that â—…he offering of some grains of Incense was only to perâ—…ume the room or that the delivering up of their Bibles was but for preserving the Book more carefully Do you think the Christians would have palliated so 〈◊〉 and colluded with their Consciences Men are 100 prone â—…o err on that hand In the last King's â—…ime some eminent Persons of our Clergy made an open defection to the Church of Rome One and he yet certainly a Protestant and that hath deserved well of that cause writ the Book of Seven Sacraments One in the Church at present though certainly no less a Protestant could not abstain from arguing the Holiness of Lent Doctor Thorndike lately dead left for his Epitaph Hic jacet câ—…pus Herberti Thoradike Praebendarij hujus Eccleâ—… qui vivus veram Reformatae Ecâ—…lesia rationem modum precibus studiisque prosequebatur and nevertheless he adds Tu Lector requiâ—…m ei beatam in Christo resurrectionem precare Which thing I do thus sparingly set down only to shew the danger of inventive piety and if Men come once to add new devices to the Scripture how easily they slide on into Superâ—…tition Therefore although the Church do consider her self so much as not to alter her Mode 〈◊〉 the fancy of others yet I cannot see why she ought to exclude those from Communion whose weaker consciences cannot for fear of scandal step further For the Non-conformists as to these Declarations of our Church against the Reverence to the Creatures of Bread and Wine and concerning the other Ceremonies as before will be ready to think they have as 〈◊〉 against the clause That whosoever should atfirm the Wednesday Fast to be imposed with an intention to bind the Conscience should be punished like the spreaders of falso news which is saith a learned Prelate plainly to them that understand it to evacuate the whole Law For all human Power being derived from God and bound upon our Conscinces by his Power not by Maâ—… he that faith it shall not bind the Conscience saith it shall be no Law it shall have no Authority from God and then it hath none at all and if it be not tyed upon the Conseience then to break it is no sin and then to keep it is no duty So that a Law without such an intention is a contradiction It is a Law only which binds if we please and we may obey when we have a mind to it and to so much we are tyed before the Constitution But then if by such a Declaration it was meant that to keep such Fasting-days was no part of a direct Commandment from God that is God had not required them by himself immediately and so it was abstracting from that Law no duty Evangelical it had been below the wisdom of the Contrivers of it no man petends it 〈◊〉 man saith it no man thinks it and they might as well have declared that that laiw was none of the ten Commandments p. 59 of his first Book So much pains does that learned Prelate of his take who ever he was to prove a whole Parliament of England Coxcombs Now I say that thâ—…se Ecclesiaâ—…ical Laws with such Declarations concerning the Ceremonies by them 〈◊〉 might mutaâ—…is mutandis be taxed upon the same Topâ—…k But I love not that task and â—…hall rather leave it to Mr. Bayes to paraphrase his learnd Prelate For he is very good at correcting the 〈◊〉 of Laws and Lawgivers and though this work indeed be not for 〈◊〉 turn at present yet it may be for the future And I have heard a good Engineer say That he never 〈◊〉 any place so but that he reserved a feeble point by which he knew how to take it if there were occasion I know a medicine for Mr. Bayes his Hiccough it is but naming J. O. but I cannot tell certainly though I have a shrew'd guess what is the cause of it For indeed all his Arguments here are so abrupt and short that I cannot liken them better considering too that â—…requent and perpetual repetition Such as this Why may not the Soveraign Power bestow this Priviledge upon Ceremony and Custom by virtue of its prerogative What greater Immorality is there in them when determined by the Command and Institution of the Prince than when by the consent and institution of the people This the Tap-lash of what he said p. 100. When the Civil Magistrate takes upon him to determine any particular Forms of outward Worship 't is of no worse Consequence than if he should go about to define the signification of all words used in the Worship of God And p. 108. of his first Book So that all the Magistrates power of instituting significant Cerem-onies c. can be no more â—…rpation upon the CONSCIENCES of Men than if the Soveraign Authority should take upon it self as some Princes have done to define the signification of words And afterwards The same gesture and actions are indifferently capable of signifying either honour or contumely and so words and therefore 't is necessary their signification should be determined c. 'T is all very well worth reading p. 441. of his Second Book 'T is no other usurpation upon their Subjects Consciences than if he should take upon him to refine their Language and determine the proper signification of all phrases imployed in Divine Worship as well as in Trades Arâ—…s and Sciences p. 461. of the same Once we will so far gratifie the tenderness of their Consciences and curiosity of their Fancies as to promise never to ascribe any other significancy to things than what himself is here content to bestow upon words And 462. of the same So that you see my Comparison between the signification of Words and Ceremonies stands firm as the Pillars of the Earth and the Foundations of our Faith Mr. Bayes might I see have spared Sir Salomon's Sword of the Divine Institution of the Sacraments Here is the terriblest weapon in all his Armory and therefore I perceive reserved by our Duellist for the last onset And I who am a great well-wisher to the Pillars of the Earth or the eight Elephants lest we should have an Earth-quake and much more a Servant to the Kiag's Prerogative lest we should all fall into consusion and perfectly devoted to the Foundations of our Faith lest we should run out into Popery or Paganism have no heart to â—…his incounter lest if I should prove that the Magistrates absolute unlimited and uncontrolable Power doth not extend to define the signification of all words I should thereby not only be the occasion of all those mischiefs mentioned but which is of far more dismal Importance the loss of two or three so significant Ceremonies But though I therefore will not dispute against that Flower of the Princes Crown yet I hope that without doing much harm I may observe that for the most part they left it to the people and seldome themselves exercised it And even Augustus Casar though
Prudence and good Intentions of Princes and the Establishment of their Affairs His Majesty therefore expected a better season and having at last rid himself of a great Minister of state who had headed this Interest he now proceeded plainly to recommend to his Parliment effectually and with repeated instances the Consideration of tender Consciences After the Kings last representing of this matter to the Parliament Mr. Bayes took so much time as was necessary for the maturing of so accurate a Book which was to be the standard of Government for all future Ages and he was happily delivered in 1670 of his Ecclesiastical Pollicy And though he thought fit in this first Book to treat his Majesty more tenderly than in those that followed yet even in this he doth all along use greaâ—… liberâ—…y and prâ—…sumption Nor can what he objects 〈◊〉 â—…2 〈◊〉 weak Consciences take place so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them as upon himself who while his Prince might expect his Compliance doth give him Counsel advises him how to govern the Kingdom blames and corrects the Laws and tells him how this and the other might be mended But that I may not involve the thing in generals but represent undeniably Mr. Bayes his performance in this undertaking I shall without Art write down his own words and his own quod Scripsi Scripsi as they ly naked to the view of every Reader The grand Thesis upon which he stakes not only all his own Divinity and Policy his Reputation Preferment and Conscience of most of which he hath no reason to be prodigal but even the Crowns and Fate of Princes and the Liberties Lives and Estates and which is more the Consciences of their Subjects which are too valuable to be trusted in his disposal is this pag-10 That it is absolutely necessary to the peace and government of the World that the supream Magistrate of every Commonwealth should be vested with a power to govern and conduct the Consciences of Subjects in affairs of Religion And p 12 he explains himself more fully that Unless Princes have Power to hind their Subjects to that Religion that they apprehend most advantagious to publick peace tranquility restrain those religious mistakes that tend to its subversion they are no better than Statues and Images of Authority Pag. 13. A Prince is indued with a Power to conduct Religion and that must be subject to his Dominion as well as all other Affairs of State P. 20. If Princes should forgo their Soveraignty over mens Censciences in matter of Religion they leave themselves less power than is absolutely necessary And in brief The supreaâ—… Government of every Commonwealth where-ever it is lodged must of necessity be universal absolute and uncontroulable in all affairs whatsoever that concern the Interests of Mankind and the ends of Government P 32. He in whom the Supream Power resides having Authority to assign to every Subject his proper function and among others these of the Priesthood the exercise thereof as he has power to transfer upon others so he may if he please reserve it to himself P. 33. Our Saviour came not to unsâ—…ttle the Foundations of Government but left the Government of the World in the same condition he found it P. 34. The Government of Religion was vested in Princes by an antecedent right to christ This being the Magisterial and main Point that he maintains the rest of his Assertions may be reckoned as Corollaries to this Thesis and without which indeed such an unlimeted Maxime can never be justified Therefore to make a Conscience fit for the noâ—…se he says P. 89. Men may think of things according to their own perswasions and assert the freedom of their judgments against all the Powers of the Earth This is the Prerogative of the Mind of Man within its own Dominions its Kingdom is intellectual c. Whilst Conscience acts within its proper sphere the Civil Power is so far from doing it violence that it never can P. 92. Mankind have the same natural right to Liberty of Conscience in matters of Religious Worship as in Affairs of Justice Honesty that is to say a Liberty of Judgment but not of Practice And in the same pagehe determins Christian Liberty to be founded upon the Reasonableness of this Principle P 308. In cases and disputes of Publick concernment Private men are not properly sui Juris They have no power Over their own actions they are not to be directed by their own judgments or determined by their own wills but by the commands and determinations of the publick Conscience and if there be any sin in the Command he that imposed it shall answer for it and not I whose whole duty it is to obey The Commands of Authority will warrant my Obedience my Oobedience will hollow or at least excuse my action and so secure me â—…rom sin if not from error and in all doubtful and disput able cases 't is better to err with Authority than to be in the right against it not only because the danger of a little error and so it is if it be disputable is outweighed by the importance of the great duty of Obedience c. Another of his Corollaries is That God hath appointed p. 80. the Magistrates to be his Trustees â—…pon Earth and his Officials to act and determin in Moral Vertues and Pious Devotions according to all accidents and emergencies of affairs to assign new particulars of the Divine Law to declare new bounds of right and wrong which the Law of God neither doâ—…h nor can limit P. 69. Moral Virtue being the most material and useful part of all Religion is also the utâ—…ost end of all its other duties P. 76. All Religion must of necessity â—…e resolved into Entbusiasm or Morality The former is meer Imposture and therefore all that is true must be reduced to the latter Having thus enabled the Prince dispenced with Conscience sitted up a Moral Relâ—…gion for that Conscience to shew how much those Moral Virtues are to be valued P. 53. of the Preface to his Ecclesiâ—…stical Policy he affiâ—…ms that t is absolutely necâ—…ssary to the peace and happiness of Kingdoms that there be set up a more severe Government over Mens Consciences and Religious Perswasions than over their Vices and Immortallities And Pag. 55. of the same that Princes may with less hazard give liberty to mens Vices and Debaucheries than their Consciences But for what belongs particularly to the use of their Power in Religion he first p. 56. of his Book saith that the Protestant Reformation hath not been able to resettle Princes in their full and natural rights in reference to its concerns p. 58. most Protestant Princes have been frighted not to say hector'd out of the exercise of their Ecclesiastical jurisdiction p. 271. if Princes will he resolute and if they will govern â—…o they must be they may easily make the most stuborn Conscience bend to their resolutions p. 221. Princes must be sure to
come in on the sudden and caâ—…ching him at it cut his thâ—…d Come 't is better we left this Argument and the Company too for you see the 〈◊〉 you see the Sentence and who â—…er 〈◊〉 be there is some Prince or other whom Mr. 〈◊〉 will have to perish That p. 641. iâ—… indeed not so severe but 't is pretty well where on the same â—…ind of Subject 〈◊〉 the Prince against those people he saith That Prince that hâ—…th fâ—…lt the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if aftâ—… that 〈◊〉 shall be perâ—… to regard their fair 〈◊〉 at such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they 〈◊〉 power without other evident and unquestionable tokens of their conversion deserves to be King of the Night Now for this matter I believe Mr. Bayes knows that his Majesty hath received such evidenâ—… and unquestionable tokens of Loyalty from the Non-conformists otherwise his own Loyalty woâ—…ld have hindred him from daring to use that expression And now I should continue my History to his third Book in hand the Preface to Bishop Bramhal But having his second Book still before me I could not but look a liâ—…tle further into it to see how he hath left matters standing betwixt himself and his Answerer And first I lighted on that place where he strives to disintangle himself from what he had said about Trade in his former Book Here therefore he defies the whole Fanatick world to discover one Syllable that tends to its discouragement Let us put it upon that issue and by this one example take the patern of his ingenuity in all his other contests Whoop Mr. Bayes pag. 49. with what conscience does the Answerer tell the people that I have reprelented all Tradesmen as seditious when 't is so notorious 〈◊〉 onâ—…y suppose that some of them may be tainted with Seditious Principles If I should affirm that when the Nobility or Clergy are possest with Principles that incline to Rebellion and disloyal practices they are of all Rebels the most dangerous should I be thought to impeach them of Treason and Rebellion Holla Mr. Bayes But in the 49th page of your first Book you say expresly For 't is notorious that there is not any sort of people so inclinable to Seditious Practices as the Trading part of a Nation Is this the same thing now and how does this Defence take off the Objectâ—…on And yet he tears and insults and declaims as if he had the Truth on his side At last he strives to bring himself off and salve the matter in the same page 49. With In brief it is not the rich Citizen but the Wealthy Fanatiâ—…k that I have branded for an 〈◊〉 Beast and that not as Wealthy but as Fanatick Subtle Distinguisher I see if we give him but Rope enough what he will come to Mr. Bayes many as proper a man as your self hath march'd up Holborn for distinguishing betwixt the Wealth and the Fanatick and moreover let me tell you Fanatick Money hath no Ear-mark So concerning the Magistrates power in Religion wherein his Answerer had remark'd some unsafe passages Whoop Mr. Bayes P. 12 of his first Book before quoted Unless Princes have power to bind their Subjects to what Religion they apprehend most advantagious c. they are no better than Statues of Authority Holla Bayes Pag. 467. of the second Book This bold Calumny I have already I hope compeâ—…ently enough discovered and detested Yet he repeats this fundamental Forgery in all places so that his whole Book is but one huge Lye 400 pages long Judge now who is the Forger And yet he roars too here as if he would mix Heaven and Earth together But you may spare your raving you will never claw it off as long as your name is Bayes So his Answerer it seems having p. 85. said that Bayes confines the whole Duty of Conscience to the inward thoughts and perswasions of the mind over which the Magistrate hath no power at all Whoop Bayes page 89. of his first Book Let all matters of mere Conscience whether purely moral or religious be subject to Conscience only i. e. Let men think of things according to their own perswasions and assert the Freedom of their Judgments against all the Powers of the Earth This is the Prerogative of the mind of man within its own Dominions its Kingdom is intellectual c. P. 91. Liberty of Conscience is internal and invisible and confined to the minds and judgments of men and while Conscience acts within its proper sphere the Civil power is so far from doing it Violence that it never can Holla Bayes p. 229 of his Second Book This in down right English is a shameless Lye Sir you must pardon my rudeness for I will assure you after Long Meditation I could not devise a more pertinent answer to so bold an one as this I believe you Mr. Bayes You meditated long some twelve moneths at least and you could not devise any other answer and in good earnest he hath not attempted to give any other answer I confess 't is no extraordinory Conceit but t is the best Repartee my barren Fancy was able to suggest to me upon so rude an occasion Well Mr. Bayes I see it must come to a quarrel for thus the Hectors use to do and to give the Lye at adventure when they have a mind to try a mans Courage But I have often known them dye on the spot So his Answerer p. 134 having taxed him for his speaking against an expression in the Act of Parliament of 5 to Eliz. concerning the Wednesday Fast. Whoop Bayes pag. 〈◊〉 of his first Book The Act for the Wednesday Fast the Jujunium Cecilianum our Ecclesiastical Poliâ—…ician is the better States man of the two by far and may make sport with Cecill when he pleases was injoynd with this clause of Exception That if any person should affirm it to be imposed with an intention to bind the Conscience he should be punished as spreader of false News So careful was the supreme Magistrate in those dayes not to impose upon the Conscience and the Wisdom of it is confirmed by the experience of our time When so eminent a Divine as I mentioned before thought fit to write 〈◊〉 whole Volumne concerning the Holiness of LENT though if I be not deceived this Doctrine too iâ—… prohibited by Act of Parliament under the same Penalty But saith Bayes there The matter iâ—…deed of this Law was not of any great moment but this Declaration annexed to it proved of a satal and 〈◊〉 Consequence 'T is very well worth reading at large but in short the Consequence or the occasion 't is no matter when I have to do with Bayes was that Princes how peremptory soever they have been in asserting the Rights of their Supreme Power in Civil Affairs they have been forced to seem modest and diffident in the exercise of their Ecclesiastical Supremacy Now Holla Bayes p. 298. of his Second Book To what purpose does he so briskly taunt me