parliament more then before, &amp;c. <HI>Where before I an&s;wer,
ob&s;erve</HI> 1. <HI>That the &s;ignification here in&s;i&s;ted upon is, lower then the
charge;</HI> it &s;ignifies to doe boldly, <HI>&amp;c. but his charge is, that I did it
pre&s;umptuou&s;ly.</HI> 2. <HI>In</HI> this great Mu&s;ter-roll <HI>of the &s;everall &s;ignifica|tions
of his verb</HI> Prae&s;umo, <HI>he pa&s;&s;es over, and forgets to li&s;t the com|mon
or generall acceptation of the word, as it is u&s;ually taken
among&s;t us, and as any Author that writes Engli&s;h u&s;es to be un|der&s;tood;</HI>
viz. <HI>for a wilfull and high-handed commi&s;&s;ion of &s;ome
wicked thing. But for an&s;wer;</HI></P>
<PB N="39" REF="24">
<P>1. What Logick is there in all this Rhetorick to prove, that
what I did in the pa&s;&s;ages under conte&s;t, I did <HI>ra&s;hly or without good
grounds?</HI> Here is nothing &s;o much as in pretence (in reality no
where el&s;e) to di&s;able tho&s;e grounds upon which tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages
&s;tand.</P>
<P>2. How unkindly he deales with the truth, in affirming, 1. <HI>That
I preached over the &s;ame again for &s;ub&s;tance or a &s;olemne Fa&s;t day.</HI> 2. <HI>That
I publi&s;hed them with additions in no le&s;&s;e then two printed books, whil&s;t
I was under examination;</HI> hath been already pre&s;ented to view
towards the beginning of this Di&s;cour&s;e. And here wee have yet
more (be&s;ides the&s;e) <HI>eju&s;dem farinae, (&s;eu potius, furfaris</HI>) as 1. <HI>That
the pa&s;&s;ages in my fir&s;t Sermon were exceeding &s;candalous, and derogatory
to the members and privileges of Parliament:</HI> There hath been nothing
yet proved, nor (I beleeve) ever will or can be proved, that there
was any thing in this Sermon, not only <HI>not exceeding &s;candalous and
derogatory, &amp;c.</HI> but not <HI>&s;candalous or derogatory</HI> in the lea&s;t or lighte&s;t
manner or degree either to any <HI>member,</HI> or <HI>any privilege of Parliament</HI>
what&s;oever. 2. <HI>That &s;ince my very cen&s;ure by the Committee for them, I
have gone on to ju&s;tifie them in an</HI> HIGHER STRAIN <HI>then
ever, in my Innocencies Triumph.</HI> Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> I &s;ee is no A&s;tronomer,
to take the altitude or elevation of a <HI>&s;train</HI> in Rhetorick; if hee
were, he would be a&s;hamed of this calculation, that <HI>in my Innocen|cies
Triumph I ju&s;tifie my pa&s;&s;ages in a</HI> HIGHER STRAINE
<HI>then ever.</HI> Who&s;oever reads this little peece, cannot lightly but &s;ee
and confe&s;&s;e, that all along I creep as neere the ground as any man
(lightly) can goe. 3. <HI>That in my</HI> &s;aid <HI>Innocencies Triumph I &s;lander
the Parliament more then before.</HI> Here wee have untruth upon un|truth,
po&s;ition upon &s;uppo&s;ition, and both vanity. For this a&s;&s;er|tion
1. &s;uppo&s;eth, that I had <HI>&s;landered the Parliament</HI> before,
(wherein I am certain Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> &s;landers me:) And 2. i affirmeth,
that <HI>I &s;lander it a &s;econd</HI> time <HI>more then I did before.</HI> If he had conten|ted
him&s;elf only to have &s;aid, that <HI>in my Innocencies Triumph I &s;lander
the Parliament</HI> as much <HI>as I did before,</HI> he had &s;poke a kind of truth,
though of very &s;lender importance. 4. <HI>That I was cen&s;ured by the
Committee for the pa&s;&s;ages in my Sermon.</HI> If by <HI>cen&s;ured</HI> he means <HI>&s;e|que&s;tred</HI>
(as by the tenor of all he writes concerning me in this di&s;|cour&s;e,
it &s;hould &s;eem he doth) granting the truth of the act or
<HI>cen&s;ure it &s;elfe</HI> (which yet to me is very que&s;tionable, upon the rea|&s;ons
<PB N="40" REF="25">
formerly mentioned) yet I cannot beleeve but that Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI>
pen faulters in a&s;&s;igning the grounds or rea&s;ons of the cen&s;ure. It
will not enter into me, to conceive a thought &s;o di&s;honorable to
that honorable Committee, as that they &s;hould <HI>&s;u&s;pend</HI> or <HI>&s;eque&s;ter</HI>
a Mini&s;ter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath in all things from the fir&s;t to
the la&s;t, approved him&s;elfe faithfull unto them, and to that hono|rable
cau&s;e wherein they are ingaged, for preaching his judgement
and con&s;cience in a point of doctrine, having &s;uch &s;ub&s;tantiall and
weighty grounds both from the Scriptures them&s;elves, and other|wi&s;e,
(which I then in part accounted unto them, and am &s;till rea|dy
to perfect the account, if called to it) to conceive and judge is
none other but the very truth of God.</P>
<P>3. And la&s;tly, whereas he brands me for <HI>an incorrigible Delin|quent,</HI>
and el&s;where for one <HI>impenitent after cen&s;ure</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 107. circa medium.</NOTE>. I an&s;wer and
confe&s;&s;e, 1. That I am <HI>incorrigible</HI> indeed, by a crooked rule, as the
Apo&s;tles them&s;elves were, when being charged and <HI>commanded</HI> by
a whole Councell, <HI>not to &s;peak at all, or teach in the Name of Je&s;us,</HI>
they notwith&s;tanding profe&s;&s;ed, that <HI>they could not but &s;peak the
things which they had &s;een and heard</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Act. 4. 18. 20.</NOTE>. Rectitude is alwayes unrecti|fiable,
i. <HI>incorrigible:</HI> And 2. I an&s;wer and confe&s;&s;e yet further, that
I am <HI>impenitent</HI> al&s;o in re&s;pect of that wherein I know no unrigh|teou&s;nes,
or &s;in. The truth is, I am con&s;cious to my &s;elf of too many
&s;innes and failings in my &s;elfe, to ca&s;t away <HI>my Repentance</HI> upon
&s;uch things as need it not If I can find repentance for all my
finnes, I &s;hall leave all my other actions to be lamented and
mourned over by the world. If Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> will indict me for &s;uch
<HI>incorrigiblene&s;&s;e and impenitency</HI> as the&s;e, &s;o be it: I know the great
Judge of heaven and earth will acquit me. And thus you &s;ee that
Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> &s;till &s;tands as a man convicted of an unrighteous charge
in the word PRESUMPTUOUSLY; <HI>haeret lateri lathalis
arundo:</HI> the arrow &s;ticks &s;till in his &s;ides, and all his wringling and
wre&s;ting, and pulling, cannot get it out.</P>
<P>His la&s;t charge and conte&s;t again&s;t me in this peece, is, that <HI>the
Authors which I cite to ju&s;tifie my &s;elfe, are mi&s;erably wre&s;ted and mi|&s;taken
for the mo&s;t part.</HI> The common &s;aying is, That it's ill halting
before a creeple; The Proverb &s;eems to import &s;ome dexterou&s;ne&s;s
of faculty in him that halts continually, to take tho&s;e tardy who
onely counterfeit, and doe that by way of de&s;igne, which him&s;elfe
<PB N="41" REF="25">
doth out of nece&s;&s;itie. The truth is, though Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> may
rea&s;onably be conceived to have a more &s;agacious facultie
then other men, of taking tho&s;e with the very manner, who
<HI>wre&s;t Authors and mi&s;take their meaning,</HI> as being a man &s;o fami|liarly
exerci&s;ed in the practi&s;e him&s;elf (I &s;peak of his writings
again&s;t my &s;elf) yet either his skill fails him, or his will &s;tands
too fa&s;t by him, in the &s;entence pronounced again&s;t me in this
kind; as will appear pre&s;ently. In the mean while, I cannot
but take notice of that expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>mi&s;taken for the mo&s;t part,</HI> as an
expre&s;&s;ion of the greate&s;t caution and care, that (to my be&s;t re|membrance)
I have met with in all that he hath written
again&s;t me. It is very rare to find any of his uncharitable a&s;|&s;ertions
concerning me, at all bridled or corrected with any
allay of any diminutive, lenitive, limitation or re&s;traint: but
the &s;aying (I remember) is, that he goes farre, that never re|turns.
But let us hearken unto his complaint of the behalf of
tho&s;e <HI>Authors,</HI> whom he &s;o bewaileth, as being <HI>mi&s;erably wre&s;ted</HI>
by me.</P>
<P><HI>The fir&s;t is his Friend Mr.</HI> Edwards, <HI>from who&s;e</HI> unaun&s;werable
<HI>a piece of Presbyterie, I cite this pa&s;&s;age,</HI> The Parliament inter|po&s;eth
no Authority to determine, what Government &s;hall be; <HI>and ga|ther
upon it thus;</HI> therefore his opinion APPEARS to be (<HI>not,
as Mr.</HI> Prynne, <HI>who&s;e pen I &s;ee loves to play at &s;mall game in
mi&s;-reports, rather then &s;it out, recites it &s;oon after;</HI> Therefore
his opinion is) either that the Parliament hath no Authoritie, or at lea&s;t
intends not to make u&s;e of it, it determining a Government. <HI>How</HI> mi|&s;erably
<HI>this good well-meaning</HI> Author <HI>is by me</HI> wre&s;ted, <HI>he de|clares
thus:</HI> It was written onely with reference to the pre&s;ent time, the
Parliament having at that time when he writ (during the A&s;&s;emblies
debate and con&s;ultation) interpo&s;ed no Authority is determine what
Government &s;hall be.</P>
<P>But good Sir, though you (it may be) hit the meaning of
the Author better then I, having and the opportunity to con|&s;ult
with him about it, which I have not; yet I am &s;ure I hit the
meaning of his words better then you. If men and their words
will be of two different minds and meanings, I confe&s;&s;e <HI>their</HI>
meanings may very ea&s;ily be mi&s;taken, not by me onely, but
by tho&s;e that are wi&s;er, and farre more able then I to under|&s;tand
<PB N="42" REF="26">
&s;tand the force and proper import of words. And yet now I
come upon this occa&s;ion to review my expre&s;&s;ion, I find it more
cautions and warie, then I can remember my &s;elf to have been
in the calculation or inditing of it; and altogether free even
from that cavilling and &s;hifting exception, which is here made
again&s;t it. For I do not ab&s;olutely &s;ay or conclude, that his
opinion <HI>was</HI> or <HI>is</HI> either &s;o or &s;o, (as Mr. <HI>Prynne, pro more &s;uo,</HI> char|geth
me to do) but onely that it <HI>appears to be</HI> either the one or
the other: and I think there is &s;carce any that under&s;tands
Engli&s;h, from the child that hath new learn'd his Primer, to the
greate&s;t Ma&s;ter in the language, but will acknowledge an <HI>ap|pearance</HI>
at lea&s;t of one or other of tho&s;e <HI>opinions</HI> in the words.
And how anomalous and &s;harking that interpretation of the
words, which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> would force upon them, is, will be&s;t
appear by comparing the words and interpretation with other
expre&s;&s;ions of the &s;ame Grammaticall character and con&s;tru|ction
both in the &s;ame Author, and in others. When (<HI>p.</HI> 170.
of his Antapologie) he cites this &s;aying out of <HI>Zanchie; that
which doth not di&s;turbe the publique peace&mdash;the Magi&s;trate PRO|CEEDETH
not again&s;t;</HI> doth he imagine that the meaning
of this Author was to confine that <HI>non-proceeding</HI> of the Magi|&s;trate
he &s;peaks of, to the particular and preci&s;e time of his
writing; as if then indeed he did not &s;o <HI>proceed,</HI> but at all other
times he did. So again when him&s;elf (p. 169. of the &s;ame
Tract) &s;aith thus, <HI>the power of the Magi&s;trate by which he puni&s;heth
&s;in, doth not &s;ub&s;erve to the Kingdom of Chri&s;t the Mediator;</HI> can any
rea&s;onable man think that his meaning onely &s;hould be, that
this <HI>power of the Magi&s;trate</HI> which he &s;peaks of, <HI>doth not</HI> thus <HI>&s;ub|&s;erve</HI>
while&s;t he is in &s;peaking or writing it; but that afterwards
it may, or <HI>doth &s;ub&s;erve</HI> in &s;uch a kind? <HI>Apag&egrave; nugas!</HI> when the
Evangeli&s;t <HI>John,</HI> &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, &s;aith thus: <HI>This was the true
light that LIGHTETH every man that cometh into the world</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1. 9.</NOTE>;
is his meaning that Chri&s;t performed that act of grace he
&s;peaks of, <HI>enlightened men coming into the world,</HI> onely while&s;t he
was writing his Go&s;pel, and that afterwards he &s;u&s;pended it?
In &s;uch con&s;tructions of &s;peech as this, the common Rule of
Divines (touching matter of Interpretation) is, that <HI>verbum
prae&s;entis notat actum continuum &s;eu con&s;uetum: i.</HI> a verb of the pre|&s;ent
<PB N="43" REF="26">
ten&s;e noteth a continued or &s;till accu&s;tomed act. So that
while&s;t Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> goes about to prove, that <HI>I mi&s;erably wre&s;t</HI> his
<HI>Author,</HI> how favourably &s;oever he may deal with his <HI>Author</HI> in
compari&s;on of my dealing with him, certain I am that he <HI>mi|&s;erably
wre&s;ts his words,</HI> with which I deal as favourably, as their
genuine and native &s;ignification, according to all rules both
of Grammaticall and Rhetoricall con&s;truction will bear.</P>
<P><HI>As for that rea&s;on which Mr.</HI> Prynne <HI>alledgeth, to counte|nance
the &s;en&s;e which he puts upon the words now conte&s;ted
about, to the di&s;paragement of mine,</HI> viz. <HI>that</HI> be maintains
point-blank again&s;t me throughout his Treati&s;e a legi&s;lative and coer|cive
power in Parliaments; <HI>and</HI> that the inference which I draw from
the &s;aid words is quite contrarie to the next en&s;uing words and pages;
<HI>I an&s;wer,</HI></P>
<P>1. (To the former part of the Rea&s;on) that it is mo&s;t un|true:
<HI>he doth</HI> not <HI>maintain point-blank again&s;t me throughout his
Treati&s;e a legi&s;lative and coercive power in Parliaments and civill Ma|gi&s;trates.</HI>
I every where acknowledge and a&s;&s;ert a civill <HI>legi&s;lative</HI>
power in both; therefore Mr. <HI>Edwards maintaining</HI> &s;uch a <HI>power</HI>
in them, <HI>maintains</HI> nothing <HI>point-blank again&s;t me.</HI> And whether
he maintains a &s;pirituall or <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall legi&s;lative power</HI> in
them, e&s;pecially <HI>throughout his Treati&s;e,</HI> let this pa&s;&s;age be wit|ne&s;&s;e
between me and my Adver&s;arie: <HI>There is nothing more com|mon
in the writings of the learned and orthodox, then to &s;hew that the
civill power and Government of the Magi&s;trate, and the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Government of the Church, are</HI> to to genere <HI>disjoyned: and thereupon the
power of the Magi&s;trate by which he deals with the corrupt manners
and di&s;orders of his people, it in the nature and &s;pecificall rea&s;on di&s;tinct
from Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall di&s;cipline</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Edwards Antap. p. 169.</NOTE>. I know not what artificiall con|&s;truction
and meaning Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> may po&s;&s;ibly find out for
the&s;e words; but &s;urely he that hath not affirm'd the contra|rie,
as Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> very incon&s;iderately (that I &s;ay not PRE|SUMPTUOUSLY)
hath done, will not affirm, that Mr. <HI>Edw.</HI>
in this pa&s;&s;age <HI>maintains an Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall legi&s;lative power in Par|liaments
or civill Magi&s;trates,</HI> but the contrary; yea and affirms
this to be the <HI>common</HI> judgement of men <HI>learned and orthodox.</HI> So
again when he affirms, <HI>p.</HI> 282. <HI>that it is their duty</HI> (&s;peaking of the
Parliament) <HI>by their power and Authority to bind men to the Decrees
<PB N="44" REF="27">
of the A&s;&s;embly,</HI> he doth not (doubtle&s;&s;e) maintain <HI>an Eccle&s;ia|&s;ticall
legi&s;lative power in the Parliament:</HI> for they that have &s;uch
a power, cannot be bound in <HI>dutie</HI> to own the Laws or <HI>Decrees</HI>
of others, much le&s;&s;e to <HI>bind others</HI> to &s;ubjection to them. I omit
many other pa&s;&s;ages in this book of like importance. The
truth is, that Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> opinion concerning an Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
&s;pirituall Juri&s;diction in the Civill Magi&s;trate, which yet is his
grand notion in all that he hath written upon the &s;ubject of
Presbyterie, overthrows the main grounds and principall
foundations upon which the Doctrine of Presbyterie is built
by all her able&s;t and mo&s;t skilfull workmen. In&s;omuch that I
wonder not a little, that the Ma&s;ters of that way and Judge|ment,
have not appeared at another manner of rate then yet
they have done, for the vindication of their principles again&s;t
him that hath made &s;o &s;ore a breach upon them, and laid their
honour in the du&s;t. Somewhat I know &s;ome of them have done
in this kind: but the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> reproved the King of I&s;rael,
for <HI>&s;miting thrice</HI> onely <HI>upon the ground,</HI> and then cea&s;ing, telling
him that he <HI>&s;hould have &s;mitten five or &s;ix times.</HI></P>
<P>2. To the latter part of the Rea&s;on, I an&s;wer and confe&s;&s;e,
that <HI>the inference I draw from the words</HI> mentioned, may very po&s;|&s;ibly
be <HI>quite contrarie to the next en&s;uing words and pages,</HI> and yet
the &s;en&s;e of them no wayes <HI>wre&s;ted,</HI> nor <HI>mi&s;taken</HI> by me; becau&s;e
it is familiar in the Di&s;cour&s;e, for the Author to contradict
him&s;elf, as well as other men; according to one of the ingre|dients
in that mo&s;t true and happie character of the Di&s;cour&s;e,
given by a woman, who de&s;cribes it to be <HI>wrangling-in&s;inuating-contradictory-revengefull
&s;torie</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>Katharine Chidley</HI> New-yeers gift. <HI>E|pi&s;t.</HI> to the Reader.</NOTE>. And the truth is, that in the eye
of an unpartiall and di&s;engaged Reader, there is &s;carce any
pa&s;&s;age or period throughout the whole Di&s;cour&s;e but may be
commodiou&s;ly enough reduced under one of the&s;e 4. heads.
And therefore whereas Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> gives this <HI>elogium</HI> of it, that
it is <HI>in truth unan&s;werable</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Dedic. non longe &agrave; fin&egrave;</NOTE>; I confe&s;&s;e that <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> it is in
&s;everall re&s;pects and &s;undrie wayes. Fir&s;t, it is <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> to
that e&s;teeme which my &s;elf with many others had of the Au|thor
formerly. Secondly, <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> it is to that opinion,
which he would have the world conceive of his parts and lear|ning,
and in &s;peciall manner of his abilities to deal in the par|ticular
<PB N="45" REF="27">
controver&s;ie. Thirdly, it is <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> to his profe&s;|&s;ion
as he is a Chri&s;tian. Fourthly, much more <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> is it
to his calling, as he is a Mini&s;ter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t and of the Go|&s;pel:
And fifthly (and la&s;tly) mo&s;t <HI>unan&s;werable</HI> it is to tho&s;e fre|quent,
&s;olemn and large profe&s;&s;ions which he makes both in
his Epi&s;tle and el&s;ewhere, of his love to the Apologi&s;ts, and
candor and fairne&s;&s;e in writing. But for any &s;uch <HI>unan&s;werable|ne&s;&s;e</HI>
as Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> intends, the one part of it will not indure
that &s;uch a thing &s;hould be &s;poken of the other; there being
enough in the Di&s;cour&s;e it &s;elf to an&s;wer what&s;oever is to be
found in it, of any materiall con&s;ideration again&s;t the Con|gregationall
way; as will in time convenient be made mani|fe&s;t
in the &s;ight of the Sun, God not preventing, by more then
an ordinarie (or at lea&s;t expected) hand. And whereas Mr.
<HI>Prynne</HI> glorieth (and that twice over at lea&s;t, for failing) that
it hath not <HI>been hitherto an&s;wered by the Independents</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Dedic. non longe &agrave; fine. <HI>And again,</HI> p. 111. non long&egrave; &agrave; fine.</NOTE>; I an&s;wer
three things: Fir&s;t, that neither hath Mris <HI>Katharine Chidleys</HI>
An&s;wer to Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> his Rea&s;ons again&s;t Independencie and
Toleration, been yet replyed unto or an&s;wered, either by Mr.
<HI>Edwards</HI> him&s;elf, or any other of his partie; notwith&s;tanding
the &s;aid An&s;wer be but a &s;mall piece in compari&s;on of the An|tapologie:
and be&s;ides hath been &s;ome yeers longer abroad,
then this. Be&s;ides this, there are many other Tractates and
Di&s;cour&s;es extant (and &s;o have been a long time) in defence of
the Congregationall way, which as yet have not been &s;o much
as attempted by any Cla&s;&s;ique Author what&s;oever. A particu|lar
of &s;ome of the&s;e you may &s;ee, <HI>p.</HI> 65. of my <HI>Innocencie and Truth
triumphing together,</HI> in the Margent. As for that which <HI>A. S.</HI> or
(in words at large) <HI>Adam Steuart</HI> hath lift up his pen to do
again&s;t <HI>M. S.</HI> if men will needs vote it for an <HI>An&s;wer,</HI> an An&s;wer
(&s;o called) let it be:<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Whereas <HI>M. S.</HI> hath the&s;e words: Better a thou&s;and times is it that &s;uch di&s;tempers as the&s;e, though found in millions of men, &s;hould &s;uffer, then that the lea&s;t haire of the head of one of tho&s;e men &s;hould fall to the ground: This pa&s;&s;age <HI>A. Steuart (<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span">) interprets this: Better that millions of us, who de&s;ire the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of all Sects, &s;hould &s;uffer, then but any of them &s;hould lo&s;e but one, yea the lea&s;t hair of their heads. The &s;econd part of the Duply, &amp;c. by Adam Steu|art,</HI> p. 180. What <HI>M. S.</HI> cals, DISTEMPERS, <HI>A. S.</HI> interprets, <HI>Presbyterians;</HI> and is not able to conceive how the one &s;hould &s;uffer without the other. And this line of interpretation he &s;tretcheth over this whole Di&s;cour&s;e: <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span">.</NOTE> but (doubtle&s;&s;e) he that wants either will
<PB N="46" REF="28">
or skill to di&s;tingui&s;h between the <HI>per&s;ons</HI> and the <HI>di&s;tempers</HI> of
men, is in an ill capacitie (or incapacitie rather) of framing
any &s;ober an&s;wer to a &s;ober Di&s;cour&s;e. Secondly, Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI>
him&s;elf, the &s;mallne&s;&s;e of the content of the Apologeticall Nar|ration
con&s;idered, took not a whit le&s;&s;e time to give an&s;wer to
it, then hath yet been taken by the Independents to an&s;wer the
Antapologie. But thirdly (and la&s;tly) if Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> knew and
con&s;idered, who it was that hath hindered the Independents,
and that once and again from an&s;wering it as yet, <HI>viz.</HI> he that
&s;ometimes <HI>hindred Pauls</HI> coming to the The&s;&s;alonians<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 2. 18</NOTE>, though
(in Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> apprehen&s;ion) he both <HI>ha&s;tened and furthered
the coming back of the Apologi&s;ts into England</HI><NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Actapol. p. 191.</NOTE>; he had little or no
cau&s;e to glorie in that priviledge. But <HI>Quod defertur, non an|fectur:</HI></P>
<L>Quicquid &s;ub terr&acirc; e&s;t in apricum proferet aetas.</L>
<P>Having (as you have heard) befriended Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> (his
fellow-labourer in the Presbyterian cau&s;e) with the be&s;t ac|commodation
he could to make one piece of him hang to ano|ther
(but alas, who is able to comprimize between fire and wa|ter?)
he proceeds and tels me <HI>behind my back,</HI> (and yet with an
intent I pre&s;ume that <HI>all the world</HI> &s;hould take notice of it) that
<HI>my pa&s;&s;ages out of Mr. Hayward, Bi&s;hop Jewel, Mr. Fox, Mr. Calvin,
Jacobus Acontius, &amp;c. make nothing at all again&s;t the legi&s;lative Au|thority
of Parliaments in matters of Religion and Church Government,
and have no affinity with my pa&s;&s;ages, words, mo&s;t of them propugning
the very Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power of Parliaments, which I oppugne:</HI> And
yet in the very next words adds; that <HI>indeed &s;ome of their words
&s;eem to dimini&s;h the coercive power of Magi&s;trates, and enforcing of
mens con&s;ciences in matters of Religion;</HI> as if I ever <HI>oppugned</HI> or de|nied
any other Authority or power in Magi&s;trates, then this.
If he will plea&s;e but to peru&s;e my <HI>Innocencies triumph,</HI> pag. 8.
and my <HI>Innocency and Truth triumphing together,</HI> pag. 72. 73.
78. with &s;everall other pa&s;&s;ages in the&s;e and other my wri|tings,
he will (or at lea&s;t very ea&s;ily, may) &s;ee that I <HI>oppugne,</HI> de|ny
no other <HI>Authority, power in Parliaments, Civill Magi&s;trates,</HI> but
onely that which is <HI>enforcing of mens con&s;ciences in matters of Reli|gion.</HI>
Whereas he promi&s;eth or undertakes that <HI>he &s;hall in due
place an&s;wer</HI> the&s;e words of theirs, which (as he &s;aith) <HI>&s;eem to di|mini&s;h
<PB N="47" REF="28">
the coercive power of Magi&s;trates in matters of Religion,</HI> and
<HI>manife&s;t how I abu&s;e the Authors herein as well as Mr. Edwards;</HI> My
an&s;wer onely is, that he may indeed &s;oon <HI>an&s;wer</HI> them after
that rate of <HI>an&s;wering,</HI> at which he hath <HI>an&s;wered</HI> any thing of
mine hitherto, and he may <HI>&s;hew how (i.</HI> &s;ay that) <HI>I abu&s;e them;</HI>
and without writing or &s;peaking, as well as by either, <HI>manife&s;t
that I abu&s;e their Authors herein, as well</HI> as I do <HI>Mr. Edwards.</HI> But
for this la&s;t particular, I am willing to &s;ave him the labour and
pains of writing for the <HI>manife&s;tation</HI> of it. For I here freely con|fe&s;&s;e,
that I have <HI>abu&s;ed the&s;e Authors</HI> in what he &s;peaks of, ju&s;t as
I have <HI>abu&s;ed Mr. Edwards:</HI> and both of them ju&s;t as much as
amounts to no abu&s;e at all. I wonder by what art or way the
Gentleman means to go to work, to prove that I have <HI>mi&s;erably
wre&s;ted,</HI> or <HI>abu&s;ed</HI> the Authors he here &s;peaks of, or their words,
when as I have put no con&s;truction at all or interpretation
upon their words, nor drawn any inference or deduction
from them, but onely tran&s;cribed them with as much dili|gence
and faithfulne&s;&s;e as I could, and pre&s;ented them cleerly
as they <HI>&s;tand</HI> in their re&s;pective Authors. If his meaning be,
that I have <HI>mi&s;erably wre&s;ted and abu&s;ed them</HI> by my quotation of
them, as &s;ub&s;ervient to my cau&s;e or purpo&s;e, (a deed of folly
which him&s;elf commits with the holy Scriptures them&s;elves
many a time and often) my an&s;wer is, that were this a&s;&s;ertion
true, that they are not &s;ub&s;ervient to my cau&s;e or purpo&s;e, yet
my recour&s;e unto them, for aid to my purpo&s;e, were no <HI>mi&s;era|ble
wre&s;ting or abu&s;ing of them.</HI> Our Saviour being an hungry, did
not abu&s;e the fig-tree by repairing to it, though there prov'd
nothing upon it for his <HI>purpo&s;e.</HI> Nor &s;hould Mr. <HI>Prynne abu&s;e</HI> a
Tavern by going into it to drink a cup of wine that plea&s;eth
him, though he &s;hold be di&s;appointed in his expectation when
he comes there. Nay in this ca&s;e would he not rather think
(and that much more rea&s;onably of the two) that the Taverne
had abu&s;ed him, then he it. In like manner, if tho&s;e Authors
and &s;ayings which I have produced, and which Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
&s;peaks of, <HI>have no affinity with my pa&s;&s;ages</HI> and purpo&s;e, I may
much more truly and rea&s;onably &s;ay that they have <HI>abu&s;ed</HI> me,
then Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> can either &s;ay or ever prove, that I have <HI>abu&s;ed</HI>
them. For the truth is, if they do fall me, or refu&s;e to &s;tand by
<PB N="48" REF="29">
me in the defence of <HI>tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages</HI> &s;poken of when Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI>
hath done his wor&s;t to them, they are the greate&s;t di&s;&s;emblers
that ever wore the livery of paper and inke. Never were there
&s;entences or &s;ayings that more fully and freely complied with
any mans notions what&s;oever in terms and words, then farre
the greate&s;t part of the&s;e do with my pa&s;&s;ages and purpo&s;e. If
Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> can di&s;&s;olve or abrogate the Authoritie of Grammar
rules, and de&s;troy the naturall and proper &s;ignification of
words, then may I have &s;ome cau&s;e to fear, that he may po&s;|&s;ibly
evict me to be a <HI>mi&s;erable wre&s;ter and abu&s;er</HI> of Authors and
their &s;ayings. But if words be able to defend them&s;elves, and
make good the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their known &s;ignifications and
rules of con&s;truction, their both ancient and moderne intere&s;t
in the under&s;tandings of men, again&s;t the Authority or vio|lence
of Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> pen; I defie all his interminations and
threatnings of <HI>manife&s;ting</HI> me either <HI>a mi&s;erable wre&s;ter or abu&s;er</HI>
of my Authors.</P>
<P>The la&s;t parcell of his high conte&s;t again&s;t me in this Di&s;|cour&s;e,
is, that <HI>I pervert the meaning of the Divines of Scotland,</HI> in
one, or more, or I know not, he knows not, how many or how
few, of tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages which I cite from them; whereas I med|dle
not little or much with any &s;en&s;e or meaning of any of
them; but onely barely tender them unto the Reader, leaving
it free unto him to judge of the &s;en&s;e and meaning of them,
and whether they con&s;ort with my apprehen&s;ions, or no. And
though he be doubtfull of that interpretation or meaning
which him&s;elf (however) adventures to put upon them (as
there is rea&s;on more then enough, why he &s;hould) delivering
him&s;elf with this &s;ub-mode&s;t caution, <HI>If I mi&s;take not;</HI> yet am I
rated and chidden at no lower rate, then this: <HI>you may THERE|FORE
blu&s;h at this</HI> (I wonder, which) <HI>your perverting of their
meaning, as if they held, that the Parliaments of England or Scotland
had no power to make Eccle&s;ta&s;ticall Laws for Religion and Church
Government. THEREFORE may I blu&s;h:</HI> wherefore? what? be|cau&s;e
Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> hath put &s;uch a &s;en&s;e and interpretation upon
the pa&s;&s;ages in hand, of which he knows not (it &s;eems) what
to make, but &s;u&s;pects a <HI>mi&s;take</HI> in it? <HI>Blu&s;h</HI> in this re&s;pect I con|fe&s;&s;e
<HI>I may:</HI> but what cau&s;e have <HI>I to blu&s;h,</HI> at <HI>my perverting of their
<PB N="49" REF="29">
meaning,</HI> when as 1. I do not interpo&s;e to put any meaning (I
mean any particular or &s;peciall meaning) upon any of them.
2. Why &s;hould I blu&s;h upon Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> injunction, at any <HI>mea|ning</HI>
which I put upon them, when as that very meaning which
him&s;elf puts upon them, by way of confutation and di&s;parage|ment
of that which he pretends to be mine, is by him&s;elf little
le&s;&s;e then &s;u&s;pected for a <HI>mi&s;take?</HI> The tax of <HI>blu&s;hing</HI> which Mr.
<HI>Prynne</HI> impo&s;eth upon me, &s;hould in rea&s;on be rather levied upon
the e&s;tate of his own mode&s;tie, who by his own confe&s;&s;ion runs the
hazard of <HI>perverting the meaning</HI> of tho&s;e pa&s;&s;ages under debate,
whereas I never came &s;o neere the crime of &s;uch a perver&s;ion, as to
ingage my &s;elf in any Interpretation of them at all. But if you will
plea&s;e to heare his Interpretation, and compare it diligently with
his Text (the pa&s;&s;ages cited by me from <HI>the Divines of Scotland</HI>)
you may very fairly tran&s;late Mr. <HI>Prynnes, If I mi&s;take not,</HI> into,
certainly, <HI>Mr. Prynne mi&s;takes. I An&s;wer,</HI> (&s;aith he) 1. <HI>That
their onely meaning</HI> (if I mi&s;take not) <HI>in the&s;e pa&s;&s;ages, is, that
the Prince or chiefe Civill Magi&s;trate of him&s;elfe, without a Parlia|ment,
or without the a&s;&s;i&s;tance and con&s;ent of his Nobles, Commons, Cler|gie,
cannot legally make any Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Lawes to oblige his people.</HI>
Mark this &s;aying well; and &s;ee how like it looks to the genuine
Interpretation, &s;en&s;e or import of the&s;e (and the like) en&s;uing &s;en|tences.
<HI>All men, as well Magi&s;trates, as inferiors, ought to be &s;ubject to
the judgement of the Nationall A&s;&s;embly in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cau&s;es without
any reclamation or appellation to any Judge, Civill or Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall,
within the Realme.</HI> Againe; <HI>It belongeth to the Synod (the Clergie ha|ving
the chiefe place therein to give Direction and advice) not to receive
and approve the definition of the Prince in things which concerne the
wor&s;hip of God, but it &s;elf to define and determine what Orders and Cu|&s;tomes
are fitte&s;t to be ob&s;erved, &amp;c.</HI> We &s;ee here in the Text, that the
<HI>chiefe place,</HI> yea the &s;ole power (for what other &s;en&s;e can be put up|on
tho&s;e words, <HI>It belongeth to the Synod it &s;elf to define and deter|mine</HI>)
of <HI>defining and determining Orders and Cu&s;tomes in things which
concerne the wor&s;hip of God,</HI> is a&s;cribed unto the <HI>Synod,</HI> (wherein al&s;o
the Direction of the Clergie ought to be predominant) not onely
without the <HI>definition of the Prince, or chiefe Civill Magi&s;trate,</HI> but
with rejection of his <HI>definition:</HI> NOT TO RECEIVE OR
APPROVE THE DEFINITION OF THE PRINCE
<PB N="50" REF="30">
(&s;aith this text.) Whereas in Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> Interpretation, the <HI>Prince
or chiefe Civill Magi&s;trate</HI> (as we heard) hath the preheminence and
precedencie in all &s;uch <HI>definitions and determinations</HI> a&s;&s;igned unto
him; and next to him, the <HI>Nobles,</HI> and next to them the <HI>Commons,</HI>
(of neither of which <HI>ne</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>quidem</HI> in the Text) are intere&s;&s;ed in
the &s;ame; and the Clergie, or <HI>Synod,</HI> which are made the head, and
have <HI>the chiefe place,</HI> if not the &s;ole power, about &s;uch <HI>definitions
and determinations</HI> in the text, are in the Interpretation made the
taile, and compelled to come behind all the re&s;t, as a partie borne
out of due time, or at lea&s;t in the lowe&s;t influence of power, for any
&s;uch Intere&s;t. If Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> be not (at the &s;ofte&s;t) <HI>mi&s;taken</HI> in this
Interpretation, the &s;en&s;e and meaning of tho&s;e words, <HI>Abraham be|gat
I&s;aac</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Mat. 1. 2.</NOTE>, may very po&s;&s;ibly be this, that <HI>Judas went and hung
him&s;elf</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Mat. 27. 5.</NOTE>. Judge, Reader, between me and my Adver&s;ary, who hath
more cau&s;e <HI>to blu&s;h,</HI> and who is the more <HI>mi&s;erable wre&s;ter</HI> of words,
and <HI>perverter of meanings.</HI> And whether there be not an ayre or
gentle breathing of a contradiction in this period which he &s;ub|joynes,
within it &s;elf, and in one part of it to the premi&s;ed Inter|pretation,
I de&s;ire the Reader attentively to con&s;ider. <HI>But that the
King</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>or &s;upreame temporall Magi&s;trates, a&s;&s;i&s;ted by a Par|liament
and Orthodox Divines, may not make binding Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Lawes, or, that their or our Parliaments have not a reall Legi&s;lative
power in any matter Eccle&s;tia&s;tique (the onely point controver&s;ed) is di|rectly
contrary both to the con&s;tant Doctrine and Practi&s;e of our Brethren
and their Church, &amp;c.</HI> I beleeve that neither <HI>our Brethren, nor their
Church,</HI> will conne Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> thanks for this his vindication and
plea for them: but however, I &s;hall not &s;peak in his ca&s;t, nor fore|&s;tall
his market. Onely I de&s;ire to know of him, <HI>if their, and our
Parliaments have a reall Legi&s;lative Power in matters Eccle&s;ia&s;tique</HI>
(as he affirms in the latter part of the &s;entence) why he requires an
<HI>a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Orthodox Divines</HI> in the former part of it, <HI>to make binding
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Lawes.</HI> They that have a <HI>reall Legi&s;lative power</HI> in, or
within them&s;elves; need no <HI>forin&s;ecall a&s;&s;i&s;tance</HI> of others, to make
their <HI>Laws binding,</HI> though they may need forin&s;ecal advice for the
better con&s;titution of them, as in Laws about any particular trade;
yea he had given this judgement in the ca&s;e a little before (as we
heard) that <HI>the Prince or chiefe civill Magi&s;trate cannot legally make
any Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Lawes to oblige his people,</HI> not onely not <HI>without a
<PB N="51" REF="30">
Parliament,</HI> but not without <HI>his Clergie</HI> al&s;o. Doth he not here in|tere&s;&s;e
<HI>the Clergie</HI> every whit as farre, and as deep in the very e&s;&s;ence
or &s;ub&s;tance of the <HI>Legi&s;lative power to make binding Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Lawes for the people,</HI> as he doth the <HI>Parliament</HI> it &s;elf? And whereas
in the pa&s;&s;age la&s;t recited, he affirms the <HI>onely point in controver&s;ie to
be,</HI> whether <HI>our Parliaments</HI> have not <HI>a reall legi&s;lative power in any
matters Eccle&s;ia&s;tique;</HI> I wonder why he &s;torms me and my writings
with &s;o much indignation, <HI>pag.</HI> 106, 107. &amp;c. for <HI>printing pa&s;&s;ages</HI>
onely charged by him as being <HI>again&s;t the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Juri&s;diction
of Parliaments</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 106. ante medium.</NOTE>; which likewi&s;e is his u&s;uall expre&s;&s;ion el&s;ewhere.
Doth he apprehend no difference at all, between an <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Juri&s;diction, power, Authoritie;</HI> and a <HI>legi&s;lative power in or about Ec|cle&s;tia&s;ticall
matters,</HI> or things? Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> if he will vouch&s;afe to
learne of him, will teach him a wide difference; who in many pla|ces
gives and grants unto the Magi&s;trate a power and Authoritie
about Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cau&s;es, and bu&s;ine&s;&s;es<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Antapol <HI>pag.</HI> 159, 160, 163, &amp;c.</NOTE> of many kinds, (though
not of <HI>any</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>pag</HI> 166. 169. 170, &amp;c.</NOTE>, as Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> bountie extendeth) but no where (to
my remembrance) grants any <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Juri&s;diction</HI> or <HI>power</HI> to
him: yea <HI>p.</HI> 163. of his Antapologie, he interrogates his Apologi&s;ts,
<HI>Whether there doth not re&s;ide in the Church all Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power ab|&s;olutely
nece&s;&s;ary to the building up of the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, and &s;al|vation
of men, even when the Magi&s;trate is not of the Church?</HI> The im|port
of which interrogation agrees well with that a&s;&s;ertion of the
&s;ame Author; and tract <HI>p.</HI> 169. that <HI>the civill power and Government
of the Magi&s;trate, and the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government of the Church, are</HI>
toto genere <HI>disjoyned; and thereupon the power of the Civill Magi&s;trate,
by which he deales with the corrupt manners and di&s;orders of his people,
is in the nature and &s;pecificall rea&s;on di&s;tinct from Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;ci|pline.</HI>
If there be an <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Juri&s;diction or Legi&s;lative power
in civill Magi&s;trates, Parliaments, to make Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall binding Laws;</HI>
why may not the exerci&s;e of this power in the admini&s;tration or
execution of the&s;e Lawes, be called <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline</HI> or Go|vernment?
yea, why not rather <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall,</HI> then civill? So that
Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> confounding an <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power,</HI> with <HI>a power about
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall things,</HI> plainly &s;hews that he is not perfectly initiated
in the my&s;terie of <HI>Presbyterie:</HI> and did not his writings more ac|commodate
that cau&s;e and partie by the weight of their Authori|tie,
and height of language, and confidence, together with unpa|ralleld
<PB N="52" REF="31">
bitterne&s;&s;e again&s;t his oppo&s;ites, then by their worth in
&s;trength of rea&s;on, I beleeve they would hardly think them worthy
to be numbred among&s;t their Benefactors.</P>
<P><HI>But notwith&s;tanding all that Mr.</HI> Prynne <HI>hath done or &s;aid to,
or again&s;t me, or my</HI> Innocencies Triumph, <HI>in particular; in the</HI> 106,
107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 pages <HI>of this his Di&s;cour&s;e, yet his</HI>
&s;pes gregis, <HI>the &s;trength of his hope that he hath done &s;ufficient exe|cution
upon me, re&s;ts onely upon his</HI> former &s;ections; <HI>however the
Que&s;tion of many concerning them, is,</HI> Cui bono? <HI>He tells me, that</HI>
my own con&s;cience and judgement cannot but informe me, that he hath
written enough in the former Sections to convince me and all the world
be&s;ides, that I have not onely violated, but denyed, oppugned tho&s;e Privi|ledges
of Parliament in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall affaires, which our own Parlia|ments
in all ages, and Parliamentary A&s;&s;emblies in all other Kingdomes
have unque&s;tionably exerci&s;ed, &amp;c. <HI>I an&s;wer,</HI></P>
<P>1. I confe&s;&s;e that <HI>in the former &s;ections</HI> he hath <HI>written enough,</HI>
quantitativ&egrave;, <HI>to convince</HI> any rea&s;onable man (if not <HI>all the world</HI>) of
any errour or mi&s;take what&s;oever: but much too little <HI>qualitativ&egrave;,</HI>
to convince either me, or any rea&s;onable man, that I have <HI>violated,</HI>
or <HI>oppugned</HI> any <HI>Priviledge of Parliament;</HI> I have farre more rea&s;on
to conceive and hope, that in this and my la&s;t-publi&s;hed Di&s;cour&s;e,
<HI>I have written enough</HI> both wayes to <HI>convince both him and all the
world,</HI> that I have NOT <HI>violated or oppugned</HI> any <HI>Priviledge of Par|liament,</HI>
truly, or with the con&s;ent of Heaven, &s;o called. If he intends
to conclude, that therefore I have <HI>violated, oppugned the Privileges
of Parliament,</HI> becau&s;e I have argued again&s;t &s;ome po&s;itions or opi|nions,
which Mr. <HI>Prynne,</HI> with &s;ome others, are plea&s;ed to call <HI>Pri|viledges
of Parliament;</HI> the Logician, who is a man of rea&s;on, will
an&s;wer for me, that <HI>&agrave; terminis diminuentibus non &s;equitur argumen|tatio.</HI>
It doth not follow, that a piece of metall or coyne is there|fore
gold, becau&s;e it is counterfeit gold; nor that Mr. <HI>Prynnes</HI> Great
Grandfather is a man, becau&s;e he is a dead man. If he can, or &s;hall
fairly demon&s;trate unto me (though in a far le&s;&s;e content of words,
then his three former &s;ections amount unto) that any act, practi&s;e,
or exerci&s;e, either by continuance or &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of time, or by fre|quencie
of repetition, or cu&s;tomarine&s;&s;e of reiteration, by conni|vencie
or want of oppo&s;ition from men, mu&s;t needs change the
nature and kind of it, and of &s;infull become lawfull, he &s;hall by
<PB N="53" REF="31">
&s;uch a demon&s;tration as this, put life into his <HI>former &s;ections,</HI> and
render them potent for that <HI>conviction</HI> which he expects from them;
but till this be done, that great bulk and body of things done in
the dark, and time out of minde, will partake of that infirmitie
which the Author him&s;elf acknowledgeth as cleaving to the Di&s;|cour&s;e,
I meane, <HI>impotencie</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">The&s;e my <HI>impotent</HI> en|deavours. Epi&s;t. to the Reader, <HI>ver|&s;us finem.</HI></NOTE>; and can with no tolerable pretence
of rea&s;on or equitie, demand that intere&s;t in the judgements, con|&s;ciences,
under&s;tandings of men, which he <HI>challengeth</HI> (it &s;eems) on
their behalfe. It is as poore and low a de&s;igne, onely by alledging
the examples, opinions, or judgements of men, to attempt the con|viction
of him that builds his opinion upon the Scriptures &amp; word
of God, yea though he builds be&s;ides his foundation; as it would
be in a man to carry a &s;ack of chaffe to the market, hoping to bring
home a like quantitie of wheat for it, without giving any other
price. Yea to alledge and cite the Scriptures them&s;elves, though in
never &s;uch an abundance, without clo&s;e arguing and binding them
to our cau&s;e; is a means of very &s;mall hope, whereby to prevaile
or doe good upon &s;uch a man who holds his opinion, not barely
or &s;imply upon a &s;uppo&s;all of Scripture-Authoritie for it, but upon
Scripture thoroughly debated, and by principles of &s;ound rea&s;on
and naturall deductions, brought home unto his judgement and
cau&s;e.</P>
<P>Againe, 2. in all that great body of <HI>premi&s;&s;es</HI> contained in all the
<HI>former Sections</HI> he &s;peaks of, there is not one word, &s;yllable, letter,
or tittle to prove that maine ingredient in his <HI>Conclu&s;ion, unque&s;tio|nably
exerci&s;ed.</HI> Logicians ju&s;tly reject and exauthorize all &s;uch Con|clu&s;ions,
which &s;well above the line of their premi&s;&s;es. By all the
tables and donaries pre&s;ented unto <HI>Neptune</HI> by tho&s;e that in Ship|wracks
e&s;caped with their lives, it could not be knowne, who, or
how many they were, that were drowned.</P>
<P>3. Nor is there any whit more in any, in all the &s;aid <HI>Sections</HI> or
premi&s;&s;es, that reacheth home, or indeed comes neere, to that &s;pe|cialtie
in the Conclu&s;ion, <HI>in all ages. Evanders</HI> mother lived many
<HI>ages</HI> agone; yet the mother of <HI>Abel</HI> had the precedencie of her by
many generations. Therefore &s;urely all the world will never accept
of the Conclu&s;ion &s;o in&s;ufficiently and lamely prov'd.</P>
<P>4. And la&s;tly, Whereas Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> tells me, that <HI>if I now make
not good my promi&s;e, few or none will ever credit me hereafter;</HI> I &s;hould
<PB N="54" REF="32">
be very glad to meet with my condition, that &s;o I might performe
my obligation. But in the meane time, whether any or none <HI>will
credit me hereafter;</HI> I know not well how I, or any other &s;hould
<HI>credit</HI> him for the <HI>pre&s;ent,</HI> as touching the authentiquene&s;s and truth
of tho&s;e citations and tran&s;criptions, upon which the principall
weight of that Conclu&s;ion depends, whereof he expects conviction
both from <HI>me,</HI> and <HI>all the world</HI> to boote. Is it lightly po&s;&s;ible for
any man to refraine jealou&s;ie in this kind, that doth but con&s;ider
how oft his pen hath da&s;h'd again&s;t the rock of truth, in repre&s;ent|ing
me, my opinions and &s;ayings, (yea, I can &s;ay further, affections,
intentions) upon the open theatre of the world, where any man
that will, may &s;ee his nakedne&s;&s;e in this kinde? Is <HI>boldne&s;&s;e</HI> in the
Sun, like to prove <HI>mode&s;tie~</HI> in the &s;hade? As for &s;atisfaction by exa|mination
of all particulars, it is not every mans, indeed very few
mens, opportunitie. The re&s;pective Authors and records, where|in
particularities mu&s;t be inquired after, and found, for &s;atisfacti|on
in that kind, are in few mens hands; and not of all mens under|&s;tandings.
So that Mr. <HI>Prynne</HI> by dealing &s;o unfaithfully and un|chri&s;tianly
by me and my &s;ayings, as he hath done, hath not onely
ob&s;tructed the cour&s;e and pa&s;&s;ages of his own reputation and cre|dit;
but hath further al&s;o injur'd the world round about him, by
rendring tho&s;e good parts and abilities wherewith God hath in|tru&s;ted
him for publick accommodation, if not wholly un&s;ervice|able,
yet of very meane u&s;efulne&s;&s;e and concernment, in compari&s;on
of what their line and tenour would well have borne. It is a &s;aying
in the Civill Law, that <HI>he that hath injur'd one, hath threatened
many.</HI></P>
<P>I end, with a word of Chri&s;tian admonition and advice, both
to the Gentleman my Antagoni&s;t, and my &s;elfe. Sir, the Great and
Glorious God that made us, in mercy remembers both our frames,
and con&s;iders <HI>that we are du&s;t</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 103. 14.</NOTE>. This gracious remembrance of his
we injoy both by night and by day, in what&s;oever we injoy in the
Comforts of this world, yea or in the opportunities wee have of
laying hold on that which is to come. Our du&s;t which aba&s;eth us,
in this re&s;pect, yet relieveth us, and becomes a Mediator for us
with the bountifulne&s;&s;e of God: were wee creatures of a more ex|cellent
line, tho&s;e &s;ins and infirmities would (in all likelihood)
were they found upon us, be our ruine, which now doe not &s;o much
<PB N="55" REF="32">
as &s;hake the lea&s;t haire of our heads. If wee would but remember
and con&s;ider one the other, as God doth us both, that common
principle of frailtie, out of which wee act to a reciprocall di&s;con|tentment
and offence, would be of &s;overaigne u&s;e to mollifie and
&s;upple, if not perfectly to heale, both our wounds. Not to think
any thing that befalleth us &s;trange, is almo&s;t (being interpreted) not
to think it evill. We &s;hall not quit our &s;elves like men, if we make
any great matter of it, to be evill intreated by men. Mutuall di&s;|contentments
now and then are a known tribute which men mu&s;t
look to pay for the commoditie of living &amp; conver&s;ing together in
the world. If we have offended one the other, happie &s;hall we be in
forgiving one the other, and circumvent him who&s;e de&s;igne was to
have circumvented us, and made hatred (a kind of upper hell) of
our conte&s;tation. If I have offended you otherwi&s;e then by &s;peaking
the truth, and &s;o as the defence of it, all circum&s;tances duly poy|&s;ed,
required, you &s;hall not need long to complaine of want of
Chri&s;tian &s;atisfaction, as far as I am able either to doe or to &s;peak
any thing that may accommodate you, if you plea&s;e, but to &s;ignifie
your aggrievance, and make your demands in a Chri&s;tian and lo|ving
way. And if your heart will but an&s;wer mine in the&s;e inclina|tions,
the &s;torms and tempe&s;ts of our conte&s;tations, &s;hall yet end in
a &s;weet calme; and men &s;hall look upon us, as if wee had never been
they: If you reject the motion of a Chri&s;tian compliance by the
way, I can very patiently, and with comfort enough, awaite the
Deci&s;ions of that Great Tribunall, who&s;e awards will &s;hortly &s;eale
all the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;es and unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;es of men, again&s;t all
further di&s;putes or inquiries to the dayes of Eternitie.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
