And that you may see hee meanes no double dealing he is well pleased the whole world should be witnesse adding this protestation that he is sorry he hath withheld his due so longe But to return to that Marble pillar that glorious Saint that euer admired Augustine I cannot but deplore my hard hap that I should be indited for the least wronge done to him to whose heauenly Meditations sweet sayings and learned discourses I owe more then the half of my self Would any man beleeue that I shold father that booke de mirabilibus sacrae scripturae vpon him z Pag. 122. Varius ait Scaurus negat Rabshacbeh auerres that Indeed I cannot denie that finding it in their owne Coppies in equall rancke with those other bookes that goe vnder the title of Saint Augustine his workes and hauing no other certaine or knowne author vnder whose name I mought cite it I was loath to trouble the margent with any Circumloquution coÌ„tenting my self only to note where it might be found And this I did to a double end First to draw and extort from the aduersarie an open confession of the falsehood of their forefathers in packing and placing their bastardly brood amongst the naturall children and true branches of those Angelical Doctors Which vniust dealing hath not beene the least bane of the Christian world Secondly to inferre vpon their owne acknowledgement and discarding this booke that the testimonie euen of the most partiall that vented their follies in those first declining yeeres will steed them but very little for authorizing the Machabees from whence the foundation of their praier and oblation for the dead was first deriued As neere as I can remember I thus argued with my selfe If they grant that Saint Augustines penne doe feuer the Machabees from the diuine Canon then the matter will bee soone at an end and if they deny that booke to bee his then hovv vvill they excuse the infidelitie of their Church who hath in her time plaide manie such lewde prankes as this Or how vvill they answere Antiquitie vvhich distinguished these bookes eight hundred and nine yeeres before either a The book de Mirabilibus was written 627. vt P. 133 Luther or Suinglius vvere borne So that my reply is this If it bee a booke of no account not sauouring of Saint Augustines vvit learning and stile then are they culpable either of forging or maintenance or both If it bee not his why was it entertained vvhy is it continued in their own editions amongst his golden works If they print it vnder his name they may giue me leaue so to note it where they might be sure to finde it Yea but b P. 3. q. 45. art 3. ad 2. teste Tho. Aquinate it hath beene long since pronounced discarded By like it will not serue the Popes turne vvhy then welfare their honest Index expurgatorius that will tell manie tricks of the like cleanly conueiance In what an intricate age doe wee liue A man cannot safely read any their fathers but he must turne ouer Thomas Aquinas before hee can tell what workes are their owne and consequently may catch a Snake instead of an Eele ere hee be aware §. 10. THus you well see ingenuous Gentlemen how I haue quit my hands of the first falsehood my scope being not then to prooue that booke de mirabilibus to be Saint Augustines but first to euince them of forgerie and then to shevve vvhat their ovvne Antiquitie did manie hundred yeeres agoe thinke of those Apocriphall books Had I bin indeed perswaded that it had bin S. Augustines owne off-spring I should haue held it needles to cumber the breuity of a letter with more then one other proofe of the same Father But because I foresaw that by this baite I should bring the opposite partie to one of those ineuitable disaduantages formerly mentioned I therefore added tvvo seuerall testimonies vvhich he cannot disauow to confirme the same truth in the alleaging vvhereof hee cries out c P. 134. that I am a notorious falsefier For triall vvherof my pen prostrates it selfe to your censure The vvords by mee cited are these d Mr. T. H. P. 60. Machabaeorum Scriptura recepta est ab Ecclesia non inutiliter si sobriè legatur vel auditatur maxime propter istos Martyres vvhereupon my inference was this Ergo ob hanc causam in Canone morum non fidei censeri posset Which last clause I wonder how it should so passe my sight in the re-vievv For perusing my first draught I finde go vvritten short in another letter to distinguish my inference from his proofe It seemeth either my Manuaties haste or the e Dominum De umâ—nâ—strum Papam not his Phrase but ouer-sight in print P. 149. Printers misprision hath turned go into sed as if the same had beene continued vvhereas my English reddition was plaine And that consequently they are in the Canon of Manners c. vvhich Aduerbe their former error caused them vtterly to omit f Verstij Parasceue Such scapes oftentimes happen when the Author himselfe cannot attend the presse Now that you may perceiue there is no such Trophey in this casuall addition which no man of sence vvould willingly haue suffered when the Authors are obuious to euery eye you shall see I had S. Hieroms authority for that inference though I then did not quote him whose words are these g Jn praf lib. Salomonis Iudith Tobiae et Machabaeorum libros legit quidem Ecclesia sed eos inter Canonicas Scriptur as non recepit and hee explaines himselfe how this should be vnderstood Legat Ecclesia sayth hee ad aedificationem plebis non ad authoritatem dogmatum Ecclesiasticorum confirmandam reckon all these together you shall find them amount to no lesse summe then that the bookes of Machabees are in Canone morum non fidei censendi Might it haue pleased him to haue sifted Lyra Brito Rabanus and Caietan vvhom I there cited this matter would not haue beene such a beame in his eye How will he looke when Mr. Crashaw shal make him fly to his Printer for Sanctuarie in greater extremities then the mistaking of a word Will you giue me leaue to praesage vvhat he will say Admit this clause annexed be true in it selfe yet how can it bee collected out of these former words when as S. Augustine shewing that the Iewes doe not admit the booke of Machabees as they do the Law Prophets and Psalmes addeth Sed recepta est ab Ecclesia non inutiliter si sobriè legatur vel audiatur maximè propter istos Martyres Machabaeos How can you then conclude ergo it is not Canonicall Nay rather the consequence will be this ergo the Christian Church doth admit the booke of Machabees as Canonicall in that sense that the Iewes did refuse them to wit as the Lawe Prophets and Psalmes any of h P. 135. which may more hurt then profit if the same bee read in a drunken
fit of a wanton wit This inference I grant is in another letter indeed his Printer hath done him right to set it in his owne Character for neither did Saint Augustine dreame neither would any sober setled braine stumble vpon such a sense Doth not hee make Saint Augustine speake that which hee neuer meant vvhen hee rackes his words inforcing him to say that Canonicall Scripture is receiued of the Church with a Si which is necessarily to bee acknowledged though it fall out by default to bee Sapor mortis ad mortem or did hee dreame of such a drunken Church as theirs seems to be by their cloyning of the Scriptures from the common people least it should hurt them Had his purpose bin to set these books in the same throne imperiall vvith the sacred Scriptures to vvhat end dooth he instance in those Machabees Martyrs This specification maximè propter istos Martyres Machabaeos declares vvhere the daunger lies implying if vvee sayle vvell by these rocks there is though no necessity some vse of the rest So that the words rightly poysed vvill beare that distinction vvhich Saint Hierome vvho was better acquainted vvith Saint Augustines meaning and the Churches custome dooth resolutely maintaine that Canonicall Scripture must necessarilie bee receiued as for other vncertaine writings they may not vnprofitablie bee read And whereas hee confesseth that the Iewes vvho were the best Surueyors of the authority of their ovvne Histories did reiect them You may well thinke hee held it small reason for after ages to intertaine them in the highest esteeme as Iudges of their faiths though hee saw many good things for which the Church with a little caution did approue them §. 11. THus for want of better sporte this trifling companion is faine to play with a feather which when he hath blown vp as high as hee can falls downe and stickes vpon his owne coate I cannot blame you if your i Angligena attollant equites peditesque cachinnum laughter some-what passe modesty when you consider how wittely he workes vpon that clause Si sobrié legatur turning the weakenes of the iudgement which Saint Augustine vpon good probability feared into that intemperance of disordered affection which was not by him intended By this common acceptation of the word Sobriè in this place ridiculous hee glides to this needlesse conclusion k Pag. 135. that there is no story nor miracle in the holy Bible which some will not deride when they bibble and take l Faeda Tobacciseriquid vult contagio sum Prater inauditam perlus membre luâ—m Tobacco or when they read the Scripture as Sir Edward Hoby doth seeme to doe Lypsius his booke of our Ladies miracles by the fier side when men roast crabs to driue à man out of à melancholy fitt m To M. T. H. Pag. 102. I presume you haue read that discourse so that I shall not need twise to present you with the same dish Neuer did your eies behold such lewd lies and incredible false-hoods as that n Aliquando fit in Eclesia maxima deceptio populi in miraculis sactis à Sacerdotibus propter lucrum Lâ—â—a in ca. 14. Daniel Miracle-monger setteth to sale for sound truthes It is not vnlike that this probationer hath taken vp some store of them vpon trust and because he cannot now so cleanly put them to sale but that they still he vpon his hand the dullest sent finding that they haue taken too much winde hee therefore takes it in dudgeon that I should hinder his market by saying that o Reddere personae sciâ— cenuenientia cuique Lypsius is worthy the reading by the fier side when men roast crabbs This makes him as hotte as a toste This roasting of Crabbs settes his teeth on edge Doe you see what a queasie stomack hee hath His p Et data Romanis venia est in digna poetâ—â— Poets and Painters may lymme and faine what ridiculous Chimaeras they please by vertue of his dispensation But Sir Edward Hoby must be called in question if hee chance to clap a q Verbaque praeuisam rem non inuita sequuntur wilde phrase vpon a vile fiction As if I were now to learne of such an Hipodidascalian Paedagogue to r Quo scribi possunt numero quoue ordine dicam measure my phrase by his Å¿ Sibi conuenientia fingit rule and line Alasse poore Nouice I haue liued a little too longe to goe to schoole to such an Ignatius as hee is that cannot distinguish between a Helmet and a Couentry capp I haue euer held it art enough for mee to please my t Quem penes arbitrium est et ius et forma loquendi selfe It is for such seruile pens as his to write in Moode and Figure But doth hee not thinke you deserue the wood of the Crabb that is so angry with the Crab of the wood Can you deny that hee flutters in a web of foolish Baberies when he bables of bibling taking u Nuga mea arguuntur adeó factorum innocens sum Tobacco I am sure this is no mortal sin though if it were I haue litle reason to trauel to the Popes toe for a Pardon no not if I were sure to haue the paring of his nayle with th' appurtenances for my paines Shall I be so bold as to make you my confessors Then I confesse in my time I haue not beene an enemy to that Indian weede and perhaps haue spent some-what that way which had bin better giuen to the poore Yet my tennants cannot say but that my chimneys did euer smoak more then my nose As for these late yeares I doe not remember that I had a pipe in my hand twice So that the Informer may put vp this iest in his boxe If he be as free from all his olde vices and drunken conceites as I am from this vanity hee shall not neede any great pennance You may see how gladly hee would finde a hole in my coate who catcheth so at a x Et fumus et fimus vapour which is long since flowne out of his reach § 12. THe next flaw which he finds is a Pag. 135. an imperfect Allegation of the same Father without any direction where hee might finde it In which he hath shewed himselfe a very kinde Aduersarie by quoting the place and adding the words which were wanting I will not requite him with the Prouerbe that profered seruice merits small thankes but in lieu of his labour I will more fully aduertise him of my scope which hee seemes wholie to mistake My purpose was from a ground out of Saint Augustine to proue that the booke of Machabees is not Canonicall My Major is S. Augustine as well knowne as the Beggar knoweth his dish In libris Canonicis nusquam nobis praeceptum permissumué c. In holy Canonicall Scripture there is no diuine precept or permission to be found that either to gayne immortalitie
or to escape any perill we may make away with our selues But Razias mentioned in the Machabees is commended for a fact of this kinde Ergo These bookes are not Canonicall This Syllogisme I had a desire to contract b Artis est artem dissimulare Hee is a simple Painter that is driuen to write a Goose or a VVoodcocke ouer-head that people may know what feature hee hath drawne vnderneath Neither doe Rhethoricians vse to distinguish their propositions by name leaueing worke for the Logicall Analysis to set euery part in the proper place VVherefore being then loath to be tedious to the Reader with long Quotations I held it best to abridge two Authorities in one and did forbeare to note the places because I was resolued to deliuer the words by waight and not by tale The words by mee deliuered were these In sanctis Canonicis libris nusquà m nobis diuinitùs praeceptum permissumue reperiri potest vt vel ipsius adipiscendae immortalitatis vel vllius Carendi Cauendique mali causa nobis ipsis necem inferamus At Razias seipsum occidens laudatur c Pag. 135. These foure words saith he are added to the Text S. Augustine hath them not Farre was it from S. Augustines grauitie to say that Razias was therefore praised in the Machabees For hee saith the contrary in expresse termes in the very same place against Gaudentius I will not be the man that shall set S. Augustine at oddes with S. Augustine I could gladly haue concealed it if there be any such contradiction But seeing hee sues me to iustifie my Assumption That Razias is therefore commended in the Machabees I must referre you to d Lyra in 2 Mach. 14. Lyra 2 Mach. 14. VVhere hauing deliuered two cases wherein the Iewes held it not onely lawfull but meritorious for a man to kill himselfe as first Ne subditus fieret peccatoribus Secondly Ne in contemptum Dei Coeli eius vita in ludibrio haberetur Hee concludes Et vt dicunt aliqui hoc modo intelligendum est dictum Augustini quod habetur hic in Glossa and as some thinke S. Augustines saying which followeth here in the Glosse is thus to be vnderstood O that I could meete with that saying of S. Augustine which I omitted to cite Doth Lyra say it followeth here in the Glosse then will I presume so farre vppon your patience as to write it out e Lyra in Mach. l. 2. c. 14. Vnde Scriptura huius Libri quae recepta est ab Ecclesia ad legendum pro informatione morum non videtur hic Raziam arguere sed potiùs f Marke Mr. Rabâ—echeth commendare de sui ipsius interfectione Si autem praedicta non sufficiunt ad eius excusationem potest dici quod fecit hoc per spiritualem instinctum Spiritus Sancti Whereupon the Scripture of this Booke which is receiued by the Church to be read for the information of manners doth not seeme here to reproue Razias but rather to commend him for killing of himselfe c. Now whether S. Augustine were of this minde or no let it lye vpon Lyraes report who here relateth eyther the very wordes or the receiued sense Yet doth not this Sophister sticke to say It was farre from his grauitie hee read not that Booke with so little sobrietie Howsoeuer it is not much materiall for hauing my Major out of S. Augustine that in no Canonicall Booke there is eyther Precept or Permission for a man to kill himselfe it is sufficient for mee to proue from the assent euen of the Rabbins albeit that Father had not iumped in this point as hee seemes to doe that Razias is here commended and so may conclude That they are not Canonicall How would this dizzie brainde Ishmalite haue insulted had I noted S. Augustine de Ciuitate Dei in the Margent for the whole which error a man might easily haue committed vpon Lyraes warrant that my Clause and Minor Proposition that Razias is therefore commended was not onely held by the opinion of the Rabbins but euen of Saint Augustine himselfe VVherefore as hee hath found Saint Augustine for the first part let him put Lyra to the last and then I will passe my word the Conclusion shall be free from his supposed collusion Did I doubt of the agilitie of your apprehension I could be more prolixe in the explication thereof but because I haue another Crow to pull with him I will no further inlarge my Apologie in this point § 13. THe last g Pag. 318. occasion which he pretends hath giuen him iust cause to carpe is for that I said h To Mr. T.H. Pag. 92. our English nation was not conuerted vnto Christ by that proud and insolent Augustine their great Gregories delegate affirming that he taught vs no more then wee knew before setting some friuilous Ceremonies aside VVherevpon hee enforceth that J neuer read that Master-worke of the three Conuersions of England wherein the testimonie of Guildas by mee cited is largely handled and fully declared Should I graunt all I cannot see what inconuenience will ensue Is there no better imployment of my time then the pervsall of that Arch-fugitiues lines Or hath none besides of their faction beaten this bush and harped on the same string Or am I in conscience bound to put the seale of my assent to whatsoeuer F. Parsons did write I confesse hee acknowledgeth that Saint Peter was here hee mentioneth also perhaps vpon greater probabilitie the comming of Saint Paul Simon Zelotes Aristobulus and Joseph of Arimathaea VVhere doe I say that they weary the World and bob their credulous Ladies as if they neuer had heard of Gildas his Testimonie I neuer named their Author nor questioned that matter Howsoeuer it please him to ioyne the pieces of two sentences together which are almost a whole Page distant and to fetch his Marginall Note 92. Pages off Gildas his testimonie said I hath beene vrged that the Britaine 's receiued the Christian Faith from the beginning and after many such like Instances I conclude that these particulars haue beene againe and againe renewed without any verified contradiction so farre was I from denying that their Author mentioneth not these whom I well know hee hath particularly cited That which I wondred at was this that notwithstanding the former instances by them not denied they should stand so much vpon the Conuersion of England by Saint Gregories meanes at which I onely aymed as if that originall and primitiue Conuersion had beene a matter which they neuer heard of before VVhen they haue made the best they can of it it will proue at the most to be but a new supply and a further propagation of the Gospell formerly preached among the Inhabitants of this Land For if Britaine were many hundred yeeres before that time conuerted as themselues confesse then did not Augustine lay the corner-stone himselfe but built vpon the Foundation of other men So
that the particulars were not by mee specified as if they denyed them but to proue from their owne acknowledgement that they had therefore little reason so to magnifie the enterance of that Delegate with the glorious stile of the Conuersion of this English Nation § 14. NOw whereas hee further replieth that the people of this Country the Britaines being expelled were then Heathen I demaund whether hee found not in Britaine at his Arriuall amongst the English Saxons seauen Bishops and an Arch-bishop vvho were not onely Professors but also Preachers of the Christian Faith VVere there not at that in the Monasterie of Bangor two thousand Monkes VVas not i Bed lib. 1. c. 25 Q. Aldiberga a good Christian before hee came into Kent or had the Bishop her Chaplaine no Faith at all VVill hee not beleeue Bede k L. 1. c. 17. who writeth that before Augustines comming the Britaines were infected with Arianisme and Pelagianisme Perhaps this Cure deserued the name of a Conuersion yea but Augustine was not the Physitian The French-men saith Bede at the request of the Britaines met in a Synode and sent Germanus and Lupus by whom the Heretiques were confuted and the auncient Faith reuiued before that Monke set foote vpon English ground But because hee is so confident in the three Conuersions as if that Mallet were able to strike all dead let him learne from his owne Author that which I beleeue hee will be scarse willing to heare viz. l Part. 1. c. 9. n. 1. That from the time of K. Lucius vntill the comming of Augustine which was foure hundred yeere and more they did not alter their Faith but it remained among them when hee entered VVhat is now become of this goodly Conuersion Dares hee let his witnesse be examined any further That Faith saith hee which Augustine brought and that which the Britaines had before must needes bee one and the selfe-same in all materiall and substantiall Poynts VVee shall not neede to vrge him with further Interrogatories the Iewrie sees hee failes in this Issue and therefore their verdict will be that It was onely a superficiall and no substantiall Conuersion Hath hee not now brought his Hoggs to a faire Market Hath hee read the Booke of the three Conuersions The case is so cleare now that his m Mulier nihil scit nisi quod ipsa cupit Ladies shall be able to conceiue it But suppose it were a Conuersion I hope they presume so farre vpon Augustines honestie that hee would not broach any other Faith then that which his Master by whom hee was sent had giuen him in charge If so what will become of the Popes Supremacie Images Merits of workes and the like trash which that n Catholike appeale for Protestants Way to the Chur. Sect. 49. Gregorie was so farre from countenancing by his authoritie that hee disclaimed by his Penne So that if he were a Founder yet was it not of that Faith which the B. of Romes Proctors doe now so stifly maintaine and consequently this imaginarie Supposition will bruise their owne Pates But how shall I then scape his hands for wronging Augustine Hee cannot endure to heare him tearmed a proud and insolent Delegate indeede vvere my Malice the Mynter of this contumelious reproach I confesse hee had no reason to stand with his finger in his mouth but hee might haue done well before hee had growne into such a choler to haue taken Counsell of the Britaine BB. o L. 2. C. 2. Bede would haue informed him how Lordly hee sate in his Chaire like a little Pope p Vultus animi index neither arising nor bowing to the BB. when they came into the Synode more like a Lord hauing dominion of their Faith then a Conuerter beseeching them in the Name of the Lord Iesus Those BB. were not so simple but they could q Ex vngue Leonem discouer his Pride and therefore endeuoured to ouer-thwart him in whatsoeuer hee proposed VVell did his Master perceiue his ambitious spirit when hee gaue him this cooling Card touching the BB. of France r Greg. resp ad inter Aug. Bed l. 1. c. 27. In Galliarum Episcopos nullam tibi authoritatem tribuimus Wee giue you no authoritie ouer them All this notwithstanding I must haue my lips sealed not daring to say that Hee was a proud insolent Delegate I see no reason why vitium and conuitium should be parted seeing hee deserued it hee is best vvorthy to haue it VVere I now in his case I should be in a pittifull feare least the Noble Ladies whom hee hath so grossely deluded should like so many Hecubaes seeke some violent reuenge what starting hole can there be possibly found to hide these his writing falsifications from their curious eyes when they shall perceiue how he coniures my sentences together to raise his owne sence hee may well thinke their Contributions will be soone shortned and Exhibitions reuoked farre is it from their generous dispositions to giue incouragement to any such audacious Vassall in the causlesse traducing of a Knight to whom their Honors is no lesse deare then his owne § 15. IF hee haue any Plea for himselfe it will be this that s Pag. 133. 135 22. 218. c. hee doth not charge the Knight with these ignorant and impudent corruptions No hee thinkes not so dishonorably of men of my calling hee aymes onely at the Minister that suggested vnto mee these corrupted pieces of Saint Augustine His purpose was onely to gall those Pedanties Trencher-Schoole-Masters and humorizing Discoursers that cast such Flies and follies vpon my Trenchers If hee haue taxed mee with ignorance that is pardonable in a Knight but as for notorious falshoodes hee is so charitably perswaded of mee that hee knowes some Trencher-Minister or Mercenarie Lecturer yea Mr. Crashawe himselfe who is great in my Booke hath cast them on my Trencher to put into my Booke and that these Ministers haue made mee print such stuffe eyther false or impertinent with the losse of my Honor which had I seene their Bookes I would neuer haue done against my Conscience and knowledge Adding further that what J haue written it hath beene by their suggestions as hauing my selfe not read nor knowne so much as the subiect and Argument of the three Conuersions of England which I seeme to speake against and that these are the men that made mee flye hood-winck'd to catch Flyes In fine as for any thing that hee hath written it was to no other end but that I might no longer trust my Trencher-Schoole-Masters but set such a frowne vpon them that they might vanish out of my sight for euer not suffering my selfe to be thus troubled and my Credit blowne vp but rather to lay the matter of the Pamphlet vpon the true Father onely chalenging to my selfe the Stile and Phrase which may well beseeme a Knight and is too rich and golden to clothe the foule Brat of a Ministers Braine
this regard that the truth might be defended by persons whose pennes could not be corrupted with ambitious hope of (o) Because saith he they haue no other meanes to liue Pag. 31. spirituall promotions Further the report of the VVriter might happily induce the Ladies to vouchsafe the reading thereof whereas their Priests debars them the sight of our Ministers Bookes I was loath such rare creatures should be ouer gudgeoned by so foule Popinians by whom when their treasure is once wasted and their younger yeeres spent they shall be no more esteemed then so many Motheeaten Glosses which albeit they haue formerly stood them in stead they are not now ashamed to disclaime Other incitements I had then to write which he hath neyther authoritie to extort nor I reason to declare And because I then passed my word to answere any (p) To Mr. T. H. Pag. 6. Romefied Renegado though I haue small reason to defile my fingers with such a Pezantique Fugitiue who is ashamed of his q Les escrits iniurieux doiuent estre mesprises quand les auteurs sont in cogneus P. Mat. Fathers name yet least my silence might preiudice so warrantable a cause I haue clapt my hand vpon this Gnat which keepeth such an humming about my eares This I was not ignorant of before I tooke my penne in hand for this combat that I should gaine no more by coping with a namelesse Foe then the Lord Chiefe Iustice (r) Not long after the Statute made for burning of rogues in the eare Cataline got when his Studie was robbed by the paper which was there left with this Inscription If any aske who hath beene here Say it was (s) I. R. Nomen â—â—en Iack Rogue late burnt in the eare §. 18. A Person not long since of eminent place esteemed not least Politicall after he had beene often as himselfe saith vexed with their (t) Quò tristis Erynnis quò fremitus vocat Virg. 2. Aeneid Erynnicall Libels which are ordinarily addressed to persons of highest rancke at last vouchsafed a briefe (u) An Answere to certaine scandalous Papers printed 1606. Apologeticall answere but with this protestation that hee neuer intended further Reply VVherefore as while he liued Nature cast this lot vpon me to be one of the nearest of his bloud so though hee be dead I will iumpe with his discretion in this that if eyther this Cat-sputtrer or any other Hagaren shall hereafter inter-lace my name in their Spiders Web (x) Periti bellatoris est non minus scire fugiendi artem quam pugnandi aut Dormitabo aut Ridebo VVere not the darknesse of my (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VVindowes a sufficient Supersedeas yet shall I by this meanes turne their Follies and friuolous Contumelies into the Trophies of my victorious Patience VVhereas (z) Prou. 26.4 By answering a foole according to his foolishnesse J should also be held like vnto him It is more then enough that I haue thus farre yeelded to (a) Pag. 52. bray him in this Morter with the Pestle of my Penne if the iuyce be vnpleasing you must attribute it to the venome of his cankered Complexion better things I could not extract from such an Aspe If you seriously obserue his lame and goutie Arguments his dangerous intention and slender prosecution you shall finde iust ground to say of his Treatise as (b) Populi Romani legationem nec pedes habere nec caput nec cor Cato merrily spake of the three Ambassadours who being named for Bithinia excused themselues one by a cut in his head another with a paine in his feete and the third with a gryping in his heart neither whole head good feete nor sound heart § 19. IN his Preface Dedicatorie hee brags that hee hath sent out his Booke as a Pinnace to fetch you into the Arke of the Catholike Church But I feare by that time Mr. Crashawe hath searched his bottome it will proue no better then a leaking Friggot His Sailes are too great for a Vessell of so small burthen and consequently most like to indanger the Passengers safetie If all those Bookes which hee complaines are not suffered to passe our (c) Pag. 89. Ports except almost inuisible be like this (d) Pag. 8 Dung-hill of his let it euer be registred in the Booke of fame amongst the due Commendations of that famous superlatiuely learned and Noble (e) Lo. Warden of the Cincque Ports Councellor to whose care this important charge is committed that hee hath herein testified his loue to Religion fidelitie to his Prince and loyaltie to the State As his wisedome deserues to be admired and his lenitie applauded so doth his sinceritie herein merit high renowne in the Gates of our Sion For should the infectious Manuels of these pestilent incrochers be passable in our Coast the contagion would be such that true Pietie could not long holde vp the head nor due Alleagiance be able to stand vpon her right feete The giddinesse which (f) Superstitio initium prabuit ortum impietati Superstition would breede and the Disobedience which Papall Authoritie would raise in the mindes of the vnlearned vvhose Capacities are not able to reach the future perill of Innouation would be so dangerous to a Christian and vvell gouerned State that it would aske the whole imployment of the most experienced Senators to roote out the weedes which those enuious impes had sowne All which will be preuented if at their first Arriuall they be cast (g) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I shall not neede any further to weary my selfe or tyre you with the repelling of those inuectiues which this Tenebrio hath sharpened vpon the VVhetstone of his malice to wound my reputation This shall I hope suffice that I haue as neare as I could solidly answered things of waight dealing in points of lesser import as I thought their qualitie did require § 20. THE due regard which I euer had of your iudgements hauing my selfe beene sometimes an vnworthy member of the same (h) Middle Temple Societie hath made mee desirous not onely to send my Defence after his accusations but also to second it with a further manifestation of my Loue. May it then please you to take notice that howsoeuer hee seeke to insinuate himselfe by his charitable pretences into the bosome of your fauors yet hath hee not left his (i) Loquitur mendacia versipellis Pag. 12. Scorpions sting at home For notwithstanding hee fathers his Dedication vpon the (k) Pag. 22. carefull respect of your Saluation and Honour yet doth hee make no other reckoning of you then of so many (l) Pag. 81. Parlamentarians whose Religion is steared by the Helme of the State as if the Bookes of Statutes vvere the sole foundations of your Faith Neyther doth hee sticke to say that you make your (m) Pag. 59. Temples and Courts the places where silly Flies and fooles