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<DATE>2010-02-17</DATE>
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<NAME>Taryn Hakala</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE TIMES DISSECTED. OR, A LEARNED DICOVERSE <HI>Of Severall</HI> OCCVRRENCES <HI>Very worthy of</HI> SPECIALL OBSERVATION, To deter evill men, and in|courage good.</P>
<P><HI>Printed in the yeare,</HI> 1641.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE TIMES.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_EVROPE</HI> afflicted, mournes, an Age it may be accounted when ruine is from time to time; but great Brittaine, as the la&s;t in the world in re|&s;ervation of puni&s;hment, is a&s;&s;ailed with an Inundation of troubles; a Country found no danger, therefore &s;ought no remedy, as a Province, when a Comet hath no relation to it, feares not; this cau&s;ed her make no u&s;e of others harmes, as wi&s;edome &s;hould have done, when a neighbours hou&s;e is on fire: there|fore either becau&s;e God cha&s;teneth more the faults of us hee loveth, a &s;igne of good will, or becau&s;e he puni&s;heth our er|rors, he is mo&s;t obliged to pay with revenge; the &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">urce of which Malady, if we take the Elevation from the pa&s;t, inward or outward cau&s;es proceed: Fir&s;t, from our &s;innes, which did ca&s;t a Epidemicall Lethargy of unthankefulne&s;&s;e for mer|cies received, the greate&s;t &s;ickne&s;&s;e, a conceit of health when mo&s;t in danger. The &s;econd, becau&s;e there was not heretofore a perfect union twixt England and Scotland, in|corporating both into one body and minde, if po&s;&s;ible it might have beene: a rea&s;on hath cau&s;ed Portugall and Cata|lonia to revolt from the King of Spaine, and Tran&s;ilvania, Va|lachia, and Moldavia, under Vayvodes, and not Ba&s;haes, ea&s;ily
<PB REF="3">elap&s;ed to di&s;obedience; in the&s;e turbulent, and lachrymable times enter the yeare 1639. when two Armies in ho&s;tile manner oppo&s;e each other, but cured with a pacification, the ulcer not killed, it revived the yeare 1640. invenoming the mindes of both Kingdomes, as in a hecticke, or rather a bur|ning feaver, with much corrupt matter a&s;cending: cau&s;ed a new Paroci&s;me to devour the &s;ub&s;tance of the King and peo|ple, which was progno&s;ticated by divine anger threatned by the Mini&s;ters, the Church con&s;purgated with errors, the Common-wealth loaded with projects, Monopolies, and Impo&s;itions, a Tyrannical Government propounded and a&s;&s;ai|ed, Parliamentary wayes denied, the Road, and Highway to ju&s;tice, the petitions of the people not heard, nor an&s;we|red, all which chalked out ruine: whereupon finding their lawfull de&s;ires made vaine, they doe not &s;o willingly obey the &s;overaignes edicts and commands, finding the Diadem led with pernitious councells, &s;o that the Feaver of di&s;obedience growing high, the Scots invaded, our &s;ouldiers had no will to fight, the &s;ubjects no de&s;ire to pay to &s;uch a warre, where|by the precepts of the head were of no availe over pur&s;e and &s;pirit to oppo&s;e &s;uch inva&s;ion, this di&s;temper cau&s;ed the King &s;ummon the Peerary to Yorke to con&s;ult and play Phy&s;itians to cure the pre&s;ent malady, with a purpo&s;e King and Lords, might doe all things without the Commons; but they out of a &s;incere minde petitioned his Maje&s;ty for a Parliament, be|cau&s;e they could not accompli&s;h the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e without com|mon con&s;ent, to &s;et in joynt the factions and fractions of the Kingdome, which appeared by the mi&s;erable condition, the face of the Common-wealth was beheld withall, now bet|ter by a thou&s;and degrees (thankes be given to God) for ma|ny wrinckles are worne away, and I hope it will come to be in good health, &s;ince the Parliament cannot be di&s;&s;olved till all things de&s;ired be accompli&s;hed, of which the Trienniall Parliament will be the touch&s;tone to try the truth. But fin|ding the Epi&s;copall government, cau&s;ed divers di&s;tempers in the State by introducing new innovations in the Church, as Altars removed for adoration, a new unlawfull oath impo&s;ed
<PB REF="3">by the Canons, and not confirmed by the Parliament, with|out which it was of no validity. Secondly, Service &s;aid at the Altar, that the greater part of the people could not heare, and the Pontificall Divines teaching and preaching in bookes, and &s;ermons, that the King might invade our liberties; this cau&s;ed a re&s;earch of the Epi&s;copall power, by who&s;e autho|rity this poy&s;on was infu&s;ed, that a Bill i&s;&s;ued from the Com|mons to the Lords, and pa&s;&s;ed their Hou&s;e, in all but one point, which was putting out of the Hou&s;e; but &s;ince &s;ome pride from the Bi&s;hops and Petitions from &s;ome parts of the Kingdome, finding Church and republike impo&s;tumated, the Hou&s;e of Commons hath committed a Bil for the eradicating of roote and branch. (Noble Friend) to &s;atisfie the appetite of your de&s;ires, I will tell you the various opinions of men, &s;ome there are haters of Reformation, and pure formes, like tho&s;e that live in corrupt aire, cannot breath in pure, or u&s;ed to bracki&s;h water, delight not in &s;weet fountaines; others there are who adhere to Rome, and would have that forme of Church, which but by a paire of &s;heeres devides from that Hierarchy, that they might ea&s;ily in that path goe to the An|tichri&s;tian way, which if it were hedged up, had no gap to Babylonian errors, for they found none but the Bi&s;hops, and their followers brought in the Arminian and Socinian errors, the bridges for Popery. Some they &s;ay there are who have &s;ucked in errors at the Vniver&s;ity by reading Papi&s;ticall bookes, admitted by the Bi&s;hops, and allowed by the Arch|bi&s;hop of Canterbury, and are &s;o infected in judgement, that they had need of Spectacles to di&s;cerne the truth, or of eye &s;alve to cure and cleere their judgements. Likewi&s;e others affirme many great Ladies, becau&s;e they are e&s;teemed, and flattered of Bi&s;hops, would have them in their <HI>Pontificalibus,</HI> &s;ome Prote&s;tants who&s;e knowledge is not great, would have them without other rea&s;on giving them, becau&s;e they have beene bred in that way: And further, the Papi&s;ts who&s;e Re|ligion for the mo&s;t part is in reverence and devotion, are mightily for them, becau&s;e by that Hierarchy, they confirme their opinions in Popery, as an antiquity derived from Popi&s;h
<PB REF="4">Bi&s;hops, who fir&s;t in&s;tituted, inducted, and confirmed them in the beginning of Queene <HI>Elizabeths</HI> time, &s;o that all our Pontificall Clergy derive the pedegrees of their rites and ceremonies from Rome, &s;o that if they are not in the fir&s;t in|&s;titution, there may be a retrogradation to Rome by the &s;ame &s;teps, as in a maze goe backe againe the way they came in. The politique &s;ort finding the predominant con&s;tellation of their aime and pride are carried wit<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> other con&s;iderations, that Monarchy had better give a loo&s;e to Hierarchy; for there is nothing Ari&s;tocraticall but Parliaments, which con&s;i&s;ts of Lords Spirituall, Lords Temporall, and Commons, the three la&s;t are Ari&s;tocraticall: now if one of the&s;e three be di&s;&s;ol|ved, the Monarchy wil &s;hine cleerer, for that none can oppo&s;e the Supremacy of the King in great Britaine and Ireland, but the Bi&s;hops, who would, if they had occa&s;ion, draw the power to them&s;elves from Rome and <HI>Peter,</HI> and di&s;&s;eize his Maje&s;ty; moreover &s;ome of the Lords. Spirituall being Temporall Lords, it may be feared there may be Parliaments without the Temporall Peeres, for &s;ome of the Bi&s;hops are Tempo|rall and Spirituall, &s;o that it is po&s;&s;ible that the Lords Tempo|rall may be barred (which God forbid.) And further, it is ap|parent the Commons &s;hall pa&s;&s;e nothing, becau&s;e the Bi&s;hops will not, who &s;way the Lords Hou&s;e much with the Catho|lique party and proxies, for this cau&s;e it were fit the Bi&s;hops were hindred of votes. Another Argument is, there is no rea&s;on they &s;hould take place of their benefactors, which they doe in the Lords Hou&s;e, which will be, if not excluded.</P>
<P>The third rea&s;on, the Nobility and Gentry gave land, and were benefa<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">tors to Bi&s;hops e&s;tates, but the erection of Bi|&s;hops came from the Pope anciently, as appeares by many records, and therefore their erections being Papi&s;ticall, they may come to owe more &s;ervice to the Pope then to the King, which I leave to the con&s;ideration of <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">he Parliament.</P>
<P>Now to declare the opinion of Lawyers not Catholicke, there have beene Parliaments &s;ay they without Bi&s;hops, <HI>F.</HI> 1.24. a Parliament held. <HI>Ex lu&s;o Clero</HI> 7. <HI>R.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>cap.</HI> 3.7. <HI>R.</HI> 2. <HI>cap</HI> 12. No Bi&s;hops, and many other Parliaments had
<PB REF="4">no Bi&s;hops, and therefore it is the opinion, of the be&s;t Law|yers at this day, that they ought to be put out of the Lords Hou&s;e.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, how many upright and &s;incere men have been put out by them, and &s;ilenced.</P>
<P>Now let us touch the antiquity of Bi&s;hops, to &s;ee whether they have anciently medled with temporalities or no: From Chri&s;ts time they were only Over&s;eers of Churches in the Apo&s;tolicall function and &s;uperintendent Pa&s;tors of the Church, appointed &s;o by the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.28. who by common con&s;ent did a&s;&s;emble together, in which for more orderly proceeding in their charges, they choo&s;e one a|mong&s;t them to be Moderator and Pre&s;ident, this is he whom after the fathers called Bi&s;hop; but not meerely from Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, for the name of all Elders, and Mini&s;ters in the beginning was Bi&s;hop, which after by the u&s;uall lan|guage of the fathers, was appropriated to the Pre&s;ident&s;hip of the Elders and Mini&s;ters, therefore it was Saint <HI>Cyprian</HI> reproved the Elders for receiving tho&s;e who were fallen a|way in time of Per&s;ecution; before the Bi&s;hop had advi&s;ed of it with them and others, becau&s;e they &s;hould make pub|licke &s;atisfaction; and therefore I conceive it an error, that they had not power given before in generall Synods, if any &s;hould returne to the faith to be re&s;tored in the interim to the Church, upon confe&s;&s;ion and penitency in the congregation before a Synod called, who otherwi&s;e might de&s;paire in the meane time, or by ill coun&s;ell fall away, &s;o that it is apparent that Bi&s;hops did deale in matters of the Church government by the coun&s;ell and con&s;ent of the Elders and no further; but it is ob&s;erved, the Bi&s;hops in every &s;ucce&s;&s;ion and in every City cau&s;ed all orders for to &s;tand as the law, the Prophets, and our Lord did preach, as <HI>Hege&s;ippus</HI> &s;aid, but how many an Apo&s;tolicall waies have they introduced contrary to the Scriptures, witne&s;&s;e the reverence to Altars, kneeling at the Sacrament, and many more; as &s;ilencing Mini&s;ters for matters of con&s;cience, for no authority hath power of the con&s;cience but God, and nothing bindes the con&s;cience,
<PB REF="5"><HI>&s;emper &amp; ad &s;emper,</HI> but the decalogue, &s;o that it was never in the primitive times heard that the Clergy medled with Temporall affaires, as they how doe, which &s;uperabundancy of power cau&s;eth &s;uch corruption, impurity of Religion, and hurt to the Commonwealth: therefore they &s;eeke to crop their power, or that they may have no more then in the fir&s;t in&s;titu|tion, and manage affaires of Church with primitive temper, to the good of the Common-wealth and glory of God, and felicity of the Church, but they have commanded what they li&s;t without controule, &amp; are &s;o in&s;olent as of late, <HI>Land</HI> Arch-Bi&s;hop of Canterburies vices the more vi&s;ible were by how much hee was more potent in power, and gracious in the Princes eye to per&s;wade the &s;eque&s;tration of zealous and pi|ous in the Church, and the Maje&s;ty to be aloofe off in matter of &s;tate, from Mini&s;ters able and &s;incere, or el&s;e to give the Soveraigne over to &s;uch as might lo<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e his &s;ubjects hearts, and cau&s;e them fall into the Malady of di&s;obedience, a thing incident to mi&s;guided governments, &s;o he brought in inno|vations into the Church, making her of a pure Virgin a very Strumpet.</P>
<P>Ship, Coat, and Conduct money, and other &s;terne impo&s;i|tions he brought in, not according to abilities, but what the Judges wickedly affirmed to be Law, con&s;training inferiours to be in&s;truments in execution, for hope of advancement, or over awing them by feare; for acts that fill Princes coffers with unju&s;t demands of money not due, are ever the ruine of the fir&s;t founders: times are not bad, but the wicked that live therein make them &s;o, who are the futhers of ill coun&s;ell as well as tho&s;e who are the begetters of bad children, which &s;ea&s;ons make the be&s;t Mini&s;ters oftentimes mini&s;ter fuell to illegall and wicked de&s;ires of great men, wherein Kings them&s;elves pa&s;&s;e not blamele&s;&s;e, who chu&s;e not in&s;truments by the ballance of merit, but with the &s;ailes of will and pa&s;|&s;ionate affection; for as their mindes are large in re&s;pect of potency, &s;o their election is rather to &s;atisfie their various humours then &s;olid judgement, like tho&s;e who looke for the Philo&s;ophers &s;tone, and finde out nothing but fine conceits
<PB REF="5">not worthy the looking for. The Bi&s;hop alone manageth the State under the Diadem, choo&s;eth his chiefe in&s;trument <HI>Wentworth</HI> into office of be&s;t tru&s;t, and both together weave the web, who&s;e woofe was the mi&s;like of the people; flocks that love no fleaing the skin, can indure the &s;hearing, this violent deporment bred a great di&s;temper in the hearts of Scotland, and cau&s;ed the Engli&s;h murmure, and draw to a defection or mutiny, but no power gotten by wickedne&s;&s;e of Mini&s;ters is durable, nor to &s;uch is any &s;tability betwixt mediocrity and precipitation, which cau&s;e doubtfull and am|biguous &s;peeches of the Soveraigne, when the fault ought to be impo&s;ed on the Mini&s;ters: &s;o dangerous are the wayes of Maje&s;ty, that the folly of great ones &s;trive for ruine. Suppo&s;e tho&s;e mi&s;con&s;tructions the multitude have of the Diadem force Maje&s;ty to &s;eeke advice and helpe from &s;trangers, when he cannot purcha&s;e duty at home, what a lamentable con&s;equence may follow, to invite an ancient enemy to the funerall ob&s;equies of her liberties, the cure being wor&s;e then the di&s;ea&s;e? And &s;uch is our &s;tate now, that the Hou&s;e of Com|mons are con&s;trained to be helpers, a Theame mo&s;t di&s;plea|&s;ing to Soveraignty, though in a di&s;tracted &s;tate a rule infalli|ble; on <HI>Wentworth</HI> the affection of the Soveraigne was &s;o placed, as his power was boundle&s;&s;e in Ireland, and here un|&s;ufferable, though a Gentleman of tran&s;cendent parts, and of the highe&s;t ranke under the degree of Barony, yet of a &s;woulne ambition which no republike can indure, for all preferment pa&s;|&s;eth by him, and all &s;uits addre&s;&s;e to him, who finding &s;o full a Moone of favour, thought he could not dye for Trea&s;on, the price of his life: &s;urely I blame not a Prince for taking a repo&s;e|full friend to participate his intimate thoughts, to temper the affaires of &s;tate, &s;o as he infects not the effects of his prin|cipality, nor &s;ullieth his parentall re&s;pect to the &s;ubject, by hatred or Tyranny; but Strafford &s;icke of the Kings well governing, &s;tudied wayes of an arbitrary rule, thinking his high tyde of favor would never come to an ebbe of fortune, but &s;he fooled him at la&s;t to the lo&s;&s;e of all he held in this life mo&s;t deare; Great mu&s;t be the art of ambition to keepe afloat the &s;treame of a power&punc;
<PB REF="6">&s;eeing &s;ublimity changeth as the &s;poke of the wheele, or as the hand of the Diall, at the highe&s;t 12. comes to one, hee affected the honour and &s;ervice of his Ma&s;ter with the ruine of the &s;ub|ject, beating downe competitors of the worthy Patriot&s;hip, and wrought by pride precipitation, when by humility hee might have had a good &s;tation, for he &s;hould have made it the operation of others, rather then any appetite of his owne to gormondize the property of &s;ubjects goods, and &s;wallow their liberty, putting fetters on the Law, that nothing could be ac|compli&s;hed but what he and the Archbi&s;hop plea&s;ed. And la&s;t|ly, they barre from the King alwaies to heare the groanes of his people, and wickedne&s;&s;e of their mini&s;tery. This fatall de|port of both might have proved Tragicall to the Kingdome, where the ingredience of popular humour is mixed as well with armed forces not to be disbanded without great danger, as with a mighty Schi&s;maticall party, as well Papi&s;ts, Browni&s;ts, Anabapti&s;ts, people plea&s;ed to fi&s;h in troubled waters, and the maleconten<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ed Clergy, who have corrupted the pure foun|taines rather then they will be depre&s;&s;ed in power (it is to bee feared) may all act a bu&s;ie part in this Tragicke &s;tory. In &s;uch de&s;ignes Churchmen are never wanting to adde fuell to popular fires, for though they worke it not with the meane&s;t, they ef|fect it by head and chiefe cau&s;ing weakne&s;&s;es in government, and oppre&s;&s;ion of people, for it <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> not the be&s;t doctrine a w<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">rr<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> with &s;ubjects to advance their Hierarchy, no Bi&s;hop, no King, When the fir&s;t Church ro&s;e by fa&s;ting and praying, therefore they ought not &s;o much teach us rulles of loyalty, as to know out owne duties in difficult points of R<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ligion, nor ought they make the Soveraigne believe the Parliament only breath out th<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ir pa&s;&s;ions in a time of liberty, and expre&s;&s;e the poverty of their Ma&s;ter to l<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;en his reputation abroad and credit at home, when then the State is &s;o fe&s;tred, it is a paine to fetch out the dead fle&s;h without cor<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ives which they are con&s;trained to, to keepe it from gangrening, when that their whole aime next to religion is to looke into the Kings nece&s;&s;ities, to di&s;charge the Armies, take away the impeachments of the Common|wealth, and provide for the royall &s;u&s;tentation much weakned
<PB REF="6">by bad Coun&s;ells, &s;o that he may be potent at home, and glo|rious abroad, beginning to &s;et things in order when &s;o great di&s;order hath chalked the way to amendment, for a mighty expence ever ends in the rapine and &s;poile of &s;ubjects: but now if it plea&s;e the King to follow the coun&s;ell of <HI>Machiavill,</HI> doe as the time permits, and be not weary of the &s;trict enquiry of the Parliament, he &s;hall accompli&s;h as full a Soveraignity as ever, and greater. This may cau&s;e the King with incomparable wi&s;edome to &s;uite him&s;elfe to the nece&s;&s;ity of the Time, and expect future good from tho&s;e meane it &s;o fervently, and act it &s;o painefully. The King delivered of ill coun&s;ells, by this ble&s;|&s;ed fortune, freed and obeyed, may begin to &s;earch the ground of the mi&s;ery, why that vertue and fortune, which had &s;etled and maintained &s;o long his Ance&s;tors in glory of Empire, &s;eemes to be in a trance at this time, as if the Genious of the State had for&s;aken her, and found out (the way) the rea&s;on of this mi&s;|chiefe, namely a wa&s;tfull hand too quicke for the fortunes and per&s;ons of his people, the griping avarice of Mini&s;ters, lawle&s;&s;e liberty of Martiall forces, uncivill actions of the Multitude, and affording too much care to greedy and unworthy Mini&s;ters, who&s;e coun&s;ell was more &s;ubtill then &s;olid, &s;eeing moderation, reward and puni&s;hment, are the &s;upporters of Crownes, and to be ju&s;t of word is required of Subjects from Kings them|&s;elves, &s;o &s;hall he effect a wondrous change in the State, bring|ing the three Kingdomes home with wonder to his devotion, and their obedience laying his foundation of government on religion, quietne&s;&s;e and ju&s;tice, &s;o that peace and tranquility &s;hall attend a long life though death be let in at la&s;t, and fa&s;hion to his &s;ucce&s;&s;ors a mo&s;t royall paterne to follow from his expe|rience, and authority to make him &s;uperior to Kings, and as he is the fir&s;t King of his name in our Empire &s;ince the conque&s;t, &s;o &s;hal he be mo&s;t worthy to be &s;tiled Britaines CHARLEMAINE, and be not only capable to governe the&s;e three Realmes, but the whole world, &s;o that the wrongs of fortune &s;ometimes make Princes more then their pro&s;perity both wi&s;e and for|tunate.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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