The danger of TREATIES WITH POPISH-SPIRITS OR A seasonable Caveat and Premonition to our present most renowned PARLIAMENT touching the frail trust in the Vowes and Protestations of Popishly-affected Princes for Peace and Reconcilement with their Protestant Subjects Abundans Cautela non nocet ALthough it must needs be granted that as the Poet sings pax est dulcissimareruÌ„ Peace especially married to truth is a most sweet precious temporall blessing and a most amiable and desirable thing And that that of the Apostle Ro. 12. 18. is most true If it be possible as much as in you is have peace with all men And although I therfore do most justly and ingenuously acknowledge that our most renowned Parliamentary Worthies doe most holily and honourably both before God and all good men in entring into Treaties and Propositions for peace and thereby doe most prudently and piously lâ—berare animas suas and stop the slanderous mouthes of malignants yet it must be as necessarily granted that it is a most essentiall part of prudence to be most carefull and circumspect in the managing the results and settlement thereof unto such safe and secure issues for succeeding times and if it be possible for the more certaine avoyding of future dangerous after-claps as themselves and the Subject may receive certaine content and comfort therein for future times especially after a promised and though most deeply protested reconciliation with popishly affected and atheistically principled Malignants formerly offended with their Protestant Peers and people In which respect O the most sad and sanguine O the base and bloody after claps and calamitous catastrophes and most lamentable events which have followed and fallen upon the plain and honest-hearted peacedefiring people and Protestant Subjects of popish Princes under the name and vicious vizard of pretended and protested peace forsooth end reconcilement with them Most worthily therefore saies the fountain of truth the Spirit of God by the pious Prophet David though he himselfe was a very vertuous and holy King Put not any trust in Princes nor in any sonnes of men Which is most true not onely in respect of the brevity and shortnesse of their lives but also of the inconstancy of their words and promises for how did Ioab one of Davids Princes or famous war-worthies under shew and semblance of pretended love and peacefull embracements most treacherously murther both Abner and Amasa two other most renowned worthies of Israel whom otherwise in open hostility he could hardly have wronged And how was that ancient and famous City of Troy so renowned by Poets pens especially Homer and Virgil we will not dispute the authenticknesse of the history but onely make use of the morality of it sodainely even in one night so ruinated and depopulated that as they sang of it Seges nunc ubi Trojasuit And all under the Sinonian deceit and fraudulent pretence of a holy or rather hollow horse by Pallas or Pelasgan art and policy built and brought into the walls of Troy which in one night I say utterly ruinated that most renowned City which ten yeers siege and war before could never conquer or overcome So that seeing the Trojans would not timely listen to Laocoons counsell or wary watch-word Timeo Danaos dona ferentes they were therefore made a proverb to posterity by a Serò sapiunt Phryges But what need so far fetcht and ancient examples since we have so many manifest and remarkable ones of this kind more modern and neerer home Wherof for brevities sake I wil only instance in two most eminent ones and most pertinent to our present purpose the one out of France the other out of Germany both which being seriously read and ruminated let the wise reader rightly judge and truly tell me whether our present most renowned and pious Parliament both eminent and excellent Lords and Commons yea and the most loyall Senate and City of London too with them have not extraordinary need and great cause to take speciall care and caution with all Christian providentiall wisdome and circumspection as our good and most wise God being first sought unto shall enable them how they make a peace and how farre they will trust and rest on the fairest promises and profoundest Protestations that Princes or Courtiers can make unto them especially as I said being popishly or atheistically and malignantly principled and in their deepest and deerest relations and engagements addicted and devoted to Popery Atheism and Malignant enemies of true piety and honesty The first serious example then most pregnant to this purpose shall be that of Charles the ninth King of France Anno 1571 the yeere of that most execrable base and bloody massacre at Paris Oh the most horrid and hateful the most deep and devilish dissimulation of the King and his then Queen-mother meerly and mainly under a colour of love and reconcilement to that most famous Admirall of France a most wise magnanimous and pious Protestant yea under God the maine pillar and prop of the French Protestants and by deepest vowes and promises of peace and high priviledges and immunities for his sake to all the rest of the protestants in France And yet all this onely to ensnare and entrap this most renowned Admirall and with him the rest of the prime protestant Peers of France into their pitfall at Paris there the more commodiously or rather accursedly to massacre and murther them as afterwards they did in a most barbarous and butcherly manner but to give you a few most materiall particulars for the most full clearing of the thing Oh how did this King Charles at the first with most exquisite Machivilian hypocrisie bind himselfe by most deep vowes and protestations yea and execrations of himselfe on the contrary to give the Admirall full assurance of his faire and cleare intent and resolution to settle and confirm all acts and edicts and all desiderable priviledges for the advancement and confirmation of the league and religion of all his protestant Subjects in France backt most firmly so see to with the marriage of his daughter to the young King of Navar a protestant Prince and by this meanes also in a speciall manner got the foresaid renowned Admirall the King of Navarr the young Prince of Conde another Protestant Peere of France and all or most of the most eminent protestant Nobility of France joyfully and unjelously to assemble together at Paris the appointed Theatre of the ensuing Tragedy for the more solemn celebration of this mischievous marriage How did the King also at this time to take away all jealousies and mistrusts receive the said Admirall being now by these wiles drawne to Court with all French complements and eveâ— extream demonstrations of love and embracements yea with large and liberall recompences of all the Admirals losses sustained in his wars by the gift of 100000 Frankes besides the present grant for one whole yeere of all the revenues which his brother the Cardinall of Chastillon enjoyed being then
lately deceased in England gave him a place in his privy Councell advised with him touching the managing of his greatest wars then in Flanders and made shew to be governed by his onely advise and counsell yea honoured him with the most plausible name of Father and treated with him so familiarly that the popish party began to murmur and say that Charles their King not onely favoured that Hugonet for so in France they nick-name the Protestants as our malignants and papists in England call true Christians Puritans and Roundheads but would they scared shortly himself also become a Hugonet yea I say so extraordinarily and so extreamly as I may say did the King seem thus to hug and honour this most Noble and renowned grave and godly Admirall to free him from all suspitious and relucting jealousies which sometimes were put into him by the advisement of some of his deare and faithfull protestant friends that like honest hearted good Gedaliah touching Ismaels treacherie he could now taste no admonitions or feare any unfaithfulnesse his honest-meaning spirit was so transported with the Kings counterfeit countenance and bewitching words But now see how when all things were ripe for the ensuing wicked worke all those favours and faire worde all K. Charles his deep vowes promises and protestations proved but so many sugred baits to swallow down the smoothlier the Kings most base and bitter pils of horrid and inhumane treachery For when as I say the designed day was now come and all things ready for plotted and resolved ruine and destruction First this good aged Admirall securely reading a petition was suddenly shot at with a Harguebuse which instantly tooke off the forefinger of his right hand and sorely wounded his left arme whereof the King being presently certified by the King of Navarr and the Prince of Conde ô how he swore and tooke on for seeming sorrow ô how he vowed with most bitter execrations to take such speedy and severe revenge on the actors of this outrage as to make his justice exemplary to all the world and fully satisfactory to the good Admirall and all his friendâ— Whereupon great search was made and the Harguebuse found but the actor having a brave Spanish gennet at the doore below waiting on him was fled and gone and there was all was done For all this proved but a preparatory to a far more bloody Scene and accursed Catastrophe now instantly intended for now the good Admirall being conveyed into a bed-chamber for cure within a day or two at most after this the Duke of Guise by the full consent of King Charles the Queen-mother and others privy to the plot set strong guards of Swissers and such like bloody villaines about the Admirals lodgings and bed-chamber whereinto a servant of the said Dukes first boldly enters and with a naked Sword runnes at the good aged Admirall as he lay wounded in his bed and instantly and desperately thrust him through his body with his Sword then doubles the blow on his head another shoots him into the body with a pistoll a third sorely wounds him on his legs as he lay and then they cast that most Noble and renowned personage dead on the floore whom living and in health the proudest papist in France durst not in a martiall wâ—y looke in the face This done the devillish Duke of Guise caused his dead body to be cast out of the window to him into the street and those butcherly villaines hurld him downe headlong unto him who having wiped the blood from his besmeared face he said Now I know t is he and so despightfully spurning him with his foot he left him and then set forward the rest of the murtherous and massacring work all over Paris in which interim they left not this noble Admirall thus but an Italian of the Duke of Nevers houshould one of the complotters cut off his head and instantly carried it to the King and Queene-Mother who joyfully causing it to be enbalmed sent it shortly after as a choice present to the Pope for an assurance of the death of his most capitall enemy in France Nay the rage of these French Romish Tygers rested not here but like so many mad-Dogs the rest of the ignoble rabble ran to his dead Corps and one cuts off his hands another his privy-members and for the space of three dayes they dragged his dead carkasle as the Grecians did Hectors about the walls of Troy with all inhumane indignity through the streets of Paris and then hang'd up his thus poore mangled body by the heels on a Gibbet and ceased not this most horrid and hellish massacre till they had most lamentably murthered at least 10000 Protestants men women and children in Paris besides many thousands more in other parts of France at the same time Yea and yet to adde more to all the impiety of this popish therfore faithlesse King He sending now for the King of Navarr and the Prince of Conde gave them both to understand even from himselfe that all this was done by his own speciall command and with all peremptorily resolved the death of both these young Princes too if they on his threats had not as wretchedly they did renounced their religion turning Romish Catholike against the light of their consciences to save their lives and enjoy their honours And thus you have summarily seen the sad effects of this most perfidious princes former deepe vowes promises and protestations And therefore let all the World judge whether in this case that be not most true Jurat Crede minus non jurat credere noli Iurat non jurat hostis ab hoste cave That is Does thy foe swear none of his Oathes believe Swears he or sweares he not fear hee 'll deceive The other example is little inferiour to this former for Popish barbarity and perfidious disloyalty and that was of Ferdinando late Emperour of Germany father of the now present Emperour which in brief was thus After that this Ferdinando had for his disloyall violation of the Bohemian Lawes immunities especially by introducing the Jesuits among them to tyrannize over their Bodies Estates and Consciences been deposed and dispossessed of that Kingdom over which being Electorate the Nobility whole State of Bohemia had chosen him their King afterward by the unanimous consent of the said Nobles and Magistrates the Prince Palatine of the Rhine unhappy son in Law to King Iames of England was in his stead chosen to be their King according to the fundamentall Lawes and power of that Kingdome But not long after it so pleased the Lord the Almighty and most wise disposer of all things that at the great battell fought neere Prague by Bucquoy the said Emperours Generalissimo the Palsgrave the foresaid new elected King of Bohemia's forces were quite defeated and overthrowne by the said Bucquoy and thereby the famous and ancient City of Prague was reduced by conquest to the obedience of Ferdinando this being about 24 or 25 yeares agoe
Now the Emperour though thus re-estated by the sword and in some measure re-established in the Bohemian throne yet in the first place to weave and insinuate himselfe the more into the hearts and affections of the Nobility for the more sure and infallible effecting of his secretly intended devilish designe and the heads of the Inhabitants of that City which was the metropolis of that whole Kingdome he thought it most fit and accordingly put in practise with dexterious Machivilian craft and policy to make most deepe vowes protestations and promises of full and free pardon and mercy for what was past and a fuller fruition and enjoyment of his love and favour and of their rites and priviledges than ever formerly they had enjoyed from any of his predecessours which hee accordingly forthwith performed with all present possible confirmations and carried himselfe in a very plausible and exceeding well pleasing deportment every way to them for the space of above one halfe yeare at the least But at last about the expiration of a such like distance of time the Emperour pretending some important and weighty affaires of the Kingdome to be consulted of and consented to by him and his whole Nobility for the more successefull and peacefull settlement of the state of the Kingdome and their immunities he summoned them all that were then absent from the City to make their appearance at Prague at a day and time prefixed who by reason of the Emperours so faire and friendly carriage to them all this while and there so full and free enjoyment of their promised priviledges and lawfull immunities not suspecting any evill much lesse such a bloody Tragedy to be acted on them as afterward they found and felt in obedience to his Imperiall Majesties command and gratitude for his great favours they readily and cheerefully assembled together according to their summons at Prague where being met together with the magistrates of the City and most kindly saluted and entertained with all expressions of seeming love and affection within a day or two after they were all by a strong guard of armed souldiers prepared and appointed thereunto unexpectedly brought upon a great stage privately built up and prepared for this purpose where the headsman stood ready and they all thus sodainly ensnared and utterly unarmed both prime Nobility and chiefe Magistrates of this City who had had a hand in the Emperours former deposing and expulsion did every man of them suffer the losse of his life by the fury of a treacherous sword and which makes the abomination of this perfidious cruelty and treachery the more odious and execrable the Emperour had appointed and placed about 60 Dâ—ummers underneath the stage who much like the cruelty of that tyrannicall Emperour Phalaris with Perillus his roaring brazen-Bull should with incessant importunity beat upon and rattle their Dâ—ums during all the time of the Execution that so the noise cries or complaints of all these innocent Nobles and Gentlemen dying on the stage above might not be heard or pittied in their just exclamations of the Machavilian and most abominable craft and cruelty executed on them But in vaine did this faithlesse Emperour Ferdinando thinke to keep that from the eares and knowledge of men which had already with a crying noise like murthered Abels innocent bloud reached the eares of the omniscient and bloudavenging God who soone cut short the thread of his life and ever since and before his Death made hiswhole most unhappy Empire to him and to his bloudy Son after him a lamentable Golgotha and stage of little else but rapine ruine and destruction Now both these so pregnant presidents and examples so eminently pertinent to our present times may be me thinks most remarkeable Memento's and worthy warning peeces to us in England even to our most renowned Lords and Commons in Parliament and to the most loyall and active eminent Citizens of London to take speciall and extraordinary care and with great wisdome and circumspection to be very cautious and heedfull what Peace they make and what vowes promises and deepest protestations though backt with ever so heart-amazing curses and execrations they trust and rest on whereof already the rotten-hearted Royalists and Atheisticall crew of impious Oxonian Malignants have not been wanting and all in the Kings Name at least to cheat gull and abuse the Kingdome and bring our precious Patriots into their base and bloudy snares and all forsooth under a colour and pernicious pretext of Peace and future safety and security whereas indeed they intend nothing lesse and ayme at nothing more than the ruine and destruction of their precious Lives and Estates and which is most deare to them and us all the extirpation of the true religion And so much the rather do I the more seriously desire to presse this seasonable caution at this time because even now already as indeed it hath beene the constant practise of our Oxonian adversaries in all the times of their pretended Treaties they apparently shew they goe but about to cheat and gull us to our faces with bare shewes and pretences of peace and all well meaning towards us having indeed honey and butter an acknowledgement of our Parliament at Westminster to be the parliament of England on the tip of their Tongues but gall and wormwood at the root of their hearts nothing but pence pacifications and priviledges at that time when Branford sorely bleeds Bristoll must be betray'd and divers dangerous Fine-designes are set on foot yea so many and so mischeivous that they know not which to set upon first thus heretofore and all along And is it better or is there fairer play above board now adâ—ies than hath been heeretofore If it be so let Reding Lyn-regis Plimouth Abington and Dover at this time witnesse even now in the nick of time of this present pretended accommodation and treaty of peace wherein let all the World judge with us if they aim at any thing els than grosâ—…y to gull â—s and as the sad and bad Catastrophe of all to get us into their treacherous trap and pernicious pit-fall for certaine ruine and a mercilesse massacre even of all the best and most honest and loyall subjects of the whole Kingdome and hereof truly we have had I say too foule and frequent experiences namely that their dissembled words of peace have ever done us more mischiefe than all their sharpest swords of War And if they have been thus hot hasty and fool-hardy after the murther and massacring of the Kingdomes most innocent ones witnesse with the rest that desperate and most bloudy designe of Ianuary the fourth 1641 in the house of Commons in Parliament countenanced and attempted with our King Charles his own person apparently to our faces even then and now though now adaâ—es more craftily when we have power to oppose them O what may we fear for the future when they may have fully or rather foulely and faithlesly got our famous Patriots by a fallacious accommodation into their resistlesse pawes and power as those forementioned most memorable examples have remarkably manifested t is possible may be Certainly a little length of time is not like to lessen their intestine malice and malignity but believe that to be most true which the Poet sung of Juno with a little inversion Manet alta mente reposita Invidia Principum And let I say all popishly and atheistically principled Princes and their semblable adherents protest and pretend what they please and what they can let us in the strength and wisdom of our God stand wisely alwaies on our guard and still look on them all with just and most jelous vigilancy suspition and circumspection having oft in remembrance that pretty and pertinent apology which I have read of the Cat and the Mice with which I will conclude all I have hâ—erin to say which is thus related The Cat having along time craftily preyed upon Mice the poore creatures at last for their safety contained themselves within their holes but the Cat finding his prey to cease as being too well known to the Mice that he was their inveterate enemy and a Cat he deviseth this course following viz. He changeth his hue getteth on a religious habite shaveth his crown and walkes gravely by the holes And yet perceiving that the Mice still kept their holes and looking out suspected the worst he most formally fatherly said unto them Quod sueram non sii frater caput aspâ—ce tonsum that is I am not brothers as I was want to be No more a Cat my coat and shorncrown see Hereupon some of the more credulous and bold mice among them ventured forth and were presently snatch'd up and devoured But the rest seing this when afterwards the Cat came thus to intice them againe to come forth they would no more adventure out but when he call'd unto them as before they kept in and answered Cor tibi restat idem vix tibi praesto sidem Talke what you can we will you not believe you still retaine a Cats heart to deceive Thus let us as Solomon advises the sluggard to learne of the Pismire learn vigilancy of these Mice And when we deale with dissemblers as now we do let us wisely and warily consider that the best safest and surest way by Gods blessing and assistance is that old and plain well known rule fast bind fast find Yet trust and seek God herein above all But put no confidence in popishly affected Princes or Machivilianly principled Courtiers or malignants Now the God of grace and wisdom make us all wise unto salvation and give our most honorable and pious Patriots understanding in all things Amen and Amen Tuta frequensque via est per amici fallere nomen Tuta frequensque licet sit via crimâ—n habeat That is A safe and common way it is through friendship to deceive As safe and common as it is t is knavery by your leave FINIS I. V. Imprimatur Ja. Cranford LONDON Printed for I. Rothwell 1644.