from men No saith Deane Bridges no saith Iohn of Canterbury and the rest of them for all of them allow this Booke of Iohn Bridges for then wee are the Bishops of the Divell wee cannot avoid it Are they then the Bishops of God that is have they such a calling as the Apostles Evangelists c. had that is such a calling as ought lawfully to be in a christian Commonwealth unlesse the Magistrate would injury the Church yea maime deforme and make a Monster of the Church whither the Magistrate will or no. We have say they For our callings are not only inclusively but also expressely in the word So that by Deane Bridges his confession and the approbation of Iohn Canterbury either our Bishops are Bishops of the Divell or their callings cannot bee defended lawfull without flat and plaine Treason in overthrowing his Majesties supremacy And so Deane Bridges hath written and Iohn Whitgift hath approved and allowed flat Treason to be published Is Martin to be blamed for finding out and discovering Traytors Is hee to be blamed for crying out against the Bishops of the Divel If he be then indeed have J offended in writing against Bishops If not whether is the better Subject Martin or our Bishops whether I be favoured or no J will not cease in the love I owe to his Majesty to write against Traytors to write against the Divels Bishops Our Bishops are such by their owne confession For they protest themselves to be the Bishops of the Divel If they should hold the preheminency to be from man If they hold it otherwise then from man they are Traytors And untill this Beast Doctor Bridges wrote this Booke they never as yet durst presume to claime their Lordships any otherwise lawfull then from his Majesty yea and D. Bridges about the 60. page saith the same But they care not what contrariety they have in their writings what Treason they hold as long as they are perswaded that no man shall be tolerated to write against them I have once already shewed Treason to be in this Booke of the Deane of Sarum page 448. I shew the like now to be page 340. Because Deane Bridges durst not answer mee They have turned unto me in his stead a Beast whom by the length of his Eares I gesse to bee his Brother that is an Asse of the same kind But I will bee answered of the Deane himselfe in this and the former point of Treason or else his Cloister shall smoake for it And thus profane T.C. you perceive what a good subject you are in defending the established government Thus also I have answered all your Bookes in the matters of the lawfulnesse of the government by Pastors Doctours Elders and Deacons and the unlawfulnesse of our bastardly Church government by Archbishops and Bishops where also the Reader may see that if ever there was a Church rightly governed that is a Church without maime or deformity the same was governed by Pastours Doctours Elders and Deacons Whau whau but where have I beene all this while Ten to one among some of these Puritans Why Martin Why Martin I say hast tow forgotten thy selfe Where hast ti beene why man cha bin a seeking for a Samons nest and cha vound a whole crue either of Ecclesiasticall Traitors or of the Bishops of the Divell of broken and maimed members of the Church never wink on me good fellow for I will speake the truth let the Puritans doe what they can I say then that they are broken members and I say Iohn of Canterbury if he be a member of the Church I say he is a broken member and that Thomas of Winchester is a Cholericke member Yea and cha vound that profane T. C is afraid lest his Majesty should give Bishops livings away from om And therefore shutteth his booke with this position viz. That it is not lawfull to bestow such livings upon Lay men as are appointed by Gods law upon Ministers But hereof more warke for Cooper shall learnedly dispute Reverend T.C. Admonition page 1 2 3. Wee use the Ministers most vilely now a dayes God will punish us for it as hee did those which abused his Prophets Reverend Martin Looke to it T.C. then For out of thine own mouth shale thou bâ— judged thou unrighteous servant Our Bishops are they which abuse the Ministers Our Bishops were never good Ministers as yet and therefore they are not to be compared with the Prophets Reverend T.C. page 4. Some men will say that I doegreat injury to the Prophets and Apostles in comparing our Bishops unto them But we may be happy if we may have tolerable Ministers in this perilous age Reverend Martin I hope T.C. that thou dost not mean to serve the Church with worse then we have what worse then Iohn of Canterbury worse then Tom Tubtrimmer of Winchester worse then the Vickers of Hell Sir Ieffery Iones the parson of Micklain c. I pray thee rather then we should have a change from evill to worse let us have the evill still But I care not if I abide the venture of the change Therefore get Iohn with his Canterburinesse removed c. whom thou acknowledgest to be evill and J doe not doubt if worse come in their stead but the Divell will soone fetch them away and so wee shall bee quickly rid both of evill and worse But good T. C is it possible to find worse then we have I do not marvell though thou callest me libeller when thou darest abuse the Prophets farre worse then in calling them libellers for I tell thee true thou couldst not have any way so stained their good names as thou hast done in comparing them to our Bishops Call me Libeller as often as thou wilt I doe not greatly care but and thou lovest me never liken me to our Bishops of the Divell For J cannot abide to be compared unto those for by thine owne comparison in the 9. page they are just Balaams up and downe Reverend T.C. page 8 9 10. Though our Bishops be as evill as Iudas the false Apostles and Balaam yet because they have sometimes brought unto us Gods message wee must thinke no otherwise of them then of Gods Messengers For GOD will not suffer divellish and Antichristian persons to bee the chiefe restorers of his Gospell Reverend Martin First T.C. I have truly gathered thine argument though thou namest neither Iudas nor the false Apostles Prove it otherwise Then hast thou reverend Martin proved thy selfe a lyar Now secondly then seeing it is so I pray thee good honest T.C. desire our Judasses who was also one of the first Apostles not to sell their Master for money desire our false Apostles who preached no false doctrine for the most pert not to insult over poore Paul and desire our good Balaams not to follow the wages of unrighteousnesse The counsell is good For Iudas though one of the first publishers of the Gospell so were not our Bishops in our time
REFORMATION NO ENEMIE Or a true DISCOVRSE betweene the Bishops and the Desirers of Reformation WHEREIN Is plainely laid open the present corrupt government of our Church and the desired forme of Government plainely proved by the word of GOD. PROV 24. Vers 24. Hee that saith vnto the wicked thou art righteous him shall the people Curse Nations shall abhorre him Printed in the yeare 1641. A man of worship to the men of worship that is Martin Mar-prelate gentleman Primate and Metropolitane of all the Martins wheresoever To the Iohn of all the Sir Iohns and to the rest of the terrible Priests saith have among you once againe my clergie masters For O Brethren there is such a deale of love grown of late I perceive betweene you and me that although I would be negligent in sending my Pistles unto you yet I see you cannot forget me I thought you to be very kind when you sent your Pursivaunts about the Country to seeke for me But now that you your selves have taken the paines to write this is out of all cry Why it passes to thinke what loving and carefull Brethren I have who although I cannot be gotten to tell them where I am because I love not the ayre of the Clinke or Gatehouse in this cold time of Winter and by reason of my businesse in Pistle-making will notwithstanding make it known vnto the world that they have a moneths mind towards me now truly brethren J find you kind why ye doe not know what a pleasure you have done me My worships bookes were vnknowne to many before you allowed T. C. to admonish the people of England to take heed that if they loved you they would make much of their Prelates and the chiefe of the Clergie Now many seeke after my bookes more then ever they did Againe some knew not that our brother Iohn of Fulham was so good vnto the porter of his gate as to make the poore blind honest soule to be a dum Minister Many did not know either that Amen is as much as by my faith and so that our Saviour Christ ever sware by his faith or that bowling and eating of the Sabboth are of the same nature that Bishops may as lawfully make blind guydes as David might eate of the Shew bread or that father Thomas Tul-trimmer of Winchester good old student is a master of Arts of 45. yeares standing Many I say were ignorant of these things and many other pretty toyes vntill you wrote this pretty booke besides whatsoever you overpasse in my writings and did not gainsay that I hope will be iudged to be true and so Iohn a Bridges his treason out of the 448 page of his booke you grant to be true Your selves you deny not to be petty Popes the Bishop of sir Davids in Wales you deny not to have two wives with an hundred other things which you doe not gainsay so that the reader may judge that I am true of my word and vse not to lye like Bishops and this hath greatly commended my worships good dealing But in your confutation of my book you have shewed reverend Martin to be true peny indeed for you have confirmed rather then confuted him So that brethren the pleasure which you have done vnto me is out of all scotche and notche And should not I againe be as ready to pleasure you Nay then I should be as vngratefull towards my good brethren as Iohn of Cant. is to Thomas Cartwright The which Iohn although hee hath beene greatly favoured by the said Thomas in that Thomas hath now these many yeares let him alone and said nothing vnto him for not answering his bookes yet is not ashamed to make a secret comparison betweene himselfe and Thomas Cartwright As who say Iohn of Lambehith were as learned as Thomas Cartwright What say you old deane Iohn a Bridges have not you shewed your selfe thankefull vnto his Majestie in overthrowing his supremacie in the 448 page of your book I will lay on load on your skincoat for this geare anon And I will have my penyworths of all of your brethren ere I have done with you for this paines which your T. C. hath taken with me This is the Puritans craft in procuring me to be confuted I know I le be even with them to a crafty whoresons brethren Bishop did you thinke because the puritans T. C. did set Iohn of Cant. at a non-plus and gave him the overthrow that therefore your T. C. alias Thomas Cooper Bishop of Winchester or Thomas Cooke his Chaplaine could set me at a nonplus simple fellowes me thinkes he should not J gesse your T C. to be Thomas Cooper but I doe not peremptorily affirme it because the modest old student of 52. yeares standing setteth Winchester after Lincolne and Rochester in the contents of his booke which blasphemy would not have beene tollerated by them that saw and allowed the booke vnlesse Mistresse Coopers husband had beene the author of it Secondly because this T. C the author of this booke is a Bishop and therefore Thomas Cooper he is a Bishop because hee reckoneth himselfe charged amongst others with those crimes whereof none are accused but Bishops alone pag. 101. lin 26. Ha olde Martin yet I see thou hast it in thee thou wilt enter into the bowels of the cause in hand I perceive Nay if you will commend me I will give you more reasons yet The stile and the phrase is very like her husbands that was sometimes wont to write vnto Doctor Day of Welles You see I can doe it indeed Againe none would be so groshead as to gather because my reverence telleth Deane Iohn that hee shall have twenty fists about his eares more then his owne whereby J meant indeed that many would write against him by reason of his bomination learning which otherwise never meant to take pen in hand that J threatned him with blowes and to deale by stafford law whereas that was farre from my meaning could by no meanes be gathered out of my words but onely by him that pronounced Enlogeni for Eulogin in the pulpit and by him whom a Papist made to beleeve that the Greek word Eulogein that is to give thankes signifieth to make a crosse in the forhead py hy hy hy I cannot but laugh py hy hy hy I cannot but laugh to thinke that an old soaking student in this learned age is not ashamed to be so impudant as to presume to deale with a Papist when he hath no grue in his pocket But I promise you Sir it is no shame to be a L-Bishop if a man could though he were as vnlearned as Iohn of Glocester or William of Liechfeld And I tell you true our brother Westchester had as live play twenty nobles in a night at Priemeero on the cards as trouble himselfe with any Pulpit labour and yet hee thinks himselfe to be a sufficient Bishop What a Bishop such a cardplaier A Bishop play 20 nobles in a
lyer hung himselfe The false Apostle had their reward I doubt not And Balaam as soon as ever the Israelites tooke him was justly executed for his wickednesse The forced blessing wherewith hee blessed them saved him not Reverend T.C. page 10 11 12 13. May conjecturall speeches flye abroad of Bishops as that they are covetous give not to the poore hinder reformation Simoniacks c. but the chiefe Governours ought to take heed that they give no credit to any such things I trust never any of them committed Idolatry as Aaron did Reverend Martin Yea I beseech you that are in authority in any case not to beleeve any truth against our Bishops For these Puritans although the Bishops grant themselves to bee as evill as Balaam could never yet prove the good fathers to have committed Idolatry as Aaron did And as long as they be no worse then Balaam was there is no reason why they should be disliked You know this is a troublesome world men cannot come unto any meere living without friendss And it is no reason why a man should trouble his friend and give him nothing a hundred pounds and a gelding is yet better then nothing To bowle but seven dayes in a weeke is a very tolerable recreation You must know that Iohn of London hath sometimes preached as this profane T.C. hath given out to his no small commendations thrise in a yeare at Paules-crosse A sore labour it is reason that he should bestow the rest of the yeare in maintaining his health by recreation and providing for his family give him leave but to keepe out the government of the Church to sweare like a swag to persecute and to take some small ten in the hundred and truely he will be loath ever to commit idolatry as Aharon did I hope though Iudas sold his Master yet that it cannot bee proved since his calling that ever he committed Idolatry Reverend T.C. page 16 17. Though Bishops should offend as Noah did in drunkennes yet good children should cover their fathers salts For naturall children though they suffer injuries at their fathers hands yet they take their griefes very mildly Reverend Martin Bishop West phaling But what then Parson Gravat parson of sir Iohn Pulchres in London one of dumb Johns bousing Mates will be drunke but once a weeke But what then good Children should take linkes in a cold morning light them at his nose to see if by that meanes some part of the fire that hath so flashed his sweete face might be taken away this were their duty saith T.C. and not to cry redde nose redde nose But T.C. what if a man should find him lying in the kenill whether should hee take him up all to be mired like a Swine in the sight of the people and carry him home on his backe or fling a coverled on him and let him there take his râ—st untill his legges would be advised by him to carry him home But me thinkes brother T.C. you defend the Bishops but evill favouredly in these points For you doe as though a Thiefe should say to a true man I must needes have thy purse thou must beare with mee it is my nature J must needes play the Thiefe But yet thou dealest uncharitably with me if thou blasest it abroad for though I make an occupation of Theft yet charity would cover it So say you though our Bishops make a Trade of persecuting and depriving Gods Ministers though they make a Trade of continuing in Antichristian callings yet charity would have their faltes covered and have them mildly dealt with As though T.C. there were no difference betwixt those that fall by infirmity into some one sinne not making it their Trade and not defending the same to be lawfull and our Bishops which continue in an Antichristian calling and occupation and defend they may doe so But will they leave thinke you if they be mildly and gently dealt with Then good Iohn of Canterbury J pray thee leave thy persecuring good Iohn of Canterbury leave thy Popedome good Father Iohn of London be no more a Bishop of the Divell be no more a Traytor to God and his Word And good sweet Boyes all of you become honest men maime deforme the Church no longer sweet fathers now make not a Trade of persecuting gentle fathers keep the people in ignorance no longer good fathers now maintaine the dumbe Ministery no longer Be the destruction of the Church no longer good sweete Babes now leave your Nonresidency and your other sinnes sweete Popes now and suffer the truth to have free passage Lo T.C. now I have mildly dealt with the good Fathers I will now expect a while to see whether they will amend by faire meanes if not let them not say but they have bin warned Reverend T.C. from the 20 to the 30. Though the Bishops be salty yet they are not to be excused that find fault with them for sinister ends And the Prince and Magistrates is to take heed that by their suggestions they be not brought to put downe L. Bishops to take away their livings and put them to their pensions For the putting of them to their pensions would discourage young students from the study of Divinity Reverend Martin I thought you were afraid to lose your livings by the Courtier Martins meanes But brethren feare it not I would not haue any true Minister in the Land want a sufficient living But good soules I commend you yet that are not so bashfull but you will shew your griefes Is it the treading under foote of the glory of God that you feare good men No no say they we could reasonably well beare that losse But we dye if you diminish the allowance of our Kitchin Let us be assured of that and our Lordly callings and we doe not greatly care how other matters goe I will when more worke is published helpe those good young students unto a meanes to live though they have none of your Bishopdomes if they will be ruled by me Reverend T.C. page 5.36 They have beene within these few weeks 3 or 4 pamphlets bublished in Print against Bishops The Author of them calleth himselfe Martin c. R. Martin But good Tom Tubtrimmer if there have been 3 or 4 published why doth Bishop Cooper name one onely why doth he nor confute all why doth he invent objections of his owne seeing he had 3. bookes more to confute or 2 at least then he hath touched nay why doth he confute one of them throughly seeing therein his Bishopdome was reasonably caperclawed I have onely published a Pistle and a Pitomy wherein also I grant that I did reasonably Pistle them Therefore T. C you begin with a lye in that you say that I have published either 3. or 4. bookes Reverend T.C. page 38. His gracenever felt blow as yet c. What is he past feeling wilt thou tell me that T C. he sleepeth belike in the top of the roust I would not be
so well thwacked for the Popedome of Canter as he hath borne poore man He was never able to make good syllogisme since I am sure He allowed D. Bridges his booke quoth T.C. I pray thee what got he by that but a Testimony against himselfe that either he hath allowed Treason or confessed himselfe to be the Bishop of the Divell T.C. page 38. He that readeth his grace his answer and M. Cartwrights reply shall see which is the better learned of the two So he shall indeed T.C. and he were very simple which could not discerne that And there is so much answered already as thou saist that his grace dare answer no more for shame And T.C. you your selves grant Thomas Cartwright to bee learned so did I neuer thinke Iohn Whitgift to be what comparison can you make betweene them But Thomas Cartwright shall I say that thou madest this booke against me because T.C. is set to it well take heed of it if J find it to be thy doing J will so besoop thee as thou never bangedst Iohn Whitgift better in thy life I see heere that they have quarrelled with thee Water Traverse Iohn Penri Thomas Sparke Giles Wiggington Master Davison c. Nay it is no matter you are een well served this will teach you I trow to become my Chaplaines For if you were my Chaplaines once I trow Iohn Whitgift nor any of his durst not once say blacke to your eyes And if I had thy learning Thomas Cartwright I would mâ—ke them all to smoak But though I were as very an Assehead as Iohn Catercap is yet I could deale well enough with Clergie men yea with old Winken de word D. Prime himselfe And I le bepistle you D. Prime when I am at more leasure though indeed J tell you true that as yet J doe disdaine to deale with a contemptible trencher Chaplaine such as you D. Banckcroft and Chaplain Duport are But I le be with you all three to bring one day you shall never scape my fingers if I take you but once in hand You see how I have dealt with Deane Iohn your entertainment shall be alike But Thomas Cartwright thou art T.C. so is Tom Cooper too The distinction then betweene you both shall be this he shall be profane T.C. because he calleth Christ Iesus by whom the government by Pastors Doctors Elders and Deacons was commanded to be he knowes not whom and thou shalt bee simple T.C. Concerning Mistresse Lawson profane T.C. is it not lawfull for her to goe to Lambeth by water Qui pergit quod vult dicere quâ—â— non vult â—udiet to accompany a Preachers wife going also as commonly godly matrons in London doe with her man No saith T.C. I doe not like this in women Tush man Thomas Lawson is not Thomas Cooper hee hath no such cause to doubt of Dame Lawsons going without her husband as the Bishop of Winchester hath had of Dame Coopers gadding But more worke for Cooper will say more for Mistresse Lawson From whomsoever Charde had his protection his Face is glad of it for otherwise he knoweth not how to get a Printer for the established government because the books will not sell Youching the Premunire let the Libeller and his T.C. page 40. doe what he dare Why brethren what wisedome is this in you to dare your betters doe you not know that I can send you my mind by a Pistle and then prove you to bee petty Popes and Enemies to the State And how can you mend your selves It is certaine you are in a premunire If his Majesty will give me leave to have the Law J will be bound to bring 10000 pounds into his Coffers upon that bargaine And therefore foolish men dare your betters no more And heere I pray thee marke how I have made the Bishops to pull in their Hornes For whereas in this place they had printed the word dare they bethought themselves that they had to deale with my worship which am favoured at the Court and being afraid of me they pasted the word can vpon the word dare and so where before they bad me and mine doe what we durst now they bid vs doe what we can hoping thereby to have a friend in a corner who would not suffer us to doe what we ought and durst and so our ability should not be according unto their demerit Marke now the Bishops of the Divell whither you be not afraid of mee I will see you jolled with the premunire one day The like thing you shall find in the 135 page For there having said that they will not deny the discipline to have beene in the Apostles time they have now pasted there upon that That is not yet proved So that although their Consciences do tell them that the discipline was then yet they will beare the world in hand that that is not yet proved Here you see that if this patch T.C. had not used two patches to cover his patchery the Bishops would have accounted him to be as very a patch as Deane Iohn A but these knave Puritans are more unmannerly before his grace then the Recusants are and therefore the Recusants have more favour I cannot blame them for wee ought to have no Popes The Papists like the Archiepiscepall Pall and therefore reverenceth a petty Pope thsrein And though the Recusant come not to heaee the sermons yet he is an informer very often upon other mens information His grace denyeth that ever he heard of any such matter as that the Iesuit should say he would become a brave Cardinall if Popery should come againe I know T.C. that long since he is past shame and a notorious Lyer otherwise how durst he deny this seeing Cliffe an honest and a godly Cobler dwelling at Battle bridge did justifie this before his grace his teeth page 41. yea and will justifie the same againe if he be called So will Atkinson too Send for them if he dare page 46. page 44. Ministers of the Gospell ought to bee called Priests saith his grace what say you by that Then good sir Iohn O Cant. when wilt thou say Masse at our house His grace is also perswaded that there ought to be a Lordly spueriority among Ministers So was Iudas perswaded to sell his Master if you would have these things proved profane T.C. referreth you to his grace his answer unto simple T.C. and to Doctor Bridges That is if you would learne any honesty you must goe to the stewes or if you would have a good savour you must goe to the sincke for it Why thou vnsavourly snuffe dost tow thinke that men know not D. Bridges and Iohn Whitgift Yea but his grace also firmely beleeveth that Christ in soule descended into Hell This is the third point of his Catholike perswasion but tell him from me that he shall never bee saved by this beliefe and my finger in his mouth Let him tell what our Saviour Christ should doe
night Why a round threpence serveth the turne to make good sport 3 or foure nights amongst honest neighbours and take heed of it brother Westchester it is an vnlawfull game if you will believe me For in Winter it is no matter to take a little sport for an odde cast braces of twenty nobles when the weather is foule that men cannot goe abroad to bowles or to shoote What would you have men take no recreation Yea but it is an old said saw enough is as good as a feast and recreations must not be made a trade and an occupation ka master Martin Mar-prelate Itell you true brother mine though J have as good a gift in pistle making as you have at Priemeâ—ro and farre more delight then you can have at your cards for the love I beare to my brethren yet I dare not vse this sport and cards I tell you though they be without hornes yet they are parlous beasts be they lawfull or vnlawfull take heed of them for all that For you cannot vse them but you must needs say your brother T. C. his Amen that is sweare by your faith many a time in the night well I will never stand argling the matter any more with you if you will leave your card-playing so it is if you will not trust to it it will bee the worse for you I must goe simply and plainely to worke with my brethren that have published T. C. Whosoever have published that booke they have so hooped the Bishops tubs that they have made them to smell farre more odious then ever they did even in the nostrels of all men The booke is of 252 pages the drift thereof is to confute certaine printed and published libels you bestow not full 50 pages in the answer of any thing that ever was published in print the rest are bestowed to maintain the belly and to confute what thinke you Even the slanderous inventions of your owne braines for the most part As that it is not lawfull for his Maiestie to allot any lands vnto the maintenance of the Minister or the Minister to live upon lands for this purpose allotted unto him but is to content himselfe with a small pension and so small as he have nothing to leave for his wife and children after him for whom hee is not to be carefull but to rest on Gods providence and is to require no more but foode and raiment that in poverty hee might be answerable vnto our Saviour Christ and his Apostles in the confutation of these points and the Scriptures corruptly applied to prove them there is bestowed above 100 pages of this Booke that is from the 149 vnto the end Well T. C. whosoever thou art and whatsoever Martin is neither thou nor any man or woman in England shall know while you live suspect and trouble as many as you will and therefore save your mony in sceking for him for it may be he is nearer you then you are ware of But whosoever thou art I say thou shewest thy selfe to be a most notorious wicked standerer in fathering these things vpon those whem they call Puritans which never any enioying common sense would affirme And bring me him or set downe his-name and his reasons that holdeth any of the former points confuted in thy booke and I will prove him to be vtterly bereaved of his wits and his confuter to be either starke mad or a starke enemy to all religion yea to his Majestie and the state of this Kingdome No no T. C. Puritans hold no such points it were well for Bishops that their adversaries were thus fottish They might then justly incense his Maiestie and the state against them if they were of this mind These objections in the confutation whereof thou hast bestowed so much time are so farre from having any Puritan to be their author as whosoever teadeth the booke were he as blockheaded as Thomas of Winchester himselfe he may easily know them to be obiections onely invented by the author of the booke himselfe For although he be an impudent wretch yet dareth hee not set them downe as writings of any other for then he would have described the author and the booke by some audient The Puritans indeed hold it vnlawfull fot a Minister to have such temporall â—â—â—â—newes as whereby 10 ministers might be well maintained vnlesse the said revenews come vnto him by inheritance They hold it also vnlawfull for any state to bestowe the livings of many ministers vpon one alone especially when there is such want of Ministers livings They hold it vnlawfull for any minister to be Lord over his brethren and they hold it vnlawfull for any state to tolerate such vnder their government because it is vnlawfull for states to tolerate men in those places whereinto the word hath forbidden them to enter They affirme that our Saviour Christ hath forbidden all ministers to be Lords Luke 22.25 And the Apostle Peter sheweth them to be none of Gods Ministers which are Lords over Gods heritage as you Bishops are and would be accounted These things T. C. you should have confuted and not troubled your selfe to execute the fruites of your owne braines as an enemy to the state And in these points I doe challenge you T. C. and you Deane Iohn and you Iohn Whitgift and you Doctor Coosins and you Doctor Capcase Copcoat I thinke your name be and as many else as have or dare write in the defence of the established church government if you cannot confute my former assertions you doe but in vaine think to maintain your selves by slanders in fathering vpon the Puritans the offsprings of your own blockheads And assure your selves I will so be scoop if you caÌ„not defend your selves in these points as all the world shall cry shame vpon you you thinke prettely to escape the point of your Antichristian callings by giving out that Puritans hold it vnlawfull for his Maiestie to leave any lands for the vse of the ministers maintenance J cannot but commend you for I promise you you can shift of an haynous accusation very prettily A true man bringeth vnanswerable witnesses against a robber by the high way side and desireth the Judge that the law may proceed against him Oh no my Lord saith the thiefe in any case let not me be dealt with For these mine accusers have given out that you are a drunkard or they have committed Treason against the state therefore I pray you beleeve my slander against them that they may be executed so when I come to my tryall I shall be sure to have no accusers A very pretty way to escape if a man could tell how to bring the matter about Now brethren Bishops your manner of dealing is even the very same The puritans say truly that all Lord Bishops are petty Antichrists and therefore that the Magistrates ought to thrust you out of the common-wealth Now of all loves say the Bishops let not our places bee called in question but
rather credit our slanders against the Puritans whereby if men would beleeve vs when wee lye we would beare the world in hand that these our accusers are Malecontents and sottish men holding it unlawfull for the Magistrate to allot any lands for the Ministers portion and unlawfull for the Minister to provide for his family And therefore you must not give eare to the accusations of any such men against us And so wee shall be sure to be acquitted But brethren doe you thinke to be thus cleared Why the Puritans hold no such points as you lay to their charge Though they did as they do not yet that were no sufficient reasō why you being petty Popes should be maintained in a Christian common-wealth Answer the reasons that I brought against you otherwise Come off you Bishops leave your thousands and content your selves with your hundreds saith Iohn of London So that you doe plainely see that your Cooper T. C. is but a deceitfull workeman and if you commit the hooping of your Bishopricks vnto him they will so leake in a short space as they shall be able to keep never a Lord Bishop in them And this may serve for an answere vnto the latter part of your booke by way of an Interim vntill more worke for Cooper bee published ANd now reverend T. C. I am come to your Epistle to the reader but first you and I must goe out alone into the plaine fields and there wee will try it out even by plaine Syllogismes and that I know Bishops cannot abide to heare of The reverend T. C. to the Reader Page 1. I draw great danger upon my selfe in defending our Bishops and others the chiefe of the clergie of the church of England Their adversaries are very eger the Saints in heaven have felt of their tongues for when they speake of Paul Peter Mary c. whom others iustly call saints they in derision call them sir Peter sir Paul sir Mary Reverend Martin Alas poore reverend T. C. Be not afraid Heere be none but friends man I hope thou art a good fellow and a true subiect yea but I defend the Bishops of the church of England saith he then indeed I marvell not though thy conscience accuse thee and thou art sure to be as well-favouredly thwacked for thy labour as ever thou wast in thy life Thy conscience J say must needs make thee feare in defending them For they are petty Popes and petty Antichrists as I have proved because they are Pastor of pastors c. thou hast not answered my reasons and therefore swadled thou shalt bee for thy paines and yet if thou wilt yeeld I will spare thee Thou canst not be a good and sound subiect and defend the hierarchy of Lord Bishops to bee lawfull as I will shew anone Concerning Sir Paul I have him not all in my writings And therefore the reader must know that there is a Canterbury tricke once to patch up an accusation with a lye or two Sir Peter was the oversight of the Printer who omitted this Marginall note viz. He was not Saint Peter which had a lawfull superiour authority over the vniversall body of the Church And therefore the Priest wherof Deane Iohn speaketh was sir Peter And good reverend T. C. I pray thee tell me what kin was Saint Mary Oueries to Mary the Virgin In my booke learning the one was some Popish Trull and the other the blessed Virgin But will you have all those who are Saints indeed called Saints Why then why doe you not call saint Abraham saint Sara saint Ieremie If Iohn of Canterbury should marry tell me good T. C. dost thou not thinke that he would not make choice of a godly woman I hope a would and T. C. though you are learned yet you goe beyond your books if you said the contrary being a godly woman then shee were a Saint and so by your rule her name being Mary you would have her called Saint Mary Canterbury But I promise thee did his grace what he could I would call her sir Mary Canterbury as long as he professed himselfe to be a Priest and this I might doe lawfully For he being sir Iohn why should not his wife be sir Mary and why not sir Mary Overies as well as sir Mary Canterbury I hope Iohn of Canterbury whom I know though I know no great good in him to be as honest a man as M. Overies was whom I did not know Neither is there any reason why you T. C. should hold M. Overies and his Mary because they are within the Diocesse of Winchester to bee more honest then M. Canterbury and his wife Nay there is more reasons why M. Canterburie and his wife dwelling at Lambehith should be thought the honester of the two then Overies and his wife because they dwell O the bankes side But good Tom tubtrimmer tell me what you meane by the chiefe of the Clergie in the Church of England Iohn Canterburie I am sure Why good T. C. this speech is either blasphemous or traiterous or by your owne confession an evident proofe that Iohn of Canterburie is Lord over his brethren He that is chiefe of the clorgie is chiefe of Gods heritage and that is Iesus Christ onely and so to make the Pope of Canterbury chiefe of Gods heritage in this sense is blasphemons if you meane by clergie as Deane Iohn doth page 443 of his booke both the people and Ministers of the Church of England in this sense his Majestie is chiefe of the clergie in the Church of England and so your speech is traiterous Lastly if by clergie you mean the ministers of the Church of England none in this sense can be chiefe of the Clergie but a petty Pope For our Saviour Christ flatly forbiddeth any to be chiefe of the clergie in this sense Luke 22.26 And none ever claimed this vnto himselfe but a petty Pope Therefore T. C. you are either by your own speech a blasphemer or a traitor or else Iohn of Cant. is a petty Pope Here is good spoonemeat for a Cooper Take heed of writing against Martin if you love your ease Reverend T. C. page 2. Epistle But I feare them not while I goe about to maintaine the dignity of Priests Reverend Martin Well fare a good heart yet stand to thy tackling and get the high commission to send abroad the Pursivants and I warrant thee thou wilt doe something Alas good Priests that their dignity is like to fall to the ground it is pitty they should be so they are such notable Pulpit men There is a neighbour of ours an honest Priest who was sometimes simple as he now stands a vice in a play for want of a better his name is Gliberie of Hawstead in Essex hee goes much to the Pulpit On a time I thinke it was the last May he went vp with a full resolution to doe his businesse with great commendations But see the fortune of it A boy in the Church hearing either
statute might not referre all matters of the Canon law unto the temporall and common law of this Realme and is this all you can say T.C. 2 Yes saith he the government of Christ would bring in the judiciall law of Moses As much as is morall of that law or of the equity of it would be brought in And doe you again say it But you sodden headed Asse you the most part of that law is abrogated Some part thereof is in force among us as the punishment of a Murtherer by death and presumptuous obstinate Theft by death c. 3. His Majesties prerogative in Ecclesiasticall causes should not be a whit diminished but rather greatly strengthened by Christs government And no law should be altered but such as were contrary to the Law of God and against the profit of the Common wealth and therefore there can be no danger in altering these 4 The Ministers maintenance by Tythe no Puritane denyeth to be vnlawfull For Martin good Mr. Parson you must understand doth account no Brownist to be a Puritane nor yet a sottish Cooperist 5. The inconvenience which you shew of the government which is that men would not be ruled by it is answered afore And I pray you why should not they be better obedient unto Gods Law if the same also were established by the law of the Land then to the Popes Law and his Canons You thinke that all men are like your selves that is like Bishops 〈◊〉 as cannot choose but break the Lawes and good orders of God and his Majesty 7 The lawes of England have beene made when there was never a Bishop in the Parliament as in the first yeare of Qeen Eliz. And this reason as all the rest may serve to maintaine Popery as well as the hieratchy of Bishops 8 The government of the Church of Christ is no popular government but it is Monarchicall in regard of our head Christ Aristoeraticall in the Eldership and Democraticall in the people Such is the civill government of our Kingdome Monarchicall in his Majesties person Aristocraticall in the higher house of Parliament or rather at the Counsell Table Democraticall in the body of the Commons of the Lower house of Parliament Therefore profane T.C. this government seeketh no popularity to be brought into the Church much lesse intendeth the alteration of the Civill state that is but your slander of which you make an occupation And I will surely pay you for it I must be briefe now but more worke for Cooper shall examine your standers They are nothing else but proofes that as by your owne Confessions you are Bishops of the Divell so you are enemies unto the state For by these slanders yon goe about to blind our State that they may never see a perfect Regiment of the Church in our dayes I say that by your owne Confession you are Bishops of the Divell I will prove it thus You confesse that your Lordly government were not lawfull and tolerable in this Common wealth if his Majesty and the state of the Land did disclaime the same Tell me doe you not confesse this deny it if you dare For will you say that you ought lawfully to be here in our Common wealth whither his Majesty and the Counsell will or no. Is this the thankes that his Majesty shall have for tolerating you in his Kingdome all this while that now you will say that you and your places stand not in this Kingdome by his courtesie but you have as good right vnto your places as he hath vnto his Kingdome And by this meanes your Offices stand not by his good liking and the good liking of the state as doe the Offices of our Lord high Chaneellor high Treasurer and high Steward of England But your Offices ought to stand and to bee in force in spight of his Majesty the Parliament Counsell and every man else unlesse they would doe you injury So that I know J you dare not deny but that your Offices were unlawfull in our Common wealth if his Majesty the Parliament and the Counsell would have them abolished If you grant this then you doe not hold your Offices as from God but as from man His Majesty hee holdeth his Office and his Kingdome as from GOD and is beholding for the same unto no Prince not State under Heaven Your case is otherwise for you hold your Offices as from his Majesty and not from God For otherwise you needed not to bee any more beholding unto his Majesty for the same in regard of right then hee is bound to bee beholding unto other states in regard of his right and so you in regard of your Lordly superiority are not the Bishops of God but as Ierom saith the Bishops of man And this the most of you confesse to be true and you see how dangerous it would be for you to affirme the contrary namely that you hold your Offices as from God Well Sir if you say that you are the Bishops of man Then tell mee whether you like of Deane Iohn his Booke O yes saith T. C. For his grace did peruse that book T. C. 38 we know the sufficiency of it to bee such as the Puritans are not able to answer it Well then whatsoever is in this booke is anthenticall It is so saith T. C. otherwise his grace would not have allowed it What say you then to the 140 pag. of that booke where he saith answering the trertise of the Bishop of God the Bi◠of Man and the Bishop of the Divell that there is no Bishop of man at all but every Bishop must bee either the Bishop of GOD or the Bishop of the Divell He also affirmeth none to be the Bishop of God but he which hath warrant both inclusively and also expresly in Gods Word Deane Iohn lib 1 page 340 line 7. Now you Bishops of the Divell what say you now are you spighted of the Puritans because you like good subjects defend the Lawes of his Majesty or else because like incarnate Divels you are Bishops of the Divels as you your selves confesse Here againe let the Magistrate once more consider what pestilent and dangerous Beasts these wretches are unto the civill state For either by their owne confession they are the Bishops of the Divell and so by that meanes will bee the undoing of the state if they bee continued therein or else their places ought to be in this Commonwealth whether his Majesty and our state will or no because they are not as they say the Bishops of man that is they have not their superiority and their Lordly callings over their brethren by humane constitution as my Lord Chanceller Treasurer and other honourable personages have but by divine ordinance Yea and their callings they hold as you have heard not onely to be inclusively but also expresly in the word What shift will they use to avoid this point Are they the Bishops of men that is hold they their jurisdiction as
thy brother D Squire and Tarletons soules They were honest fellowes though I think Deane Iohns eares be longer For why good sweet Iohn may not your worship doe this as well as William of Lincolne might pray page 63 64 that our soules should be with the soules of professed traiterous Papists The good B. of Winchester did not protest that at Sir M. Overies which was layd to his charge but hee spake some things that way page 14 65 66 c. Well brother Winchester you confesse the most part we will beleeve the rest for your sake without witnesse The B. of Winchester never said that it was an heresie page 71. to hold that the preaching of the Word was the onely ordinary meanes to salvation but inasmuch as Penri held that the effect of salvation could not bee wrought by the word read he said that was not farre from heresie why Brother Cooper what is this else but open confession For Iohn Penri as appeareth in his writings holdeth the word read to be no ordinary meanes of salvation at all This I know you will account an heresie otherwise your case is damnable that cause the people to content themselves with reading and hold that they may ordinarily be saved thereby page 72 75. Yea but T. of Winchester disputed a M. of Art 45 yeares agoe in Divinity Here is an old Lad once I hope that disputation was very cholerickly performed And he did once as pretty a thing as that came to For once preaching at Canter he was disposed to note out T. C. I meane simple T.C. in his Sermon his part he plaid after this sort He noted 4 great Hidraes of the Gospell in his sermon I Carnall Security 2 Heathenish Gentility 3 obstinat Papistry 4. Saith he when I looke in his forehead I find T. C. written therein which I cannot otherwise interpret then thanklesse Curiosity thanklesse for the benefits already received and more curious then needs in vaine and needlesse questions the old student did not know himselfe to be T. C. when hee thus spake and this is the thanklesse curiosity that hath answered Martin yea he saw Martins picture drawne when he was a young man I perceive then he was not so blind as the old Porter of Paddington whom Iohn of London bedeaconed and beministred Lucian of Winchester was himselfe the Painter Mydas of Cant. the Iudge the one of the 2 women called Ignorance was the goodwife of Bath Dr. Culpable Warden of New Colledge the other called jealous suspition was the Fox Iohn of Exceter then Camwinkadeward alias Dr. Prime Calumniator this Winken and his Lord of Winchester drew innocency to wit Martin Marprelat Gent by the heire of the head then followed Dolus fraus insidiae to wit Dr. Perne D. Renold and Dr. Cosins the Treader was cankered Mallis his Eyes was fiery his face thinne wrinkeled pin'd away with melancholy and this was Dr. Copcot then followed dolefull Repentance that is Deane Iohn repenting that ever hee had written in the Bishops behalfe because his grace is not as good as his word T. C. cōsider this picture untill we meete againe Now my businesse calls me away I am going towards Banbery for I heare say there hath bin old adoe for Bakers daughters would have Knights whither they would or no. I will learne the truth thereof and so I will post to shohill and visiting some parts of Stratford Warwick and Northampton shires I may well make a journey backe againe to Norfolk and Suffolke J have a Regester at Bury and by that time my visitors will come out of Cornwall Devon and Hamshire and now farewell good profane T. C. I cannot now meddle with a long period which thou hast in the 33.34 page of thy Booke it is but 38 lines thou art longerwinded then Deane John is I see though he hath longer periods then that I set downe whereas thou dost complaine that the Livings of our Bishops are so small that some of their Children are like to goe a begging there is present Remedy for that for to what end else is Iohn of Cant. unmarried but to provide for the Bishops Children who shall bee poorely left though indeed I never said in my life that there was any great familiarity betweene Mistresse Toye and Iohn Whitgift and I le befie em I le befie em that will say so of me and wherefore is Rich of Peterborough unmarryed but to provide for other mens Children O now I remember me he hath also a charge to provide for for his Hostes and cosen of Sibson the Peticote which he bestowed upon her within this sixe months was not the best in England the Token was not unmeete for her state farewell farewell farewell old Martin keepe thee out of their hands for all that for thou art a short fellow thou wilt one day overthrow them Amen and then thou swearest by thy Faith quoth Iohn of London Martin the Metropolitan to Iohn the Metropolitan saith Nemo confidat nimium secundis Martin to his troubled Sonne saith Nemo desperet Meliora Lapsus Anglia Martinis Disce favere tuis Faults Escaped Title line 10 Read Chapleine hath shewed himselfe in his late admonition to the people of England to b. c. Epist page 3 read Eulegein for Euldgeni beare with the rest of the Faults FINIS