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A32033
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A just and necessary apology against an unjust invective published by Mr. Henry Burton in a late book of his entituled, Truth still truth, though shut out of doors by Edmund Calamy ...
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Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.
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1646
(1646)
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Wing C257; ESTC R22520
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10,564
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12
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A just and necessary APOLOGY AGAINST An unjust Invective Published by Mr Henry Burton in a late Book of his entituled TRVTH STILL TRVTH THOVGH Shut out of doors By Edmund Calamy B.D. and Pastour of Aldermanbury EXOD. 20. Thou shalt not bear false witnesse against thy neighbour MAT. 5.22 But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement and whosoever shall say unto his brother Racha shall be in danger of the Councel but whosoever shall say Thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire LONDON Printed for Christopher Meredith at the sign of the Crane in Pauls Church-yard 1646. TRVTH No longer TRUTH but turned into Gall and Wormwood OR An ANSWER to a late Pamphlet written by M. Burton and entituled Truth still Truth though shut out of Doors IT was the law of the Areopagite Judges that those that pleaded before them should plead without prefacing and without passion M. Burton quite contrary to this law first begins with a Preface and then writes a book so full of passion as that whosoever reads it will acknowledge that at least when he wrote it he was not only {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as he confesseth of himself pa. 2. but if I may invent a word to expresse that which cannot be expressed by any word now in use {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a man not only of like passions with others but made up all of passion and that whosoever will contend with him shall be loaded with dirt rather then with arguments and forced not so much to answer Objections as to wipe off aspersions For my part I will not defile my self nor my answer with reckoning up all the opprobries and calumnies that are cast upon me not only collaterally and obliquely as the supposed pen-man of the Pamphlet as he cals it to which he frames his Reply but directly and by name Only I crave leave to present this true but short character of his book His words are swords and spears rather then words He fights with his heels rather then with his head and kicks rather then argues and whips rather then answers Scarce any man since Montagues Appeal hath written with more bitternesse I may say of him as D. Rivet doth of Bishop Montague This man cannot mention a man from whom be differs though but in sleight matters without a reproach And as Plato said to Diogenes when he trod upon the pride of Plato Thou treadest upon my pride with greater pride So doth M. Burton tread upon me and whatsoever is blame worthy in me with a pride more then Episcopall And surely if to be railed upon and reviled be sufficient to bring a man into discredit then must I be esteemed as {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as the dung off-scouring and filth of the world But to all his bitter invectives I will return the same answer that Austin did who when he was told that his adversary was too hard for him in railing he said It was an easie thing that way to conquer Austin but the Reader should perceive it was Clamore non veritate by loud crying not by truth And what Hierom said against Helvidius Arbitror te veritaâ—e convictum ad maledicta converti It is a sign of a man not able to stand before the truth when he betakes himself to reproachfull language Non eget veritas Mauri jaculis nec arcu Non taliclypeo non defensoribus istiâ— Neither is it my purpose to meddle with the controversie between M. Burton and Aldermanbury I say between M. Burton and Aldermanbury For though M. Burton saith That his quarrell is only with four men in Aldermanbury yet if the Reader will lose so much time as to look into his Narrative he will finde that he cals upon all Aldermanbury to be ashamed and confounded for shutting him out of doors as he phraseth it But I will not make this quarrell mine For as I was never thought worthy by M. Burton to be desired to give leave to his first admission so also I was not at all made acquainted with his dismission and therefore am not at all concerned in the businesse And although I shall be willing to open not only the doors of the Church but the door of my heart in admitting M. Burton in a brotherly and Christian compliance yet notwithstanding I shall for ever shut the door of my lips from speaking any more about tâ—is controversie And the rather because that whereas in the book to which he answers there are these words And that all men may be fully convinced of Aldermanburies love and good affection towards M. Burton we doe here professe to all that read these lines That if M. Burton will be pleased to forbear preaching his Congregationall way amongst us and preach such things wherein both sides agree we will re-admit him with all readinesse and cheerfulnesse and will promise to endeavour upon all occasions to come and hear him which offer if M. Burton refuseth let the worldjudge whether M. Burton shuts himself or be shut-out of the Church-doors of Aldermanbury To this friendly invitement he answers not a word which makes me for ever despair of his brotherly correspondency with us in our Churches And truly if M. Burton will not only refuse to take a Pastorall charge in our Congregations but condemneth our Churches as having inseparable corruptions in them for so he saith p. 13. and repeats it twice I say inseparable till the very frame of them be made new wherein he sideth directly with the Brownisâ— and denieth our Churches to be true Churches as wanting a right foundation and constitution pag. 14. in which I am assured our dissenting Brethren will be dissenting Brethren from him also and refuseth to give us the right hand of fellowship as it is p. 13. and saith That people cannot with a safe conscience communicate with us as it is p. 23. nor acknowledge our Ministers to be their Pastours truly as it is p. 23. and will not forbear to preach those dangerous errours in our Churches no wonder that any conscientious Presbyterian should be shie of admitting him to preach to their people Neither is it my design to answer this book of 33. pages in all the particulars Nam quis leget hac As one said to a Philosopher that in a great tempest at sea fell a asking many trifling Questions Are we perishing and dost thou trifle So say I to M. Burton Is the Ship of England a sinking and are there truths of the highest concernment now in agitation and shall I stand trifling away my precious time in long replies I cannot do this if I would neither would I if I could And besides this Truth is now grown stale and threed-bare especially to this new-truth-itching age and by this last book is so drowned in Gall and Wormwood as that it may well lose it's name
and be called Gall and Wormwood as that star is which fell from Heaven Revel. 8.11 and as cloathes when died receive the name of those colours into which they were died And therefore I will not abuse either my self or the patience of the Reader or an Athenian eye so much as to frame an answer to every particular But that which makes me put pen to paper though most unwillingly is because I am in this bitter Pamphlet painted out to the world in all my worst apparell and rendred as Blackamore-like and as odious as the pen of an angry Scribe could make me Now although I thank God I can say with the Apostle Non aestiâ—o humanum diem With me it is â— small thing to be judged of men and no new thing to be misreported and misrepresented yet notwithstanding because this report comes from so Reverend a man as M. Burton and some may possibly believe it for the Authours sake I am bound in conscience not to be so cruell to my good name as to see it murdered in my life time and by my silence to consent to the murdering of it or to suffer such a picture to go uncensured when a few words will discover the maliciousnesse and falsenesse of it And besides I am twice challenged by name to answer him and thorowout his whole book he speaks very undervaluingly of the Reformation begun in our Churches and laieth stumbling blocks in our peoples way which necessity cals to remove All which I shall {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in few words endeavour to do To begin first with his Index expurgatorius of my life I read of a Painter that being to paint King Antigonus that wanted an eye painted that side of his face only that had an eye that so his deformity might not appear But M. Burton quite contrary labours to set me out in all my deformity Page 5. He saith I have not under pretence of enjoying my Ministery abased my self to the superstitious innovations of the Prelates and thereby caused many both Ministers and people thorow my example to fall into the same snare Let the guilty apply it And let some of Aldermanbury remember Edmundsbury I say no more verbum sapienti Here M. Burton sets out himself in all his embroidery that so my picture might be the more ugly But M. Burton may remember that there was a time when he did abase himself to the superstitions of the Bishops as hundreds in this City can witnesse And when he was appointed by a Prelate to satisfie the consciences of some that did scruple that wicked Oath Ex officio which he did endeavour to doe as I am credibly informed All which I relate to shew that that which he saith of himself is not true and what little cause he hath to accuse others for things done 12. years agoe that not many years before was guilty of as bad things himself And whereas he bids some of Aldermanbury remember Edmundsbury I would have him to know that if it were lawfull to boast I could tell him That for 10. years I preached at Edmundsbury faithfully and painfully thrice a week And that there are many now in Heaven blessing God for my Ministery there and that I can have the testimony of all the godly people and Ministery in Bury and thereabouts in a larger manner then is fit for me to desire and that I refused offers of 400lb per annum to tarry with them and that I have been often called to return to them with expressions of their unhappinesse in my departure but I am a fool in thus boasting let the Reader pardon me since I am constrained unto it One thing more I will adde That had not Bishop Wren put in his foul feet to defile those clear waters I should have lived and died with that people whom I still love and bear in my heart and am assured that if M. Burtons book come amongst them they will abominate it because it makes use of Edmundsbury to make me odious to Aldermanbury But M. Burton pag. 7. Bids the Scribe put M. Calamy in minde how one at Edmundsbury or Rochford that he might not suffer for the truth did prostitute his Ministery to all those superstitious and idolatrous Innovations of the Prelates in those daies whereby he became a snare in Mispeh both to Ministers and people And that for so doing according to divine Canon he was to be barred from his Ministery as Ezek. 44.13 And he bids him tell me the example of Origen c. The Reader may perceive by these words and those that follow pag. 7. and pag. 8. That the indictment is drawn in very high language and that I am charged as guilty not only of superstition but Idolatry and Idolatry as bad as that of Origen when he offered incense to Idol-gods and that for so doing I am for ever to be debarred from my Ministery Which accusation is so high as that I cannot but say as the Archangel faith Jude v. 9. The Lord rebuke thee In answer to this black bill of indictment I say that so farre as it holds forth to the world any thing that is true I shall be willing to own it Of all Austins works there are two books of his which I have ever most prized and desire most to imitate his book of Confessions and his book of Retractations Who doth not admire David in his Psalms which we call poenitentiall or Psalms of spirituall restitution wherein he labours to satisfie the Church for the scandall he had given And Solomon also for his Ecclesiastes or his book of his spirituall retractations Chrysostome observes it of Paul as his greatest honour that although he had obtained pardon of God for his sins yet he is not ashamed to reckon them up to the world 1 Tim. 1.13 And therefore I hope none shall shew more willingnes in confessing or retracting any thing wherein I have erred And if I have wanted the fore-wit of innocency I will not be wanting in the after-wit of godly sorrow and true repentance Thus much I answer in generall But in particular to M. Burton I answer 1. That whereas he cals himself pag. 11. my elder brother he deals in this not as a brother much lesse as an elder-brother that should have lesse passion and more discretion And whereas he cals me pag. 9. a Christian he deals with me in this not as with a Christian For suppose I were guilty of all he writes yet I would answer him as Beza did the Papists who because they could not answer his arguments upbraided him with the vices of his youth Hihomires invident mihi gratiam Christi These men envy me the free grace of God that hath pardoned these in me And as Austin answered the Donatist that separated from all the Christian Churches in the world and affirmed that there were no true Churches to be communicated withall but theirs and were also divided amongst themselves in