ouerhardened their mindes so maliciously bent against her Maiestie their Countrey and vs all What shall I then say further to them Alas in so desperate a case I can say no more then Doctor Allen in his Pamphlet saieth to his Countrey but with a better minde and meaning towards them then he doth towards vs Alas for them and thrice Alas for them for I doe euen from the bottome of my hart pitie their errour I enuie not their Religion I doe euen from the bottome of my heart bewaile their obstinacie I hate not their persons I doe euen from the bottome of my heart lament their their miserable estate I malice not the men I wish better to them then they doe vnto vs I desire neither the spilling of their blood nor the spoiling of their substance but I pray pray hartily for them God amend them God lighten their eies if they be blinde and doe not see open their eares if they bee deafe and cannot heare turne their hearts if they bee obstinate and will neither see nor heare God if it bee his will giue them grace to know his will to acknowledge his will and to conforme themselues to his will that they may be heires of his euerlasting Will. And to you my brethren countreymen fellow-subiects what shall I say more then hath bene said Shall I endeuour to exhorte you to obedience and to the loue of your prince and defense of your countrey Why should I seeme so much to suspect your obedience your loue to your Prince or your zeale and care of your countrey Because D. Allen hath attempted by his perswasiōs to corrupt you withdraw you frō thē Why you see his perswasions are of litle force grounded vpon falshood and contrarye to the word of God But were they neuer so forcible why should you be corrupted by them An honest faithfull mind may well be assaulted but will reuer be ouercome with the corruption of wicked perswasions Nay thêre is vertue most shewed where against the hottest assault is made the strongest resistance But why should you disobey and reuolte from your princes seruice and take armes against her and your countrey as D. Allen exhorteth you to do Whether vpon iust cause or vpon discontentment If vpon discontentment you shewe yourselues rebels not to your Souereigne onely but to God himselfe in that you are not contented with his ordinaunce but will striue to put it downe and set vp a new ordinance of your own This motion cannot proceede but of the deuill himselfe the rebellious spirite and mouer of all sedition If you saie vpon iust cause you deceiue your selues for there can be no iust cause to committe an vniust fact If there might anie cause bee iust who shall be iudge of the iustice thereof Your selues that were not fit you are parties and therefore partiall and no competent iudges Againe you are priuate men and subiects and therefore can haue no lawfull authoritie in this case to iudge Who then shal be iudge to determine this cause There is no lawfull power in this Realme but your Souereigne and her ministers then if there be anie cause you must open it vnto her and submit both your selues and the cause to her iudgement and reformation and in the meane time continue in your due obedience till the cause be decided But you will say your Souereigne is a partie also aswell as you in the cause So may she be yet a iudge But to whose iudgement then will you appeale there is none to be iudge ouer her but God Will you then be iudged by him Indeed he is the highest iudge and by him the whole world is to be iudged And will ye be content to stand to his iudgement I know you will not call him out of heauen in person to iudge betwixt you for you neede not because he hath left his lawes and iudgements amongst you here on earth recorded in his owne bookes of the old new testament which may be sufficient to determine this cause without any further assistance seeing that by them the whole world is to be iuged Looke then into his booke for his iudgemēt in this case and you shal finde that he forbiddeth you absolutely without exception of any cause to laye your handes vpon the Lordes annointed and commaundeth you as absolutely without all manner exception to submit your selues aswell to your Prince as to her ministers and inferiour gouernours to obey her and not to resist her for if yee resist her he telleth you that yee resist his ordinaunce and shall thereby receiue to your selues iudgement You heare now how God in his holy Scriptures determineth this case directly against you that you may not for any cause offer to lay your hands vpon your Souereigne but that you must submit your selues vnto her obey and not resist her vpon paine of iudgement How then will you dare to lift vp your hands and to take armes against her But if it were lawfull for you as it is not for any cause to rise in armes against the Queens Maiestie your liege drad Souereigne what cause I pray you would you pretend for your so doing will you say Religion Indeed Religion is the cause for which D. Allen teacheth you that it is lawful honorable for you to take armes against your prince laboureth earnestly to perswade you therunto such as are of his religion But what kind of Religion call you that that stirreth you vp to Rebellion You haue receiued no such religion from Christ nor from his Apostles for they teach you the contrary both by their doctrine and examples They tell you that you must submit your selues to your Souereigne obey and not resist her They when they were imprisoned tossed and turmoyled from place to place reuiled striken yet neuer offered resistance against the Magistrates neither moued or attempted any sedition nor entred into any conspiracy against thē but endured all with patience as constant witnesses of the Truth which is cleane contrarie to this Religion which you professe From whom then receiue you your Religion from your holy father the Bishop of Rome It may very well be for it sheweth it selfe from whence it cometh And is this the Religion for which you will take armes against your Prince Why you see it is a Religion taken from man and not from God and therefore cannot stand You see it is a Religion contrarie to the doctrine and Religion of Christ and the Apostles and therefore not the true Religion Will you then take armes against your Prince in the quarrell and defense of a false Religion you know not what you do and that is also the fault of your Religion For if you had giuen your selues to the reading of the Scriptures and studie of knowledge whereby you might haue bene able to giue an account of your faith and knowne the ground of your Religion and not leaned
so much nor giuen so great trust vnto mens traditions you might with Gods grace and assistance haue found out a sounder Religion But then should you haue fallen from the precepts of your Popish teachers But yet should you haue followed the commaundement of Christ who biddeth you Search the Scriptures What fault find you with our Religion Wee teach nothing but what we learne out of the Scriptures we hold constantly the doctrine of our Sauiour Christ and of the holie Apostles in all pointes vnchanged and by them we offer our selues to bee tried and our Religion And do you condemne the Scriptures the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles If you do the whole world will condemne you if you do not how can you then condemne our Religion Compare it with your owne and if you bee not ouer partiall senselesse or shamelesse be iudges your selues whether of the two is the sounder We ground our Religion wholy on the word of God you more vpon the traditions of men we recommend vnto all men the knowledge of the Scriptures for the direction of their life and assurance of their saluation your teachers restrayne from you the knowledge of the Scriptures deliuering you their owne traditions both for your instruction of life and assurance of your saluation we commend vnto subiects obedience and fidelitie to their Princes they commaund subiects disobedience and rebellion against their Princes Denie anie part hereof if you can examine your owne consciences if this be not all true and then iudge your selues by the true cognisance of Religion whether of the two is the true Religion We flie not to armes to mainteine our Religion for the truth is able to vphold it selfe and hath God for her protector Your Religion had neede to be aduaunced by armes els must it soone decaie hauing neither God nor the Truth nor reason to mainteine it And will you then take armes against your Prince for defense of this Religion No no if you doe you deceiue your selues you take armes against both your Prince and Religion and in defense of mens traditions and tromperies vnder pretense of Religion you seeke to ouerthrow the true Religion wherein you rebell not onelie against your Prince but against God himselfe who is the authour and defender of this Religion Christ teacheth you not to take armes though ye were persecuted for Religion but to flie and if ye will abide and stand in the Truth he willeth you to suffer like Martyrs not to resist like Rebelles But you haue no such cause giuen you either to resist or to flie for ye are not persecuted but instructed and if yee refuse to come to heare ye are punished for your disorder and disobedience not for Religion for what Religion teacheth you to refuse to heare the word of God preached Christ saith My sheepe heare my voyce whose sheep are you then for you are none of Christes If ye wil be of Christes flock you must renounce that Religion which withdraweth you from the hearing of his voice for till then you cannot be his sheepe Do you call th'execution of Iustice against your Iesuits and Seminaries persecution for Religion You do either ignorantlie mistake it or slaunderouslie misreport it For none was euer executed for Religion but for expresse Treason against her Maiesties person as hath bene sufficientlie declared and published to all men But you will say they did nothing but what Religion moued and bound them in conscience to do I beleeue it and affirme asmuch as you saie this is the fault I warned you of before in your Religion A good Religion ywis that moueth and bindeth men to the committing of Treason against their Christian Rulers Can you confesse so much your selues and yet are ye so blinde that you will not see the impietie of your Religion Yet see your owne daunger how in professing that Religion you condemne your selues of treason If your Religion tie thē necessarily to treason that hold it as in truth it doth for they must either disobey her Maiesty or not obey the Pope how can you acknowledge your selues professors of that Religion and not condēne your selues for traitors to your souereigne Leaue leaue therefore that erroneous and vngodly profession and terme it not by the holie name of Catholike Religion but meere blindnes and Superstition being grounded vpon the vaine inuentions and traditions of men so directly opposite vnto the word of God so contrarie to the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles and so inseparably combined and linked with Treason as you cannot be either true Catholiks Christians or loyall subiects so long as you persist in it Pretend not the quarrell of Religion against your Prince and Religion for assure your selues if you will admit as you ought that onely to be the true Religion which is founded vpon Christ the head Corner stone there is no Religion that alloweth so rebellious an action If you giue any heed vnto outward and Ciuill respects consider with your selues the long peacible and prosperous reigne of your Souereigne the like wherof your forefathers haue not seene nor any age doth record If long peace wealth and prosperity be the outward blessings of God as vndoubtedly they bee whereby hee declareth his speciall fauour vnto that Prince kingdome which feare him worship him syncerely and with whom he is well pleased according to his word and promises in the Scriptures al these maie be to you an assured argument both of the singular fauour of God vnto your Prince and Countrie and of the true sincere Religion professed by them wherewith hee is well pleased But looke yet further into the exceeding fauour of God shewed particularlie vnto her Maiestie I speake not of her rare and singular giftes of wisedome learning vertue and other her excellent and Princely qualities and perfections both of bodie and minde with all other Complements of nature so abundantlie bestowed vpon her as few ages haue euer knowen her equall all which wee must yet acknowledge to bee the speciall graces of God looke I saie into his gracious goodnes towardes her in protecting her from the manifold dangers and mischiefes attempted against her own person I know there is none of you ignorant how often sundrie times her deare life hath bin sought and how neare the bloodie tortors haue been to the verie execution of their deuilish designement some of them more then once or twice in neerest and priuate place with their murderous weapons in their hands euen readie to strike the deadlie and cursed stroake of our calamitie and their owne vtter confusion and damnation had not God preuented it by striking them with a sodeine trembling of heart and astonishment of minde for the preseruation of his annointed seruant and handmaid This you know to haue been attempted not once nor twice nor thrice but oftener then either memorie serueth mee to repeat or horrour of the
her Maiestie to take part with a forrein power The Pretended Catholik armies in France spare not their fellow Catholikes being their owne countrymen how then wil a forreine army spare our English Catholikes being strangers to them The Spanish soldiour very hardly thought and reported of for his insolence cruelty and vitious dealings where he subdueth The Spaniard malicious to the English nation The Spanish soldiour maketh little cōscience in his choice It would be an intolerable despight to an English man to see his wife sister or daughter forced before his face D. Allens kindnes to his Catholike countreymē Religion is not the Spaniards quarrell to England All our liues and liberties and the weale and freedom of our countrey depend vpon this quarrell To the force of D. Allens Perswasions D. Allens examples cited out of Eusebius to persuade the Papists to reuolt for Religion Some abandoned their profession some their Countries some suffered death for Religions sake but none reuolted no not from Heathen Princes nor from Iulian the Apostat◠himselfe The Queenes Maiestie doth not driue anie from the seruice of God but endeuoureth to draw all men from Idolatrie to the true knowledge worship of God Another trim argument of D. Allens to encourage the Papists to reuolt That God fighteth himselfe for the defense of his owne cause and of the right The rebellion in the North by the Earles of Northumberland and Westmerland For the same cause that D. Allen here so much commendeth The Rebels by Gods power and assistance ouerthrowen The Inuasion in Ireland Anno. 1580. vpō the same cause quarrell The successe of these Rebels and Inuaders doth by D. Allens own argument both shew the cause to bee naught and warneth our English Papists for the like cause not to enter into the like action The ouerthrows which haue lighted vpō the K. of Spaines Rebels as D. Allen saith ought to terrifie all men from Rebellion A note of certeine ouersights in policie escaped this great politicien in this Pamphlet which is mere politike His whole argument of reuolt for Religion a warrant for the reuolt of the low Countreymen and consequently for all that assist them against the K. of Spain Their first discontentment for Religion D. Allens wordes may be preiudiciall to the K. of Spaine his Patrone What construction the low Countreymen may make of it that D. Allen openly termeth them Heretikes and Rebels A Maxime of the Papists That there is no faith to be kept with Heretikes The meanes which D. Allen vseth to effect his purpose is a most likely occasion to preuent and defeat his purpose His pamphlet a good occasion to her Maiestie to loke straightly to the Papists D. Allens dealing might well and iustly prouoke her Maiestie to take a seuere course with the papists not for Religion but for the better establishment and assurance of her selfe and her estate especially considering her great dangers past and seeing the perils imminent and dayly threatened vnto her by them but Clemency hath euer preuailed with her which God continue till so that it may be with her safety The papists are much beholding to D. Allen for prouoking her Maiestie by his pamphlet to deale hardlyer with them then any protestant would wish A briefe recapitulation of the premisses Notes to be considered both in the whole and in euery particular In the first what facts persons D. Allen defendeth The fact treason The persons discontented disloyall and ingrate Sir W. Stanley R. Yorke In the low countreys Ingratitude Sir W. Stanley sometime seruant to the E. of Leicester a R. Yorke b The E. of Leicester An Archtraytor must needs defend Treason In the second what actions and persons he inueigheth against The actions already proued godly vertuous and honorable The persons sacred religious and vnstayned with reproach Exod. 22. 28. Ecclesiastes 10. 20. He that is a professed patrone of vice must needes be an open enimy to vertue In the third what it is that he perswadeth you to A thing vnlawfull and repugnant to Gods word Vnnaturall and odious to the world Most hurtfull and pernicious to yourselues Fit for such a perswader In all you are to consider his fraudulēt dealings and impostures He that maketh it no cōscience to abuse Gods word will not make it deintie to abuse mens credulitie D. Allens vniformitie in all points of his Pamphlet No hard speech vsed against D. Allen but against his malicious wicked dealings Deceits and impostures the onelie meanes to establish their Antichristian Monarchy The restreint of the Scriptures from the people to hold them in ignorance Whosoeuer taught the libertie of the Gospell free vse of the Scriptures was proclaimed by the Papists for an Heretike All to couer their abuses The Papists proceed from policie to plaine force Deceit their only meanes to persuade men to their purpose The Papists restraine the knowledge of the Scriptures only to binde men by ignorance to the beleeuing of their traditions The Truth beggeth no credit nor feareth sifting The Papists owne doings condemne them Matth. 15. 14. Matth. 7. 15. Ibidem D. Allen is neuer weery of an ill worke Teren. Andri The English Fugitiues seditious dealings deserue more then to be inueighed against of euerie true subiect Small hope of conuerting them by persuasion Psal 2. 10. An exhortation to all her Maiesties liege subiects Vertue most shewed in withstanding the strongest assaults of vice There is no iust cause to commit an vniust act 1. Peter 2. Rom. 13. You may not resist your Souereigne A good Religion that stirreth vp subiects to Rebellion Christ and his Apostles suffered persecution without either resistance or mouing of sedition The Protestants Religion The comparison of the Protestants Religion with the Papists They that take armes for the Romish religion take armes against religion Christ teacheth subiects to flye or suffer for Religion not to rebell The Papists punished for disobedience not for Religion Papists refuse to heare the word preached Ergo they are not of Christes flocke The Iesuits and Seminaries executed for Treason not persecuted for Religion Papistry and Treason inseparably vnited togither Peace welth and prosperity the blessings of God and assured tokens of his speciall fauour The singular fauour of God vnto her Maiestie particularly In protecting her from the malicious attemptes of Traitors Her Maiesties life sundrie times sought by Traitors and miraculously preserued by God Gods iust iudgement vpō the Traitors The murderous Traitors all Papists set on by the Pope and his Adherents The vngodlie practises of the Romish Church the verie badges of Antichristian Religion Rebels euer ouerthrowen Rebellion euer coloured with a good pretence A stranger will neuer trust him which hath not been true to his owne Prince and Countrey Englishmen naturallie faithfull to their Prince and Countrey especially against a forreine Enemy A good Caueat for Papists Rom. 13. 5. An encouragement to all true faithfull Subiects The oddes of the quarrell The examples of our ancestors vertue D. Allens own encouragement Our Realme neuer of greater strength then now The duetiful and honorable forwardnes of the Londoners The assurāce of Gods assistance our greatest cōfort