the stile Here is nothing proposed to be believed no Anathema fulminated no signification that the contrary is against the Scripture c. therefore at most it is a meer ecclesiastical ordinance touching external discipline and as such what is more ordinary and permitted than for Princes to refuse admittance therein we see some Churches of France reject the decrees of reformation made in the Council of Trent and also practised in England 8. Suppose it be an ordinance yet supream Princes and Kings are not named but excluded and only their Officers and Substitutes c. 9. No example can be produced in the Empire or other Catholick State that such an Oath in succeeding times was imposed or threatned But on the contrary we know Charls the fifth by a Law of the Empire publickly permitted Lutherans in several Provinces and all the Kings of France sinâ—e Hen. 3. permitted the Calvinists yet the Pope never threatned deposition or they feared it Therefore this doctrinal point of Faith is shamefully pretended to be involved on that or the like Decrees viz. the Popes power of deposing c. What State Kingdome or City received or taught the People this even as a probable Opinion It is well known in practice and doctrine other Sects and their accusers have been more faulty in this point then they as History and experience testifie of Princes actually deposed in Scotland Denmark Sweden Geneva c. and absolute rebellion following their doctrine in Poland Bohemia England France Hungary Germany c. Obj. Innocent the third who presided in this Council actually deposed King John and Otho the Emperour Resp Popes as private Doctors may err in matters of fact their Decrees and Bulls are not always held as infallible and may be opposed as often they have been by Papists nor will they scruple to do it especially about temporal affairs We do not approve whatsoever Popeâ— do in fact in deposing c. If some Popes have been exorbitant have not Papist themselves defended their Princes against all pretended illegal impositions of Rome If some Popes have transgressed and been passionate men it doth not follow all have as some Princes have been Tyrants not all This King John Protestant Histories conclude passing by his youthful Rebellion murthering his Nephew his Atheism c. they record he lost our whole interest in France discontenting all his people not defending their Rites and Priviledges c. So Heylin Daniel Martin Sir Robert Cotton Hist And Stow in his Chronicle 170. relates it thus King John being dissolute and perfidious and would not grant the Laws or Liberties of the Charter had as many enemies as Nobles Clergy and Layty petitioned against him for the Pope to depose him an opinion then in practice the Pope would not but sent Paendulph his Legate who comes over to Dover to King John to counsel the King's peace and reconcile him to God and the Church The King living then in great jeopardy to loose his Kingdome The King of France being invited by the Nobles and Clergy to invade the Kingdome saved the Kingdome by it after this the Clergy came over and all was in peace The Pope after this excommunicates the Barons for the disobeying the King and calling in the French King Lewis into the Realm And Gaule the Legate was sent from the Pope to forbid Lewis to go into or invade England to excommunicate him if he did But Lewis of France arrived in England whom the Barons assisted against King John John soon after died his eldest son Hen. 3. at nine years old was crowned King by the Bishops of Winchester and Bath c. and the Government of the King was committed to the Popes Legate the Bishop of Winchester and Earl of Pembroke The Legate maintained the King's part admonished prayed and commanded the disobedient to do as he did called a Council at Bristol caused the Bishops to incline to the King's part notwithstanding Lewis did what he could to the contrary Seeing Lewis and his complices were excommunicated every Sunday by the Legate though they had London and all the East parts of England Lewis had notice from Rome except he went out of England the sentence of excommunication of the Legate should be confirmed by the Pope For this cause saith Stow 175. a truce was taken between Lewis and King Henry Philip of France called his son Lewis to return he being passed over the Earl of Salisbury Earl Warren c. revolted to the Kings side and this by industry and virtue of the Pope's Legate Lewis being absolved from the excommunication went into France but his complices were by the Legate deprived of all benefit by their disobedience See Stow 170. Thus we see how for want of knowledge things are carried on and reported very frequently in the worst sense and construction it may be easily collected out of our own Authors and Chronicles that Popes have been great friends to our Princes and this Nation Take in short out of Stow 883. that Pope Adrian the fourth an Englishman invested Hen. 2. with the Dominion of Ireland and had it confirmed with an Assembly at Waterford Pope Vrbane who sent a Legate the Bishop Sabrine into England with sentence of excommunication against the City of London and Cinque-Ports and all those that troubled the King's peace King Richard of England being taken Prisoner unjustly by Leopold Duke of Austria in return from the Wars with the Saladine demanding a great ransome and misusing him The Pope excommunicated the Duke of Austrich and injoyned him to release the Covenants that he constrained our King to make and send home the Pledges The Duke refusing this Order shortly after broke his Leg and in great anguish ended his life and was kept unburied till his Son released the English Pledges Thus were the Pledges restored and the money behind released How oft did the Pope grant to the King of England the Tenth of all Ecclesiastical Goods as to Edward the first and second Sent the Abbot of Saint Denis Legat to request Edward the second to remove from him Pierce Gaveston without which the Kingdom could not be in peace nor the Queen injoy the Kings true love Vide Stow 213. Edw. 2. The Pope sent Ganelinus and Lucius de Flisco by the Kings request to make peace between England and Scotland and reconcile to the King Thomas Earl of Lancaster who brought Bulls from the Pope to excommunicate the Scots except they returned to peace with the King of England William Longshamp Bishop of Ely and Legate to the Pope and Chancellour of England was made Governour of the Realm by Richard the first Afterward the Archbishop of Roan was made Regent of England then being made Archbishop of Canterbury Then you see there was no jealousie of the Pope or his Clergy but on the contrary for many hundred years our Princes and Nation reposed as with just reason they might the greatest trust and confidence in their loyalty faith and
it not lawful to attempt the life of a Prince although he never so much abuse his Power And that it is flat Heresie to maintain the contrary So Greg. de Valent. part 2. Bellar. l. 3. of his Apology Learned Lessius lib. de Scientia jure Serarius in cap. 3. Azor. in his Instit Becanus in his answer to the 9. Aphor. Gretzer in his Vespertilio Heretico confutes all Mariana's grounds Saint Thomas tells expresly Tyrannus non potest a quopiam privatâ Authoritate occidi The Canon Law and Decrees Decret 2. part 10. de Episcopis ac clericis quod nec sua authoritate nec authoritate summi Pontificis arma valeant accipere c. And the Canon Law of England explains it more fully in the Council held at Oxford by Stephen of Canterbury 1228. and anno Hen. 3. where Excommunication is decreed against those who perturb the peace and tranquillity of our Lord the King and Kingdome Bellarmine himself maintains the Laws of Magistrates bind even the Consciences of Christians Lib. de Laicis So the Rhemenses in this Annotat. in 1 Pet. c. 2. Condemn treason and disobedience and say Subjects are bound in temporal things to obey the Heathens being lawful Kings and even for Conscience sake to keep their temporal Laws pay tribute pray for them and other natural duties And Doctor Kellison in his Learned Survey gives a good reason for it because saith he Faith is not necessarily required to jurisdiction nor is authority lost by the loss of Faith The Bishop of Armagh confesseth the English Papists in Ireland were faithful in all the Invasion of Spain or Pope Sand. K. C. p. 88. Calvin himself their greatest enemy on the first of Hosea and ninth of Amos saith quam multi sunt in Papatu qui regibus accumulant quicquid possint juris potestatis Whence King James in his Basilicon doron Epist to the Reader saith Puritans had put out many Libels against all Christian Princes and that no body answered them but the Papists that they were their only Vindicators And the late King himself in his excellent Book of Meditations saith I am sorry Papists should have a greater sense of their allegiance than many Protestants The Loyalty and Obedience of Catholicks towards Princes appears undeniable in all things by their constant and general conformity unto temporal Government Have shewed all the duty that men can fancy to own Where shall we find better Subjects How much they are faulty and how much others have been let the world judg They may lay to our charge ten Seditious Authors for one and that more Villanies have been perpetrated since the Reformation than in nine hundred years before I must provoke both Angels and men saith a Divine of the English Church to consider their wrong How we load them with Crimes of which they are innocent I might wonder how so wild calumnies could be laid to their charge When their constant Doctrine teacheth and their own persons have shewed all duty imaginable Experience hath proved their great integrity that no advantages offered can betray their fidelity to their King or Country what wrong have done what peace have they broken what plots have they fomented to the prejudice of the present Government or occasions given to hatch new jealousies treason is now left out of their charge What discoveries were made against them either in the Rump or Olivers time when the Press was free were they not still owned as the most loyal and constant Royalists and none of them could ever be suspected for the least defection from our Soveraign And yet these are the men that are traduced as inconsistent with civil polity and regality Yet none more inoffensive then they Judg then whether it be not a superlative injustice to incense the world against them As if they delighted in blood and persecuting of men were a part of their doctrine Now because the contrary opinion hath possessed the imaginations of so many by a self-deceiving wilfulness predominant passion or partiality I shall clear and lay open the truth of this assertion in the sequent Chapter So plainly and Orthodoxally that none but who can lay aside all reason charity honesty and morality may contradict and oppose CAP. IX Principles and Doctrines of Roman Catholicks are consistent with Peace and Government wherein a different Religion is established by Law LEt Politicians say what they will there is no greater support to Monarchy than Catholick Religion whence one of our own Doctors saith The Fanaticks did conjecture and were tenacious of opinion that the late Acts put out a-against Papists and Priests were but to bring others more easily into the snare So good and deserving opinion they know Papists merited from those times that no security need to tye them deeper How all the Catholicks of England have comported themselves at least these sixty years last past needs no further vindication those that have been witnesses of their actions can testifie I shall only intimate that I have heard them profess that if at any time they have exposed their lives and fortunes in defence of their Soveraign and Countrey they did but do that duty which they shall be ready to do again notwithstanding any disincouragement can be put upon them Now in this Chapter I adventure to fight against a popular prejudice and the obstinacy of long verted opinions considering the number of my Adversaries who so loudly and resolutely charge them with destructive Doctrines and Principles to the publick good and safety that they seem to make it an Article of their Creed objecting Positions of some private and disavowed persons and words only when others rebelled indeed and their Battels were real but every mans work will bear a better testimony of him than other mens words do against him I know great difficulties may be overcome by truth and time And vulgar and very general errors have oft been easily detected by prudent and unbiasled men Whence to overthrow from the very foundation all such aspersions let all impartial men consider first these calumnies proceed originally from enemies Secondly they are untruths forged against them and taken upon trust what their Antagonists teach you For it hath been a course often practised against them by many of their opponents First to frame Articles of their belief according to their own fancy or out of private and unapproved Authors as if they were the true and real Articles of their Faith Who being oft pressed to justifie the accusations could never do it or durst not shew their faces in a free or publick conference about the points in question This way of proceeding is against all Law and Equity to condemn them before you hear them No Judg sends men to be hanged before they speak for themselves and Sentence given Secondly According to the rule of reason they themselves should make the Confession and Profession of their own Faith and that of others especially their adversaries should
THE ADVOCATE OF CONSCIENCE LIBERTY OR AN APOLOGY FOR TOLERATION RIGHTLY STATED Shewing The Obligatory Injunctions and Precepts for Christian Peace and Charity Adversus invidiam nil prodest vera dicere â—a est enim calumniatoris natura in crimen vocare omnia probare vero nihil Demosthenes They shall be judged without mercy that have shewed no mercy James 2. 12. Thou shalt not calumniate thy Neighbour nor oppress him by violence Levit. 19. 13. Printed 1673. PROOEMIUM THe long and grand debate about Toleration of late so oft and so fiercely discussed pro and con by some universally condemned and exploded by others with as much eagerness affirmed and approved One party writeth â—opiously of the mischiefs which will follow Toleration the other writeth as copiously of the necessity of it How to reconcile these two extreams is hard and difficult especially when a preposterous zeal to one side or other doth first set so great a sally in our wills and understandings How many and hâ—w great have been the feuds and still are of this tottering and broken age there is no man so happy as to be ignorant And it is very strange and very sad that an age which hath so much of light and faith in the pretence should have so little love and charity in the practoce For how much of the Christian World is now in Sects is a thing which requireth more lamentation then proof Now in this general Combustion It s every Christian's duty to bring what water he can to throw upon the flames it s the office of all peaceable men to endeavour tâ—e quenchiâ—g of these intestine Confâ—agrations to supple and allay the rancour and swelling of this Epidemical evil He that can stand unconcerned and deny his service to love and peace and wounded Christ may soon find he hath lost even that which he thought to win Had all that profess the Gospel in England made Conscience of Schism forbearing to judge and despise those that are not of their opinion loving them still as Brethren and Christians not censuâ—ing them as profane Antichristian-idolatrous c. our breaches had never been so great nor lovers of peace and truth so much caâ—se to lament We have Enemies enough abroad in the world though Christians be not at variance with themselves Did we conscientiously apply our selves and make it our business to practice viâ—â—ues govern our passions and subdue our appetites and self wills in order to the glory of God we should find work enough in our own hearts to imploy and neither have time nor occasion to quarrel with others making Enemies when we have so many within our selves Did we understand our danger or our duty and seriously mind either we should not be so eager against those whom we ought to consider as friends upon the account of our relation to God and the tie of common nature and obligations of divine precepts and practice of the best times and hope of future happiness I confess it is a thing unnatural for one Christian to afflict another and that which is most to be lamented for those who think themselves the Salt of the earth who instead of preserving the world from Pâ—trefaction and concurring to heal the dividing principles rather joyn with calumniators encouraging them in misreports being glad to hear of any miscarriages and very ready to take up any light rumours and are willing tongues of slanderous fame as if God had need of their mâ—lâ—â—â—ous calumnies to his glory These are vices and immoralities impious and detestable against which every good Christian ought to manifest his resentment and be warned to indignation by them Many confident reports very strong prâ—sumptions may all prove injurious and false when it comes to the tryal This very age doth experimentally confute how many impeaceable zealoâ—s have written and uttered false things that had neither trutâ— nor ground at all in them Extravagant crimes have been imputed on the most ancient Christians And this is done without Christ's way of a regular process of a just tryal and hearing when the accused is not permitted to answer or heard speak for himself So that there must be a sin and injustice in the Calumniator the believer and reporter How can we think that unbelievers and Infidels should think well of them that speak so ill of one another to represent Christians like a company of mâ—dâ—nen that are tearing out the throats of one another or like drunken men who one day fight and wound each other and the next cry out of their wounds and yet go on in their drunken fits to make them wider I had thought that in general calamities every man should have laid his hand upon his own heâ—rt and suspect himself to be that Acham that troubles the Camp that Jonah that occasions the Stâ—â—m and not like guilty Ahab lay the fault of troubling Israel on good Eâ—ias Now when Bellona shakes her bloody whip over this Kingdome it becometh all good Christians and subjects to leave their feuds litigations discords and animosities To lay aside all uncomely rigour and severities Like the good Samaritan to be free of their oyl and sparing of their vinegar To confider some way to engage all hearts and hands in this Nation unanimously not to multiply disincouragements by penal inflictions to square out some milde moderate pacifick way wherein truâ— liberty of Conscience or Toleration properly taken 〈◊〉 Which I will prove in this following Tractate not only lawful but necessary and obligatory as relating to sâ—veral Religions in this Kingdome But because this virtâ—e is better â—lucidated by shewing the vitiousness and exorbitancies of the opposite extreams I will first prove Persecution on the meer soore of Religion unlawful and to be condemned To be against Policy Piety and our own Principles Secondly I will shew that Liberty or Toleration rightly understood is necessarily to be permitted but improperly taken to be disavowed and condemned Thirdly To undeceive many weak and ignorant I shall make it appear against the prejudices passions mistakes and blind errors of these sad divided times that the Romanists have as great a right and title to Toleration as any other Sect whatsoever Lastly Solving all the Modern and common Objections to the contrary With a conclusive exhortation to all pious well-minded and charitable Christians The Question Stated Note by Persecution imposition and restraint we only mean the strict requiring to believe this to be true or that to be false c. and upon refusal to swear or conform to incur the penalties enacted in such Cases But by these terms we do not mean any coercive let or hinderance into publick Meetings By Liberty of Conscience we understand only a meer liberty of mind in believing or disbelieving this or that Doctrine so far as may refer only to religious matters in a private way of worship which are not destructive to the nature and grounds of Christian Faith nor tending to matters of an external
Bohemia and Poland That imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots That authorized Mountebank and Rochel to stand in defiauce against their King That begot so many conspiracies against Queen Mary of England as appears in our Chronicles That ravished from their lawful Governours the Low Countries and Transylvania and many Towns now called free Was it from any of their Books you have drawn these vile Maximes viz. that the authority of the Soveraign Magistrate is of humane right That the People are above the King That the People can give Power to the Prince and take it away That Kings are not anointed of the Lord That if a King fail in performing his Oath at Coronation the Subjects are absolved from their allegiance That if Princes fall from the grace of God the people are loosed from their subjection Do not these doctrines proceed from Wickliffe Waldenses and other Sectaries Doth not Belforrest sufficiently prove the like maximes from Luther Calvin Melancton Peter Martir c. What Buchanan and Knox did against Queen Mary their lawful Soveraign is evident in History and Beza in Epist 78. ad Buchanan approves their actions Calvin l. 4. c. 3. Instit from his high Consistorian gives this absolution to all Oaths of that nature Quibuscunque hujus evangelii lux effulgeat ab omnibus laqueis juramentisque absolvitur And the famous Minister Surean called Rosiers writ a Book expresly that it was lawful to kill Charls the ninth and the Queen Mother if they would not obey the Gospel Belforrest is sufficient witness See more in Althusius Politicks c. 35. Dausus l. 6. Polit. c. 3. In all the Councils Synods writings of any Roman Divines no such matters are found and allowed but only such as teach Subjects loyalty humility obedience More Princes have been deposed by Sectaries in sixty years than by Papists in six hundred years and that deposing of Kings is no doctrine nor practice of Catholicks shall be proved hereafter and that others have been more faulty in each of their respective Sects in all kind of disorders at home or abroad History and experience testifie In no Country or City in Christendome but Catholick Religion ever entred by meekness and suffering in no Country of Christendome but other Sects entred by sedition rebellion disobedience or murdering of great Princes or Persons by vast destruction of Cities Countries Kingdomes As in France Holland several States in Germany Scotland twenty years in England c. Consider what was done against France Holland several States in Germany Mary Queen of Scots or the late unparallel'd Rebellion In Catholick Religion I find they learn their duty towards God cannot be complied with without an exact performance of their duty towards their Soveraign to obey him not for advantages or temporal concerns but out of Conscience For no Roman Catholick can be true to his Religion who is not true to his Prince Whom they obey for Conscience sake whose Person they love and honour and whose prosperity they always pray for Though stript of their Estates or loaden with stripes It is in the power of great ones to make them suffer but not to make them guilty Their Religion tells them that Caesar's due ought not to be kept from him be he of what religion he pleaseth This is the will of God in Scripture preached by the Apostles and from them derived to us this doctrine is instilled in their Catechisms confirmed by their Sermons and conferences Insomuch that a Papist that is not truly loyal is not truly a Papist if to believe not what they are taught by the Church makes a man cease to be of it From the Saxons to Edward the sixth to be a Catholick was never taken as a bar to loyalty Nor doth it seem possible a Religion which governed England with glory so many hundred years can teach a doctrine destructive to Princes or infuse Maximes that will breed Commotion in the People They are ready by Oath in the face of Heaven to profess loyalty a divine command and an indispensable duty and any who pretend to know what Catholick doctrine is must know this to be a part of it In matters of fact their actions have given indubitable testimonies even by their Enemies own Concessions If Catholicks had been disloyal either the King or his Council or at least the States-men under Cromwel or the Rump must know it They appeal to the Council in all discoveries of their Treacheries against the King whether ever any constant Catholick was accessary or concurred in any design against his Majesty They appeal and challenge all the black Catalogue of Cromwells favorites and the whole Rumpists to discover if they can any Papist who concurred in any plot or action If Catholicks refuse to go to Protestant Churches in respect of Conscience They will far more refuse for Conscience sake to commit Treason a sin of a higher degree will hardly attempt or consent to any desperate act against their State and Country and commit such Crimes as hazard Body and Soul Nay what other Sectaries will boggle at If the King should be a Heathen and make Laws against them they hold it not lawful to resist but peaceably to endure During the time of the late King of France there was proposed by an Assembly of Catholick Divines and Bishops this question or Probleme If it were supposed the King of France became a Mahometan and by his Power endeavoured to force his Subjects to that infidelity whether they might lawfully according to the Principles of Christianity by arms resist him to which question the unanimous consent of the Assembly was that such a resistance would be unlawful since Christian Religion allowed no other way of maintaining Faith against lawful Soveraigns but prayers tears and sufferings When shall we find such a result from a Synod of Presbyterians Compare these primtive Doctrines with new the Evangelists and we shall find them quite contrary to the rules of Wiâ—liffians Waldenses Paraeus Knox and Buchanan c. who teach that Subjects may not only defend by Arms their Religion but offend also And lately Baxter in lib. of Rest p. 258. saith we may fight against Kings if it were for cause of Religion to purge the Church from Idolatry and Superstition The Genova Notes of the Bible 2 Chron. c. 5. allow the deposing of Queen Macha See more in Belforrest On the contrary the Doctors and Casuists of the Roman Church hold it as an Article of Faith that neither Heresie nor Turcism can be opposed by Rebellion Belloy in Apol. part 2. plainly saith Arms against Princes have no warrant Orationibus tantum pugnandum Navar Cunerus and all other Catholick Doctors agree in the same as most conformable to the doctrine and practice of the Primitive Fathers The General Council of Constance Sess 5. concludes it an error in Faith to maintain Subjects may kill their Kings being Tyants nuper accepit Synodus c. Cardinal Tolet in his Summolies l. 3. c. 6. affirms