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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<P><HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Saphira</HI> di&s;cover'd. Or, The true intent of a PAMPHLET CALLED <HI>OMNIA COMESTA BELO:</HI> IN A LETTER By way of ANSWER.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>LAMENT. iv. 16.</HI></BIBL>
<P>The anger of the Lord has divided them, he will no more regard them; they re&s;pected not the per&s;ons of the Priefts.</P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed by <HI>M. Clark,</HI> for <HI>Henry Brome</HI> at the Gun in St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-Yard. 1679.</P>
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<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Have rceiv'd &s;o many Libels and o|ther Pamphlets from you; that I am both a&s;ham'd of troubling you any farther, and weary of Reading &s;o many words with &s;o little &s;en&s;e or common hone&s;ty. But my great grief is to find it &s;o much the humor to le&s;&s;en the Credit and Repu|tation of Authority, and by weakning the Go|vernment, in alienating mens hearts from it; to cut the Gra&s;s from underneath our own feet: and whil&s;t the Enemy is pu&s;hing &s;ore at us, our &s;elves to &s;hake, if not remove the Foundations whereon we &s;tand. And in the mid&s;t of this wilful mur|der, no wound &s;eems to me &s;o envenom'd and mortal, as that which pierces the Soul and Con|&s;cience of the Nation, the bitter words wherewith the Church is dayly &s;lander'd. Is it a time to &s;trive among our &s;elves for Reformation, when Anti|chri&s;t is at the Gates? Is it a time to divide and &s;cat|ter, to pull and tear one another, ju&s;t when the common Enemy is upon our backs? To mind our defence lea&s;t, when he is mo&s;t at lei&s;ure to A&s;&s;ault us? It mu&s;t certainly be the Gall of bitterne&s;s, that &s;hall di&s;turb and di&s;tract us at this time.</P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="3">
Among&s;t other ungracious Libels again&s;t the Church, there is one called <HI>Omnia Come&s;ta &agrave; Bello.</HI> The Author intended <HI>Belo:</HI> but hapned to be more right then he was aware of. For the late unhappy Times plainly &s;hew what the i&s;&s;ues of War are like to be. Then were the Rich and Wealthy the only marks of Violence and Oppre&s;&s;ion; none but the Profligate and tho&s;e that delighted in troubl'd wa|ters became Rich: then the wor&s;t of events befel us, if the Proverb &s;ays true; for Beggars were &s;et on Thrones and mounted on Horsback, whil&s;t Prin|ces went on Foot. And if we con&s;ider the Origi|nal of this Book, it was fir&s;t Printed at the beinning of the Rebellion, to U&s;her in the Covenant, and &s;o acce&s;&s;ary, as much as &s;uch a poor &s;piteful Pam|phlet could be, to all the bloud-&s;hed and wickedne&s;s that then follow'd. God be thanked the memory of tho&s;e licentious days, when no man could &s;ay, ought was his, is by woful experience &s;o fre&s;h now upon the minds of thou&s;ands, that without mo&s;t fatal Infatuation, it will be impo&s;&s;ible to be delu|ded into the &s;ame &s;nare again. And yet what en|deavours there are to de&s;troy us with the grievous wounds of Friends, and under pretence of Regu|lation overwhelm us once more with the &s;ame Confu&s;ion! What is Liberty, when the multitude is made judg of it, but an Inundation of Di&s;or|ders, and letting the wildne&s;s of Corrupt Nature loo&s;e to all extravagance. And yet what courting
<PB N="5" REF="3">of the people at this day to take the matter into their own hands! Though, God knows, it is not that the&s;e Incendiaries care for the people: but know|ing that the reigns of Government mu&s;t be placed in &s;ome hands, they hope by getting them loo&s;e, to catch hold of them them&s;elves. And as this is evidently the cour&s;e the Pope or Devil him&s;elf wou'd advi&s;e to de&s;troy us by, Divi&s;ions: &s;o I &s;hall &s;hew you in the conclu&s;ion that this is their advi&s;e, and that they do work together with the di&s;turbers of our Peace, and principally with tho&s;e that &s;trike at our Church.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he charges the impoveri&s;hing the Nation, ruin of Trade, and general Con&s;umption of Com|fort, Setlement and Content, which, as he &s;ays, has brought the Nation to a mere Anatomy; up|on the Pride, Luxury and Oppre&s;&s;ion of the Pre|lates. To which may ea&s;ily be an&s;wer'd. 1. That the fir&s;t a&s;&s;ertion is fal&s;e. For never was there more mony in the Nation, and if it be not &s;o equally divided, the Gentry and Nobility living &s;o much at <HI>London,</HI> are the great cau&s;e of it. As for Trade it never run &s;o high as of late years, of which, ex|perience is &s;o evident a judg, that I can only won|der at the Confidence of the contrary declaration. But then where the Con&s;umption of Comfort, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> lyes, who can tell? I am &s;ure if a Prince dete&s;ting Bloud-&s;hed and Oppre&s;&s;ion, and for fear of being hard upon his people, &s;uffering his Prerogative to
<PB N="6" REF="4">run lower than ever any Kings or Queens of <HI>Eng|land</HI> did before him, would be a Comfort, we have it in the highe&s;t degree. If the Clergy have contributed to this Con&s;umption, let them &s;hew the man, and he &s;hall be puni&s;ht. But I &s;ee none but the envious, and them that are given to change, di&s;contented: and how you will plea&s;e them, I cannot tell. And I fear the Nation is ra|ther like <HI>Je&s;hurun,</HI> than any of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> lean Kine, if we ob&s;erve truly. Nay but the pride of the Prelates has done this thing, which indeed is not done. It mu&s;t be a beggarly pride in many of them, if they are proud: and that can do mi&s;|chief to none but to them&s;elves. However I would have this Learned Author &s;hew who they are. For general reflections are the mo&s;t unju&s;t; and by Con|&s;equence the mo&s;t Unchri&s;tian proceeding in the World. The Innocent as well as Guilty are Con|demn'd, and know not how to kelp them&s;elves. But Luxury indeed is the wa&s;ting Vice, and I would it were not &s;o much in fa&s;hion as it is. However there are not many Bi&s;hops that have wherewithal, and tho&s;e few that have, are, I make no doubt, ready to give an account, to the &s;hame of their Accu&s;ers. Where the Oppre&s;&s;ion lyes, that I am to &s;eek: unle&s;s be &s;uch, to puni&s;h inju&s;tice as wrongful dealing. But of the&s;e particulars more hereafter.</P>
<P N="2">2. in the next Query there is as much fal&s;hood and ignorance put together, as well could be com|prehended
<PB N="7" REF="4">in &s;o few terms. He tells you that all the Reform'd Churches in <HI>Europe</HI> ca&s;t off Epi&s;co|pacy with Popery, and why did not <HI>England? England</HI> did not do it, becau&s;e it has been the Uni|ver&s;al and con&s;tant Church-Government for the fir&s;t fifteen hundred years, deriv'd from the Apo|&s;tles by as Authentick Te&s;timony as any part of our Religion. <HI>England</HI> did not do it, becau&s;e it is an Order that &s;tands mo&s;t in the Popes light, and which therefore <HI>Rome</HI> has always oppos'd, mo&s;t eminent|ly in the Council of <HI>Trent,</HI> and mo&s;t injuriou&s;ly by exempt juri&s;dictions, whereby to have creatures more immediately depending upon <HI>Rome,</HI> the Go|vernment of the Church is broken, and its Antient Con&s;titutions and Canons violated. And I wi&s;h this Rag of Popery were removed from us. But la&s;tly, <HI>England</HI> did not do it, becau&s;e many of the Reformed Churches did not do it, as <HI>Sueden, Den|mark,</HI> the Prote&s;tant Church in <HI>Poland,</HI> the Prote|&s;tant <HI>Switzers,</HI> the <HI>Lutherans</HI> in <HI>Germany,</HI> be&s;ides the <HI>Greek</HI> Churches, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> many that did it, have ac|knowledg'd it to be out of pure nece&s;&s;ity, and the learned&s;t men among them have ever approved Epi&s;copal Government, and the be&s;t, if not ab|&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, when it could be had.</P>
<P>The third Query is, Why all this wa&s;te? Why not &s;old and given to the poor? The Bi&s;hops ha|ving 2.3.4.5.6.7.8. thou&s;and pounds <HI>per ann.</HI> a man. Had he &s;aid 2.3.4.5.6.7.8. hundred pounds
<PB N="8" REF="5">a year, he had come nearer the truth. For &s;o it is in|deed with mo&s;t of them: except &s;ome very few, the be&s;t of which come hardly up to four. But it is a <HI>Judas</HI> Query, and &s;o I leave St. <HI>John</HI> to explain it.</P>
<P N="4">4. The fourth is &s;oon an&s;wer'd, Whether other Nations without Bi&s;hops have &s;ucceeded in any particular, better than <HI>England</HI> with Bi&s;hops: let the World judg. And had this Author been endow'd with as much knowledg and under&s;tand|ing, as he is with Malice and Covetou&s;ne&s;s, he would nver have put a que&s;tion &s;o di&s;advantagious for his purpo&s;e.</P>
<P N="5">5. The fifth and la&s;t Query, is begging the Que|&s;tion upon a fal&s;e &s;uppo&s;ition: as you will &s;ee by what follows.</P>
<P><HI>Now</HI> his Queries are done, he comes to prove his A&s;&s;ertions: which he does by the &s;ame Arguments that will E&s;tabli&s;h Anarchy for a Law, and over|throw all Government.</P>
<P>He tells you the Bi&s;hops keep Chaplains: and I believe as eminent for Learning and Piety have come out of that Rank, as from any places what|ever. But their &s;everal Officers keeping Courts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> What, would he have juri&s;dictions look after them|&s;elves? or rather would he have the Clergy be left to the wide World without Laws and Authority to protect them. Had this Author as much concern for the next World, as he has for this, he would then think, that to honour God with our &s;ub&s;tance, and
<PB N="9" REF="5">to adorn his wor&s;hip with a grateful &s;hare of what he has bleft us with, might be of as much advan|tage to us, under the di&s;pen&s;ation of Providence as other layings out; and that the Judges of the Land with the innumerable Officers and Depen|dences upon the Executive part of the Ju&s;tice of this Nation, even to the Con&s;tables and Over&s;eers of the Poor, might as well be reckoned a burden, becau&s;e their Gains in a full Computation are ten times more than the Clergies; and yet I hope no man in his &s;en&s;es can think it po&s;&s;ible for us to &s;ub|fi&s;t without &s;uch a Con&s;titution. If he will num|ber Pari&s;hes, let him Compute what is gathered for the Poor in all the Pari&s;hes of <HI>England;</HI> and &s;ee what a prodigious &s;um is &s;pent to maintain num|bers in idlene&s;s. But he reckons and computes at &s;o &s;trange a rate, as if nothing were to be done to right the Church, as if its Officers were to live upon the Air, and that whatever were received, went into a great Gulf never to return by procuring the Nece&s;&s;aries of Nature, Meat, Drink, and Cloath|ing, by providing for their Families, and if they provide not for the Poor above any other &s;ort of men, let others take their Office. Now if unrea|&s;onable and wilful men have &s;uffered by Cen&s;ures for re&s;i&s;ting the Laws: why are not Thieves, Rob|bers and Murderers as well pittied for their lo&s;&s;es. For where a Law may be obeyed with the &s;ame Liberty of Con&s;cience, as for pretence it is broken,
<PB N="10" REF="6">that Offender is as unju&s;tifiable as a Thief and a Robber. That this is the Ca&s;e with all Di&s;&s;enters is plain from the Statute, which allows Meetings to &s;uch a number. And yet how little di&s;turbance do even the greate&s;t Offenders in this kind meet with? But you &s;ay men are Pro&s;ecuted for three pences and &s;ix pences: more Knaves they, that will Cheat and put to trouble their Neighbours for &s;o &s;light a &s;um, by with-holding anothers right.</P>
<P>The va&s;t &s;ums of mony the Bi&s;hops, Deans, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> heaped up at the Kings coming in, is a great Eye|&s;ore to him. And that the evil Eye of <HI>Judas</HI> may manife&s;tly appear, he tells you a grievance. Tho&s;e that bought Church-Lands are undone: if he dur&s;t, he would &s;ay Crown-Lands too. So here is the Ca&s;e, Our Progenitors out of a ju&s;t re&s;entment of Religi|on, gave many Endowments to the Church for the more Comfortable and Honorable maintenance of tho&s;e that Mini&s;tred in it, le&s;t the Service of God &s;hould become vile in the Eyes of the people, if he &s;hould &s;till be Wor&s;hipped in Dens and Caves, while the Profe&s;&s;ors of his Wor&s;hip dwelt in &s;tately Palaces and fared plentifully. It is a &s;ign we will not acknowledg the hand that gave it, if we grudg a grateful return. But in comes an u&s;urped power, by means of an execrable Rebellion, and divides the &s;poil of Church and Crown Lands, Gods and the Kings Inheritance: and when it plea&s;es God to re&s;tore the right again, it mu&s;t be Oppre&s;&s;ion to
<PB N="11" REF="6">turn the&s;e young <HI>Ahabs</HI> out of their Sacrilegious and Traiterous Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions. Neither was this envyed &s;um, which the Church got, near of that value this Author would have it; and what Charges were upon it, let any judg, when they that came in, had for many years before been &s;tript naked for their Loyalty, Cathedrals pulled down or let fall, Hou&s;es wa&s;ted and ruined, Dilapidations to a prodigious Charge: and yet if the Government had taken a more narrow in&s;pection, perchance it might have been better. Still <HI>Judas</HI> proceeds, why all this co&s;t? What have we for it? You have a &s;plendid Church &s;uitable to the pro&s;perity God has ble&s;&s;ed us with, the wonder and rejoycing of all our Friends abroad, and the envy of <HI>Rome</HI> and its adherents, and &s;uch as work under a Cloak for Popery here at home. You have a Learned, Orthodox and a Godly Cler|gy, &s;uch as are not afraid to &s;peak with their Ene|my in the Gate, but challenge either &s;ingle or in a body the whole Herd of Sectary-Mini&s;ters, to &s;ee if they can an&s;wer them one word of a thou&s;and. If they have colour of truth, why do they not de|&s;ire a free Synod? Why do they not &s;eek Conferen|ces? If they are &s;o Sober, why do they go Drunk home ten or twenty Teachers of them every Sun|day night, after they have ended their Conventi|cles? I hear no &s;uch thing of the Conforming Cler|gy: and if they know any &s;uch, let them prove it, and he &s;hall be ca&s;t out. But we can prove this of
<PB N="12" REF="7">a greater number of theirs, than has yet been named, even within the Walls of <HI>London,</HI> and make it ap|pear, that part of their Congregations know of it.</P>
<P>But I am &s;ick of this &s;tuff, full of nothing be&s;ides railing fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions and upholding &s;tubborn|ne&s;s and di&s;obedience: &s;o that I am re&s;olved no longer to an&s;wer a Fool according to his folly, le&s;t I &s;hould become &s;uch another. Only this let me &s;ay, that all he urges, were it as true as it is fal&s;e, amounts to no more, than what the &s;everal Autho|rities, he quotes at the end, do amount unto, which is, That the pro&s;perity of this World is a great &s;nare, and that the Church as well as other Bodies, is lia|ble to abu&s;e it. And therefore great care ought to be taken, to reform and moderate the manners of &s;uch as are intru&s;ted with the Wealth or Power of the Church. And in Gods name, let the &s;tricte&s;t &s;crutiny be made to heal the broken, and purge out the corrupt. But to cut off the thing abu&s;ed with him that does abu&s;e it, the Office with him that is entru&s;ted with it, is neither Sober, Ju&s;t nor Rati|onal. And whenever it was &s;o done, you will find it in all Ages to have been done, in a tumultuous and ra&s;h way, and by &s;uch di&s;orders as have cut off the Ju&s;t with the Unju&s;t, when it has &s;ucceeded well to none but the violent. So that for the &s;ins of the people &s;uch things may come to pa&s;s: but I be&s;eech you never let it be impo&s;ed upon us, as a prudent or ju&s;tifiable proceeding.</P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="7">
<HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Saphira</HI> were ten times ju&s;ter, than this man of <HI>Belus.</HI> For they only kept back part of what they had not yet parted with. Whereas this Gentleman would take away, not of his one gift, but what our Ance&s;tors either found already be|&s;towed, or them&s;elves of pious intention gave to the honour of God and his wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>But to conclude that you may be truly convin|ced out of who&s;e Quiver this Arrow comes, take the Depo&s;ition and Evidence of Dr. <HI>Oates</HI> in his true Narrative of the Horrid Plot, where you will find the Papi&s;t to be the manager of all this Con|trover&s;ie. And indeed what party el&s;e can bene|fit by it? For when the Clergy are brought low and de&s;picable, di&s;tracted with Sects and Here&s;ies, Scattered, Rent, and Divided: What mi&s;chiefs are they not expo&s;ed to? Can the Pope and all his Conclave direct us an ea&s;ier way to fool our &s;elves into their hands? The words of the Doctor are the&s;e. <HI>Art.</HI> 1. Richard Strange <HI>Provincial,</HI> John Keins, Ba&s;il Langworth, John Fenwick, <HI>and Mr.</HI> Har|court <HI>Je&s;uits, did write a Trea&s;onable Letter to one Fa|ther</HI> Suiman, <HI>an</HI> Iri&s;h <HI>Je&s;uit, at</HI> Madrid, <HI>in the King|dom of</HI> Spain, <HI>in which was contained their plotting and contriving a Rebellion in</HI> Scotland <HI>of the Presbyterians again&s;t the Epi&s;copal Government. In order to which they had employed one</HI> Matthew Wright <HI>and</HI> William Morgan, <HI>and one</HI> Ireland, <HI>to go and Preach under the notion of Presbyterians, and give the di&s;affected</HI> Scots <HI>a
<PB N="14" REF="8">true under&s;tanding of their &s;ad &s;tate and condition, in which they were, by rea&s;on of the Epi&s;copal Tyranny exerci&s;ed over them; and withal to tell them, they had now a fair oppoctunity to vindicate their Liberty and Re|ligion; and that it could be done by no other way, but by the Sword.</HI> Art. 2. <HI>Other Letters from the Je&s;uits to Father</HI> Le&s;hee <HI>the</HI> French <HI>Kings Confe&s;&s;or, in which they told him, that they had &s;tirred up the Presbyterians in</HI> Scotland <HI>to a Rebellion, and that twenty thou&s;and would be in Arms, if His Maje&s;ty of</HI> France <HI>would break with the King of</HI> England. Art. 22. <HI>A Letter for</HI> Whitebread <HI>Provincial, Father</HI> Mico, <HI>&amp;c. That they had received Letters from</HI> Scotland, <HI>in which they were informed that the people would ri&s;e to oppo&s;e Duke</HI> Lauderdale <HI>and the Royal Party, and al&s;o that they would endeavor by them&s;elves, their Agents and their Pur&s;e to provoke the</HI> Scots <HI>again&s;t the</HI> Engli&s;h. Art. 25. <HI>Their de&s;igns, the Je&s;uites &s;ay in another Letter, went on well in</HI> Scotland. Art. 35. <HI>Upon a Conference of the Je&s;uits, by order of the Provincial, they are to &s;end new Me&s;&s;en|gers into</HI> Scotland, <HI>to promote the Commotions there, and inform the people of the great Tyranny they lay under by rea&s;on of their being denyed Liberty of Con&s;cience, and that not being to be procured but by the Sword, they mu&s;t take that cour&s;e to purcha&s;e their Liberty. By which means, &s;aid the Fathers &s;o a&s;&s;embled, we &s;hall weaken both the Presbyterian and Epi&s;copal Faction.</HI> Art. 43. <HI>That two new Me&s;&s;engers were &s;ent into</HI> Scotland, <HI>one by the name of Father</HI> Moor, <HI>and the other Father</HI> Saunders
<PB N="15" REF="8"><HI>alias</HI> Brown, <HI>with in&s;tructions to carry them&s;elves like Nonconformi&s;t Mini&s;ters, and to Preach to the di&s;affe|cted</HI> Scots <HI>the nece&s;sity of taking up the Sword for the defence of Liberty of Con&s;cience. The&s;e the Deponent &s;aw di&s;patched, and ordered to go by Father</HI> Harcourt, <HI>in the name of</HI> Thomas White <HI>Provincial.</HI> Art. 50. <HI>They renew their hopes of &s;ucce&s;s in</HI> Scotland <HI>upon a&s;&s;urance of the Papi&s;ts there, that they would keep up the Commoti|ons to their utmo&s;t.</HI> Art. 51. <HI>They own that the Provin|cial had taken great care to keep alive the difference be|twixt the di&s;affected</HI> Scots <HI>and Duke</HI> Lauderdale, <HI>&amp;c. and likewi&s;e to beget a difference betwixt the</HI> Dutch <HI>and the Prince of</HI> Orange. Art. 54. <HI>That one</HI> Matthew Metbourn, <HI>Mr.</HI> Penny, <HI>Mr.</HI> Mannock, <HI>&amp;c. meet|ing upon</HI> Thur&s;day <HI>and</HI> Sunday <HI>nights at a Club, are employed by the Je&s;uits to vilifie the Hou&s;e of Commons, and go about the City of</HI> London <HI>to incen&s;e the people a|gain&s;t them and again&s;t the Bi&s;hops of the Nation.</HI> Art. 55. <HI>Mr.</HI> Jenni&s;on <HI>boa&s;ted, that he had put &s;everal out of love with the Kings intere&s;t, and would &s;o continue.</HI> Art. 73. <HI>The Fathers in</HI> Scotland <HI>write, that their party was ready to joyn with the di&s;affected</HI> Scots: <HI>and that one</HI> We&s;tby <HI>was de&s;troyed by one that was &s;ervant to</HI> Lovel <HI>the Je|&s;uit, for endeavouring to detect the Rebellion, with its Authors and Contrivers to the Council in</HI> Scotland. Pag. 64. &sect;. 6. <HI>They would weaken and divide the Kingdoms by Civil Wars and Rebellions, as in the late Kings time.</HI> Pag. 67. &sect;. 1. <HI>They would charge the King with Tyranny and de&s;igns of Oppre&s;sing, governing
<PB N="16" REF="9">by the Sword and without Parliaments.</HI> &sect;. 4. <HI>They would mi&s;report and rai&s;e fal&s;e News of the Kings af|fairs. &sect;. 6. They would di&s;turb Trade. &sect;. 7. They would di&s;affect the Kings Subjects by Seditious Preachers &s;et up, &s;ent out, maintained and directed what to Preach in their own or other private or publick Conventicles and Field Meetings.</HI> And now &s;ee whether the Church of <HI>England</HI> or others work mo&s;t for the Popi&s;h In|tere&s;t. You &s;hall know them by their Fruit.</P>
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