reason of his distaste to the Earl of Lauderdaile who prest him but to read one of the Books over which he did and so read them all as I have seen many of them marked with his hand and was drawn to over-value them more than the Earl of Lauderdaile Hereupon his Lady reading them also and being a Woman of very strong Love and Friendship with extraordinary Entireness swallowed up in her Husband's Love for the Books sake and her Husband's sake she became a most affectionate Friend to me before she ever saw me While she was in France being zealous for the King's Restoration for whose Cause her Husband had pawned and ruined his Estate by the Earl of Lauderdaile's direction she with Sir Robert Murray got divers Letters from the Pastors and others there to bear witness of the King's sincerity in the Protestant Religion among which there is one to me from Mr. Gaches Her great Wisdom Modesty Piety and Sincerity made her accounted the Saint at the Court. When she came over with the King her extraordinary Respects obliged me to be so often with her as gave me Acquaintance with her Eminency in all the foresaid Vertues She is of solid Understanding in Religion for her Sex and of Prudence much more than ordinary and of great Integrity and Constancy in her Religion and a great Hater of Hypocrisie and faithful to Christ in an unfaithful World and she is somewhat over-much affectionate to her Friend which hath cost her a great deal of Sorrow in the loss of her Husband and since of other special Friends and may cost her more when the rest forsake her as many in Prosperity use to do those that will not forsake their Fidelity to Christ. Her eldest Son the young Earl of Balcarres a very hopeful Youth died of a strange Disease two Stones being found in his Heart of which one was very great Being my constant Auditor and over-respectful Friend I had occasion for the just Praises and Acknowledgments which I have given her which the occasioning of these Books hath caused me to mention § 208. 51. After our Dispute at the Savoy somebody printed our Papers most of them given in to them in that Treaty of which the Petition for Peace the Reformed Liturgy except the Prayer for the King which Dr. W. wrote the large Reply to their Answer of our Exceptions and the two last Addresses were my writing But in the first Proposals and the Exceptions against the Liturgy I had less to do than some others § 209. 52. When the grievous Plague began at London I printed a half-sheet to stick on a Wall for the use of the Ignorant and Ungodly who were sick or in danger of the Sickness for the Godly I thought had less need and would read those large Books which are plentifully among us And I the rather did it because many well-winded People that are about the Sick that are ignorant and unprepared and know not what to say to them may not only read so short a Paper to them but see there in what method such Persons are to be dealt with in such a Case of Extremity that they may themselves enlarge as they see Cause § 210. 53. At that time one Mr. Nathaniel Lane wrote to me to intreat me to write one sheet or two for the use of poor Families who will not buy or read any bigger Books Though I knew that brevity would unavoidably cause me to leave out much necessary matter or else to write in a Stile so concise and close as will be little moving to any but close judicious Readers yet I yielded to his perswasions and thought it might be better than nothing and might be read by many that would read no larger and so I wrote two Sheets for poor Families The first containing the method and motives for the Conversion of the Ungodly The second containing the Description or Character of a true Christian or the necessary Parts of Christian Duty for the direction of Beginners in a Godly Life These three last Sheets were printed by the favour of the Archbishop's Chaplain when the Bishop of London's Chaplain had put me out of hope of printing any more With all these Writings I have troubled the World already and these are all except Epistles to other mens Works as one before Mr. Swinnock's Books of Regeneration one before Mr. Hopkin's Book one before Mr. Eedes one before Mr. Matthew Pool's Model for Advancing Learning one before Mr. Benjamin Baxter's Book one before Mr. Ionathan Hanmer's Exercitation of Confirmation one before Mr. Lawrence of Sickness two before two of Mr. Tombe's Books and some others of which there are two that I must give some account of The Bookseller being to print the Assembly's Works with the Texts cited at length desired me by an Epistle to recommend it to Families I thought it a thing arrogant and unfit for a single Person who was none of the Synod to put an Epistle before their Works But when he made me know that it was the desire of some Reverend Ministers I wrote an Epistle but required him to put it into other mens hands to publish or suppress according to their Judgment but to be sure that they printed all or none The Bookseller gets Dr. Manton to put an Epistle before the Book who inserted mine in a differing Character in his own as mine but not naming me But he leaveth out a part which it seems was not pleasing to all When I had commended the Catechisms for the use of Families I added That I hoped the Assembly intended not all in that long Confession and those Catechisms to be imposed as a Test of Christian Communion nor to disown all that scrupled any word in it If they had I could not have commended it for any such use though it be useful for the instruction of Families c. All this is left out which I thought meet to open lest I be there misunderstood Also take notice that the Poem prefixed to Mr. Vines's Book of the Sacrament was not printed by any order of mine Having received the Printed Book from the Stationer as Gift it renewed my Sorrow for the Author's Death which provoked me to write that Poem the same Night in the Exercise of my Sorrow and gave it the Donor for his Book and he printed it without my knowledge § 211. Manuscripts that are yet unprinted which lye by me are these following 1. A Treatise in Folio called A Christian Directory or Sum of Practical Divinity In four Tomes The first called Christian Ethicks The second Christian Ecclesiasticks The third Christian Oeconomicks The fourth Christian Polisticks It containeth bare Directions for the practice of our Duties in all these respects as Christians as Church-Members as Members of the Family and as Members of the Commonwealth But there is a sufficient Explication of the Subject usually premised and the Directions themselves are the Answers of most useful Cases of Conscience
eminent Physicians agreed that my Disease was the Hypocondriack Melancholy and not the Scurvy To recite a Catalogue of my Symptoms and Pains from Head to Feet would be a tedious interruption to the Reader I shall therefore only say this that the Symptoms and Effects of my General Indisposition were very terrible such as a flatulent Stomach that turn'd all things into Wind a Rheumatick head to a very great degree and great sharpness in my Blood which occasioned me no small trouble by the excoriation of my Fingers ends which upon any heat I us'd or Aâ—omatick thing I took would be raw and bloody and every Spring and Fall or by any kind of heating my Nose still fell a bleeding and that with such a great violence and in such excessive quantities as often threatned my Life which I then ascribed to such Causes as I have since liv'd to see my self mistaken in for I am now fully satisfied that all proceeded from Latent Stones in my Reins occasioned by unsuitable Diet in my Youth And yet two wonderful Mercies I had from God 1. That I was never overwhelm'd with real Melancholy My Distemper never went so far as to possess me with any inordinate Fancies or damp me with sinking Sadness although the Physicians call'd it the Hypocondriack Melancholy I had at several times the Advice of no less than Six and thirty Physicians by whose order I us'd Druggs without number almost which God thought not fit to make successful for a Cure and indeed all Authors that I read acquainted me that my Disease was incurable whereupon I at last forsook the Doctors for the most part except when the urgency of a Symptom or Pain constrained me to seek some present ease 2. The second Mercy which I met with was that my Pains though daily and almost continual did not very much disable me from my Duty but I could Study and Preach and Walk almost as well if I had been free of which more anon At last falling into a sudden and great decay and debility I went to Sir Theodore Mayerne who kept me in a long Course of Physick which did me some good for the present and after that riding much in the Army did me some good than any thing But having one Symptom on me the constant excoriation of my three formost Fingers ends on both Hands to the raw flesh he sent me to Tunbridge-Waters where I staid three Weeks and after that my Defluctions and Agitation of the Serous Matter much encreased though the Excoriation ceased at that time and hastned my greater ruine Especially one Errour of his did me hurt He vehemently persswaded me to the eating of Apples which of all things in the World had ever been my most deadly Enemies so that when it was too late Dr. Mayerne perceived that though Acrimony disposed the matter yet meer flatulency pumped up the Blood and was the most immediate Cause of the Haemorrhagie Having taken cold with riding thin clothed in the Snow and having but two days eaten Apples before Meat as he perswaded me I fell into such a bleeding as continued six days with some fits of intermission so that about a Gallon of Blood that we noted was lost and what more I know not Upon this both he and other Physicians gave me up as hopeless through the weakness thereby occasioned and concluding that all would end in a Dropsie for my Leggs began to swellâ— By a Friend's perswasion I wrote to Dr. George Bates Archiater to King Charles the Second as Sir Theodore Mayerne was to King Charles the First who concurred so exactly in all points with Dr. Mayerne as if they had consulted the Case and the Medicaments prescribed being unusual that I marvelled at their Concord and by both their Counsels though neither of them had any considerable hope of my Life I was necessitated besides other Remedies to be oft in purging for all my weakness to prevent a Dropsie Within a quarter of a year I was able weakly to Preach again but continued divers years in languishing Pains and Weaknesses double or fourfold to what I had before So that besides all my former Inâ—â—â—mities ever after this Bleeding my chief Disease is a Praematura Senectus through the great Diminution of Nature's Stock And just the same Symptoms as most men have about Fourscore years of Age are added to those which I had before In some seeming Necessities my latter Physicians after all this did four or five times take some Blood from me and once a spoonful in about seven Ounces of Serum did coagulate but at no other time would one jot of it ever coagulate or cohere but was a meet putrilage sine fibris like thin Ink or Saw-pit Water To keep this Blood in the relaxed Vessels was now all my Cares which daily shed abroad upon my Eyes and Teeth and Jaws and Joynts so that I had scarce rest night or day of some of the Effects and my Remedy which God blessed to my ease I shall speak more afterward With such Blood in a kind of Atrophie which hath caused a very troublesome Drowsiness to seize upon and follow me I have lived now these many years and wrote all the Books that ever I wrote and done the greatest part of my Service My chiefest Remedies are 1. Temperance as to quantity and quality of Food for every bit or spoonful too much and all that is not exceeding easie of digestion and all that is flatulent do turn all to Wind and disorder my Head 2. Exercise till I sweat For if I walk not hard with almost all my strength an hour before Dinner and an hour before Super till I sweat well I am not able to digest two Meals and cannot expect to live when I am disabled for Exercise being presently overwhelmed with chilliness flatulency and serosity 3. A constant Extrinâ—ick Heat by a great Fire which may keep me still near to a Sweat if not in it for I am seldom well at ease but in a Sweat 4. Beer as hot as my Throat will endure drunk all at once to make me Sweat These are the Means which God hath used to draw out my days and give me ease with one Herb inwardly taken which I write for the sake of any Students that may be near the same Distempers but almost all Physick did me harm And no Aromatical Thing now can I taste but it setteth my Nose a bleeding though since I bled a Gallon I am not so prone to it as before I have cast in all this here together that the Reader may better understand other things and may not too oft be troubled with such Matters But now at the Age of near Seventy years what Changes and sad Days and Nights I undergo I after tell § 10. About the Eighteenth year of my Age Mr. Wickstead with whom I had lived at Ludlow had almost perswaded me to lay by all my Preparations for the Ministry and to go to London and get
indeed I had such clear Convictions my self of the madness of secure presâ—mptuous Sinners and the unquestionable Reasons which should induce men to a holy Life and of the unspeakable greatness of that Work which in this hasty Inch of Time we have all to do that I thought that Man that could be ungodly if he did but hear these things was fitter for Bedlam than for the Reputation of a sober rational Man And I was so foolish as to think that I had so much to say and of such Convincing Evidence for a Godly Life that Men were scarce able to withstand it not considering what a blind and sensless Rock the Heart of an obdurate Sinner is and that old Adam is too strong for young Luther as he said But these Apprehensions determined my choice § 17. Till this time I was satisfied in the Matter of Conformity Whilst I was young I had never been acquainted with any that were against it or that questioned it I had joyned with the Common-Prayer with as hearty â—ervency as afterward I did with other Prayers As long as I had no Prejudice against it I had no stop in my Devotions from any of its Imperfections At last at about 20 years of Age I became acquainted with Mr. Simmonds Mr. Cradock and other very zealous godly Nonconformists in Shrewsbury and the adjoyning parts whose fervent Prayers and savoury Conference and holy Lives did profit me much And when I understood that they were People prosecuted by the Bishops I found much prejudice arise in my heart against those that persecuted them and thought those that silenced and troubled such Men could not be the genuine Followers of the Lord of Love But yet I resolved that I would study the Point as well as I was able before I would be confident on either side And it prejudiced me against the Nonconformists because we had but one of them near us one Mr. Barnel of Uppington who though he was a very honest blameless Man yet was reputed to be but a mean Scholar when Mr. Garbet and some other Conformists were more Learned Men And withal the Books of the Nonconformists were then so scarce and hard to be got because of the danger that I could not come to know their reasons Whereas on the contrary side Mr. Garbet and Mr. Samuel Smith did send me Downham Sprint Dr. Burges and others of the strongest that had wrote against the Nonconformists upon the reading of which I could not see but the Cause of the Conformists was very justifiable and the reasoning of the Nonconformists weak Hereupon when I thought of Ordination I had no Scruple at all against Subscription And yet so precipitant and rash was I that I had never once read over the Book of Ordination which was one to which I was to Subscribe nor half read over the Book of Homilies nor exactly weighed the Book of Common-Prayer nor was I of sufficient Understanding to determine confidently in some Controverted Points in the 39 Articles But my Teachers and my Books having caused me in general to think the Conformists had the better Cause I kept out all particular Scruples by that Opinion § 18. At that time old Mr. Richard Foley of Stourbridge in Worcestershire had recovered some alienated Lands at Dudley which had been lest to Charitable Uses and added something of his own and built a convenient new School-House and was to choose his first School-Master and Usher By the means of Iames Berry who lived in the House with me and had lived with him he desired me to accept it I thought it not an inconvenient Condition for my Entrance because I might also Preach up and down in Places that were most ignorant before I presumed to take a Pastoral Charge to which I had no inclination So to Dudley I went and Mr. Foley and Iames Berry going with me to Worcester at the Time of Ordination I was Ordained by the Bishop and had a Licence to teach School for which being Examined I Subscribed § 19. Being settled with an Usher in the new School at Dudley and living in the House of Mr. Richard Foley Junior I there preached my first Publick Sermon in the upper Parish Church and afterwards Preached in the Villages about and there had occasion to fall afresh upon the study of Conformity For there were many private Christians thereabouts that were Nonconformists and one in the House with me And that excellent Man Mr. William Fenner had lately lived two miles off at Sedgeley who by defending Conformity and honouring it by a wonderfully powerful and successful way of Preaching Conference and holy Living had stirred up the Nonconformists the more to a vehement pleading of their Cause And though they were there generally godly honest People yet smartly censorious and made Conformity no small fault And they lent me Manuscripts and Books which I never saw before whereupon I thought it my Duty to set upon a serious impartial Trial of the whole Cause The Cause of Episcopacy Bishop Downham had much satisfied me in before and I had not then a sufficient Understanding of the difference betwixt the Arguments for an Episcopacy in general and for our English Diocesans in particular The Cause of Kneeling at the Sacrament I studied next and Mr. Paybody fully satisfied me for Conformity in that I turned over Cartwright and Whitgift and others but having lately procured Dr. Ames fresh suit I thought it my best way to study throughly Dr. Burges his Father-in-law and him as the likeliest means to avoid distraction among a multitude of Writers and not to lose the Truth in crowds of Words seeing these two were reputed the strongest on each side So I borrowed Amesius his Fresh Suit c. and because I could not keep it I transcribed the strength of it the broad Margin of Dr. Burges his Rejoynder over against each Paragraph which he replied to And I spent a considerable time in the strictest Examination of both which I could perform And the result of all my Studies was as followeth Kneeling I thought lawful and all meer Circumstances determined by the Magistrate which God in Nature or Scripture hath determined of only in the General The Surplice I more doubted of but more inclined to think it lawful And though I purposed while I doubted to forbear it till necessity lay upon me yet could I not have justified the forsaking of my Ministry for it though I never wore it to this day The Ring in Marriage I made no Scruple about The Cross in Baptism I thought Dr. Ames proved unlawful and though I was not without some doubting in the Point yet because I most inclined to judge it unlawful never once used it to this day A Form of Prayer and Liturgy I judged to be lawful and in some Cases lawfully imposed Our Liturgy in particular I judged to have much disorder and defectiveness in it but nothing which should make the use of it in the ordinary Publick
that the Armies were engaged when Sermon was done in the Afternoon the report was more audible which made us all long to hear of the success About Sun-setting Octob. 23. 1642. many Troops fled through the Town and told us that all was lost on the Parliament side and the Carriage taken and Waggons plundered before they came away and none that followed brought any other News The Towns-men sent a Messenger to Stratford upon Avon to know the certain truth About four a clock in the Morning the Messenger returned and told us That Prince Rupert wholly routed the left Wing of the Earl of Essex's Army but while his Men were plundering the Waggons the main Body and the Right Wing routed the rest of the King's Army took his Standard but it was lost again kill'd his General the Earl of Lindsey and his Standard-bearer took Prisoner the Earl of Lindsey's Son the Lord Willoughby and others and lost few Persons of Quality and no Noblemen but the Lord St. Iohn eldest Son to the Earl of Bullingbrook and that the loss of the left Wing was through the Treachery of Sir Faithful Fortescue Major to the Lord Fielding's Regiment of Horse who turned to the King when he should have Charged and that the Victory was obtained principally by Colonel Hollis's Regiment of London Red-Coats and the Earl of Essex's own Regiment and Life-Guard where Sir Philip Stapleton and Sir Arthur Haselrigge and Col. Urrey did much The next Morning being willing to see the Field where they had fought I went to Edghill and found the Earl of Essex with the remaining part of his Army keeping the Ground and the King's Army facing them upon the Hill a mile off and about a Thousand dead Bodies in the Field between them and I suppose many were buried before and neither of the Armies moving toward each other The King's Army presently drew off towards Banbury and so to Oxford The Earl of Essex's Army went back to provide for the wounded and refresh themselves at Warwick Castle the Lord Brook's House For my self I knew not what Course to take To live at home I was uneasie but especially now when Soldiers on one side or other would be frequently among us and we must be still at the Mercy of every furious Beast that would make a prey of us I had neither Money nor Friends I knew not who would receive me in any place of Safety nor had I any thing to satisfie them for my Diet and Entertainment Hereupon I was perswaded by one that was with me to go to Coventry where one of my old Acquaintance was Minister Mr. Simon King sometime School-master at Bridgenorth So thither I went with a purpose to stay there till one side or other had got the Victory and the War was ended and then to return home again For so wise in Matters of War was I and all the Country besides that we commonly supposed that a very few days or weeks by one other Battel would end the Wars and I believe that no small number of the Parliament-men had no more with than to think so to There I stayed at Mr. King 's a month but the War was as far from being like to end as before Whilst I was thinking what Course to take in this Necessity the Committee and Governour of the City desired me that I would stay with them and lodge in the Governour 's House and preach to the Soldiers The offer suited well with my Necessities but I resolved that I would not be Chaplain to the Regiment nor take a Commission but if the meer preaching of a Sermon once or twice a week to the Garrison would satisfie them I would accept of the Offer till I could go home again Mr. Aspinall one of the Ministers of the Town had a Commission from the Earl of Essex to be Chaplain to the Garrison Regiment but the Governour and Committee being displeased with him made no use of him And when he was displeased as thinking I would take his place I assured him I had no such intent and about a Twelve-month after he died Here I lived in the Governours House and followed my Studies as quietly as in a time of Peace for about a year only preaching once a week to the Soldiers and once on the Lord's Day to the People not taking of any of them a Penny for either save my Diet only Here I had a very Judicious Auditory among others many very godly and judicious Gentlemen as Sir Richard Skeffington a most noble holy Man Col. Godâ—rey Bosvile Mr. Mackworth with many others of all which Mr. George About was the chief known by his Paraphrase on Iob and his Book against Bread for the Lord's Day And there were about thirty worthy Ministers in the City who fled thither for Safety from Soldiers and Popular Fury as I had done though they never medled in the Wars viz. Mr. Richard Vines Mr. Anthony Burges Mr. Burdall Mr. Brumskill who lived with that Eminent Saint the old Lady Bromley Widow to Judge Bromley whose only discernable fault to me was too much Humility and Low thought of her self Dr. Bryan Dr. Grew Mr. Stephens Mr. Craddock Mr. Morton of Bewdley my special Friend Mr. Diamond good old Mr. Overton and many more whose presence commanded much respect from me I have cause of continual thankfulness to God for the quietness and safety and sober wise religious Company with liberty to preach the Gospel which he vouchsafed me in this City when other Places were in the Terrours and Flames of War § 62. When I had been above a year at Coventry the War was so far from being ended that it had dispersed it self into almost all the Land only Middlesex Hartfordshireâ— most of Bedford and Northamptonshire were only for the Parliament and had some quietness And Essex Suffolk Norfolk Cambridgeshire and Huntingtonshire with the Isle of Eli were called the Associated Countries and lived as in Peace because the King's Armies never came near them and so for the most part it was with Kent Surrey and Sussex And on the other side Herefordshire Worcestershire and Shropshire till this time and almost all Wales save Pembrokeshire which was wholly for the Parliament were only possessed for the King and saw not the Forces of the Parliament But almost all the rest of the Counties had Garrisons and Parties in them on both sides which caused a War in every County and I think there where few Parishes where at one time or other Blood had not been shed § 63. And here I must repeat the great Cause of the Parliaments Strength and the King's ruine and that was That the debauched Rabble through the Land emboldened by his Gentry and seconded by the Common Soldiers of his Army took all that were called Puritans for their Enemies And though Some of the King's Gentry and Superiour Officers were so Civil that they would do no such thing yet that was no Security to the Country while
for serious Piety would have had me taken in his stead a very grave ancient Doctor of Divinity who had a most promising Presence and tolerable Delivery and reverend Name and withal was my Kinsman But I found at last that he had no relish of serious Godliness nor solid Learning or Knowledge in Divinity but stole Sermons out of printed Books and set them off with a grave Delivery But Mr. Sergeant so increased in Ability that he became a solid Preacher and of so great Prudence in Practical Cases that I know few therein go beyond him but none at all do I know that excelleth him in Meekness Humility Self-denial and Diligence No Child ever seemed more humble No Interest of his own either of Estate or Reputation did ever seem to stop him in his Duty No Labour did he ever refuse which I could put him to When I put him to travel over the Parish which is near 20 miles about from House to House to Catechize and Instruct each Family he never grudged or seemed once unwilling He preached at a Chappel above two miles off one half the day and in the Town the other and never murmured I never heard of the Man or Woman in all that Town and Parish that ever said This Fault he did This Word he spake amiss against me This Wrong he did me nor ever one that once found fault with him save once one man upon a short mistake for being out of the way when he should have baptized a Child This admirable blamelesness of Life much furthered our work And when he was removed two miles from us I got Mr. Humphrey Waldern to succeed him who was very much like him and carried on his work 12. Another Advantage was the Presence and Countenance of honest Justices of Peace Colonel Iohn Bridges a prudent pious Gentleman was Patron of the Church and lived in the Parish and was a Justice of Peace And a Bailiff and Justice were Annually chosen in the Corporation who ordinarily were godly men and always such as would be thought so and were ready to use their Authority to Suppress Sin and promote Goodness And when once a Sabbath-breaker thought to have overthrown the Officers at Law Serjeant Fountain being then Judge of Assize did so repress his Malice as discouraged all others from any more such attempts But now the World is changed 13. Another help to my Success was that small relief which my low Estate enabled me to afford the Poor though the Place was reckoned at near 200 l. per Annum there came but 90 l. and sometimes 80 l. per Annum to me Besides which some years I had 60 l. or 80 l. a year of the Booksellers for my Books which little dispersed among them much reconciled them to the Doctrine which I taught I took the aptest of their Children from the School and set divers of them to the Universities where for 8 l. a year or 10 l. at most by the help of my Friends there I maintained them Mr. Vines and Dr. Hill did help me to Sizers places for them at Cambridge And the Lady Rous allowed me 8 l. a year awhile towards their Maintenance and Mr. Tho. Fowley and Col. Bridges also assisted me Some of them are honest able Ministers now cast out with their Brethren But two or three having no other way to live turned great Conformists and are Preachers now And in giving that little I had I did not enquire whether they were good or bad if they asked Relief For the bad had Souls and Bodies that needed Charity most And I found that Three pence or a Groat to every poor Body that askt me was no great matter in a year but a few pounds in that way of giving would go far And this Truth I will speak to the encouragement of the Charitable that what little Money I have now by me I got it almost all I scarce know how in that time when I gave most And since I have had less opportunity of giving I have had less increase 14. Another furtherance of my work was the Writing's which I wrote and gave among them Some small Books I gave each Family one of which came to about 800 and of the bigger I gave fewer And every Family that was poor and had not a Bible I gave a Bible to And I had found my self the benefit of reading to be so great that I could not but think it would be profitable to others 15. And it was a great Advantage to me that my Neighbours were of such a Trade as allowed them time enough to read or talk of holy Things For the Town liveth upon the Weaving of Kidderminster Stuffs and as they stand in their Loom they can set a Book before them or edifie one another whereas Plowmen and many others are so wearied or continually employed either in the Labours or the Cares of their Callings that it is a great Impediment to their Salvation Freeholders and Trades-men are the Strength of Religion and Civillity in the Land and Gentlemen and Beggers and Servile Tenants are the Strength of Iniquity Though among these sorts there are some also that are good and just as among the other there are many bad And their constant Converse and Traffick with London doth much promote Civility and Piety among Trades-men 16. And I found that my single Life afforded me much advantage For I could the easilier take my People for my Children and think all that I had too little for them in that I had no Children of my own to tempt me to another way of using it And being discharged from the most of Family Cares keeping but one Servant I had the greater vacancy and liberty for the Labours of my Calling 17. And God made use of my Practice of Physick among them as a very great advantage to my Ministry for they that cared not for their Souls did love their Lives and care for their Bodies And by this they were made almost as observant as a Tenant is of his Landlord Sometimes I could see before me in the Church a very considerable part of the Congregation whose Lives God had made me a means to save or to recover their health And doing it for nothing so obliged them that they would readily hear me 18. And it was a great advantage to me that there were at last few that were bad but some of their own Relations were Converted Many Children did God work upon at 14 or 15 or 16 years of Age And this did marvellously reconcile the Minds of the Parents and Elder sort to Godliness They that would not hear me would hear their own Children They that before could have talkt against Godliness would not hear it spoken against when it was their Childrens Case Many that would not be brought to it themselves were proud that they had understanding Religious Children And we had some old Persons of near Eighty years of Age who are I hope in Heaven and the
the several Articles which I did in a small Book called Christian Concord In which I gave the reasons why the Episcopal Presbyterians and Independants might and should unite on such Terms without any change of any of their Principles But I confess that the new Episcopal Party that follow Grotius too far and deny the very being of all the Ministers and Churches that have not Diocesan Bishops are not capable of Union with the rest upon such Terms And hereby I gave notice to the Gentry and others of the Royalists in England of the great danger they were in of changing their Ecclesiastical Cause by following new Leaders that were for Grotianism But this Admonition did greatly offend the Guilty who now began to get the Reins though the old Episcopal Protestants confessed it to be all true There is nothing bringeth greater hatred and sufferings on a Man than to foreknow the mischief that Men in power are doing and intend and to warn the World of it For while they are resolutely going on with it they will proclain him a Slanderer that revealeth it and use him accordingly and never be ashamed when they have done it and thereby declared all which he foretold to be true § 170. 15. Having in the Postscript of my True Catholick given a short touch against a bitter Book of Mr. Thomas Pierce's against the Puritans and me it pleased him to write another Volume against Mr. Hickman and me just like the Man full of malignant bitterness against Godly men that were not of his Opinion and breathing out blood-thirsty malice in a very Rhetorical fluent style Abundance of Lies also are in it against the old Puritans as well as against me and in particular in charging Hacket's Villany upon Cartwright as a Confederate which I instance in because I have out of old Mr. Ash's Library a Manuscript of Mr. Cartwright's containing his full Vindication against that Calumny which some would fain have fastened on him in his time But Mr. Pierce's principal business was to defend Grotius In answer to which I wrote a little Treatise called The Grotian Religion discovered at the Invitation of Mr. Thomas Pierce In which I cited his own words especially out of his Discussio Apologetici Rivetaini wherein he openeth his Terms of Reconciliation with Rome viz. That it be acknowledged the Mistress Church and the Pope have his Supream Government but not Arbitrary but only according to the Canons To which end he defendeth the Council of Trent it self Pope Pius's Oath and all the Councils which is no other than the French sort of Popery I had not then heard of the Book written in France called Grotius Papizans nor of Sarravius's Epistles in which he witnesseth it from his own mouth But the very words which I cited contain an open Profession of Popery This Book the Printer abused printing every Section so distant to fill up Paper as if they had been several Chapters And in a Preface before it I vindicated the Synod of Dort where the Divines of England were chief Members from the abusive virulent Accusations of one that called himself Tilenus junior Hereupon Pierce wrote a much more railing malicious Volume than the former the liveliest Express of Satan's Image malignity bloody malice and falshood covered in handsome railing Rhetorick that ever I have seen from any that called himself a Protestant And the Preface was answered just in the same manner by one that stiled himself Philo-Tilenus Three such Men as this Tilenus junior Pierce and Gunning I have not heard of besides in England Of the Jesuites Opinion in Doctrinals and of the old Dominican Complexion the ablest Men that their Party hath in all the Land of great diligence in study and reading of excellent Oratory especially Tilenus junior and Pierce of temperate Lives but all their Parts so sharpened with furious persecuting Zeal against those that dislike Arminianism high Prelacy or full Conformity that they are like the Briars and Thorns which are not to be handled but by a fenced hand and breathe out Tereatnings against God's Servants better than themselves and seem unsatisfied with blood and ruines and still cry Give Give bidding as lowd defiance to Christian Charity as ever Arrius or any Heretick did to Faith This Book of mine of the Grotian Religion greatly offended many others but none of them could speak any Sence against it the Citations for Matter of Fact being unanswerable And it was only the Matter of Fact which I undertook viz. To prove that Grotius profest himself a moderate Papist But for his fault in so doing I little medled with it § 171. 16. Mr. Blake having replye to some things in my Apology especially about Right to Sacraments or the just subject of Baptism and the Lord's Supper I wrote five Disputations on those Points proving that it is not the reality of a Dogmatical or Justifying Faith nor yet the Profession of bare Assent called a Dogmatical Faith by many but only the Profession of a Saving Faith which is the Condition of Mens title to Church-Communion Coram Ecclèsiâ and that Hypocrites are but Analogically or Equivocally called Christians and Believers and Saints c. with much more to decide the most troublesome Controversie of that Time which was about the Necessary Qualification and Title of Church-Members and Communicants Many men have been perplexed about that Point and that Book Some think it cometh too near the Independants and some that it is too far from them and many think it very hard that A Credible Profession of True Faith and Repentance should be made the stated Qualification because they think it incredible that all the Jewish Members were such But I have sifted this Point more exactly and diligently in my thoughts than almost any Controversie whatsoever And fain I would have found some other Qualification to take up with 1. Either the Profession of some lower Faith than that which hath the Promise of Salvation 2. Or at least such a Profession of Saving Faith as needeth not to be credible at all c. But the Evidence of Truth hath forced me from all other ways and suffered me to rest no where but here That Profession should be made necessary without any respect at all to Credibility and consequently to the verity of the Faith professed is incredible and a Contradiction and the very word Profession signifieth more And I was forced to observe that those that in Charity would belive another Profession to be the title to Church-Communion do greatly cross their own design of Charity And while they would not be bound to believe men to be what they profess for fear of excluding many whom they cannot believe they do leave themselves and all others as not obliged to love any Church-Member as such with the love which is due to a True Christian but only with such a Love as they owe to the Members of the Devil and so deny them the Kernel of Charity by giving
necessary Engines for the dividing and persecuting of the Church But judge thou O Lord according to thy righteousness in the day which is comming But the Examples of Corporation and Colledges are brought in who prevent Offences by Subscriptions and Oaths And even so hath Christ whose Spirit would impose nothing on the Churches but things necessary appointed a Vow and Solemn Covenant to be the way of Entrance into his Church And the Apish Spirit which followeth him to counter-work him by the Addition of Humane Churches Sacraments and Ordinances doth also imitate him in making their Oaths and Promises necessary to engage Men to their Service and Institutions as Christ hath made Baptism necessary to engage us to his Service and Institutions And your Arguments for Diocesans are so weak that we wonder not that you think both Oaths Subscriptions Prisons Confiscations and Banishments necessary to enforce them What you add of such Persons as have themselves exacted Conditions of their Communion not warranted by Law we understand not Either the Law warranteth Men to own Christ for their Saviour and to own their own Membership in the particular Church which they demand constant Communion with or it doth not If it do not we have reason to desire more than is warranted by that Law If it do you should have done well to instance what Persons and what Exactions you mean If you speak this of all the Churches of the◠Land that dislike◠your Prelacy it is too gross an untruth to have been uttered in the Light If you speak only of some Persons or Parties that is no reason why others should be deprived of their Liberty and Ministry Nor indeed is it good Arguing that such Oaths and Subscriptions as the Church of old did never know may be imposed by the Laws of Men because some Brethren have lately required such Conditions of their Communion as are imposed by the Laws of God But let us prevail with you to drive this no further than the Persons whoever they be did drive it whom you blame Their utmost Penalty on the Refusers of their Conditions was Non-Communion with them A thing which many of you voluntarily chose Let this be all our Penalty for refusing your Oaths and Subscriptions if we can get no better from you But shall we be Silenced Imprisoned Confiscated Banished for refusing your Oaths and Subscriptions because somebody imposed Things which the Law allowed not in order to their own Communion These are no fit Proportions of Justice § 17. Out of your own Mouths then is your Government condemned What Act of Parliament ratified your Canons What Law imposed Altars Rails and the forcing of Ministers to read the Book for Dancing on the Lord's Days Or what Law did ratifie many Articles of your Visitation Books And did the Laws sufficiently provide for all those poor Ministers that were Silenced or Suspended for not reading the Dancing Book or any such things What the better were all those for the Laws that were Silenced or driven into Forreign Lands But perhaps the Laws will provide for us indeed as you desire Concerning the Liturgy § 18. 1. The Doctrine is sound But the Apocryphal Matter of your Lessons in Tobith Iudith Bell and the Dragon c. is scare agreeable to the Word of God 2. Whether it be fitly suited let our Exceptions and other Papers be heard before your Judgment go for infallible 3. What Mens Prayers you take your Measure or Encouragement from we know not But we are sure that if all the Common Prayers be twice a day read the time for Psalms and Sermons will be short And yet were they free from disorder and desectiveness in Matter we could the better bear with the length though other Prayers and Sermons were partly excluded by them 4. Though we live in the same Countreys we scarce differ any where more than in our very Experiences Our Experience unresistably convinceth us that a continued Prayer doth more to help most of the People and carry on their Desires than turning almost every Petition into a distinct Prayer and making Prefaces and Conclusions to be near half the Prayers And if the way of Prayer recorded in Scripture even in the Jews Church where Infirmity might be pleaded more than now were such as yours we shall say no more in that against it But if it were not be not wise then overmuch 5. We are content that the Liturgy have such Repetitions as the Scriptures have so it may have no other And we are content that all Extemporate Prayer be restrained which is guilty of as much Tautology and vain Repetition as the Liturgy is If this much will satisfie you we are agreed 6. Nor are we against any such Responsals as are fit to the Ends you mention If ours are all such upon impartial Examination let them stand 7. But the Question is 1. Whether the Greek and Latin Churches in the three first Ages or those of later Ages be more imitable 2. And whether the other Reformed Churches have not more imitated the ancientest of those Churches though we have more imitated the latter and more corrupt 3. And whether our first work be to stop the Papists Mouths by pleasing them or coming too near them when we know they that are likest them in all their Corruptions please them best Yet are we not for any unnecessary difference from them or affection of causless singularity As to the Reformed Churches Testimony of our Liturgy shall their very Charity become our Snare If they had liked our Form of Prayers best they would some of them have imitated us And our Martyrs no doubt they honoured as we do not as suffering for the Modes and Ceremonies of that Book as opposite to the Reformed Churches Mode for so they suffered not but as suffering for the Sound Doctrine and True Worship of the Protestants as opposite to Popery and the Mass. § 19. Your Reasons to prove your Impositions not too rigorous are 1. Because they are by Law If we tell you that so is the Spanish Inquisition you 'l say we compare our Law-givers to the Spaniards If we say that your New-mentioned Martyrs were burnt by Law in England you 'l say that we compare them to Papists But all these are Laws And so are those in Reformed Countreys which are against Bishops and Ceremonies Do you therefore think them not too rigorous 2. Your other Reason is that the Rigour is no more then is necessary to make the Imposition effectual You never spake words more agreeable to your hearts as far as by your Practices we can judge of them Either you mean effectual to change Mens Iudgments or effectual to make them go against their Iudgments or effectual to rid them out of the Land or World The first you know they are unfit for If you think otherwise would you that your Judgments should have such kind of helps to have set them right The second way they will be
Consecrated Bread and Wine which is here omitted The Minister is causelesly tied to meet the Corps just at the Church Style and to use the oft-repeated Lord have Mercy upon us Christ have Mercy upon us Lord have Mercy upon us And it is a Confusion perilous to the living that we are to presume that all we bury be of one sort viz. Elect and Saved when contrarily we see multitudes die without any such Signs of Repentance as rational Charity can judge sincere It is disorder that Women be not at all required beforehand to desire any publick Prayers for their safe Deliverance and yet when they are delivered that a Thanksgiving on the Lord's Days such as is for other great Deliverances will not serve the turn without a special Office which if performed on the Lord's Day will be an Impediment or Disturbance to the publick Worship And while an inconvenient Psalms and Repetitions and Responds be used the Prayer is defective as will appear by comparing it with what we offer It is a perilous Disorder that Penance as it is called be used by notorious Sinners at a stated time the beginning of Lent which should be used rightly to restore the Person whenever he is fallen And this is not to be wished in this Disorder to be restored again no more than that Physick be given only at Lent in acute Diseases which must be medicated out of Hand In the repeating of the Curses the People should be better taught to know the difference of the Law and Gospel and then that excellent dehortation may be well used But this pertaineth to the ordinary preaching of the Word Of the Responds and the doubtful Phrase thou hatest nothing tâ—at thou hast made we have spoke before Other Omissions and Disorders appear by comparing it with what we offer We only add upon the whole these further general Remarks 1. It is a great Disorder that we have so many Prayers instead of many Petitions in one Prayer The Gravity and Seriousness requisite in our Prayers to God and the Examples left on Record in Scripture do persuade us when we have many Petitions at once to put up to God which all have a Connexion in Nature and Necessity that there should be such a Connexion of our Desires and Requests and many of them should constitute one Prayer whereas the Common-Prayer-Book in its numerous Collects doth make oft times as many Prayers as Petitions and we undecently begin with a solemn Preface and as Solemnly conclude and then begin again as if before every Petition of the Lord's Prayer we should repeat Our Father which art in Heaven and after every Petition For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory Yet we deny not that when we have but some one Particular Request to put up without Connexion with others we may then make a Prayer of that alone 2. Hence it comes to pass that the holy and reverend Name of God is made the matter of unnecessary Tautologies while half the Prayer is made up of his Attributes and Addresses to him and with Conclusions containing the Mention of his Name and Kingdom and the Merits of his Son even in holy Worship we should fear using God's Name unreverently and in vain 3. And it is a great Disorder that so much of the publick Prayers should be uttered by the People as in the Responds and that they only should put up the petitioning part while the Minister doth but suggest to them or recite the Matter of the Petitions as in the Litany seeing the Minister is by Office to be the Mouth of the People and God and Scripture intimateth that ordinarily their Part was but to say Amen and it seemeth to many sober People who are much offended at it to be a very confused and unseeâ—â— Murmur that is caused in most Congregations by the Peoples speaking Especially when in reading the Psalms the People say every second Verse which cannot be heard and understood by such as cannot read or have no Books and then the other Verse which the Minister saith is not understood because we hear not the annexed Verse which containeth part of the Sense And so the whole reading Psalms are almost as in Latin to them that cannot read themselves And that all this is really Disorder and contrary to Edification appeareth both in the Reason of the thing and in that the Prayers mentioned in Scripture are of another Order and in that they are not according to the Method of the Lord's Prayer which is the perfect Rule of Prayer in all universal Prayers which consists not of occasional Particulars and in that the most sensible experienced praying Christians find it by Experience to hinder their Edification and their Testimony should be preferred before that of ignorant unexperienced partial or ungodly Men or at least a Course taken which is agreeable to both sorts and hindereth the Edification of neither And lastly those very Men that will not reform any of this Disorder in the Liturgy do nauseate and condemn the Prayers of a weak Minister or private Christian if they have but the fourth part of the very like Disorders Repetitions Tautologies or Defects as the Liturgy hath For these Reasons a proportionable Reformation is desired Besides all forementioned there is in two months space no less than one hundred and nine Chapters of the Apocrypha appointed to be read as Lessons just in the time manner and Title as the Chapter of the holy Scriptures be even the Stories of Tobit and Iudith being part and also of Bel and the Dragon and Susanna which Protestants hold to be but Fables But those Exceptions which we actually offered to the Bishops were as follows The Exceptions against the Book of Common-Prayer ACknowledging with all humility and thankfulness his Majesty's most Princely Condescention and Indulgence to very many of his Loyal Subjects as well in his Majesty's most gracious Declaration as particularly in this present Commission issued forth in pursuance thereof we doubt not but the right Reverend Bishops and all the rest of his Majesty's Commissioners intrusted in this Work will in imitation of his Majesty's most prudent and Christian Moderation and Clemency judge it their Duty what we find to be the Apostles own Practice in a special manner to be tender of the Churches Peace to bear with the Infirmities of the weak and not to please themselves nor to measure the Consciences of other Men by the Light and Latitude of their own but seriously and readily to consider and advise of such Expedients as may most conduce to the healing of our Breaches and uniting those that differ And albeit we have an high and honourable esteem of those godly and learned Bishops and others who were the first Compilers of the publick Liturgy and do look upon it as an excellent and worthy Work for that time when the Church of England made her first step out of such a Mist of Popish Ignorance and Superstition wherein
about this time many Books if so they may be called were written against me One by Mr. Naufen forementioned a Justice of Peace in Worcestershire who being a great Friend of the Papists had spoken against me on the Bench at the Sessions behind my back as the Author of a Petition against Popery heretofore and was angry with me for evincing to him his mistake temerity and injustice And when he saw his time he had nothing else to be the fewel of his Revenge but that very Book which I wrote against the Papists and therein against the killing of the King which I aggravated against the Army and the Popish Instigators and Actors But because in Answer to the Papists I made their Doctrine and Practise of King killing to be worse than these Sectaries were guilty of and thereupon recited what the Sectaries said for themselves which the Jesuites have not to say he took up all these Reasons of the Sectaries and answered them as if they had been my own and I had pleaded for that which I condemned by writing in a time when it might have cost me my Life when the Gendeman that thus would have proved me a Traytor did himself act under the Usurpers and took their Impositions which we abhorred and refused § 244. And here I shall insert a Passage not contemptible concerning the Papists because I am fall's into the mention of them In Cromwells days when I was writing that very Book and my Holy Commonwealth and was charging their Treasons and Rebellions on the Army one Mr. Iames Stansfield a Reverend Minister of Glocestershire called on me and tod me a Story which afterwards he sent me under his Hand and warranted me to publish it which was this One Mr. Atkins of Glocestershire Brother to Judge Atkins being beyond Sea with others that had served the late King fell into intimate acquaintance with a Priest that had been or then was Governour of one of their Colledges in Flanders They agreed not to meddle with each other about Religion and so continued their Friendship long A little after the King was beheaded Mr. Atkins met this Priest in London and going into a Tavern with him said to him in his familiar way What business have you here I warrant you come about some Roguery or other Whereupon the Priest told it him as a great secret That there were Thirty of them here in London who by Instructions from Cardinal Mazarine did take care of such Affairs and had sate in Council and debated the Question Whether the King should be put to death or not and that it was carried in the Affirmative and there were but two Voice for the Negative which was his own and anothers And that for his part he could not concur with them as foreseeing what misery this would bring upon his Country That Mr. Atkins stood to the Truth of this but thought it a Violation of the Laws of Friendship to name the Man I would not print it without fuller Attestation left it should be a wrong to the Papists But when the King was restored and setled in Peace I told it occasionly to Privy Councellor who not advising me to meddle any further in it because the King knew enough of Mazarine's Designs already I let it alone But about this time I met with Dr. Thomas Gnad and occasionally mentioning such a thing he told me that he was familiarly acquainted with Mr. Atkins and would know the certainty of him whether it were true And not long after meeting him again he told me that he spoke with Mr. Atkins and that he assured him that it was true but he was loth to meddle in the publication of it Nor did I think it prudence my self to do it as knowing the Malice and Power of the Papists Since this Dr. Peter Moulin hath in his Answer to Philanax Anglicus declared that he is ready to prove when Authority will call him to it that the King's Death and the Change of the Government was first proposed both to the Sorborne and to the Pope with his Conclave and consented to and concluded for by both § 245. Another Book wrote against me was as was thought by one Tompkins a young Man of All-Souls Son to Mr. Tompkins of Worcester and a School-boy there when I lived in that County He called it The Rebel's Plea being a Confutation of such Passages in my Holy Commonwealth as he least understood and could make most odious All these Men made me think what one advised the Papists to do for the effectual Confutation of the Protestants viz. Not to dispute or talk with them at all but to preach every day against them in the Pulpits for there they may speak without any Contradiction and need not fear an Answer § 246. Shortly after our Disputation at the Savoy I went to Rickmersworth in Hartfordshire and preached there but once upon Matth. 22. 12. And he was speechless where I spake not a word that was any nearer kin to Sedition or that had any greater tendency to provoke them than by shewing that wicked men and the refusers of grace however they may now have many things to say to excuse their sin will at last be speechless and dare not stand to their wickedness before God Yet did the Bishop of Worcester tell me when he silenced me that the Bishop of London had shewed him Letters from one of the Hearers assuring him that I preached seditiously so little Security was any Man's Innocency that displeased the Bishops to his Reputation with that Party who had but one Auditor that desired to get favour by accusing him So that a multitude of such Experiences made me perceive when I was silenced that there was some Mercy in it in the midst of Judgment for I should scarce have preached a Sermon nor put up a Prayer to God which one or other through Malice or hope of Favour would not have been tempted to accuse as guilty of some heinous Crime And as Seneca saith He that hath an Ulcer crieth Oh if he do but think you touched him § 247. Shortly after my return to London I went into Worcestershire to try whether it were possible to have any honest Terms from the Reading Vicar there that I might preach to my former Flock But when I had preached twice or thrice he denied me liberty to preach any more I offered him to take my Lecture which he was bound to allow me under a Bond of 500 l but he refused it I next offered him to be his Curate and he refused it I next offered him to preach for nothing and he refused it And lastly I desired leave but once to Administer the Sacrament to the People and preach my Farewel Sermon to them but he would not consent At last I understood that he was directed by his Superiours to do what he did But Mr. Baldwin an able Preacher whom I left there was yet permitted § 248. At that time my aged Father
last Sermon there upon Christ's words on the Cross Father forgive them for they know not what they do I was accused of it as a heinous Crime as having preached against the burning of the Covenant which I never medled with nor was it done till after the Sermon nor did I know when it was done no mind it nor did I apply the Text to any Matters of those present Times but only in general to perswade the Hearers to the forgiving of Injuries and maintaining Charity in the midst of the greatest Temptations to the contrary and to remember that it was the Tempter's Design by every wrong which they received to get advantage for the weakening of their Love to those that did it which therefore they should with double care maintain This was the true scope of that Sermon which deserved Death or Banishment as all my Pacificatory Endeavours had done § 257. When I came back to London my Book called The Mischiefs of Self-ignorance and Benefits of Self-acquaintance was coming out of the Press And my affection to my People of Kidderminster caused me by a short Epistle to direct it to them and because I could never after tell them publickly being Silenced I told them here the occasion of my removal from them and my silencing for brevity summing up the principal things in my Charge And because I said This was the Cause the Bishop took advantage as if I had said This was the whole Cause when the Conference between him and me was half an hour long and not fit to be wholly inserted in a short Epistle where I intended nothing but the sum But the Bishop took occasion hereupon to gather up all that ever he could say to make me odious and especially out of my Holy Commonwealth and our Conference at the Savoy where he gathered up a scrap of an Assertion which he did not duly understand and made it little less than Heresie and this he published in a Book called A Letter which I truly profess is the fullest of palpable Untruths in Matter of Fact that ever I saw Paper to my remembrance in all my Life The words which he would render me so abhorred for are our denial of Dr. Pierson's and Dr. Gunning's c. Propositions about the innocency of Laws which command Things evil by Accident only where the Bishop never discerned unless he dissemble it the Reasons of our Denial nor the Proposition denied The very words of the Dispute being printed before and I having fully opened the Bishops Mistakes in an Answer to him I shall not here stope the Reader with it again § 258. But this vehement Invective of the Bishop's presently taught all that desired his Favour and the improvement of his very great Interest for their Ends to talk in all Companies at the same rates as he had done and to speak of me as he had spoken and those that thought more was necessary to their hopes presented the Service of their Pens Dr. Boreman of Trinity Colledge wrote a Book without his Name and had no other design in it than to make me odious nor any better occasion for his writing than this There had many years before past divers Papers between Dr. Thomas Hill then Master of Trinity Colledge in Cambridge and me about the Point of Physical efficient Predetermination as necessary to every Action natural and free I had written largely and earnestly against Predetermination and he a little for it In the end of it the Calamities of the Sectarian times and some Sicknesses among my Friends had occasioned me to vent my moan to him as my Friend and therein to speak of the doubtfulness of the Cause of the former War and what reason there was to be diligent in search and prayer about it When Dr. Hill was dead Dr. Boreman came to see these Papers Both the Subjects he must needs know were such as tended rather to my Esteem than to my Disparagement with the Men of these Times Certainly the Arminians will be angry with no Man for being against Predetermination and I think they will pardon him for questioning the Parliaments Wars Yet did this disingenious Dr. make a Book on this occasion to seek Preferment by reproaching me for he knew not what But to make up the matter he writeth that it is reported That I killed a Man in 〈…〉 with my own hands in the Wars Whereas God knoweth that I never hurt 〈◊〉 in my Life no never gave a Man a stroke save one Man when I was a Boy whose Legg I broke with wrestling in jest which almost broke my heart with â—reif though he was quickly cured But the Dr. knowing that this might be soon disproved cautiously gave me some Lenitives to perswade me to bear it patiently telling me that if it be not true I am not the first that have been thus abused but for ought I know he is the first that thus abused me I began to write an Answer to this Book but when I saw that Men did but laugh at it and those that knew the Man despised it and disswaded me from answering such a one I laid it by § 259. When the Bishop's Invective was read many Men were of many minds about the answering of it Those at a distance all cried out upon me to answer it Those at hand did all disswade me and told me that it would be Imprisonment at least to me if I did it with the greatest truth and mildness possible Both Gentlemen and all the City Ministers told me that it would not do half so much good as my Suffering would do hurt and that none believed it but the engaged Party and that to others an Answer was not necessary and to them it was unprofitable for they would never read it And I thought that the Judgment of Men that were upon the place and knew how things went was most to be regarded But yet I wrote a full Answer to his Book except about the words in my Holy Commonwealth which were not to be spoke to and kept it by me that I might use it as there was occasion At that time Mr. Ioseph Glanvile sent me the offer of his Service to write in my Defence He that wrote the Vanity of Dogmatizing and a Treatise for the Praexistence of Souls being a Platonist of free Judgment and of admired Parts and now one of the Royal Society of Philosophers and one that had a too excessive estimation of me as far above my desert as the malicious Party erred on the other side But I disswaded him from bringing himself into Suffering and making himself unserviceable for so low an end Only I gave him and no Man else my own Answer to peruse which he returned with his Approbation of it § 260. But Mr. Edward Bagshaw Son to Mr. Bagshaw the Lawyer that wrote Mr. Bolton's Life without my knowledge wrote a Book in Answer to the Bishops I could have wisht he had let it alone For the Man hath
that Party in the News-book and in their Discourses That Calamy that would not â—e a Bishop was in Iail And when his Sermon was printed an Invective against him came out in Language like an Inquisitor that shewed a vehement thirst for Blood But precious in the sight of the Lord is the Blood of his holy Ones § 282. Abundance more were laid in Jails in many Counties for preaching and the vexation of the Peoples Souls was increased At St. Albans Mr. Partridge the ejected Minister being desired to preach a Funeral Sermon a Captain or Lieutenant came in with his Pistol charged and shot one of the hearers dead and the Preacher was sent to Prison § 283. There were many Citizens of London who had then a great Compassion on the Ministers whose Families were utterly destitute of Maintenance and fain they would have relieved them and had such a Method that the Citizens of each County should help the Ministers of that County But they durst not do it lest it were judged a Conspiracy Wherefore I went for them to the Lord Chancellour and told him plainly of it that Compassion moved them but the Suspicions of these Distempered Times deterred them and I desired to have his Lordship's Judgment Whether they might venture to be so charitable without misinterpretation or danger And he answered Aye God forbid but Men should give their own according as their Charity leads them And so having his preconsent I gave it them for Encouragement But they would not believe that it was Cordial and would be any Security to them and so they never durst venture upon such a Method which might have made their Charity effectual but a few that were most willing did much more than all the rest and solicited some of their own Acquaintance for their Counties Relief § 284. And here I think it meet before I proceed to open the true state of the Conformists and Nonconformists in England at this time I. The Conformists were of three sorts 1. Some of the old Ministers called Presbyterians formerly that Conformed at Bartholomew Tide or after who had been in possession before the King came in These were also of several sorts some of them were very able worthy Men who Conformed and Subscribed upon this Inducement that the Bishop bid them Do it in their own sence And so they Subscribed to the Parliament's words and put their own sence upon them only by word of mouth or in some by-paper Some of them read Mr. Fullwood's and Stileman's Books and could not answer them and therefore Conformed For no Man ventured to put forth a full and satisfactory Answer to them for fear of ruine Though somewhat was written before by Mr. Crofton and after by Mr. Cawdry and others Some were young raw Men that were never versed in such kind of Controversies Some were perswaded of the sinfulness of the Parliaments War and thence gathered that the Covenant being in order to it was a Rebellioâ—s Covenant and therefore not obligatory And other things they thought were small Some had Wives and Children and Powerty which were great Temptations to them And most that I knew when once they inclined to Conformity did avoid the Company of their Brethren and never askt them what their Reasons were against Conformity 2. A second sort of Conformists were those called Latitudinarians who were mostly Cambridge-men Platonists or Cartesians and many of them Arminians with some Additions having more charitable Thoughts than others of the Salvation of Heathens and Infidels and some of them holding the Opinions of Origen about the Praexistence of Souls c. These were ingenious Men and Scholars and of Universal Principles and free abhorring at first the Imposition of these little things but thinking them not great enough to stick at when Imposed Of these some with Dr. Moore their Leader lived privately in Colledges and sought not any Preferment in the World and others set themselves to rise These two forementioned Parties were laudable Preachers and were the honour of the Conformists though not heartily theirs and their profitable Preaching is used by God's Providence to keep up the Publick Interest of Religion and refresh the discerning sort of Auditors 3. The third sort of Conformists was of those that were heartily such throughout And these were also of three sorts 1. Those that were zealous for the Diocesan Party and the Cause and desirous to extirpate or destroy the Nonconformists And these were supposed to be the high and swaying Party 2. Those that were zealous for the Party and the Cause materially but yet were more moderate in their private wishes to the Nonconformists and did profess themselves that they could not Subscribe and Declare if they did not put a more favourable sence on the words than that which the Nonconformists supposed to be the plain sence 3. Those that were raw or ignorant Readers or unlearned Men or sensual scandalous Ones who would be hot for any thing by which they might rise or be maintained This Composition made up the Body of the Conformists in this Land and all this Difference there was among them II. § 285. The Nonconformists also were of divers sorts 1. There were some few of my Acquaintance who were for the old Conformity for Bishops Common Prayer Book Ceremonies and the old Subscription and against the imposing and taking of the Covenant which they never took and against the Parliaments Wars But they could not Subscribe that they Assent and Consent to all things now imposed nor could they Absolve all others in the three Kingdoms from being obliged by the Vow and Covenant to endeavour Church Reformation though they would not have had them take the Vow 2. A greater Number of the Nonconformists or Reconcilers of no Sect or Party but abhorring the very Name of Parties who like Ignatius's Episcopacy but not the English Diocesan Frame and like what is good in Episcopal Presbyterians or Independents but reject somewhat as evil in them all being of the Judgment which I have described my self to be in the beginning of this Book that can endure a Liturgy and like not the Imposition of the Covenant but cannot Assent and Consent to all things required in the Act nor Absolve three Kingdoms from all Obligation by their Vows to endeavour in their Places the alteration of the English Diocesan Form of Government Though they doubt not but Sedition and Rebellion should be abhorred of all whether for Reformation or any other Pretence 3. A third sort of Nonconformists are the Presbyterians whose Judgment is fore-described and manifested in their Writings to all the World Of these two last sorts if I be not taken for a partial Witness are the soberest and most judicious unanimous peaceable faithful able constant Ministers in this Land or that I have heard or read of in the Christian World Which I am able to say I speak without respect of Persons in Obedience to my Conscience upon my long Experience 4. The
gravissime mihi succenseres meque judicares indignum iis laudibus iisque benevolentiae tuoe significationibus quibus me prosequi ac decorare voluisti Illico igitur calamum arripui nulla interposita mora scripsi ad D. Simonium Gallice quoe velim à te legi atque intelligi posse ut qualis sit animus erga te meus liquido cognosceres Tibi vero Vir Reverende hanc Epistolam destino in qua quantâ possum bonâ fide luculentis verbis testor atque pronuntio falsa illa omnia esse emendacii officina profecta quoe vel audivisti vel legisti quasi dicta de te à me secus quam oportuit Non enim te novi nisi de fama quoe de tua pietate atque eruditione eloquentia egregie loquitur nec aliter erga te sum affectus quam ut decet erga virum multis laudibus ornatum proeterea de me optime meritum cui eo nomine multum debeo Noli ergo quaeso Vir Reverende quidquam istiusmodi credere ubicunque id vel occasio feret vel necessitas postulabit ostende hasce literas me à manu ex Animi mei Sententia conscriptas ut post hocce testimonium quid de te judicem nemo dubitare queat Vale Vir Reverende communis ille noster Doctor atque Dominus qui nos redemit sanguine suo cum Ecclesioe Anglicanoe tum tui perculiarem curam suscipere dignetur Quid de rebus vestris existimem◠scire potes ex Epistola quâ Paraphrasmi meam in Psalmos serenissimo vestro Regi dicavi Itaque nihil hic addam nisi quod qui ad te scribit est tibi Vir Reverende Ad omne obsequium paratissimus AMYRALDVS To the Reverend and most Learned Mr. Richard Baxter a Zealous Minister of the Gospel of Christ his most worthy and most honoured Brother in Christ at Kidderminster Recommended to the care of Mr. Dorvile The Grace of our Lord Iesus and the Peace of God be increased among us Most worthy and most honoured Sir THE Occasion of two Cosins of mine going for London invites me to take the liberty to write this Letter to you most honoured Sir and hope you will excuse my boldness in so doing being unknown to you I should have forborn troubling you in your weighty Affairs which besides the great zeal and care for your Parishioners yea for the whole Church of God are made known But I could not pass by so good an Opportunity to acquaint you how much your Name and your Person although with your Body so far from us is esteemed by me an unworthy Servant of Jesus Christ and by many other faithful Brethren in the Lord in this our Town and also in our Neighbour Protestant Confederate Cities of Zuric and Schaffhousen insomuch that we often remember one another the great cause we have to pray the Lord joyntly and constantly with your beloved Parishioners yea with whole England for your health and long life that you may further continue to us all your edifying Doctrines and Admonitions I dare not write to you most godly Sir in what fame you are among us that you may not suspect me of flattery which doubtless you despise as a great vanity But I pray Sir to believe me confidently that after Providence had led me some years agone into England but time would not permit to stay long there but as speedily as possible to learn the English Tongue and am heartily sorry I did not visit you most worthy Sir at Kidderminster that time for to take upon several Points your godly Advice being in ten Months time as long as I stayed in London Oxford and Cambridge I did learn God be thanked so much English that I could understand reading and preaching And by the Advice of the most zealous and worthy Men Mr. Edmund Calamy Mr. Cranford Mr. Nalton of whom I received great Courtesie and Friendship though a Stranger I bought a good number of English Divinity Books of your most solid and selected Divines and among others your Everlasting Rest Item Gildas Salvianus or Reformed Pastor Item True Christianity Item A Sermon of Iudgment c. being at that time recalled to my own Country I had no time to peruse those heavenly Meditations but since have made it my chief work and cannot express the great Advantage I received by them so that I commended the very same Books to others of our Brethren who have endeavoured without delay to get them by means of some of our Merchants here and also the remainder of your Works that we could bring to our notice viz. The Unreasonableness of Infidelity your Confession of Faith The right Method for a setled Peace of Conscience The safe Religion Key for Catholicks The Crucifying of the World Item of Self-denial Item A Treatise of Conversion Call to the Unconverted your Apology against Mr. Blake c. Item your Holy Commonwealth The Catholick Unity your Treatise of Death For which Works we thank God with one accord for the great and heavenly Gifts he hath so largely bestowed upon you for the common good of his Church and wish that by this occasion we might also be partakers of what we want of your Works that are extant Sermons or other Treatises Particularly I must acquaint you with the high esteem we make of those two Chief Pieces the Everlasting Rest and Reformed Pastor in which latter you strike home to the very heart many Ministers and we must needs confess that living among a rude and unlearned People ignorant and self-conceited that according to your Advice in the Reformed Pastor it is most necessary to take in hand with all speed and care the private Instruction and Catechizing But we can find no way to obtain it And being your Admonitions and Perswasions to the Practice thereof are very home and close upon all Ministers that they must make it their chief Business and neglect nothing until they have perswaded and brought their Flock to it I pray you most worthy Sir to resolve this Enquiry to me and others of my Neighbours and fellow Brethren who in reading your Reformed Pastor made the same Scruple of Conscience viz. Whether a Minister that heartily strives for the honour of God and the Edification of his Church doth not discharge his Duty when according to your wholsome and true Doctrine he hath conferred and made known his mind and willingness to the performance of it to his Fellow-Brethren that joyntly with him are Shepherds of the same Flock yea perswaded them of the necessity and usefulness of it yet can get no Assistance by Ministers nor Magistrates We long also heartily to know being you have perswaded the Ministers of the County of Worcester to that most necessary and useful Catechizing and Private Instruction Whether by the present great Change in England both in Churches and Government and chiefly being that we hear that Episcopacy prevaileth the
the same Justices saw that I was thus discharged they were not satisfied to have driven me from Acton but they make a new Mittimus by Counsel as for the same supposed Fault naming the Fourth of Iune as the Day on which I preached and yet not naming any Witness when the Act against Conventicles was expired long before And this Mittimus they put into an Officer's hands in London to bring me not to Clerkenwell but among the Thieves and Murderers to the common Jail at Newgate which was since the Fire which burnt down all the better Rooms the most noisom place that I have heard of except the Tower Dungeon of any Prison in the Land § 132. The next Habitation which God's Providence chose for me was at Totteridge near Barnet where for a Year I was fain with part of my Family separated from the rest to take a few mean Rooms which were so extreamly smoaky and the place withal so cold that I spent the Winter in great pain one quarter of a Year by a sore Sciatica and seldom free from such Anguish § 133. It would trouble the Reader for me to reckon up the many Diseases and Dangers for these ten Years past in or from which God hath delivered me though it be my Duty not to forget to be thankful Seven Months together I was lame with a strange Pain in one Foot Twice delivered from a Bloody Flux a spurious Cataract in my Eye with incessant Webs and Net-works before it hath continued these eight Years without disabling me one Hour from Reading or Writing I have had constant Pains and Languors with incredible Flatulency in Stomach Bowels Sides Back Legs Feet Heart Breast but worst of all either painful Distentions or usually vertiginous or stupifying Conquests of my Brain so that I have rarely one Hour's or quarter of an Hour's ease Yet through God's Mercy I was never one Hour Melancholy and not many Hours in a Week disabled utterly from my Work save that I lost time in the Morning for want of being able to rise early And lately an Ulcer in my Throat with a Tumour of near half a Year's continuance is healed without any means In all which I have found such merciful Disposals of God such suitable Chastisements for my Sin such plain Answers of Prayer as leave me unexcusable if they do me not good Besides many sudden and acuter Sicknesses which God hath delivered me from not here to be numbred his upholding Mercy under such continued weaknesses with tolerable and seldom disabling Pains hath been unvaluable § 134. I am next to give some short account of my Writings since 1665. 1. A small MS. lyeth by me which I wrote in Answer to a Paper which Mr. Caryl of Sussex sent me written by Cressy called now Serenus about Popery § 135. 2 Mr. Yates of Hambden Minister sending me the Copy of a Popish Letter as spread about Oxford under the Mask of one doubting of Christianity and calling the Scholars to a Trial of their Faith in Principles did by the Juggling Fraud and the slightness of it provoke me to write my book called The Reasons of the Christian Religion And the Philosophy of Gassendus and many more besides the Hobbians now prevailing and inclining men to Sadducism induced me to write the Appendix to it about the Immortality of the Soul § 136. 3. Oft Conference with the Lord Chief Baron Hale put those Cases into my mind which occasioned the writing of another short Piece of the Nature and Immortality of the Soul by way of Question and Answer not printed § 137. 4. The great Weaknesses and Passions and Injudiciousness of many Religious Persons and the ill effects and especially perceiving that the Temptations of the Times yea the very Reproofs of the Conformists did but increase them among the separating party caused me to offer a book to be Licensed called Directions to weak Christians how to grow in grace with a second part being Sixty Characters of a Sound Christian with as many of the Weak Christian and the Hyyocrite Which I the rather writ to imprint on men's minds a right apprehension of Christianity and to be as a Confession of our Judgment in this malignant Age when some Conformists would make the World believe that it is some menstruous thing composed of Folly and Sedition which the Nonconformists mean by a Christian and a Godly Man This Book came forth when I was in Prison being long before refused by Mr. Grigg § 138. 5. A Cristian Directory or Summ of Practical Divinity in Folio hath lain finished by me many years and since twice printed § 139. 6. My Bookseller desiring some Additions to my Sermon before the King I added a large Directory of the whole Life of Faith which is its Title which is published § 140. 7. Abundance of Women first and Men next growing at London into separating Principles Some thinking that it was sin to hear a Conformist and more That it is a sin to pray according to the Common Prayer with them and yet more That it is a sin to Communicate with them in the Sacrament And the Conformists abominating their House-Meetings as Schismatical and their Distance and Passions daily increasing even among many to earnest desires of each other's Ruine I thought it my Duty to add another part to my book of Directions to weak Christians being Directions what course they must take to avoid being Dividers or troublers of the Churches The rather because I knew what the Papists and Infidels would gain by our Divisions and of how great necessity it is against them both that the honest moderate part of the Conformists and the Nonconformists be reconciled or at least grow not into mortal Enmity against each other This Book was offered to Mr. Sam. Parker the Archbishop's Chaplain to be Licensed but he refused it and so I purposed to cast it by But near two years after Mr. Grove the Bishop of London's Chaplain without whom I could have had nothing of mine Licensed I think did License it and it was published of which more anon § 141. 8. About this time I heard Dr. Owen talked very yieldingly of a Concord betweent the Independents and Presbyterians which all seemed willing of I had before about 1658. written somewhat in order to Reconciliation and I did by the invitation of his Speeches offer it to Mr. Geo. Griffiths to be considered And near a twelve-month after he gave it me again without taking notice of any thing in it I now resolved to try once more with Dr. Owen And though all our business with each other had been contradiction I thought it my Duty without any thoughts of former things to go to him and be a Seeker of Peace which he seemed to take well and expressed great desires of Concord and also many moderate Concessions and how heartily he would concur in any thing that tended to a good agreement I told him That I must deal freely with him that
and to what they tend and what a disgrace they are to our Cause and how one of our own Errors will hurt and disparage us more than all the cruelty of our Adversaries and that sinful means is seldom blessed to do good § 155. But upon fore-fight of the tenderness of Professors I had before given my Book to the Perusal of Mr. Iohn Corbet my Neighbour accounted one of the most Calm as well as Judicious Nonconformists and had altered every Word that he wished to be altered And the same I had done by my very worthy Faithful Friend Mr. Richard Fairclough who Perused it in the Press and I altered almost all that he wished to be altered to take off any Words that seemed to be too sharp But all did not satisfie the guilty and impatient Readers § 156. For when the Book came out the Separating Party who had received before an odious Character of it did part of them read and interpret it by the Spectacles and Commentary of their Passions and fore Conceits and the most of them would not read it all but took all that they heard for granted The hottest that was against it was Mr. Ed. Bagshaw a young Man who had written formerly against Monarchy had afterward written for me againsâ— Bishop Morley and being of a resolute Roman Spirit was sent first to the Tower and then laid there in the horrid Dungeon where the damp casting him into the Haemorrhoids the Pain caused that Sweat which saved his Life Thence he was removed to Southbâ—y-Castle near Portsmouth in the Sea where he lay Prisoner many Years where Vivasor Powel an honest injudicious Zealot of Wales being his Companion heightned him in his Opinions He wrote against me a Pamphlet so full of Untruths and Spleen and so little pertinent to the Cause as that I never met with a Man that called for an Answer to it But yet the ill Principles of it made me think that it needed an Answer which I wrote But I found that Party grown so tender expecting little but to be applauded for their Godliness and to be flattered while they expected that others should be most sharply dealt with and indeed to be so utterly impatient of that Language in a Confutation which had any suitableness to the desert of their Writings that I purposed to give over all Controversial Writings with them or any other without great necessity And the rather because my own Stile is apt to be guilty of too much freedom and sharpness in Disputings § 157. The next to Mr. Bagshaw now again in Prison for not taking the Oath of Allegiance it self who behind my Back did most revile my Book was Dr. Owen whether out of Design or Judgement I cannot tell but ordinarily he spake very bitterly of it but never wrote to me a Word against it He also divulged his dissent from the Proposals for Concord which I offered him though he would say no more against them to my self than what I have before expressed § 158. At this time also one Hinkley of Norfield near Worcester-shire desiring to be taken notice of wrote a virulent Book against the Nonconformists and particularly some Falshoods against me and a vehement Invitation to me to publish the Reasons of my Nonconformity when he could not be so utterly ignorant as not to know that I could never get such an Apology Licensed and that the Law forbad me to Print it unlicensed and that he himself taketh it for a Sin to break that Law But such impudent Persons were still clamouring against us § 159. By this time my own old Flock at Kiderminster began some of them to Censure me For when the Bishop and Deans and many of their Curates had preached long to make the People think me a Deceiver as if this had been the only way to their Salvation the People were hereby so much alienated from them that they took them for Men unreasonable and little better than mad insomuch as that they grew more alienated from Prelacy than ever Also while they continued to repeat Sermons in their Houses together many of them were laid long in Jayls among Thieves and common Malefactors which increased their Exasperations yet more They continued their Meetings whilst their Goods were Seised on and they were Fined and Punished again and again These Sufferings so increased their Aversation that my Book against Church-Divisions coming out at such a time and a Preface which I put before a Book of Dr. Bryan's in which I do but excuse his Speaking against Separation they were many of them offended at it as unseasonable and judging by feeling Interest and Passion were angry with me for strengthening the Hands of Persecutors as they call it whereas if I had called the Bishops all that 's nought I am confident they would not have blamed me And they that fell out with the Bishops for casting me out and speaking ill of me were some of them ready to speak ill of me if not to cast me off because I did but persuade them of the Lawfulness of Communicating in their Parish-Church with a Conformable Minister in the Liturgy § 160. At this time as is said the old reading Vicar dying it was cast on me to chuse the next But the Religious People who were the main Body of the Town and Parish would not so much as chuse a Man when they might have had their choice no nor so much as write or send one word to one about it lest they should seem to consent to his Conformity or to be obliged to him in his Office Whereupon I also refused to meddle in the Choice and the rather because some of the malignant slanderous Prelatists who write of me as Durel L'strange and many others have done would in likelyhood have said that I contracted for some Commodity to my self and because Mr. Foley the Patron was a truly honest Religious Man who I knew would make the best choice he could § 161. When he had chosen them a Minister whom they themselves commended for an honest Man and a good Preacher and rather wished him than another I wrote a Letter to them to advise them to join with the said Minister in Prayers and Sacrament because I had before advised them not to own the Ministry of Mr. Dance for his utter incapacity and insufficiency but if ever they had a tolerable Man to own him and Communicate with him And because he was the best that the Patron by their Consent could chuse and for many Reasons which I gave them But their Sufferings had so far alienated them from the Prelates that the very rumour of this Letter was talkt of as my Book against Divisions was so that it was never so much as read to them § 162. And here it is worth the nothing how far Interest secretly swayeth the Judgments of the best A few Ministers who have a more taking way of Preaching than the rest and being more moving and affectionate are
Subscriptions have better invitation to conform in other things Bishop Morley Bishop Ward and Bishop Dolbin spake ordinarily their desires of it but after long talk there is nothing done which maketh Men variously interpret their Pretensions which time at last will more certainly expound Some think that they are real in their desires and that the â—indrance is from the Court And others say they would never have been the grand causes of our present Case if it had been against their Wills and that if they are yet truly willing of any healing they will shew it by more than their discourses as a Man would do when the City was on Fire that had a mind to quench it and that all this is but that the Odium may be diverted from themselves while that which they take on them to fear is accomplished But I hope yet they are not so bad as this Censure doth suppose But it 's strange that those same Men that so easily led the Parliament to what is done when they had given the King thanks for his Declaration about Ecclesiastical Affairs can do nothing to bring them to moderate abatements and the healing of our Breaches if they are truly willing For my part I suspend my Judgment of their Intents till the Event shall make me understand it Grant Lord that it be not yet too late for Charity commandeth us to take nothing of others minds for certain till we have certain Proof how perilous soever our Charitable hopes may prove § 180. Mr. Bagshaw wrote a Second Book against my Defence full of untruths which the furious temerarious Man did utter or the rashness of his Mind which made him so little heed what he had read and answered as that one would scarce think he had ever read my Book I replied to him in an Admonition telling him of his mistakes To which he pretended a Rejoinder in a third Libel but I found as I was told that his design was to silence almost all that I said and to say all that he thought might make me odious because that those that read his Books would not read mine and so would believe him and be no whit informed by my answers at all § 181. This same year 1671. I was desired by my Friend and Neighbour Mr. Iohn Corbet to write somewhat to satisfie a good man that was fallen into deep melancholly feeding it daily with the thoughts of the number that will be damned and tempted by it to constant Blasphemy against the goodness of God who could save them and would not but decreed their damnation And I wrote a few Sheets called The vindication of God's Goodness which Mr. Corbet with a prefixed Epistle published § 182. Also Dr. Ludov. Molineus was so vehemently set upon by the crying down of the Papal and Prelatical Government that he thought it was the work that he was sent into the World for to convince Princes that all Government was in themselves and no proper Government but only Perswasion belonged to the Churches to which end he wrote his Paraenesis contra aedificatores Imperii in Imperio and his Papa Vltrajectinus and other Tractates and thrust them on me to make me of his mind and at last wrote his Iugulum Causae with no less than seventy Epistles before it directed to Princes and men of Interest among whom he was pleased to put one to me The good Man meant rightly in the main but had not a head sufficiently accurate for such a Controversie and so could not perceive that any thing could be called properly Government that was no way coactive by Corporal Penalties To turn him from the Erastian Extreme and end that Controversie by a Reconciliation I published an Hundred Propositions conciliatory and of the difference between the Magistrate's power and the Pastor's § 183. Also one Dr. Edward Fowler a very ingenious sober Conformist wrote two Books One anâ— Apology for the Latitudinarians as they were then called the other entitled Holyness the design of Christianianity in which he sometimes put in the word only which gave offence and the Book seemed to some to have a scandalous design to obscure the Glory of free Iustification under pretence of extolling Holiness as the only design of Man's Redeemption Which occasioned a few Sheets of mine on the said Book and Question for reconciliation and clearing up of the Point Which when Mr Fowler saw he wrote to me to tell me that he was of my Judgment only he had delivered that more generally which I opened more particulary and that the word only was Hyperbolically spoken as I had said but he spake feelingly against those quarrelsome men that are readier to censure than to understand I returned him some advice to take heed lest their weakness and censoriousness should make him too angry and impatient with Religious People as the Prelates are and so run into greater Sin than theirs and favour a looser Party because they are less censorious To which he returned me so ingenious and hearty thanks as for as great Kindness as ever was shewed him as told me that free and friendly Counsel to wise and good men is not lost § 184. I was troubled this Year with multitudes of melancholly Persons from several Parts of the Land some of high Quality some of low some very exquisitely learned some unlearned as I had in a great measure been above twenty years before I know not how it came to pass but if men fell melancholly I must hear from them or see them more than any Physician that I know Which I mention only for these three uses to the Reader that out of all their Cases I have gathered 1. That we must very much take heed lest we ascribe Melancholy Phantasms and Passions to God's Spirit for they are strange apprehensions that Melancholy can cause though Bagshaw revile me for such an intimation as if it were injurious to the Holy Ghost 2. I would warn all young Persons to live modestly and keep at a sufficient distance from Objects that tempt them to carnal Lust and to take heed of wanton Dalliance and the beginnings or Approaches of this Sin and that they govern their Thoughts and Senses carefully For I can tell them by the sad Experience of many that venerous Crimes leave deep wounds in the Conscience and that those that were never guilty of Fornication are oft cast into long and lamentable Troubles by letting Satan once into their Phantasies from whence 'till Objects are utterly distant he is hardly got out especially when they are guilty of voluntary active Self-pollution But above all I warn young Students and Apprentices to avoid the beginnings of these Sins for their Youthfulness and Idleness are oft the incentives of it when poor labouring Men are in less danger and they little know what one Spark may kindle 3. I advise all Men to take heed of placing Religion too much in Fears and Tears and Scruples or in any other kind of
dead 2. Mr. Iohn Warren of Hatfield Broadoke in Essex a man of great Judgment and ministerial Abilities-moderation Piety and Labour The place whence he was cast out hath had no minister since to this day though a great Town and in the Bishop of London's Gift because the means is so small that none will take it And yet he cannot have leave to preach rather than none But he gets now and then one by his Interest to Preach occasionally and he heareth them in publick and then himself instructeth the People in private as far as he can obtain connivance 3. Mr. Peter Ince in Wiltshire a solid grave pious worthy able minister living with Mr. Grove that excellent humble holy Learned Gentleman who himself is now driven out of his his Country for receiving and hearing such in his House 4. Mr. Iohn How mâ—nister of Torrrington in Devonshire sometime Houshold-Preacher to Oliver Cromwell and his Son Richard till the Army pulled him down but not one that medled in his Wars He is a very Learned judicious godly man of no Faction but of Catholick healing Principles and of excellent ministerial Ablities as his excellent Treatise called The Blessedness of the Righteous sheweth 5. Mr. Ford of Exeter is a man of great Ability as his Book called The Sinner's Araignment at his Bar sheweth a Reverend Divine of great esteem for all ministerial worth with the generality of sober men And I hear a high Character of Mr. Clare near him and many more there but I know not those 6. Mr. Hughes of Plymouth a very Reverend Learned Ancient Divine long ago of London an excellent Expositor of Scripture was in his Age laid so long in Prison for silencing was not suffering enough for so excellent a Man that he fell by it into the Scurvy and died soon after His Treatife of the Sabbath is Printed since his Death 7. Mr. Berry in Devonshire an extraordinary humble tender-conscienced serious godly able Minister 8. Mr. Benj. Woodbridge of Newbury who came out of New-England to succeed Dr. Twisse a Man of great Judgment Piety Ability and moderate Principles addicted to no Faction but of a Catholick Spirit 9. Mr. Simon King some-time of Coventry since near Peterborough who first Entertain'd me at Coventry in the beginning of the Wars when I was forced to fly from Home a Man of a solid Judgment an honest Heart and Life and addicted to no Extremes and an able Scholar long ago chief School-Master at Bridgnorth Divers others of my own Acquaintance I could describe in Wales in Derby-shire Cheshire York-shire and other Counties but I will end with a few of my old Neighbours that I had forgotten 10. Old Mr. Samuel Hildersham about 80 Years old only Son to the Famous Arthur Hildersham a Conformist formerly but resolved enough against the New Conformity A grave peaceable pious learned Divine cast out of Welsh-Felton in Shrop-shire 11. Mr. Tho. Gilbert of Edgmond in Shropshire an Ancient Divine of extraordinary Acuteness and Conciseness of Stile and a most piercing Head as his small Lat. Tract of the necessity of Christ's Satisfaction sheweth 12. Mr. Samuel Fisher an Ancient Reverend Divine some-time of Withington then of Shrewsbury turned out with Mr. Blake for not taking the Engagement against King and House of Lords then lived in Cheshire and thence cast out and Silenced a very able Preacher and of a goldy Life 13. My old Friend Mr. Will. Cook bred up under Mr. Iohn Ball a Learned Man and of a most godly Life and unwearied Labour Like the first Preachers he can go in poor Clothing live on a little travel on Foot Preach and Pray almost all the Week if he have opportunity in Season and out of Season trampling on this World as dirt and living a mortified laborious Life Being an old Nonconformist and Presbyterian he was greatly offended at the Anabaptists Separatists and Sectaries and Cromwel's Army for Disloyalty to the King whom they Beheaded and this King whom they kept out and therefore joyned with Sir George Booth now Lord Delamere in his Rising to have brought in the King And being then Minister in Chester persuaded the Citizens to deliver up the City to Him For which he was brought to London and long Imprisoned But all this would not procure his Liberty to Preach the Gospel of Christ without the Oaths Subscriptions Declarations Re-ordination and Conformity required 14. To these I may subjoyn my old Friend Mr. Pigot chief School-master of Shrewsbury 15. And my old Friend Mr. Swaine some-time School-master at Bridgnorth and since a godly fervent Preacher in Radnor-shire But I must stop § 209. Let the Reader note That there is not one of all these that was put out for any Scandal but meerly not Subscribing c. and Conforming nor one of them all that ever I heard any Person charge or once suspect of Wantonness Idleness Surfetting Drunkenness or any scandalous Sin And of those of the Prelatists that were Sequestred by the Parliament I knew not one that I remember that was not accused upon Oath of Witnesses of Scandal though doubtless others knew some such Not including the siding in the Wars which each side called scandalous in the other and which yet but a small part of these named by me medled in that ever I could learn § 210. Therefore I conclude That we that know not the Mysteries of God's Judgments saw not what a Mercy it was that God took to Himself before they were Silenced such Excellent Men as Dr. Twiss Dr. Gouge Mr. Iohn Ball Mr. Gataker Mr. Ier. Whitaker Dr. Arrow Smith Dr. Hill Mr. Strong Mr. Herbert Palmer and most of the Assembly with many more such Nor yet that God took away such Men as Bishop Davent Bishop Hall Arch-Bishop Vsher Bishop Morton yea and Dr. Hammond before they were under a Temptation to have a Hand in the casting out of so many excellent worthy Men which yet I am confident by my own personal Knowledge of him that Vsher had he lived would never have done § 211. This Year the King began the War upon the Dutch in March 1671 2. About the 16 or 17 Day was a hot Sea-fight while our Ships Assaulted their Smirna Fleet of Merchants and many on both sides were killed which was most that was done And about the 18 th Day the King Published a Proclamation for War by Sea and Land The French the Elector of Cologne and the Bishop of Munster being with dreadful Preparations to invade them by Land § 212. Now came forth a Declaration giving some fuller Exposition to those that doubted of it of the Transactions of these Twelve Years last viz. His Majesty by Virtue of His Supreme Power in Matters Ecclesiastical suspendeth all Penal Laws thereabout and Declareth That he will grant a convenient number of Publick Meeting-Places to Men of all sorts that Conform not so be it 1. The Persons be by Him approved 2. That they never meet in any Place not
Assemblies and Preaching when we are Silenced Against whose Mistaken Endeavours I Wrote a Book called The Nonconformist's Plea for Peace § 12. One Mr. Hollingworth also Printed a Sermon against the Nonconformists and there tells a Story of a Sectary that Treating for Concord with one afterward a Bishop motion'd That all that would not yield to their Terms should be Banished to shew that the Nonconformists are for Severity as well as the Bishops The Reader would think that it was Me or Dr. Manton or Dr. Bates that he meant that had so lately had a Treaty with Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Burton I Wrote to him to desire him to tell the World who it was that by naming none he might not unworthily bring many into Suspicion He Wrote me an Answer full of great Estimation and Kindness professing That it was not me that he meant nor Dr. Manton nor Dr. Bates nor Dr. Iacomb but some Sectary that he would by no means Name but seemed to cast Intimations towards Dr. Owen one unlikely to use such words and I verily believe it was all a meer Fiction § 13. About that time I had finished a book called Chatholick Theologie in which I undertake to prove that besides things unrevealed known to none and ambiguous words there is no considerable difference between the Arminians and Calvinists except some very tolerable difference in the point of perseverance This book hath hitherto had the strangest fate of any that I have written except our Reformed Liturgy not to be yet spoken against or openly contradicted when I expected that both sides would have fallen upon it And I doubt not but some will do so when I am dead unless Calamities find men other work § 14. Having almost then finished a Latin Treatise called Methodus Theologiae containing near Seventy Tables or Schemes with their Elucidations and some Disputations on Schism containing the Nature Order and Ends of all Beings with three more I gave my Lord Chief Justice Hale a Specimen of it with my foresaid Catholick Theologie but told him it was only to shew my respects but desired him in his weakness to read things more directly tending to prepare for death But yet I could not prevail with him to lay those by so much as I desired but he oft gave me special Thanks above all the rest for that book and that scheme And while he continued weak Mr. Stevens his familiar Friend published two Volumes of his own Meditations which though but plain things yet were so greedily bought up and read for his sake even by such as would not have read such things of others that they did abundance of good And shortly after he published himself in Folio a Treatise of the Origination of Man to prove the Creation of this World very Learned but large He left many Manuscripts One I have long ago read a great Volumn in Folio to prove the Deity the Immortality of the Soul Christianity the Truth of Scripture in General and several books in particular solidly done but too copious which was his fault Two or three smal Tractates written for me I have published expressing the simple and excellent Nature of true Religion and the Corruption and great evils that follow Men's Additaments called wrongfully by the Name of Religion and contended for above it and against it and shewing how most Parties are guilty of this sin I hear he finished a Treatise of the Immortality of the Soul a little before he dyed But unhappily there is contest about his Manuscripts whether to Print them or not because he put a clause into his Will that nothing of his should be Printed but what he gave out himself to be Printed before he dyed He went into the Common Church-yard and there chose his grave and died a few daies after on Christmassday Though I never received any money from him save a Quarter 's Rent he paid when I removed out of my house at Acton that he might buy it and succeed me yet as a token of his love he left me forty shillings in his Will with which to keep his memory I bought the greatest Cambridge Bible and put his picture before it which is a Monument to my house But waiting for my own Death I gave it Sir William Ellis who laid out about Ten pounds to put it into a more curious Cover and keeps it for a Monument in his honour § 15. I found by the people of London that many in the sense of the late Confusions in this Land had got an apprehension that all Schism and Disorder came from Ministers and People's resisting the Bishops and that Prelacy is the means to cure Schism and being ignorant what Church Tyranny hath done in the World they fly to it for refuge against that mischief which it doth principally introduce Wherefore I wrote the History of Prelacy or a Contraction of all the History of the Church especially Binnius and Baronius and others of Councils to shew by the testimony of their greatest flatterers what the Councils and Contentions of Prelates have done But the History even as delivered by Binnius himself was so ugly and frightful to me in the perusing that I was afraid lest it should prove when opened by me a temptation to some to contemn Christianity it self for the sake and Crimes of such a Clergy But as an Antidote I prefixed the due Commendation of the better humble sort of Pastors But I must profess that the History of Prelacy and Councils doth assure me that all the Schisms and Confusions that have been caused by Anabaptists Separatists or any of the Popular unâ—uly Sectaries have been but as flea-bitings to the Church in comparison of the wounds that Prelatical Usurpation Contention and Heresies have caused And I am so far from wondering that all Baronius's industry was thought necessary to put the best visor on all such Actions that I wonder that the Papists have not rather employed all their wit care and power to get all the Histories of Councils burnt and forgotten in the World that they might have only their own Oral flexible tradition to deliver to Mankind what their interest pro re nata shall require Alas how small was the hurt that the very Familists the Munster Fanaticks the very Quakers or Ranters have done in comparison of what some one Pope or one Age or Council of Carnal Tyrannical Prelats hath done The Kingdom of Satan is kept up in the World next to that Sensuality that is born in all by his usurping and perverting the two great Offices of God's own institution Magistracy and Ministry and wring the Sword and Word against the Institutor and proper end But God is just § 16. There years before this I wrote a Treatise to end our common Controversies in Doctrinals about Predestination Redemption justification assurance perseverance and such like being a Summary of Catholick reconciling Theology § 17. In November 1677. Dyed Dr. Thomas Manton to the great loss of London
the Transgressors of it and the Curse of what Covenant it was that Christ redeemed us from in being made a Curse for us For touching these things I confess my self not well resolved The hanging on the Tree was but a Temporal Curse and was not all that Christ redeemed us from And when you have a fitting Opportunity I pray you return them to Your obliged Servant Will. Allen. London May 27. 1671. Those of the Separation that are more moderate do blame Mr. Bagshaw and think you need not answer him and his Temper is to have the last word If you think otherwise a calm Answer will be best Dear Sir I Received your Preface by which you have been pleased to add unto all former Obligations wherein I stand bound I have moved Mr. Simmons about printing the Copy acquainting him with your Preface but not with the Author of the Papers but I perceive he hath no mind to undertake it since when I have not spoken to any other Sir It hath been sometimes on my thoughts to draw up some thing against Separation more then what is in my Retractation at least to be published after my death if surviving Friends should think fit but have â—orborn to publish any thing of that nature hitherto partly to avoid suspition of strengthening the hand of Severity against the Separatists to the doing of hurt to whom I would not be in the least accessary and likewise to avoid the suspition of being acted therein by Carnal Motives However something I have now prepared and herewith sent you presuming yet once more to give you the trouble at your leisure of casting your eye upon it And do pray that you will please to correct or direct me to correct what needs correction and to give me advice whether it will be best to make it publick or to forbear I confess I have been induced to do what I have done at this time upon occasion of the Indulgence as conceiving it not less necessary nor less seasonable to say no more than it was before And your motion of reprinting my Reâ—ractation had its share in inclining me to this present Undertaking As I have been taken in the Snare of Separation for a time so I was in that of Anâ—inomianism about 37 or 38 years ago not long after my first coming to London as not being able to withstand the Insinuations of it and yet to retain the Opinion of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness in that Notion of it in which I had been instructed and never fully recovered my self till I heard Mr. Iohn Goodwin The Experience of what I suffered my self and occasioned others to suffer by my running into those Errours hath put me upon doing more to warn others against them or recover them out of them then otherwise I should have thought fit for me to have done You may perceive in part how frail my memory was by my often blottings and interlinings Excuse me for this time and you are never like to be troubled with any of my Papers more whether I live or die The good God that hath out of good will to the World made you so meet to be serviceable to it continue you long in it and still strengthen you to succeed and prosper you in his Word So prays Your very much obliged Servant Will. Allen. London Iune 29. 1672. I live next the Green-Man in Prince's-street by Stocks-Market and not at the Bottle in the Poultrey Dear Friend I This Day received and read your Book and knowing so well the Author's Experience Judgment and Sincerity it hath made a great change upon my Judgment viz. Whereas I once thought that some Mens Usage of this poor Kingdom and Christ's Ministers and the false Reports and Representations made of them did shew not only Charity but common Honesty and Humanity by which the civil differ from others to be with such Men very low I find now my better Thoughts of those Men much revived by finding that so good a Man as you can in any Measure in such a time and place so far mistake the case as you have done But long Experience hath acquainted me with more of the Cause than perhaps you have observed your self That is 1. All Mens Capacities are narrow and we cannot look every way at once Our thoughts are like a Stream of Water which will run but one way at once and carry down all that 's moveable in that Stream When you were for Anabaptistry and Separation it 's like the Stream of your Thoughts run all that way and you studied more what was for you than what was against you and now the Sense of your Error hath turned your Thoughts the contrary way I may judge by the Effects that you think more what may be said against Nonconformity than what may be said for it 2. And Experience makes me take it for granted that to judge hastily before they fully understand or hear the Cause is the common Disease of Man's depraved Intellect which few are cured of in any great Degree I would not be guilty of it while I blame it if my Frailty can avoid it and therefore I will suppose that you have more Reasons for what you say that I yet understand and shall only as a Learner desire you to help me to understand them And 1. Seeing almost all your Book is against Anabaptistry and Separation I desire you to acquaint me why you entituled it An Address to the Nonconformists when it is certain that the ignorant Multitude who have some such Thoughts already will hence be more persuaded that the Nonconformists are commonly for Separation which being a Calumny I suppose you thus indirectly propagate it for some Reason which I know not Falshood and Hatred are so befriended by common corrupted Nature that they need no Books to be written to encourage them If a Philosopher wrote against Manicheism and called it An Address to the Christians Or a Papist wrote against Anabaptistry and Separation and called it An Address to the Protestants the Intimation were unjust Quest. 2. Will not the Conformists think that you prevaricate in pretending to plead for a National Church p. 101. and when you explain your self speak but of a Church Inorganical that is equivocally and ineptly so called seeing forma denominat and the Word Church in the common Controversy about National Provincial Diocesan Churches is taken for an Ecclesiastical Polity and Society and not for a meer Community A Family without a Master a School without a Schoolmaster a Kingdom without a King and a Church without a Pastoral Regiment are equivocal improper Denominations a materia when you knew that the Nonconformists have long asked which is the true constitutive Ecclesiastical Head of this National Church When you were upon the Subject it would have done well to have told them for an accidental Head the King they confess as much as others Quest. 3. When you plead so much for Parish-Churches are you therein
Cause against those ravening Wolves and strengthen all thy Servants whom they keep in Prison and Bondage Let not thy Long suffering be an occasion to increase their Tyranny or to discourage thy Children c. The Homilies have many Passages liable to hard Interpretations The use of none of these is Sedition XXIV From 1650. to 1660. I had Controversies by Manuscript with some great Doctors that took up with Dr. Hammond's and Petavius's new singular way of Pleading for Episcopacy which utterly betrayed it They held that in Scripture time all called Presbyters were Diocesan Bishops and that there was no such thing as our Subject Presbyters and yet that every Congregation had a Diocesan Bishop and that it was no Church that had not such a Bishop and that there are no more Churches than there are such Bishops And so when Diocesses were enlarged as ours the Parishes were no Churches for no Bishop had more than one And that Subject Presbyters are since made and are but Curates that have no more power than the Bishop pleaseth to give them Dr. Hammond in his Vindication saith That as far as he knoweth all that owned the same Cause with him against the Presbyterians were come to be of his mind herein And we know not of four Bishops then in England And the Et caetera Oath and Canons of 1640. and the Writers that nullified the Reformed Churches Ordination and Ministry and pleaded for a Forreign Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and for our Re-ordination all looking the same way I thought they knew the Judgment of the few remaining Bishops better than I did and sometime called it The Iudgment of the present Church here that is of these Church-men and the English Diocesans but proved that the Laws and Doctrine still owned as the Churches was contrary to them and took the Parishes for true Churches and the Incumbents true Pastors and the Diocesans to be over many Churches and not one alone whereas the Men that I gainsayed overthrew the whole Sacred Ministry among us and all our Churches as of Divine Institution for our Presbyters they say were not in Scripture times Our Parishes are no Churches for want of Bishops our Diocesans are no Successors of such Apostolick Men as were over many Churches ours having but one And they are not like those that they call the Scripture Diocesans for they say these Doctors had but single Assemblies These Men I confuted in my Treatise of Episcopacy and other Books But the Scribe or Printer omitting my Direction to put still The fore-described Prelacy and Church instead of The English Prelacy and Church I was put to number it with the Errata and give the Reader notice of it in the Preface and Title Page and have since vindicated the Church of England hereform XXV I hear the angry Protestant Recusants say It is just with God that he that hath done more than all others to draw Men to the Parish-Churches and hath these Thirty years been Reconciling us to the Papists in Doctrinals and is now called Bellarminus junior for his Arguments for Liturgies and Forms and in his Paraphrase hath so largely and earnestly pleaded for Charity to Papists as not Babylonish or Antichristian should be the first that should suffer by them and that for this very Book that so extraordinarily doth serve their Interest To which I say take heed of mis-expounding Providence that Errour hath cost England dear If I be put to doath by them I shall not repent of any of those Conciliatory Doctrines and Endeavours I have reviewed my Writings and am greatly satisfied that I suffer not for running into either Extream nor for any false Doctrine Rebellion Treason or gross Sin but that I have spent my Labour and Life against both Persecuting and causeless Separating And that I shall leave my Testimony against both to Posterity and for what could I more comfortably suffer It is by decrying their Persecution and Cruelty that I have angred the hurtful Papists and by confuting their gross undoubted Crimes more effectually than you do by the Name of Antichrist Babylon and the Whore And if their Cruelty on me should prove my Charge against them true I shall not be guilty of it Nor will their Sin abrogate God's great Law of Love even to Enemies and if it be possible as much as in you lyeth live peaceably with all men follow peace with all men blessed are the peace-makers c. The disorderly tumultuous Cries and Petitions of such ignorant Zealots for Extreams under the Name of Reformation and crying down all moderate Motions about Episcopacy and Liturgies and rushing fiercely into a War and young Lads and Apprentices and their like pricking forward Parliament Men had so great a part in our Sin and Misery from 1641. till 1660. as I must give warning to Posterity to avoid the like and love Moderation I repent that I no more discouraged ignorant Rashness in 1662. and 1663. but I repent not of any of my Motions for Peace XXVI I am sure that my Writings besides Humane Imperfection have no guilt of what they are accused unless other Men put their sense on my words and call it mine and say I meant the Rulers when I spake of Popish Interdicts Silencings and Persecutions And by that measure no Minister must speak against any Sin till he be sure that the Rulers are neither guilty nor defamed of it lest he be thought to mean them and so our Office is at an end If the Text and the general Corruption of the World lead me to speak against Fornication Perjury Calumny Lying Murder Cruelty or any Vice must I tell Men whom I mean by Name I mean all in the World that are guilty And why must my meaning be any more confined when I with the Text speak against Persecution and unjust Silencing the faithful Ministers of Christ while I say that Rulers may justly Silence all that forfeit their Commission and do more hurt than good XXVII Can any Man that hath read Church-History Fathers and Councils be ignorant how dolefully Satan hath corrupted and torn the Church by the Ambition and Tyranny of many Popes Patriarchs and Metropolitans while the humble fort of Bishops and Pastors have kept up the Life and Power of Christianity Or can any Man that maketh not Christ and his Church a meer Servant to Worldly Interest think that this should not by all true Christians be lamented Let such read Nazianzen's sad Description of the Bishops of his time in striving for the highest Seats and his wish that they were equal And the same wish of Isidore Pelusiota and the sharp Reproof hereof by Chrysostom Great Grotius expoundeth Matth. 24. 29. of the Powers of Heaven shaken thus It is the Christian Laity who after the Apostles times began to be marvellously shaken by the Tyranny of the Prelates who loved Pre-eminence and to Lord it oyer the Clergy by rash Excommunications and a daily increase of Schisms He that will