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A29820
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A compendious and patheticall retractation for book-making very usefull for these distracted times / by Edward Browne.
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Browne, Edward.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing B5101; ESTC R25303
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5,180
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9
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A COMPENDIOVS AND PATHETICALL RETRACTATION FOR Book-Making Very usefull for these Distracted Times By Edward Browne sometime servant to Sir Iames Cambell Knight and Alderman of London Eccles. 9.10 Whatsoever thy hand shall find to do do it with all thy might for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdome in the grave whither thou goest London Printed in the Yeare MDCXLIII A Compendious and Patheticall Retractation for Booke-making SAlomon saith There is no new thing under the Sun for the thing which hath been is that which shall be and the thing which is done is that which shall be done Eccles. 1.9 Yet the Apostle Saint Paul saith That all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 Which contradiction between the wisest of men and divinest Apostle next S. Iohn according to my understanding may be thus reconciled To earthly minded men there is no new thing in this terrestriall Globe except God work a miracle and create a new heaven and a new earth which the heavenly minded man lookes after 2 Pet. 3.15 Whence it is that God saith by the Prophet Ezechiel 3.15 That he will make them a new heart and a new spirit yea a new creature according to the meaning of that in the 2 Cor. 5.17 Therefore our Saviour saith That such a man will bring out of his treasure things new and old In consideration whereof I having little learning but what I have gathered from moderne and ancient Writers have been bold to turn many of their divine Doctrines and histoâ—icaâ—l Narrations into a new mould and made thereof An Annuall world And not content therewith I made a new heaven and placed therein the Sun Moon and a Star of such refulgent lustre that it darkened the eyes of many earthly minded men Whereupon there arose such a cloudy mist out of my seeming grosse ignorance that those heavenly illuminations were wrapt up in a cloud of selfe-conceit The meaning whereof is more plainly thus I having in my private devotions conversed with many rare mens workes framed a Booke of briefe Meditations upon all the Holy dayes in the yeare according to our Church Liturgie which I intuled An Annuall world or the world in the yeare and therein shewed how those dayes may fitly have a correspondence with the seven Planets fixed Stars and Elements fit for private devotion Which work I compared to the Sun for as Sol illuminat Mundum so those Festivities enlighten and stirre up the devotion of all true zealous godly men Whereto I annexed briefe Poeticall Meditations upon the Day in generall and all the Dayes in the Week which Booke I compared to the Moone for I do humbly acknowledge some expressions therein are borrowed from the radient Sun of divine Du Bartas his Weekly Dayes But before these I had fixed a Star intituled Liber Amoris in a seeming bright firmament of favour which was transformed into a Meteor of discontent whereupon arose flashes of lightening with terrible thunder from the countenance gesture and tongues of some maliciously instigated and others malignantly affected to my honest endeavours Wherefore seeing the best of men such as the Prophet David a man after Gods owne heart doth acknowledge That sometime he spake unadvisedly with his lips And Austine Origen and other learned men have made large Volumes of Retractations which formerly they had spoke or writ I that have little learning and no way qualified with such spirituall gifts as those men were may not think it any disparagement to make recantation of what I have done publiquely amisse And therefore first I confesse it was not wisely done in me to seeke the favour and good will of a young Damsell to be my wife by making good Books But for that folly I have lost two or three hundred pounds besides other worldly goods which otherwise I might have had by the favour of great personages Yet as I was foolish in that so I know I did not amisse to shew my honest intentions and industrious endeavours in the good or well spending of spare time Secondly the matter of my Books consist in Divinity Morality and Fancie For my Divinity though it is not so exquisitely performed as by a learned quill it might have beene yet it shews the devotion of my soule which was disesteemed by some maliciously affected to my honest endeavours and such malignant parties at this time do abundantly multiply and oppose themselves against all good order in Church and Common-wealth Secondly for the Morality in my Meteor I do acknowledge it seems to be too satyrically ridged in the applicatory part therof privatly exhibited but if you would be pleased to coÌ„sider the occasion as wel as the thing you shall not finde it altogether so fault-worthy In publishing the Abstract of all Sir Iames his Legacies I do acknowledge that I have given my Lady and the Executours just cause to be offended especially my Lady who forewarned me to do the same And because that it may come to the hands of some who know them not and therefore may imagine that there was some great strife betweene my late judicious Master and his vertuous Lady because he therein hath bequeathed her little more then what was agreed upon at the time of their Matrimoniall Contract which some say is a great disgrace to them both But I would intreat them to be pleased to consider That though therein my Master seemed to be over just yet with the plentiful overplus of his estate he hath shewed himself to be so truly charitable that what is defective in the one may be supplied in the other And therefore in the opinion of all godly judicious learned men such a famous Testament ought not to be smothered in oblivion to stirre up all rich mens hearts to make this their president for them to follow according to my Paterne of Iustice and Mercy and Apologie for his charitable Legacies though I doubt not of the performance thereof by the worshipfull Executours yet I feare they may be overswayed by others that seek to expulse me out of the service where I have been imployed in the most troublesome businesse above the space of a yeare and in a close manner disgrace me for revealing the secrets of the Executours whose actions ought to be so even and equall without partiallity that they may endure the triall of the most nicest and sharpest Satyricall quill And therefore I think my late honoured Master knew well what he did when he left no Overseer but God and consciences of the Executours in the disposall of those Legacies for he knew my spirit was such that if I was so bold with him on whom my livelihood and welfare in this world did depend and whose goodnesse towards me then I had as little cause to suspect as I have of my Ladies now having tasted thereof in such a measure as my printed labours and manuscripts declare I would not feare his Executors though never so potent Then why should I fear
the greatest Lord in the Land or most Potent hypocrite in this City which shall finde fault with any of my fantasticall or rather satyricall labours for I have in that manner named none but such as will apply it to themselves But if some will be maliciously quarrelsome and take it to themselves Let them understand that I fear none of them for I shall then prove them to be much more hypocriticall then my late judicious honoured Master was like Laban or Nabal and so far from Scandalum magnatum that it shall appear verbum veritatis for if they seek utterly to abolish the Book of Common Prayer and then to erect an Aristocraticall or Democraticall Jurisdiction in this Kingdom which hath been so long governed under many Royall Monarchs or at least shall finde fault with my industrious labour in my making of Bookes which was onely to clear my selfe of what I had writ in my Meteor I protest and affirme that they are a company of hypocrits that do such acts and therefore I thought good to marke them which so cause divisions in Church and State according as is related in his Majesties Declarations and other mens writings for many of them are such as the Apostle speaks of 2. Timothy 3.6 Who creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins led away with divers lusts ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth And truely I fear it is this kinde of people that endeavour now as they did when my Master was living to seek my utter ruine meerly for doing good as well to themselves as others if they were not maliciously minded for these my works of Christian fortitude Pitety and devotion in my Annuall World and Sacred Poems In my Paterne of Iustice and Mercy with my Star and Meteor and in my Disaster Paradox and Vindication for Book making is approved and commended by two that are Knight Baronets nine Knights and Aldermen of London fifteen that are Aldermen and others judicious and able Citizens of London and eight or nine that are learned Divines Schollers and writers of Bookes in print as by two Certificates under their hands may appear which in justice and charity they would not deny Yet I do beleeve if they had known I would have put them in print they would have refused their subscription because these dangerous times they would not be seen to animate or incourage my angry and satyricall quill And for my Reverend Patrone he was so far from advising me that he did utterly dislike and diswade me from it as by his letter may appear for since I have made my Disaster I have not seen him which grieves me to the very heart that such men as he should be kept in obscurity and not suffered to preach and write the word of God as in former times For my Lady and other my friends have been so far for incouraging me that they have threatned me to put me out of their service and tell me in the words of Samuel that obedience is better then sacrifice to hearken then the fat of Rams for who hath required these things at my hands And who ever rejected the councell of the wise and did prosper with other such like exhortations which I did very well consider But yet being continually upbraided for my works wch my conscience telling me is well done therin is no wrong to any but such galled backs as found themselves prickt to the quick I was not carefull to answer them in verball expressions but in print for which I was wronged And sure I think I am divinely called thereunto and therefore it is better to obey God then man whose breath is in his nostrils and in time of danger or necessity like a broken reed will rather grieve then help the spirit of the afflicted as experience of this time makes too manifestly appear for if God hath put a seasonable word into my heart that aimes at his glory and good of other shall I not write it if God hath stirred up my spirit as he did the Prophet Daniels in the 45. and 46. verses of Susannas Story shall I fear to say that I am clear of or from all the innocent blood that hath been shed in this unnaturall Civill War No I will not for with Balaam the word that the Lord hath put into my heart that will I write though I might gaine a house full of Gold nay all Sir Iames his Legacies I will not leave till I have vanquished all my malicious adversaries And therefore to those that wish me to desist I speak in the words of our Saviour Get thee behinde me Satan for thou savourest of the things of men and not of God And to my friends I speak in the words of Saint Paul what mean you to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound onely but also to die at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus And therefore intreate them onely to pray that God would send me a quiet minde for if they be righteous I am sure their prayer will prevail with God And in time I shall have good successe And I could wish all England especially London would take my satyricall labours as a warning peece discharged from a good conscience but not from the Cannon oath c. nor ordinances Illegall c. For though they may seem to be fancies dreams or Chymera's of my own brain yet they may prove as fatall to some as Pharaohs Bakers did and to others succesfull as his Butlers For I would that all people in the land did seriously consider not onely mine but the resolved conscience of all true godly learned men such as Saint Paul Rom. 13.1 That it is utterly unlawfull nay damnable to resist much more oppose the higher powers who are as Saint Peter describes them First the King and those that are sent by him and not those that set up themselves against him Then there would not be such warlike preparations and bloody massacres against Parliamentary proceedings free speaking as now there is on both sides for now an honest man may not speak much lesse write his minde freely according to the word of God and the Protestation which I have taken unanswerable by argument as I praise God my works are but he shal be counted a Malignant and threatned to be plundred pillaged or imprisoned as by wofull experience it is too manifest But I with Saint Paul having fought with beasts after the manner of men and overcome all my malicious adversaries As barking of Dogs grumbling of Cats hissing of Serpents and with David freed my self from the paw of the angry Lyon ravenous Bear do not fear nor care for the crafty slights of the Fox the malicious subtilty of the Wolf or tyrannicall jurisdiction of any cruell Tyger but hope in time to overcome even great Goliah himselfe And if I come into trouble for this my fancy I am confident that the Lord in good time will deliver me according to that of the Psalmist Though many are the troubles of the righteous the Lord will deliver him out of them all he keepeth all his bones so that not one of them is broken evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the Righteous shall be desolate But the Lord redeemeth the soule of his servant and none that trust in him shall perish Psal. 43.19.20 And therefore conclude with this heavenly Soliloquium of the prophet David whose actions of conquest I desire to imitate 1. Sam. 17.37 Why are thou cast down O my soule and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I will yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God Psal. 42. ult. The Lord grant us right understanding in all things FINIS