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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05555	The answer of John Bastvvick, Doctor of Phisicke, to the information of Sir Iohn Bancks Knight, Atturney universall In which there is a sufficient demonstration, that the prelats are invaders of the Kings prerogative royall, contemners and despisers of holy Scripture, advancers of poperie, superstition, idolatry and phophanesse: also that they abuse the Kings authoritie ...	Bastwick, John, 1593-1654.; England and Wales. Attorney-General.	1637 (1637)	STC 1568; ESTC R212826	58,859	30

the infinit dishonour of our great God blessed for ever Truely besides the sparkles of Divinity and the Spirit of God illuminating in the Scriptures which writ them the excellency and goodnes of their object and matter the purity the perfection the Antiquity the universall consent and agreement of them● the majesty and simplicity of the languages and speech they are writ in the conviction that is in them of wicked rebellious consciences beating downe humbling the strongest Spirits the certayne event of things foretold in them the integrity of the Writers being farre from all fraud and guile setting downe their owne infirmities and the weaknesses of their families which human reason would never have done the preservation of these Holy Scriptures in all ages from the fury of the persecuters and out of the hands of those that studyed to destroy them the constancy of the Martyrs allwayes that beleeved kept them and the fearfull tragicall ends of such as were enimies of them These the Defendent sayth and many more reasons there are to prove the Scriptures to be the word of the ever living God by themselves without any Autoritie of Fathers But yet one reason more● the Defendent thought fit to add before he returneth againe to the Holy Scriptures owne Autority● which is sufficiently able to declare it to be the Word of God And that is this All things that are mens owne whether counsayles Lawes ordinances inventions Polityes or projects orders of government c. they are agreeable ever to the corrupt nature of man or els to carnall reason men commonly hugg their owne devices Now if the religion that is set downe in Holy Scriptures or the Scriptures themselves had ever been the fiction excogitation of mens braines as some prophane Atheisticall men thinke who suppose and say ●hat religion was by Policy invented to keep men in awe then the Defendent sayth that all men would willingly and without reluctation have embraced and received them and given them ever admittance and free entertaynment for the world ever loveth his owne Now it is notoriously knowne that no carnall men either love the Sc●iptures or regard them nay it hath been allwayes the endeavor and the greatest plot and conspiracy of wicked and ungodly men and the adversaryes of the trueth either totally to extinguish them or to vilify their Autority as K. Iames of renowned memory in his Apology to all Christian Princes sufficiently declareth discovering therein the Popes double diligence in that busines So that were there no other reason but this alone it were of conviction enough to prove the Holy Scripture to be ●he Word of God because it so much opposeth impiety wickednes cruelty unrightuous dealing errors and darknes which carnall and sensuall men love mo●e then light And whereas the Prelats with the Papists produce the Autority of the Fathers for the mayntayning of what they speake and in Court alledged that of Augustin Where he sayth that he would not have beleeved the Scripture if the Church had not told him it was the Scripture The Defendent for his part is sorry to see such a profane Sympathy between the Prelats Papists in these things who deale with true Christians as the Gibeoni●s dealt with the Israëlits in the 9. of Iudges who pretended they were Ambassadors tooke olds sacks upon their asses and old tattered bottles and clouted shooes and ragged clothes and pretended they came from a farre Country and so the Israëlits not taking counsell of the Lord were cosened and deluded by them Even so the Papists and Prelats under pretence of the ancien● Writers and with their old shooes and moldy bread of uncoth antiqui●y rob us of ●he trueth and take away from us ●he bread and staffe of life by which wee should safely and comfortably walke to Heaven and happines and under the pretence of the Fathers their Autority they abuse and deceive the simple But in this cause Augustin is not very usefull unto them for his Autority in this so waigh●y a mat●er is to rationall men of no great validity for the Defendent demands of any that hath but the grace of understanding that if Augustine would never have beleeved that there had been a God without the Church had told him so must his infideli●y make others A●heists also this will not be thought good reason amongst the learned● for then one mans imperfections should be a rule for multitudes to goe to hell unbelief should be a vertue And yet it is not altogether denyed but that the perswasion and report of men may be a motive to stirre up men many times to the hearing perusell of a thing which of it self doth not alwayes beget faith or but very little as dayly experience teacheth us but the thing it selfe seene or heard is that that worke●h and affecteth it and makes their faith so firme and stedfast that all though the same partyes should a thousand times after deny that to be so yet they to the death would persever in that their true believe As for example vve see in the people of Samaria that were by the womans perswasions brought ou● to see Christ and in some small measure beleeved in him from her relation that he was the Messiah yet when they had talked with him themselves they openly affirmed that then they beleeved not because the woman had told them but from more excellent reasons and grounds that they themselves had heard him And should the Samaritan woman a thousand times after that have denyed that he had been the Messiah they would never have been removed from their faith in Christ for all that The same may be sayd of Nathaniel in the first of Iohn to whom Philip sayd● That he had found him of whom Moses spake in the Law and the Prophets Iesus of Nazarreth and Nathaniel sayd unto him Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth Philip sayd Come and see Iesus saw Nathaniel comming unto him and saith to him Behold an Israelit indeed in whom is no guile Nathaniel sayd unto him whence knowest thou mee Iesus answered and sayd unto him Before that Philip called thee when thou wer● under the Fig tree I saw thee Nathaniel answereth saith unto him Rabbi thou art the son of God thou art the King of Israel And howsoewer Philip here was an occasion of bringing Nathaniel to Christ yet the sight of Christ and his Miracles were the things onely that begat true faith in him and such a faith as all the Philips in the world could never after have removed him from it againe And so was it with Augustine perhaps that being a learned infidell or little better a Manichee through the perswasions of learned Christia●s he came to looke in the Word of God as all faith commeth by hearing but doth it therefore follow that that was onely the cause of his faith and perseverance in it or if the Church had not told him so

THE ANSWER OF JOHN BASTVVICK Doctor of Phisicke To the Information of Sir IOHN BANCKS Knight Atturney universall IN WHICH There is a sufficient Demonstration That the Prelats are Invaders of the Kings Prerogative Royall Contemners and Despisers of holy Scripture Advancers of Poperie Superstition Idolatry and Prophanesse ALSO That they abuse the Kings Authoritie to the oppression of his loyallest Subjects and therein exercise great crueltie tyrannie and injustice and in the execution of these impious performances they shew neither wit honestie nor temperance NOR That they are either Servants of GOD or of the KING as they are not indeed but of the Devill being enemies of God and the King and of every living thing that is good All which the sayd Doctor Bastwick is ready to maintaine before King and Counsell against them all with the hazard of otherwise being exposed to extremest miserie Printed in the yeare 1637. To the Kings most Excellent Majestie Most Sacred Majestie THE comfort of all poore Subjects under any Kingdom and Empire hath ever be●n this That in all oppressions calamities they had a Caesar to appeale to● who in the place of God did defend the poore from the tyranny of the mighty deliver them from the cruelty of the more potent after hee had heard their just Defence and Answer for themselves this is the onely glory of a Monarchy and of regal Government which favour liberty was never yet denyed under Pagan Emperors to poore Christians and the which your Highnesse hath never yet refused to grant to any in your Kingdomes which hath emboldened mee a loyall though poore Subject in this great extremity to flye unto your Highnes who hath been most cruelly and unjustly dealt with by the Prelates for mayntayning your Prerogative Royall and at this time suffers their mercylesse oppression being denyed that which hath not been hitherto refused to those that have been reputed delinquents against sacred Mast. and to have abused the reverend Iudges of the Kingdome which was the enjoying of the society of their wifes and friends for their reliefe and comfort and that they might put in their answer under their owne hands names when they could have no counsel and yet these are now denyed unto your poore Subjects by the Prelats Wherefore he amongst the rest doth humbly appeals unto your Mast. beseeching your gracious Highnes to heare his just defence and answer especially it tending so much for the advancement of the honour of God the honour dignity of your most excellent Mast. the good of the whole Kingdome it making so much allso for the discovering of the cruelty tyranny unjustice of the Prelats over your loyallest Subjects in abusing your Mast autority their impiety also against God their disloyaltie also against your sacred Mast. with the vvrong they have likevvise done to your royall Father of famous memory All vvhich if hee shall not bee able to prove against them he vvill vvillingly undergoe vvhat punishment any authoritie shall lay upon him Therefore he most humbly beseecheth your Mast. that you vvould please to receive his ansvver to vvhom he hath made it● vvhom chiefly it concerneth And hee shall ever acknovvledge your Princely favour in it and shall ever pray for your Mast. happy raigne and long life● vvith the affluence of all divine benediction upon your Royall Person Crovvne Dignitie your illustrious Posteritie and ever remaine Your most truely obedient Subject JOHN BASTWICK The severall Answ●● OF Iohn Bastwick Doctor of Physick 〈…〉 ents to the Information of Sir Iohn Ba 〈…〉 his Majesties Atturney Generall THe ●aid Defendent saving reserving to himselfe now and at all times hereafter all advantages and benefits of exceptions to the incertaintie and insufficientie and other imperfection of the said Information For answer thereunto so far forth as concerns the sayd defendent he saith he doth with all thankfullnes acknowledge his Majesties great care zeale at all times for the mayntenance and defence of the true Christian faith and religion the service of Almighty God love charity and concord among his Subjects withall that his people● all loyall Subjects have great cause dayly to praise God for the happy government they have had under him and for that they may for futurity promise unto themselves under his Royalty and Principality especially when he hath so graciously made knowne his pious intentions for the good● and Wellfare of Church and State in that his Majesties Declaration to all his loving Subjects of the causes which made him dissolve the last Parlament published by his Highnesses speciall command in the which Declaration pag. 21. his Mast. thus speaks For wee call God to record before whom we stand That it is and alwayes hath been our hearts desire to be found worthy of that Title which we account the most glorious in all our Crowne Defender of the faith Neither shall we ever give way to the autorizing of any thing whereby innovation may steale or creep into the Church but preserve that unity of doctrine discipline established in the time of Queen Eliz● whereby the Church of England hath stood fl●rished ever since c. These words ●olemne protestation of our most pious King cannot but stirre up the hearts loves and affections of all his true and loyall Subjects both incessantly to pray for his happy life raigne preservation and also to the utmost of their powers to yeeld all subjection obedience yea their lives and liberties for the honour of his Crowne Dignity in the number of the vvhich Subjects the said defendent professeth himself to be being willing and ready at all times and upon all occasions not onely to lose his liberty livelyhood estate but millions of lives if he had them in defence of his Empire and prerogative royall and doth againe againe acknowledge and that with all thankfullnes his renowned Highnesses zeale care for the maintenance of the true religion love charity and concord amongst his Subjects and beseech the King of Kings and Lord of Lords long to continue him among us and to put into his royall heart to remove all those Scandals in Church State which have been● such hinderances of the propagation of the Christian faith and true religion established in his Mast. Kingdoms of the which he is defender in his dominions and the right instruction of the people in the same who alone are most of the Prelats in generall the Arch Prelats in speciall being so farre from seeking the right and due instruction of the people in the true Christian faith religion as the information vvould inferre as they spend their vvhole endeavours to take avvay all the possibility and meanes of instruction vvhich is the preaching of the vvord that is onely able to save our soules and vvithout vvhich no man can beleeve or come to life eternall as thousand pl●ces in sacred Writ vvitn●s and among other that

beene forced to recite because it makes very much for the justification of what hee writ in his Apology and that hee had good ground greatly to blame the Prelates aswell for these as for many other of their proceedings as afterwards this honorable Court shall well perceive And now that the Defendent may come to the things that he is charged with in the Information as to have accused the Bishops of in his Apology which by the informers is termed a Libell though it contayneth nothing but a true Narration of the passages of the High-Commission Court which he never spake nor writ against but onely against the abuses of the Iudges in it who have turned that Court which was of purpose appoynted by the State for the suppressing of Heresy● Popery and vice● to the beating downe of the Religion established by Autority and the promotion and advancement of superstition and the molestation and undoing of the Kings faithfullest Subjects and the deare servants of God as daylie experience teacheth us and the whole Kingdome can witnes In the writing of which booke he the Defendent thinketh himself so far from being a delinquent as he conceiveth he hath done good service to King Church and State having in it vindicated and mayntayned regall Autoritie against the tyranny of the Pope discovered also the Prelats lawlesse usurpations with their ungratitude to the King and cruelties again●● their brethten mayntayned the ho●our likewise of the Lawes of the Land and the dignity of sacred Writ both which they slight and make nothing of and by inn●merable testimonyes of learned men proved the assertion for which he is thus traduced and envyed to be neither novell nor hereticall but according to both the Divine Scriptures and all Antient trueth the vetustest Bishops and by the whole clergy of England in King Henry the eights day●s as all the learned and ingenuous do well perceive and know both at home and abroad So that if ●he Informers with the Prelats will make this Booke a libell then let them make holy Scripture the Lawes of the Kingdome and all the antient record● of learned Bishops libells also for the Defendent in ●hat ha●h sayd nothing concerning the Pre●bytery which is not agreeable to them all And for ●he matters in spec●all he is charged wi●h in the information Viz. That he hath causlesly enveighed against the oath ex officio and other antient formes of proceedings in that Court and against the sacred Hierarchy orders of Bishops Priests and Deacons preferring a Presbyte●ian parity before it And ●●at he hath falsly and scandalously defamed the witnesses produced against him falsly maliciously taxed the High Commission Court it self and the Iudges therein in generall and some of them particularly and pe●sonally with cruel●y and injustice with want of wisdome and temperance and that they are perswaders of his Majest to bloudshed and are upholders of idolatry superstition Popery and Prophanesse and further most maliciously and falsly affirmeth that Canterbury London and Ely are disgracers and contemners of holy Scriptures and falsly traduceth them and the rest of the Bishops for traytors and invaders of his Majest Prerogative and that in the sayd booke there are contayned diverse other unlawfull and scandalous passages against the established government and se●led discipline of the Church of England the Bishops and Clergy and their proceedings which being many and of various na●ure is delivered into his Majest● Court of Starchamber To all which things that he is here charged with the Defendent will answer with what brevi●y● and the best Method he can doubteth nothing but whatsoever he hath writ in his Apology against the Prelats their proceeding shall be made evidently appeare to this Court to be most true And to begin with the things layd to his charge in the last place that hee accuseth the Bishops to be disgracers and contemners of holy Scripture to be invaders of his Majest prerogative upholders of idolatry Poperie superstition and prophanesse All which is most true for so they are as he hath sufficientlie proved against them in that booke and doth here also add that they have greatly dishonoured the King their Master and King Iames his Father of perpetuall memory● all which he will briefly declare and demonstrat to this noble Court And that they are contemners disgracers of holy Scripture what can be more manifest when they say that the Scriptures are the refuge of all Schismaticks and Hereticks as much as if they should say ●he good Lawes and Statuts of a Kingdome and the Kings Edicts and Proclamations are the cause of all disorder and wickednes withall what is it to be contemners and disgracers of the holy Scriptures if this be not to say That they can neither be knowen to bee the Word of God nor distinguished from the Apocrypha and Prophane Authors nor be understood and the meaning of them attayned unto for their obscurity but by the Fathers If this be not to contemne sacred writ then all Or●hodox writers both in ours all reformed Churches and King Iames himself have accused the Church of Rome most falsly whom they prove blasphemous against God and disgracers of the Holy Scriptures for the same assertions as all their learned wri●ings witnes wi●h innumerable Arguments in them for proofe of the same The Defendent desireth to know what it is to prophane and contemne holy Scripture of th●s be not to slight and vily●● the autority of it and to proferre humane authority before it which the Bishops did blasphemously saying that they cou●d not be knowne to be the Word of God without the help of the Fathers when every page and leafe of those sacred monuments breath a divine Spirit and they are called the lively oracles Act. 7. vers 38. as if the Scripture had lost his ancient luster ●ife and Divinity by its antiquity were inferior to al● other things bo●h Naturall and Artificiall When notwi●h standing there is such a Maiesty and Splendor in the Scripture as it dazleth the eyes of all those that looke into it with hi● transcendent and heavenly clarity and brightnes the eyes of whose minds the God of this world hath not blinded yea vnder the very law wh●n there was a vayle before the eyes of men so that they could not so clearly see into them as now Christians may yet then such dignity and excellency was discerned in them that at the first reading of them men cryed out the voice of God and not of man tore their garments for very anguish and feare of the threats in them and never were so ungratious and impious to say How shall wee know these books to be the Word of God For the holy Scriptures had ever such an innate and Domesticall light beauty goodnes in them and caryed such testimony and witnes within thems●lves ever able to declare themselves Divine and holy● to be the very word of the everliving God that they needed

sent droanes and loyterers amongs● them dumb dogs that can not barke and is not this great cruelty to the poore Soules of men to deprive them of the food of life and to starve them See what Paul sayth to Bariesus the Sorcerer in the 13. of the Acts when Sergius Paulus the Deputy of the Country a prudent man called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to heare the word of God it is sayd that Elemas the Sorcerer withstood them seeking to turne away the Deputy from the faith to whom Saul filled with the holy Ghost setting his eyes on him sayd O full of all subtility and all mischiefe thou childe of the devill thou enimy of all righteousnes wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord Those then that take away the meanes of salvation and hinder others from the hearing of the word they are most cruell unto them hindering of them of salvation it selfe and such are the children of the devill the enimies of all rightnousnes perverters of the wayes of the Lord the holy Ghost hath spake it and Christ himselfe sayth Matth. 23. and the 13. Woe unto you Scribes Pharisies hypocri●s for yee shut up t●e Kingdome of heaven against men for you neither goe in your selves neither suffer you them that are entring to goe in And in Luke the 11. and verse the 52. hee sayth Woe unto you Lawyers for yee have taken away the key of knowledge yee enter not in your selves and them that were entring you hindred Christ himselfe pronounces woe here to all such Soule-murtherers as take away the key of knowledg from the people and shut up the Kingdome of heaven against them which is the greatest cruelty that can be exercised over miserable men and yet this is the dayly occupation of the Prelats of which the whole Kingdome can witnes how that they have made most places desolate depriving them of the bread of life the preaching of the Gospell and taking away the key of knowledge from them and in stead of ●rue nourishing food they give them the huskes of ceremonyes and vaine traditions and idle superstitious observations Neither doe they onely extinguish and put out all their shi●ing lights but they severely punish those that seeke it or goe after it where it is so that if one do but goe out of his owne parish where he hath no preaching where perhaps there hath not been a sermon seven yeares together as there are many such parishes in this Kingdome he is forthwith haled into their Courts tormented to death and is not this horrible cruelty yea if one neighbour doe but goe to an other and that but to heare a Sermon repeated when he dare not goe out of his owne parish he is immediatly haled into their Courts as a Keeper of Conventicles and miserably there tormented and is not this also great cruelty Especially when any of their lewd parishioners may goe from yeare to yeare out of their owne parishes a drinking quaffing and that on the Lords day and holy dayes as they call them and have their meetings in troopes and great assemblyes in drinking Schooles tippling there to the great dishonour of God and many times to the great mischiefe of o●hers and the perpetrating of many ●innes and all such though they never heare Service neither divine nor humain find favour in their Courts and serve for wi●nesses against the generation of the just and those that feare God they are esteemed good Sons of the Church though in all other things they be also never so impious Neither is there any law against those children of Be●iall neither can any man deny this that knoweth any thing for they are the defenders of such fellows tormentors of the most godly And if this be not also insufferable tyranny and crue●ty let every reasonable man judge In this i●formation his most excellent Majest is truely and deservedly commended that he is an enimy to Popery and all innovation of religion as his Highnes hath often declared himselfe and that he doth dayly frequent the Church and is diligent in hearing of Sermons And this most eminent piety in our noble King and Soveraigne we his loyall though poore Subjects heartily reioyce at desiring the Lord of heaven still to inflame his royall heart with a zeale for the glory of God the propagation of the Gospell and to continue in him an increase a love unto his holy word Now all men know that Kings examples have been ever the paterne for their Subjects and it is the duty of all good Citizens Subjects to imitate their King in all well doing and men use commonly to say Regis ad exemplum the Kings example is ever to be followed and it is his royall hearts desire that his Subjects should imitat him in that his piety Now what a great unexpressible cruelty is this in the Prelats towards the poore people and how great a dishonour is done to the Ki●g in it that they will not let his Subjects be good for it is good in the King and hightly commendable before God men to heare the Word of God often preached and to be diligent in the hearing of Sermons or els the Informers would not have set it downe as so singular a vertue in our royall King and yet they punish this good in his Subjects and it is a cause of the utter undoing of many of them if they goe to Sermons and when they are found to bee diligent at the hearing of the word the going to a sermon into the next Parish when they have none in their owne is matter sufficient to mount them up into the high Commission which is none of the smallest crueltyes that holy and pious men in these our dayes groane under to the infinit dishonour of God and the King and the needles vexation and molestation of his dutifullest Subjects who desire to follow in that their godly Princes example In S. Iohn Baptists time it is sayd That Ierusalem Iudea and the region round about● came all out to heare him running after Sermons and so they did after Christ And it stands recorded in sacred Writ to their eternall honour and for our imitation For all the Saints godly examples are set downe for us to imitate and wee never read that any were by the very enimies of the Gospell in those dayes the Scribes Pharises and High-Priests molested or troubled for the same and it is sayd of them that they tooke the Kingdome of heaven with a kind of holy violence and their diligence in hearing the word is related ●nd told of them as a thing very honorable and praise worthy and so it is very well related in the information of our gracious King to his immortall honour and great praise and so it is and ever to be honoured in his Maj● and his example in this to be followed of all his obedient Subjects And is it not a transcendent cruel●y then