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<DATE>2013-09-30</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>THE COPY OF A LETTER SENT By M^r^. <HI>D. T.</HI> to M^r^. <HI>John Vicars</HI> (M^r^. <HI>Prynns</HI> &s;econd) in An&s;wer to his Letter &s;ent by him to M^r^. <HI>John Goodwin.</HI></HEAD>
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<Q><P>A righteous man hateth lying, <BIBL>Prov. 13.5.</BIBL></P></Q>
<Q><P>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e keepeth him that is upright in the way, <BIBL><HI>Prov. 13.6.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
<Q><P>Onely by pride commeth contention, but with the well advi&s;ed is wi&s;dome, <BIBL><HI>Prov. 13.10.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
<Q><P>Therefore thou art inexcu&s;able, O man, who&s;oever thou art that judge&s;t another, for wherein thou judge&s;t another, thou condemne&s;t thy &s;elfe, for thou that judge&s;t doe&s;t the &s;ame things, <BIBL><HI>Rom. 2.1.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
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<OPENER><SALUTE>Sir,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>VVHether it was my good or hard happe to meet with your Letter directed and &s;ent to Mr. <HI>John Goodwin,</HI> I cannot ea&s;ily determine: For though all manner of knowledge, either of per&s;ons or things, bee in &s;ome kind or other beneficiall; it being an undoubted <HI>Maxime,</HI> that <HI>Verum &amp; Bonum convertuntur:</HI> yet &s;ome knowledge may be &s;o circum&s;tantiated, that it may prove more burden&s;ome and offen&s;ive to the party knowing, then commodious. I confe&s;&s;e from the reading of your L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nes I have gained thus much, to &s;ay I know you: but this gaine hath occa&s;ioned &s;uch a con&s;iderable lo&s;&s;e i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he things of my joy, that I doe even wi&s;h for my former ignorance, and could bee well contented, to have met with no other de&s;cription of your frame and temper, then what the promi&s;e of your countenance, and the report of your friends have made of you: Indeed it cannot but deduct &s;omewhat from the comfort of a rea&s;onable man, to &s;ee one, whom (one would think) gray haires &s;hould have taught the language of &s;o|berne&s;&s;e, &s;hooting with his tongue at rovers, and &s;peaking &s;harpe and devouring words again&s;t per&s;ons and things, which hee knows not. Sorry I am, that Mr. <HI>Vicars</HI> &s;hould break the fair face of his reputation upon this &s;tone, again&s;t which this be&s;otted world is da&s;hing it &s;elfe in peeces from day to day. I have &s;ome hope that though your zeale to Mr. <HI>Prynns</HI> glory, did ca&s;t you into &s;uch an ex&s;ta&s;ie of pa&s;&s;ion, that you &s;carce knew what you writ; yet by this time you have pretty well recover'd your &s;elfe againe: and le&s;t the &s;en&s;e of your mi&s;carriage &s;hould too much oppre&s;&s;e you, I give you to know that you are falne into &s;oft and tender hands, and have di&s;covered your nakedne&s;&s;e to &s;uch onely, who rather pity, then deride it. For my part, I love not to di&s;port my &s;elfe at the weakne&s;&s;e of any man, or to turne his folly into laughter; for what were this, but to reflect di&s;honour upon the &s;ame nature, wherein hee partakes with my &s;elfe. Rather, I could mourn over the vanities of your pen, and weep to &s;ee you &s;o farre intoxicated, as to call the mo&s;t injurious dealing one &s;hall lightly meet with, by the name of candor and ingenuity. The truth is, you have &s;o fouly berayed your paper with bold and untrue a&s;&s;ertions, imputations, exprobrations, and &s;uch like excrements, that I thought even for mode&s;ty &s;ake to have drawn over them the veile of &s;ilence, and to have conte&s;ted with that &s;pirit that breathes in them no further, then by &s;peaking to it in a &s;ecret wi&s;h, the <HI>Lord rebuke thee.</HI> But I con&s;ide|red with my &s;elfe, that perhaps you might communicate in the nature of &s;uch per&s;ons who (as <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Prov.</HI> 26.5.) are apt (being unan&s;wered) to be wi&s;e in their own conceits: and if I &s;hall hereby demoli&s;h or at lea&s;t weaken this conceit of yours, I pre&s;ume I &s;hall do you herein a very charitable and Chri&s;tian peece of &s;ervice. Think not I am become your enemy, becau&s;e I tell you the truth: you have injur'd mee no other|wi&s;e then by tre&s;pa&s;&s;ing upon your own credit, and by making thereby a &s;ad breach in that holy profe&s;&s;ion, wherein you &s;tand ingaged with my &s;elfe. Whatever your intentions were, I conceive you have done me no more wrong in clapping the title of an <HI>Independent Pro&s;elyte</HI> upon my back, then <HI>Pilate</HI> did to Chri&s;t in affix|ing this Super&s;cription over his head, <HI>This is the King of the Jews.</HI> I think this name to be full as honourable, as that of a <HI>poore and unworthy Presbyterian,</HI> wherewith you have plea&s;ed to baptize your &s;elfe: and conceive that herein only you have followed your owne, or rather the Apo&s;tles coun&s;ell, <HI>in honour to preferre others be|fore your &s;elfe.</HI> But had you been minded to &s;uppre&s;&s;e your name, your very Dialect had been enough to betray you: Me thinkes you write ju&s;t like &s;uch a one as you &s;ay you are. Did I not hope for better things from the hands of more worthy Presbyterians, your unworthy dealing had &s;et me offten degrees further from your way, then I now &s;tand: But I will not take the advantage of your, or any mans mi&s;demeanor, though more gro&s;&s;e and ab&s;urd then yours, to render Presbytery odious to the world: To cloath any opinion or practice with the garments of mens per&s;onall di&s;tempers, thereby to fall upon them and beat them with the more applau&s;e, is a method which I as much abhorre, as the <HI>Gentleman</HI> you admire, delights in: and if this property in him were one of tho&s;e beauty-&s;pots, which ravi&s;h't you into a pa&s;&s;ionate adoration of him, you need not feare, that ever I &s;hould become your corrivall: And yet I love and honour Mr. <HI>Pry<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> for what ever you can finde lovely and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">
<PB REF="2">neath the line of a man, is to make him and my &s;elfe obnoxious to the wrath of God, and the &s;corn of man. I acknowledge that for a time he ran well, but who hindred him? que&s;tionle&s;&s;e <HI>He</HI> who is ever and anon hin|dring the Saints in the race of holine&s;&s;e. The Prince of darkne&s;&s;e owed him a fall for his &s;harpe conte&s;ting with his prime agents, and now hee hath pay'd his debt; but if Mr. <HI>Prynn</HI> will bee rul'd by the advice of his be&s;t friends, hee may ri&s;e again to his greater glory, and notwith&s;tanding his fall, triumph over the envy and malice of the devill. Concerning Mr. <HI>John Goodwin,</HI> (over whom you &s;hake the rod of your reproofe, as if hee were one of your Schollers) I could &s;peak as high and excellent <HI>Encomiums,</HI> as you have &s;poken of your <HI>precious Gentleman;</HI> I could compare him even with Mr. <HI>Prynn</HI> him&s;elfe: but &s;uch a compari&s;on as this, would bee to mee mo&s;t odious. I could tell you what hee hath done, what hee hath writ, how deeply hee hath &s;uf|fer'd from unrea&s;onable men; yea, I could give you &s;uch a lively and bright de&s;cription of him, as would da|zell your eyes to look upon, and make you blu&s;h for &s;hame to have grapl'd with &s;uch a per&s;on as hee is, upon &s;uch rude and unmannerly termes as you have done. For you, who are but a <HI>Teacher of boyes,</HI> &s;o haughtily to correct a <HI>great Ma&s;ter in I&s;rael,</HI> is &s;uch an ab&s;urdity, as cannot but rend a more patient &s;oule then mine, into di&s;dain and griefe. Tis a wonder to me, that, whereas at the beginning of your Letter, you confe&s;&s;e your &s;elfe to bee but a <HI>poore and unwrothy Presbyterian,</HI> you &s;hould &s;o far forget your &s;elfe, before you come halfe way, as to take upon you, like the Dr. of the Chaire; and to cen&s;ure the be&s;t of men and wayes with as much confidence, as if your pen had dropt the Votes of a Generall A&s;&s;embly with its inke. Had a poore and un|worthy Independent done the like, you would have ca&s;t his boldne&s;&s;e into a Ba&s;iliske, and us'd it to batter down the way of his profe&s;&s;ion, and to lay the glory of it even with the ground. But I well perceive, though you have &s;cap't the <HI>&s;nare of guifts and parts</HI> (in which you feare Mr. <HI>Goodwin</HI> is taken) yet you are falne into the pit, not of divine, but naturall &s;implicity; and have verifyed the old Proverb, A ra&s;h mans boult is &s;oon &s;hot. As for that Book of Mr. <HI>Goodwins,</HI> call'd <HI>Innocency and Truth triumphing together,</HI> though you are plea|&s;ed to triumph over both, and to ca&s;t it out as an Arch rebell to rea&s;on and morallity, yet (I mu&s;t tell you) it hath found joyfull and bountifull entertainment in the judgements of &s;ober and intelligent men: But certain|ly, it was the unhappine&s;&s;e of this Treati&s;e to fall into your hands, when you &s;tood upon the Mount of Mr. <HI>Prynns</HI> honour, and when the vi&s;ion of his transfiguration wrought &s;o &s;trongly in you, that you did not wot, what you &s;pake, no, nor what you did neither, for you laid about you with &s;uch regardle&s;&s;e fury that you broke the head of your friend <HI>Pri&s;cian,</HI> [<HI>The words in the written Coppy of your Letter, are the&s;e, and thus &s;pell'd</HI> qui<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n alterum paratus e&s;t dicere, ip&s;um vicio careat oporte, <HI>as may appeare from the originall in Mr.</HI> Goodwins <HI>cu&s;to|dy. But it &s;eems the Corrector being the better Grammarian transform'd them into good Latine in the Printed Copy.</HI>] of who&s;e &s;afety men of your <HI>profe&s;&s;ion,</HI> &s;hould bet mo&s;t tender. I thought to have argued the ca&s;e with you, whether your exceptions again&s;t this Treati&s;e and its Authour, will hold in the Court of Rea&s;on and equity: but perhaps you are not &s;o well skill'd in the rules of this Court; and I am loath to take the advantage of you. I &s;hall only propound a few Querees, peradventure the &s;truglings of your thoughts to give them &s;atisfaction, may di&s;&s;olve the inchantment that is now upon you. What per&s;ons did ever mo&s;t <HI>Learnedly declare Mr.</HI> Good|win <HI>to bee ju&s;tly cen&s;ured for Sociniani&s;me?</HI> When, or in what <HI>publique</HI> place did they make this Declaration? How call you that Brother of his, who will <HI>ju&s;tifie</HI> again&s;t him the charge <HI>of holding a mo&s;t damnable opinion a|bout ju&s;tifying faith?</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e you mu&s;t &s;train, not &s;o much your memory as your invention, in &s;haping your an&s;wer: You had done well to remember, that though <HI>Fooles</HI> (as <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;peaks) <HI>beleeve every thing;</HI> yet <HI>wi&s;e</HI> men will que&s;tion &s;uch a&s;&s;ertions as the&s;e: Alas <HI>(Sir)</HI> the be&s;t cour&s;e you can run to game credit with the prudent, is to cut your allegations and your proofes, ju&s;t of one and the &s;ame length: To cloath large and broad &s;ayings with curtaild Arguments, reflects as much &s;hame upon &s;uch &s;ayings, and him that &s;peakes them, as <HI>Hanun</HI> did upon the &s;ervants of <HI>David,</HI> in cutting off their Garments to their buttocks. You can|not but know, how that many grave, &s;ober, godly, and learned men have falne into that <HI>way</HI> you call <HI>Inde|pendency.</HI> Now, your onely method, to have brought over the&s;e to your party, and to have fill'd their mouths with the cry of a confederacy again&s;t this <HI>way,</HI> had been this; not barely to have affirm'd it to bee a <HI>novell</HI> and <HI>di&s;turbant way</HI> (as you have done) but to have poys'd the lightne&s;&s;e of your affirmation, with the weight and &s;ub&s;tance of a demon&s;tration. I a&s;&s;ure you (Sir) (what ever you may thinke) I approve of <HI>this way</HI> no further then I &s;ee the foot&s;teps of tho&s;e <HI>&s;weet &s;i&s;ters, Truth</HI> and <HI>Peace</HI> Printed in it: I have narrowly view'd it, and I can finde no drops of blood, no &s;trewings of the liberties, e&s;tates, names, comforts of the Saints &s;cattered in it, and yet &s;ome Travellers affirme, they have &s;een &s;uch things as the&s;e in that <HI>way,</HI> which the ignorance of thou&s;ands lu&s;ts after. But to conclude. I be&s;eech you (Sir) bee more watchfull over the extravagancies of your tongue and pen for the future: &s;ince you are (in part) acquainted with their infirmities, let it be your wi&s;dome to &s;eek their cure. I reverence you for your age, piety, and &s;ome &s;ervices you have done to the Publique; and I &s;hould rejoyce to &s;ee &s;uch an ancient &s;tander in the garden of God <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s you are, carrying your hoary head with honour to the grave: which that you may doe, as I have (you &s;ee) in part indeavoured, &s;o I &s;hall further pro&s;ecute with my prayers to him, who is able to keepe you to the end: in whom (though I am unknown to you) yet with all &s;incerity I profe&s;&s;e my &s;elfe,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>February</HI> 3. 1644.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SALUTE><HI>Sir, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"></HI></SALUTE></CLOSER>
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