in his first and sâ—…cond Book that Princes should be more attentive and confident in exercising their Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction though I rather believe he never design'd to read a line in him but what he did herein was only the result of his own good understanding resolâ—…ed to make some clear tryal how the Non-conformists could bear themselves under some Liberty of Conscience And accordingly he issued on March the 15th 1671. His Gracious Declaration of Indulgence of which I wish His Majesty and the Kingdom much joy and as far as my slender judgment can divine dare augurate and presage mutual Feliciâ—…y and that what ever humane Accident may happen I fear not 〈◊〉 Bayes foresees they will they can never have cause â—…ent this Action or its Consequences But here 〈◊〉 Bayes finding â—…at the King had so vigorously exerted his Ecclesiastical Power but to a purpose quite contrary to what Mr. Bayes had always intended he grew terrible angry at the King and his Privy Council so that hereupon he started as himself says into many warm and glowing Meditations his heart burnt and the fire kindled and that heated him into all this wild and rambling talk as some will be forward enough to call it though he hopes it is not altogether idle and whether it be or be not he hath now neither leisure nor patience to examine This he confesses upon his best recollection in the last page of this Preface Whereupon I cannot but animadvert as in my first page that this too lies open to his Dilemma against the Non-conformists Prayers for if he will not accept his own Charge his modesty is all impudent and câ—…unterfeit If he does acknowledge it he is an hot-headed Incendiary and a wild rambling talker and in part if not altogether an idle fellow Really I cannot but pitty him and look upon him as under some great disturbance and dispondency of mind that this with some other scattering pasâ—…ages here and there argues him to be in as ill a caâ—…e as Tiâ—…erius was in his distracted Leâ—…ter to the Senate There wants nothing of it but the Dii Deaeque me perdant wishing Let the Gods and the Goddesses confound him worse than he finds hiâ—…self to be every day confounded But that I may not lâ—…se my thred Upon occasion of this his Majesties Gracious Declaâ—…tion and against it he writes this his third Boâ—… the Preface to Bisâ—…op Bramhad and accordingly wâ—… unhappily delivered of it in June I had forgot or July in 16â—…2 For he did not go his 〈◊〉 time of it but miscarried partly by a fright from J. O. and partly by a fal he had upon a Closer â—…portance But of 〈◊〉 his three Bolts this was the sooneâ—… shot and 〈◊〉 't is uo wonder if he misâ—… his mark 〈◊〉 no care where his arâ—…ow glanced But what he saith of his Majesty and his Couâ—…cil being toward the latter end of his Discourse 〈◊〉 forced to defer that a little because there being no method at all in his wild rambling talk must either tread just on in his footsteps or else I shaâ—… be in a perpetual maze and never know when I coâ—… to my journeys end And here I cannot altogether escape the mentioning of J. O. again whom though I have shown thâ—… he was not the main cause of publishing Bayes 〈◊〉 Books yet he singles out and on his pretence 〈◊〉 down all the Nonconformists this being as he imagined the safest way by which he might proceâ—… first to undermine and then blow up his Majestiâ—… gracious Declaration And this indeed is the leâ—… immethodical part in the whole Discourse For 〈◊〉 he undertakes to defend that Railing is not only lawful but expedient Secondly that though he haâ—… Railed the person he spoke of ought 〈◊〉 to have â—…ken notice of it And Thirdly that he did not Raiâ—… As to these things I do not much trouble my my 〈◊〉 nor interest my self in the least in J. O.'s 〈◊〉 no otherwise than if he were John a Nokes and heard him raâ—…l'd at by John a Stiles Nor yet wouâ—… I concern my self unnecessarily in any maâ—… behalf Knowing that 't is better being at the beginning of Feast than to come in at the latter end of a Fray Foâ—… 〈◊〉 so 〈◊〉 should as oâ—…ten it happens in such Rencounâ—… 〈◊〉 only draw Mr. Bayes but J. O. too upon my back I should have made a sweet business on 't for my self Now as to the Lawfulness and Expedience of Railing were it not that I do really make Conscience of using Scripture with such a drolling Companion as Mr. Bayes I could overload him thence both with Authority and Example Nor is it worth ones while to teach him out of other Authors and the best precedents of the kind how he being a Christian and 〈◊〉 Divine ouht to have carried himself But I cannot but remark his Insolence and how bold he makes upon this Argument p. 88. of his Second Book with the Memories of those great Persons there enumerated several of whom and particularly my Lord Verulam I could quote to his confusion upon a contrary and much better account So far am I from repenting my severity towards them that I am tempted rather to applaud it by the Glorious examples of the greatest Wits of our Nation King James Arch-Bishop Whitgift Arch-Bishop Bancroft Bishop Andrews Bishop Bilson Bishop Montegue Bishop Bramhal Sir Walter Rawleigh Lord Bacon c. and he might have added Mr. Tarlton with as good pretence to this honour as himself The Niches are yet empty in the Old Exchange pray let us speak to the Statuary that next to King James's we may have Bâ—…yes his Effigies For such great Wits are Princes fellows at least when dead At this rate there is not a Scold at Biâ—…gsgate but may defend her self by the pâ—…ttern of King James and Arch-Bishop Whitgift c. Yet this is passable if you consider our man But that is most intolerable p. 17. of the Preface to hiâ—… first Book where he justifies his debauched way of writing by parallel to our Blessed Saviour And I cannot but with some aw reflect how near the punishmenâ—… was to the offence when having undertaken so profâ—… an Argument he was in the very instant so infatuateâ—… as to say that Christ was not only in an hot fit of Zeâ—… but in a seeming Fury too and transport of Passion But however seeing he hath brought us so good Vouchers let us suppose what is not to be supposed that Railing is lawful Whether it be expedient or no will yet be a new question And I think Mr. Bayes when he hath had time to cool his thoughts may be trusted yet with that consideration and to compute whether the good that he hath done by Railling do countervail the damage which both he in particular and the Cause he labours have suffered by it For in my observation if we meet with an Argument in the Streets both Men Women and Boys that are
too into the baâ—…gain and they may be gâ—…atified with some new Ecclesiastical Power or some new Law against the Fanaticks This is the naked truth of the matter Whereas English men alwayes love to see how their money goes and if theâ—…e be any interest or profit to be got by it to receive it themselves Therefore Mr. Bayes I will go on with my business not fearing all the mischief that you can make of it There was saith he one Sibthorp who not being so much as Batchelor of Arts by the means of Doctor Pierce Vice-Chancelor of Oxford got to beconfer'd upon him the title of Doctor This Man was Vicar of Brackley in Northamptonshire and hath another Benefice This Man preaching at Northampton had taught that Princes had power to put Poll-money upon their Subjects heads He being a man of a low fortune conceiv'd the putting his Sermon in Print might gain favour at Couâ—…t and raise his fortune higher It was at the same time that the business of the Loan was on foot In the same Sermon he called that Loan a Tribute Taught that the Kings duty is first to direct and make Laws That noting may excuse the subject from active obedience but what is against the Law of God or Nature or impossible that all Antiquity was absolutely for absolute obedience in all civil and temporal things And the imposing of Poll-monie by Princes he justifi'd out of St. Matthew And in the matter of the Loan What a Speech is this saith the Bishop he observes the forwardness of the Papists to offer double For this Sermon was sent to the Bishop from Court and he required to Licence it not under his Chaplin but his own hand But he not being satisfi'd of the Doctrine delivered sent back his reasons why he thought not fit to give his appâ—…obation and unto these Bishop Laud who was in this whole business and a rising Man at Court undertook an answer His life in Oxford faith Archbishop Abbot was to pick quarrels in the Lectures of publick Readers and to advertise them to the Bifhop of Durham that he might fill the Ears of King James with discontent against the honest men that took pains in their places and setled the Truth which he call'd Puritanism in their Auditors He made it his work to see what Books were in the Press and and to look over Epistles Dedicatory and Prefaces to the Reader to see what faults might be found 'T was an observation what a sweet man this was like to be that the first observable act he did was the marrying of the Earl of D. to the Lady R. when she had another Husband a Nobleman and divers Children by him Here he tells how for this very cause King James would not a great while endure him 'till he yeilded at last to Bishop Williams his importunity whom notwithstanding he straight strove to undermine and did it at last to purpose for saith the Arâ—…hbishop Verily such is his undermining nature that he will under-work any man in the World so he may gain by it He call'd in the Bishop of Durham Rochester and Oxford tryed men for such a purpose to the answering of my Reasons and the whole stile of the Speech runs We We. In my memory Doctor Harsnet then Bishop of Chichester and now of Norwich as he came afterward to be Arch-bishop of York preached at White-Hall upon Give unto Caesâ—…r the things that are Caesars a Sermon that was afterwards burned teaching that Goods and Money were Caesars and so the Kings Whereupon King James told the Lords and Commons that he had failed in not adding according to the Laws and Customs of the Countrey wherein they did live But Sibthorp was for absolutely absolute â—…o that if the King had sent to me for all my Money Goodâ—… so to the Clergy I must by Sibthorps proportion send him all If the King should send to the City of London to command all their wealth they were bound to do it I know the King is so gracious he will attempt no such matter but if he do it not the defect is not in these flattering Divines Then he saith reflecting again upon the Loan which Sibthorp called a Tribute I am sorry at heart the King 's Gracious Majesty should rest so great a Building on so weak a Foundation the Treatise being so â—…lender and without substance but that proceeded from an hungry Man Then he speaks of his own case as to the Licensing this Book in parallel to the Earl of Essex his divorce which to give it more authority was to be ratified judicially by the Archbishop He concludes how finally he refused his approbation to this Sermon and saith it was thereupon carried to the Bishop of London who gave a great and stately allowance of it the good man not being willing that any thing should stick with him that came from Court as appears by a Book commonly called the seven Sacraments which was allowed by his Lordship with all the errours which have been since expunged And he adds a pretty story of one Doctor Woral the Bishop of London's Chaplain â—…olar good enough but a free fellow-like man and of no very tender Conscience who before it was Licâ—…nsed by the Bishop Sibthorps Sermon being brought to him hand over head approved it and subscribed his namâ—… But afterwards heâ—…ring more of it went to a Counsel at the Temple who told him that by that Book there was no Meum nor Tuum left in England and if ever the Tide turn'd be might come to be hang'd for it and thereupon Woral Woral scrâ—…ped out his name again and left it to his Lord to License Then the Arch-bishop takes notice of the instructions for that Loan Those that refused to be sent for Souldiers to the King of Denmark Oaths to be administred with whom they had conference and who disswaded them such persons to be sent to prison c. He saith that he had complain'd thrice of Mountagues Arminian Book to no purpose Cosins put out his Book of seven Sacraments strange things but I knew nothing of it but as it pleased my Ld of Durham and the Bp of Bath so it went In conclusion the good Arch-bishop for refusing thâ—… Licence of Sibthorps Sermons was by the under-working of his adversaries first commanded from Lambeth and confined to his house in Kent and afterwards sequestred and a Commission passeâ—… to exercise the Archie piscopall Jurisdiction to the Bishops of London Durham Rochester Oxford and Bishop Laud who from thence arose in time to be the Arch-bishop If I had leisure how easy a thing it were for to extract out of the Narrative a just parallel of our Author even almost upon all points but I am now upon a more serious subject and therefore shâ—…ll leave the Application to his own ingenuity and the good intelligence of the Reader About the same time for I am speaking within the circle of 20 30 and 40. Caroli
Holy Ghost There remains but one Flower more that I have a mind to But that indeed is a Rapper 'T is a Flower of the Sun and might alone serve both for a Staff and a Nose-gay for any Noble-man's Porter Symbolicalness is the very Essence of Paganism Superstitioâ—… and Idolatry They will and ought sooner to broyl in Smithfield than submit to such Abominations of the Strumpet and the Beast 'T is the very Potion wherewith the Scarlet-Where made drunk the Kings of the Earth Heliogabalus and Bishop Bonner lov'd it like Clary and Eggs and always made it their mornings-draught upon burning days and it is not to be doubted but the seven Vials of Wrath that were to be poured out upon the Nations of the Earth under the Reign of Anti-christ were filled with Symbolical Extracts and Spirits With more such stuff which I omit This is I confess a pretty Posy for the Nose of such a Divine Doctor Baily's Romance of the Wall-Flower had nothing comparable to 't And I question whether as well as Mr. Bayes loves preferment yet though he had lived in the Primitive Church he would not as Heliodorus Bishop of Trissa I take it that renounced his Bishoprick rather than his Title to the History of Theagenes and Chariclia have done in like manner nay and have delivered up his Bible too into the bargain before he would quit the honour of so excellent a piece of Drollery This is surely the Bill of Fare not at the Ordination-Dinner at the Nags-head but of the Excusation-Dinner at the Cock and never did Divine make so good Chear of Owens Peas-porridge and Scrinture Good Mr. Bayes or Mr. Tâ—…der or Mr. Cartwright not the Non-conformist Cartwright that was you say as some others too of your acquaintance converted but the Player in the Rehearsal this Divinity I doubt was the Bacchus of your Thigh and not the Pallas of your Brain Here it is that after so great an excess of Wit he thinks fit to take a Julep and resettle his Brain and the Government He grows as serious as 't is possible fâ—…r a madmanâ—… and pretends to sum up the whole state of the Controversie with the Nonconformists And to be sure he will make the story as plausible for himself as he may But therefore it was that I have before so particulurly quoted and bound him up with his own Words as fast as such a 〈◊〉 could be pinion'd For he is as waxen as the first matter and no Form comes amiss to him Every change of Posture does either alter his opinion or vary the expression by which we should judg of it and sitting he is of one mind and standing of another Therefore I take my self the less concerned to fight with a Wind-mill like Quixote or to whip a Gig as boys do or with the Lacqueys at Charing-cross or Lincolns-Innfields to play at the Wheel of Fortune lest I should fall into the hands of my Lord Chief Justice or Sir Edmond Godfroy The truth is in short and let Bayes make more or less of it if he can Bayes had at first built up such a stupendious Magistrate as never was of God's making He had put all Princes upon the Rack to stretch them to his dimension And as a streight line continued grows a Circle he had given them so infinite a Power that it was extended unto Impotency For though he found it not till it was too late in the Cause yet he felt it all along which is the understanding of Brutes in the Effect For hence it is that he so often complains that Princes knew not aright that Supremacy over Consciences to which they were so lately since their deserting the Church of Rome restored That in most Nations Government was not rightly understood and many expressions of that Nature Whereas indeed the matter is that Princes have always found that uncontroulable Government over CONSCIENCE to be both unsafe and unpracticable He had run himself here to a stand and and perceived that there was a God there was Scripture the Magistrate himself had a Conscierce and must take care that he did not ixjoin thirgs apparently evil Being at a stop here he would therefore try how he could play the Broker on the Subject sideâ—… and no Pimp did ever enter into seriouser disputation to vitiaâ—… an innocent Virgin than he to debauch their Consciences And to harden their unpractis'd modesty he imboldens them by his own example shewing them the experiment upon his own Corscience first But aâ—…er all he finds himself again at the same stand here and and is run up to the Wall by an Angel God and Scripâ—…ure and Conscâ—…ence will not let him go further 〈◊〉 he owns that if the Magistrate injoins things apparert'y evil the Subject may have liberty to reâ—… What shall he do then for it is too glorious an enterprize to bâ—… abandon'd at the first rebuffe Why he gives us a new Translation of the Bible and a new Commentary He saith that Tenderness of Conicience might be allowed in a Church to be constituâ—… not in a Church constituted already That Tenderness of Conscience and Scandal are Ignorance Pride and Obstmacy He saith the Nonconformists should communicate with him till they have clear evidence that it is evil This is a civil way indeed of gaining the question to perswade men that are unsatisfied to be satisfied till they be dissatisfied He threatâ—…s he rails he jeers them if it were possible out of all their Consciences and Honesty and finding that will not do he cails out the Magistrate tells him these men are not fit-to live there can be no security of Government while they are in being bring out the Pillories Whipping-poâ—…s Gallies Rods and Aâ—…es 〈◊〉 which are 〈◊〉 ultima 〈◊〉 a Clergy-mans â—…last Argument ay and â—…is first teo 〈◊〉 pull in pieces all the Tradiâ—…g Corporations those Nests of Faction and Sedition This is a faithful account of the sum and intention of all hiâ—… undertaking for which I confefs he was as pick'd a man as could have been employ'd or found out in a whole Kingdom but it is so much too hard a Task for any man to archieve that no Goose but would grow giddy with it Fo whereas he reduces the whole Controversie to a matter of two or three Symbolical Ceremonies and if there be nothing else more the shame of those that keep such a pudder it is very well worth observing how he haâ—…h behaved himself and how come off in this Dispute It seems that the Conformists dâ—…fine a Sacrament to be an Outward visibâ—…e Sign of an Inward Spiritual Grace It seems that the Sacraments are usually called in the Greek Symbola It seems further that some of the Nonconformists under the name therefore of Symbolical Ceremonies dispute the lawsulness of those that are by our Church injâ—…yned whereby the Nonconformists can only intend that these Ceremonies are so applyed as if they were of a Sacramental nature and institution
Whitgift who told him plainly he could not be ignorant that to the making of a Sacrament besides the external Element there is required a Commandment of God in his Word that it should be done and a promise annexed to it whereof the Sacrament is a Seal And in pursuance hereof p 447. our Author saith Here then I fix my foot and dare him to his teeth to prove that any thing can be capable of the nature or office of Sacraments that is not established by Divine Institution and upon Promise of Divine Acceptance Upon the confidence of this Argument 't is that he Hectors and Achillezes all the Non-conformists out of the pit in this Preface This is the Sword that was consecrated first upon the Altar and thence presented to the Champions of the Church in all Ages This is that with which Archbishop Whitgift gave Cartwright his death's wound and laid the Puritan Reformation a gasping This is the weapon wherewith Master Hooker gained those lasting and eternal Trophies over that baffled Cause This is that with which Bishop Bramhal wrought those wonderful things that exceeded all belief This hath been transmitted successively to the Writer of the Friendly Debate and to this our Author It is in conclusion the Curtaâ—â— of our Church 'T is Sir Salomon's sword Cock of as many men as it hath been drawn against Wo woâ—… the man that comes in the way of so dead-doing a tooll and when weilded with the arm of such a Scanderbag as our Author The Non-conformists had need desire a Truce to bury their dead Nay there are none left alive to desire it but they are slain every mother's Son of them Yet perhaps they are but stounded and may revive again For I do not see all this while that any of them have written as a great Prelate of ours a Book of Seven Sacraments or attempted to prove that those Symbolical Ceremonies are indeed Sacraments Nothing less 'T is that which they most labour against and they complain that these things should be imposed on them with so high Penalty as want nothing of a Sacramental nature but Divine Institution And because an Humane Institution is herein made an equal force to a Divine Institution therefore it is that they are agrieved All that they mean or could mean as far as I or any man can perceive is only that these Ceremonies are a kind of Anti-Sacraments and so obtruded upon the Church that without condescending to these additional Inventions no man is to be admitted to partake of the true Sacraments which were of Christ's appointing For without the Sign of the Cross our Church will not receive any one to Baptism as also without kneeling no man is suffered to come to the Communion So that methinks our Author and his partners have wounded themselves only with this Argument and have had as little occasion here to sing their Te Deum's as the Râ—…man Emperour had to triumph over the Ocean because he had gathered Periwinkles and Scallop shells on the Beach For the Author may transform their reasonings as oft as he pleases even as oft as he doth his own or the Sctiptures but this is indeed their Fort out of which 〈◊〉 do not see they are likely to be beat with all our Authors Canon that no such new Conditions ought to be imposed upon Christians by a less than Divine Authority and unto which if they do not submit though against their Consciences they shall therefore be depâ—…ived of Communion with the Church And I wonder that our Author could not observe any thing in the Discourse of I vargel cal 〈◊〉 that was to the purpose beside a perpetual repetition of the outworn story of unscriptural Ceremonies and a peculiar uncouthness and obscurity of stile when as this Plea is there for so many pages distinctly and vigorously iâ—…sisted on For it is a childish thing how high soever our Author magnifies himself in this way of reasoning either to demand from the Non-conformists a patern of their Worship from the Scripture who affect therein a Simplicity free from all exterioâ—… circumstances but such as are natural or customary or else to require of them some particular command against the Cross or kneeling and such like Ceremonies which in the time of the Apostles and many Ages after were never thought of But therefore general and applicable Rules of Scripture they urge as directions to the Conscience unto which our Author gives no satisfactory Solution but by superseding and extinguishing the Conscience or exposing it to the severest penalties But here I say then is their main exception that things indifferent and that have no proper signature or significancy to that purpose should by command be made necessary conditions of Church-Communion I have many times wished for peaceableness-sake that they had a greater latitude but if unless they should stretch their Consciences till they tear again they cannot conform what remedy For I must confess that Christians have a better Right and Title to the Church and to the Ordinances of God there than the Author hath to his Surplice And that Right is so undoubted and ancient that it is not to be innovated â—…pon by humane restrictions and capitulations Bishop Bramhall p. 141. saith I do profess to all the World that the transforming of indifferent Opinions into â—…ssary Articles of Faith hath been that Insana Laurus or cursed Bay-tree the cause of all our brawling and contention That which he saw in matter of Doctrine he would not discern in Discipline whereas this among us the transformâ—…ng of things at best indifferent into necessary points of practice hath been of as ill consequence And to reform a little my seriousness 〈◊〉 shall not let this pass without taking notice that you Mr. Bayes being the most extravagant person in this matter that ever I heard of as I have shown you are mad and so the Insana Laurus so I wish you may not prove that cursed Bay-tree too as the Bishop translates it If you had thought of this perhaps we might have miâ—…ed both the Bishops Book and your Preface for you see that sometimes no Man hath a worse friend than he brings from home It is â—…ue and very piously done that our Church does declare that the kneeling at the Lords Supper is not injoyned for adoration of those Elements and concerning the other Ceremoniâ—…s as before But the Romanists from whom we have them and who said of old we would come to feed on their Meat as well as eat of their Porridge do offer us here many a fair declaration and distinction in very weighty matters to which nevertheless the Conscience of our Church hath not complyed But in this particular matter of kneeling which came in first with the Doctrine of Transubstantiation the Romish Church do reproach us sence in the Bread and Wine do yet pay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or other the same adoration Suppose the Antiâ—…t â—…agans had declared to the Primitive Christians
parties to prepare things for an Accommodation that he might confirm it by his Royal Authority Hereupon what do they Notwithstanding this happy Conjucture of his Majesties Restauration which had put all men into so good a humour that upon a little moderation temper of things the Nonconformists could not have stuck out some of these men so contriv'd it that there should not be the least abatement to bring them off with Conscience and which infinuates into all men some little Reputation But to the contrary several unnecessary additions were made only because they knew they would be more ingrateâ—…ull and 〈◊〉 to the Nonconâ—…ormists I remember one in the Let any where to False Doctrine and Herâ—… they added Schism though it were to spoil the Musick and cadence of the period but these things were the best To show that they were men like others even cunning men revengeful men they drill'd things on till they might procure a Law wherein besides all the Conformity that had been of former times enacted there might be some new Conditions imposed on those that should have or hold any Church Livings such as they assur'd themselves that rather than swallow the Nonconformists would disgorge all their Beneficâ—… And accordingly it succeeded several thousands of those Ministers being upon one memorable day outed of their subsistence His Majesty in the meantime although they had thus far prevailâ—…d to frustrate his Royal Intentions had reinstated the Church in all its former Revenues Dignities Advantages so far fâ—…om the Authors mischievous aspeâ—…sion of ever thingking of converting them to his own use that he restored them free from what was due to him by Law upon their first admission So careful was he because all Government must owe its quiet and continuance to the Churches Patronage to pay them even what they ought But I have observed that if a man be in the Churches debt once 't is very hard to get an acquaintance And these men never think they have their full Rights unless they Reign What would they have had more They roul'd on a flood of 〈◊〉 and yet in matter of a Lease would make no difference betwixt a Nonconfoâ—…mist and one of their own fellow sufferers who had ventuâ—…'d his life and spent his â—…state for the King's service They were 〈◊〉 to Paâ—…liament and to take their places with the King and the Nobility They had a new Liturgy â—…o their own hearts desire And to cumulate all this happâ—…ness they had this new Law against the Fanaticks All they had that could be devised in the World to make a Clergy-man good natur'd Nevertheless after all their former sufferingâ—… and after all these new enjoyments and acquâ—…sitions they have proceeded still in the same traâ—…k The matrer of Ceremonies to be sure hath not only exercised their antient rigor and severity but hath been a main ingredient of their publick Discourses of their Sermons of their Writings I could not though I do not make it my work after 〈◊〉 great example to look over Episâ—…les Deâ—…icators but observe by chance the Title page of a Book ' toâ—…herday as an Eâ—…bleme how much some of theâ—… do neglect the Scripture in respect to their darling Ceremonies A Rationale upon the Book of Common-Prayer of the Church of England by A Sparrow D. D. Bishop of Exon. With the Form of Conseâ—…ration of a Church or Chappel and of the place of Christian Buriâ—…t By Lancelot Andrews late Lord Bishop of Winchester Sold by Robert Pawlet at the Sign of the Bible in Chancery Lane These surely are worthy cares for the Fathers of the Church But to let these things alone How have they of late years demean'd themselves to his Majesty although our Author urges their immediate dependance on the King to be a great obligation he hath upon their Loyalty and Fidelity I have heard that some of them when a great Minister of State grew burdensome to his Majesty and the Nation stood almost in defiance of his Majesties good pleasure and fought it out to the uttermost in his defence I have been told that some of them in a matter of Divorce wherein his Majesty desired that justice might be done to the party agriev'd opposed him vigorously though they made bold too with a point of Conscience in the Case and went against the judgement of the best Divines of all parties It hath been observed that whensoever his Majesty hath had the most urgent occasions for supply others of them have made it their business to trinkle with the Members of Parliament for obstructing it unless the King would buy it with a new Law against the Fanaticks And hence it is that the wisdome of his Majesty and the Parliament must be exposed to after Ages for such a Supoeerâ—…eation of Acts in his Reign about the same business And no sooner ean his Majeâ—…ty upon his own best Reasons try to obviate this inconvenience but our Author who had before our-shot Sibthorp and Manwaring in their own Bows is now for retrenching his Authority and moreover calumniates the State with a likelihood and the Reâ—sons thereof of the return of Popery into this Nation And this hath been his first Method by the Fanaticks raising disturbance whereupon if I have raked farther into things than I would have done the Author's indiseretion will I hope excuse me and gather all the blame for reviving those things which were to be buried in Oblivion But by what appears I cannot see that there is any probability of disturbance in the State but by men of his spirit and principles The second way whereby the Fanatick party he saith may at last work the ruine of the Church is by combining with the Atheists for their Union is like the mixture of Nitre and Charcoal it carries all before it without mercy or resistance So it seems when you have made Gun-power of the Atheists and Fanaticks we are like to be blown up with Popery And so will the Larks too But his zeal spends it self most against the Atheists because they use to jear the Parsons That they may do and no Atheists neither For really while Clergy men will having so serious an office play the Drols and the Boon-companions and make merry with the Scriptures not only among themselves but in Gentlemen's company 't is impossible but that they should meet with at least an unlucky Repartee sometimes and grow by degrees to be a tayle and contempt to the people Nay even that which our Athour alwayes magnifies the Reputation the Interest the seculiar grandure of the Church is indeed the very thing which renders them rediculous to many and looks as improper and buffoonish as to have seen the Porter lately in the good Doctors Cassock and Girdle For so they tell me that there are no where more Atheists than at Rome because men seeing that Princely garb and pomp of the Clergy and observing the life and manners think therefore the meaner of Religion For certainly