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<DATE>2012-01-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z120010.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">B5107B</STC>
<STC T="C">R175624</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">52612053</BIBNO>
<VID>179336</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P><HI>Time well &s;pent. OR,</HI> Opus Irae &amp; Labor Benevolentiae. <HI>In eight Books.</HI> viz.</P>
<P>A compendious Retractation for Bookmaking, a godly zealous Prayer, for Peace and Salvation, a Warning Peece for England, a Lamentable Complaint, a Patheticall Apology, a Potent Vindication, a Paradox, and the Authours Di&s;aster for Bookmaking, with his Ship in Divi&s;ion.</P>
<P>Containing many briefe and plea&s;ant meditations very u&s;efull for the&s;e di&s;tracted times, worthy ob&s;ervation and imitation.</P>
<P><HI>Dies A&s;cen&s;ionis Domini no&s;tri &amp; &s;alvatoris in Caelis.</HI></P>
<LICENSE LANG="eng">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>11.</HI> May. <HI>1643.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>Whereas <HI>Edward Browne</HI> &s;ometimes &s;ervant to Sir <HI>James Cambell,</HI> Knight and Alderman of London, decea&s;ed, hath pre&s;enteed to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maie&s;ty and the Lords and Commons in Parlia|ment two Petitions wherein is briefly de&s;cribed the mi&s;erable condition of this di&s;tracted Kingdome as well as his own particuler grievances, it is therefore ordered that not onely his de&s;ire therein &s;hall be granted, but that <HI>His time well &s;pent</HI> in Print &s;hall be forthwith publi&s;ted.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>per Clericum Duiman ad Jgnoramum.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LICENSE>
<P><HI>London, Printed in the yeer, 1643.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<P>The fir&s;t of the&s;e is &s;ufficiently an&s;wered in my Di&s;a&s;ter, Paradox, and Vindication, and the latter is likewi&s;e an&s;wered in my Addition to tho&s;e in my Apologie.</P>
<P>But therein I did forget to give his Wor&s;hip hearty thanks, for his kind re&s;pects towards me &amp; now I could wi&s;h that I had followed his grave advi&s;e, then &s;hould I have neglected the con&s;ures of men upon me and my Books, and &s;o have been victorous by Patience, which is much better then &s;trife and contention: For I do humbly acknowledge that I have overwatched or overwrought my &s;elf in making Books, and therefore thinke it is now be&s;t to &s;urcea&s;e and leave; yet my minde is very much troubled which is the greate&s;t mi&s;ery that can happen to a man in this world, as the wi&s;eman hath it in <HI>Pro.</HI> 18.14. <HI>The &s;pirit of a man may bear bodily infirmities, but a wounded &s;pirit who can bear?</HI> There|fore to ea&s;e my minde of this intollerable burden I have lately &s;uper|vi&s;ed my works, and therein finde &s;ome litterall faults e&s;caped in the Pre&s;&s;e, by rea&s;on of my ha&s;te to have them printed: But all the wit I have cannot finde &s;o many &s;ub&s;tantiall errors, as to make it the work of the devill, as &s;ome affirme, except that be one in my bitter Pill, where I do affirme that my &s;uppo&s;ed grand Adver&s;ary hath vilyfied as hone&s;t a man as him&s;elf, but pray let my mode&s;ty excu&s;e my &s;mooth language towards him, for though he doth, I do not delight in railing terms, becau&s;e I know that in me, that is in my fle&s;h dwelleth no good thing, that I am not able of my &s;elf to thinke a good thought, that I am the greate&s;t of all &s;inners: and therefore have nothing whereof to boa&s;t, but my infirmities, and tho&s;e I glory in for &s;ure I thinke it is the finger of God that by my fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e hath &s;truck to the heart root &s;ome guilty per&s;ons hypocritically and maliciou&s;ly affected: and there|fore to tho&s;e that &s;ay my Bookes are like a rope of &s;and which will not hold together, but crumble and moulder into incon&s;i&s;tent, u&s;ele&s;&s;e, and unprofitable things, I affirme and declare, that my Heavenly and Divine Ejaculations, and my Morall Satyricall Fancies are &s;o farre un|like that &s;imile, that they are as &s;trong as a chaine of Iron, as true as Steele, and as precious as Gold. For the ground of the fir&s;t worke is apparent in the Epi&s;tle to the Reader; and how firmly at hangs there|on all men may judge. And if any new in&s;pired Teacher, with a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of the mo&s;t Orthodox Divines in this Kingdome dare &s;et pen to paper again&s;t my Angry Labours of good will to &s;atisfle a troubled minde, which &s;pring from the two former Letters, and &s;ome oppro|brious
<PB REF="3">&s;peeches of any malignant parties. I have already by the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of the Almighty on the&s;e my weake endeavours, made it mani|fe&s;t in the view of all men, in my Di&s;a&s;ter, Paradox, &amp;c. that as the Hydrean heads of the Hypocrite began to appeare in my view, &s;o ac|cording to my skill I have cut them off with the two-edged &s;word of the Spirit, the Word of God, and Rea&s;on, which I hope is &s;o potent that all my malicious adver&s;aries are not able to breake one link thereof with the &s;aid in&s;trument; though I mu&s;t acknowledge they may abu&s;e me with their <HI>Militia,</HI> which they have made <HI>Malitia,</HI> as &s;ome have done to divers others of farre better worth then I am for &s;maller matters. And therefore to expend my money in printing my owne fancies, though never &s;o good, I will not for all that their malice can doe unto me, much le&s;&s;e will I trouble my &s;elfe for what they may fal&s;ly &s;ay of me.</P>
<P>And I doe once more chalenge great <HI>Goliah</HI> and the Phili&s;tines to defie me with any propo&s;itions again&s;t Monarchie and Epi&s;copacie, as it is e&s;tabli&s;hed in this kingdome: let them if they dare put forth their knotty Riddles, and tie their Foxes tales one to another, with all the craft and cunning they can, and I hope with <HI>David</HI> to &s;ticke a &s;tone in the forehead of great <HI>Goliah,</HI> which I &s;hall finde in the brooke of Gods word and other little Rivers, and with the helpe of my Fathers Heifer I tru&s;t to untie, breake, and plow up the hard Rockes in their fraudu|lent Riddles, that it &s;hall be eaven and plaine ground, and &s;et &s;uch fire|brands betweene their Foxes tales that &s;hall burne and con&s;ume their &s;eeming corne to a&s;hes. For it grieves my very &s;oule to &s;ee and heare rare men abu&s;ed and contemned, but &s;uch malignant <HI>VVoodcockes</HI> as <HI>Peters</HI> and other New England Apo&s;tles, applauded to the very Hea|vens. And certainly if they bee &s;uffered to continue long they will bring mi&s;erie, <HI>Calamytie,</HI> and de&s;truction upon us all. For thus I heard one &s;ay in his Pulpit ye&s;terday, That they are no people which have not God among them: which cannot be, for God is everywhere by his Omnipre&s;ence and Providence, though it is true his particular &s;oule &s;aving pre&s;ence is onely with his Saints. But hereby this fellow and divers others of his garbe would inferre, That all the wicked mu&s;t utterly be de&s;troyed from the face of the earth, which is very fal&s;e and pernicious doctrine; for God &s;et a marke upon <HI>Cain,</HI> le&s;t any man fin|ding him &s;hould kill him. And Chri&s;t &s;aith expre&s;ly, the Tares mu&s;t grow with the Wheat untill the Harve&s;t. But envie, malice, trea&s;on, <GAP DESC="missing" EXTENT="1+ pages"></P>
<PB REF="1">
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<P>MA&s;ter <HI>Walme&s;ley</HI> and Mi&s;tris <HI>Vanpaine,</HI> of all Sir <HI>Iames</HI> his kindred <HI>I</HI> did thinke you had beene the mo&s;t truly religious, and therefore was bold to pre&s;ent unto each of you a Booke, which <HI>I</HI> thought you would kindly accept of becau&s;e it was of my compo&s;ing, who was a poore &s;ervant when you dwelt with my ma&s;ter, rather then for any worth in the thing it &s;elfe: but it &s;eemes my expectation therein was fru&s;trated, for in &s;tead of commending my expence of &s;pare time in &s;uch workes, <HI>I</HI> under&s;tand you have vilified the &s;ame. Therefore becau&s;e you are &s;o godly iudicious, <HI>I</HI> would entreat you to peru&s;e this fruit of my labour likewi&s;e, and certifie my faults therein with a pen, and then &s;end them unto me by &s;ome Por|ter, who&s;e paines <HI>I</HI> will requite, and <HI>I</HI> &s;hall e&s;teeme it a fa|vour &s;hewed to</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your poore &s;ervant,</HI> Edw: Browne.</SIGNED>
<DATE>4. Aug. 1643.</DATE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<P>MA&s;ter <HI>Browne,</HI> I have peru&s;ed your Bookes, and I finde them u&s;ele&s;&s;e for me. I finde in them light with dark|ne&s;&s;e, holy things and vaine unprofitable things mixed, which are altogether incon&s;i&s;tent: and I am &s;ure if you will not look beyond the Moone, but fixe your eies a little, there you may finde there a dead flie which makes your bookes of ointment un&s;avourie, if there were no other errours in your Booke, the which there are many: but you mu&s;t not expect that I will take upon me to nominate the particular errors in your books
<PB REF="3">for then I &s;hould beginne to be a book-maker as well as you: wherefore I will not now beginne to confute bookes, becau&s;e God hath not called me unto it. As for that which was good in Sir <HI>Iames Cambel</HI> my deare decea&s;ed Vncle, I &s;uppo&s;e I know as well as your &s;elfe, and therefore I need not your book to teach me the knowledge of it: but if you will &s;end me one of his pictures which you cau&s;ed to be drawne upon a boord the bearer hereof &s;hall content you for it. And here accor|ding unto your de&s;ire I have &s;ent you your two bookes, as al&s;o a booke of yours which my brorher <HI>Walme&s;ley</HI> intreated me to &s;end you: and thus I re&s;t, onely advi&s;ing you as a friend that you would cea&s;e to make more bookes unill you be inabled to make &s;uch as may be for the glorie of God, and edifying of his Church, le&s;t at length you bee called unto account by the great God of heaven and earth, for mi&s;-&s;pending of your pre|cious time in di&s;honoring of him in this way of book-making: and thus de&s;iring of God that he would by his &s;aving and illu|minating Spirit di&s;cover unto you the knowledge of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t and him crucified for you. And thus I commit you unto the protection of Almightie God, and re&s;t,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your loving friend,</HI> Anne van Peene.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>London, <DATE>Aug. 11. <HI>Anno</HI> 1642.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<PB REF="4">
<P>The &s;econd Letter came from my reverend <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, in an&s;wer to tho&s;e in my Apologie, thus.</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<OPENER><SALUTE><HI>Good Ma&s;ter</HI> Browne:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Mu&s;t de&s;ire you to con&s;ider that my lei&s;ure will nor per|mit me to reade &s;uch large Volumes, and be&s;ide, my eyes cannot ma&s;ter &s;o &s;mall a print, otherwi&s;e <HI>I</HI> &s;hould be glad to give you my furtherance in any cour&s;e that might promote your contentment. I doe not yet well know why you &s;ent me the copies of the&s;e Bookes which I had before, niether was I able to reade perfectly halfe of your Letter, which might have acquainted me more fully with your mind: but, by what <HI>I</HI> both &s;ee and coniecture, I conceive you over|watcht your bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and are too tenderly affected with the cen&s;ures of men upon your Booke, and your &s;elfe, not remem|bring that the be&s;t victorie is got by neglecting them. <HI>I</HI> am &s;orie you put my name to your Te&s;timoniall in print, not as a&s;hamed of it, but as unwilling to have it publique to a thing of no more moment: And for your Petition, my iudgement is, that to preferre it to the King you &s;hall doe great wrong both to your Ma&s;ter, and the Executors, and your &s;elfe; I the rather minde you of it, becau&s;e <HI>I</HI> would have you confi|dent, that <HI>I</HI> will alwayes be readie to doe you any good to my power, as fits</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your loving friend,</HI> Ri: Hold&s;worth.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Em: Coll: <DATE>Ian. 6. 1642.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<PB REF="4">
</DIV1>
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