and other infirmities compell'd him to it In this also he was a true disciple of St. Paul who had taught him by precept to endure hardness as a good souldier of Jesus Christ and by his own example 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to keep under his body and bring it into subjection lest when he had preached to others himself should become a reprobate So that hence you may clearly see how true a Disciple of this great Apostle this Reverend person hath been in all his actions both as a Christian and as a Bishop 2. And I could shew you the like of his sufferings if the work were not too hazardous as well as too great for this time For Action and Passion are Relative terms the one cannot be truly understood without reflecting upon the other and therefore I must forbear to speak of his Christian sufferings that I may the better conceal the unchristian doings of them that brought those sufferings upon him All that I shall say in this particular is this wherein I cannot wrong his Reverend brethren so much as single him altogether from them that when the Accuser of the Brethren had got a permission to vent his whole malice in Calumniating the Bishops of this poor afflicted Church he could not lay any personal fault to the charge of any one of them all that he could object against them was either their office as Bishops or that wherewith he deluded the giddy multitude to think was a failing in the exercise of that office though now it is evident to most men that will be content to lay aside their groundless jealousies that it was a timely foresight of that mischief and a providential care to suppress it which we now see when it is too late hath almost utterly ruined this once flourishing Church But as for this Reverend Bishop in particular there was never any thing laid to his charge by those that brought his sufferings upon him but only that he was a Bishop And whatsoever he suffered upon that account he well knew was not for evil doing but for conscience towards God and consequently for righteousness sake which made him with St. Paul rejoyce in his sufferings even then when he suffered the loss of his estate and liberty and which he valued much more the loss of the free exercise of his function in the Church in a word the loss of all things his life only excepted and for that he escaped very narrowly too in one of those I know not what to call them which contrary to common sense were voted no Tumults But the best was he valued it not in so good a cause as this was for he was wont alwayes to sweeten all his sufferings to himself with blessing God that no man could take from him either his Mortality or Immortality 3. And let this suffice though much more would be requisite to have spoken both of his fight and of his course whereof the one is now fought and the other finished and yet blessed be God for it he hath kept the Faith in both which was the third and crowning act in St. Paul wherein he was so carefully imitated by this Reverend Prelate who was faithful to God both in his duty as a Christian and in his office as a Bishop till the very last gasp and gave a full testimony of both by his actions while he had strength and power to express either 1. Witness his late Ordinations of Priests and Deacons here among you whereof some here present received the benefit and many more can give the testimony and wherein he was so exceeding careful when he durst not trust either his eyes or his memory that he gave the words of benediction as they were read unto him by some of those that assisted him in those solemn offices 2. Witness also his great care and earnest prayers of which likewise there be several witnesses here present that the sacred order and succession of Bishops might never fail in this poor afflicted and distressed Church 3. Witness likewise his very great and high esteem of the sacred Liturgy of the Church of England which I may justly say attended him to his very grave and did not expire with his breath For I had an express and particular command from him not to omit nor so much as transpose as he had observed too frequently to be done by others the reading of the Lesson taken out of 1 Cor. 15. which the Church hath prescribed to be read at the Grave and which being read there while the mouth of the grave is open upon those that hear it and while such a spectacle of mortality is before their eyes he said could not but have a greater influence upon their souls then any Funeral Sermon he had ever heard preached 4. Witness moreover his exceeding great fervour and devotion in prayer whereunto he seldome answered with a single Amen and at which duty he never kneeled upon a Qushion I think in all his life nor ever prayed but upon his knees till he was confined to his death-bed and even then would never lie with his Cap on his head if he either prayed himself or any other prayed by him while he had strength to pull it off with his own hands 5. Witness lastly that great consolation and devotion which he had and used in partaking the comforts of the Church to prepare him for his long journey I speak not only in respect of the Holy Eucharist it self as his viaticum but also of those preparatives which he used before it in the presence of many who are now here present as to the Profession of his Faith the stirring up of his hope and the exercise 1. of his charity in forgiving all that ever had done him any wrong 2. of his humility in desiring all men to forgive him though he could not remember he had wronged any 3. and last of all of his repentance wherein he was so exact and punctual as not to neglect that great benefit and comfort which every truly pious and humble soul doth reap from the Keyes of the Church in the Ministery of absolution duly performed which he both desired and received And when he had been partaker of these comforts himself he made all those that assisted him in them partakers of his Blessing upon them and prayers for them It is an infallible sign the soil is good when the seed that is sown doth not only forthwith spring up as that did which fell upon stony places but also bringeth forth fruit with patience in an honest and good heart as that did which fell upon the good ground and as the case was here For he did not only receive the seed with joy for the present but retained it with much comfort in the time of his greatest temptation even to the very last gasp which was two dayes after For while he was able to speak he testified the fruit of it by
or place where this prize is played is the world 3. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Combate is his labour in the discharge of his Apostolical office and patience in suffering persecution for righteousness sake 4. the victory is his conquest over the Devil the world and the flesh the hard hearted Jews and idolatrous Gentiles the obstinate Hereticks and perverse Schismatick 5. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Reward is that incorruptible Crown elsewhere mentioned by this Apostle called here the Crown of righteousness by St. James and St. John the Crown of life and by St. Peter the Crown of glory And 6. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Judge that crowns the conquerour is Almighty God who is here called the Lord the righteous Judge This being premised as it will adde great light to my whole Text so more particularly to the two first particulars in the former general part of it the Apostles fighting a good fight and finishing his course For the Olympick games consisted chiefly in those foure kindes of sport formerly intimated fighting running or Chariot-driving wrestling and cuffing and the Apostle plainly alludeth to the two first of them in those two actions my text being a perfect parallel to that of 1 Cor. 9.26 I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beateth the aire And as for the third that of keeping the faith it signifieth nothing that is peculiar in it self but is only a consequent upon the two former actions by way of constancie and perseverance as I shall shew you hereafter 2. Having taken this short view of the words joyntly together let us now proceed to consider them severally apart and then what we have hitherto looked upon in the Allegory we shall see more clearly in the moral or signification of it The acts I told you were three whereof 1. The first is St. Pauls fighting I have fought a good fight where we may further observe 1. The Combate it self in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 certamen 2. The Quality of it in that he calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a good fight 1. For the former the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which here signifieth the fight or combate it self may be taken either Actively or Passively either for some great labour and pains in performing a work or for some great patience in suffering for such a performance So it was in the Olympick games Multa tulit fecitque puer the Agonist must both labour and suffer before he got the victorie and so it must be with us in our Christian conversation we must both strive to enter in at the strait gate and run with patience the race that is set before us We have our pattern in both from St. Paul what he did is but briefly and yet not entirely recorded by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles though it takes up that whole History for the most part and what he suffered can hardly be expressed by his own pen 2 Cor. 11. though what is there expressed will make another man shrink at the very reading of it 2. For the Quality of this combate it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a good fight and a fight in those sports was never accounted good unless it had these two qualifications 1. It must be in a good cause and 2. it must be regularly and lawfully performed 1. I will not here insist upon the mistake of the Grecians in the former qualification concerning the goodness of their cause a little breath of popular applause and a small wreath of Olive or Lawrel together with an ambitious desire to be counted strong or active nimble or valiant was enough as they mistook the matter to denominate their cause good But as for the other qualification which maketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fight to be good which is as this Apostle termeth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to strive lawfully that is a thing wherein the similitude will hold both in respect of St. Paul and them and us For to do what was Bonum but not Bene was a thing condemned by the very Heathens It was nothing worth even in their apprehension to perform a good action but not to do it as it ought to be done because Bonum est ex integrâ causâ malum ex quolibet defectu there must be a concurrence of all the causes to denominate an action good if it fail in any one circumstance it loseth that denomination And now let us reflect our thoughts upon what I said 1. concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or combate it self that it consisted both in doing and suffering and then 2. adde this to it which I have here observed that this doing and suffering must not only be in a just cause but also after a justifiable manner and again 3. in the last place let us consider St. Paul not only as a private Christian but also as an Apostle of Christ and then by laying all these together you will have the full extent of this first Act in the former part of my Text both as it was performed by St. Paul and transcribed by this Reverend Bishop I have fought a good fight But I must not wrong the subject of my discourse so far as to speak of it only in generals and therefore I shall now proceed to some particular instances in which this good fight of the Apostle did consist wherein he was so well imitated by the Bishop And to clear my passage to it I must first speak a word or two of the Agonist or Champion St. Paul I have fought c. 1. Concerning whom I cannot pass over this one observation which St. Chrysostome hath suggested to my meditation namely how it should come to pass that this Holy Apostle who was otherwise so humble and modest should here and upon this occasion speak so highly of himself In other places when he speaks of his own person he calleth himself the chief of sinners or at best 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 less then the least of all Saints and when he speaks of his office he dares hardly own it but saith he is not meet to be called an Apostle and how then comes it to pass that he should here so far alter his note as thus to triumph before the victory To brag as if he were putting off his Armour before he had well put it on To proclaim with his own mouth what he had done before he had made an end of his work To boast of his conquest before he had encountered his last and worst enemy which is death To this I answer that I hope every one that hears me will rest satisfied with that which satisfied St. Chrysostome in this point who had studied it throughly because he had been much perplexed about it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often times as himself confesseth and that is that these words were
not spoken by way of boasting in himself but of consolation to his Disciple Timothy For when we consider what a heavy charge he had laid upon him to preach the word c. together with the reasons of it taken from those corruptions that would in time infect the Church which would require in him a great measure of labour and watchfulness and patience in suffering afflictions we may well think it was now high time to comfort him with the words of my Text and the rather because this heavy burthen would lye more heavily upon him now then ever it had done before seeing the Apostle himself was then ready to be offered up and the time of his departure was at hand and this he doth by proposing his own example in the work and his confident hope of the wages I have fought c. Henceforth is laid up c. How tender hearted this holy person Timothy was will appear by his Tears upon a small absence of St. Paul from him and therefore it will not be denyed but that both it was necessary to comfort him upon this occasion and that the words of my Text were very useful to that purpose But the question may still perhaps be insisted upon how St. Paul could propose these words as a ground of comfort to his Disciple Timothy before he had actually done that work which is represented by them and upon which that comfort was to be grounded St. Augustine puts the objection into my mouth and a part of the answer to it Quomodo potuit haec dicere cui adhuc restabat ipsius passionis quam sibi jam impendere dixerat tam magna conflictio tam molestum grande certamen How could St. Paul say he had fought a good fight when in the words immediately before he saith that the time of his departure was but at hand which implieth that the greatest brunt of his battel was still to fight when he spake these words To which I answer 1. That I will not dispute whether these words are to be understood of St. Pauls first answering for his life before Nero which was a thing then past without all dispute or of his second which was then to come If the former as some very learned men are of opinion it was the doubt will quickly vanish of it self but seeing he speaks of his departure as a thing then at hand and not at 9. or 10. years distance I shall for peace-sake take the latter as granted and answer 2. That he had so good assurance and confidence in Gods mercy as to his constancy and final perseverance as he looks upon the work as done already in effect while it was but yet a doing and himself as comprehensor while he was only viator or as a conquerour before the fight was fully ended Quod futurum esse praesumpsit tanquam factum fuerit judicavit sayes the same Father in the same place But then for the ground of this assurance and confidence to make that appear the more clearly we must as before distinguish between the work and the wages for these being at several distances will require several Telescopes to represent them to our understanding 1. For the work or fight he foresaw it plainly as a thing then at hand both by what he saw contrived against him at Rome in Nero's Palace and also as being instructed therein by divine Revelation as some learned men are of opinion and as Historians tell us the like of others since that time as for instance St. Cyprian and St. Chrysostome in ancient times and Bishop Ridley and Bishop Jewel of late 2. But then for the victory and wages I must be cautious in what I determine upon it For I dare not say though St. Anselm doth that he foresaw this by any supernatural revelation of his own Predestination and Election such an opinion as this if it were once swallowed and applyed to our selves might make us look so high into Gods unsearchable counsel as not to see the rubs and precipices in our way to Heaven I rather incline to those that direct us to cast our eyes downward upon our selves and to look inwardly into our own bosomes and they will tell us that this confidence as it relates to the wages proceeded ex fiducia bonae conscientiae from the testimony of a good conscience grounded upon the goodness and sure mercies of God in Christ Jesus as it was in the case of St. Ambrose upon his death-bed who was neither unwilling to live nor afraid to die only quia bonum habemus dominum because he knew he served a gracious master All this while I have spoken of the ground of his confidence and not at all of the medium by which the evidence of what he affirmeth was conveyed to him for whether that was a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or full assurance of Faith or only of Hope is a question both too ticklish and too large to dispute at this time and needless withal seeing it seems to me to be determined by St. Augustine long ago whose authority is very great in a case of this nature and his words at large will confirm the substance of what I have delivered upon this whole point Ideo talibus verbis speaking of the latter verse of my Text certus securusque gaudebat Paulus quia de victoria futuri tanti certaminis certum eum securumque jam fecerat qui eandem passionem jam illi revelaverat non re certissima sed spe plenissimâ haec dixit c. From which words you may observe 1. That St. Augustine understands the words of my Text as an effect of St. Pauls joy to comfort his Disciple Timothy gaudebat Paulus and not by way of boasting in himself 2. He tells us God had revealed St. Pauls sufferings to him passionem jam illi revelaverat that is his work but speaks not a word of revealing his wages but the contrary For 3. the confidence he had of that he tells us proceeded ex spe firmissima from a full assurance of Hope And let this suffice to have spoken of the Agonist or Champion St. Paul 2. I proceed now to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or fight it self which we are to understand as I formerly told you 1. both Actively for what he did and Passively for what he suffered and this again 2. is called a good fight both for the justice of the cause and justifiableness of the way and means by which it was managed and 3. last of all this good fight was fought by St. Paul both as a private Christian and as an Apostle of Christ 1. As an Apostle he fought Actively in what he did and in this particular he is set out unto us as a singular Champion to be admired in some things rather then imitated by us He sustained and that dayly the care of all the Churches he preached Christ
warning every man and teaching every man he laboured striving according to the working that wrought in him mightily he laboured more abundantly then all the rest of the Apostles 2. As a private Christian he fought Actively and that against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places nay rather then want an enemy he would fight with himself he kept under his body and brought it into subjection lest when he had preached to others himself should be a cast-away And then again he laboured and fought no less in what he suffered then in what he did he had his fears within as well as his fightings without and that again both in respect of his person and office When he was called to be both a Christian and an Apostle they were both comprised under this general notion of suffering I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my names sake sayes our blessed Saviour from Heaven and we finde it verified in him through the whole course of his life He suffered shipwrack thrice he suffered persecution he suffered the loss of all things He suffered much more then I can tell you so much as would almost pose himself to express And yet as though it had been only a sport to him like the crecket he sung in the fire he rejoyced in his sufferings and thereby filled up that which was behinde of the afflictions of Christ in his flesh He knew and made us to know that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings and he knew withal that the Disciple is not above his master nor the souldier better then his Captain and therefore he was ready to suffer all things knowing most assuredly that if he suffered with him he should also be glorified together with him and that those light afflictions which were but for a moment would work for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory To summe up all in a word he both laboured and suffered and that both as a Christian and as an Apostle he laboured night and day with his hands as a private person that he might labour in the discharge of his Apostolical office without being chargeable to any man 2. All this while I have spoken of this fight as it is taken in it self meerly in relation to the substance of it but however by what I have said you will see in part it was also a good fight for the quality of it 1. It was good in respect of the justice of the cause in which he both laboured and suffered both as a Christian and as an Apostle It must needs be a good fight saith St. Chrysostome when we fight 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Christ whatsoever hardship we endure by it whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prisons or bolts or death it self It must needs be a good fight when we fight for the Gospel against the fiery darts of the Devil the pomps and vanities of the world and the sinful lusts of the flesh but especially when it is managed by such a person as this great Apostle who was set for the defence of the Gospel and that against all opposites whatsoever Jews and Gentiles Hereticks and Schismaticks And such was this fight in my Text he fought the good fight of faith and he suffered persecution for the Cross of Christ he did earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints both by his doings and sufferings He fought with beasts at Ephesus while he planted the Gospel there and he suffered persecution at Lystra while he planted it there Whatsoever he either did or suffered in any place was undertaken and undergone chiefly and principally for the planting and propagating of the Gospel of Christ as he was an Apostle but yet so as still to have a care of his own soul as a Christian that while he preached to others himself should not become a Reprobate This for the justness of his cause 2. His fight was likewise good for the justifiableness of the way and means by which he managed it He gives it as a general rule to all others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to strive lawfully to manage their fight according to the rules of war without which no man ought to be crowned as a conquerour and therefore seeing he speaks of the crown of righteousness as a thing undoubtedly laid up for him we may be sure he would not forfeit his title to it for want of performing this condition Whatsoever good he did he did it well and whatsoever persecution he suffered it was not only in a good cause but with such an excellent mixture of courage and meekness of patience and comfort as might very well become a Christian sufferer and the cause of God wherein he suffered Whatsoever he did in these conflicts was by the power of the spirit of God that strengthened him and by that power he was able to do all things and whatsoever he suffered it was according to the will of God for whom he suffered it and then come life come death all is one to him he was ready not only to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Thus much for the first action I have fought a good fight 2. The second now follows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have finished my course or rather I have performed the race for there is not a possessive in the sentence and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may as well fignifie to perform as to finish And here I take it for granted though I cannot deny but some are of the contrary opinion that the Apostle in these words alludeth to another kinde of game then he did in the last In the former words he spake of fighting or combating in these of racing or running To this he expresly alludeth when he tells us he had not run in vain to this he earnestly exhorts when he calleth upon us to run with patience the race that is set before us They are clearly distinguished in a parallel text which I formerly alledged and so they ought to be in this place without all question I know very well that by finishing his course some interpreters understand no more then his constancie in the fight till he got the victory but this is doubtless a mistake in the phrase For it is clear enough from several texts that he was not a conquerour in one thing only but in several that he performed the part cursoris agilis as well as boni pugilis not only of a stout fighter but also of a nimble runner and herein he outstript most of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very few in the whole list of the Olympick conquerours got the victorie at more prizes then
weighty office of a Bishop almost 44. years in which respects I think he hath not left his equal behinde him in Europe but especially considering that there is hardly a day in those years nor scarce an houre in that day whereof some good account may not be given if I should go about such a thing And therefore seeing I must of necessity omit much that might be said in this case according to custome I shall confine my discourse to that which cannot be omitted without violating my Text and prevaricating in a good cause And for the rest if God permit I may have occasion hereafter to give the world an account in some brief narrative of his Life You have seen the copy already in St. Paul I shall now endeavour to shew you how well it was transcribed by this Reverend Bishop who was as great an admirer of him as I have known though indeed no man can sufficiently admire him It is this Apostles exhortation to us all to be followers of him as he was of Christ and it was the special care and endeavour of this pious Bishop to yield obedience to that exhortation we have already seen as far as my Text led me to it how well this Apostle followed Christ it now remains I should shew you how well this Bishop followed the Apostle in those particulars I have already insisted upon And here in the first place if I would allow my self that liberty of wandring from my Text which too many others assume in the contrary cause I could bring my first parallel from their offices in the Church the one an Apostle the other a Bishop and shew you even from St. Hierome himself whose authority is so much urged against Bishops how little difference there is between them seeing as that Father tells us Bishops succeed the Apostles in the Church as a Son doth his Father in his inheritance and consequently that Bishops do now sustain the place of the Apostles or to come closer to my Text that a Bishop is to us instead of St. Paul But this is a subject too large for this time and neither proper for the place nor suitable with the Text and my present intention For it is their actions and sufferings their fight and their course and not their place or their office which my Text leads me to to make up the parallel and even in that I must stint my discourse from those limits which I first intended When I first observed in St. Pauls fight the substance and the quality of it branching the former into his actions and sufferings and the latter into the justness of his cause and justifiableness of the way of managing it and that again both as an Apostle and as a Christian my intentions were to have shewed you in the parallel what this Reverend Bishop did and what he suffered both as a Bishop and as a Christian and again how good his cause was the cause of God and his Church and how Christianly it was managed without running either to the God of Ekron or to the Witch of Endor without worshipping the golden image or vailing the bonnet to Baal Berith without committing murder in the fear of God or shutting up Churches for the propagation of the Gospel And then in the second place my intention was to have extended the parallel to his imitation of the Apostle in the whole course of his life in running with him the same race that was set before them both and then last of all to have shewed you how well he kept the faith till his last gasp both in his fighting and running And I hope I shall say something to all these particulars though neither so largely nor so methodically as I once intended The first thing mentioned by the Apostle here in my Text is the good fight which he fought and the like according to the proportion of his ability was performed by this Bishop 1. His whole life was a fight even as he was a man Militia est hominis vita super terram but a far greater fight as a Christian because it was not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places The greater the difficulties are against which we strive the greater is the fight and the victory the more glorious and so the case was with him considered as a Christian and so it still is and ever will be with us For our enemies in this battel are the Devil the World and the Flesh and all of them compleatly armed the world with power the flesh with treachery and the Devil with subtilty Yet such hath been the power of Gods grace in this great Champion that he hath got a clear conquest over them all and left us his good example both for our encouragement and imitation 2. But these enemies being common to others with him though seldome subdued by any so well as by him I shall rather divert my discourse to the other branch which I proposed and shew you what a hot encounter he did undergo in respect of his office in the Church as a Bishop and that both in what he did and what he suffered And in this God was pleased to deal very graciously with him as indeed he did in all other things for while he had strength he wanted not opportunities to be doing something for the good of the Church and when that began to decay God was still graciously pleased to assist him with a plentiful measure of his grace to suffer patiently for righteousness sake In all ages the office of a Bishop was enough to engage the person that sustained it in a fight of action and of late the very name of a Bishop was more then enough to engage him in the fight of suffering I pray God forgive them that occasioned it They might have foreseen at first whither it naturally tended and cannot but now see what it hath undoubtedly brought upon themselves as well as others since the quarrel was improved against all the other offices of Ministery in the Church which at first was commenced only against the Bishops Nay the very Church it self if we look upon her as a branch of the Holy Catholick Church of Christ which we profess in our Creed is now at last assaulted by those that will allow of no Churches but of their own gathering which is a thing of more dangerous consequence then most are aware of I pray God I may be a false prophet in this thing when I tell you my fears that the end of it if not timely prevented is like enough to be confusion and Atheism which begin already to flow in upon us or rather to overwhelm us How worthily this our Champion hath carried himself in this fight is a thing so well known as I shall not need to inlarge my discourse upon it Witness those many learned Volumes he hath written against all the adversaries of this poor afflicted
man can expect any thing considerable in the Will of a person deceased who made his own hand his Executors while he lived This Reverend Bishop in this particular was much of the temper of his great kinsman the Cardinal and Arch-Bishop of Canterbury above mentioned who chose rather to inrich his kindred and servants in his life-time then at his death or rather of William Warham who succeeded him not long after both in his Metropolitical See and Chancellourship of England of whom I well remember I have read though I have forgot where that lying upon his death-bed he called for his steward to let him know what money he had and understanding from him it was but thirty pounds he thanked God for it and said his time was then come for he never desired to die richer 111. It is true indeed this Reverend Bishop had somewhat more money by him at his death according to the number of pounds though less according to the value and proportion of money now to what it was then But to be sure he dyed far poorer in Estate for his debts were either none or desperate which is all one and his goods were either plundered or sold not excepting his Books in his life-time Of that small remnant which his professed enemies and seeming friends and urgent necessities had left him he gave 40. l. to the one of his servants that attended him at his death having abundantly provided for the other in his life and ten pounds to the poor of the Parish where he dyed and his Chalice with a Patin for the cover both double guilt to the noble Baronet in whose family he dyed for the use of his Chappel lately built The rest deducting some small Remembrances he ordered for his Burial which though not much above one hundred pounds was so well husbanded though I say it as to have a small remnant for a Monument at his own charge which though of necessity it must be far below his worth yet will it be such a one as will sute better with his great modesty then one much more sumptuous at the cost of another and will tell posterity he dyed a Confessour in a good cause and bad times to the great reproach of a wicked and ungrateful generation though the year he dyed in should not be written upon it 112. I cannot here omit to mention again the chief Legacy of his Will that which he designed for the common good of all pious and sober Christians living in the Communion of the Church of England but bequeathed as his pastoral charge required more particularly to those of his own Diocess of Duresme And this was paid in part by his Executor in the conclusion of his Funeral Sermon and will be more fully discharged now that both that and this are made publick in print and therefore I refer the Reader to that place for it 113. Having thus carefully disposed of all outward things in order to his long journey seaven moneths and of some of them seventeen before he took it we may reasonably presume he did the like much more carefully and timely in relation to those things which concerned his Spiritual and Eternal welfare For beside the principles of Christianity he had also his great Calling Learning and Years to mind him of his great account at a little distance And he had studied the point so well as it became a very familiar saying with him for many years together before his death that he had Vitam in patientia but mortem in desiderio till at last God was pleased to Crown his desires with what he had patiently waited for so long a time The knife that cut the thred of his long life beside old age which is an incurable disease was an infirmity with which he had wresled for a long time though it had much exercised his patience and impaired his strength It was an Hernia or Rupture which at last falling down more violently then ordinary became so painful to him as he could not endure to have it reduced Hereupon he was cast upon his death-bed for a moneth wanting three dayes during which time God did wonderfully supply him with a great measure of patience and other Christian virtues requisite for his condition in that extremity as I have elsewhere manifested and shall not here repeat till at last God was graciously pleased to grant him his last and infinitely happiest Translation from the vale of misery to a Throne of glory this he obtained the 22. day of September 1659. in the 95. year of his Age being the 44. of his Episcopal Consecration and 28. of his Translation to the See of Duresme 114. Upon the eight day after his death being the Feast of St. Michael the Arch-Angel his Body was solemnly interred according to the Order of the Church of England in the Chancel of the Parish Church of St. Peter at Easton-Manduit where he dyed And though his Estate was so small as could not well consist with any solemn Invitation to his Funeral yet had he so great respect from the Neighbouring people of all ranks and qualities for all he had been so short a time among them that some of the Nobility many of the Gentry and most of the Clergy did freely and voluntarily give their attendance at his Funeral solemnity the chief of them carrying up the skirts of the Pall and the rest in due rank and order accompanying his Body to the grave where now it resteth in Peace till a glorious and happy Resurrection shall once more Translate it to life everlasting Animam quidem Christus Scripta possidet Ecclesia CHAP. II. A Catalogue of the Books written by this Learned Bishop 1. HE led his life in a holy and chaste Celibate being never married to any beside God and the Church which he had committed to his care and trust so that what is usually added to the History of other mens lives concerning their Children may and must be spared in this seeing he never had any but such as were spiritual whom he begat to God in the Gospel of Christ 2. And yet if we look upon the Issue of his brain those learned works he hath left to the world we shall find him more fruitful in them then his Parents were in the issue of their Body though that was very remarkable They had indeed nineteen Children he left above twenty several volumes in Print and several others that wanted only his last hand and some not so much but only the obstetrication of the Press to bring them into the world It is true indeed that many of his Fathers issue have multiplied into a numerous posterity and so had His also but only for this paradox that their strength caused their Imbecillity for if his Books had been less unanswerable they had produced Replies and Duplies before this time considering how long it is since most of them were published as will appear by this ensuing
Printing his Treatise of Poedo-Baptism upon a Letter which he received from the late Reverend Bishop of Exeter to whom he had committed the perusal of those Papers the reason I shall set down in the very words of the Letter which I have still in my hand 31. I profess my Lord it rejoyces me to see your wonted Genius so lively acting in this Masculine Childe of your old age but I crave this leave of your Lordship to express my thoughts that having perused your Papers twice over and with them both Mr. Tombes and his Adversaries Rejoynder to him I find the cause is carried farther by these mens Altercations then could be foreseen when you wrote this Confutation And thereupon he adviseth him to supersede the publishing of it though otherwise he saith it might have justly claimed the birthright before the other disputes c. 32. Beside these M. S. Books which I have in custody I hear of some others in other mens hands viz. 11. A Relation of the CONFERENCE above mentioned held at YORK by him with Mr. Young and Mr. Stillington 12. A further Confutation of R. G. in Defence of the Articles of the Church of England 33. These are all I hear of in particular for the present What other things of his there may be I know not only I understand by a letter from his old servant and Secretary Mr. Richard Baddeley that he hath some things of his in writing which he thinks may be fit for the Press but whether some of these already named I know not There have been so many things of late obtruded upon the world under the name of Authors of great fame and reputation that I must once for all give the Reader this Caution that in case any thing shall hereafter be Printed in the name of this learned Author it may not be reputed his unless it have my approbation of it 34. I have almost wearied my Reader with a bare Catalogue of his Works what then would it be to read them all But especially what was it for him to write them For what Possidius saith of S. Augustine in this case may very well be applied to this learned Bishop for a Conclusion to this Chapter Tot tanta eruditionis ingenii sui edidit Monumenta ut vix Cuncta a studiosissimo quolibet volvi cognosci queant Legenda Scripsit Scribenda fecit CHAP. III. A short Character of his Person and Qualities 1. I Am not ignorant how hard a task this third and last part of my undertaking would be if I should be operose in it for the same reason that none was thought so fit to write Caesars Commentaries as Caesar himself But this is a thing may the more lightly be passed over both because he hath been a burning and shining Light upon so eminent a Candlestick for so many years as renders him very well known to most men and because I had not only his permission but Command to write what now I do on purpose to prevent the over lavish expressions by way of Panegyrick which he feared and forbad from another hand which will obliged me both to moderation and brevity in what I shall speak of him and last of all because I have upon another occasion made some Essay towards this work already which the reader will find here prefixed 2. At that time the Text which confined my discourse led me wholly to make it appear how well he had studied and how diligently he had practised the example of S. Paul and therefore it would be superfluous in me now to enter upon any large discourse to shew what a Paraphrase his life was upon 1 Tim. 3. Tit. 1. vers 6 c. and how perfectly his Episcopal Qualifications answered those Rules which that great Apostle there prescribeth as the Standard or Touch-stone whereby every Bishop ought to be tryed and examined For the greater will presuppose the lesser a fortiore and therefore he that had made the Apostles Life the rule of his own may well be presumed to have taken out those inferiour lessons which are indispensably required in every Bishop 3. And yet because I must of necessity use some Method in what I have to say and cannot have a better then what is there laid down by this Great Apostle and was taken notice of by S. Gregory Nazianzen in the like case though I will not enlarge my Discourse to a Commentary upon the place I shall use the particulars of that Text especially the chief of them for the heads of my discourse though not in the same method and order And when I have thus weighed him in the ballance and by the shekel of the Sanctuary and found him full weight I shall add a word or two concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Superpondium For as the former will shew he wanted nothing that is indispensably required in a Bishop so will the later that he had superadded so much to it as we may list him justly in the rank of very good Bishops And I shall make out all this as near as I can by particular instances that neither his enemies may complain that I flatter his memory nor his friends that I obtrude my own fancies and conjectures upon the world in stead of reall Truths 4. For the first Qualification I shall have no occasion to give offence to any because it is Negatively set down A Bishop must be blameless So that whosoever shall accuse him upon this first branch is bound by the Law of Nature to make his charge good against him and if we take in likewise the Custome of the Romans that the person accused shall have the Accusers face to face and licenee to Answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him I shall still have the less cause to be sollicitous in this business For there is nothing in his Writings whereof he hath been accused wherein he hath not cleared himself in the judgment of the impartial Reader and if there be any new Charge to be laid against him the only competent Tribunal will be that of the Righteous Judge of all the earth at the General Assizes of the World where alone the parties may appear face to face And as for his Life he was in that by the tacit consent of his greatest Enemies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 irreprehensible or even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sine crimine if we take the word Crime in the proper sense not for sin for no man is without that but for such scandalous sins as make a man justly lyable to Accusation and Infamy in which sense multi sine crimine sunt as St. Augustine tells us and in that rank I doubt not but we may reckon this good Bishop 5. For he had improved this Qualification to so high a pitch as to make it also take in another and make him have a good report of them which are without