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<DATE>2013-11-20</DATE>
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<NAME>Enrique Valdivia</NAME>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]12011273</BIBNO>
<VID>199459</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="frontispiece">
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<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>engraving of Dr. Simon Episcopius</FIGDESC>
<P>SIMON EPISCOPIUS.</P>
<L><HI>This Pictur's Sub&s;tance was a matchle&s;se wight</HI></L>
<L><HI>In Learning, boldne&s;se and a life Upright.</HI></L>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE Popi&s;h Labyrinth: Wherein is made manife&s;t, That the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> are entangled in the Funda|mental Article of their Faith, <HI>That the Church cannot Erre.</HI></P>
<P>Written in <HI>Dutch</HI> by that holy and learned Man, Dr. <HI>SIMON EPISCOPIUS.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;nto which is added,</HI> The Life and Death of the Author; <HI>As al&s;o,</HI> The Life and Death of <HI>JAMES AR|MINIUS:</HI> Both of them famous Defenders of God's Univer&s;al Grace, and Sufferers for it.</P>
<P>Now publi&s;hed in the Engli&s;h Tongue, By <HI>J. K.</HI></P>
<Q>The memory of the Ju&s;t is ble&s;&s;ed.
<BIBL><HI>Prov. 10.7.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Francis Smith,</HI> at the Elephant and Ca&s;tle in <HI>Cornhil</HI> near the Royal Exchange; and at the &s;ame &s;ign fir&s;t Shop without <HI>Temple-Bar,</HI> 1673.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>Chri&s;tian and pious Readers,</HEAD>
<P>IF you have but to any con&s;iderable mea&s;ure con|ver&s;ed with the Writings of our <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Writers either of late, or formerly, again&s;t the <HI>Papi&s;ts;</HI> you will find that they have abundantly proved them to be, if not an apo&s;tatical and fal&s;e, yet at lea&s;t an erroneous and Schi&s;matical Church, and one that hath little cau&s;e &s;o to boa&s;t and mag|nifie her &s;elf upon her pretended Priviledges of Truth and Infallibility above others as &s;he doth.</P>
<P>That many Worthies of the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> both of former times, and of late, have written &s;uffici|ently to have convinced the <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> Partie of their gro&s;s and palpable Errors, and to prove that they are nothing le&s;s than what they pretend to, viz. In|fallible, or &s;uch as are not nor can be obnoxious to mi&s;take, any one that hath read their Writings, and is but ma&s;ter of an ordinary mea&s;ure of Rea|&s;on, Ingenuity and Impartiality, will confe&s;s.</P>
<P>That many Worthies of the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> both of former and latter Times have &s;ufficiently, yea a|bundantly proved the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> if not wholly an apo&s;tatical and fal&s;e, yet at lea&s;t a mo&s;t gro&s;ly erroneous and corrupt Church, no man of ordinary Ingenuity and Rea&s;on will deny. To wave what hath been written for their Convicti|on
<PB REF="3">by tho&s;e more Ancient, one would think that what &s;ome excellent Men of late, Mr. <HI>B.</HI> Dr. <HI>Tiliot&s;on</HI> and Dr. <HI>Stillingfleet</HI> have written again&s;t them, would have put to utter &s;ilence their Ignorance and Folly; And that they would not have had a word to plead for their Infallibility, who have been found to err &s;o gro&s;ly and palpably concerning the Faith in many the weightie&s;t Do|ctrines of the Go&s;pel as they have done; but that they would have acknowledged the mighty Pow|er of Truth, and have &s;aid, <HI>it is worthy to pre|vail.</HI> But &s;o little prevalent with them is the Light of Truth, though &s;hining never &s;o bright both in the Scriptures and Rea&s;on, that their Fol|ly, though never &s;o much brayed thereby, will not depart from them. They &s;till hold as fa&s;t as &s;tiffly their gro&s;ly irrational, and anti-&s;criptural and ab&s;urd Doctrines of Image-wor&s;hip, Tran&s;ub&s;tan|tiation, Indulgencies, Angel-wor&s;hip, Saint-wor|&s;hip or Invocation of them, Purgatory, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> as ever, and will do. All Arguments drawn from Scripture and Rea&s;on, yea from common Sen&s;e it &s;elf, are but as Bra&s;s with the Leviathan, they e&s;teem them all but as rotten Wood.</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, <HI>Whence or how came this Spirit of Infatuation upon them?</HI></P>
<P>Why the Apo&s;tle will tell you, <HI>2 The&s;. 2.10.</HI></P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, <HI>This is an hard &s;aying.</HI></P>
<P>No not at all. If men &s;hew them&s;elves &s;o ab|&s;urd, as not to be ruled by any thing what&s;oever
<PB REF="3">that God hath appointed for their right-Ordering and Guidance, it is evident that they are wicked as well as ab&s;urd, <HI>2 The&s;&s;. 3.2.</HI></P>
<P>But you will go on to ask, <HI>How comes this In|fatuation to be &s;o inveterate with them and im|po&s;&s;ible to be removed?</HI></P>
<P><HI>This our excellent Author in this little Trea|ti&s;e will tell you. <HI>1.</HI> They take it for an undeni|able Maxime (than which yet there is nothing more fal&s;e) <HI>that the true Church cannot err. 2.</HI> They a&s;&s;ume (which is al&s;o as hard, yea im|po&s;&s;ible to prove, and &s;o as fal&s;e as the former) that <HI>they are that true Church which cannot err, or is &s;o infallible.</HI> While&s;t they hold the&s;e two Po&s;itions, you were as good di&s;pute with a Po&s;t, as go about to convince them of Error, let them commit Errors (if it were po&s;&s;ible) Seventy times &s;even more in Number and more gro&s;s and ab&s;urd in their Nature, than they do.</HI></P>
<P>Well then, <HI>what &s;hall or can be done for them for their recovery, and for preventing others from incurring the like Di&s;temper of Ab&s;ur|dity and Unrea&s;onablene&s;s?</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer, By following the Directions here brief|fly given, and taken dextrou&s;ly from them accor|dingly, the&s;e two Maximes. Now this you will effectually do, if you put them to prove, or but to &s;hew you, <HI>1. What is that Church that cannot err, and who is the Head of it?</HI> This you you will find an impo&s;&s;ible Task for them to per|form.
<PB REF="4"><HI>2.</HI> Put them likewi&s;e to prove (if they could a&s;&s;ign him, as they cannot) that the Head of their Church cannot err, either from Scripture, Rea&s;on, or Fathers, and you will find them at the &s;ame Lo&s;s. And indeed no better help will they find from Succe&s;&s;ion and Antiquity, than from the for|mer, for that proof of their fir&s;t Maxime.</P>
<P N="2"><HI>2.</HI> As to the &s;econd Maxime, that falls of it &s;elf, <HI>viz. That they are that true Church that cannot err.</HI> For if they cannot tell what is that Church that cannot err, or who is the Head of it, then cannot they &s;ay, they are that Church, For &s;o they would &s;ay they know not what. But enough of this. For your Prevention and mine own, reade this mo&s;t excellent and learned Treati&s;e, written in <HI>Dutch</HI> by the pious and renowned Dr. <HI>Simon Epi&s;copius,</HI> from thence tran&s;lated into Latin, and now rendred into Engli&s;h; which with the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon your &s;erious Peru&s;al may tend to your Reducement from any Hanke|rings after Popi&s;h Trumpery, and E&s;tabli&s;hment in the Truth, which is after Godline&s;s; And the Ble&s;&s;ing of God goe along with it. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>The Popi&s;h Labyrinth, &amp;c.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>Of two &s;orts of Men, with whom it is in vain to di&s;pute.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THere is no Labour that is undertaken with greater Weari&s;omne&s;s and le&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Profit, than a di&s;pute undertaken with tho&s;e men, who either will not be taught better; or as it were, being willing to learn bet|ter, and breathing after the be&s;t and cleare&s;t Truth, di&s;pute of no other things but tho&s;e, which after they have been fully di&s;puted, leave the Di&s;putants at as great an uncertainty as they were before, whether the certain and ne|ce&s;&s;ary truth be found or no. The fir&s;t are willing to remain in Ignorance: The &s;econd, though they would not &s;eem on purpo&s;e and deliberately to love their Ignorance, yet do they waver to and fro with uncertainty concer|ning the Truth; yea and that oftentimes then too when after many and difficult Labours &s;u|&s;tained,
<PB N="2" REF="5">they &s;hall &s;eem to have obtained the Victory in Di&s;pute. To de&s;ire to di&s;pute with either of the&s;e two &s;orts of Men, is all one, as if one &s;hould plow the Sea-&s;hore, or beat the Air. To de&s;ire indeed to deal with tho&s;e men with Rea&s;ons, who will not recede &s;o much as a fingers breadth from the Opinion they have undertaken to maintain, is all one as by Ar|guments to per&s;wade him the Sun &s;hines, who &s;huts his eyes again&s;t the Light thereof, and refu&s;eth to &s;ee its Light. Indeed for their &s;akes (who continually fa&s;ten on &s;uch kind of Que&s;tions, as when they be fully di&s;cu&s;t, do yet neverthele&s;s not convince Con&s;ciences of the principal Truth) to &s;pend much pains, and to weary ones &s;elf with continual di&s;pu|ting, is nothing el&s;e, but to draw water with a &s;ieve, which if one take up out of the water, im|mediately it appeareth empty and void of that Humour or Moy&s;ture which it abundantly drew.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>Of that kind of Papi&s;ts who will not be taught better.</HI></HEAD>
<P>Among&s;t the mo&s;t of Chri&s;tians, e&s;pecially the Papi&s;ts, or by which title they love to
<PB N="3" REF="5">be called, the <HI>Catholicks,</HI> when any Di&s;pute is had with them, we ordinarily meet with the&s;e two &s;orts of Men. The fir&s;t Sort is twofold: Some fear not roundly and with full mouth to affirme, that they will not be taught better, but that they will tooth and nayl and ob&s;ti|nately &s;tick to their own Opinion; In&s;omuch that though they &s;hould &s;ee with their eyes that the Wall is white, yet neverthele&s;s they would believe, their Church &s;o believing and judging, that it is black; becau&s;e being forced by nece&s;&s;ity, they find that they mu&s;t &s;o &s;peak. Whereupon although they find by all their Sen&s;es, that is, &s;ee, &s;mell, ta&s;te, feel, hear, that the bread in the Euchari&s;t is nothing but bread, yet notwith&s;tanding they ought to be willing to believe that it is not bread; but only the accident of Bread, which cannot be ta&s;ted, touch'd, or &s;melt: Not con&s;idering that them|&s;elves do by this means give very many cau&s;e to doubt of every thing, and &s;o to call in que|&s;tion the chief Foundation of the whole Chri|&s;tian Religion, that is, the Truth of the Re|&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t from the dead, which is built on this Foundation, that the Apo&s;tles and Di&s;ciples of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and among&s;t the&s;e <HI>Thomas,</HI> otherwi&s;e not over-credulous, perceived Je&s;us Chri&s;t with all their &s;en&s;es, &s;aw, handled, heard, and veiwed him near to them; judging that that very thing ought to be an
<PB N="4" REF="6">irrefragable Argument to them&s;elves and to the whole world, for to believe that Chri&s;t ro&s;e from the dead not in &s;hew and appearance, but really in his proper body. And they in|deed call this very thing mens believing tho&s;e things which they do not &s;ee; who yet do quite contrary here, while&s;t they do not believe that very thing, which they &s;ee, touch, &s;mell, hear and ta&s;te. He that &s;eeth not that this is a great Efficacy of errour, he &s;eeth nothing at all: and if <HI>Thomas</HI> had followed this Rule, he might by the &s;ame Parity of Right have be|lieved that it was not Chri&s;t him&s;elf whom he beheld before him, into who&s;e &s;ide he thru&s;t his Hand, and his Finger into the Prints of the Nails.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III <HI>Of &s;ome Papi&s;ts that cleave &s;o &s;tifly to their own Opinion, that they will not give place to any Rea&s;on.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THere are others who &s;eem not on &s;et pur|po&s;e to be willing, or to dare roundly and openly to profe&s;s, that they will not be taught better; yea who prote&s;t to the contrary, dee|ming that too gro&s;s and ru&s;tick a Saying, and yet neverthele&s;s they do not ob&s;curely declare,
<PB N="5" REF="6">when they &s;ee their Forces reduced to Straits, that they neither can nor ought to yield to a bet|ter Opinion; much le&s;s receive any Informati|on from tho&s;e whom their Church counts He|reticks; and although they perceive them&s;elves in &s;uch &s;ort wrapped in, that they can give no rea&s;on of their Belief or Opinion, neither from the Sacred <HI>Scriptures,</HI> nor <HI>Councils,</HI> nor <HI>Fathers,</HI> and that their own Rea&s;ons are &s;o &s;olidly and &s;trongly refuted, that they may, as it were, feel with their hands, that their Ex|ceptions to the contrary are of no Weight or Force at all; yet they defend or maintain their own &s;o ob&s;tinately, that they will rather per&s;wade them&s;elves, that tho&s;e Arguments, though they &s;eem &s;olid, and altogether Achil|lean, are more brittle than Gla&s;s, and do onely deceive under a &s;hew of Rea&s;on, which others, more skilful than them&s;elves, would ea&s;ily and with no trouble &s;olve or an&s;wer, and &s;o being blinded with a prejudicate Opinion, and al&s;o led with a Love and Reverence of their Mother the Church, they count them meer <HI>So|phi&s;ms;</HI> by this means indeed confe&s;&s;ing on the one hand their own weakne&s;s, and on the o|ther hand, &s;hewing their &s;ingular Con&s;tancy, or Ob&s;tinacy in the Faith of their Church; contrary Arguments notwith&s;tanding, which pre&s;s their minds, and force them to doubt of their fore-going Belief, yea to believe to
<PB N="6" REF="7">the contrary. We may ea&s;ily ob&s;erve that the&s;e two Sorts of Men do not &s;eek the Truth with a pious and hone&s;t Mind; but that they onely hunt after vain Glory, and the Prai&s;e of Victory gotten by any means what&s;oever; deeming they have alwayes &s;ufficient Cau&s;es of glorying, while&s;t they dare affirm they are not &s;atisfied. That the ca&s;e &s;o &s;tands, daily Ex|perience &s;heweth. Nor is it to be wondred at: The fir&s;t and chiefe&s;t Article of the Papi&s;ts is this, That their Church cannot err; con&s;e|quently that of all other Churches, that differ from their Church, we are to conclude that they err, and that as long as they per&s;i&s;t in their Errour, are liable to eternal de&s;truction &amp; dam|nation. With whom this foundation doth not remain wholly fixt and un&s;haken, he cannot be a true Papi&s;t: but if any hold it tooth and nail, he openly profe&s;&s;eth that he is not willing to be taught better, although he &s;hall be con|vinced of his Errour; or if he make &s;hew of &s;ome de&s;ire to learn, yet doth he with his whole Strength and Might maintain his Opinion; although the Truth be propo&s;ed to him as clear|ly and re&s;plendently, as the Sun-beams are wont to be, when the weather is fair and clear. This Foundation being laid, it nece&s;&s;arily fol|lows, that to di&s;pute with a true Papi&s;t is fruit|le&s;s and endle&s;s; and that it cannot be hoped, that &s;uch an one &s;hould be taken off from his
<PB N="7" REF="7">re&s;olution, or by Arguments be reduced into the right Way. Furthermore, a true Papi&s;t, as he renders him&s;elf unmeet to embrace the Truth, and to acknowledge his own Errour, &s;o doth he unadvi&s;edly ca&s;t him&s;elf into a La|byrinth or Maze of inextricable ab&s;urdities, out of which he is utterly unable to extri|cate or free him&s;elf, as it frequently u&s;eth to befal them, <HI>who receive not the Love of the Truth, that they might be &s;aved,</HI> as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;hews, 2 The&s;. 2.10. And this appears more clear than the Noon-dayes Light, when any Di&s;pute is undertaken with them, even concerning any Point what&s;oever of the Chri&s;tian Religion, nor is it nece&s;&s;ary in many words to prove it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IIII. <HI>That the Papi&s;ts cannot &s;how, which is that true Church, which cannot err.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis chief and fundamental Point, which they have alwayes in their mouth, and on which they chiefly build, That the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> cannot err, is a Labyrinth, out of which they cannot rid them&s;elves. For fir&s;t, they cannot tell, nor intelligibly declare, which is that Church which they believe cannot err. Secondly, it is impo&s;&s;ible for them to bring any
<PB N="8" REF="8">Demon&s;trative Argument, whereby to per&s;wade them&s;elves, or any other impartial man (I do not &s;ay the Roman, but) that the Church cannot err. I evince the&s;e two: As to the fir&s;t Member, I thus query with a Papi&s;t; When you &s;ay the Church or the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> cannot err, what do you mean by the Church? Do you mean all Chri&s;tians in general, who take Je&s;us Chri&s;t for their Saviour, and &s;ub|mit to all his holy Commands, &s;o that not &s;o much as one of them can err? Doubtle&s;s he will deny it. For every one of them con&s;idered &s;ingly apart, yea and all conjunctly together, may err; For all are Members of one Body, which ought to have a vi&s;ible Head, from whom they ought to receive Spiritual Life, Sen&s;es and holy Affections. Grant it be &s;o, what then? Do you think that the Cardinals, Archbi&s;hops, Presbyters and Doctors are the Church? He will deny it again: Since all and every one &s;ingly may err, for the &s;ame Rea&s;on which we have &s;hewn already. Do you there|fore by the Church under&s;tand a general Coun|cil, con&s;i&s;ting of all the Cardinals, Bi&s;hops and Doctors, as repre&s;enting the whole multitude of Chri&s;tians, who&s;e Head this Council is? He will affirm it. But granting this, although it be grounded on no Rea&s;on; I will ask fur|ther, Do you believe then that this Council, as it is the Head of the Church, cannot err,
<PB N="9" REF="8">how&s;oever a&s;&s;embled, and what&s;oever &s;hall be decreed therein? In no wi&s;e, he will &s;ay; it ought to be lawfully convocated. By whom, &s;ay I? he will &s;ay, by the Pope of <HI>Rome.</HI> Grant this, though it be void of Rea&s;on, and with|out Ground, yea and they determine or judge contrary to the Practice of the fir&s;t General Councils. Is this Council, &s;o convocated, that Church, which cannot err in its Decrees and Determinations? Or, is there that Head of the Church, to which no Errour is incident? Here he will &s;tick or demur &s;omewhat. For I will go on to query, thus. Put the ca&s;e that this Coun|cil decree any thing without the Con&s;ent, yea contrary to the Judgment and Dignity of the Pope of <HI>Rome,</HI> whether or no can it err therein? Here he mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be wholly at a Lo&s;s. For it is known, that not only diver&s;e Ancient Councils, both particular, and General, have pa&s;t Decrees again&s;t his mind, and which did dimini&s;h the Pope of <HI>Rome's</HI> Dignity, as ap|pears by many Councils in <HI>Africa,</HI> and al&s;o in the fourth General Council of <HI>Chalcedon,</HI> and many others. But further al&s;o it is evident, that the General Council of <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> (held in the Year 1414. and called by the Pope of <HI>Rome John</HI> the 23. or as others the 24. At which were pre&s;ent more than a Thou&s;and <HI>Fathers</HI> deputed or appointed by the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and among the&s;e above three hundred <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI>) decreed with unaminous Con&s;ent, that the
<PB N="10" REF="9">Council was above the Pope; and therefore that it was in the power of the Council to ex|punge Popes out of the Regi&s;ter of the Church, and to degrade them; even as by the &s;ame Council were degraded three Popes, who then exerci&s;ed the Office of the Popedom, and a|mong the&s;e even Pope <HI>John</HI> him&s;elf, who had called this Council, and that for four and fiftie, or according to others, &s;eventie one nefarious Crimes, among which were the&s;e two; Fir&s;t, that he had openly denyed the Immortality of Souls, &s;uppo&s;ing that Men dyed like Bea&s;ts; to which he al&s;o added this Second, That he affir|med that there was neither <HI>Paradi&s;e,</HI> nor <HI>Hell,</HI> as is manife&s;t by the 11th Se&s;&s;ion. Here the Pa|pi&s;t mu&s;t &s;ay one of the&s;e two: Either that &s;uch a general Council, is the Church that can|not err, no not even then, when it determi|neth any thing again&s;t the Pope, and to the prejudice of his Highne&s;s; as was done in this Council: Or, that &s;uch a Council is not the true Church, and therefore is capable of Er|rour. If he &s;ay the Former, he will find him|&s;elf entangled in a <HI>Gordian</HI> Knot; and be&s;ides he will oppo&s;e the greate&s;t Part of the Popi&s;h Doctors, e&s;pecially the Je&s;uits, who not only affirm that the Pope is above a Council, but al&s;o determine that that Council of <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> is in this re&s;pect to be blamed, wherein they de|creed that the Pope was inferiour to a Council;
<PB N="11" REF="9">as is clear out of Cardinal <HI>Bellarmin</HI> and others: yea further, he will be forc't expre&s;ly to confe&s;s that the Pope of <HI>Rome,</HI> who hath &s;uceeeded to <HI>Peters</HI> Right and Power, is not the chief or &s;u|pream Head of all Churches; and by Con&s;e|quence that the Pope of <HI>Rome</HI> may err in Faith, and &s;werve from the Truth. If he &s;ay the lat|ter, he falls into a new Labyrinth; For then he doth not only contradict Councils, but al&s;o many and diver&s;e both Churches, and Popi&s;h Doctors; And namely the mo&s;t ancient School of the <HI>Sorbon</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> which by &s;ome is cal|led the fir&s;t Daughter of the Church; which with the greate&s;t part of the French Churches, defends and approves of that decree of the Council of <HI>Con&s;tance.</HI> Howbeit &s;uppo&s;e that he find no dif|ficulty in this matter, yet there he will &s;tick, that even then he knoweth not, and cannot tell or &s;hew that Church, which affirms that it can|not err. For if a General Council be not the Church, or if it may err, and doth err, when it determines any thing again&s;t the Pope, or with|out his approbation, I pray what is that which makes the Church not lyable to Errour? Haply he will &s;ay the Council is the Church, when it agrees with the Pope, and is confirmed by Him. Here again is a new Labyrinth, for it may fall out, and it very often hath, that the greate&s;t Part of the Council may not vote with the Pope. I|magine therefore that the greate&s;t Part of the Council do judge and decree &s;omething, that the
<PB N="12" REF="10">Pope di&s;allows of; Or that the Pope agree with the le&s;&s;er Part: Which Part in this Ca&s;e makes the Church? Not the greate&s;t; For that is con|trary to the Pope. Doth then the lea&s;t Part make the Church? What Rea&s;on? What &s;hew of Truth? What only, becau&s;e the Pope favours it? Then the Pope is the Church; For if the&s;e few make the Church, becau&s;e the Pope is on their Side; then if they were only two, who &s;hould judge again&s;t a thou&s;and others? tho&s;e two with the Pope would make the Church? and what &s;peak I of two? Although there were only one, yea none, yet the matter would come to the &s;ame I&s;&s;ue, the Pope alone at length would be the Fore-ca&s;tle and Poop, and the whole Church, which cannot err; Although he be even the verye&s;t Knave in the World; Yea further, not only a Heretick but al&s;o an Athei&s;t, who denies the Immortality of the Soul, Heaven and Hell; As Pope <HI>John</HI> the 23, of whom we have lately &s;poken of, did: For which Cau&s;e he was degra|ded by the Council of <HI>Con&s;tance,</HI> with &s;o &s;e|vere a Sentence; that he was never after to be &s;o much as counted for a Pope: as appears by the 11. and 12. Se&s;&s;ion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="13" REF="10">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>That none can lawfully decide this Que|&s;tion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>LO in what an intricate and inextricable Labyrinth the <HI>Papi&s;t</HI> &s;ticks, as to the fir&s;t and chief Foundation of his Religion, to wit, that even to this day he cannot tell what that Church is that cannot err, or which is that Head of the Church that is not &s;ubject to er|rour, but he mu&s;t contradict many and divers Catholick Churches and Doctors; Nor can the Mind of Man devi&s;e any means, whereby to bring Him out of this Maze of Errors into the way. For who &s;hall determine and decide this without Errour? For either the Pope or a Coun|cil &s;hall determine this Que&s;tion, disjunctly or conjunctly, (that is, apart or together.) Di&s;|junctly it is impo&s;&s;ible, becau&s;e neither of them can remove the Controver&s;ie. For as long as it doth not appear, or it is not agreed, whether is the true Church which cannot err, neither can decide this Que&s;tion by a Peremptory and infallible Judgment: And if either &s;hould a&s;|&s;ume this right to him&s;elf, it would ju&s;tly be &s;u&s;pected by the other Party: And he would in very, deed make him&s;elf a Judge in his own Cau&s;e. For if either deliver his Right unto o|ther,
<PB N="14" REF="11">he will not only commit an unworthy Deed (For to deliver the Right of &s;upream Authority in the Church is a wicked and un|lawful Act: To whom that Right appertain|eth, he mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity maintain the &s;ame.) but he will al&s;o thwart or go again&s;t all the Decrees of other Councils, wherein either a Council is defined to be above the Pope, or the Pope above a Council. And &s;uppo&s;ing this were done, yet will it follow from thence, that the Church of Rome hath for &s;o great a &s;pace of Time, either erred in &s;o fundamental a Point; or &s;tuck in Uncertainty and Doubt, not knowing what to determine concerning this Que&s;tion. It is a Deep without Bottom, into which hitherto the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> hath been plung'd, together with all tho&s;e who think her the only Church wherein alone Salvation may and ought to be had. Let any one &s;hew him&s;elf, that can free him&s;elf from thence with &s;hew of Truth, and &s;olid Rea&s;ons.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>That a Papi&s;t cannot demon&s;trate from the Sacred Scripture, that the Head of his Church cannot err.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUt &s;uppo&s;e we indeed, that a Papi&s;t could tell the Head of his Church, (which yet,
<PB N="15" REF="11">as hath been prov'd already, he cannot) by what Argument, I pray, will he a&s;&s;ure both him&s;elf, and others that this Head cannot err? What way &s;oever he takes to demon&s;trate this, he will &s;ee that he falls into another far more intricate Labyrinth. For, that he may be cer|tain, That this Head cannot err, it is nece&s;&s;a|ry, that either he will believe it &s;imply, and without Rea&s;on, or that he labour to prove it from the Sacred Scripture, or from the Fathers, or by Rea&s;ons. If he will believe and per&s;wade him&s;elf thereof &s;imply, and have others believe the &s;ame; all Di&s;pute will be forthwith &s;uper|fluous and void: and if another on the contrary, will not believe the &s;ame, they will then be both alike, and both continue to &s;tick in the Laby|rinth of their own carnal Will. However it be, his Faith is not a Faith that cannot err; and con&s;equently, he cannot with Certainty rely thereon. If he endeavour to prove it from Scrip|ture, he entangles him&s;elf much more. For fir&s;t, it cannot be known, according to his Opinion, that the Scripture is the Word of <HI>God,</HI> except the true Church fir&s;t certifie us thereof. If this be true as he believeth it is, and according to the Rules of his Church he is bound to believe, he cannot take Arguments from the Scripture, whereby to maintain that the true Church can|not err; Or whereby to prove, that his Church is the true Church that knows not how to err. Secondly, &s;uppo&s;e that it be even granted to
<PB N="16" REF="12">him, to fetch his Rea&s;ons from the Scripture, he will then find him&s;elf much more entangled. For pre&s;ently the Que&s;tion will be concerning the true meaning of the Scripture. And the Que&s;tion that is rai&s;ed, to wit, whether it be contained in the Scripture, that the Church cannot err, who &s;hall by an infallible Judge|ment decide it? Shall his Church? This is no wayes po&s;&s;ible, becau&s;e the Que&s;tion is concer|ning the meaning of the Scripture, to wit, whe|ther the Scripture gives to the Church this right or Priviledge of judging authoritatively, and in|fallibly. But Thirdly: granting al&s;o that the Scripture doth give this Power to the true Church (which it doth not) yet the Que&s;tion will remain, which is that Church, which is the true Church, and to whom this Priviledge in Scripture is given. And in the Power of what Church &s;hall the Power of deciding infallibly this Que&s;tion be? In the Power of the Roman? But the Que&s;tion is moved no le&s;s concerning it then others; be&s;ides it cannot pa&s;s Judgment in its own concern, more than another Church concerning its. If he go about to prove it by Rea&s;ons, he will rove without the bounds, be|cau&s;e tho&s;e Rea&s;ons are not Scriptural, and we here treat or plead about the Scripture. But &s;up|po&s;ing, that Rea&s;ons be oppo&s;ed again&s;t Rea|ons; There will now &s;traightway re&s;ult from thence a new Que&s;tion, Which Rea&s;ons are &s;tronge&s;t and infallible, whereby we may be cer|tain?
<PB N="17" REF="12">That the Rea&s;on taken from Succe&s;&s;ion doth not belong to this Place, we &s;hall demon|&s;trate hereafter. That a Papi&s;t &s;hould emerge from hence, is impo&s;&s;ible.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>That He cannot demon&s;trate this very thing from the Fathers.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IF he will prove this from the <HI>Fathers</HI> their Writings, he falls into the &s;ame, and indeed into a more intricate Labyrinth. Into the &s;ame, I &s;ay: For immediately the Que&s;tion will be, whence doth it appear certainly that this Right or Power doth belong to the Writings of the <HI>Fa|thers,</HI> that the deci&s;ion of this and other Con|trover&s;ies in the bu&s;ine&s;s of Religion ought to be fetcht from them? I &s;ay al&s;o into a more in|tricate. For fir&s;t, it will be demanded, what <HI>Fathers,</HI> and what Writings do they mean? If they &s;ay the&s;e or tho&s;e, it will &s;econdly be ask|ed, Why tho&s;e rather than other, and why not all? For who&s;o puts this Difference between the Writings of the <HI>Fathers,</HI> he does by that ve|ry Deed of his make the deci&s;ion. And to whom &s;hall it belong to make this Deci&s;ion? Further|more, &s;uppo&s;e that there be no Controver&s;ie rai&s;ed concerning &s;ome, yet thirdly the Que|&s;tion will remain &s;till, Whether tho&s;e writings,
<PB N="18" REF="13">which be attributed to the <HI>Fathers,</HI> be their Writings who&s;e Names they bear? or whether they might not in Tract of Time through neg|ligence, through Deceit and Fraud be corrupted, and depraved? or whether they might not be patcht up with the &s;uppo&s;ititious Changling or forged Books of other Writers, as we &s;ee indeed done at this Day by the Writings of <HI>Tertullian, Ju&s;tin, Hierome, Augu&s;tine, Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> &amp;c? Who &s;hall judge between the genuine or true, and the &s;uppo&s;ititious or adulterate and fal&s;e? For that there is required a skill in Tongues, conti|nual or diligent reading, an acute Judgment and an accurate Examination of the Words and Phra&s;iologie or manner of expre&s;&s;ion of the Fa|thers. But &s;uppo&s;ing al&s;o, that there is no Con|trover&s;ie touching the&s;e Things; Then Fourth|ly the Que&s;tion will be, whether all tho&s;e Things, which the <HI>Fathers</HI> believed and wrote, are to be believed and received as true. If you deny it; I will query in the Fifth Place, why one more than another? If you &s;ay, becau&s;e they are all agreed in that or the one, then the&s;e Que&s;tions will forthwith ari&s;e. Fir&s;t, wherefore &s;hould all tho&s;e Things, wherein they are agreed among&s;t them&s;elves, be ac|counted or held by the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> for undoubted and certain. The Second is, what are tho&s;e things concerning which they are a|greed, and which are to be embraced. To know this, you mu&s;t attentively turn over the Wri|tings
<PB N="19" REF="13">of all the <HI>Fathers,</HI> Greek and Latine, from Head to Foot, for the which &s;ome Years &s;pace is requi&s;ite. And Thirdly, if any Doubt happen ei|ther touching the Sen&s;e of their Writings, as there is doubt made of the Scripture, or of their Phra&s;es and forms of Expre&s;&s;ion, which they at that Time u&s;ed, and now are both u&s;ed and under&s;tood far otherwi&s;e, what end will there be? But pa&s;&s;ing this, &s;eeing the <HI>Fathers</HI> agree among them&s;elves in this, that they would have neither their own nor any Writings of Men, except the Books that are Canonical, to be lookt upon as free from Error; yea, &s;eeing they roundly confe&s;s that they may err, and by Con&s;equence would not that their Wri|tings &s;hould be believed not to be lyable to Error, but do expre&s;ly will, that they be tryed by the Word of God, de&s;iring that they &s;hould be rejected if they agree not therewith; What &s;hall be done then? What Certainty can there be had from their Writings again&s;t Er|rors? Certainly none at all. Yea rather, if we make U&s;e of them for this end, that we may from thence be a&s;&s;ured in our belief; we u&s;e them contrary to the Intention of the Fathers, and &s;o again&s;t their plain and expre&s;s Prote|&s;tation and Prohibition, wherein the <HI>Fathers</HI> are all agreed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="20" REF="14">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII. <HI>That the &s;ame cannot be proved by Rea&s;ons.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IF he at length have a mind to confirm his <HI>The&s;is</HI> by Rea&s;ons, he falls out of one La|byrinth into another. For fir&s;t, what Rea&s;ons will &s;way with him whereon to rely, when as in the main Article of his Belief he doth not only not heed Rea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ons; but doth not believe &s;o much as his outward Sen&s;es? Can there be given any more &s;olid Argument for the convincing of any one, than that which is drawn from that which we &s;ee with our own Eyes, which we perceive with our Sen&s;es being &s;ound; and la&s;tly, which we feel and ta&s;te? The&s;e things notwith&s;tanding the true Papi&s;t makes &s;mall Account of; Seeing that neither by Rea&s;ons, nor by his own Sen&s;es he &s;uffers him&s;elf to be induced to believe, that the <HI>Euchari&s;tical Bread,</HI> in the <HI>Lord's</HI> Supper, is e&s;&s;entially and &s;ub&s;tantially Bread: Yea when he will undoubtedly believe that one and the &s;ame Body is in many places together, and they far di&s;tant each from other, remaining indivi|ded, notwith&s;tanding that it be di&s;tant, and &s;eparate from it &s;elf one hundred, yea a thou|&s;and, and, if it were po&s;&s;ible, a thou&s;and thou|&s;and Miles; that one and the &s;ame Body at the &s;ame Time &s;hould be able to move in this
<PB N="21" REF="14">Place, and el&s;ewhere not to move: That one and the &s;ame Body &s;hould meet it &s;elf, and move with contrary Motions at the &s;ame mo|ment of Time, that is, together at once from Ea&s;t to We&s;t, and from We&s;t to Ea&s;t, Upward and Downward, Foreward and Backward: That one and the &s;ame Body here &s;hould be as hot as Fire, and at <HI>Rome</HI> as cold as Ice; That it &s;hould be alive here, and dead at <HI>Venice?</HI> He that will believe the&s;e Things, which are di|ametrically contrary to the Nature of Man, and right Rea&s;on, by what Rea&s;on &s;hall he either dare, or be able to per&s;wade him&s;elf or others of any thing? Tho&s;e who &s;hame not to que|&s;tion &s;o clear a Truth, and ob&s;tinately to be|lieve the cont<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ry, and as I may &s;o &s;ay, wil|fully to draw a Film over their Eyes that they may not &s;ee; with &s;uch, I &s;ay, Rea&s;ons are like Counters, which &s;tand for &s;o much, as they de|&s;ire they &s;hould &s;tand for that u&s;e them in Ac|counts.</P>
<P>But be it, that they make U&s;e of Rea&s;ons. What Rea&s;ons I pray you will they here pro|duce? Will they take them from the Scrip|ture? But then the &s;ame Difficulties will remain, as we have already recounted. Or, &s;hall their Rea&s;ons not be taken from Scripture? But tho&s;e by other Rea&s;ons may mo&s;t ea&s;ily and not without ju&s;t cau&s;e be called into Doubt. For if the Church cannot err, this mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily proceed from the Divine Will and Decree.
<PB N="22" REF="15">For if <HI>God</HI> will not have the Church to be be|yond or out of all Danger of Errour, what Rea&s;on will there be given undenyably prov|ing that the Church cannot err? Now the will and Decree of God cannot be under&s;tood with|out the Scripture, much le&s;s can it be drawn from mens Wit and Rea&s;oning. From whence it followeth that it is altogether mo&s;t ab&s;urd, by Rea&s;ons, which may be doubted of, to prove any thing, which ought now long before with|out all Doubt and Controver&s;ie to be believ|ed, to depend upon the meer free Will and De|cree of God.</P>
<P>By the&s;e Things it is manife&s;t in how intri|cate and inexplicable a Circle the Papi&s;ts wan|der, in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;pect of the fundamental Article of their Faith, when they will believe nothing but what their Church believeth; yet cannot certainly &s;hew what their Church properly is, or who is the Head of their Church; and al|though they could &s;hew that (as they cannot) yet were it impo&s;&s;ible for them to prove that the Church, much le&s;s that their Church cannot err.</P>
<P>And thus far of the fir&s;t &s;ort of Papi&s;ts, with whom we have &s;aid that Di&s;pute is alwayes held in vain.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="23" REF="15">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. <HI>That the Controver&s;ie of Succe&s;&s;ion is u&s;e|le&s;s, and endle&s;s.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe &s;econd &s;ort of them is tho&s;e, who greatly de&s;ire always to di&s;pute of tho&s;e Que&s;tions, which though they be weighed by the exact ballance of Truth, yet do they not a&s;&s;ure the Con&s;ciences of Men, nor convince them of the Truth, that is chiefly nece&s;&s;ary to be believed.</P>
<P>The&s;e are they, who have the Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;ion both of their Doctrine and Church always in their Mouth: concluding for certain that they have born away the Palm, and gotten the Victory; if they may glory thereof. This they &s;ound forth as the Burden of the Catholicks Song. And which is wor|thy of the Highe&s;t Admiration, the chief Cry|ers and Boa&s;ters hereof are even tho&s;e, who haply not &s;o much as ever throughly viewed the Books and Hi&s;tories of tho&s;e Men, from whence this Antiquity and continued Succe&s;|&s;ion is to be drawn and maintained; or if they have viewed them thorow, are yet neverthe|le&s;s no wayes fit to turn them over without Affection and Prejudice, to wit, being wont, either fooli&s;hly to believe by a Proctour, to
<PB N="24" REF="16">whom they per&s;wade them&s;elves the Matter is be&s;t known, although he &s;ometimes be void of all knowledge of matters; or el&s;e fooli&s;hly and without Judgment to catch at all words and &s;yllables, which they deem do any way &s;erve their Purpo&s;e and De&s;ign.</P>
<P>How tedious a thing it is to enter upon the Stage of Di&s;putation with &s;uch, every one ea|&s;ily perceives. For who &s;eeth not how hard and great a Labour it is to di&s;patch or put an End to tho&s;e Que&s;tions, which are to be de|mon&s;trated, from the Memory of Ages, and &s;o great variety of Books and Hi&s;tories; and being demon&s;trated &s;o that all way to any fur|ther Exception be &s;hut up, do produce no Fruit in the Minds of the contrary Party? Where|fore tho&s;e who trouble the People with &s;uc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Things, what do they el&s;e, but involve them in an inextricable Labyrinth, whereby the un|skilful Multitude either de&s;paireth of an happy Event or End; or if they have any Hope, they neverthele&s;s cea&s;e not to &s;tick fa&s;t in the &s;ame Mire of uncertainty, to wit, being dull'd and &s;tupified with the overmuch labour of &s;earch? This indeed is the readie&s;t Way, whereby any one may lord it over the Con&s;ciences of &s;imple Men, and having entangled them in a <HI>Gordian</HI> Knot, per&s;wade them any Thing. But let us propo&s;e both the&s;e a little more clearly. The fir&s;t I prove thus.</P>
<P>None will be able to deny, that for the a&s;&s;er|ting
<PB N="25" REF="16">the Antiquity not only of the Church, but al&s;o of a continued and uninterrupted Succe&s;|&s;ion of Bi&s;hops in the Church, there is nece&s;&s;a|rily required, fir&s;t a certain, undoubted, and accurate Knowledge of Authors both Greek, and Latin, and of all Hi&s;tories, that have been written of this thing. And Secondly, that to this knowledge there ought to be added a good and quick-&s;ighted Judgment, whereby exactly to di&s;cern their true and genuine Books from tho&s;e that are &s;uppo&s;ititious and adulterate; true Hi&s;tories from tho&s;e that are foi&s;ted in and interlaced; tho&s;e that were compo&s;ed with Partiality, out of Affection, and fore-&s;tall'd O|pinion, from tho&s;e they compo&s;ed void of Partiality and Prejudice; to reconcile Repug|nancies, and faithfully to &s;upply Defects. How much Pains, Trouble, and Time it requires, eve|ry one &s;ees; even among&s;t the mo&s;t learned for the whole Space of a thou&s;and and &s;ix hundred Years, there hath been none hitherto, who hath been able to perform it. The fir&s;t of them can|not indeed be &s;o much as &s;ought for, much le&s;s found. Shall then the unlearned and un|skilful common People, who are counted un|able to turn over one Book of the Scripture, be &s;ufficient to undergo &s;o great a Work as ac|curately to enquire into all Hi&s;tories, where|with even whole Barns may be filled, and Ships laden? The <HI>Laicks</HI> or lay-People in the the Papacie, who laying a&s;ide the holy Scrip|ture,
<PB N="26" REF="17">alwayes talk of Antiquity and Succe&s;|&s;ion, bewray a mind &s;tupid and fooli&s;h e|nough; becau&s;e they know nothing more, yea happily much le&s;s of true Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;ion than they do of the Scripture, in|deed being alike ignorant of both.</P>
<P>It is true indeed, that there may ea&s;ily be drawn up a Catalogue and Index of Bi&s;hops, where, in their Cour&s;e and Order wherein they &s;ucceeded each other, they may be &s;et down. But that is nothing to the Purpo&s;e. For the &s;ame do the <HI>Grecian,</HI> the <HI>Ethiopick</HI> Churches and others. The <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan</HI> doth it, &s;ayes <HI>Bellarmine</HI> from the Times of <HI>Con&s;tantine Cae|&s;ar,</HI> in an uninterrupted Series; as al&s;o <HI>Nice|phorus,</HI> who continues the Names of the Bi|&s;hops, even from the very Times of <HI>Andrew</HI> the Apo&s;tle. And yet <HI>Bellarmine</HI> denies, and all the Papi&s;ts with him, that the <HI>Grecians</HI> can of Right claim to them&s;elves a Succe&s;&s;ion. The Succe&s;&s;ion therefore of Per&s;ons is not e|nough, but it is required withal that it be lawful and &s;uch, as that among the Bi&s;hops who have &s;ucceeded one another, there have been no <HI>Heretick, Athei&s;t,</HI> or <HI>Apo&s;tate</HI> among them. Fir&s;t it is requi&s;ite that it be lawful, for as the Papal Decree hath it <HI>Di&s;t.</HI> 79. If any by Mo|ney, or mens Favour, or Popular, or Military Tumult, without the unaminous and Canonical Election, both of the Cardinals and of the following Clergie, &s;hall be inthron'd in the A|po&s;tolick
<PB N="27" REF="17">Seat; let him not be accounted <HI>A|po&s;tolical,</HI> but <HI>Apo&s;tatical.</HI> Secondly, it is re|quired, that among the Bi&s;hops that &s;ucceed each other, there have been no <HI>Heretick</HI> among them. For, for this cau&s;e, as Cardinal <HI>Bellar|mine,</HI> and other Pontificial Doctors affirm, the Succe&s;&s;ion of the <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan</HI> Bi&s;hops is not to be counted lawful, becau&s;e there have been <HI>Hereticks</HI> among&s;t them. <HI>Lib.</HI> 4. <HI>of the Marks of the Church, Cap.</HI> 8. He there|fore that will judge aright of the Succe&s;&s;ion of the Bi&s;hops of <HI>Rome,</HI> he mu&s;t of Nece&s;&s;i|ty be mo&s;t certainly a&s;&s;ured of both the&s;e, e|ven according to the Canons of the Papi&s;ts them&s;elves. But how is this po&s;&s;ible? Who can undoubtedly know, whether all their Bi|&s;hops have obtained the Epi&s;copacy lawful|ly? Whether &s;ome have not obtained the Dignity of Succe&s;&s;ion by Simony, that is, by Mony and Gifts (as <HI>Simon Magus</HI> de&s;ired to do) or by Force, Arts and Wiles, by Factions and unlawful Suits and Bribings for the &s;ame? Again, if any de&s;irous to read their Hi&s;tories, do find of a certain that even tho&s;e Writers them&s;elves who have been mo&s;t devoted to the <HI>Pontificians,</HI> do openly and roundly confe&s;s, that not only one or two, but that many and diver&s;e Bi&s;hops of Rome, have climbed to the Pontifical Dignity, who having been condem|ned of manife&s;t <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> have been counted im|pious <HI>Villains, Athei&s;ts, Schi&s;maticks, Ruffians</HI>
<PB N="28" REF="18">and <HI>Bands</HI> who by Gifts and Bribes, by Force and Factions, without any precedent Choice, or con&s;equent Approbation of the Clergie, by di&s;hone&s;t and foul Devices and Guil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ve in|truded them&s;elves, or by Harlots, and their Whores have come to the Succe&s;&s;ion: Who I pray, can extricate him&s;elf out of this Maze of Doubts? If you &s;ay, the be&s;t and faithfulle&s;t Hi&s;torians are to be credited in this Ca&s;e, you fall into a new Labyrinth. For I demand who are they? and by what are they to be di&s;tin|gui&s;hed? Why &s;hall he derogate from the Cre|dit of the Pontifician Writers? For they can|not be termed <HI>Hereticks,</HI> or mortal Enemies to the Church of Rome, becau&s;e them&s;elves were &s;worn Va&s;&s;als thereunto, and &s;ome of them the greate&s;t Flatterers and fawners upon the Popes, and the pontificial Dignity. He is therefore forc'd to believe, that the&s;e Writers were impell'd and con&s;trained by the Truth of the thing it &s;elf, to write the&s;e things. And &s;uppo&s;e that they were not Pontifician Wri|ters; What Rea&s;on &s;hall per&s;wade that Cre|dit is to be denyed to them as not faithful Wri|ters, rather then unto others who were Favou|rers of the Pope and his Dignity? Friend|&s;hip is no le&s;s able to with-hold a Writer from writing the Truth, than Enmity or Hatred is. He that will deliver Truth to Po&s;terity mu&s;t write without all Affectation. And by what &s;olid Rea&s;on, and which will convince,
<PB N="29" REF="18">the Judgment, &s;hall we per&s;wade our &s;elves that there hath been any &s;uch Writer, e&s;pecial|ly if we live not in the &s;ame age, and at the &s;ame time with him? He that con&s;iders the&s;e Things without Prejudice, ought to be induced to be|lieve, that tho&s;e who endeavour to defend or &s;helter them&s;elves under Antiquity and Suc|ce&s;&s;ion, do involve them&s;elves in a Labyrinth, in which one may ea&s;ily be intangled, but hardly, nay nor indeed hardly be di&s;intangled or loo&s;ed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. X. <HI>That Truth is to be preferred before all Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;ion what&s;oever.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUt granting that any one could prove this Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;ion. What will be evinced from thence as to the chief Point of the Matter? Nothing at all. For Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;ion of Per&s;ons being proved; yet the Que|&s;tion concerning Truth will &s;till remain. If Anti|quity and Succe&s;&s;ion be not joyned with Truth, what I pray do they make for the proving of this Bu&s;ine&s;s? Antiquity is not the Cau&s;e of Truth, much le&s;s Succe&s;&s;ion. And if Anti|quity and Succe&s;&s;ion ought nece&s;&s;arily to be joyned with Truth, then the Truth is fir&s;t and chiefly to be known, which while&s;t it is un|known, &s;o long a man hangs in Su&s;pence.
<PB N="30" REF="19">Even as if a man &s;hould find Money, which he certainly knows was coined many Ages before, yet remains in doubt, whether that Money be made of good Metal, or no. Anti|quity doth wholly differ from Goodne&s;s: Nor doth a naughty Per&s;on cea&s;e to be naught, be|cau&s;e he is old. Not every ancient Cu&s;tom is good. And this is the Cau&s;e, Why the <HI>Fa|thers</HI> di&s;cour&s;ing of true Antiquity and Succe&s;&s;i|on, would have us chiefly to Mind that Suc|ce&s;&s;ion, which is in Conjuction with the ge|nuine Doctrine and Truth; E&s;pecially when we have to do with tho&s;e, that reject the Scrip|ture either in Part, or in whole, <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith <HI>Gregory Nazianzen,</HI> i. e. For the one is a being of the &s;ame Mind or Judgment, and to &s;it on the &s;ame Throne: The other is to be of a contrary Opinion or Judgment, and to &s;it on a contrary Throne: The one hath the Name, the other the Truth of Succe&s;&s;ion. And <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Qui Pe|tri Fidem-non habet, is nihil &agrave; Petro haeredita|rio Jure obtinet, ac fru&s;tra gloriatur de Petri Suc|ce&s;&s;ione;</HI> That is, He that hath not <HI>Peter's</HI> Faith, he inheriteth nothing from <HI>Peter,</HI> and boa|&s;teth in vain of his Succeeding of <HI>Peter.</HI></P>
<P>This thing is &s;o clear, that even the mo&s;t learned Je&s;uit Cardinal <HI>Bellarmine</HI> proveth the &s;ame, acknowledging both the&s;e, 1. That
<PB N="31" REF="19">the Argument concerning Succe&s;&s;ion is not brought by his Party to prove that that Church, wherein is the right of Succe&s;&s;ion, is therefore to be accounted the true Church; but onely to prove that that is not the Church, where there is not Succe&s;&s;ion. And, 2. That Antiquity and continued Succe&s;&s;ion doth no|thing at all avail the <HI>Grecian,</HI> or at lea&s;t the <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan,</HI> nay nor all your <HI>Patriarchal</HI> Churches, to prove that they are a true Church, becau&s;e there have been &s;ometimes among&s;t them Bi&s;hops that have been hereti|cal, who&s;e Thread therefore of Succe&s;&s;ion hath been broken and cut off. From hence it mo&s;t clearly follows, that though Succe&s;&s;ion be al|ready proved, yet the main Que&s;tion concer|ning Truth doth remain &s;till. For if when Succe&s;&s;ion is proved, it cannot infallibly be gathered and concluded, that that Church is the true Church in who&s;e Hands the Succe&s;|&s;ion is; And if farther it ought to appear for certain that no <HI>Here&s;ies</HI> or heretical <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI> have broken off the Succe&s;&s;ion; Rea&s;on it &s;elf dictates, that Succe&s;&s;ion is proved in vain, or at lea&s;t to no great Profit, unle&s;s we be thorowly informed concerning the Truth. For while&s;t the Truth is unknown, it is impo&s;&s;ible to know, whether any thing favour of <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> or no.</P>
<P>But who &s;hall &s;hew us the Truth? Or who &s;hall mo&s;t fully a&s;&s;ure us thereof? Shall the true Church? But where, and which is
<PB N="32" REF="20">it? It cannot be. For when Succe&s;&s;ion of Per|&s;ons is proved, it is not yet certain and undoub|ted, that that Church wherein is Succe&s;&s;ion, hath Truth on its &s;ide, or hath been alwayes free from <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> and by Con&s;equence hath belonging to it the Right and Power to point out the true Church. What Church therefore &s;hall it be, that &s;hall infallibly &s;hew us and &s;ay, that this is true, that that on the contrary is Heretical? For the Church that wants Succe&s;&s;ion, according to the <HI>Je&s;uits,</HI> cannot do it, nor the Church in which is Suc|ce&s;&s;ion, as is manife&s;t from the precedent Grounds. What then? What End is there? It is impo&s;&s;ible for a <HI>Papi&s;t</HI> to untye this Knot. To which I add this over and above; Sup|po&s;e that no heretical <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI> have interven'd or &s;tept in among tho&s;e that have &s;ucceeded, but &s;uch who, as we have &s;aid, have by Force, Faction, and popular Tumult, by Gifts and Bribes thru&s;t them&s;elves into the <HI>Apo&s;tolical</HI> Seat, where I pray will be the Succe&s;&s;ion? Mu&s;t we indeed believe that holy and &s;aving Truth may better con&s;i&s;t with the&s;e nefarious Wic|kedne&s;&s;es, than with Here&s;ie and Errour? Nay rather, if farther it be found in Hi&s;tories that at one Time, and that indeed for fifty, or eighty Years together, there have been two or three Popes, the one of which expunged the other out of the Catalogue of Chri&s;tians, call'd him in Reproach <HI>Heretick</HI> and <HI>Antichri&s;t,</HI>
<PB N="33" REF="20">pronounced him an unlawful Pope, cut off two of his Predece&s;&s;ors fingers, drew up out of the Earth Bodies already buried, and ha|ving &s;hamefully abu&s;ed their A&s;hes, ca&s;t them into the <HI>Tyber,</HI> all which three Popes &s;ome|times together have been condemned and de|graded, and taken out of the Number of Chri&s;tians, by an univer&s;al Council, as fal&s;e and unlawful Popes, as <HI>Hereticks</HI> and ungodly Villains, by whom notwith&s;tanding there were many Bi&s;hops and Clergie men ordained, what End or Bounds of Succe&s;&s;ion will the Thread of Connection find? For if it be &s;aid for Examples &s;ake, That that Pope, which in the Times of the Council of <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> was by common Votes &s;ub&s;tituted in the room of tho&s;e three Popes, which were depo&s;ed by the &s;aid Council, is to be accounted for the true Pope, who &s;ucceeded in the Room of the la&s;t that de|cea&s;ed lawfull Pope, the <HI>Apo&s;tolical Sea</HI> being in the Interim vacant, and u&s;urped by Force, he will fall into a new Labyrinth; for that many of the <HI>Popi&s;h Doctors,</HI> and <HI>Bellarmine</HI> by Name, and all the <HI>Je&s;uits</HI> do determine and urge, that this Council is &s;o far to be judged for not lawful, in that it decreed that the Council was above the Pope, becau&s;e it was not approved of either by the Pope, that is, that mo&s;t impious <HI>Knave</HI> and <HI>Villain, John</HI> the twentie fourth, or twentie third, who had cal|led that Council, and was by the Sentence of
<PB N="34" REF="21">the &s;ame degraded, or by the Pope whom this Council con&s;tituted in his &s;tead. For if this Council in that Re&s;pect be not to be coun|ted for lawful, how then &s;hall a lawful Suc|ce&s;&s;ion be proved? Had then this Council been in this Re&s;pect lawful, if that <HI>Knave</HI> and <HI>Var|lot</HI> had approved of the &s;ame? This is &s;hame|ful to be &s;poken, and more &s;hameful to affirm, that therefore this Council was not lawful, becau&s;e it was nor approved of by him. Or had it then been lawful, if the &s;ucceeding Pope had approved of the &s;ame? But now, for&s;ooth, it &s;hall be unlawful, becau&s;e the Pope that was made by this Council, &s;aid not of him|&s;elf and tho&s;e like him, that he was &s;ubject to the Council, but on the contrary, <HI>Lucifer</HI>-like maintained that he was above the Council. Howbeit it is altogether credible that the De|cree of the Council was approved of by Him, before he was cho&s;en for Pope. Who here &s;ees not a Circle of Ab&s;urdities? However it be, if the Authority of the Council be no more than the Popes, it could not depo&s;e the Pope, and therefore tho&s;e ungodly <HI>Knaves</HI> Popes are to be reckoned among the <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI> that lawfully &s;ucceed by a continual Succe&s;&s;ion, not inter|rupted by Rea&s;on of their <HI>Here&s;ie, Athei&s;m, Simony, Force and Villanies;</HI> or if there be granted an Interruption, there will now forthwith be no Succe&s;&s;ion at all, upon the &s;ame Account, that <HI>Bellarmine</HI> denies that the Suc|ce&s;&s;ion
<PB N="35" REF="21">of the <HI>Greeks</HI> is to be accounted law|ful. He that &s;eeth not that the Papi&s;ts are wholly at a lo&s;s in all the&s;e Things, as in an endle&s;s Labyrinth of Errours, he truly &s;eeing is blind. For how&s;oever the Ca&s;e &s;tands touching Succe&s;&s;ion, the Que&s;tion concerning Truth will alwayes remain. To what Pur|po&s;e therefore do they enter into &s;o intricate a Labyrinth, and take &s;o great Pains for to prove a Succe&s;&s;ion? One of the&s;e mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily be concluded, either that the Truth is &s;ufficient to con&s;titute a true Church, or that it is not. If the former be true; To what End is Succe&s;&s;ion by the&s;e endle&s;s Windings to and fro proved? If the latter; What doth Truth avail, if it do not con&s;titute a true Church? It is contrary to the Nature and Propertie of Truth not to con&s;titute a true Church, whether tho&s;e who teach the Truth, have it by Tradition from others, or no, or at lea&s;t know not the Li&s;t of their Names, from whom they have it delivered to them. Gold will be Gold, although it have been hid, and buried in the Earth a thou&s;and Years. But you will &s;ay, it is requi&s;ite that there be &s;ome, before I know Gold, to teach me that that is Gold. But, &s;ay I, &s;hall the Church thorowly do this? But then there is required &s;ome one be&s;ides, by whom I may be &s;ure that that this Church, which doth affirm that this is Gold, doth know it mo&s;t exactly, and can|not
<PB N="36" REF="22">err therein. Who &s;hall that be? Here the Papi&s;ts make a Circle. We a&s;&s;ert that the Scripture is Truth, which the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> granteth us. But yet it is the Prerogative of the Church, &s;aith he, to tell us that the Scrip|ture is Truth. But, &s;ay I, who &s;hall tell me that the Church that affirms this, &s;aith true? She hath not this Priviledge by Succe&s;&s;ion, unle&s;s it clearly appear that &s;he never defected from the Truth. This cannot appear, unle&s;s I know what is Truth. If the Church her|&s;elf a&s;&s;ume this, &s;he then &s;ingeth to us the &s;ame Song, and &s;o the Church will be both Plan|tiff, and Judge, and that in her own proper Cau&s;e. Here will be no End of contending. And that is it, which <HI>Tertullian</HI> meant, in that mo&s;t known Place, and commonly in the mouth of all the Papi&s;ts, which they quote in all their Writings, with a very perver&s;e wre&s;t|ing of the Sen&s;e thereof, in his Book of Pro&s;cript again&s;t <HI>Hereticks, Chap.</HI> 32. Where he thus &s;peaketh: <HI>But if any (Here&s;ies) dare in&s;ert them&s;elves in the Times of the Apo&s;tles, that &s;o they may be thought to have been deli|vered by the Apo&s;tles, becau&s;e they were in the Apo&s;tles Dayes, we may &s;ay; that is, we may in &s;uch Ca&s;e demand of them the Succe&s;&s;ion of which they boa&s;t, &s;aying, Let them produce the Originals of their Churches, turn over the Order of their Bi&s;hops, &s;o running down by Succe&s;&s;ion from the Beginning, as that fir&s;t Bi&s;hop, had &s;ome one
<PB N="37" REF="22">of the Apo&s;tles, or Apo&s;tolical men, who yet con|tinued with the Apo&s;tles, for his Author and Predece&s;&s;or,</HI> &amp;c. And a little after, <Q REND="margQuotes">Let the <HI>He|reticks</HI> feign any &s;uch Thing: (which is to be noted, as &s;erving our Purpo&s;e) yet though they &s;hall feign it, they &s;hall prevail nothing. For their very Doctrine compared with that of the Apo&s;tles, by its Diver&s;ity and Contra|riety, will aloud declare that it hath neither a|ny Apo&s;tle, nor <HI>Apo&s;tolical Man</HI> for its Au|thour. For as the Apo&s;tles would not have taught Things differing among them&s;elves, &s;o al&s;o the <HI>Apo&s;tolical Men</HI> would not have publi&s;hed Things contrary to the Apo&s;tles, except it were tho&s;e, who revolted from the <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> and taught otherwi&s;e. According to this Form therefore or Manner (note it well) &s;hall tho&s;e Churches appeal, which though they can produce none of the <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> or <HI>Apo|&s;tolick Men,</HI> as their Authour, as being long after, and which la&s;tly are daily in&s;tituted: yet agreeing in the &s;ame Faith, (to wit with the Apo&s;tles or Apo&s;tolick Men) they are not the le&s;s deemed <HI>Apo&s;tolical,</HI> by Rea&s;on of the cou|&s;anguinity or nearne&s;s of kin of their Do|ctrine; That is, (according to <HI>Tertullians</HI> &s;tyle) becau&s;e they agree with the Apo&s;tles in Doctrine.</Q> The&s;e words of <HI>Tertullian,</HI> which the Papi&s;ts &s;o &s;hamefully abu&s;e, and &s;o violent|ly wre&s;t, do not ob&s;curely confirm what we have &s;aid. For <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;ays three Things,
<PB N="38" REF="23">Fir&s;t, <HI>that tho&s;e Churches, which have the Truth agreeable with the Doctrine of the Apo&s;tles, are no le&s;s Apo&s;tolical Churches then others, although they cannot &s;hew their Succe&s;&s;ion, for that only Cau&s;e, for that they have the Truth on their &s;ide.</HI> Secondly, <HI>that tho&s;e Churches which glory of their Succe&s;&s;ion, and Original derived from the Apo&s;tles, and cannot demon&s;trate it, are ju&s;tly to be rejected, as tho&s;e who obtrude upon us that which is fal&s;e. And</HI> Thirdly, <HI>that tho&s;e Chur|ches which demon&s;trate their Succe&s;&s;ion, whether lawfully, or unlawfully, are not to be counted for true Churches, unle&s;s it appear, that their Do|ctrine is agreeable to the Doctrine of the Apo|&s;tles. What Churches agree therein, the &s;ame are</HI> Apo&s;tolical, <HI>although they be de&s;titute of Succe&s;&s;ion.</HI> This is more clear then the Noon|dayes Sun. The &s;ame affirmeth <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> in that Place, which is al&s;o quoted as unfaith|fully, and contrary to the Meaning of <HI>Augu|&s;tine,</HI> by the Papi&s;ts, in his Book which he wrote again&s;t the fundamental Epi&s;tle of <HI>Ma|nichee, Chap.</HI> 4. For when he had &s;aid that he clave to the Catholick Church, wherein from the See of <HI>Peter,</HI> even to his Time, the Succe&s;&s;ion of Bi&s;hops and Prie&s;ts had been deduced, he addes the&s;e words, which are altogether agree|able with our Judgment, <HI>With you</HI> (he &s;peaks of the <HI>Manichees</HI>) <HI>where there is none of the&s;e to invite, and detain me, there is onely the noi&s;e of the Promi&s;e of Truth, which indeed were it
<PB N="39" REF="23">&s;o manife&s;tly &s;hewed, that it could not be que&s;ti|oned, were to be preferred before all tho&s;e Things, by Rea&s;on whereof I am detained in the Catho|lick Church</HI> What could <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> have &s;poken more clear to prove and &s;hew, that nei|ther Antiquity nor Succe&s;&s;ion can avail, &s;o as that any one &s;hould be able to quit him&s;elf of the Labyrinth of Doubts touching the true Church, but that the Truth alone onely can, and ought to do it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI. <HI>What may be the Cau&s;e or Original of the Popi&s;h Labyrinth.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUt &s;ome one will &s;ay, by this Means the Bu&s;ine&s;s indeed is made intricate, but there is no way &s;hew|ed to untie this <HI>Gordian</HI> Knot. But, &s;ay I, the Way to unty this Knot is not &s;o hard, if we mind the Fountain, and very Original of it. For it ari&s;eth hence, that Men in this World de&s;ire an outward Ea&s;e and Peace, an ea&s;y and delicate Religion, the which to ob|tain, they &s;eek for an infallible Judge &s;peaking in the Church, who Authoritatively may decide all Contro|ver&s;ies, and to who&s;e Award and Judgment the Con&s;ci|ences and Tongues of all &s;hould be obliged or bound, &s;o that it &s;hall not be lawful to contradict it; and if any refu&s;e to acquie&s;ce in his Judgment, he ought to be &s;ubdued by Force under Pain of Death and his highe&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ure: In a word, they endeavour of the Church of Chri&s;t to make a wordly Policy, and for that End forbid the Laicks and common People of the reading the Sacred Scripture, le&s;t Confu&s;ion ari&s;e in the Church;
<PB N="30" REF="24">and the Clergie that are admitted thereunto, they com|mand, that they read not the Scripture upon any other Terms or condition, but to under&s;tand, and interpret it ac|cording to the Mind and Sen&s;e of this Judge, or upon an expre&s;s <HI>Provi&s;o</HI> added, that they will not under&s;tand it otherwi&s;e, although they do under&s;tand it otherwi&s;e.</P>
<P>This is the Spring and Original of this Evil, as long as this is not with&s;tood, the Labyrinth of Errours will remain. I grant indeed that at the fir&s;t Veiw it doth not &s;eem &s;o unrea&s;onable, that &s;ome Judge &s;hould be ap|pointed in the Church, becau&s;e otherwi&s;e there can be had no end of Que&s;tions and Controver&s;ies about Re|ligion; But in very Deed and in Truth it is but the De|vice and Appointment of tho&s;e men, who either endea|vour to introduce a Tyranny, being de&s;irous of Rule; Or &s;tudy their own Accommodation, being indeed Lovers of Ea&s;e more then of the Truth; Or at lea&s;t &s;helter them|&s;elves partly under a De&s;ire of the Churches Tranquilli|ty, partly under the Pretence of Simplicity, Piety and Humility. The Matter is clear. For if God or the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, had thought it nece&s;&s;ary or u&s;eful, that there &s;hould be alwayes &s;uch a Judge &s;peaking in the Church, they would have declared it even expre&s;ly; and not only that, but they would withal clearly and palpably have pointed out who and where that Judge &s;hould alwayes be, that we might not be deceived: And &s;o might have Recour&s;e unto him, as unto a Place of Refuge. Yea farther, Chri&s;t would fir&s;t and chiefly have taken Care of this, and the Apo&s;tles would have pre&s;t it before all the Articles of Faith, becau&s;e all Things ought nece&s;&s;arily there to i&s;&s;ue. For by &s;uch a Judge all things might have been decided and compo&s;ed. But in|deed on the Contrary, becau&s;e neither Chri&s;t, nor his Apo&s;tles have done this, it cannot but be an humane Device and Project, built upon a wordly and outward Tranquillity and Conveniency, and favouring of Tyran|ny, and u&s;urped Domination: For, for any one of his own Head to appoint &s;uch a Judge, is a piece of over|great boldne&s;s, and the highe&s;t Trea&s;on again&s;t the di|vine Maje&s;ty that can be again, and fit or apt to en&s;lave
<PB N="41" REF="24">the whole World under everla&s;ting Errours and Condem|nation.</P>
<P>As to what they &s;ay, That Chri&s;t delivered or gave the Keys to <HI>Peter,</HI> it is too light to build the whole Office of a Judge upon it. For &s;eeing this is a Bu&s;ine&s;s &s;o hard, and &s;o highly concerns the whole World, even Chri&s;t, who came to &s;ave the World, would have declared, that this was the Sen&s;e of his Words, &s;aying; &s;ince I grant this Power and Priviledge to Peter, I will that all the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles be excluded: and furthermore, that tho&s;e, who &s;ucceed <HI>Peter,</HI> not at <HI>Antioch,</HI> or at <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI> but only at <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;hould inherit that Right or Pri|viledge of Supream Judicature, and that all Chri&s;tians &s;hould be bound or tyed to this Judge even to the worlds End or Con&s;ummation of Ages. Thus Chri&s;t would have roundly, and clearly, expre&s;t his Mind and Men|ning; and indeed, who in a matter &s;o arduous, would have expected other from Chri&s;t, who is a Lover of Men; Al|though the whole Scripture from Head to Foot, had been nothing but a far-&s;etcht Allegory, and continued Ob&s;cu|rity, it could nothing haue prejudiced us, becau&s;e the Judge of the Sentence thereof would be known; this one Thing if it were clear, and undoubted, all other Articles, although &s;eemingly difficult, would be mo&s;t ea&s;ily under|&s;tood.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII <HI>That the judging of Truth according to, or out of the Word of God, belongeth to every private Man.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUt Now, becau&s;e we &s;ee the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and his Apo&s;tles, have in the holy Scripture clearly and plainly expre&s;t all Things nece&s;&s;ary for a Chri&s;tian to believe, hope and do, and will that the &s;aid Scriptures, be with all diligence read over and inquired into by all that are de&s;irous of Salvation, and the Way that leads thereunto, and that withal with an accurate Examination
<PB N="42" REF="25">and Tryal of all things and Spirits, whether they be of God, under the Pain of eternal Condemnation, and there be no one tittle any where in all their Writings extant, of any &s;uch infallible &s;peaking Judge, alwayes to be in the Church, much le&s;s where he is to be found; We cannot but judge, that tho&s;e who de&s;ire &s;uch a Judge in the Churches, are moved thereunto by Con&s;iderations far otherwi&s;e then Divine, and that they render them&s;elves guilty of the greate&s;t &s;in, and crime, to wit, of Dominion, and Tyranny or abitrary Power over the Word of God, and the Con&s;ciences of Men.</P>
<P>That in wordly Concerns there are appointed Judges, by who&s;e Judgment and Award we mu&s;t &s;tand, the Ca&s;e is far different. For to their Judgment the Con&s;ciences of Men are not bound, it is free for every man to believe, or judge of their Awards, Judgments and Deci&s;ions as he plea&s;e. The Award of the Judges is to be commended with our Mouth, not to be approved without Hearing. With|all oftentimes their Judgments and Awards, a long while after, are by contrary Judgments and Awards null'd, or corrected. But when the Bu&s;ine&s;s is about Con&s;cience, Religion, Salvation, eternal Life, or eternal Condemna|tion, there ought to be no Judge there, but God, or he to whom God hath expre&s;ly, and in Terms committed and given this Power, that a man may mo&s;t rightfully &s;ay, if God hath given this Priviledge to the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> it is the be&s;t, yea the only Church; and on the contrary, if it be evident, that God hath not given this Right, it is the mo&s;t abominable, pernicious, and filthie&s;t Church that can be again upon the Earth. But, you will &s;ay, what End will there be then? This, &s;ay I, that the Word of God be <HI>impune</HI> and freely read by all, that no mans Con&s;cience be tyed to the Judgment of others; that one man love another, and by the be&s;t Means, out of the Word of God endeavour to in&s;truct him, and &s;o we expect that Time wherein the Lord God and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the only Judge of the Quick and Dead, will pa&s;s A|ward of Life and Death. By this means Con&s;ciences will be free, Chri&s;tians all quiet and peaceble, and the Word of God the only Rule and Square of all Mens Actions.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="frontispiece">
<PB REF="25">
<PB REF="26">
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>engraving of James Arminius</FIGDESC>
<P>JAMES ARMINIUS. <HI>For Learning, Mildne&s;se and for Sanctitie Few ever had with him Equalitie.</HI></P>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="26">
<P>The Life and Death OF <HI>JAMES ARMINI&V;S,</HI> AND <HI>SIMON EPISCOPI&V;S.</HI></P>
<P>Profe&s;&s;ors of Divinity in the Univer|&s;ity of <HI>Leyden</HI> in <HI>Holland.</HI></P>
<P>Both of them famous Defenders of the Doctrine of Gods Univer&s;al Grace, and Sufferers for it.</P>
<P>Now publi&s;hed in the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> tongue.</P>
<Q>The memory of the ju&s;t is Ble&s;&s;ed, <BIBL><HI>Pro. 10.7.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>Tho. Ratcliff</HI> and <HI>Nath. Thomp&s;on,</HI> for <HI>Francis Smith,</HI> at the <HI>Elephant</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;tle</HI> without <HI>Temple-Bar,</HI> 1672.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="27">
<PB REF="27">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Courteous Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THe Title-page of the Book pre&s;ented here to thy view, does &s;ufficiently inform thee, what in the general thou art to expect therein. The book is &s;o little, and may be read over in &s;o &s;hort a time, that it is altogether needle&s;s to give a further account of its Contents. A large Pre|face me thinks would be uncomely, as being unproportio|nable to the Building: And indeed thou had&s;t not at all been troubled with any Proem how &s;hort &s;oever; If I had not a few words to &s;peak touching my work in this Engli&s;h Narrative. Although I was much per&s;waded and well a&s;&s;ured in my &s;elf, that a Work of this kind might be of great advantage to tho&s;e of my Countrey men, who have ears for no other but their Mother tongue, e&s;pecially to them who have been abu&s;ed by the Tongues or Pens of any, that have expo&s;ed to obliquy and reproach the venerable names of the&s;e two reverend men, which alas! many have done, e&s;pecially as to <HI>Arminius:</HI> for the other, I mean <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> has not been &s;o generally taken notice of, and his name was not here &s;o publickly known, till the Do|ctrine, which both of them contended and &s;uffered for, was more commonly known and received among&s;t us: Yet was
<PB REF="28">it far from me to undertake of meer choice this endeavour, being not &s;o well conceited of mine own abilities, as to thru&s;t my &s;elf into this Imployment, nor &s;o de&s;titute of work as to need this for &s;ecuring and keeping my &s;elf out of idlene&s;s; but by the importunate &s;olicitation of &s;ome good men, I was prevailed with, and drawn unto it. The Hi|storie of Dr. <HI>Arminius</HI> is nothing el&s;e but that Elegant Latin Oration; here turned into plain Engli&s;h, which learned <HI>Bertius</HI> delivered in &s;uch an A&s;&s;embly, where he could not deliver untruths and remain undetected. I have indeed &s;carce plea&s;ed my &s;elf in tran&s;lating &s;o Grammati|cally and verbatim the Te&s;timonies there produced: Yet have &s;o done, that &s;ome might not be di&s;plea&s;ed, who deem &s;uch a tran&s;lation in &s;uch ca&s;es to be at lea&s;t conve|nient. That which thou ha&s;t here touching <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> is taken chiefly out of that excellent and large Preface, pre|fixed to one of the Volumes of his Works, and written by <HI>Stephen Curcellaeus</HI> of ble&s;&s;ed memory. In what I have done in the whole I am not con&s;cious to my &s;elf of any un|faithfulne&s;s; neither am I unwilling to con&s;titute mine Enemies judges of the performance, in ca&s;e they be fit to examine, and not re&s;olved to be unrighteous in judgment. Reader, I &s;hall no longer detain thee from the profitable ex|erci&s;e of reading the following Narrative, which God al|mighty ble&s;s to thy u&s;e. Farewell.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>J. K.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="oration">
<PB N="1" REF="28">
<HEAD>THE ORATION <HI>of</HI> Peter Bertius <HI>concerning the life and death of that Reverend and mo&s;t Famous Man Mr.</HI> James Arminius, <HI>which after his &s;ad funeral, was delivered in a Theolo|gical Auditory</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">the Divi|nity School in the Uni|ver&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">y of <HI>Lyden.</HI></NOTE> Octob. 22. 1609.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Magnificent, Reverend, Most noble, Mo&s;t learned Auditors,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>AS heretofore I have oft experienc'd, how hard and how difficult a thing it is, to &s;peak of Excellent per&s;ons in an a&s;&s;embly of Renoun|ed men: So now e&s;pecially I have thereof a &s;en&s;ible knowledge, it being my task at pre&s;ent to &s;peak in this place concerning that Reverend man Mr. <HI>James Arminius,</HI> Dr. of &s;acred Theologie, and this after the &s;ad &s;olemnity of his Funeral. For &s;ith that a good man is the rule and mea&s;ure of things, he therefore; that would de&s;cribe to others &s;uch a per&s;on, mu&s;t be carefull to choo&s;e out and offer &s;uch things to their view, by which humane life may receive advantage in the &s;tudy of vertue. Good things that lie in &s;ecret, mu&s;t be brought on the &s;tage and made publick, and tho&s;e things which either Mode&s;ty hath concealed, or Envy dimini&s;hed, or Calumny defamed, or which others through want of skill have not ob&s;erved, tho&s;e things I &s;ay, when the curtain's drawn back and a light brought
<PB N="2" REF="29">in, mu&s;t be &s;hown openly, and declared by words, that all may behold what in every one is mo&s;t prai&s;e wor|thy, and what is fit for their imitation. Whence it comes to pa&s;s, that the greater every ones vertue is, the more difficult it is to act the Orotors part in &s;peak|ing of him: for the greate&s;t Envy keeps company with the greate&s;t Vertue. And &s;ith that a wife man doth nothing without Rea&s;on; and it being difficult to expli|cate and unfold at every turn the principles and cau&s;es of particular actions, on which the judgment to be made of every thing does depend; it mu&s;t needs be very diffi|cult to judge of excellent per&s;ons, all who&s;e life is full of diver&s;e examples, for the well in&s;tructing of others, how to judge, how al&s;o to live. And this al&s;o may be added, that he who takes upon him this imployment mu&s;t very frequently have recour&s;e from the law to a mans life, and from his life to the law: for the&s;e need each the other, and as the law gives notice what mu&s;t be done: &s;o what may be done the life &s;heweth. Now a wi&s;e man hath both the&s;e in him&s;elf; ju&s;t after the example of Chri&s;t our Lord and Saviour, who fir&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Learn of me:</HI> and of his Apo&s;tle who thus admoni&s;heth, <HI>Be ye followers of me, as I am of Chri&s;t</HI> And as heretofore <HI>Polycletus,</HI> not contenting him&s;elf that he had written a book, wherein he had noted all things to be ob&s;erv'd by him that would artificially make the image or &s;tatue of a man, did him&s;elf afterwrrds make the &s;tatue of a man, le&s;t he &s;hould &s;eem to pre&s;cribe that to others which him&s;elf hap not ob&s;erved, and this &s;tatue made publick he call'd the Canon or Rule, commanding that the lineaments of art &s;hould be fetch'd thence as from a law of direction: So a good man, when he hath admoni&s;h'd
<PB N="3" REF="29">others what they mu&s;t doe, does fir&s;t him&s;elf perform, what he pre&s;cribes to others. Now it is hard, either to bring all a wi&s;e mans actions to their proper rule and law, or in one to find the Examples of all laws. But as for me, who am at this day to &s;peak in this honourable a&s;&s;embly of learned men, concerning the life and death of that Reverend and Incomparable man, Doctor <HI>James Arminius,</HI> not only tho&s;e difficulties, which I have now mentioned &s;tand in my way, but many others al&s;o. My Grief, yet fre&s;h, for the lo&s;s of a friend pre&s;&s;eth me; the con&s;ideration of a &s;ad family, an affli|cted wife, nine fatherle&s;s children di&s;turbs me; the Lamen|tation of the Univer&s;ity moves me; but I am a&s;toni&s;hed to think of the Church and Common wealth deprived of a man &s;o greatly u&s;efull. All which things, in a wound &s;o fre&s;h, not yet skinn'd over, may ea&s;ily put to a lo&s;s the mo&s;t eloquent and the wi&s;e&s;t man who&s;oever he be. To what hath been &s;poken may be added, That he him&s;elf, whil&s;t he liv'd, greatly di&s;lik'd all pompous funeral &s;olemnities: for he knew, that the fir&s;t &s;tep to the veneration and wor&s;hiping of Saints was hence, and he deem'd, that it unbecomes us to de&s;ire and u&s;e &s;uch Solemnities, that had &s;uch hazards attending on them. But &s;eeing our pre&s;ent condition &s;eems to be &s;uch, that we need not in the lea&s;t to be afraid of this (for alas! hitherto are we come, that henceforth it may &s;eem need|full to u&s;e diligent care, rather to bring in devotion, than drive &s;uper&s;tition out) And &s;ith that it concerns all men, that examples of vertue being drawn forth &s;hould be propo&s;ed for all to look upon, I have, according to the cu&s;tom, through the reque&s;t of friends, and the Se|nate willing it, undertaken that difficult task, which I
<PB N="4" REF="30">could not refu&s;e without the violation of Chri&s;tian cha|rity, and the breach of the obligation of that friend&s;hip, which I have maintain'd with him from my very youth. Which things being &s;o, I hope there will no reprehender of this my duty be found in this a&s;&s;embly of excellent oratours, in which there is no one but is able more grave|ly and elegantly to perform this charge, than my &s;elf. Notwith&s;tanding, I be&s;eech and mo&s;t humbly intreat you, Magnificent, Reverend and mo&s;t learned Auditors, to &s;uffer the things I &s;hall &s;peak to be of credit and ac|count with you,</P>
<P>We have committed to the bo&s;om of the earth the body of that Reverend man, Mr. <HI>James Arminius</HI> (or rather the temple of the holy Gho&s;t) which has been &s;haken, worn, broken with labours, watchings, con|flicts, di&s;ea&s;es, troubles. We have committed it, I &s;ay, in certain hope of a ble&s;&s;ed re&s;urrection, which he him&s;elf, while&s;t he liv'd, believ'd, and unto which he directed all his thoughts and purpo&s;es.</P>
<P>The place of his birth was <HI>Oldwater,</HI> a little Town long &s;ince made famous by the interflowing river <HI>I&s;ala,</HI> and the plea&s;antne&s;s with the fruitfulne&s;s of the adjacent country, and the frugality with the indu&s;try of its Inha|bitants. He in this Town fir&s;t &s;aw the Sun in the year 1560. in which year the Conference at <HI>Po&s;&s;iack</HI> in <HI>France</HI> began; in which conference our Deputies plead|ed the cau&s;e of two thou&s;and one hundred and ninety Churches, that did humbly and earne&s;tly de&s;ire of the King, peace and tranquility, and the liberty of profe&s;&s;ing their faith. This year, this <HI>Oldwater,</HI> as another <HI>Spar|ta,</HI> gave <HI>Arminius,</HI> as another <HI>Lacon,</HI> to the world: which Town notwith&s;tanding at other times brought
<PB N="5" REF="30">forth <HI>John</HI> de <HI>Oldwater, Cornelius &V;alerius,</HI> and that excellent old man, whom ye here behold, Mr. <HI>Rudol|phus Snellius,</HI> the ornament, not onely of his native place, but al&s;o of this whole Univer&s;ity, and e&s;pe|cially of them who are of the Senatorie rank and quality.</P>
<P><HI>Arminius</HI> while&s;t an infant lo&s;t his father: His mo|ther, a widow burthened with three children, lived all her life long in a mean e&s;tate, but hone&s;t|ly.</P>
<P>There was then in that Town a certain Prie&s;t, a man hone&s;t and grave, <HI>Theodore Aemylius</HI> by name, who&s;e memory, by rea&s;on of his &s;ingular learning and holine&s;s of life, is yet ble&s;&s;ed among the living. He, when he had got a ta&s;t of a better and more pure doctrin in Religion, determin'd with him&s;elf, that he would not once more celebrate the abominable &s;acrifice of the Ma&s;s: therefore he oft changed his place of abode, and lived &s;ometimes at <HI>Paris,</HI> &s;ometimes at <HI>Lovane,</HI> &s;ome|times at <HI>Colon,</HI> &s;ometimes at <HI>&V;trecht.</HI> He therefore took care, that this fatherle&s;s child, <HI>James Arminius,</HI> &s;o &s;oon as his age was capable of in&s;truction, might be furni&s;hed with the fir&s;t rudiments of the Latin and Greek tongue, and with the principles of true piety and religi|on. And when he perceiv'd in him &s;ome appearances of an excellent di&s;po&s;ition to vertue, he oft times ex|horted him; that all con&s;iderations of earthly things being layd a&s;ide and contemned, he would give up him|&s;elf to follow after God and his con&s;cience. He told him, that the time of mans life here is but &s;hort; that there follows a condition after this life, which &s;hould be e&s;timated not by outward adver&s;ity or pro&s;perity, but
<PB N="6" REF="31">by the Eternity of happine&s;s or death. This Exhorta|tion, afterwards confirmed by a diligent reading of the holy Scriptures, and pious meditations, was &s;etled upon his heart: And &s;o he, through the hope of that life, un|derwent every labour, all hazards, with a glad and chearful mind. But after he had for &s;ome years thus liv'd o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>&V;trecht,</HI> an unexpected calamity did oppre&s;s him, by means of the death of that good old Religious man, which the merciful God did &s;uddenly mitigate; for pre&s;ently upon his death Mr. <HI>Snellius,</HI> who long be|fore flying the <HI>Spaniards</HI> tyranny, went to <HI>Marpurg,</HI> came as it hapned out of <HI>Ha&s;&s;ia</HI> into that Countrey. He therefore carried away with him into <HI>Ha&s;&s;ia,</HI> in the year 1575. this his Country-man <HI>Arminius,</HI> now de&s;ti|tute of all humane help and &s;uccour. He was &s;carce &s;et down there, when in the Moneth of <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> the report of his Countreys de&s;olation is brought thither; He hears that the Town was taken by the <HI>Spaniard;</HI> that the Garri&s;on were &s;lain; that the Town&s;men were kill'd, and the Town burnt. With this report he was &s;o much &s;tricken at the heart and &s;o greatly troubled, that he &s;pent 14 whole days, in continual weeping and tears: Therefore as one impatient he left <HI>Ha&s;&s;ia</HI> and went with &s;peed into <HI>Holland,</HI> being determined ei|ther to &s;ee the ruines of his Country, or to loo&s;e his life.</P>
<P>When he was come thither, he found nothing but where the Town &s;tood, and the ruines of it: and under|&s;tood that mo&s;t of its Inhabitants were finally &s;lain, to|gether with his Mother, his Si&s;ters, his Brothers and his Kindred: He therefore returned even on foot out of his own Country, to <HI>Marpurg</HI> in <HI>Ha&s;&s;ia.</HI> In the mean while this new Ac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">demy was erected and opened by the
<PB N="7" REF="31">authority of the mo&s;t Illu&s;trious Prince of <HI>Orange;</HI> which as &s;oon as he under&s;tood, he prepar'd for a jour|ney home. He came therefore to <HI>Roterdam,</HI> to which place were come from <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> many faithfull Exiles, and mo&s;t of <HI>Old-waters</HI> Inhabitants, that had e&s;caped the &s;word of a cruel enemy. At that time my Father <HI>Peter Bertius,</HI> was the Pa&s;tor of that Church: but Mr. <HI>John Taffinus</HI> was the Princ's <HI>French</HI> Preacher and Coun&s;ellor; both the&s;e were wonderfully plea&s;ed with the young mans towardline&s;s, readine&s;s and wit. Now &s;eeing it was long before my Father was acquainted with learning (for he was 30. years old before he had any knowledge even of the Latin tongue) he upon reque&s;t of friends, took the young man very willingly into his hou&s;e. Now it was the purpo&s;e of friends to &s;end him to this new Univer&s;ity; which occa&s;ion my Father thinking not good to neglect, calls me out of <HI>England,</HI> when I was then a Student, applying my &s;elf to learn|ing: both of us therefore were &s;ent together into this School: from that time there has been always between us a very great intimacy, familiarity and friend&s;hip: But I will not &s;peak of the pa&s;&s;ages of that time. This one thing I will &s;ay, that our young Scholars endeavour in learning and in the &s;tudy of wi&s;dom, was &s;o great, their reverence towards their Teachers &s;o great, their zeal and earne&s;t affection in Religion &s;o great, that greater could hardly be: But in our rank <HI>Arminius</HI> was one that excel'd the re&s;t; if any thing was to be written, if any thing to be &s;poken, <HI>Arminius</HI> was &s;ought for: If then aro&s;e any debate in learning that required a <HI>Pal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">mon, Arminius</HI> was con&s;ulted with. I remember when Dr. <HI>Lambert Danaeus,</HI> our Profe&s;&s;or,
<PB N="8" REF="32">did commend him publickly for his natural endowments, and for his proficiency, and for his vertue; and did ex|cite us to enter on the &s;tudy of Divinity with cheerful|fulne&s;s, after his example. Why &s;hould I make men|tion here of his &s;tudy in Poetry, in which he excel'd? Why &s;hould I &s;peak of his &s;tudy in the Mathematicks, and in the other parts of Philo&s;ophie? He toucht no|thing of the&s;e, which he did not penetrate, he &s;et upon nothing, which he did not happily fini&s;h.</P>
<P>Thus we are come to the year 1582. in which year the honourable Senate of <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> &s;ent him away to <HI>Geneva;</HI> for his more abundant proficiency in learning. Whither when he was come, he heard that reverend old man, and of ble&s;&s;ed memory, Mr. <HI>Theodore Beza</HI> expounding the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Rom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">s,</HI> with the great admiration of all men; for there was in <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">eza</HI> beyond o|ther mortals a flexanimous and per&s;wa&s;ive eloquence, a prompt and ready utterance, per&s;picuity of &s;peech, plea|&s;antne&s;s of voice, but excellent doctrine in the judgment of all learned men. Him therefore above all others <HI>Arminius</HI> made choice of to imitate and follow, But &s;eeing he could not forth with procure to him&s;elf the fa|vour of &s;ome Principal men in this School, and that (to &s;peak the truth) only upon the account of <HI>Ramus</HI>'s Philo&s;ophy, which with earne&s;tne&s;s he defended pub|lickly, and did al&s;o in private teach it to his auditors, he was provok'd to go to <HI>Ba&s;il.</HI> Where what great ho|nour was confer'd, on the young man, what were the pre&s;ages and divinings of men of all ranks concerning his growing vertue, they are able to te&s;tifie, who were his fellow travellers, and companions in this his peregri|nation. But he &s;o heard the&s;e judgments and acclama|tions,
<PB N="9" REF="32">that he never waxt proud and arrogant, but &s;hewed in very deed, that he was unwilling to endea|vour by ambition, but was willing by true vertue to come unto that, whereto he was de&s;igned by the good|ne&s;s of God.</P>
<P>At <HI>Ba&s;ile</HI> in the harve&s;t Fe&s;tivals the more learned Students are wont out of the ordinary cour&s;e, for ex|erci&s;e-&s;ake to teach &s;omething in the Univer&s;ity, &s;ome|ties publickly. This labour our <HI>Arminius</HI> willingly un|dertook, for this he was prai&s;'d by that reverend man, Mr. <HI>James Grinaus,</HI> who al&s;o oft times honoured his lectures by his Pre&s;ence. The &s;ame man al&s;o in publick di&s;putations, if any thing more weighty than ordinary were propo&s;ed, or an intricate matter worthy a defender, did occur, was not afraid for honours &s;ake to call our <HI>Arminius,</HI> &s;itting among a great number of Students; and (that you may know the candor of <HI>Grinaeus</HI>) to &s;ay. <HI>Let my Hollander an&s;wer for me.</HI> At this time <HI>Armini|us</HI> was in &s;o great favour and renown for his learning, that when he was about to depart thence for <HI>Geneva,</HI> the Theological faculty would have conferr'd on him, even at the publick charge, the title of Doctor, which he, e&s;teeming it too great a dignity for one of his years, did at that time mode&s;tly refu&s;e, and gave them thanks for their grace and favour.</P>
<P>When he was come back to <HI>Geneva,</HI> he found the minds of his friends more pacified towards <HI>Ramus's Phi|lo&s;ophy;</HI> al&s;o he him&s;elf thinking it &s;omething meet to abate &s;omewhat of his earne&s;tne&s;s, did &s;o order him&s;elf, that all might ea&s;ily perceive, that gentlene&s;s conjoyn'd with &s;o great a wit brought no &s;mall ornament to his age. There were at the &s;ame time in the City the Sons
<PB N="10" REF="33">of the chief of our Nobility, mo&s;t of which now are in eminent and honourable places in our Republick. When &s;ome of the&s;e were gone into <HI>Italy,</HI> others of them called home, he &s;eeing him&s;elf alone, and de|&s;titute of all others his companions, excepting one, a man of very great dignity now in <HI>Holland;</HI> he al&s;o pur|po&s;ed to go with &s;peed into <HI>Italy,</HI> being inclin'd thereun|to e&s;pecially through the fame of <HI>James Zabarella,</HI> who then at <HI>Padua</HI> profe&s;&s;ed Philo&s;ohhy, and was greatly followed. For his &s;ake e&s;pecially he &s;tayed at <HI>Padua,</HI> when he in&s;tructed in Logick &s;ome noble <HI>Germans.</HI> But afterwards he took a cur&s;ory view of the re&s;t of <HI>Italy.</HI> on which journey he &s;pent not above eight months, and at <HI>Rome</HI> he was never ab&s;ent from that companion of his, who was to him as another <HI>Achates:</HI> for &s;o it was agreed on before they went from <HI>Geneva.</HI> They ul'd the &s;ame lodging, the &s;ame table, the &s;ame bed; they went in and out together; and for the exerci&s;e of piety they carried with them the Greek Te&s;tament and He|brew P&s;alter.</P>
<P>I remember he was wont often to tell, That <HI>Italy</HI> brought to him many commodities and di&s;commodities. Among the commodities he plac'd this e&s;pecially, That he had &s;een at <HI>Rome</HI> the my&s;tery of iniquity to be far more filthy and abominable than ever he had conceiv'd it in his mind: for he &s;aid, that the things which are told or read concerning the <HI>Roman</HI> Court of <HI>Anti-chri&s;t,</HI> are Trifles in compari&s;on of the things which he had &s;een. Among the di&s;commodities this; That the honourable Senate of <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> was then &s;omewhat offended at him for that his <HI>Italian</HI> journey, &s;ome in the mean while augmenting their their di&s;plea&s;ure, who clearly had
<PB N="11" REF="33">done better in &s;u&s;pending their opinions till his return. Hence then an occa&s;ion being taken, it was noy&s;'d a|mong the common people, That he had ki&s;t the <HI>Popes,</HI> panto&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e; whom he had never &s;een but as other &s;pecta|tors did, in a great throng and croud of people. (And indeed that Bea&s;t is not wont to give this honour to any but Kings and Princes.) Al&s;o, that he was accu&s;tom'd to hear the <HI>Je&s;uites,</HI> when as he never heard them; That he was acquainted with <HI>Bellarmin,</HI> whom he ne|ver &s;aw; That he had abjur'd the orthodox Religion, whereas he was ready to contend for it even to the lo&s;s of his life.</P>
<P>Now let our Youth that are pious and devoted to the Church learn this from anothers harm, That it is better never to &s;et foot in <HI>Italy,</HI> than with &s;o great an hazard of their repute to know the my&s;teries of <HI>Antichri&s;t.</HI> Not becau&s;e it is more dangerous for them to &s;ee <HI>Italy,</HI> than neighbouring <HI>Antwerp,</HI> or <HI>Bru&s;&s;el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> or <HI>Brug<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">:</HI> for in <HI>Italy</HI> there is much more liberty, and in the&s;e places more &s;uper&s;tition by far. And it is &s;afer to tra|vel throughout all <HI>Italy,</HI> than <HI>Brabant</HI> or <HI>Flanders:</HI> but becau&s;e it is expedient to take all occa&s;ions of evil &s;peaking from the adver&s;ary, and all occa&s;ions of evil|&s;urmi&s;ing from tho&s;e that are unadvi&s;ed and imprudent. And it is better to prevent an occa&s;ion of offence, than to excu&s;e it.</P>
<P>Being come out of <HI>Italy</HI> he &s;tayed at <HI>Geneva,</HI> and &s;ome months after being called home he returned to <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> to his <HI>Patrons</HI> and <HI>Masters,</HI> furni&s;hed, <HI>through the grace of Chri&s;t, with a clear te&s;timony</HI> from them of <HI>Geneva,</HI> and <HI>with a mind very well fitted to do office, if it might plea&s;e the Lord God to u&s;e his mini&s;try,
<PB N="12" REF="34">for his work in his Church:</HI> For the&s;e are the very words of Mr. <HI>Beza's</HI> Epi&s;tle, the original of which I have in remembrance. At <HI>Amsterdam</HI> he did ea&s;ily, with grave and prudent men, clear him&s;elf as to his <HI>Italian</HI> journey: but indeed the weak brethren went on in|veighing again&s;t it, and in their a&s;&s;emblings blaming it till he him&s;elf began to be heard in the Church, in which as &s;oon as he was beheld, it cannot be &s;poken, with how much re&s;pect men of all ranks flocked toge|ther to hear him: For there was in him (as ye know) a certain incredible gravity mixed with gracefull plea|&s;antne&s;s. His voice indeed was &s;lender, but &s;weet, and loud, and piercing, but he had an admirable per|&s;wa&s;ive faculty. If any thing were to be adorn'd, he &s;o did it, as not to exceed the truth. If he were to teach any thing, he did it with clearne&s;s and per&s;picuity. If he were to di&s;pute any thing, he manag'd the &s;ame di&s;tinctly. Now the Melody and altering of his voice was &s;o fitted to things, that it &s;eemed to flow from them. And &s;ith he did not u&s;e a Rhetorical dre&s;s, and the Greeks boxes of plea&s;ant ointment: it was either becau&s;e his nature did abhor them, or becau&s;e he judged it unworthy the maje&s;ty of Divine things; to u&s;e curles, and borrowed ornaments, when as the naked truth is of its &s;elf &s;ufficient for its own defence: notwith&s;tanding he &s;o efficaciou&s;ly per&s;waded by force and weight of ar|guments, and by the pithine&s;s of his &s;entences, and by the authority of Scripture it &s;elf, that no man ever heard him, but confe&s;&s;'d, that his di&s;cour&s;es much affected him. Some therefore at that time called him the poli&s;hing life of truth; others the whet&s;tone and &s;harpner of wits; others called him the razor &s;having off growing
<PB N="13" REF="34">errors, and nothing in Religion, and &s;acred Theo|logy was thought to &s;avour well, that did not reli&s;h with <HI>Arminius.</HI> Al&s;o the Pa&s;tors and Preachers them&s;elves of that City, men both learned and elo|quent, did reverence him for his learning, and in|geniou&s;ly acknowledge them&s;elves to have been dai|ly very much advantaged by his Sermons. And thus our <HI>Arminius</HI> with &s;pread out &s;ayles, pro&s;perous gales, a full company of rowers, and the good wi&s;hes of all that knew him, was carried towards fame and glory, when it plea&s;ed God to excrci&s;e his &s;ervant even with adver&s;ity, and to make a tryal of his pati|ence and humblene&s;s by the cro&s;s and afflictions. Now 'tis a thing worth the knowing, to under&s;tand the beginnings and &s;ucce&s;s hereof.</P>
<P>There was carried about as it chanced in the hands of &s;ome pious men a little Book, written by &s;ome of the brethren of the Church of <HI>Delf,</HI> again&s;t Mr. <HI>Beza,</HI> with this Title. <HI>An an&s;wer to &s;ome arguments of</HI> Beza <HI>and</HI> Calvin <HI>out of a Treati&s;e concerning prede|&s;tination on the</HI> 9. <HI>Chap to the</HI> Romans. This little book was &s;ent over to our <HI>Arminius</HI> by Mr. <HI>Martin Lidy|us</HI> of ble&s;&s;ed memory, who had been formerly a Pa&s;tor in the Church of <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> but then was profe&s;&s;or in the <HI>Friezlanders</HI> new Academy, and by him <HI>Arminius</HI> was reque&s;ted to undertake the de|fence of Mr. <HI>Beza</HI> again&s;t the brethren of <HI>Delf.</HI> For <HI>Arminius</HI> was verily thought a man very fit for this bu&s;ine&s;s by Mr. <HI>Lidyus,</HI> who partly by report, part|ly by experience knew the quickne&s;s of his wit, the &s;harpne&s;s of his judgment, and what a wonderful
<PB N="14" REF="35">force and power he had both in preaching and in di&s;|puting, Neither was <HI>Arminius</HI> altogether &s;trange from this de&s;ign, being one that newly coming out of the School of <HI>Geneva,</HI> carryed about with him in his ears the &s;ound of Mr. <HI>Beza's</HI> lectures and arguments. He therefore betakes him&s;elf to the work; But whil&s;t he endeavours a refutation, whil&s;t he weighs the arguments on each &s;ide, whil&s;t he confers the Scrip|tures, whil&s;t he torments and wearys him&s;elf, he was overcome by the truth. At fir&s;t indeed he followed that &s;ame opinion which he undertook to oppo&s;e, but he afterwards by the guidance of the holy Gho&s;t was carried over to that doctrin, which he con&s;tantly a&s;&s;erted even to the end of his life: Which was this; That Gods eternal Decree in prede&s;tination, was not to elect or chu&s;e preci&s;ely and ab&s;olutely &s;ome to &s;alvation, whom as yet he had not purpo&s;ed to cre|ate; (which Mr. <HI>Beza</HI> would have) neither was it, preci&s;ely and ab&s;olutely to elect &s;ome to &s;alvati|on after the decree of their creation and the fore&s;ight of their fall, but without an antecedent con&s;idera|tion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; (which the Delfian brethren held) Bus it was, To elect to &s;alvation them of the created and fallen, who in time to come would by true obe|dience of faith an&s;wer to God calling them thereunto: Which by learned <HI>Melancthon</HI> and <HI>Nicholaus He|mingius,</HI> and many more divines be&s;ides, hath been a&s;&s;erted.</P>
<P>And although &s;uch in times pa&s;t hath been the liberty of our Churches, and even now is in very many places, that in this Argument, in which no
<PB N="15" REF="35">ancient Synod hath ever determined any thing, any one of the multitude, and a Teacher, might always without offence to any one choo&s;e this or that: for to omit others, Dr. <HI>Jo. Holmannus Secundus,</HI> who by the very grave advice of excellent Divines, and e&s;pecially of the Lords Curators was called forth, after Mr. <HI>Pezelius</HI> and <HI>Mollenius</HI> and others were &s;ollicited in vain, taught it out of this very place: He imbraced (as we know) the opinion of <HI>Hemingius,</HI> and &s;harply defended it. Not with&s;tanding there were not tho&s;e wanting at <HI>Am|&s;terdam,</HI> that in this matter were trouble&s;ome to <HI>Arminius,</HI> and that accu&s;ed him for departing from the common and received opinion in our Churches, but their vehemency and fiercne&s;s was &s;uddenly repre&s;&s;'d and appea&s;'d by the authority of the Senate, and the equanimity and moderation of the brethren; &s;o that he always lived with his Collegues at <HI>Am&s;ter|dam</HI> quietly, yea friendly and brotherly, without any cloud of di&s;plea&s;ure, or hatred, or envy. And al&s;o this man of God was not only naturally di&s;po&s;'d to candor and gentlene&s;s, but al&s;o was moreover &s;o formed and fa&s;hioned thereto by the holy pre|cepts and Spirit of Chri&s;t, that he did quietly bear with him that di&s;&s;ented from him, and did not ea&s;ily de&s;pair of any one, that was but willing to hear Chri&s;t &s;peaking in Scriptures: which by his divine moderation and equinimity we all knew, and have by &s;o much the more admired it, by how much the further we, by the te&s;timony of our own con&s;cience, perceive our &s;elves yet to be from the&s;e good things.</P>
<PB N="16" REF="36">
<P>Now when the Univer&s;ity, deprived of her Pro|fe&s;&s;ors by the death of tho&s;e famous and excellent men, Dr. <HI>Junius</HI> and Dr. <HI>Luke Trelcatius</HI> the el|der, &s;ought for an <HI>Hercules</HI> that might &s;u&s;tain this Orb (which in the mean while that Reverend man Dr. <HI>Francis Gomarus,</HI> being de&s;titute of all his Col|leagues, did as another <HI>Atlas</HI> &s;upport alone) they by the general vote, and the publick con&s;ent of their country, came to <HI>Arminius,</HI> who thinking of no|thing le&s;s, was taking care for the church of Chri&s;t at <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> which he had &s;erved now fifteen years. But when they of <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> profe&s;t that they could not be without his endeavours among&s;t them, be|cau&s;e as they &s;aid, they had chiefly him, by whom they might oppo&s;e the growing mon&s;ters of here&s;ies, it cannot be &s;poken how great then the con&s;ternation of good men was. They variou&s;ly deliberate and advi&s;e, no &s;tone is left unturned. The Curatours of our Univer&s;ity, <HI>viz.</HI> mo&s;t noble <HI>Dou&s;a</HI> and <HI>Neo&s;tadius,</HI> went them&s;elves in the publick name, together with that mo&s;t honourable man, <HI>Nicholaus Zey&s;tius</HI> the Syndick of our Common-wealth. To the &s;ame end Mr. <HI>Jo. &V;tembogardus,</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Church at the <HI>Hague,</HI> was &s;ent by the mo&s;t illu&s;tri|ous Prince. and al&s;o <HI>Nicholaus Cromhou&s;ius</HI> out of the &s;upream Court. All the&s;e after a diver&s;e manner did earne&s;tly move and per&s;wade the mo&s;t prudent Senate of this Common wealth, and the Con&s;i&s;torie of the Pa&s;tors and Elders. At length by many la|bours, intreaties, and al&s;o the interce&s;&s;ion it &s;elf of mo&s;t illu&s;trious Prince, it was hardly obtain'd, that
<PB N="17" REF="36">he &s;hould be di&s;mi&s;&s;ed from <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> and &s;erve the Univer&s;ity. Neverthele&s;s petty Rumours of &s;u&s;|picions, which mo&s;t commonly are wont to &s;ubvert the be&s;t endeavours, did with&s;tand him, again&s;t which he &s;et the &s;hield of his innocency and candour and learning; Tru&s;ting in this, he confidently ex|pected the ble&s;&s;ing of God in that which was be|hind. This matter therefore being heard and debated at the <HI>Hague</HI> before the Lords Curators in the pre|&s;ence of &s;ome grave Divines, it was found, <HI>That tho&s;e &s;u&s;picions were ill &s;upported, and that there was no cau&s;e why any one &s;hould have an ill opinion of that faithf<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ll &s;ervant of Christ: for they found, that he u&s;ed the allowed liberty of prophe&s;ying in the Church, had taught nothing which was contrary to the Chri&s;tian religion.</HI> He then fir&s;t obtained in this Univer&s;ity, with the good liking of God and men, the degree of a Doctor, which in the year 1603 that reverend man Dr. <HI>Francis Gomarus</HI> conferred on him here in this very place. Thus then <HI>James Arminius</HI> &s;ucceeded <HI>Francis Junius,</HI> the Curators &s;o commanding it. And that nothing might be wanting here to his credit and authority by rea&s;on of tho&s;e things that had been given out at <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> it plea&s;ed the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Presbyters to commend him to all godly, hone&s;t and learned men, by adorning him at his departure with a very fair te&s;timony which &s;oundeth thus.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimony">
<PB N="18" REF="37">
<HEAD>The Te&s;timony of the <HI>Church</HI> at <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI></HEAD>
<P>If the rea&s;on it &s;elf of equity, in the common &s;oci|ety of men, was willing long &s;ince to have it e&s;tabli&s;h'd for a law, That they &s;hould be judged worthy of a &s;ingular good commendation, and more honourable te&s;timony of truth, who had any where very well merited of the common-wealth: they much more are worthy of this honour, who labouring in the word of God, have been for many years Mini&s;ters of the holy Go&s;pel with &s;ingular fruit and prai&s;e in the Church of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Wherefore &s;ith that Mr. Dr. <HI>James Arminius,</HI> a Reverend brother in the Lord, hath now reque&s;ted this &s;ame of us, we &s;aid, that we mu&s;t by no means deny it him. There|fore we would by this writing te&s;tifie to all and every one, that the very great integrity of both the un|blameable life and &s;ound doctrine and manners of the forenamed worthy man, and to us all a mo&s;t dear companion in the Lord, hath now by long acquain|tance been &s;o well perceived and tryed by us, that there is nothing of more account with us than always to enjoy his coun&s;ell, labour, familiarity and intima|cy, and to maintain that friend&s;hip which now for a long time hath been between us. But &s;ecing the mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed and almighty God &s;eems to have appoint|ed another thing concerning him and us, we have cau&s;e of giving very great thanks to the Lord our God for that very great benevolence oi his towards us and this our whole Church hitherto, through which it
<PB N="19" REF="37">hath come to pa&s;s, that we can with very great de|light &s;ee and perceive fruits not to be repented of, from the &s;tudy and labour of the fore&s;aid our very dear fellow-labourer in the Vineyard of Chri&s;t, which he hath with us unweariedly and cheerfully under|gone, here among ours. We all confe&s;s with a mo&s;t willing heart, that we are in all things indebted to this our dearly beloved brother in the Lord, for his alacrity in continuing with us in the &s;ame parts of his function, and for his very ready Councel communi|cated to us, when&s;oever we de&s;ire it. Wherefore that we may briefly &s;ay all in a word (becau&s;e his very great both piety and probity, and his &s;ingular learning, &s;eems after a &s;ort by their proper right to challenge it to them&s;elves) we &s;o commend to all godly, vertuous, and learned men, this honourable Gentleman, and our mo&s;t reverend brother in Chri&s;t, that with greater affection and more heartily we are not able to commend,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Dated in our Con&s;i&s;tory at <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> <DATE><HI>September</HI> 8th 1603.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>In the name of all,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>John &V;r&s;inus</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Divine Word, &amp;c. Pre&s;ident of the Con&s;i&s;tory.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Hallius</HI> Preacher at <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Halsbergius</HI> Pa&s;tor of the &s;ame Church.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TAILNOTE>
<P>Yea and the whole <HI>Cla&s;&s;is</HI> gave to him their com|mendatorie Letters which thus run.</P>
</TAILNOTE>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimony">
<PB N="20" REF="38">
<HEAD>The Te&s;timon of the <HI>Cla&s;&s;is</HI> of <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI></HEAD>
<P>To all and every one that &s;hall read or hear this our pre&s;ent Te&s;timony, Salvation and Peace through the only Mediator Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Becau&s;e the mo&s;t accompli&s;hed and learned man Mr. <HI>James Arminius</HI> hath by the illu&s;trious and for learning mo&s;t famous Lords Curators of the Univer|&s;ity of <HI>Leyden,</HI> been called from the holy Mini&s;try (which now for many years he hath di&s;charged with very great commendation in the Church at <HI>Amster|dam</HI>) to the publick profe&s;&s;ion of &s;acred Theology, and hath been inaugurated publickly thereunto: we were willing at his departure to commend him to the &s;ame (Curators) and to all vertuous men by this our pre&s;ent writing, although but little, and to honour him by our Te&s;timony, as the manner is. We therefore the &s;ervants of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, together with the Elders of the &s;ame <HI>Cla&s;&s;is</HI> of <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> do te&s;tifie, that the fore|&s;aid Mr. Dr. <HI>Arminius</HI> has been now fifteen years a member of our <HI>Cla&s;&s;is,</HI> in which time he hath taught with much fruit &s;ound Doctrine purely, admini&s;tred the Sacraments according to the Lords in&s;titution, and propagated with great zeal the true and Chri&s;tian Religion, and by his diligent pre&s;ence hath always adorned our Cla&s;&s;ical meeting: al&s;o by his prudent Coun&s;el hath with others compo&s;ed matters hard and of great moment, hath always readily &s;u&s;tained all impo&s;ed burthens that re&s;pected the Churches Edi|dification, and hath by hone&s;ty and goodne&s;s of life
<PB N="21" REF="38">adorned to this very day his holy calling. In a word, he hath &s;hewed him&s;elf &s;uch both in his holy Office, and in his manner of life towards all, as becomes a true &s;ervant of Chri&s;t, that we give to him very great and immortal thanks for his benevolence and huma|nity towards us, by which he hath embrac'd every one of us. We therefore intreat all and every one, of what order &s;oever they be, to have, acknowledge, embrace and favour the fore&s;aid Mr. Dr. <HI>James Ar|minius,</HI> as &s;uch a one as we have &s;aid. Al&s;o to affect him with &s;uch honour, as he, for his eminent and &s;ingular gifts &s;hining in him, is worthy of; and ac|cording to their ability to help forward his holy en|deavours; for the Glory of Gods name, and the E|dification of the School and Church. Unto which end we all his Collegues and fellow-&s;ervants do heartily de&s;ire for him the manifold grace of the Holy Gho&s;t.
<Q><L>At <HI>Amsterdam,</HI> from our Cla&s;&s;ical meeting on the Calends of <HI>September,</HI> 1603.</L>
<L><HI>John Halsbergius,</HI> Pre&s;ident of the Cla&s;&s;is.</L>
<L><HI>John Hallius,</HI> Preacher at <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI></L>
<L>Scribe of the Cla&s;&s;is, &amp; in the name of the Cla&s;&s;is.</L></Q></P>
<P>Have the Brethren honourably and laudably e|nough te&s;tified of <HI>Arminius?</HI> thus then he came into the Univer&s;ity. From this time all his Collegues have had experience of him as a mo&s;t Falthful friend; The Schools as a Senator, Profe&s;&s;or. Rector; all the Students as a mo&s;t gentle Father.</P>
<P>Suddenly after his entrance into the Univer&s;ity he found, that the Students of &s;acred Theology, did entangle them&s;elves in the thickets of que&s;tions,
<PB N="22" REF="39">and did follow Thorny Theormes and Problemes, the Scriptures being neglected. This evil, after the matter had been communicated to his Collegues, he &s;tudied to amend, and did in a great mea&s;ure effect it, for he brought back the antient, and ma&s;culine, and mighty kind of &s;tudying; and drew back as much as in him lay: the wandring youth to the Fountains of Salvation (tho&s;e pure and &s;limele&s;s Fountains) that out of them Religion might be &s;ought for: not that Religion which being &s;atisfied with wrangling de|bates or bare &s;peculation is gotten to feed the phan|ta&s;ie; but that which breaths out charity, and follows the truth which is after godline&s;s, by which youth learn to fly youthful lu&s;ts, and having &s;ubdued fle&s;h|ly allurements, to &s;hun the pollutions of the world, and to do and &s;uffer tho&s;e things, that make a di|&s;tinction between a Chri&s;tian and an Heathen. That &s;aying of our Saviour, <HI>Except your righteou&s;ne&s;s ex|ceed the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Scribes and Phari&s;es, ye &s;hall in no wi&s;e enter into the Kingdom of Heaven:</HI> he did repeat often to fix the &s;ame upon their memo|ries.</P>
<P>In the mean while the con&s;ideration of Chri&s;tians &s;o mi&s;erably divided, and driven a&s;under one from another, troubled him; he &s;eldom &s;pake of it with|out tears, never without deep and hearty &s;ighs. He declared, that he wi&s;hed all the &s;cattered members of Chri&s;t might grow together in one body, accor|ding to the Lords Commandment. He rightly judged, that the Papal Court &s;ought not the things which are of Chri&s;t; but the plea&s;ures, the honours,
<PB N="23" REF="39">the lucre, the pomp of this pre&s;ent world, and Ty|ranny over the &s;ouls as well as the bodies of men: And therefore that no man could or ought to con&s;ult with that Harlot about matters of Salvation, and the e&s;tabli&s;hing of a common peace. He judged, that a great part of others were con&s;cienciou&s;ly and piou&s;ly affected; and were not divided not &s;o much through an evil intent and purpo&s;e, as through doubtfull am|bages or ob&s;curities in which many were driven from peace and concord by ignorance, many by the au|thority of their Ance&s;tours; many through pertina|cy or &s;tiffne&s;s in tho&s;e opinions which either them|&s;elves had devi&s;ed or long defended, many through &s;hame of revoking and retracting their writings, la&s;tly many through prejudice and an ill opinion of their brethren. All which he thought might be remedyed, not by killing one another, but by pray|ers, and by peaceable and friendly in&s;truction, and by the example of an holy conver&s;ation. He there|fore both exhorted all to piety, and e&s;pecially took care of this, that when thornie que&s;tions and the huge luggage of vain and empty a&s;&s;ertions were re|moved and taken away, with which the Schools make an huge confu&s;ed noi&s;e; tho&s;e things might be fetcht only out of the Scriptures which might be u&s;efull to bring them to the belief of nece&s;&s;ary things, and to lead a good and ble&s;&s;ed Chri&s;tian life. Which endeaur of his, Satan going about to elude and fru&s;trate endeavoured to per&s;wade the incon&s;ide|rate, that the&s;e things were done by him to get honour to &s;hew the &s;trength of his wit. to cau&s;e
<PB N="24" REF="40">innovations, to maintain contention and wrangling. Some therefore through &s;u&s;picion, that ill coun|&s;ellour, moved again old <HI>Camarina,</HI> or were the cau&s;e of mi&s;chief to them&s;elves; but the Profe&s;&s;ors them&s;elves and the Colleagues, by the prudent ad|vice of the Curators did quell and qua&s;h it at its fir&s;t &s;hooting up: for credit to which matter I have thought that this <HI>In&s;trument out of the Acts of the &V;nover&s;ity</HI> is fit to be produced.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="excerpts">
<DIV2 TYPE="excerpt">
<P>The Profe&s;&s;ors of the Theological faculty, when it was related to them; That the <HI>Cla&s;&s;is</HI> of <HI>Dort</HI> had laid down among other this Grievance <HI>[Seeing there is a rumor that &s;ome controver&s;ies a|bout the doctrine of the reformed Churches have ri&s;en in the Church and &V;niver&s;ity of Leyden, the Cla&s;&s;is have thought it to be nece&s;&s;ary that the Synod delibe|rate concerning the&s;e Controver&s;ies, and how they may mo&s;t &s;afely be compo&s;ed, that all Schi&s;mes and offences which thence may ari&s;t, may &s;ea&s;onably be removed, and the union of the reformed Churches to pre&s;erved again&s;t the calumny of the adver&s;aries]</HI> did, when the Lords Curatots and the Con&s;uls asked, whe|ther any controver&s;ies of this &s;ort were certainly known unto them, an&s;wer unanimou&s;ly, after the matter had been fir&s;t privately among them|&s;elves examined and weighed, That they wi&s;hed, that the Cla&s;&s;is of Dort had in this matter, acted better and more orderly; That they thought that more things were di&s;puted among the Stu|dents, than it liked them &s;hould be; but that
<PB N="25" REF="40">among them&s;elves, that is, among the Profe&s;&s;ors of the Theological faculty there was nodifference which may appearto be in the fundamenralls of doctrine; Al&s;o that they would endeavour that the di&s;putati|ons of this &s;ort which aro&s;e among the &s;tudents might be le&s;&s;ened. Acted the 10th of <HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> 1605.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>James Arminius,</HI> Rector of the Univer&s;ity <HI>pre tempore.</HI></SIGNED>
<SIGNED>Francis Gomarus.</SIGNED>
<SIGNED>Luke Trelcatius, <HI>Sub&s;cribed.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="excerpt">
<P>The very &s;ame day, when the &s;ame thing was al&s;o propo&s;ed to D. <HI>John Kuchlinus</HI> Regent of the Theological Colledge, be an&s;wered; That he gave his &s;uffrage to tho&s;e things that had been &s;aid by the Profe&s;&s;ors.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Sub&s;cribed, <HI>John Kuchlinus</HI> Regent.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>And thus indeed the&s;e things pa&s;&s;ed at that time; Afterwards the Senators of the High. Court, by the will of the illu&s;trious States at the <HI>Hague,</HI> took cog|ni&s;ance of tho&s;e things that were reported. What their opinion of the whole matter was, I &s;hould now relate, but that I think all here pre&s;ent have the knowledge thereof.</P>
<P>But while&s;t Chri&s;ts Champion thus wra&s;tles, he was at the length laid on his &s;ick bed by a di&s;ea&s;e, which by his labours; continual &s;itting, con&s;tant &s;tudies and conflicts incurting without any di&s;charge, he had at the la&s;t contracted. Now what wonder is it, if he were moved and troubled at that, which might expo&s;e to lo&s;e his good name, his &s;alvation and his labours: &s;ith that nothing is of more account
<PB N="26" REF="41">to a good man than his good name; nor to a Chri|&s;tian, than his &s;alvation; nor to a Dr. of Sacred Theology than demon&s;trations taken out of the Scrip|ture. Oppre&s;&s;ion, &s;aith <HI>Solomon,</HI> makes a wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e man mad. That &s;ame brought him grief, his grief brought his di&s;ea&s;e, and this was the cau&s;e of his death. Oh horrible evil and viperous, and rai&s;ed from the lowe&s;t part of Hell! How oft have we heard him privately crying out even with &s;ighing, in the words of the Prophet? <HI>Wo is me my mother, that thou ha&s;t born me a man of contention to the whole earth: I have neither lent on u&s;ury, nor any hath lent to me on u&s;ury, and yet all men cur&s;e me.</HI> Notwith|&s;tanding he him&s;elf recalled him&s;elf to the inclo&s;ures of rea&s;on and tranquility, being always couragious, always patient and gentle towards his brethren, for who&s;e &s;ake he was ready to &s;uffer patiently, or as it were to devour, any reproaches what&s;oever from the malevolent, and to forget or concoct them, not with a <HI>Cato's</HI> &s;tomack, but that which was wrought in him by the Spirit of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But his di&s;ea&s;e lurking in his bowels brake out e&s;pe|cially on the 7th of <HI>Feb.</HI> this year: which at that time &s;o di&s;covered it &s;elf, that the Phy&s;icians forth|with judged, that there was need of a &s;low and cauti|ous curation. Now although at the begining of his &s;ickne&s;s he could hardly move him&s;elf: Notwith&s;tand|ing when he could, having now and then &s;ome ea&s;e and re&s;pite, he omitted not the labours of his lectures and vocation; nor was he wanting to his cau&s;e when need was. Therefore again and again, being called,
<PB N="27" REF="41">he with &s;peed went to the <HI>Hague,</HI> and there publi&s;h'd a famous profe&s;&s;ion of his faith before many witne&s;&s;es, and after that la&s;t friendly conference he with this one thing after God and the te&s;timony of his own con&s;cience comforted him&s;elf, that in a common a&s;|&s;embly of all <HI>Holland</HI> he was patiently heard by his mo&s;t gentle Ma&s;ters, to who&s;e prudence he attributed &s;o much, that if he &s;hould dye, he did hope, that there would not be tho&s;e wanting that would defend by the patronage of their wi&s;dom and favour the equity of that cau&s;e, which they once heard debated. Being carryed home from the <HI>Hague,</HI> he had &s;carce &s;et him&s;elf to that which his ma&s;ters commanded, <HI>viz.</HI> To write out that exactly which he had propo&s;ed in the friendly conference, but the force of di&s;ea&s;e again a&s;&s;aulted him by &s;o much the more vehemently, by how much the more it had increa&s;ed by delay and the weakne&s;s of his &s;trength. Therefore being pre&s;&s;ed with his di&s;ea&s;e, he by letters written to the illu&s;tri|ous States mode&s;tly excu&s;ed him&s;elf, that he could not at the day appointed obey their will: &s;aying, <HI>That by &s;ickne&s;s he was for<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">t to keep his bed; that he had written a great part, which God &s;o willing it, he was now compell'd to break off from. That he had been at ano|ther time heard, and that the whole matter was then exhibited in writing; that that might be as much as nece&s;&s;ity required: Notwith&s;tanding if they &s;hould at all de&s;ire tho&s;e &s;ame things he had written that he would take care, that they &s;hould have them either full and perfect, if he by the grace of Chri&s;t &s;hould be re&s;tored, or abrupt and broken, if he &s;hould die. Moreover tha
<PB N="28" REF="42">he was &s;o far from doubting any whit of that confe&s;&s;ion he had publi&s;hed, that on the contrary he did &s;tedfa&s;tly judge, that it agreed in all things with the holy Scriptures: Therefore that he did per&s;i&s;t therein, That he was ready at that very moment to appear with that &s;ame belief before the tribunall of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of God, the Judge of the quick and dead.</HI></P>
<P>In the mean while the force of his di&s;ea&s;e daily increa&s;ed, whil&s;t the mo&s;t famous and mo&s;t expert Phy&s;icians, Dr. <HI>Pavius,</HI> Dr. <HI>Seba&s;tian Egbert,</HI> Dr. <HI>Henry Sael,</HI> Dr. <HI>Reener Bont,</HI> re&s;i&s;ted it as much as was po&s;&s;ible by Art and. Indu&s;try, and plea&s;ingly allured natures forces, but in vain; for the untamed ob&s;tinacy of the di&s;ea&s;e &s;corned art it &s;elf; For it was deeper planted than to be plucked up; it &s;tirred up daily new Symptomes, Fevers, the cough, the ex|ten&s;ion of the hypoconders, difficulty of fetching of breath, oppre&s;&s;ion after meat, trouble&s;ome &s;leeps, an atrophie, the gout, and gave to him no intermi&s;|&s;ion of re&s;t: Afterwards came the Iliac pa&s;&s;ion, and the Colick, with an ob&s;truction of the left optick nerve, and an obfu&s;cation or dimne&s;s of the &s;ame eye; In the mean while calumny was as cruel, and abated nothing of its accu&s;tomed fiercene&s;s; of which I &s;hall here mention, a cruel unworthy and abomina|ble in&s;tance, which is fit to be recorded for after ages. When that dimne&s;s of one of his eyes was known, there were &s;ome that dur&s;t account this a|mong tho&s;e puni&s;hments, which God threatens to his enemies, and wicked contemners of his name, and did affirm even from this puni&s;hment, that he was
<PB N="15" REF="42">very wicked beyond others. And that there might not be wanting a pretext and colour to this &s;o filthy and cruel a deed, the &s;acred Books are consulted with, which a Chri&s;tian may not approach without reve|rence and prayer. A place is found in the Prophet <HI>Zechary</HI> concerning the con&s;umption of the eyes and the whole body, &s;ounding thus. <HI>And this &s;hall be the plague wherewith the Lord will &s;mite all the people, that have fought again&s;t Jeru&s;alem: their fle&s;h &s;hall con&s;ume away, while they stand upon their feet; and their eyes &s;hall con&s;ume away in their holes, and their tongue &s;hall con&s;ume away in their mouth,</HI> Zech. 14.12. And another place; <HI>Wo to the Idol &s;hepheard that leaveth the flock: the &s;word &s;hall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: His arm &s;hall be clean dried up, and his right eye &s;hall be utterly darkened.</HI> Chap. 11.7.</P>
<P>This place was wre&s;ted again&s;t this holy &s;ervant of Chri&s;t, who indeed was afflicted in body; but in his &s;oul always happy, but now even mo&s;t happy and ble&s;&s;ed. I tremble at the remembrance of &s;o enor|mous. and dete&s;table, and ungodly deed. Who, art thou, oh man, that condemne&s;t thy brother, for whom Chri&s;t &s;hed his blood? What do&s;t thou revile that &s;ervant of God with oracles fetched as it were from heaven it &s;elf, whom they that &s;hall come after us, and &s;hall not be ungratefull, will acknowledge to have exceeding well de&s;erved of the whole Church of Chri&s;t? Why do&s;t thou take unju&s;tly to thy &s;elf a power of condemning thy brother, whom the Lord hath commanded thee to love. Hear him: <HI>Neither this man hath &s;inned, nor his parents, but the&s;e things
<PB N="29" REF="43">are done, that the works of God may be made manife&s;t</HI> Hear him again; <HI>Judge not, that ye be not judged.</HI> Hear the Apo&s;tle; <HI>It is with me a very &s;mall thing, that I &s;hould be judged of you, or of mans judgment. He that judgeth me is the Lord; Therefore judge no|thing before the time, untill the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkne&s;s, and will make manife&s;t the coun&s;els of the heart: And then &s;hall every man have prai&s;e of God.</HI> Art thou &s;o a&s;&s;u|red of what &s;hall happen to thy &s;elf, as to know for certain, that thou thy &s;elf &s;halt not be tormented with more bitter pain and dolour? And yet 'twas not his right eye that was ami&s;s; neither was it blindne&s;s, but only a dimne&s;s, and his arm was not dried up, but &s;welled. His tongue truly even to the la&s;t mo|ment of his life readily di&s;charged its office. Thus things above, things below, things on the right hand, things on the left, things divine, things humane, wait together on the&s;e wretched Hiero|phants [Expounders of divine my&s;teries] to &s;erve them when they will.</P>
<P>There were &s;omes who playing on his name, de|vi&s;ed, <HI>&V;ani orbis amicus:</HI> [<HI>i. e.</HI> A friend of the vain world.] as if impiety was not &s;ometime bold to do the &s;ame on the &s;acred name of Chri&s;t. Go your wayes for beetles, the unprofitable things of the world; What will ye not attempt to do on the &s;er|vant who have not &s;pared God him&s;elf and the Lord of life? But I return to that which I made digre&s;&s;ion from: He although tired with all the&s;e evils, yet notwith&s;tanding kept a &s;tedfa&s;t courage and quiet
<PB N="30" REF="43">mind; He therefore never abated any thing of the plea&s;antne&s;s, and comely gracefulne&s;s, and accu&s;tom|ed cheerfulne&s;s of his countenance, and candor of heart, his mo&s;t ardent prayers a&s;cending to God for him&s;elf and the concord of the church. How frequent, how fervent in his &s;ickne&s;s were his ejaculations to Je&s;us Chri&s;t? What joyes did he promi&s;e him&s;elf? With what per&s;everance of faith did he expect his la&s;t day in the world? If the brethren did compo&s;e them&s;elves to prayers, and he him&s;elf was hindred by pain, he now and then de&s;ired them to &s;tay till he &s;hould come to him&s;elf, that he might together with them perform this brotherly office.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="account">
<HEAD>The&s;e few forms of prayers among many more were noted.</HEAD>
<P><HI>OH great Shepheard of the &s;heep, who by the blood of the everla&s;ting covenant wa&s;t brought again from the dead, Oh! Lord and Saviour Je&s;us, be pre&s;ent with me thy weak and afflicted &s;heep. Oh Lord Je&s;us the faithfull and mercifull High prie&s;t, who wa&s;t will|ing to be tempted in all things like unto us, but without &s;in; that thou learning by experience it &s;elf, how hard it is to obey God in &s;ufferings, mighte&s;t have compa&s;&s;ion on us in our infirmities; have pity on me, and &s;uccour me thy &s;ervant, who am &s;ick an pre&s;&s;ed with many affli|ctions. Oh God of my &s;alvation! make my &s;oul fit for thine heavenly kingdom, &amp; my body for the re&s;urrection.</HI></P>
<P>Now when upon the increa&s;ing of his di&s;ea&s;e he was admoni&s;hed by the phy&s;icians, that by rea&s;on of
<PB N="31" REF="44">the doubtfullne&s;s of his life, he would &s;et his hou&s;e in order, and that if any thing were to be given in charge by his la&s;t will and te&s;tament, he would take care to do it; he then compo&s;ed him&s;elf for death, with &s;uch great quietne&s;s of mind, that friends &s;tanding by, who had ob&s;erved the whole manner of his life, ad|mired at his &s;o great and &s;o heroick moderation in the la&s;t act, and they took from him the la&s;t example of dying ble&s;&s;edly, of whom long before they had learn|ed many things for the well ordering of their lives; He then perceiving that the time of his di&s;&s;olution was at hand, and not being ignorant of the Devils &s;tratagems, took &s;peciall care, when he made his will, to give a brief Account of his de&s;igns and of his life. This, becau&s;e it contains the duty of a faithfull Teach|er, I &s;hall recite for an Example and for a Te&s;ti|mony.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="will">
<PB N="32" REF="44">
<HEAD>Out of his will or Te&s;tament.</HEAD>
<P><HI>BEfore all things I commend my &s;oul, when it &s;hall depart out of its body, into the hands of God its Creator and faithfull Saviour, before whom I witne&s;s that I have with a good con&s;cience, &s;ingly and &s;incerely walked in my charge and calling: taking heed with much &s;olicitou&s;ne&s;s and carefulne&s;s, not to propo&s;e or teach any thing, which I had not found by a diligent &s;earch out of the holy Scriptures, to agree exactly with the &s;ame Scriptures; and that I have taught tho&s;e things which might conduce to the propa|gation and amplification of the truth, the Chri&s;tian religion, the true wor&s;hip of God, common piety, and holy conver&s;ation among men; La&s;tly, to tranquility agreeing to the Chri&s;tian profe&s;&s;ion and peace accord|ing to the word of God, excluding from among the&s;e Papacy, with which no verity of faith, no bond of pie|ty and Chri&s;tian peace can be kept.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e things being thus fini&s;hed, &s;ome days were &s;pent in the invocation of Chri&s;t, and in thank&s;giving and the meditation of a better life; In which time Mr. <HI>Jo. &V;tenbogardus</HI> and Mr. <HI>Hadrian Borrius</HI> did more frequently vi&s;it him then others did; Both of them were his old and mo&s;t faithfull friends; But Mr. <HI>Borrius</HI> was even always pre&s;ent in the daily perfor|mance of prayer with his &s;ick friend.</P>
<P>Now at length on the 19th of <HI>October,</HI> about noon, this faithfull &s;ervant of God, being di&s;charged of his
<PB N="33" REF="45">warfare, having fini&s;hed his cour&s;e, fought the good fight, kept the faith, did render his &s;oul now weary of cares, now glutted with the mi&s;eries of this world, now de&s;iring deliverance, now having a fore-ta&s;t of the joys of the Saints, now &s;eeing Chri&s;t his God and redeemer, did I &s;ay, with his eyes lifted up to heaven, render quietly among the holy prayers of them that were pre&s;ent, his &s;oul to God the Father his creator, to the Son his redeemer, to the Holy Gho&s;t his &s;anctifier, all crying out, <HI>Let me dye the death of the righteous.</HI></P>
<P>Thus even this our Sun did &s;et; thus that ju&s;t man dyed of whom this world was not worthy; thus the father of &s;o many prophets was taken away; thus <HI>James Arminius</HI> by the charet of I&s;rael and hor&s;emen there|of was carryed from us into heavenand now is free and delivered from mi&s;eryes, hath the crown &s;ought for by &s;o many labours, by &s;o great holine&s;s, and enjoys the heavenly Jeru&s;alem, in the great a&s;&s;embly of ma|ny thou&s;ands of Angels, and the Church of the fir&s;t|born that are written in heaven, and he &s;ees the Judge of all, and the Spirit of ju&s;t men made perfect, and Je&s;us the mediator of the new Te&s;tament, and the blood of &s;prinkling &s;peaking better then that of <HI>Abel;</HI> But he expecteth that day, in which God will make his dead body, which we have laid in the earth, to be conformable to the glorious body of his Son, accor|ding to the power whereby he is able to &s;ubdue all things to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>But we &s;o long as it plea&s;es God &s;hall be to&s;&s;ed with the&s;e waves, till he, having at &s;ometime compa&s;&s;ion
<PB N="34" REF="45">on us al&s;o, &s;hall call us, every one in his own order, out of this miry clay into heavenly joys; keeping in the mean while in the church of the &s;aints the ble&s;&s;|ed memory of Mr. <HI>James Arminius,</HI> with this Elogy.</P>
<P><HI>That he was a Hollander, whom they that knew him, could not &s;ufficiently e&s;teem; Whom they that e&s;teemed him not, did never &s;ufficiently know.</HI></P>
<P>Finally, mo&s;t worthy Au<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">itors, being de&s;irous to exhort you to the Churches amiable concord, I &s;hall u&s;e no other than the words of the Apo&s;tle <HI>John. Be|loved, let us love one another, becau&s;e love is of God. And who&s;oever l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">veth his brother, is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="biography">
<PB REF="46">
<PB N="1" REF="46">
<HEAD>A &s;hort and Compendious Hi&s;tory of <HI>Simon Epi&s;copius.</HI> Pro|fe&s;&s;or of Divinity in the Univer|&s;ity of <HI>LEYDEN</HI> in <HI>HOLLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Candid Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THat in a very great part, which learned <HI>Ber|tius</HI> in the preceding Oration, hath ju&s;tly pre|mi&s;ed touching the difficulty of his task and Province, who was to de&s;cribe &s;o excellent a man as Reverend <HI>Arminius,</HI> may be as ju&s;tly (to &s;ay no more) taken up by him that undertakes a de&s;criptio nof <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> a man well nigh incomparabl i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> all things commen|dable in a man, in a Chri&s;tian, in a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>It's one of <HI>Am&s;terdams</HI> chiefe&s;t Ornaments, and de&s;erves to be recorded with letters of Gold in the memorials of that famous City; that <HI>Simon Epi&s;co|piue</HI> in the year 1583. was born there.</P>
<P>His Parents, <HI>Egbert</HI> and <HI>Gertrude,</HI> are worthy remembrance, not only for their pious Offspring,
<PB N="2" REF="47">I mean their elde&s;t &s;on <HI>Rembert,</HI> al&s;o <HI>John,</HI> but e&s;|pecially the younge&s;t, our <HI>Simon;</HI> (for their o|ther children, four &s;ons and three daughters, all died in their youth or infancy) but al&s;o for their own piety, being then zealous profe&s;&s;ors of the truth, when extream dangers clo&s;ely attended on every &s;ide tho&s;e that followed her; <HI>Simon Epi&s;copius,</HI> that renowned Per&s;on of whom we are now to &s;peak, brought with him into the world many rare natural Endowments, which aftterwards by good education and much indu&s;try were greatly improved, and were in his conver&s;ation choicely imployed to the end of his days. <HI>Rembert.</HI> his e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">de&s;t brother, &s;oon e&s;pying in him grounds of hope as to his u&s;e|fulne&s;s in the be&s;t of imployments; did earne&s;tly &s;olicite his Parents to denote him wholly to learning; His Parents; notwith&s;tanding their E&s;tate, was in|&s;ufficient (by rea&s;on of their numerous off&s;pring) to yield him at his &s;tudies a competent maintenance: yet, having a&s;&s;i&s;tance freely and privately, offered by <HI>Cornelius Benning,</HI> a man of Con&s;ular dignity, were per&s;waded to dedicate their <HI>Simon</HI> to the &s;tudy of learning. He therefore was committed, as &s;oon as po&s;&s;ible, to the care and di&s;cipline of <HI>Peter &V;eke|man,</HI> a Schoolma&s;ter at that time famous; under who&s;e manuduction he in &s;o little time made &s;o great a progre&s;s in Latin and Greek, that he was commen|ded by diver&s;e great men to the honourable Senate of <HI>Amsterdam,</HI> which took and received him into the number of their Scholars, when his parents by the advice of Mr. <HI>John Kuchlinus</HI> and Mr. <HI>James
<PB N="3" REF="47">Arminius,</HI> and by their per&s;wa&s;ion, gave their con|&s;ent; for at the fir&s;t they were &s;omewhat aver&s;e thereto. When he had at <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> run out his cour&s;e there in the Grammar &s;chool, the Curatours of the School did. in the year 1600, declare him by Solemn &s;entence meet and worthy to be promoted to the Univer&s;ity, that he might there apply him|&s;elf to more high and manly &s;tudies; He was there|fore &s;ent away to the Univer&s;ity of <HI>Leyden,</HI> into the Colledge of the illu&s;trious States of <HI>Holland</HI> and <HI>West-friezland;</HI> in which Colledge was then Pre&s;i|dent that mo&s;t learned man, <HI>John Kuchlinus,</HI> who when he was mini&s;ter at <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> had contract|ed a firm and intimate friend&s;hip with the father of our <HI>Epi&s;copius.</HI> This hopeful Plant had not been long in the Academical nur&s;ery, but he lo&s;t his mo&s;t loving and beloved Parents; for <HI>Anno</HI> 1602 his father dyed, in the next year his Mother. He though much afflicted with this adver&s;ity; yet be|ing thoughtfull, and de&s;irous of his tran&s;planting in|to &s;ome place of u&s;efulne&s;s to the Church of God, neglects not the pre&s;ent opportunity of furni&s;hing him&s;elf with things convenient and nece&s;&s;ary there|unto. Wherefore having &s;ukt in as much know|ledge, as was needfull, of the liberal Artts, he ex|tends his endeavours for getting acquaintance with the &s;ecrets of Philoo&s;ophy; In which having &s;pent about three years, he applyed him&s;elf mo&s;t &s;eriou&s;ly to the &s;tudys of Divinity, and with much diligence laboured therein; yet &s;o as to have now and then a recour&s;e to Phylo&s;ophy. At length, the Statutes of
<PB N="4" REF="48">his Colledge, and his own privte affairs requiring it, he&s;ought the title of a Mr. of Arts, and was, being after a &s;evere examination judged worthy, adorned therewith publickly, in the year 1606, by Dr. <HI>Rodolphus Snellius,</HI> that mo&s;t renowned Profe&s;&s;or of the Mathematicks there. After this he purpo&s;eth and re&s;olves to give him&s;elf wholy to the &s;tudy of Divinity onely, in which he had already made a con&s;iderable progre&s;s. And &s;eeing he could not accompli&s;h his earne&s;t de&s;ire of vi&s;iting forreign Univer&s;ities, he continued yet two years and above at <HI>Leyden,</HI> where he was a diligent heare of the Divinity Profe&s;&s;ors, namely, <HI>Francis Gomarus, Luke Trelcatius, James Arminius;</HI> and was &s;o diligent and indu&s;trious in di&s;putations, and exer|citatory Sermons, that he left far behind him mo&s;t of his equals for age and &s;tanding, and was thought worthy to be called to the Mini&s;try. But &s;eeing af|terwards, e&s;pecially after the death of Dr. <HI>Trelcati|us,</HI> that unhappy di&s;cen&s;ion about Prede&s;tination, which afterwards gave a di&s;turbance to all <HI>Holland,</HI> did not onely &s;ecretly glow between the two re|maining Profe&s;&s;ors, but al&s;o at length break forth openly; and &s;eeing our <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> &s;hewed him&s;elf more addicted to the opinion of <HI>Arminius,</HI> he found therefore the Pa&s;tors, who were of the o|ther party, to be &s;o di&s;affected towards him, that they, when the honourable Con&s;uls of <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> who had knowledge of his &s;ingular learning and good conver&s;ation, were de&s;irous of promoting him to the office of a preacher, did by delays, and other
<PB N="5" REF="48">their &s;ubtle devices, &s;ru&s;trate and elude the good de&s;ign of the Con&s;uls. <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> therefore in the year 1609, in which year <HI>Arminius</HI> dyed, left <HI>Leyden</HI> and went to <HI>Franeker,</HI> the <HI>Friezlanders</HI> Univer&s;ity, whither he was drawn e&s;pecially by the fame of <HI>Jo. Dru&s;ius,</HI> Profe&s;&s;or there of the Hebrew tongue. Here <HI>Sibrandus Lubbertus,</HI> the Profe&s;&s;or of this Univer&s;ity, took great offence at our <HI>Epi&s;co|pius,</HI> who was &s;omewhat too hot and fervent in Theological di&s;putations, as young men of prompt and ready wits are wont to be. He there|fore a few moneths after departed thence, and went into <HI>France,</HI> where in a &s;hort time he got &s;o great acquaintance with the <HI>French</HI> tongue, that he was able not onely to under&s;tand it, but al&s;o to &s;peak <HI>French</HI> readily and purely. In the year 1610 he returned home, and found the Mini&s;ters of <HI>Am&s;ter|dam</HI> no better affected towards him than before. But his verttue and learning, which could be no lon|ger hid, and which were commended by clear and notable te&s;timonies from the Churches and Univer|&s;ities where he lived, break thorow at length all ob&s;tacles, and &s;o, that he was, with the con&s;ent of the Cla&s;&s;is, called by the honourable Senate of <HI>Rot|terdam</HI> to the Pa&s;toral office at <HI>Bley&s;wyck,</HI> and hamlet belonging to their juri&s;diction.</P>
<P>After the death of <HI>Arminius,</HI> they of Calvins per&s;wa&s;ion, who&s;e notions of God, reprobating ab&s;olutely the greate&s;t part of the world, to make known his power in making his creatures mi&s;erable, had framed and di&s;po&s;ed to fiercene&s;s, begrn to en|deavour
<PB N="6" REF="49">the ejection of them out of their places who adher'd to <HI>Arminius;</HI> hereupon the&s;e perceiving the de&s;igns that were again&s;t them, did exhibite to the mo&s;t illu&s;trious Stales of <HI>Holland</HI> and <HI>We&s;t-friez|land</HI> a certtain Remon&s;trance (whence they were afterwards called Remon&s;trants, as their adver&s;aries were called Contra Remon&s;trants, from a paper they had written in oppo&s;ition, and intituled, A Contra-Remon&s;trance) in which Remon&s;trance after they had declared their judgement comprehended in five heads or Articles, they humbly petition, that they in that belief and per&s;wa&s;ion might be protected from the violence and force of their Adver&s;aries that much threatned them. Afterwards in the year 1611 was that famous Conference at the <HI>Hague,</HI> where by the appointment, and in the pre&s;ence of the States of <HI>Holland</HI> and <HI>We&s;t-Friezland,</HI> Six Re|mon&s;trant, and as many Contra-Remon&s;trant Pa&s;|tors conferred together about the things now in con|trover&s;y. Forthe determining of the&s;e Controver|&s;ies, the Remon&s;trants then declared them&s;elves for mutual forbearance, but their adver&s;aries were for a Synodal Deci&s;ion, as being no way doubtfull of out-voting them, in ca&s;e the Remon&s;trants were admitted members of the Synod, which indeed their adver&s;aries denyed them, when they had gotten a Synod, and the arm of fle&s;h on their &s;ide.</P>
<P>But the illu&s;trious States of <HI>Holland</HI> and <HI>We&s;t-Friezland,</HI> knowing well, that onely the oppre&s;&s;ion of the contrary party was &s;ought after, and that the
<PB N="7" REF="49">controver&s;ie was ob&s;cure and difficult, made a de|cree, that both parties &s;hould live together in bro|therly communion, &amp;c. which decree had pre&s;erv|ed them in peace, if might had not then overcome right, in ca&s;ting tho&s;e peaceable Governours out of their places, and &s;ub&s;tituting tho&s;e in their rooms who would be ready to doe what the Contra-remon|&s;trants would have.</P>
<P>But we mu&s;t return to our <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> who was one of the &s;ix Remon&s;trants that managed the Con|ference at the <HI>Hague,</HI> whereas on a famous Theater he made manife&s;t his great abilities, both natural and acquired, and gave all men occa&s;ion to conclude, that his knowledge and skill in the holy Scriptures, and in Theological di&s;putations, was not ordinary. After this, the fame of his learning and eloquence &s;preading in the United Provinces far abroad, he was &s;olicited by diver&s;e eminent Cities, chiefly <HI>&V;trecht</HI> to be their Preacher; but &s;eeing they of <HI>Bley&s;wyck</HI> would by no means be induced to give their con&s;ent for his departure, he therefore continued in the exerci&s;e of his mini&s;try among them. Put at length in the year 1612, when he was about 29 years old, he was called by the Curators of the Univer&s;ity of <HI>Leyden,</HI> to the Profe&s;&s;or&s;hip of Divinity there, in the place of <HI>Francis Gomarus,</HI> who voluntarily had de&s;erted it; Now although the mode&s;ty of this wor|thy man <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> was &s;o great, that he judged him&s;elf unmeet for a work &s;o difficult in &s;uch d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">fficult times; yet &s;uffered he him&s;elf to be prevailed with, and overcome by the judgment of others concerning
<PB N="8" REF="50">him, and e&s;pecially by the authority and exhortati|on of &s;ome very great men in the Common-wealth and Church to accept it. In this honourable place, worthy a man &s;o learned and venerable, he lived friendly and peaceably with Dr. <HI>Jo. Polyander,</HI> his Colleague, though of an opinion differing from his in the controver&s;y of prede&s;tination; and mo&s;t pain|fully laboured in his Office, as even to us is apparent from his Commentaries on &s;ome parts of the holy Scriptures, then compo&s;ed, and his di&s;putations there, which &s;ince his death have been expo&s;ed to publick view. But his Cares were &s;o many and great, that they far &s;urmoun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ed all his other labours and did much exceed them; For at this time the Controver&s;ie about Prede&s;tination had &s;welled over the Academical banks, and had filled the pulpits, whence (as u&s;ually) it &s;pread as an inundation a|mong the common people threatning a deva&s;tation of the Churches unity, and to the Common-wealth no le&s;s then ruine: For the governours them&s;elves, who were to have kept the peace, were divided among them&s;elves, de&s;igning variou&s;ly for their &s;everal par|ties. In this evil day and contentious time, good <HI>Epi&s;co|pius,</HI> a man greatly de&s;irous of peace, a man&s;tudious, laborious and &s;olicitous for the good of others, be|came a man of &s;orrows, and acquainted with griefs. Now to give a few in&s;tances of this mans &s;ufferings, may not onely he &s;erviceable to his commendation, they being the tryal and an evident proof of his &s;in|cerity, and that which brought to light his Chri&s;ti|an fortitude and patience, wherein he greatly ex|celled;
<PB N="9" REF="50">they may expect, who are of the fir&s;t in di&s;covering errors, that have been long and more generally em|braced for truths, and for &s;uch, which men have much gloryed in, as a trea&s;ure more peculiar to them|&s;elves than others; and al&s;o to let us know what are the u&s;ual effects of blind zeal in matters of religion, which will appear to be the wor&s;t of Guides, leading men to mo&s;t injurious, inhumane and barbarous practices.</P>
<P>We will begin with that which happened at <HI>Am|&s;terdam,</HI> in the &s;econd year of his Profe&s;&s;or&s;hip; The &s;tory in brief in this, <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> being at a church in <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> and (as they commonly &s;peak) &s;tanding as a witne&s;s with others at the bap|tizing of his brother <HI>Johns</HI> Daughter, <HI>Caspar Hey|dan,</HI> who then did officiate, asked him and the other witne&s;&s;es, <HI>Whether they did confe&s;s that to be the true</HI> and perfect <HI>doctrine of &s;alvation, which was contained in the old and new Te&s;tament, and in the Apo&s;tles</HI> Creed, and <HI>which was taught in that church,</HI> to wit, of <HI>Am&s;terdam;</HI> adding moreover the&s;e words: What &s;ay ye to the&s;e thing? <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> the chief among them, an&s;wered; That he did ac|count what&s;oever was taught there according to the word of God, and the Ap<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tles Creed, to be the true and &s;aving doctrine, as the words of the u&s;ual form, out of which the interrogation is made, do intend; Which an&s;wer, though mild and mode&s;t, &s;o moved the &s;pleen of Mr. <HI>Heydan,</HI> that with con|tempt he called him Young-man, and upbraided him
<PB N="10" REF="51">as one very audacious and pre&s;umptuous in daring to &s;peak &s;o in the Church of God. To which <HI>Epi&s;co|pius</HI> again replyed, &s;aying; That he would depart <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">f the Preachers would not admit that limitation, comprehended in the form of Bapti&s;m, where after mention made of the old and new Te&s;tament, and the Apo&s;tles Creed, the&s;e words are added, and con&s;equently is taught in the Chri&s;tian Church. But when <HI>Heydan</HI> had the &s;econd time upbraided him with audaciou&s;ne&s;s, and <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> made no further reply, he at length chri&s;tened the Child. And when <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> was going out, he was reproach|fully handled, and called a &s;editious man, and a di&s;turber of the Church, by &s;ome of the ba&s;er &s;ort, whom <HI>Heydans</HI> words had excited to &s;uch oppro|brious &s;peeches; and when he was gone out of the Church, he hardly e&s;cap'd beating or &s;toning, to which &s;ome in&s;tigated the youth that were then pre|&s;ent. But God out of his fatherly care protecting him, and re&s;training the fury of tho&s;e wicked men, brought him at length to his friends in &s;afety.</P>
<P>Not long after this it happened in the &s;ame City, That a certain Black &s;mith, &s;eeing <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> pa&s;&s;ing by his &s;hop, run out with a bar of Iron that he was forging on his anvil, and called him <HI>Arminian,</HI> and a di&s;turber of the Church, and &s;o pur&s;ued him, as one having a mind to murther him, which danger he e&s;cap'd by flight and the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of others, that hindered and re&s;trained this villanous Zealot.</P>
<P>Now if we &s;hould here in&s;ert a &s;hort but &s;ad &s;to|ry of &s;ome Contra-remon&s;trants Plunderers, we
<PB N="11" REF="51">&s;hould not go far out of our way, nor much digre&s;s becau&s;e <HI>Arminiani&s;me</HI> (&s;o called) was the occa&s;ion, and <HI>Rembert,</HI> the brother of our <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> was the per&s;on pillaged, and that in the time we have now under con&s;ideration. The &s;tory thus runs; There was in the year 1617, and on the 19th of <HI>February,</HI> a fal&s;e rumour rai&s;ed and &s;pread abroad, that &s;ome Remon&s;trants were met together to hear a Sermon in the hou&s;e of Mr. <HI>Rembert Epi&s;copius,</HI> who in <HI>Am|&s;terdam</HI> was well known to be much addicted to the Remon&s;trants opinions, and was for that cau&s;e much hated by the vulgar &s;ort, Upon this report many hundreds of vile per&s;ons run thither, who fir&s;t break|ing the windows with &s;tones, then with a bar break|ing up the gate, enter the hou&s;e in an ho&s;tile man|ner, and as a Company of Robbers, when they had drank up or &s;pilled the wine and beer in the Cellar, they &s;corch and &s;ack the hou&s;e, opening forcibly a|bove 12 che&s;ts, carrying away what was portable, for they &s;tole thence a bag of money, wearing clothes, linnen, pictures, books, hou&s;hold-&s;tuff, plate, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and what they could not carry away tore and broke, leaving nothing there whole and untouch'd, When they had emptyed the hou&s;e, they begin to demoli&s;h it and make it an heap of rubbi&s;h, which they had done, if the coming of the Magi&s;trate had not hindered them. The Gentle|man and his wife e&s;cap'd their fury; &s;he by flying to a neighbours hou&s;e; he by hiding him&s;elf on the top of his own hou&s;e, whither he got by a ladder that he drew up after him. His lo&s;s was e&s;timated
<PB N="12" REF="52">to be above &s;ix thou and florans. And if he had not had &s;ome &s;pace (while tho&s;e religious Felons were breaking open his doors) for the ca&s;ting of his mo|ney and &s;ome part of his better hou&s;hold &s;tuff into a neighbours hou&s;e, he had in that one day been well nigh &s;poyled of a good e&s;tate, and reduced to poverty, The other brother Mr. <HI>Jo. Epi&s;copius,</HI> being al&s;o of the Remon&s;trant per&s;wa&s;ion, though he was not pillaged as his brother, yet was he often and much reproached by the dregs of the people, a &s;ort of malignant Zealots. But to return now to our <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> who was a &s;ufferer in his Relations, and Chri&s;tian A&s;&s;ociates, and met with many great per&s;onal afflictions, e&s;pecially at the time of the Dort Synod, and afterwards, of which we will here take a Superficial and cur&s;ory view.</P>
<P>In the year 1618 began the Synod of Dort, which how unju&s;tly it carryed it &s;elf towards the Remon|&s;trants, the Acts and Hi&s;tory thereof, long &s;ince publi&s;hed; do, &s;aith <HI>Curcellaeus,</HI> abundantly te&s;ti|fy. We will briefly mention here a few things that more nearly touch our <HI>Epi&s;copius;</HI> Although from that which happened not long before the con|vening of this Synod; namely the violent ejecting of tho&s;e Magi&s;trates that favoured mutual forbearance, it was not hard to conjecture, that no good i&s;&s;ue would attend this Synodical meeting; yet notwith|&s;tanding our <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> being invited to it by the Letters of the Illu&s;trious States of <HI>Holland,</HI> and to &s;it there with the other profe&s;&s;ors of the <HI>&V;nited Pro|vinces,</HI> did with &s;ome other Remon&s;trant Preach|ers
<PB N="13" REF="52">make his appearance at <HI>Dort</HI> &s;oon after the be|ginning of the Synod; but the Synod, which was the adver&s;e Party, and which &s;hamefully took to them&s;elves a power of judging in their own cau&s;e, permitted neither him, not any other Remon&s;trants to be pre&s;ent in their a&s;&s;embly, but as cited per&s;ons, appearing at the Syneds tribunal, and &s;ubmitting to the authority of the Synod, as having power to or|der them, when to &s;peak, when to hold their peace; and al&s;o at length, by majority of voices, to judge and cen&s;ure them; Which how far from all equity it was, let all judge that have eyes to &s;ee, and are impartial. The Remon&s;trants notwith&s;tanding<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> le&s;t they &s;hould &s;eem wanting to a good cau&s;e, did yield to a nece&s;&s;ity, and with a great and undaunted courage entred the Synod, and there <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> with great grace and Oratorial ge&s;ture (and as our learned <HI>Hales</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it) recited that excellent O|ration, which is to be found in the Acts of the Synod, and in the &s;econd volume of his works. After this, when the Remon&s;trants declared, that they were ready to confer with the Synod, the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Pre&s;ident in the name of the Synod an&s;wered, That they by an authority granted to them from the <HI>States General,</HI> were come together, not to confer with them, but to judge them; Notwith&s;tanding this, yet the Remon&s;trants, having prote&s;ted, that they could not acknowledge that Synod as a lawfull Judge in the pre&s;ent controver&s;y, becau&s;e the great|e&s;t part of it con&s;i&s;ted of their profe&s;&s;ed adver&s;aries, who had already condemned them, and &s;eperated
<PB N="14" REF="53">from them, did addre&s;s them&s;elves <HI>freely to propound, explain and confirm their &s;entence or judgment, be|fore the Synod, &s;o far as they could and did judge nece&s;&s;ary;</HI> and &s;o to do, they were not onely ex|pre&s;permitted, but al&s;o injoyned, by the Depu|ties of the <HI>States-General</HI> in their Citatory Letters. But when the Synod would again circum&s;cribe that liberty by the&s;e limits, to wit, that they &s;hould propound, explain and confirm their &s;entence or judgment, <HI>as far as the Synod &s;hould judge might be &s;ufficient and ought to be;</HI> then could not the Remon|&s;trants &s;atisfy their con&s;ciences to &s;ubmit to &s;uch unequal and unrighteous conditions, by which they &s;hould betray their cau&s;e, and &s;o they were at length ca&s;t out of the Synod, as per&s;ons unworthy for the Synod any longer to treat withall.</P>
<P>Concerning the manner of their ejection I &s;hall here adde &s;omething out of the letters &s;ent from Dort to Sir <HI>Dudly Charleton,</HI> at that time Lord Emba&s;&s;a|dour from <HI>K. James</HI> to the <HI>States-General,</HI> and written by Doctor <HI>Belcanqual,</HI> a member of the Synod, and one of the Engli&s;h Colledge there, and of a different per&s;wa&s;ion to the Remon&s;trants, and by our own renowned Countrey-man Mr. <HI>Hales,</HI> then Chaplain to the &s;aid Emba&s;&s;adour, but for a time re&s;ident at Dort, to ob&s;erve the Synods pro|ceedings there; The letters may be found in <HI>Hales</HI> his Golden Remains: When the voices &s;aith <HI>(Bel|canqual)</HI> onely of the forreign Divines were asked (who are not above a third part of the Synod) then were the Remon&s;trants called in, and di&s;mi&s;t with
<PB N="15" REF="53">&s;uch a powdering &s;peech, as I doubt not but that your Lord&s;hip hath heard with grief enough. I prote&s;t (&s;aith he) I am much afflicted, when I think of it; For if the Remon&s;trants &s;hould write, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">hat the Pre&s;ident pronounced a &s;entence, which was not the &s;entence of the Synod, they &s;hould not lie. The Civil Lawyers and Canon of <HI>France,</HI> who write much about the formalities omitted in the Councel of <HI>Trent,</HI> are exceptions of le&s;s moment then the&s;e; So neither was there above a third part of the voices asked, <HI>ex quibus &s;ententia fieri nequit.</HI> Neither was the &s;entence conceived in writ, and approved by the Synod; And the bitter words of the &s;entence were not the words of ony of the &s;uffra|ges, unle&s;s that &s;ome of them were &s;poken by one man onely. So far he; There are &s;aith (Mr. <HI>Hales</HI>) &s;ome exceptions taken by the Deputies them&s;elves again&s;t Mr. <HI>Pre&s;ident</HI> his rough handling the Re|mon&s;trants at their di&s;mi&s;&s;ion. The next day in the morning there was a private Se&s;&s;ion, where a repe|tition was made of the la&s;t Synodical Acts, but when they came to the Act of the Remon&s;trants di&s;mi&s;&s;ion <HI>Ludovicus Cro&s;ius</HI> of <HI>Breme</HI> &s;ignifyed, that he per|ceived, that Mr. <HI>Pre&s;ident</HI> in that bu&s;ine&s;s had been <HI>paulo commotior,</HI> [&s;omewhat too pa&s;&s;ionate] and had let &s;lip <HI>&V;erba quaedam acerba</HI> [&s;ome bitter words] which might well have been &s;pared; That in &s;o great an act as that was, a little more advi&s;e and con&s;ideration might have been u&s;ed, That the Synod ought to have been con&s;ulted with, and a form of di&s;mi&s;&s;ion conceived and approved of by all,
<PB N="16" REF="54">which &s;hould in the name of the Synod have been pronounced and regi&s;tred, whereas now the Synod &s;tands indicted of all the unnece&s;&s;ary roughne&s;s which then was practi&s;ed. So far our <HI>Hales.</HI></P>
<P>After the di&s;mi&s;&s;ion of the Remon&s;trants, the Synod prepared to judge them out of their Writings. But they in the mean time, while&s;t the Synod was thus occupied, did privately, by the command of the <HI>States Deputies,</HI> compo&s;e for the confirmation of their doctrine, tho&s;e accurate Wri|tings, which together with the Synodal Acts were publi&s;hed a little after, and de&s;ervedly obtained the approbation of very many of the mo&s;t learned men in <HI>Europe;</HI> One of chief authority when he had &s;een them, &s;aid, That the <HI>Dort</HI> Synod had condemned the Remon&s;trants; but they by their Writings had triumphed over the Synod.</P>
<P>And indeed one &s;ub&s;tantial argument is better than a thou&s;and Synodal &s;uffrages. The chiefe&s;t part of the&s;e Writings ought to be a&s;cribed to the indefati|gable indu&s;try of our <HI>Epi&s;copius.</HI> That nervous Di&s;&s;ertation touching Reprobation had for its Au|thor, that learned and reverend father Mr. <HI>Charles Niellius,</HI> a preacher at <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI> To his me|mory we are indebted not onely for that piece, but for other things al&s;o in that volume; and debtours we are to all the re&s;t of them for that &s;hare of their labour we have in tho&s;e Excellent Writings.</P>
<P>At length the Synodical Sentence again&s;t the Re|mon&s;trants was pronounced, by which they are con|demned as men of a corrupt Religion and depo&s;ed and put out of Office.</P>
<PB N="17" REF="54">
<P>The hard u&s;age of the Remon&s;trants is not much to be wondered at, the Synods temper being con|&s;idered; For although there was much candour in &s;ome of the &s;orreign Divines, e&s;pecially our <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> yet there was much want of it in the Provincials. Not to &s;peak any thing of the unworthy u&s;age which &s;ome of the &s;otreign Divines, experienced in the Synod, &amp; particularly they of <HI>Breme,</HI> who were upon the point of leaving the Synod, by rea&s;on of offences there given them; I &s;hall onely in a word di&s;cover their ill di&s;po&s;ition towards the Remon&s;trants: Prejudice prevailed much among the <HI>Dutch</HI> Contra|remon&s;trants; They are (&s;aith <HI>Belcanqual</HI> in his letter of <HI>April</HI> 17) &s;o eager to kill the Remon|&s;trants, that they would make their words to have that &s;en&s;e which no Grammar could find in them; We have given a remarkable In&s;tance of the <HI>Pre|&s;idents</HI> good nature and manners. And as for <HI>Go|marus,</HI> the then vi&s;ible head of the Fatali&s;ts, of what a froward and turbulent Spirit he was, I am even loth to expre&s;s in the words of <HI>Belcanqual,</HI> who thus writes to the Emba&s;&s;ador; If the Synod (&s;aith he) had wanted but two men, I mean <HI>Sibrandus Lubbertus</HI> [one of the principal Contra|remon&s;trant leaders] and <HI>Gomarus,</HI> we had wanted a great deal of contention, which I fear will not for&s;ake the Synod as long as they are in it; They have their fits of madne&s;s by cour&s;e; The la&s;t fit before this came to <HI>Gomarus</HI> his turn, and this day <HI>Sibrandus</HI> flew out with &s;uch raving and fiercene&s;s of countenance, and &s;uch unheard bitterne&s;s again&s;t
<PB N="18" REF="55">our Colledge, as I de&s;ire no other revenge on him, than the very &s;peaking of the words, which while they were in his mouth were checked by the Pre&s;i|dent Politick, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> In another letter, thus; The Palatine Divines are the onely Magi&s;trates Doctors next to <HI>Gomarus</HI> in all the Synod, and think every thing they &s;peak &s;hould be taken for Text. Let me adde one pa&s;&s;age more, wherein <HI>Gomarus</HI> is mainly concerned; In the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Remon|&s;trants of <HI>Campes,</HI> they of <HI>Breme</HI> per&s;waded to a middle cour&s;e in dealing with them. But <HI>Gomarus</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Belcanqual</HI>) fell foully upon <HI>Martinus,</HI> a man very learned and very hone&s;t, who hath been &s;o uncivily dealt with, that the Forreigners take much offence thereat, and he and his Colleagues have been ready to leave the Synod. Becau&s;e he di&s;likes, as others do the Contra remon&s;trants broad &s;peeches in many points, they u&s;e him with &s;o much di&s;courte&s;y; Though one be again&s;t the Remon&s;trants in all the 5 Articles in &s;ub&s;tance; yet if he differ from them [the <HI>Dutch</HI> Divines] but in manner of &s;peaking, they hold him as not &s;ound. So far <HI>Belcan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ual,</HI> I thought not indeed to meddle with this bu&s;ine&s;s relating to them of <HI>Breme,</HI> but fell into it unawares, and cannot but learn from it, that if the Contra remon&s;trants behaved them&s;elves &s;o, in &s;uch a place, again&s;t per&s;ons who in the main were of their per&s;wa&s;ion, then certainly the Remon|&s;trants to whom they were profe&s;&s;ed Adver&s;aries, had cau&s;e to expect from them none of the &s;ofte&s;t u&s;age. But there is one pa&s;&s;age more that I &s;hall
<PB N="19" REF="55">recite out of <HI>Belcanqual</HI> concerning <HI>Gomarus.</HI> In Se&s;&s;ion 85, <HI>Gomarus</HI> in his di&s;qui&s;ition of the 3 and 4 Articles, delivered a &s;peech again&s;t the <HI>Bremen&s;es,</HI> which none I think but a mad man would have uttered, and he delivered him&s;elf with &s;uch &s;park|ling of his eyes, and fiercene&s;s of pronunciation, as every man wondered that the Pre&s;ident did not cut him off; at la&s;t he cut off him&s;elf, I think for want of breath, and then the Pre&s;ident gave <HI>cele|berrimo Duo Gomaro</HI> very many thanks for that his learned, grave and accurate &s;peech. The <HI>Exteri</HI> [the forreign Divines] wondered at it, <HI>Martinus</HI> onely &s;aid, that he was &s;orry he &s;hould be &s;o re|warded for his long journey. In another letter; All I will &s;ay my Lord, is this; There are two men in the Synod, <HI>Sibrandus,</HI> but e&s;pecially <HI>Gomarus,</HI> who are able to &s;et it on fire, unle&s;s they be lookt to. Thus far he: I &s;hall &s;ay nothing of the gene|rality of the Provincial or <HI>Dutch</HI> Divines, how they were at the devotion of tho&s;e that were chief Actors in the Contra-remon&s;tratical Tragedy.</P>
<P>We are come now to the Execution of the Syno|dical Sentence again&s;t the Remon&s;trants; They being thus di&s;charged, other Pa&s;tors were put and &s;ub&s;tituted in their places, how unwilling &s;oever the Chuches were to receive them; In &s;ome places the&s;e new Pa&s;tors were brought in by force of arms. Now le&s;t the ejected Remon&s;trants &s;hould teach privately, therefore the <HI>States-General</HI> propo&s;e to them a certain ingagement, to ab&s;tain in the future both directly and indirectly from all even private
<PB N="20" REF="56">exerci&s;e of their Mini&s;try. To which when &s;ome could not in con&s;cience &s;ub&s;cribe, they were con|demned to perpetual bani&s;hment. Alas! who could expect &s;uch cruelly among&s;t Prote&s;tants, that had condemned Papi&s;ts for the like unchri&s;tian practices? He that takes a view of our <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> and &s;ome others of the Remon&s;trants in their de|portment, when this di&s;mal Cloud appeared, will &s;ee cau&s;e to admire their faith and fortitude. For &s;o dear was the truth unto them, and their zeal for it &s;o great, that a promi&s;e of the &s;ame wages or &s;ti|pend which they formerly enjoyed, could not in|duce them (though &s;ome of them had but a very mean E&s;tate) to oblige and bind them&s;elves unto &s;ilence, which was commanded them; Moreover the&s;e Generous &s;pirits did with much boldne&s;s, after the pronouncing of the of &s;entence of Bani&s;hment, defend openly to the <HI>States-General</HI> their own and their a&s;&s;ociates Innocency, appealing to God, the aven|ger of them that are unju&s;tly oppre&s;&s;ed, who would at the la&s;t day take cogni&s;ance of their Cau&s;e, and judge, without re&s;pect of per&s;on, as well their Judges as them.</P>
<P>Hereupon the&s;e Stout Champions for truth were &s;o ha&s;tily carryed away by the <HI>States</HI> Officers out of the limits of the <HI>&V;nited Provinces,</HI> that they after their detaining eight moneths at <HI>Dort,</HI> whether they were called, as they thought, to a free Synod, had not granted to them &s;o much as one day, in which to bid their families fare|well, and to &s;et in order their dome&s;tick af|fairs,
<PB N="21" REF="56">notwith&s;tanding they petitioned for it.</P>
<P><HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> therefore, and the re&s;t, betook them&s;elves to <HI>Brabant,</HI> and inhabited at <HI>Ant|werp,</HI> during the peace between the King of <HI>Spain</HI> and the <HI>States.</HI> This place the&s;e Exiles made choice of for their abode, not to joyn with the enemies of their Country in a con&s;pira|cy again&s;t it, nor to endeavour any thing detre|mental to the Reformed religion, as &s;ome ma|levolent per&s;ons were bold enough to &s;ugge&s;t &s;launderou&s;ly again&s;t them; but becau&s;e that place was near, and from which they might more commodiou&s;ly, than from any place remote, take care of their beloved Churches, and Fami|lies. How faithfully tho&s;e imployed their talent, received of God, I &s;hall here pa&s;s over in Silence, being now to &s;peak onely of <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> who&s;e di&s;putations with <HI>Peter Wadingus,</HI> a <HI>Je&s;uit</HI> of <HI>Antwerp,</HI> and his Antidote again&s;t the Ca|nons of the Synod of <HI>Dort,</HI> do abundanly te&s;ti|fy his great care and diligence; And al&s;o the Con|fe&s;&s;ion of faith, which he, with the other Re|mon&s;trant Pa&s;tors there, did compo&s;e and pub|li&s;h, that they might &s;top the mouths of them who calumniou&s;ly gave forth, that the Remon|&s;trants cheri&s;ht in their brea&s;t, mon&s;trous and &s;trange opinions, which they dur&s;t not expo&s;e to publick view.</P>
<P>When the war was renewed between the <HI>King</HI> of <HI>Spain</HI> and the <HI>States,</HI> our <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> &s;ee ng he could no longer with &s;afety remain in <HI>Brabant,</HI>
<PB N="22" REF="57">departed thence into <HI>France,</HI> and inhabited &s;ometime at <HI>Rhoan,</HI> &s;ometime at <HI>Paris.</HI> If thou inquire how in the&s;e parts his time was &s;pent, tho&s;e Writings of his there compiled, will give thee a worthy Account, in ca&s;e thou art able to peru&s;e his Paraphra&s;e and Ob&s;ervations on the 8, 9, 10, and 11 <HI>Chapters</HI> of St. <HI>Pauls Epi&s;tle</HI> to the <HI>Romans;</HI> al&s;o his <HI>Bodecherus ineptiens;</HI> his <HI>Examen The&s;ium Jacobi Capelli;</HI> his an&s;wer to to the Defence of <HI>Jo. Cameron;</HI> his Treati&s;e of Chri&s;tian Magi&s;tracy. and that of free will, with other works of his, laboured there. He that with the&s;e con&s;iders his &s;ollicitous Care for the Churches of his own Countrey, which in this time of per&s;ecution being de&s;titute of their ordi|nary Pa&s;tors, he by diver&s;e Writings and Epi|&s;tles in&s;tructed, comforted and incouraged to pre|&s;evere in the Faith; al&s;o the many conferences he had with learned men concerning Religion, by which he endeavoured to bring them to a more accurate &s;earch and inquiry after the truth; he, I &s;ay, that con&s;iders the&s;e things, will be &s;o far from thinking that he had many wa&s;t hours that he will greatly won|der, where time was found for &s;o many and great At|chievments. Here <HI>Stephen Cureelleus</HI> got with him his fir&s;t Acquaintance and profe&s;&s;es that he heard him di&s;|cour&s;e of &s;ome hard points of religion, and learned &s;o many things of him, that he always afterwards e&s;|teemed it a &s;ingular happpine&s;s to him, that he had acquaintance with &s;o worthy a man Here al&s;o <HI>Epi&s;co|pius</HI> contracted &s;uch a friend&s;hip with that mo&s;t cor|dial
<PB N="23" REF="57">man and eminent Mathematician, Mr. <HI>Ed|mund Mercer,</HI> which afterwards no di&s;tance of place, or length of time, could di&s;&s;olve or wea|ken. This was he that publi&s;hed this Book, by which <HI>Camerons</HI> opinion of Grace and free-will is examined, and intituled it, <HI>Epi&s;tola viri docti;</HI> and he that was &s;o familiar a friend with <HI>Hugo Grotius,</HI> that <HI>Grotius,</HI> when he la&s;t left <HI>France,</HI> committed to him the mo&s;t precious Trea&s;ures he had, his Elaborate Manu&s;cripts, that by him they might be communicated to others.</P>
<P>At length <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> being de&s;irous to have a perfect Survay of <HI>France,</HI> who as yet knew little more than the Northern part of it, went from <HI>Paris</HI> to <HI>Lyons;</HI> After that he vi&s;ited <HI>Mar|&s;eille, Ni&s;mes, Mompelier, Tholou&s;e:</HI> After|wards <HI>Burdeaux, Rochella, Poictiers, Angiers, Tours, Orleance,</HI> and other places. And when he had fini&s;hed his perambulation, he returned to <HI>Paris</HI> and <HI>Rhoan;</HI> where when he had remained a while; and had heard that the fervour of the per&s;ecution, rai&s;ed in his own Countrey a|gain&s;t the Remon&s;trants, was &s;ome what alayed, he purpo&s;ed to return thither. Leaving therefore <HI>France</HI> in the year of our Lord 1626, and in the eighth year of his bani&s;hment, he came to <HI>Rotterdam,</HI> that he might with other brethren lay out his abilities for the gathering of that very numerous Church, which is there out of the di&s;|per&s;ed Remon&s;trants: And that afterwards he might take care for other Churches in the <HI>&V;nited
<PB N="24" REF="58">Provinces.</HI> In the mean while by his Writings both in Latin and Dutch he &s;trenuou&s;ly defend|ed the truth. He publi&s;hed in Latin An Apo|logy of the Remon&s;trants confe&s;&s;ion; An An|&s;wer to the E&s;&s;ay of the <HI>Leyden Profe&s;&s;ors,</HI> with other Books. In <HI>Dutch</HI> he wrote a Treati&s;e of true Antiquity again&s;t the Papi&s;ts; Three Trea|ti&s;es again&s;t <HI>James Triglandius,</HI> then Preacher at <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> &s;ince Profe&s;&s;or of Divinity at <HI>Leyden;</HI> with other books,</P>
<P>In the &s;econd year after his return, he entred into a Matrimonial &s;tate, (there being then hope of a more peaceable time) marrying at <HI>Rotter|dam</HI> that mo&s;t choice and vertuous Gentlewoman Mrs. <HI>Mary Pe&s;&s;er,</HI> the widow of Mr. <HI>Henry Niellius</HI> a Preacher of that City, and the youn|ger brother of Mr. <HI>Charles Niellius</HI> above-men|tioned. They lived together, but without i&s;&s;ue, mo&s;t piou&s;ly, peaceably and comfortably to the end of the years 1641, at which time &s;he fi|ni&s;hed her cour&s;e.</P>
<P>But before this in the year 1634 He went to <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> to be Pre&s;ident in the Remon&s;trants Schola&s;tick Nur&s;ery or Colledge, which was e|rected there to be as an Univer&s;ity, for the in|&s;tructing of Youth in Divinity, that were intended for Mini&s;ters of the Church,</P>
<P>How faithfully and diligently he exerci&s;ed him|&s;elf here, we have an illu&s;trious te&s;timony from his copious, learned and mo&s;t u&s;efull Theological In&s;titutions; and the An&s;wer of 64 Que&s;tions
<PB N="25" REF="58">propo&s;ed to him by his Di&s;ciples; al&s;o from his learned and eloquent Sermons to the people; al&s;o his true Remon&s;trant Divine; and his An&s;wer to the 10 Dilemma's of a certain Popi&s;h Do+ctor, and other works of his.</P>
<P>While&s;t he was thus labouring, &s;ome occa|&s;ions forced him to <HI>Rotterdam,</HI> where <HI>Anno</HI> 1639 he fell dangerou&s;ly &s;ick, and for &s;ome moneths kept his bed, and &s;o far was he gone, that there was little hope of his reco|very. But at length God re&s;tored him to health, and &s;o &s;trengthened him, that he returned to his charge at <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> and as dili|gently laboured among them as before.</P>
<P>After his return it &s;eemed good to the Re|mon&s;trants to publi&s;h a plain Catechi&s;m for the in&s;tructing of the more ignorant &s;ort. Then <HI>Abraham Heydan,</HI> at that time a Preach|er at <HI>Leyden,</HI> afterwards Profe&s;&s;or of Divini|ty there, publi&s;hed an Examination of this Catechi&s;m, the defence of which our <HI>Epi&s;copi|us</HI> undertook, and fini&s;hed in a con&s;iderable large Volume, which came not forth till af|ter his death. For in the beginning of the year 1643, when he was well nigh 60 years old, he fell mortally &s;ick. His di&s;ea&s;e is call|ed <HI>I&s;churia,</HI> a dangerous &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the <HI>&V;rine,</HI> which was &s;o pertinacious and ob&s;ti|nate, that for eleven days he could not make one drop of water; although &s;ome skilfull Phy&s;icians u&s;ed the utmo&s;t of their art to ma|&s;ter,
<PB N="26" REF="59">or at lea&s;t &s;omewhat to mitigate this his mercyle&s;s and &s;tubborn enemy. This Excre|ment (of which he afterward avoided but little) mixing it &s;elf with the blood of the whole body, &s;o corrupted the <HI>Cra&s;&s;is</HI> and temperature thereof, that he could not po&s;&s;i|bly long &s;ub&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>He lay &s;ick two moneths and above, and for &s;ome weeks before his death was deprived of &s;ight. Which lo&s;s, while&s;t there was any hope of his recovery, had been exceeding grievous unto him, had not his deep and al|mo&s;t continual &s;leeping le&s;&s;ened the &s;ame; For &s;ometimes he complained of it to his friends that did frequently vi&s;it him; &s;aying, that he &s;hould not be able any more to &s;erve the Church of Chri&s;t,</P>
<P>At length on the 4th of <HI>April</HI> about the 8th hour in the morning, (at which time the moon was in the Eclip&s;e) he peaceably fell a&s;leep in the Lord. And the 4th day af|ter was carryed forth (a great multitude of all &s;orts of per&s;ons following the her&s;e) unto the We&s;t-Church, and was there interred by his wife. His death many much lamented, and many Epicedium's, or funeral Ver&s;es of his prai&s;e and commendation, were publi&s;hed both in <HI>Dutch</HI> and <HI>Latin.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Caspar Barlaeus,</HI> the mo&s;t renowned <HI>Poet</HI> of that time, and who lived not full two years after him, publi&s;hed a mo&s;t excellent <HI>Latin Epicae|dium</HI>
<PB N="27" REF="59">in his commendation, which is prefixed to the fir&s;t Volume of <HI>Epi&s;copius</HI> his works.</P>
<P>Thus we have taken a &s;hort view of <HI>Epi&s;|copius</HI> from his birth to his death. His life was unblameable, and illu&s;trious for zeal to the glory of God, and mans &s;alvation; His Love to the Churches peace and concord ad|ded much to his commendation. He was indeed much conver&s;ant in Controver&s;ies, not of choyce, but through nece&s;&s;ity; He was often wont to complain of his con&s;traint to this kind of exerci&s;e. His patient bearing of jnjuries, and readine&s;s to forgive, after the ex|ample of his Ma&s;ter Chri&s;t, contributed not a little to his prai&s;e. In alms-deeds he was to his power ready and cheerfull; And &s;uch was his mode&s;ty and humble temper, that his rare endowments and great Atchievments he e&s;teemed as nothing. On his &s;ick-bed his Speeches were gracious, full of piety towards God, charity towards men and confidence in Chri&s;t. His name now and memory is ble&s;&s;|ed with them e&s;pecially, that without preju|dice peru&s;e his works, that in two con&s;idera|ble Volumes are now publick in the Latin tongue, which I could wi&s;h that all men well under&s;tood, were it but to read <HI>Epi&s;copius.</HI> I doubt not but there are many, who have much improved them&s;elves by his writings. Our famous <HI>Hales</HI> is not doubtle&s;s without com|panions of whom this is reported by Mr.
<PB N="28" REF="60"><HI>Anthony Farindon,</HI> his familiar friend: that he him&s;elf often told him, that at the well pre&s;&s;ing of <HI>Jo.</HI> 3, 16. by <HI>Epi&s;copius,</HI> he bade <HI>Jo. Calvine</HI> Good-night. It would be in vain for me here to inlarge, who am &s;peaking to tho&s;e, that through unacquaintance with Latin, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> are uncapable to &s;ee the great knowledge and elo|quence of our <HI>Epi&s;copius:</HI> as for tho&s;e who conver&s;e hone&s;tly with his Writings, they need not me. But I would not that any &s;hould think of me, that I take all his &s;ayings for go&s;pel; No, I believe that his Writings as well as other mens mu&s;t be read with judgment: for I nothing doubt, but that Errata's may be found in his works, not only &s;uch that are ju&s;tly imputable to the Tran&s;criber and Printer, but &s;uch al&s;o that are the Authors, who was &s;ubject to erre, though much more free from errors than many.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's note">
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<HEAD>Books Printed for <HI>Francis Smith</HI> at the <HI>Elophant</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;tle</HI> with|out <HI>Temple-bar.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BApti&s;m before or after Faith and Repentance largely di&s;cu&s;&s;ed; not onely in publick Di&s;|putations; Managed by many Mini&s;ters before Thou&s;ands of people, but al&s;o Mr. <HI>Baxter,</HI> Dr. <HI>Holmes, Dr. Featly,</HI> Mr. <HI>Mar&s;hall,</HI> Mr. <HI>Blake,</HI> Mr. <HI>Cook,</HI> Mr. <HI>Cotton;</HI> Their arguments for and again&s;t truly controverted being a &s;ubject very u&s;e|ful in the&s;e inquiring times, for general &s;atisfa|ction in this point &s;o much controverted, in <HI>folio</HI> 10 <HI>s.</HI> 6. <HI>d.</HI></P>
<P>Hooles Latin and Engli&s;h Grammer, fitted not onely for the u&s;e of all Schools, but very u&s;efull for any per&s;on de&s;irous to Learn the Latin tongue, being a more plain and &s;peedy help then any yet extant Sixth Edition; 8^o. <HI>price bound</HI> 2 <HI>s.</HI></P>
<P>A Caution to Chri&s;tians again&s;t Mi&s;takes in their Faith, opening the nature and difference of effectual faith that will not, and of the Dead faith that will at la&s;t deceive men in their hopes of Ju&s;tification by it; &s;hewing al&s;o that holine&s;s in men as well as the happine&s;s of men is Gods aim in Contriving the tearms of their Salvation in 4o, 2 <HI>s.</HI> 6 <HI>d. bound.</HI></P>
<P>One thing needfull, or a &s;erious meditation on the 4 la&s;t things, Death, Judgment, Heaven and
<PB REF="61">Hell unto which is now added <HI>Eball</HI> and <HI>Gerizzim;</HI> or the Ble&s;&s;ing and the Cur&s;e. third Edition 12^o. 6. <HI>d. bound.</HI></P>
<P>The Young Scholars pocket Book containing the fir&s;t Rudiments in Arithmetick, with the Rule of 3. al&s;o the way to find the Content of Board, Gla&s;s, Land, Timber, Stone, Globes. third Edition, 12^o. 8. <HI>d. bound.</HI></P>
<P>Youths Tragedy, a Poem drawn up by way of Dialogue, between Youth, the Devil, Wi&s;dom, the Nuncius, Time, Death, the Soul, for Caution and Direction of the younger &s;ort. third Edition 4o. 4. <HI>d, bound.</HI></P>
<P>Symptomes of growth and decay to Godline&s;s, in 80 Signs of a living and dying Chri&s;tian, with the cau&s;es of decay and remedies for recoveries in Large 8^o. third Edition at 1. <HI>s.</HI> 6. <HI>d. bound.</HI></P>
<P>A new and u&s;efull Concordance to the Holy Bible, whereunto is added beyond any extant the chief acceptations and various &s;ignifications of words contained in the Old and new Te&s;tament, with marks to di&s;tingui&s;h the Commands, promi|&s;es and Threatnings; al&s;o a collection of tho&s;e Scripture prophe&s;ies which relate to the Call of the Jews and the Glory that &s;hall be in the Lat|ter Days in 8^o, at 2. <HI>s.</HI> 6. <HI>d. bound. in</HI> 120. <HI>at</HI> 2. <HI>s. bound,</HI> where it is al&s;o to be had print|ed on a fine page and bound with the Bible in 80. or 12^o.</P>
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