/f~f n • ■ j 6/: &- I ,M%/Y*i-i llsffcoth derived from .the fame Fa* thers. But things (b remote require more than ordinary knowledgto fet them before us in a true light : And their diftance from us makes them TbePREFACE. them leflen as much to our thoughts, as Obje&s that are fat from us do to our Eyes. There* fore it will be perhaps neceflary in order to the giving a fuller and amiabler profpedt of that Apoftolical Conftitution, to chufe a Scene that lies nearer, and more within all peoples view ; that Co it may appear, that for the Ir- ving Arguments in favour of this Government we need not go fo far as to the Clement's, the Ignatius 's, the Tolycarp's, the Irenew's, the Ve* njs's and the Qyprians that were the glories of the Golden Ages : Nor to the Athanafius's, the ( Bafil's i the GregorieSj the Chryfoflome's, the Martin's, the Amhrofes and the Au- ftinSy that were the beauties of the Second but Silver Age of Chji- ftianity ; but that even in this Iron Age , and dreg of time , there have been fuch Patterns, as per- haps The PRE FACE. haps can hardly be matched fince Miracles ceafed. We ought not to deny the Church of ^pme the juft Praifes that belong to fome of the Bi= fliops (lie has produced in this and the laft Age, who were bur- ning and fhining Lights : and we ought not to wonder if a Church fo blemiflit all over with the corruptions of her Clergy , and in particular of the Heads of them , covers her felf from thole deferved Reproaches by the brightnefs of fuch great names,- and by the exemplary Vertues of the prefent Pope, which being fo unufual a thing, it is not ftrange to fee them magnifie and cele- brate it as they do. France has likewife produced in this Age a great many Bifliops , of whom it muft be faid , That as the World The PREFACE. World was not worthy of theni io that Churcb , that ufed them io ill, was much kfs worthy of them. And though there are not many of that ftamp now * Who left , yet Cardinal GrimaUy * , is dead t he Bifhop of An for he had in- tended the PREFACE. tended to have lived and dyed, -in a more obfcure corner. It Coon appeared how well he defer* ved his. Promotion, and that "his unwillingnefs to k was not. feigned, but the real effect of his humility : He was in all things an Apoftolical Man, he u* fed to go round his Diocefs with- out noife, and but with one Ser* vant, that fo he might be rightly informed of all matters. When he heard reports of the weak- nefs of any of his Clergy , his cuftome was to go. and lodge unknown near their Church on the Saturday Night , and next day , when the Minifter was got into the Pulpit, he would come to Church, that fo he might obferve what his ordi- nary Sermons were , and ac- cordingly he admonifhed or encouraged them. He took a 2 fuch The PREFACE. fuch care of the two Coliedges in his Diocefs ; that thev be- came quickly diftinguiflied from all the reft of Scotland: So that when the troubles in that Church broke out , the Do- ctors there were the only per- fons that could maintain the Caufe of the Church ; as ap- pears by the Papers that paft between them and the Cove- nanters. And though they be= gun firft to manage that Argu- ment in Print, there has no- thing appeared fince more per= fedt than what they writ. They were an honour to the Church both by their Lives , and by their Learning ,' and with that excellent temper they feafoned that whole Diocels, both Clergy and Laity, that it continues to this day very much diftinguiflied from all the reft of Scotland, both for The PREFACE. for Learning,Loyalty and Peace- ableneis; and, ilnce that good Bifliop died but three years be- fore the Rebellion broke out , the true fource of that advan- tage they had, is juftly due to his Memory : One of thefe Do&ors was his Son John, the Heir of his Vermes and Piety, as-well as of his Fortune: But much fuperiour to him in Learn- ing ; and he was perhaps in* ferior to no Man of his Age , which none will difpute , that have read his InflruFiiones Hifto* rico*Tbeologic£ , a Work w T hich if he had finiflied it, and had been differed to enjoy the pri- vacies of his Retirement and Study , to give us the Second Volume, had been the greateft Treafure of Theological Lear* ning that perhaps the World has yet ieen. He was Divinity a 3 Pro* The? RE RACE. ProfefTbr at Aberdeen , an en- dowment raifed by his Father : But was driven out by the Co* venant, and forced to fly be- yond Sea. One memorable thing of his Father ought not to be left unmentioned ; he had Synods twice a year of his Cler- gy, and before they went upon their other bufinefs, he always began with a fhort difcourfe, ex* cufing his own infirmities and charging them that , it they knew or obferved any thing a* mifs in him, they would uleall freedom with him , and either come and warn him in fecret of fecret errours, or if they were publick, that they would fpeak of them there in publick ; and upon that he withdrew to leave them to the freedom of Speech. This condefcenlion of his was never abufed but by one pe- tulant TbeTREFACE. tulant Man , to whom all others were very fevere for his infolence , only the Bifliop bore it gently and as became him. One of the Doctors of Aber- deen bred in his time and of his name William Forbes , was promoted by the late King , while he was in Scotland in the Year one thoufand fix hundred thirty and three, to the Bifliop- rick of Edenburgh) that was then founded by him , fo that that glorious King faid on good grounds, that he had found out a Bifliop that deferved that a See fhould be made for him ; he was a grave and eminent Divine j my Father, that knew him long, and being of Coun- cil for him in his Law- mat* ters, had occafion to know a 4 him TbePREFACE. ,him well, has often told me ? That he never faw him but he thought his Heart was in Hea* ven, and he was never alone with him but he felt within himfelf a Commentary on thefe Words of the Apoftles , Vid not our Hearts burn within us , Tbhile he jet talked with us , and opened to us the Scriptures ? He preached with a zeal and ve- hemence, that made him of- ten forget all the meafures of time, two or three Hours was no extraordinary thing for him ; thofe Sermons wafted hisStrength £b faft, and his afcetical courfe of life was fuch , that he fup- plyed it fo fcantly that he dy* ed within a Year after his Pro* motion; fo he only appeared there long enough to be known, but not long enough to do what might have been other- wife. The PREFACE. wife expected from fo great a Prelate. That little remnant of his that is in Print fliews how Learned he was. I do not deny but his earned defire of a general Peace and Union among all Chri- ftians has made him too favour- able to many of the Corruptions in the Church of ^ome : but tho* a Charity that is not well ballan- ced, may carry one to very indis- creet things>yet the Principle from whence they flowed in him was fo truly good , that the errors to which it carried him ought to be either excufed, or at lead to be very gently cenfured . Another of our late Bifliops was the nobleft born of all the Order, beingBrother to the Lord£W,that is one of the beft Families of Scot* land^ but was provided to the poor* eft Bifiioprick, which was Jrgtle ; yqc he did great things in it. He found the? KEF ACE. found his Diocefs overrun with ignorance and barbarity, fo that in many places the name of Chrift was not known ,• but he went about that Apoftolical Work of planting the Gofpel , with a particular induftry, and almoft with equal fuccels. He got Chur* ches and Schools to be raifed and endowed every where ; and lived to fee a great ble/fing on his en= deavours ; fo that he is not fo much as named in that Country to this day but with a particular ve« neration, even by thofe who are otherwife no way equitable to that Order. The only anfwer that our angry people in Scotland ufed to make when they were preffed with fuch Inrtances, was,that there were too few of them : But fome of the fevereft of them have owned to me, that if there were many fuch Bifhops, they would all be Epi- fcopal. I The? KEF ACE. ♦ I fhall not add much of the Bifliops that have been in that Church fince the laft re-eftablifh- ing of the Order ^ but that I have oblerved among the few of them, to whom I had the honour to be known particularly, as great, and as exemplary things, as ever I met with in all Ecclefiaftical Hi- ftory : Not only the practice of the ftrideft of all the Antient Ca- nons, but a pitch of Vertue and Piety beyond what can fall under common imitation,or be made the meafure of even the mod: Angeli- cal rank of Men $ and faw things in them that would look liker fair Ideas , than what Men cloathed with Fleflh and Blood could grow up to. But of this I will fay no more, fine* thole that are coiv cerned are yet alive, and their Character is too lingular, not to piake them to be as eafily known, if The PREFACE, The if I enlarged upon it, as if I na- Wor r th y medthem. perfon here meant, is dead fince this was put inthePrefs-, but both his Name and a more particular account of him, as jt well deferves a Book by it felf, fo will perhaps be given on another occafion. But of one that is dead I may be allowed to fay fomewhat ,• with whom the See of Aberdeen was as happy in this Age, as it was in his worthy Predeceffbr Forbes in the lafl ; both in the number of the Years, for he fat feventeen Years in that Chair, and in the rare qua- lities that dignified them both al- moft equally. He alfo faw his Son fill the Divinity Chair, as the other had done ; but here was the fapal difference, that he only lived long enough to raife the greateft expe- ctation that I ever knew upon any of that Nation of his (landing ; for when all hoped to fe in him a fe-- condDr.For^5,or,to bring it nearer home, anc ther Bifliop Scoiwall, for that The? KEF ACE. that was his Fathers name, he dy- ed very young. The endearing gentlenefs of the Father to all that differed from him, his great ftrift- nefs in giving Orders, his moft un- affected humility and contempt of the World, were things [o fingu= lar in him, that they deferved to be much more admired than his other Talents, which were alfo ex- traordinary, a wonderful ftrcngth of Judgment, a dexterity in the condudt of Affairs, which he im- ployed chiefly in the making up of Differences, and a Difcretion in his whole deportment. For he had a way of Familiarity , by which he gave every body all lore of freedom with him , and in which at the fame time he inlpired them with a veneration for him, and by that he gained fo much on their affe&ions, that he was confi- dered as the common Father of his TbeVREFACE. his whole Diocefs, and the Dif* fencers themfelves leemed to e* fteem him no lefs than the Confor- m ifts did . He took great pleasure in difcourfing often with young Divines, and fethimfelfto frame in them right and generous Noti- ons of the Chriftian Religion, and of the Paftoral Care ; fo that a Set of Men grew up under his Labors, that carry ftill on them clear Cha- racters of his fpirit and temper. One thing more I will add , which may afford a more general Inftrudtion. Several years ago he obferv'd a great heat infome young Minds, that, as he believed, had very good intentions, but were too forward, and complained much ofabules, calling loudly, and not very decently, for a Reformation of them: upon which he told them, the noife made about re* forming abufes was the lijcelieft way The? KEF ACE. way to keep them up; for that would raife Heats and Difputes, and would be afcribed to envy and fa&ion in them ; and ill-minded Men, that loved the abufes for the advantages they made by them, would Waft and mifrepreient thofe that went about to correct them, by which they would fall under the jealoufie of being ill affe&ed to the Church ; and they being once loaded with this prejudice , would be difabled from doing the goodj of which they might other- wife be the Ihftruments : There* fore he thought a Reformation of Abufes ought to be carried on by every one in his ftation, with no other noife than what the things themielves muft neceffarily pro- duce, and then the filent way of convidtion that is railed by great Patterns would fpeak louder, and would recommend fuch Practices more TbePREFACE. more ftrongly, as well as more modeftly. Difcourfes work but upon fpeculative people ,• and ic has been fo long the method of fa- ctious and ill defigning Men, to accufe publick Errors, that he wiflhed thofe, to whom he addref- fed his advice, would give over all thoughts of mending the world, which was grown too old in wick- ednefs to be eafiiy corrected ; and would only fet themfelves to do what good they could, with lefs noife ; and Co to give lefs occaiion to angry people to quarrel with them ,• and to juftifie thole abufes which are by fuch indifcreet oppo* fition kept in fome credit, and pre- ferved ; whereas without that they mnft have fallen under fo general an Odium, that few could have the face to excufe them. And now I have done with this digrefiion j which not being at all foreign The PREFACE. foreign to my defign of raifing the credit due to that venerable Order, I ftull make no Apology for it ; but fhall come next to the fubjeit of the following Book. I had a great Colle&ion of Memorials put in my hands by a worthy and learned Divine, Mr. Clogy, who as he lived long in this Bifliops Houfe, fo being afterwards Mi- nifter at CaVan, had occafion to know him well v : And as he had a great zeal to fee the Juftice done to his Memory and the Service done to the World , which the putting thele in order, and the publifliing them muft needs pro- duce; fo he judged it would come better from anocher hand than his, that was fo much obliged by him, that it might be thought affection and gratitude had bialfed him too much. I confefs my part in this was fofmall. that I canfcarce af- b fume The PREFACE, fume any thing to my felf, but the copying out what was put in my hands. Lives muft be writ- ten with the ftri&nefs of a fevere Hiftorian, and not helped up with Rhetorick and Invention. But there are two great Imperfections that muft be pardoned in this ao count : The one is,That there is fo little faid of him gathered from a* ny of his own Writings, which would raife his Character much higher than any thing that others, though of his moft intimate Ac* quaintance, could preferve in their Memories : The other is, That inch Journals as perhaps lome that intended to give a full reprefentati* on of him to Posterity, might have writ, were all loft in the fame com- mon Ship wrack of the Irijb Rebel- lion : In which though our Bifhops Works were fwallowed up, yet he liimfelf met with a moft diftm** ouifhed the PREFAC€. guifhed Fate, more fuitable to his own rare merit, than to the en- raged fury of thofe Cannibals. And it was fo unlike their deportment in all other places, and to all other perfbns, that it ought rather to be afcribed to a tender and watchful Providence, and to be reckoned among its Miracles, than to any impreffions that his worth made on thofe Barbarians, who feemed to be as incapable of all the . tenderneffes ofHumaneNature,and as regardlefs of Religion andVer- tue, as Bears or Wolves are: Or if there was any difference, it lay in this, that the one are fatiated with Blood and Prey , whereas thefe burnt with a third of Blood that feemed unfatisfiable: And their cruel tempers being excited by their Priefts , no wonder if they made havock of all that fell in their way : The grcatcfi: Wonder bz was* the PREFACE. •was, how one that had fo juft a title to the Rage of their Priefts, fliould have been fo preferred a* mong them , when he fell into their Hands, and fo honoured by them at his Death : By which it appear- ed that the fame mighty Power that faved ©dwefs three Friends from the violence of the Fire, and himfelf from the rage of the Lions, is not yet exhaufted. > The Memorials here put in or- der, are nothing but what the me- mory of that good Man could afford , together with fome few Remnants of the Bifliops own Pen, gathered up like Boards af- ter a Shipwrack. But in them we may find all that is Great in a Man, in a Chriftian, and in a Bifliop : And that in fo eminent a manner, that if the fame of the perfon were not fo great, and if the ufage he met with among the The PREFACE. the Irifb, were not a Teftimo- ny beyond exception , I could fcarce hope to be believed. I will give only a bare and Am- ple Relation of his Life , and will avoid the beftowing on him or his Adtions fuch Epithets and Prailes as they defer ve : But will leave that to the Reader : For in writing of Lives all big Words are to be left to thole who drels up Legends , and Make Lives rather than Write them : the things themfelves muft praile the Perfon, other* wile all the good Words that the Writer beftows on him, will on* ly fhew his own great kindnefs to his Memory, but will not perfwade others : On the con= trary it will incline them to fu- fpe& his partiality, and make them look on him as an Author rather than a Writer. Letters Letters inferted in the Life of Bifhop Bedell. i. \ Letter of Sir Henry Wottons to jiJL Kr Charles I. concerning Bifhop Bedell. pag. 31 2. A Letter of Bifhop Bedells upon his being invited to go over to Inland. P-?4- J. A Letter ofB. Bedells to Archbifhop Laud concerning the Jiate of the Clergy r , and other particulars relating to his Di(h cefs. p. 45 4. A Letter ofB. Bedells to Archbifhop Ufher, againji Pluralities, p. 52 5 . A Letter ofB. Bedells to Archbishop Laud, fet ting forth the infolence of the Irifh Priefts. p. 69 6,7. Two Litters ofB. Bedells to Arch- bifhop Ufher concerning the abufes of the Spiritual Courts^ and of the Lay Chan- cellors, p. 94, 96 8 . A Letter ofB. Bedells to Archbifhop Ufher, jujlifying himfelf in fever al parti- culars, p. 126 9. A Letter ofB. Bedells to the E. of Strafford, concerning the Translation of the Bible into the Irifh Tongue, p. 131 10. A io. Apart of a Sermon of £. Bedells concerning brotherly love and moderation in the managing ofControverfies. p. !l 48 1 1 . Apart of a Sermon of B. Bedells, excufmg fonts will meaning perfons that were in the Church ^Rome. p. 1 56 12. The Conclufion of that Sermon, ex- horting to a more entire Reformation of dwfes. p. 166 1 j. The Remonflrance of the Rebels in the County of Cavan fetting forth the Grievances that had provoked them to thg Rebellion. p. 185 14. A Letter ofB. Bedells to the Po- ptfl? Btfhop 0/Kilmore wfan fa was befet by the Rebels. p. 188 15. A Letter containing Chriftian di- rections in time of Perfections writ by jB.Bedel/ir aLady that defir'dthem.]>.i()2 16. B. Bedells Ufi Words. p. 210 At the end of the Life there are added feme Papers in Latine. 1. B. Bedells form of Institution to Benefices. p. 235 2. The Decrees of a Diocefan Synod that he held at Kilmore. p. 237 3. B. Bedells Declinator of Jrchbiflpop Ufhers Lay Chancellour upon an Appeal. p. 243 4. His Letter teBijbepSwi&ty. p. 2 5 J THE THE LIFE O F WILLIAM BEDELL, D. D. Bifhop of KILMOLE IRELAND ^T ~TT ylLLI AM BEDELL ift /^ / was born at Black m / m ' Not ley in EJfex,m the W W year 1 57o.he was the younger Son of an ancient and good Family, and of no in- confiderable Eftate , which has now defcended to his Son ( his elder Brother dying without Xffue ) : After he had paft through the common education at Schools, he was fent to Emmanuel Col- ledge in Cambridge , and put under Dr. Cbaddertovs care, the famous and B long- T7;e Life of long-liv'd Head of that Houfe ; ancl here all thole extraordinary things, that rendred him afterwards fo confpicuous, began to fhew themfelves in fiich a man- ner, that he came to have a very emi- nent Charafter both for Learning and Piety : lb that Appeals were oft made to him, as Diiferences or Controverfies arofe in the Univerfity. He was put in Holy Orders by the Bifhop Suffragan of Colchefier. Till I met with this paffage, I did not think thefe Suffra- gans had been continued Co long in Eng- land : How they came to be put down, I do not know ; it is probable they did ordain all thatdefired Orders, fb pro- mifcuoufly, that the Bifhops found it necelfary to let them fall. For com- plaints were made of this Suffragan, upon which he was threatned with the taking his Commiflion from him : for though they could do nothing but by a Delegation from the Bifhop, yet the Orders they gave were ftill valid, even when they tranfgreffed in conferring them : Upon that the Suffragan faid a thing that was as infolent in him, as it was honourable for Mr. Bedell, That he had ordained a better Man than any the Bifhop had ever ordained, naming Bedell. He was chofen Fellow of the Colledge fBifbop Bedell, Coliedge in 1 593. and took his Degree of Batchelourof Divinity in the year 1 599- From the Univerfity he was remov- ed to the Town of S. Edmondsbury in Suffolk, where he ferved long in the Gofpel, and with great fuccefs, he and his Colleague being of fuch different charafters, that whereas it was laid of him that he made the difficulteft places of Scripture appear plain, it was faid, That his Colleague made the plaineft places appear difficult ; the opening of dark paffages, and the comparing of many Texts of Scripture , together with a lerious and praftical application of them, being the chief fubjeft of His Sermons : Which method feveral other great Men at that time followed, fuch as Bifhop Vjber , Dr. Jackfon , and Mr. Mede. He had an occafion given him not long after his fettiement in this charge , to fhew his courage , and how little he either Courted pre- ferment, or was afraid of falling un- der the difpleafure of great Men : For when the Bifliop of Norwich pro- pofed fome things to a meeting of his Clergy, with which they were ge- nerally dilTatisfied, though they had not refblution enough to oppofe them ; He B 2 took 77;e LiPEof took that hard Province upon himfelf, and did it with fb much ftrength of rea- fon, as well as difcretion, that many of thofe things were let fall : upon which when his Brethren came and magnified him for it, he checkt them and faid, He defired not the praifes of Men. His reputation was fb great and lb well eftablifhed both in the Uni- verfity and in Suffolk^ that when King James lent Sir Henry Wotton to be his .AmbafTadourat J 7 ^/'^, at the time of the Interdict ; he was recommended as the fitteft Man to go Chaplain in fb critical a conjun&ure. This Imploy- ment proved much happier and more honourable for him than that of his fellow Student and Chamber-fellow Mr. Wadfworth) who was at that time beneficed in the fame Diocefe with him, and v/as about that time fent into Spain, and was afterwards appointed to teach the Infanta the Englijh Tongue, when the match between the late King and her was believed concluded : for Wadf- worth was prevailed on to change his Religion and abandon his Countrey , as if m them thofe Words of our .Saviour had been to be verified, There jhall be two in one Bed , the one ffjall be taken , and the other foall be left. For as (Eifbop Bedell, as the one of thefe was wrought on to forfake his Religion, the other was very near the being an Inftrument of a great and happy change in the Repub- lick of Venice. I need not lay much of a thing fb well known as were the quar- rels of Pope Paul the V. and that Re- publick ; efpecially fince the Hiftory of them is written fb particularly by him that knew the matter beft, P. Pau- lo. Some Laws made by the Senate, not unlike our Statutes of Mortmain y reftraining the excefllve Donations, ex- torted from fuperftitious Men, and the imprifoning two lewd Fryers, in order to the executing Juftice on them, were the grounds of the quarrel ; and upon thofe pretences, the Ecclefiaftical Im- munity from the Secular Tribunals was alTerted to fuch a degree, that after that high fpirited Pope had tryed what the fpiritual Sword could do, but without fuccefs, (his Interdict not being ob- ferved by any, but the Jefuites, the Ca- pitals and Theatines, who were upon that banifhed the State, for the age of the Anfelms and the Beckets could not be now recalled ) he refblved to try the Temporal Sword next, according to the advice Cardinal Baronius gave him; who told him in the Confiftory, That B 3 there Tin Life 0/ there were two things faid to S. Peter, the firft was, feed my Sheep, the other was, Arife and kill ; and therefore fince he had already executed the firfl: part of S. Peters duty, in feeding the Flock y by Exhortations, Admonitions, and Cenfures, without the defiredeffeft, he had nothing left but to arife and kill : and that not being an Age in which Croifades could pafs upon the World ; and the Pope not finding any other Prince that would execute his Bulls, he refblved to make War upon them himfelf, hoping to find alliftance from the Crown of Spain, who, he believed, would be willing to enlarge their Do- minions on that fide : but when all help failed him, and he faw that his Cenfures had not created any diftra&i- 6ns in the Republick, and found their Treafure and Force like to prove a match too hard to theApoftolicalCham- ber, and to fuch Forces as he could levy and pay, he was at laft willing to ac- cept of a mediation, in which the Se- nate, though they were content to de- liver up the two profligate Fryers, yet afferted their Right, and maintained their Laws , notwithftanding all his threatnings ; nor would they fo much as ask parcton, or crave ablblution. But without !Bifl?op Bedell. without going further into matter generally known, I fhalloniy mjiption thofe tilings in which Mr. Bedell had fbme flhare. P. Paulo was then the Divine of the State, a man equally eminent for vaft learning and a moil confiimmated pru- dence,; and was at once one of the greateft Divines, and of the wifeft Men of his Age. But to commend the ce- lebrated Hiftorian of the Council of Trent, is a thing fb needlefs that I may well flop ; yet it muft needs raife the Charafter of Bedell much, that an Ita- lian, who, befides the caution that is natural to the Countrey, and the pru- dence that obliged one in his circum- ftances to a more than ordinary diftruft of all the World, was tyed up by the ftri&nefs of that Government to a ve- ry great refervednefs with all people, yet took Bedell into his very Soul ; and, as Sir Henry Wot ton aifured the lateKing, He communicated to him the inward- eft thoughts of his Heart, and profef- ed that he had learnt more from him in all the parts of Divinity, whether Spe- culative or Praftical, than from any he -had ever converted with in his whole life. So great an intimacy with lb ex- traordinary a perfon is enough to raife B 4 a 8 The Live of a Chara&er, were there no more to be added. P. Paulo went further, for he affifted him in acquiring the Italian Tongue j in which Bedell became fuch a Mafter, that he Ipoke it as one born in Italy j and penned all the Sermons he then preached, either in Italian or La* tine ; in this laft it will appear by the produ&ions of his Pen yet remaining , that he had a true Roman Stile, inferior to none of the Modern Writers, if not equal to the Ancients. In requital of the Inftruftion he received from P. Paulo in the Italian Tongue, he drew a Grammar of the Englift? Tongue for his ufe, and for fome others that defi- red to learn it, that lb they might be able to underftand our Books of Divini- ty, and he alfb tranflated the Englijb Common-prayer Book into Italian ; and P. Paulo and the feven Divines that du- ring the Interdift were commanded by the Senate both to preach and write againft the Popes authority, liked it fb well, that they reiblved to have made it their pattern , in cafe the diffe- rences between the Pope and them had produced the eifeft which they hoped and longed for. The Bifhop Bedell. The intimacy between them grew lb great and fb publick, that when P. Paulo was wounded by thofe Aflaffi- nates that were fet on by the Court of Rome to deftroy fb redoubted an Ene- my, upon the failing of which at^ tempt a Guard was fet on him by the Senate, that knew how to value and preferve fb great a Treafure ; and much precaution was ufed before any were ad- mitted to come to him, Bedell was ex- cepted out of thofe rules, and had free accefs to him at all times. They had many and long difcourfes concerning Religion : He found P, Paulo had read ever the Greek New Teftament with fb much exa&nefs, that having ufed to mark every Word when he had fully weighed the importance of it as he went through it ; he had by going of- ten over it, and obferving v/hat he pall over in a former reading, grownup to that at laft, that every word was mark- ed of the whole New Teftament : and when Bedell fuggefted to him critical explications of fbme paffages that he had not underftood before, he received them with the tranfports of one that leapt for joy, and that valued the difco- veries of divine Truth beyond all other things. During IO 17* Li f e of During his ftay at Venice, the fa- mous Ant. de Dominis Archbifhop of Spa/at a came to Venice ; and having re- ceived a juft character of Mr. Bedell, he difcovered his fecret to him, and fhew- ing him his ten Books De Republics Ec- clefiajiica, which he afterwards printed at London : Bedell took the free- dom which he allowed him, and cor- rected many ill applications of Texts of Scripture, and Quotations of Fathers. For that Prelate being utterly ignorant of the Greek Tongue, could not but be guilty of many miilakes both in the one and the other ; and if there remain fbme places ftill that difcover his igno- rance of that Language too plainly , yet there had been many more, if Be- dell had not correded them: but no wonder if in fuch a multitude fbme efcaped his diligence. De Dominis took all this in good part from him, and did enter into fuch familiarity with him, ind found his afliftance fb ufeful, and indeed fb necefTary to himfelf, that he ufed to fay he could do nothing with-> out him. A paffage fell out during the Inter- dict, that made greater noife than per- haps the importance of it could well amount to : but it was fluted to the Italian (Biftop Bedell. i i Italian Genius. There came a Jefuite to Venice j Thomas Maria Caraffa, who printed a Thoufand Tbefes of Philofb- phy and Divinity, which he dedicated to the Pope with this extravagant Infcri- prion, PAULO V. VICE-DEO Chriftianx Reipublicx Monarch £ inviclif- fimoy & PontificU Omnipotent U confer- 'vatori accerrimo. 'Co Paul t\)t 21. t&e e Lifeo/ much amazed at this, to find that fo extraordinary a Man, that was fo much admired at Venice, by fb good Judges, was notfb much as known in his own Countrey ; and fo he was out of all hope of finding him out, but by a meer acci- dent he met him on the Streets of Lon- den, at which there was a great deal of joy on both fides. And upon that Diodati prefented him to Morton the learned and antient Bifhop of Durefme, and : told how great a value P. Paulo let on him j upon which that Bifhop treated him in a very particular manner. It is true, Sir Henry Wotton was alwayes his firm and faithful Friend ; but his Credit at Court had funk: for he fell under ne- ceflities, having lived at Venice in an expence above his appointments. And as neceflitous Courtiers muft grow to for- get all concerns but their own ; fb their intereft abates,and the favour they are in lefTens, when they come to need it too much. Sir Thomas Jermyn was in more credit, though he was alwayes fufpefted of being too favourable to the Puritans ; fb that his inclinations be- ing known, the character he could give of him, did not ferve to raife him in England. While Bifiop Bedel l. While he was thus neglefred at home, his fame was fpread into Ireland ; and though he was not known either to the famous Bifhop Vfher , or to any of the Fellows of Trinity Colledge in Dublin j yet he was chofen by their una- nimous confent, to be the Head of their Colledge, in the Year 1627. and as that worthy Primate of Ireland, together with the Fellows of the Colledge, writ to him, inviting him to come and accept of that Mafterfhip, fb an Addrefs was made to the King , praying that he would command him to go over. A nd that this might be the more fiiccefsful, Sir Henry Wot ton was moved to give his Majefty a true account of him, which he did in the following Letter, May it pleafe your moft gracious Majefty, HAving been informed. That certain fer Jons have, by the goodWijhes of the Archbishop of Armagh, been directed hi- ther, with a moft humble Petition unto your Majefty, That you will be fie rfed tc make Mr. William Bedell ( now refdent upon- a [mall Benefice in Suffolk ) Governour of your Colledge at Dublin, for the good 3 2 The Lifeo/ of that Society : and my felf being re- quired to render unto your Majejly fome Tejlimony of the faid William Bedell , tv ho was long my Chaplain at Venice, in the time of my imployment there ; I am hound in all Confcience and Truth (fofar as your Majejly will accept of my poor judgment ) to affirm of him, That, I think, hardly a fitter Man could have been propounded to your Majejly in your whole Kjngdom, for fingular Erudition and Piety , Conformity to the Kites of the Church , and Zjal to advance the Caufe of God ; wherein his Tra- vells abroad were not obfcure , in the time of the Excommunication of the Venetians. For , may it pleafe your Majejly to know , That this is the Man whom Padre Paulo took ( I may fay ) into his very Soul, with whom he did communicate the inwardejl Thoughts of his Heart ; from whom he profejfed to have received more knowledge in all Di- vinity , both fcholafiical and pofitive , than from any that he had practifed in his Dayes : of which all the pajfages were well known unto the Kjng your Tat her, of blejfed memory. Andfo with your Majejlies good favour* I will end this nee die fi office : for the general fame of his Learning, his Life > and Chri- (tian fBifhop Bedell. 33 Jlian Temper > and thofe religious La- bours which himfelf hath dedicated to your Majefyy do better defer ibe him than I am able. Your Majefties moft humble and faithful Servant, H. Wotton. But when this matter was propofed to Mr. Bedell, he expreffed lb much both of true Philofbphy, and real Chri- ftianity in the Anfwer that he made to fb honourable an offer, that I will not undertake to give it otherwife than in his own Words, taken from a Letter which he writ to one that had been im- ployed to deal with him in this matter. The Original of this and moft of the other Letters that I let down , were found among the Moit Reverend Pri- mate Vjber's Papers, and were commu- nicated to me by his Reverend and worthy Friend Dr. Pane. D Sir, y 3 4 ll* Lite of Sir, With my hearty commendations re- membred: I have this Day re- ceived both your Letters, dated the 2. of this Month \ I thank you for your care and diligence in this matter. For anfver whereof, although I could have defiredfo much refpite, as to have confer- red with fome of my Friends , fuch as pojfibly do know the condition of that place better than I do , and my infufficiencies better than my Lord Primate ; yet fince that I perceive by both your Letters, the matter requires a fpeedy and prefent an- jwer, thm I (land : I am married , and have three Children \ therefore if the place requires a [ingle Man, the bufweflis at. an end. I have no want, I thank my God, of any thing neceffary for this life ; I have a competent Living of above a hun- dred pound a Tear, in a good Air and Seat, with a very convenient Houfe near to my Friends, a little Pari/h, not exceeding the compafi of my weak Voice. I have of- ten heard it, That changingfeldom brings the better ; especially to thofe that are well And I fee well, That my Wife , ( though s Chrijt > of a Minijler of the Gofpel of a good Patriot, and of an honefi Man. If I may be of any better ufe to my Coun- trey, to Gods Church, or of any better fervice to our common Mafler, I mufi clofe mine eyes againfi all private refpecls} and if God call me, I mufl anfver, Here lam. For my part therefore I will not jlir one Foot, or lift up my Finger, for or againfi this motion ; but if it proceed from the Lord, that is, If thofe whom it con- cerns there , do procure thofe who may command me here , to fend me thither, I {ball obey, if it were not only to go into Ireland, but into Virginia., yea though I D 2 were / 6\ The Life of were not only to meet with troubles, dan- gers, and difficulties y but death it felf in the performance. Sir, I have as plainly as 1 can, fheived you my mind\ de firing you with my humble fervice to reprefent it to my reverend good Lord, my Lord Primate. And God Almighty direcl this affair to the glory of his holy name, and have you in his merciful protection \ fo Ireji From Bury March 6. Your 1616. loving Friend Witt. Bedell. The conclufion of this matter was, That the King being well informed concerning him, commanded him to undertake this charge, which he did cheerfully obey ; and fet about the du- ties incumbent on him, in fuch a man- ner, as fhewed how well he had in> proved the long time of retirement , that he had hitherto enjoyed, and how ripely he had digefted all his thoughts and obfervations. He had hitherto liv- ed iBiJhop Bedell. 37 ed as if he had been made for nothing but {peculation and ftudy ; and now when he entred upon a more publick Scene, it appeared that he underftood the pra&ieal things of Government and humane life fb well, that no man feen> ed to be more cut out for bufinefs than he was. In the Government of the Colledge, and at his firft entry upon a new Scene, he relblved to a<5fc nothing till he both knew the Statutes of the Houfe perfe&ly well, and underftood well the tempers of the people ; there- fore when he went over firft, he car- ried himfelf fb abftra&ly from all affairs, that he paft for a foft and weak Man. The zeal that appeared afterwards in him, fliewed, That this coldnefs was only the effeft of his Wifdom, and not of his Temper : but when he found that fbme grew to think meanly of him, and that even Vjber himfelf began to change his opinion of him : Upon that when he went over to England, fbme Months after ,to bring his Family over to Ireland, he was thinking to have refign- ed his new Preferment , and to have returned to his Benefice in Suffolk ; but the Primate writ fb kind a Letter to him, that as it made him lay down thofc thoughts : fb it drew from him the fol- D 3 lowing 5 8 . The L i * e of lowing Words in the Anfwer that he writ to him. Touching my return? I do thankfully accep your Graces exhortation, advifing me to have Faith inQod, and not toco»- fult with Flefb and Blood, nor have mind of this Comtrey. Now I would to God, that your Grace could look into my Heart,, and fee how little J fear lack ofProviffo», tm pafs upon any outward thing in this World : My chief fear in truth was, and is, left I fhould be ttqfit and unprofitable in the place \ in which cafe,, if I might have a lawful and hone ft retreat, I think m wife Man could blame me to retain it : Efpe daily having under flood that jour x Grace; who/e authority 1 chiefly followed at the firft, did from your own Judgment, and that of other wife Men, fo truly pro- nounce of me, That I was a wtak Man, Now that I have received your Letters fo full of life and encouragement,: it puts fome more life in me. For fire it can- not agree with that goodnefs and ingenui- ty of yours, fraifed among all Gods Graces inyouj bythofe that knaw you, to write one thing t o me, and tofpeak another thing to others of me, or to go about to beguile my fmp licit y with fair Words, laying in the mem while a Net: for. my. Feet^ espe- cially $ifl?oj> Bedel l. jp eia/ly fith my rveaknefi (hall in truth re- dound to the blaming of your own d/fcre- tion in bringing me thither* Thus was he prevailed on to refign his Benefice, and carry his Family to Ireland^ and then he applyed himfelf with that vigour of Mind, that was peculiar to him, to the government of the Colledge. He corrected fuch abufes as he found among them ; he fetfuch rules to them, and faw thefe fb well executed, that it quickly appeared how happy a choice they had made : And as he was a great promoter of learning among them, lb he thought his particular Province was to inftruft the Houfe aright in the Prin- ciples of Religion. In order to this he, catechifed tly? Youth in the Colledge once a Wees , and preached once a Sunday, though he was not obliged to it : And that he might acquaint them with a plain and particular body of Di- vinity , he divided the Church Cate-- chifm into Two and Fifty Parts, one. for every Sunday, and did explain it in a way fo mixed 'with Speculative and Practical Matters, that his Sermons were both learned Lectures of Divinity, and excellent exhortations to Vertue and D 4 Piety : 40 The L i f e of Piety : Many took notes of them, and Copies of them were much enquired after ; for as they were fitted to the ca- pacity of his Hearers, fb they contained much matter in them, for entertaining the moft learned. He had not flayed there above two Years, when by his Friend Sir Thomas Jermyns means, a Patent was lent him to be Bifhop of Kjlmore and Ardagh , two contiguous Sees in the Province of Vlfler. And in the Letters by which the King fig- nified his pleafiire for his Promotion, he likewile exprefled his acceptance of the fervice he had done in the Col- ledge, in very honourable terms as fol- lows : And as we were pleafed by our former gracious Letters to ejlablifh the [aid Wil- liam Bedell , by our Royal Authority in the Provoftfbip of the faid Colledge ofthel&kS.t& Trinity near Dublin, where we are informed that by his care and gopd Government , there hath been wrought great Reformation , to our fin- gular contentment ; fo we purpofe to con- tinue our care of that Society, being the principal Nurfery of Religion and Learn- ing in that our Re aim ; and to recommend unto the Colledge fome fuch per f on from whom we may expect the like worthy ef- fects ®//7;oj> Bedell. 41- fe Us for their good-, as tve and they have found, from Mr. Bedell. And now in the 59/^. Year of his Age, he entered upon a different courfe of Life and Employment , when it might have been thought, that the vi- gour of his Spirits was much broken and fpent. But by his adminiftration of his Diocefs, it appeared that their re- mained yet a vaft heat and force of Spirit to carry him through thofe diffi- cult undertakings, to which he found Jiimfelf obliged by this new Chara&er; which if it makes a Man but a little lower than the Angels, fb that the term Angel is applyed to that Office in Scri- pture, he thought it did oblige him to an angelical courfe of life, and to di- vide his time, as much as could confift with the frailties and neceffities of a Body made of Flefh and Blood , as thofe glorious Spirits do, between the be- hold ing the Face of their Father which is in Heaven , and the miniftring to the Heirs of Salvation : he confidered the Bifhops office made him the Shep- herd of the inferiour Shepherds, if not of the whole Diocefs ; and therefore he refblved to fparehimfelf in nothing, by which he might advance the intereft of Religion among them : and he thought it 4* The Life of it a difingenuous thing to vouch Anti- quity for the Authority and Dignity of that Function , and not at the fame time to exprefs thole Virtues and Pra« cticesthat made it fb Venerable among them. Since the Forms of Church Go- vernment muft appear amiable and va- luable to the Word, not (b much for the reafbnings and arguments that lead- ed Men ufe concerning them, as for the real advantages that mankind find from them. So that he determined with the great Nazianzen, To give Wings to his. Soul, to refcue it wholly from the World* and to dedicate it to God : And not to. think it enough to perform his duty ii\ fuch a manner, as to pals through the reft of his life without reproach : for according to that Father , This was to weigh out Vertue by f mall weights \ but in the Language of that Father he re*, fblved to live, As one that had got above his Senfes , and all fenfible things, that was recollected within himfelf, and had ; attained to a familiarity with divine matters , that Jo his mind might be as-, m unf allied Mir r our, upon which fa might receive and re frefent the impreffes of God A?id divine things, unallyed with the Cha-t racier s of lower objects., \ - He law he would fall lender feme etiyy, and meet with $iJJ?oj) Bedell. 4j with great oppositions , but he confi- clered that as a fort of martyrdome for God, and relblved cheerfully to under- go whatfoever uneafie things he might be forced to fuffer, in the dilcharge of jiis Conscience and Duty. In laying open his defigns and per- formances in this laft and greateft peri- od of his life,I have fuller materials than in the former parts. For my Author was particularly known to him during a large p^rt of it , and {pent feverai Years in his Family ; fo that his oppor- tunities of knowing him were as great as could be defired, and the Bifhop was pf fo gentle a temper, and of (q coitit punicative a nature, that he eafily o- pened himfelf to one, that was taken into his alliance as well as into his heart, he being indeed a Man of primitive fim- plicity. He found his Diocefs under fo many diforders, that there was fcarce a found part remaining; — The Revenue was wailed by exceflive dilapidati- ons, and all facred things had been ex- poled to fale in fo fordid a manner, that it was grown to a Proverb. But I will not enlarge further on the ill things o- thers had done, than as it is neceffary to fhew the good things that were done by him. One of his Cathedrals, Jr- dagh, 44 Tl* Li^eo/ dtgh, was fallen down to the ground, and there was fcarce enough remaining of both thefe Revenues to fupport a Biftiop that was refolved not to fupply himfelf by indire£t and bale methods : he had a very fmall Clergy, but Seven or Eight in each Diocefs of good fuffi- ciency ; but every one of thefe was multiplyed into many Parifhes, they having many Vicarages a piece ; but being Englifh, and his whole Diocefs confuting otlrifi, they were barbarians to them ; nor could they perform any part of divine Offices among them. But the ftate of his Clergy will appear beft from a Letter that he writ to Archbifhop Laud concerning it, which I fhall here infert. Right Bijhop Bedell. 45 Right reverend Father, my honourable good Lord. Since my coming to this place, which was a little before Michaelmas ( till which time, the fettling of the fiat e of the Co/ledge, and my Lord Primate* s Vifita- tion deferred my Confecration ) I have not been unmindful of your Lordjhips com- mands, to advert if e you, as my experience /hould inform me , of the flate of the Church, which I {hall now the better do, becaufe I have been about my Dioceses, And can fet down, out of my knowledge and view, what I /hall relate : and jbort- ly tofpeak much ill matter in a few words, it is very miferable. The Cathedral Church ^Ardagh, one of the mofl an- cient in Ireland, and faid to be built by S. Patrick , together with the Bijhops Houfe there, down to the ground. The Church here, built , but without BeU or Steeple, Font or Chalice. The Pari/h Churches all in a manner ruined, tnd un- roofed, and unrepaired. The p-sc , fa- ving afewBritiih Planters here here, ( which are not the tenth part of tl rem- nant ) obfiinate Recufw::. fijb y 4<$ Tl:e Life of Clergy more numerous by far than we, and in full exercife of all J ur if diet ion Eccle fl- optical, by their Vicar-General and Offici- als ; who are fo confident as they Excom- municate thcfe that come to our Courts, even in matrimonial caufes : which affront hath been offered my f elf by the Popifh Pri- mates Vicar-General } for which I have be- gun a Procefs againfi him. The Primate himfelf lives in my Parifh , within two Miles of my Houfe ; the Bifliop in ano- ther fart of my Diocefs further off. Eve- ry Parijh hath its Priejt \ andfome two or three a piece, andfo their Mafs-Houfes al- fo \ in fome f I aces Mafiisfaidin the Chur* ches. Fryers there are in div erf e places, who go about, though not in their Habit, and by their importunate begging impover* ijh the people ; who indeed are generally ve- ry poor, as from that caufe, fo, from their paying double Tythes to their own Clergy, and ours, from the dearth of Corn, and the death of their Cattle thefe late Tears, with the Contributions to their SoMdiers and their Agents : and which they forget not to reckon among other caufes, the op- preljion of the Court Ecclefiaflical, which in very truth, my Lord, I cannot excufe, and do feek to reform. for our own, there are Seven or Eight Miniflers in each Diocefs of good Jufficiency ; and ( which fBiJhop Bedell. ^ ( which is no fmall caufe of the conti- nuance of the people in Popery ft ill ) Englifh , which have not the Tongue of the people ', nor cm perform any Di- vine Offices , or converfe with them ; and which hold many of them Two or Three, Four, or more Vicarages apiece ; even the Clerkships themf elves are in like manner conferred upon the Englifh ; and fometimes Two or Three, or more, upon one Man, and ordinarily bought and fold or let to farm* His Majefty is now with the greateft part of this Count rey , as to their Hearts and Confciences, Kjng, but at the Popes difcretion. KilmorcApr. i. itfgo. Will. Kilmore & Ardagh. ■ Here was a melancholy profpect to a Man of lb good a mind, enough to have difheartned him quite, if he had not had a proportioned degree of Spi- rit and courage to fiipport him under fo much weight. After he had reco- vered fbmewhat of the fpoils made by his PredeceiTor, and fb put himfelf into a capacity to fubfift, he went about the rein- 48 71?e L 1 f e of reforming of abufes : And the firft that he undertook was Pluralities, by which one Man had a care of Souls in fb ma- ny different places, that it was not pot fible to difcharge his duty to them, nor to perform thofe Vows, which he made at his Ordination, of feeding and inftm£ting the Flock committed to his care. And tho' moft of the Pluralifts did mind all their Parifhes alike , that is, They negle&ed all equally ; yet he thought this was an abule contrary both to the nature of Ecclefiaftical Fun- ctions, to the obligations that the care of Souls naturally imported, and to thofe fblemn Vows that Church-men made at the Altar when they were ordained : And he knew well that this corruption was no fboner obferved to have crept in* to the Chriftian Church, than it was condemned by the Fourth general Coun- cil ztChalcedon. For when fbmethat had removed from one Diocefs to ano- ther, continued to have their fhare in the dividend of the Church , which they had left, as well as of that to which they had gone ; the Council decreed , That fiich tranfgreffours fhould reftore . all that they had got from the Church, which they had left, and fhould be de- graded, if they refuted to fubmit to this regulation* IBiJhop Bedell. 49 regulatioil. He thought it a vain, and indeed an impudent thing, for a Man to pretend that he anfwered the obli- gation of lb facred a truft, and io ho- ly a VoWj by hiring fbme mercenary Curate to perform Offices : fince the Ob- ligation was perfbnalj and the ecclefi- aftical Functions were not like the Lc- vitical Service in the Tempie, in which theobferving their Rites, was all that was required. But the watching over Souls had fb many other things involved in it, befides officiating according to the Rubrick* that it drew this fevere refle- ction from a witty Man , in which though the Wit of it may feem too pleafant for fo ferious a fubjefl:, yet it had too much fad truth under it \ Thai when fuch Betrayers and Abandonees of that trtifi which Chrifl purchaf d with his own Bloody found good and faithful Curates that performed worthily the ob- ligations of the pajloral Care, the Incirm- hent jhould he faved by Proxy 7 but be damned in Per/on* Therefore, the Bi- {hop gathered a meeting of his Cler- gy, and in a Sermon with which he o- pened itj he laid before them, both out of Scripture, and Antiquity, the Initi- tution> the Nature, and the Duties of the Minifterial Imployment ; and after E Ser- yo 77;e Lifeo/ Sermon he (poke t6 them largely oh the fame fubjeft in Latin, ftiling them, as he alwayes did, His Brethren and fellow Presbyters : And exhorted them to reform that intolerable abufe, which as it brought a heavy fcandal on the Church, and gave their Adversaries great advantages againft them ; fb it muft very much endanger both their own Souls, and the Souls of their Flocks. And to let them fee that he would not lay a heavy Burthen on them, in which he would not bear his own fhare, he refblved to part with one of his Bifhop- ricks. For though Ardagh was con- sidered as a ruined See, and had long gone as an acceffory to Kjlmorej and continues to be fb ltill ; yet fince they were really two different Sees , he thought he could not decently oblige his Clergy to renounce their Pluralities, unlefs he fet them an example, and re- nounced his own ; even after he had been at a confiderable charge in reco- vering the Patrimony of Ardagh , and though he was fufficiently able to difcharge the duty of both thefe Sees, they being contiguous , and fmall ; and though the Revenue of both did not exceed a competency, yet he would not feeni to be guilty of that which he Sjjbop Be DEI Li he fb feverely condemned in others: And therefore he refigned Ardagh to Dr. Richardfon', and fo was now only Bifhop oiKjlmore. The Authority of this example, and the efficacy of his Difcourfe, made fuch an impreffiori on his Clergy, that they all relirtquiihed their Pluralities. Tne Arguments that arife out of intereft are generally much ftronger than thofe of mere (peculation , how well fbever it be made out ; and therefore this concurrence that he met with from his Clergy in lb lenfible a point, was a great encouragement to him to go on in his other defigns. There feemed to be a Finger of God in it ; for he had no authority to compel them to it, and he had managed the minds of his Clergy fb gently in this matter, that their compliance was not extorted, but both free and unanimous. For, one on- ly excepted , they all fubmitted to it : and he being Dean, exchanged his Dea- nery with another ; for he was afha- med to live in the Diocefs, where he would not fiibmitto fuch terms, after both the Bifhop himfelf and all his Cler- gy had agreed to them. But the oppo- fition that was given him by the Dean^ and both his fenfe of that matter, and his carriage in it, will appear from the E 2 following 5 % The Life 0/ following Letter, which he writ con- cerning it to the Primate ; which , though it be long and particular , yet it feemed to me too important to be either foiled or abridged. •Moft reverend Father, my honourable good Lord, I Cannot eafily exprefs what contentment I received at my late being with your Grace at Termonfeckin. There had no- thing hapned to me, I will not fay, fince I came into Ireland, but, as far as I can call to remembrance , in my whole life, which did fo much affect me in this kind, as the haz,zard of your good opinion. For y loving and honouring you in Truth (for the truths fake y which is in m r and fh all abide with us for ever ) without any pri- vate inter eft, and receiving fo unlookt for a blow from your own Hand, ( which I expected jhould have tenderly apply edfome remedy to me, being fmitten by others ) I had not prefent the defences of Reafon and Grace. And although I knew it to be a fault in my felf fince in the perfor- mance of our duties, the judgment of our Mafter, even alone, ought to fuffice us, yet Utifoop Bedell. 53 yet I could not be fo much M after of mine -Affections as to caft out this weaknefs. But bleffed be God, who (as 1 began to J ay) at my being with you refrejhed my Spi- rit by your kind renewing and confirming your love to me : and all humble thanks to you, that gave me place to make my Defence, and took upon you the cognifance of mine innocency. And as for mine Ac- cufer (whofe hatred I have incurred only by not giving way to his covet om deft re of heaping Living upon Living, to the evi-. dent damage, not only of other Souls com- mit ted to him, but of his own ) truly I am glad, and do give God Thanks that this malignity, which a while masked it f elf in the pretence of friendship, hath at laft dif- covered it felf by publick oppofttion. It hath not, and I hope it fljall not be in his power to hurt me at all ; he hath rather foamed him f elf : and, although his high Heart cannot give his Tongue leave to ac- knowledge his folly, his Vnd,erftanding is not Jo weak and blind as not to fee it. Whom I could be very well content to leave to toft the Fruit of it alfo, without being further t rouble fome to your Grace, Jaw that I do not defpair, but your Grace 1 s Authority will pull him ou^ of the fnare of Satan, whofe inftrument he hath been to crofs the Work of God , and give me E J more J4 T% e L i v e of more occafion of joy by his amendment , than I had grief by his per v erf on and op- pofttion. Tour Graces Letters of Aug, 23. were not delivered to me tiU the 29th. In the mean fpace what ejfe££ thofe that ac- companied them had with Mr. Dean yoa fball perceive by the inclofed which rvexe fent me the 28th. the Evening before our Communion. I anfwered them the next Morning, as it here annexed. As I was at the Lor£s Table , beginning the fer~ MM of the Communion before the Sermon r he came in, and after the Sermon was done* thofe that communicated not being de- parted, he flood forth and fpake to this furpofe : That whereas the Book of Commoa Erayer requires, That before the Lord's Supper , if there be any variance or breach of charity, there fhould be re- conciliation ; this was much more re- quifite between Minifters: And becaufe they all knew that there had been fome difference between me and him , he did profefs, That he bare me no malice nor hatred, and if he had offended me in any thing, he was lorry. / anfwered. That he had good reafbn to be forry,. confidering how he had behaved him- felf. For my part I bare him no ma- lice, ©J^of. Bedell. 55 lice, and if it were in my power, would not make fb much as his Finger ake. Grieved I had been that hejn whom I knew there were many good Parts , would be- come an inflrument to oppofe the Work of God, which I was affured he had called me to- This was all that paffed. He of- fered himfelf to the Lord's Board., and I gave him the Communion- After Din- ner he preached out of i Joh. 4. 10. And this Commandment have we from him, thathe that loveth God, &c. When we acme out of the Qhurch y Dr. Sheriden delivered me your Grace* s Letters. And thus Mr. Dean thinks he hath healed all, as you may perceive by his next Letters of 'Auguft 50. Only he labours about KiU dromfarten. Wlvereabouts Ipurpofed to have fpoken with your Grace at my being with you \ but I know not how it ca?ne not to my mindy whether it be that the Soul, as well as the body, after fome travel ea~ fily fallethto rejl ; or elfe God would have it referved perhaps to a more feafonable time. It is now above a Twelvemonth ( the Day in many refpefts I may well wifb that it may not be reckoned with the dayes of the year) that your Grace ? as it were ', de- livered to me with your own Hands, Mr. Crian 4 converted Fryer. To whom E 4 / 5 6 Tlie Live of I offered my felf as largely as my Ability would extend unto : though I had already at your Grace*s commendation received Mr. Duafterville to be in my Houfe, with the allowance of Twenty Pound per ar> num. The next Day before my depart- ing, Mr. Hilton made a motion to me, That where he had in his Hands fufficient to make the Benefice of Kildromfarten void, if I would bejlow it upon Mr. Dean he would do fo\ otherwise it Jhould re- main in ftatu. ; / anfwered with profefli- qn of my love and good opinion of Mr. Dean, whereof I fhewed the reafons. J added, I did not know the place nor the people, but if they were mere Irifh, I did not fee how Mr. Dean fhould dif charge the duty of aMimfker to. them. This motion was fe- conded by your Grace ; But fo as I eafily conceived, That being follicited by your old Servant, you could do. no lefs than you did', and notwtfhfiandingthe Lecture he promi- fed your Grace jhould be read to me in ihe matter of Collations , would not be dif pleafed, if I did as became me, accord- ing to my Conference , and in confor- ms' y to your former motion for Mr. Crian. Mr. Dean after prefied me, that, if with- out my concurrence your Grace would, conferr that Living upon him, I would not be againft it \ which I premzfed, but heard Bijhop Bedell. 57 heard no more of it till about April laJF, In the mean while the Benefice next unto that which Mr. Dunfterville was already fpjfejfed of, falling void : Mr. Crian not coming to me, nor purpofwg to do fo till after Chriftmas, andwhenfoever hejhould. come, my Houfe, as I found, not afford- ing room for him and Mr. Dunfterville both, whofe former Bene fee was unable, he f aid, to maintain him, chiefly he promi- fing Rejidence, and taking of me for that purpofe an Oath, abfolutely without any exception of Dif pen fat ion, I united it to his former, and difmijfed him to go to his Cure ', wherein how carelejly he hath be- haved himfelf y I forbear to relate. To return to Mr. J)ean. About mid-April he brought me a Prefentation to Kildrom- farten under the broad Seal. I could do no lefs but Jignifie to the Incumbent, who came tome, and maintained his Title, re- quiring me not to admits Whereupon I returned the Prefentation, indorfing the re of on of my refufal ; and being then occasi- oned to write to the Lords Jujlzces, Ifigni- fed what I thought ofthefe Pluralities, in a, time when we are fo far overmatcht in number by the. adverfepart. This pajfed on till the Vifit.ation ; wherein Mr. Dean /hewed him f elf in his Colours. When the Vicar of Kildromfarten was called , he faid f f$ 77* Li Ftf /aid, he was Vicar ; but would exhibit e noTitle. After, the Curate, Mr. Smith, fignified to me, That his Stipend, was un- paid, and he feared it would be JIM in the contention of two Incumbents. Upon thefe and other Redfons, I feqweftred-t he- Profit s,which I have heard by a Simonaical compact betwixt them Jhould be for this Tear the former Incumbents. Neither did Mr. Dean write or fpeak a Word to me hereabout, till the day before the Com- munion in the inclofed. That very Morn- ing I was certified that he purpofed to ap^ peal to your Grace, which made me in an- fwer to his next to add, Quod facias, fac citius. Here I be fee eh your Grace give me leave to fpeak freely touching this matter, fa much the rather, becaufe it is the onfy root of all Mr. DeanV defpite againfi me. Plainly I do thus think , That of all the dtfeafes of the Church in thefe times, next to that of the corruption of our Courts, this of Pluralities is the moft deadly and pefiilent, efpeci ally when thofe are inftituted into charges Ecclefiaftical , who, were they never fo willing, yet for want of the Language of the (people, are unable to difcharge them. Concerning fthich very Point, I know your Grace re* members the Propositions of the learned and zealom (BiJJ?of> Bedell. *a xeatbjis Bijhop of Lincoln before Tope Innocent. / will not add the Confefjion of our Jdverfaries themj elves in the Council of Trent, nor the judgment of that good Father, the Author of the Hiftory there- of , touching non-Re fidency. Let the thing it felffpeak* Whence flew the igno- rance of the people, the negleci of Gods worjhip, and defrauding the Poor of tht remains of dedicate things, the rmne of the manfion-Houfesof the Minifiersy the defolation of Churches, the fw allowing up of Parifhes by the Farmers of them, but from this Fountain ? There may be caufe y no doubt, why fometimes, in fome place, and to fome Man, many Churches may be committed \ but now that, as appears by the late Certificates, there are, befides the titular Primate and Bi(hop, ofPriefts in the Dioceffes of Kilmore and Ardagh, 66. of Minifters and Curates but 32. of which number alfo 3. whofe wives came not to Church : In this Jo great odds as the adverfaries have of tit in number , ( to omit the advantage of the Language, theppjfeffion of peoples Hearts, the coun- tenancing of the Nobility and Gentry, Is it a time to commit matiy Churches to one Man, whom I will not difable , and he faith he hath a very able Interpreter ,. „ and I think no lefs ( which made me once to 60 *TI:e Life of to fay, That Iwouldfooner confer the Bene- fice of Kildromfarten upon him than upon himfelf, which refolution I do yet hold, in how ill part foever he take it.JBut what hath he done in the Varices already committed to him, for the infiruttion of the Irifh, that we fhould commit another unto him ? he that cannot perform his duty to one without a helper, or to that little fart of it whofe Tongue he hath, is he Jujficient to do it to three ? No it is the Wages is fought, not the Work. Andyet with the means he hath already, that good Man his Predeceffor maintained a Wife and a Fa- mily \ and cannot he in his folitary ( he had once written Monkifh J life defray himfelf? Well, if there can he none found fit to dif charge the duty, let him have the Wages to better his maintenance. But when your Grace affureth us we /hall lack no Men, when there is hefides Mr. Crian ( whom Dr. Sheriden hath heard preach as a. Frier in that very place ; which I account would he more to Gods Glory, if there now he fhonld plant the Truth , which before he endeavoured to root out ) hefides him we have Mr. Nugent, who offereth himfelf in an honeft and difcreet Letter lately written to me, we have fun- - « dry in the Colledge, and namely, two train- ed up at the Irifh Lecture, one whereof hath Bijhop Bedell. 6\ hath tranflated your Grace's Catechifm into Irifh ; be fides Mr. Duncan and others', with what colour can we pafs by thefe ; and fuffer him to fat himfelf with the blood of Gods people ? Pardon me, I befeech your Grace, when I fay We : I me an not topre- fcribe any thing to yon ; my felf I hope y fljall never do it, or confcnt to it. And fo long a>s this is the caufe of Mr. Dean'/ wrath again jl me, whether I fuffer by his Pen or his Tongue, I fljall rejoyce, as fuf- fer ing for Right eoufnefs fake. And, fit h himjelf in his lafl Letter excufes my in- tent, I do fubmit my actions after God, to your Grace's Cenfure, ready to make him fat isf action, if in any things, in word or deed, I have wronged him. For conclufion of this bufinefs ( where- in I am forry to be fo troublefome to your Grace ) let him Jurceafe this his greedy and impudent pretence to this Benefice , let Mr. Nugent be admitted to it , or Mr. Crian, if he be not yet provided for : To whom I will hope ere long to add Mr. Nugent for a Neighbour, *> *i ft *?%piv 9 If thefe fecond ( quejlionlefs bet- ter ) thoughts have any place in him ; as in his lafl Letters he gives fome hope, let my complaints againft him be caft into the Fire. God make htm an humble and mode [I Man. But if Mr. Dean will needs ■ perfifl, 6i The Lif e of perfifi, I befeech your Grace to view my Reply, to the which I will add no more* As touching his traducing me in your RuU pit at Cavan, / have fent your Grace the Teftimonies of Mr. Robinibn and Mr. Teate ; although he had been with them before, anddeniedwhat they former*, ly conceived. And if your Grace-will be p leafed to enquire of Mr. Cape, by a line or two, (with whom I never fpake Word about the matter ) or compare the Heads of his Sermon (which he faith were ge- neral ) with his former Reports made of me, I doubt not but you will foon find the truth. I have fent alfo his Pro-tefiation againfi my Vi fit at ion, wherein I de fire your Grace to obferve the blindnefs of Malice : He pretends that I may not vifit but at or after Michaelmas every fear. As if the Month of July , wherein I vifited , were not after Michaelmas : For before the laft Michaelmas / vifited not. I omit that he calls himfelf the Head of the Chapter. The Canon Law calls the Bijhop Jo : he will have the Bifhop vifit the whole Diocefs together ; directly con- trary to that form, which the Canons prefcribe. But this Protejlation having neither hat in , nor Law , nor common Senfe', doth declare the skill of him that drew fftfhfy Bedell. drew it, and the Wit of him that ufes it. which, if your Gtate injoyn him not to re- voke it, I /ball be inforccd to put remedy unto otherwife, in refpeff of the evil ex- am fie and prejudice it might bring to po- ferity. And now to leave this unplea- fing fubjeff. Since my being with you, here was with me Mr. Brady, bringing with him the re f gnat ion of the Benefice of Mullagh , which I had conferred upon Mr. Dunfterville, and united to his former of Moybolke ; He brought with him Letters from my Lord of Cork, and Sir William Parfbns, to whom he is alli- ed. But examining him, I found him • ( be- fides a very raw Divine ) unable to read the Irifh, and therefore excufed my felf to the Lords for admitting him. A few Dayes after, viz. the i oth. of this Month, here was with me Mr. Dunfterville him- felf, and Jignified unto me that he had re- voked his former Ref gnat ion. Thus he playesfafi andloofe, and mofl unconfcicn- ably neglects his duty. Omnes quae fua (lint, quaerunt. Indeed I doubted his R e- fignation was not good, in as much as lx retained fill the former Bene fee, where- unto this was united. Now I fee clearly there wds a compact between him and Mr Brady*, that if the fecond could not be admitted, he fhduld re fume his . Bene fee a- gain*- I 6\ Ttje L t f e of I have received Letters from Mr. Dr. Warde, of the Date of May 28. in which he mentions again the point of the jujlification of Infants by Baptifm. To whom I have written an anfver, hut not yet fent it. I fend, herewith a Copy thereof to your Grace , humbly requiring your advice and cenfure ( if it be not too much to your Grace s trouble ) before I fend it. I have alfo written an anfver to Dr. Richardfbn in the queflion touching the root of Efficacy or Efficiency of Grace ; but it is long, and confifis of 5>or 6.Jheets % of Paper, jo a* I cannot now fend it \ I /hall hereafter fubmit it, at all other my endeavours, to your Grace* s cenfure, and correction. I have received alfo a large anfver from my Lord of Deny, touch- ing juftifying laith ; whereto I have not yet had time to reply \ nor do I know if it be worth the labour, the difference being but in the manner of teaching, As whether jufiifying Faith be an ajfent working affi- ance ; or etfe an affiance following Ajfent. I wrote pre fently upon my return from your Grace to my Lords Juflices, defiring to be excufed from going in per f on to take fojfejfion of the Mafs-Houfe \ and a Certi- ficate that my fmt with Mr. Cook is de- fending before them. I have not as yet received anfwer, by reafon ( as Sir Wil- liam (Bijbo^ Bedell. 6$ liam Ufher fignified to my Son ) the Lord Chancellor's indifpofuion did not per- mit his hand to be gotten. I do fcarce hope to receive any Certifi- cate from them, for the refpett they will have not to feem to infringe your Grace's Jurifdiifion. Whereupon I Jh all be infor- ced to entertain a Protlor for me at your Grace 7 s Court, when I am next to appear, it being the very time when my Court in the County of Leatrym was fet before I was with you. Jfhamed I am to be thus tedious. But I hope you will par don me ^ fit h you requi- red, and I promifed, to write often ; and having now had opportunity to convey my Letters, this mufi ferve in fie ad of ma- ny : Concluding with mine and my Wives humble fervice to your Grace and Mrs. Ufher, and thanks for my kind en- tertainment I defire the blejjing of your Prayers, and remain alwayes Your Grace's KilmorCjScpt. humble Servant, Will. IQlmore & Ardagb. The 66 Tl?e Life of The condemning Pluralities was but the half of his Project. The next part .of it was to oblige his Clergy to refide in their Parifhes : but in this he met with a great difficulty. King James upon the laft reduction ofVlfler after Ty- rone's Rebellion, had ordered Glebe-lands to be afligned to all the Clergy : And they were obliged to build Houfes up- on them, within a limited time, but in afligntng thofe Glebe-lands y the Com- miffioners that were appointed to exe- cute the Kings Orders, had taken no care of the conveniences of the Clergy : For in many places thefe Lands were not within the Parifh, and often they lay not all together, but were divided in parcells. So he found his Clergy were in a (trait. For if they built Houfes up- on thefe Glebe-lands y they would be thereby forced to live out of their Pa- rifhes , and it was very inconvenient for them to have their Houfes remote from their Lands. In order to a reme- dy to this, the Bifhop that had Lands in every Parifh afligned him, refblved to make an exchange with them, and to take their Glebe-lands into his own hands for more convenient portions of equal value that he afligned them : and that ®j/7;o/> Bedeu.' 67 that the exchange might be made upon a jufl: eiiimate, fb that neither the Bi- fhop nor the inferiour Clergy might dif- fer by it, he procured a Commiflion from the Lord Lieutenant, foribmeto examine and fettle that matter, which was at laft brought to a conclusion with lb univerfal a fatisfa&ion to his whole Diocefs , that, fince the thing could not be finally determined with- out a Great Seal from the King, con- firming all that was done, there was One fent over in all their names to ob- tain it ; but this was a work of time, and fb could not be finifhed in feveral Years : and the Rebellion broke out before it was fully concluded. The Lord Lieutenant at this time was Sir Thomas Wentxvorth, afterwards Earl of Strafford j a name too great to need any enlargement or explanation : for his Chara£ter is well known. At his firft coming over to Ireland, he was pof felTed with prejudices againft the Bifhop . upon the account of a Petition fent up by the County of Cavan, to which the Bifhop had fet his hand, in which fbme complaints were made, and fbme regu- lations were propofed for the Army : Which was thought an infblent attempt, and a matter of ill example. So that F 2 Strafford, 62 Die Life of Strafford, who was fevere in his ad- ministration, was highly difpleafed with him: And when any Commiffion or Order was brought to him, in which he found his name , he dafhed it out with his own Pen; and expreffed great indignation againft him. When the Bi- fliop underftood this, he was not much moved at it, knowing his own inno- cence; but he took prudent methods to overcome his difpleafure. He did not go to Dublin upon his coming over, as all the other Bifhops did, to congratu- late his coming to the Government: but he writ a full account of that mat- ter to his conftant Friend Sir Thomas Jermm, who managed it with lb much zeal, that Letters were lent to the De- puty from the Court, by which he was lb much mollified towards the Bilhop, that he going to congratulate, was well received,and was ever afterwards treated by him with a very particular kindnefs. So this Storm went over, which many thought would have ended in impri- fbnment, if not in deprivation. Yet how much fbever that Petition was miftaken, he made it appear very plain, that he did not defign the putting down of the Army: For he law too evident- ly the danger they were in from Pope- (Bijhop Bedell. 6 ta maintain him and his regalities contra omnem hominem, and to execute his Mandates to the uttermojl of their For- ces \ which accordingly they do , Jliling themf elves in Print , Ego N. Dei & Apoftolicae Sedis gratia Epifcopus Fer- mien & Offorien. I that knew there is in the Kjngdom for the moulding of the peo- ple to the Popes obedience ', a rabble of irre- gular Regulars y commonly younger Bro- thers of good HoufeSy who are grown to that info lency, as to advance themf elves to be members of the Ecclefiajlical Hierar- chy in better ranks than Priejls , in fo much that the cenfure of the Sorbon is fain to be implored to curb them y which yet is called in again.) fo tender is the Pope of his own Creatures. I that knew that IBiflnp Bedell. y\ that his Holinefs hath erected a new Vni- verfity in Dublin to confront his Ma- yflies Col/edge there, and to breed the youth of the Kjngdom to his Devotion , of which Vniverflty one Paul Harris, the Author of that infamous libel, which was put forth in Print againft my Lord Ar- mache Wanfted Sermon, ftileth himfelf in Print to be Dean : I that knew and have given advert if ement to the State, that thefe Regulars dare er eel: new Fry- eries in the Count rey, fince the dijfolving of thefe in the City, that they have brought the people to fuch afottijh fenfelefnefs, as they care not to learn the Command- ments as God himfelf fpake , and writ them \ but they flock in great numbers to the preaching of new Juperftitiom and del eft 'able. Doctrines , fuch as their own Priefls are ajhamed of ', and at all thofe they levy Collections, Three, Four, Five, or Six Pounds at a Sermon. Shortly, I that knew that thofe Regulars and this Clergy have at a general meeting like to a Synod, as t he mf elves ftile it, decreed, 'that it is not lawful to take an Oath cf Allegiance \ and if they be conflant to their own Doctrine , . do account his Majefly in their Hearts to be Kjng but at the Popes difcretion. In this ft ate of F 4 this y^ Tl:e Life of this Kjngdom, to think the Bridle of the Army may be taken away, jhould be the thought not of a brain-Jick, but of a brain- lefs Man. The day of our delive- rance from thePopifli Powder Plot, Anno Yo ur Lordsfhip's in all Duty, Will. Kilmore. By his cutting off Pluralities there fell to be many Vacancies in his Diocefs, lb the care he took to fill thefe, comes to be confidered in the next place. He was very ftriQ: in his Examinations be- fore he gave Orders to any. He went over the Articles of the Church of Ire- land lb particularly and exa-ftly ? that one who was prefent at the Ordina- tion of him that was afterwards his Arch-Deacon, Mx .Thomas Price, repor- ted that though he was one of the Se- nior Fellows of the Colledge of Dublin , when theBifhop was Provoft; yet his Examination held two full Hours : And when he had ended any examina- tion, which was alwayes done in the pre- BiJJiop Bedell. 75 prefence of his Clergy, hedefired eve- ry Clergy-Man that was prefent to ex- amine the perfbn further,ir they though^ that any material thing was omitted by him ; by which a fuller dilcovery of his temper and fufficiency might be made. When all was ended, he made all his Clergy give their approbation before he would proceed to Ordination: For he would never affume that fingly to bimfelf,nor take theLoad of it wholly on his own Soul. He took alio great care to be well informed of the moral and reli- gious qualities ofthofe he ordained, as well as he fatisfied himfelf by his Exami- nation of their capacity and knowledge. He had alwayes a confiderable number of hisClergy affifting him at his Ordina- tions, and he alwayes Preached and ad- miniftred the Sacrament on thofe occa- fions himfelf : And he never ordained one a Presbyter, till he had been at leaft a year a Deacon, that fo he might have a good account of his behaviour in that lower degree, before he railed him high- er. He lookt upon that power of Or- dination as the moft {acred part of a J3ifhop's truft, and that in which the .Laws of the Land had laid no fort of impofition on them, fb that this was jntirely in their Hands, and therefore he thought 74 *fl> e L i f e of thought they had fb much the more to anfwer for to God on that account ; and he weighed carefully in his thoughts the importance of thofe Words , Lay bands fuddenly on no Man, and be not a partaker of other Mens Sins. There- fore he ufed all the precaution that was poflible for him in fb important an affair. He was never prevaiPd on by any recom- mendations nor importunities to ordain any , as if Orders had been a fort of Free- dom in aCompany,by which a Man was to be enabled to hold as great a portion of the Eccleflaftical Revenue as he could compafs, when he was thus qualified : Nor would he ever ordain any without a title to a particular Flock. For he thought a title to a maintenance was not enough ; as if the Church fhould only take care that none in Orders might be in want ; but he law the abufes of thofe emendicated titles, and of the Va- grant Priefts that went about as Jour- neymen, plying for Work, to the great reproach of that facred Imployment ; arid in this he alfo followed the Rule fet by the fourth general Council that carri- ed this matter fb high, as to annul all Or- ders that were given without a particu- lar designation of the Place, where the perfbn was to ferve.- For he made the Primitive fB//7;op Bedell, 7j Primitive times his Standard, and re- lolved to come as near it as he could , confidering the corruption of the Age in which he lived. He remembred well the grounds he went on, when he re- futed to pay Fees for the Title to his Benefice in Suffolk, and therefore took care that thofe who were ordained by him, or had Titles to Benefices from him, might be put to no charge : For he wrote all the Inftruments bimfelf, and delivered them to the perlbns to whom they belonged, out of his own Hands, and adjured them in a very fb- jemn manner, to give nothing to any of his Servants, And, that he might hin- der it all that was poflible, he waited on them alwayes on thole occafions to the Gate of his Houfe, that fb he might be fure that they fhould not give any gratification to his Servants. He thought it lay on him to pay them fuch conve- nient wages as became them, and not to let his Clergy be burthened with his Servants. And indeed the abufes in that were grown to fuch a pitch, that it was neceffary to correQ; them in fb exempla- ry a manner. His next care was to obferve the be- haviour of his Clergy ; he knew the fives of Churchmen had generally much more Tk Life of more efficacy than their Sermons , or other labours could have ; and fb he fet himfelf much to watch over theManners of his Priefts ; and was very fenfibly touched, when an Irishman faid once to him in open Court , That the Kjngs Priefts were as had as the Popes Priefts, Thefe were fb grofly ignorant, and fb openly fcandalous , both for drunken- nefs, and all fort of lewdnefs, that this was indeed a very heavy reproach: Yet he was no rude nor morofe Reformer, but confidered what the times could bear. He had great tendernefs for the weaknefi of his Clergy, when he faw reafbn to think otherwife well of them : and he helpt them out of their troubles, with the care and compaflion of a Fa- ther. One of his Clergy held two Li- vings;but had been coufened by aGentle- man of Quality to farm them to him for lefs than either of them was worth ; and he acquainted the Biihop with this ; Who upon that writ very civilly, and yet as became a Bifhop, to the Gentle- man, perfwading him to give up the bargain : but having received a fiillen and haughty anfwer from him, he made the Minifter refign up both to him ; for they belonged to his Gift, and he provided him with another Benefice , and ^Bifhop Bedell. yy and put two other worthy Men in thefe two Churches, and fo he put an end both to the Gentleman's fraudulent bargain, and to the Churchman's Plu- rality. He never gave a Benefice to any without obliging them by Oath to perpetual and peribnal refidence , and that they fhould never hold any other Benefice with that. So when one Bu- chanan was recommended to him, and found by him to be well qualified, he offered him a Collation to a Benefice, but when Buchanan law that he was to be bound to Refidence, and not to hold another Benefice ; he that was already poffeiTed of one, with which he refbl- ved not to part, would not accept of it on thofe Terms. And the BiLhop was not to be prevailed with to difpenfe with it, though he liked this Man fo much the better, becaufe he found he was akin to the great Buchanan, whole Paraphrafe of the Pfalms he loved be- yond all other Latin Poetry, The La- tin form of his Collations will be found at the end of this Relation, which con- cluded thus ; Obtejling you in the Lord, See at the and enjoy ning you , by venue of that 5^ . obedience which you owe to the great Shep- herd, that you will diligently feed his Flock committed to your care, which he purcha- fid 78 The Life of fed with his own Blood ; that you inftruti them in the Catholick Faith, and perform Divine Offices in a Tongue underfiood by the people : and above all things that yoit jbew your felf a pattern to Believers in food Works, fo that the adverfaries may e put to jhame, when they find nothing for which they can reproach you. He put all the Inftruments in one, whereas devices had been found out, for the in- creafe of Fees, to divide thefe into fe- veral Writings : nor was he content to w 7 rite this all with his own hand, but fbmetimes he gave Indu&ion likewife to his Clergy ; for he thought none of thefe Offices were below a Bifhop : and he was ready to eafe them of cliarge all he could. He had by his zeal and earneft endeavours prevailed with all his Prefc byters to refide in their Parishes ; one only excepted, whole name was John- fon. He was of a mean Education, yet he had very quick Parts, but they lay more to the Mechanical than to the Spiritual Architecture. For the Earl of Strafford ufed him for an Engineer, and gave him the management of fbme great Buildings that he was raifing in the County of Wicklo. But the Bifhop finding the Man had a very mercurial Wit, and a great capacity, he relblved to fBifbop Bedell. 79 to fet him to work, that fb he might not be wholly ufelefi to the Church ; and therefore he propofed to him the compofingan univerfal Chara&er, that might be equally well underftood by all Nations : and he fhewed him, that fince there was already an univerfal Mathe- matical Chara&er, received both for Arithmetick, Geometry, and Aftrono- my, the other was not impoffible to be done. Jobnjlon undertook it readily, and the Bifhop drew for him a Scheme of the whole Work, which he brought to flich perfection, that, as my Author was informed, he put it under the Prefs, but the Rebellion prevented his finifh- ■ingit. After the Bifhop had been for many years carrying on the Reformation of hisDiocefi, he refblved to hold a Synod of all his Clergy, and to eftabiifh lome Rules for the better government of the Flock committed to him : The Canons then eftablifhed will be found at the end of this Work. He appointed that a Sy- *g « thc nod fhould be held thereafter once a Nu lib. i. Year, on the Second Week of Septem- ber ; and that in the Biflhop's abience, his Vicar General, if he were a Prieft, or his Arch-Deacon fhould prefide ; That no Vicar fhould be. conftituted after 80 Tl?e Lif e of after that, unlefs he were in Orders, and fhould hold his place only du- ring the Bifhop's Pleafure. He revived the ancient cuftome of Rural Deans , and appointed, That there fhould be three for the three Divifions of his Dio- cefs ; who fhould be chofen by the Cler- gy, and fhould have an infpe&ion into their deportment, and make report to the Bifhop of what paft among them, and tranfmit the Bifhop'sOrders to them; and that once a Month the Clergy of each Divifion fhould meet, and Preach by turns, without long Prayers or Pre- ambles : And that no Excommunication fhould be made but by the Bifhop in perfbn, with the affiftance of fuch of his Clergy as fhould be prefent. The reft related to fome things of left importance, that required amendment. When the News of this was carried to Dublin , Ibme faid it was an illegal Affembly, and that his prefuming to make Canons, v/as againft Law , and brought him within the guilt of a Prxmumre. So that it was expe£ted that he fhould be brought up as a Delinquent, and cen- fured in the Starr-Chamber , or High Commiffion-Court : But others lookt on what he had done, as nothing but the neceffary difcharge of his Epifcopal Fun&ion. \iJJ?9p Bedell. Fun&ion. And it teemed ftrange if fbme Rules laid down by common con- tent, for the better Government of the Diocefs, fhould have furnifhed matter for an Accufation or Cenfiire. His Arch~Deacon,that was afterwards Arch- biflhop of Cajbtllj gavefuch an account of this matter to the State, that nothing followed upon it. The Bifhop had in- deed prepared fuch a Juftification of him* felf, as would have vindicated him fully before equitable Judges, if he had been .questioned for it. Archbifhop Vfber, who knew well how much he could fay for himtelf upon this Head , advited thofe that moved that he might be brought up upon it, To let him alone, left he fhould be thereby provoked to fay more for himtelf, than any of his Accuters cpuld fay againft him. When he made his Viikations, he a!- wayes preached himtelf , and admini- ftred the Sacrament ; and the bufinefs of his Vifitations was, what it ought truly to be, to obterve the ftate of his Diocefs, and to give good Inftru&ions both to Clergy and Laity. The Vifi- tations in Ireland had been matters of great Pomp and much Luxury, which lay heavy on the inferiour Clergy. Some flight enquiries were made, and thofe G chiefly 8 z The L i f e of chiefly for Forms lake; and indeed no- thing was fo much minded, as that which was the reproach of them, the Fees , that were exacted to fuch an intollerable degree, that they were a heavy grievance to the Clergy. And as the Bifhops Vifitation came about every Year ; fb every third Year the Archbi- fhop made his Metropolitical Vifitation, and every feventh Year the Kings Vi- fitation went round : And in all thefe as they were then managed , nothing feemed to be fb much aimed at,as how to fqueeze and opprefs the Clergy, who were glad to purchafe their Peace by paying all that was impofed on them, by thofe levere Exa&ors. Thefe Fees at Vifitations were not known in the Pri- mitive Times, in which the Bifhop had the whole Stock of the Church in his hands to defray what expence necelTari- ly fell on him, or his Church. It is true, when the Metropolitan, with other BiQiops, came and ordained the Bifhop at his See, it was but reafbnable that their expence fllould be difcharged ; and this came to be rated to a certain Summ, and was called the Inthroniftick : and when thefe grew unreafbnably high, the Emperours reduced them to a cer- tain proportion, according to the Re- venues Sifiop Bedell, 8j venues of the Sees. But when the Bi- fhops and the inferiour Clergy came to have diitinQ: Properties, then the Bi- fhops exa&ed of their Clergy that which other VafTalls owed by their Tenure to the Lord of the Fee , which was the bearing the expence of their Progreis : but when they began firft to demand thole Subfidies from their Clergy, that Praftice was condemned, and provifio'n was made, That in cafe a Bifhop was fo poor that he could not bear the charge to which his Vifitation put him, he lhould be fupplyed by the richer Bifhops about him ; but not prey upon his Cler- gy. And both Charles the Great, ancj nis Son Lewis took care to fee this exe- cuted : Yet this abufe was ftill kept up, lb that afterwards, in ftead of putting it quite down, it was only regulated, fo that it might not exceed fuch a pro- portion ; but that was not obferved : So that an arbitrary Tax was in many places levied upon the Clergy. But our Bifhop reformed all thefe excefies, and took nothing but what was by Law and Cuftome eftablifhed, and that was imployed in entertaining the Clergy : And when there was any overplus, he fent it alwayes to the Prifons, for the re- lief of the Poor. At his Vifitation he G 2 made 84 3& Lhe 0/ made his Clergy fit all with him, and be_ .covered, whenever he himfelf was covered. For he did not approve of the State , in which others of his Order made their Vifitations ; nor the diftance to which they obliged their Clergy. And he had that Canon often in his Mouth, That a Presbyter ought not to be Utfiand after the Bifhop was Jet. He was much troubled at another abufe which was, that when the Metropolitical and Regal Vifitations went round, a Writ was ferved on the Bifhops, fufpending their Jurifdi&ion for that year: And when this was firft brought to him, he received it with great indignation , which was increafed by two Claufes in the Writ : By the one it was afferted, That in the year of the Metropolitans Vifitation, the whole and entire Jurif diction of the Diocefs belonged to him \ the other was the Reafbn given for it, Becaufe of the great danger of the Souls of the people : Whereas the danger of Souls rife from that fiifpenfion of the Bifhops Paftoral power ,-. \ ,'fince during that Year he either could not do the duty of a Bifhop ; or if he would ex- ercifeit, he muft either purchafe a De- legation to a& as the Archbifhop's De- puty, and that could not be had with- out (Blfhop Bedell. 8f out paying for it, or be lyable to a Suit in the Prerogative Court. He knew the Archbifhop's power over Bifhops was not founded on Di- vine, or Apoftolicalright, but on Ec- clefiaitical Canons and Practice, and that it was only a matter of Order, and that therefore the Archbifhop had no Authority to come and invade his Paftoral Office, and fufpend him for a Year. Thefe were fbme ofthevvorft of the abufes that the Canonists had introduced in the later Ages ; by which they had broken the Epilcopal Authori- ty, and had made way for vefting the whole power of the Church in the Pope. He laid thole things often before Archbi- fhop Vjber, and preft him earneftly to let himfelf to the reforming them, fince they were afled in his name, and by vertue of his Authority deputed to his, Chancellour, and to the other Officers of the Court, called the Spiritual Court J No Man was more fenfible of thofe a- *j bufes than Vfher was ; no Man knew the beginning and progrefs of them bet- ter, nor was more touched with the ill eftefts of them : and together with his great and vaft learning, no Man had a better Soul and a more Apoftolical mind. In his converfation he expreffed the true G j fimplici- B6 Tl>e Li fe of fimplidty of a Chriftian : For Paflion, Pride, felf-Will ', or the Love of the World, feemed not to be fb much as in his Nature. So that he had all the innocence of the Dove in him. He had a way of gaining peoples Hearts, and of touching their Conferences that lookt like fomewhat of the Apoftolical Age revived ; he fpent much of his time in thofe two beft Exercifes, fecret Prayer, and dealing with other peoples Confci- ences, either in his Sermons or private Difcourfes ; and what remained he dedi- cated to his Studies, in which thole ma- ny Volumes that came from him, fhew- ed a molt amazing diligence and exa£i> nefs, joyned with great Judgment- So that he was certainly one of thegreateft and beft Men that the Age, or per- haps the World, has produced: But no Man is intirely perfect ; he was not made for the governing part of his Fun- ftion. He had too gentle a Soul to man- age that rough Work of reforming Abu- fes : And therefore he left things as he found them. He hoped a time of Re- formation would come : He faw the ne- ceffity of cutting off many abules, and confeifed that the tolerating thofe abomi- nable corruptions that the Canonifts had brought in, was fuch a ftain upon a Church, IBiJhop Bedell: 87 Church, that in all other refpe&s was the beft reformed in the World, that he apprehended it would bring a Curie and Ruine upon the whole Conftitution. But though he prayed for a more fa- vourable conjun&ure, and would have concurred in a joynt Reformation of thefe things very heartily ; yet he did not beftir himfelf fuitably to the Ob- ligations that lay on him for carrying it on : And it is very likely that this fat heavy on his thoughts when he came to dye ; for he prayed often, and with great humility, That God would forgive him his fins of OmifTion, and his failings in his Duty. It was not wit&oiit great uneafinefs to me that I overcome my felf fb far, as to fay any thing that may feem to diminifh the Character of fb extraordinary a Man, who in other things was beyond any Man of his time, but in this only he fell beneath himfelf: And thofe that upon all other accounts loved and admired him, lamented this defeft in him : which was the only al- lay that feemed left, and without which he would have been held, perhaps, in more veneration than was fitting. His Phyfician Dr. Booties, that was a Dutch- man, faid truly of him, If our Primate ^Armagh were as exacl a Dijciflinarian? G 4 as 88 Tl?e Liu of as he is eminent in fe arching Antiquity y defending the Truth , and preaching the Go/pel, he might without doubt deferve to be mad.e the chief Churchman of Chrifien- dome. But this was neceffary to be told, fince Hiftory is to be writ impartially ' 7 and I ought to be forgiven for taxing his Memory a little ; for I was never fb tempted in any thing that I ever writ, to difguife the Truth, as upon this oc- cafion : Yet though Bifhop Vjher did not much himfelf, he had a fingular e- fteem for that vigour of Mind, which pur Bifhop expreiTed in the reforming fhefe matters. And now I come to the next inftance of his Paftoral care, which made more noife , and met with more oppofition, than any of the for- mer. He found his Court, that fat in his name, was an entire abufe : It was ma- naged by a Chancellour, that had bought his place from his Predeceffor ; and fo thought he had a right to all the Profits that he could raife out of it, and the whole bufinefs of the Court teem- ed to be nothing but Extortion and Oppreflion. For it is an old obfervati- on, That men, who buy Juftice, will alio fell Jt, Bribes went about almoft barefaced, and the exchange they made of $iJl?op Bedel l. 8p of Penance for Money was .the worft fort of Simony ; being in effeft the ve- ry fame abufe that gave the World fuch a fcandal when it was fb indecently pra- ftifed in the Church of Rome, and o- pened the way to the Reformation. For the felling of Indulgences is really but a commutation of Penance.He found the Officers of the Court made it their bufinefs to draw people into trouble by vexatious Suits , and to hold them fo long in it that for three Pence worth of the Tithe of Turf, they would be put to five Pounds charge. And the fbleiru> eft and facredeft of all the Church Cen- tres, which was Excommunication, went about in fb fordid and bafe a man- ner, that all regard to it, as it was a Spi- ritual Cenfure, was loft, and the effefts it had in Law made it be cryed out on as a moft intolerable piece of Tyranny. The Officers of the Court thought they had a fort of right to opprefs the Na- tives, and that all was well got that was wrung from them. And of all this the good Primate was fb fenfible , that he. gives this fad account of die Venality of all facred things in a Letter to the Arch- bifhop of Canterbury : As for the ge- neral fiat e of things here, they are fade- fperate ? that I am afraid to write any thing po Tlit Li fe of thing thereof. Some of the adverfepart have asked me the Queftion , Where I have heard or read before, that Religion and Mens Souls fhould be fet to fale, af- ter this manner ? Vnto whom I could r&- ply nothing? but that I had read in Mantu- an, That there was another place in the World where Coelum eft venale, Deiifque. Both Heaven and God himfelf are fet to f ale. But our Bifhop thought knot enough to lament this; he refblved to do what in him lay to correct thefe abufes, and to goe and fit and judge in his own Courts himfelf. He carried a competent number of his Clergy with him, who fate about him, and there he heard Caufes, and by their advice he gave Sentence. By this means fb many Caufes were difmift, and fuch a change was wrought in the whole Proceedings of the Court, that inftead of being any more a grievance to the Countrey, none were now grieved by it but the Chan- cellour, and the other Officers of the Court ; who faw their Trade was funk, and their Profits were falling ; and were already (BiJl?of> Bedell. g t already difpleafed with the Bifhop, for writing the Titles to Benefices himfelf, taking that part of their Gain out of their Hands. Therefore the Lay Chancel- lour brought a Suit againft the Bifhop into Chancery, for invading his Office. The matter was now a common Caufe ; the other Bifhops were glad at this ftep our Bifhop had made, and encouraged him to go on refblutely in it, and at fured him they would ftand by him : and they confefTed they were but half Bifhops till they could recover their au- thority out of the hands of their Chan- cellours. But on the other hand all the Chancellours and Regifters of Ireland combined together ; they faw this ftruck at thofe Places which they had bought, valuing them according to the Profits that they could make by them : and it cannot be denyed but they had rea- lon to move, That if their places were regulated, the Money, by which they had purchafed that right to fqueeze the |Countrey, ought to have been reftored. The Bifhop defired that he might be filtered to plead his own Caufe him- felf; but that was denyed him, which he took ill : But he drew the Argu- ment that his Council made for him ; for it beins? the firft Suit that ever was of 91 T?;e Life of of that fort, he was more capable of compofing his Defence than his Councel could be. He went upon thefe Grounds, That one of the moil effential parts of a Bi- fhop's duty was to govern his Flock, and to inflid the Spiritual Cenfures on obftinate Offenders : That a Bifhop could no more delegate this power to a Lay-man, than he could delegate a pow- er to Baptize or Ordain, fince Excom- munication and other Cenfures were a fufpending the Rights of Baptifm and Orders;and therefore the judging of thefe things could only belong to him that had the power to give them : and that the de- legating that power was a thing null of it felf. He fhewed, That feeding the Flock was inherent and infeparable from a Bi- fhop, and that no Delegation he could make, could take that power from him- felf ; fince all the effeft it could have, was to make another his Officer and Deputy in his abfence. From this he went to ftew how it had been ever lookt on as a neceffary part of the Bifhop's Duty, to Examine and Cenfure the Scandals of his Clergy and Laity in Ancient and Modern times : That the Roman Em- perours had by many Laws fupported the Credit and Authority of thefe Courts, BiJ]?oj) Bedell. Bedell. j>j the nullity of his Patent. I have heard of my Lord of attempt, and I do believe. That if this Patent had due form, I could not overthrow it ; how un- equal foever it be. But failing in the ef- fential farts, be fides fundry other defeats, I do not think any reafonable creature can adjudge it to be good. I (hall more at large cert if e your Grace of the whole matter, and the reafons of my C ounce I herein. I (hall defire herein to be tryed by your Grace's own Judgment, and not by your Chancellors ; or f as I think infuch a cafe I ought to be) by the Synod of the Province. I have re- folved to fee the end of this matter : and do defire your Grace's favour herein no farther than the equity of the Caufe and the good,as far as lean judge ,of our Church in a high degree do require. So with my humble Service to your Grace, andreffeft- ful commendations to Mrs. Ufher, J reft Kilmorc^Oftob. 2 *' 1629 ' i Your Grace's in all duty, Will. Kilmore. Moil y6 Tlx Li feo/' Mod reverend Father,rny honourable good Lord, THe report of your Grace's indifpo- fit ion, borv forrowful it was to me y the Lord knows* Albeit the fame was fomewhat mitigated by other News of your better eft ate* In that fluctuation of my mind (perhaps like that of your health ) the Saying of the Apoftle ferved me for an Anchor , That none of us liveth to himfelf, neither doth any dye to himfelf. For whether we live , we live to the Lord ; or whether we dye, we dye to the Lord. Whether we live therefore or dye, we are the Lords. Thereupon from the bottom of my Heart commending your eft ate , and that of the Church here, (which how much it needs you, He knows be ft ) to our common Mafter, though I had writ- ten large Letters to you, which have lain by me fundry Weeks, fearing in your fick- nefs to be troublefome ; / thought not to fend them, but to attend fame other oppor- tunity after your pre fent recovery tofend,or perhaps bring them. When I under flood by Mr. Dean of his journey, or at leaft fend- ing an exprefs Mejfenger to you with other Letters ; BiJJlOp B E D E LL. p7 Letters ; putting me alfo in mind, That perhaps it would not be unwelcome to you to hear from me, though you forbare to an- frver. I yielded to the example and condi- tion : fo much the rather, becaufe I remem- bered my [elf a Debtor to your Grace by my • promife of writing to you more fully touch- ing the Reafons of my difference with Mr. Cooke ; and now afuiter in your Court at hisinftance. And, Fir ft, Ibefcech your Grace, let it be a matter meerly of merriment, that I skirmifh a little with your Court touching the Inhibition and Citation which thence proceeded againft me, as you [ball perceive by the inclofed Recufation. For the thing it felf, as I have written, I do fubmit it wholly to your Grace 1 s decision. And to enlarge my felf a little, not as to a Judge, but a Father, to whom, be fides the bond of your undeferved love, I am bound alfo by an Oath of God , I will pour out my Heart unto you, even without craving pardon of my boldnefs. It will be perhaps fome little diver fion of your thoughts from your own infirmity, to under (land that you fffer not alone, but you in Body, others other- wife , each mujl bear his Crofs, and follow the fteps of our high M after. My Lord, finceit p leafed God to call me to this place in this Church, what my intentions have H been p 8 The Life of been to the dif charge of my 'duty, he befi knows. But I have met with many im- pediments and difcoiiragements , and chief- ly from them of mine own Profejfion in Re- ligion. Concerning Mr. Roile , / ac- • quaint ed your Grace: Sir Edward Bag- ihaw, Sir Francis Hamilton, Mr. Wil- liam Flemming, and diver fe more have been, and yet are, fulling from the Rights of my Church. But all thefe have been light in refpetl of the dealing of fome o- thersy profeffing me kindnefs, by whom I have been blazed a Papifl, an A r mini an, & Neuter, a Politician, an Eauivocator, a niggardly Houfekeeper, an Vfurer : That I bow at the name of Jefus , pray to the Eafl , would pull down the Seat of my Predecejfor to fet up an Altar, deny- ed burial in the Chancel to one of his Daughters : and to make up all, That I compared your Grace s preaching to one Mr. Whiskins, Mr. Creighton, and Mr. Baxters ; and preferred them : That you found your f elf deceived in me. Thefe things have been reported at Dublin, and fome of the bejl affeffed of mine own Dio- cefs ( as hath been told me ) induced here- by to bewail with tears the mifery of the Church : fome of the Clergy alfo, as it was faid, looking about how they might remove themf elves out of this Countrey. Of all this Bijhop Bedell 99 this I beard but little , till Mr. Price, coming from Dublin before Chriftmas to be ordered Deacon, having for his memo- ry fet down Twelve Articles , among x number of Points more, required fatisfa^ ttion of me concerning them. Which I endeavoured to give both to him, and to them of the Miniftry , that met at our Chapter for the examination of Mr Cookes Patent. Omitting all the reft ', yet be- caufe this Venome hath fpread it felf fo far, I cannot but touch the loft, touching the preferring others to your Grace 1 s preaching. To which Mr. Price'/ anfwer was, as he told me, I will be quartered if this be true. Thus it was, Mr. Dunfter- ville acquainted me with his purpofe to preach out of Prov. 20.6. But a faith- ful Man who can find ; where he faid, the Doctrine he meant to raife was this, That Faith is a rare gift of God. I told him I thought he miftook the mean- ing of the Text , and wifhed him to choof longer Texts, and not bring his Difcotr- fes to a Word or two of Scripture \ but rather to declare thofe of the Holy Ghoft. He faid your Grace did fo fome times. I anfwer ed, there might be ju ft caufe, but I thought you did not fo ordinarily. As for thofe Men, Mr. Whiskins, and the reft, I never heard any of them preach H 2 to ioo The Li f e of to this day. Per adventure, their manner is to take longer Texts'^ rvhereufon the comparifon is made up, as if I preferred them before you. This (lander did not much trouble me. I know your Grace will not think me fuch a Fool ( if I had no fear of God ) to prefer before your exc el- lent gifts. Men that I never heard. But look as the French Proverb is. He that is difpofed to kill his Dog, tells Men he is mad: And whom Men have once wronged, unlefs the Grace of God be the more, they ever hate. Concerning the wrongs which t he fe people have offered me, I fh all take another ft time to inform your Grace. Where they fay, Tour Grace doth find jour f elf deceived in me, I think it may be the truefl word they f aid yet. For indeed I do think both you and many more are . deceived in me, accounting me to have fome hone fly, difcretion, and Grace, more than you will by proof find. But if as it feems to me, that form hath this mean- ing that they pretend to have undeceived you, I hope they are deceived \ yea I hope they fhall be deceived , if by fuch courfes as thefe they think to unfettle me ; and the Devil him f elf alfo, if he think to dif ■ may me. !BiJJ?op Bedell. ioi I will go on in the flrength of the Lord God , and remember his right e on jnefs , even his alone, as by that reverend and good Father my Lord of Canterbury , when I firji came over, I was exhorted , and have obtained help of God to do to this day. But had I not work enough before, but I mufi bring Mr. Cooke upon my top ? One that for his Experience, Purfe, Friends, in a Cafe already adjudged , wherein he is ingaged, not only for his profit, but re- putation alfo, will eafily no doubt overbear me. How much better to fludy to be qui- et, and to do mine own bujinefs ; or, as I think Staupitius was wont to bid Lu- ther, go into my Study and pray. My Lord, all thefe things came to my mind, and at the fir ft I came with a refolution to take heed to my felf, and, if I could, to teach others moderation and forbear- ance by mine own example. But I could not be quiet, nor without pity hear the complaints of thofe that re fort ed to me, fome of them of mine own Neighbours and Tenants, called into the Court, common- ly by information of Apparitors, hoi den there without juft caufe, and not difmif- fed without exceffive Fees, as they ex- claimed. Laftly , one Mr. Mayot, a Mini ft er of the Diocefs of A rdagh , made H 5 a r lo2 Tlie Life of a complaint to me, That he was excommu- nicated by Mr. Cooke, notwithftanding, as J heard alfo by others, the correction of Minijlers was excepted out of his Pa- tent. Whereupon I defired to fee the Pa- tent, and to have a Copy of it , that I might know how to govern my f elf He faid Mr. Ask, being then from home , jhould bring it to me at his return. Him- f elf went to Dublin to the Term. At the frfl view I faw it was a formlefs Chaos of Authority, conferred upon him againji all reafon and equity. I had not long af- ter, occafion to call the Chapter together at the time of Ordination. Ifhewed the Original, being brought forth by Mr. Ask ? defired to know if that were the Chap- ter Seal, and thefe their Hands ', they acknowledged their Hands and Seal, and faid they were lefs careful inpaffing it, be- caufe they accounted it did rather concern my Predecejfor than them.l fihewed the falfe Latin, Non-fenfe, Injujtice of it, Preju- dice to them, Contrariety to it J elf, and the Kjngs Grant to me. I (hewed there were in one Period above 500 Words , and, which pajfed the reft, hanging in the air without any principal Verb. I defired them to consider if the Seal hanging to it were the Bifbofs Seal \ they acknowledged it was not. Therefore with prot eft a/wn y That (Bijhop Bedell. 103 That I meant no way to call in quejlion the fufficiency of Mr. Cooke or his for- mer Acts, I did j'tdge the Patent to be void, and fo declared it ; inhibiting Mr- Cooke to do any thing by venue thereof and them to affift him therein. This is the true Hijlory of this bufwefi howfo- ever Mr. Cooke difgaife it. Ifufpend him not abfent, and indi&a caufa \ it was his Commifjion, which wasprefent,thatl viewed ', which j with the Chapter, teen fired ; which if he can make goo d\ he ji ball have leave , and time, and place enough. And now to accompliflj my promt fe ? to relate to your Grace my purpofe here- in. My Lord I do thus account, that to any work or enterprise, to remove impedi- ments is a great part of the performance. And amongfl all the impediments to the work of God amongfl us, there is not any one greater , than the abufe of Ecclefi- ajlical Jurifditfion. This is not only the opinion of the mofl Godly, judicious, and Learned Men that I have known ', but the caufe of it is plain. The people pierce not into the inward and true Rea- fons of things ; they are fenfible in the Purfe. And that Religion that makes Men that profefi it, and jhews them to be defpifers of the World, and fo far from encroaching upon ethers in matter of 5 4 bafc io4 ^ :e Life of bafegain, as rather to part with their own ; they magnifie. This bred the admiration of the Primitive Chrifiians, and after of the Monks. Contrary caufes muft needs produce contrary effects. Wherefore let us preach never fo painfully, andpioufly : I fay more, let us live never fo blame le fly our felves, fo long as the Officers in our Courts prey upon them, they efteem us no better than Publicans and Worldlings : and fo much the more defervedly, becaufe we are called Spiritual Men, and call our f elves reformed Chrijlians. And if the honefteft and bejl of our own Prot eft ants he thus fcandalized, what may we think of Papifts, fuch as are all, in a manner , that we live among ? The time was when I hoped the Churcjo of Ireland was free from this abufe, at leaf freer than her Sifter of England : But I find I am de- ceived \ whether it be that diftance of place, and being further out of the reach of the Scepter ofjuftice, breeds more boldnefs to offend, or necejfartly brings more delay of redrefi. I have been wont alfo in Ire- land, to except one Court, (as he doth Plato ) but truft me my Lord , I have heard that it is faid among great perfo- r nages here, That my Lord Primate is a good Man j but his Court is as corrupt as others. Some fay worfe , and which y !BiJJ)op Bedell, 105 I confefi to your Grace, did not a little terrife me from vi fining till I might fee how to doit with Fruity that of your late Vt fit at ion they fee no profit, but the taking of Money. But to come to Mr. Cooke, of all that have exercifed Jurifidiclion in this Land thefe late Tears , he is the mofl noted Man, and moft cryed out upon. Info- much as he hath found from the Iriih, the nickname of Pouc : Albeit he came off with credit when he was *queftioned , and jujlified him f elf by the Table of Fees, ( as by a leaden Rule any Stone may be ap- proved as well as hewed jr. By that little I met with fiince I came hither •, / am indu- ced to believe , it was not for lack of matter-, but there was fome other courfie of his eficaping in that TryaL By this pretended Commi/Jion, and that Table of Fees, he hath taken in my Predecejfors time, and feeks to take in mine for Ex- hibits at Vifuations, and his Charges there above the Bfijof s Procurations, for Uni- ons, Sequejlrations, Relaxations, Certi- ficates , Licences , Permutations of Pe- nance , Sentences ( as our Court calls them ) Interlocutory in Caufes of Corre- ction. Such Fees as I cannot in my Confidence think to be jujl. And yet he doth it in my Name, and tells me I can- not [io6 The Life of not call him into queflion for it. Alas y my Lord ! if this be the condition of a Bifhop, that he ftandeth for a Cypher, and only to uphold the Wrongs of other Men y What do I in this place ? Am I not bound by my ProfeJJion made to God in your prefence*. and following your Words , To be gentle and merciful for Chrifis fake to poor and needy people, and fuch as be deflitute of help. Can I be excu- fed another day, with this*, that thus it was ere I cftme to this place y and that it is not good to be over jufi I Or, fith I am perfwaded Mr. Cooked Patent is un- jufi and void, am I not bound to make it fo i and to regulate, If I may, this mat- ter of Fees, and the reft of the diforders of the Jurifdiclion, which his Majejly hath intrufled me withal? Tour Grace faith, Truly it is a difficult thing 7 if not impof- fible, to overthrow a Patent fo confirmed ; and I know in deliberations it is one of the moft important confiderations , what we may hope to effect* But how can I tell till I have tryed : To be difcouraged ere 1 begin, is it not to confult with Fle/h and Blood ? Verily I think fo. And therefore mufl put it to the Trial , and leave the fuccefi to God. If I obtain the Caufe , the Profit (hall be to this poor Nation ; if not , I fh all /hew my confent to thofe my !BiJ!?op Bedell. 107 my Reverend Brethren that have endea- voured to redrefs this enormity before me ; Ifhall have the tcflimony of mine own Con- ference, to have J ought to dif charge my du- ty to God and his People. Tea, which is the main, the work of my Miniftry jind fervice to this Nation, foall receive fur- therance howfoever rather than any hin- der ance thereby. And if by the continu- ance offuch opprejfions any thing fallout otherwife than well, I fhall have acquitted my felf towards his Maje/ly > and thofe that have engaged them} f elves for me. At lafi I {hall have the better reajon and ju- fler caufe to refign to his Majejly the ju- rif diction which I am not permitted to manage. And here I befeech your Grace, to confider ferioufly whether it were not happy for ut to be rid of this Charge, which not being proper to our Calling, is not pof fible to be executed without fttth Deputies, as fubjecf m to the ill conceit of their un- j'ifl or indijereet carriage, and no way fur- ther our own Work ? Or if it fijall be thought fit to carry this load fill, whether we ought pwt to procure fome way to be df charged of the envy cf it, and redrefs the ahufe, with the greatef ftriffnefs we can devtfe ? For my part I cannot bethink me of any ccurfe fitter for theprefent, than to keep the Courts my felf, and fet fome good IO 8 Tl?e Life of good order in them. And to this purpofe I have been ^Cavan, Belturbet, Gra- nard, and Longford, and do intend to go to the refl y leaving with fome of the Miniftry there, a few R tiles touching thofe things that are to be redrejfed, that if my health do not permit me to be always pre- fent y they may know how to proceed in my abfence. I find it to be trite that-TuWy faith, Juftitia mirifica quGsdam res muU titudini ; and certainly to our proper work a great advantage it is to obtain a. good opinion of thofe we are to deal with. But be fides this there fall out occafions to fpeak of God and his prefence, of the Re- ligion of a Witnefs, the danger of an Oath, the purity of a Marriage y the precioufnefs of a good name, repairing of Churches , and the like. Re nance it f elf may be en- joynedy and Penitents reconciled , with fome profit to others befides themf elves. Wherefore y albeit Mr. Cooke were the juftefl Chance/lour in thisKjngdomeyl would think it ft for me, as things now ft andy to fit in thefe Courts ; and the rather fith I cannov be heard in the Pulpits to preach as I may in them : Albeit innocency and Ju- ft ice is alfo a real kind of preaching. I have /hewed your Grace my intentions in this matter. A T owJhould I require your dire- ction in many things, if I were prefent with IBiftop Bedell. iop with you. But for the prefent it may p leaf e you to under ft and, that at Granard one Mr. Nugent, a Nephew as I take it to my Lord ofW eftmeath delivered his Let- ter to Mr. Aske , which he delivered me in open Court, requiring that his Te- nant might not he troubled for Chriflnings, Marriages, or Funerals, fo they pay the Minijler his due. This referred to a Letter of my Lord Chancellors to the like purpofe, which yet was not delivered till the Court was rifen. I anfvered ge- nerally, That none of my Lord!s Tenants or others Jhould be wronged. The like motion was made at. Longford, by two or three of the Farralls, and one Mr. Faga- mh,and Mr. RoiTe to whom I gave the like anfwer, and added, That I would be Jlriff in requiring them to bring their Children to be Baptized, and Marriages to be fo- lemnized likewife with m y fi:h they acknow- ledged thefe to be lawful and true , fo as it was but wilfulnefs if any forbare. Here I dejire your Grace to direct me. For to give way that they fljould not be fo much as called in quejlion, feems to fur- ther the Schifm they labour to make To lay any pecuniary mulcl upon them, as the value of a Licence for Marriage , three Pence or four Pence for a Chrijlning, I know not by what Law it can be done. To Excom* 1 1 o Tk Life of Excommunicate them for not gearing or obeying? they being already none of our bo- dy? and a multitude ; it is to no profit? nay rather makes the exacerbation worfe. Many things more I have to confer with your Grace about, which I hope to do co- ram ; as about the re-edifying of Churches? or employing the Mafs-houfes? ( which now the State inquires of) about Books, Te* jiaments ? and the Common Prayer Book ? which being to be reprinted would perhaps be in fome things bettered : But especially about Men to ufe them ? and Means to maintain them? now that our Englifh have engroffed the Livings, About the printing the P falter? which I have caufed to be di- ligently furveyed by Mr. James Nangle, who advifeth not to meddle with the Verfe? but fet forth only the Profe : Which he hath begun to write out fair to the Prefs. Mr. Murtagh King / have not heard of a long time? I hope hegoeth on in the Hijlo- rical Books of the Old Tejlament. Air. Cri- an was with me about a Forthnight after I came to Kilmore ; fince J heard not of him. Of all thefe things? if by the will of God? I may make a journey over to you? we fljallfpeak at full. As I was clofing up thefe? this Morning? there is a complaint brought me from Ar- dagh, That where in a caufe Matrimoni- al Bijhop Bedell. uf al in the Court At Longford, a Woman had proceeded thus far, as after contefta- tion, the Husband was enjoyned to appear the next Court to receive a Libel \ one Shaw-oge, Mr. Ingawry, the Popifh Vi- car General of Ardagh, had excommuni- cated her, and (he was by one Hubart, and Mr. Calril* Priefl upon Sunday loft, put out of the Church and denounced excom- municate. Herein, whether it were more fit to proceed againjl the Vicar and Priejl by vertue of the lafi Letters from the Coun- cil y or complain to them : I jhall attend your Graces advice. And now for very fljame ceafmg to be troublefome, I do re^ commend your Grace to the protection of our merciful Father, and reft, with my refpe- Hive falut at ions to Mrs. Ufher, Kilmorc, Feb. li ' lii$ ' Your Grace's in all duty, Will. Kilmore & Jrdagben. The 1 1 7f Tlie Lit £ cf The other Bifhops did not ftand by our Bifhop in this matter ; but were contented to let him fall under Cen- fiire, without interpofing in it as in a cauie of common concern : Even the excellent Primate told him , The tide went fo high that he could affift him no more *, for he flood by him longer than any other of the Order had done. But the Bifhop was not difheartened by this. And as he thanked him for aflifting him fb long ; lb he (aid he was refblved by the help of God, to try if he could ftand by himlelf. But he went home, and refblved to go on in his Courts as he had begun , notwithstanding this Cenfure. For he thought he was doing that which was incumbent on him, and he had a Spirit fb made, that he refbl- ved to fuller Martyrdome, rather than fail in any thing that lay on his Con- ference. But his Chancellour was ei- ther advifed by thofe that governed the State, to give him no disturbance in that matter ;' or was overcome by the autho- rity he faw in him, that infpired all peo- ple with reverence for him : For as he never called for the ioo Pound Cofts, fb he never difturbed him any more, but named a Surrogate, to whom he gave order ifhop Bedel l. i i .Ofder to be in all things obfervant of the Biffiop, and obedient to him : So it feems, that though it was thouglit fit to keep up the Authority of the Lay Chancelloursover Ireland, and not to fiitfer this Bifhop's practice to pais in- to a Precedent ; yet order was given un- der hand to let him go on as lie had be- gun ; and his Chancellour had lb great a value for him, that many Years after this , he told my Author , That he thought there was not fuch a Man on the face of the earth as Bifhop Bedell was ; that he was too hard for all the Civilians in Ireland, and that if he had not been born down by meer force, he had overthrown the Confifto- rial Courts, and had recovered the Epis- copal Juriftli£tion out of the Chancel- lours hands. But now that he went on undifturbed in his Epifcopal Court he made ule of it as became him, and not as an Engine to raife his power and do- minion ; but confidering that all Church power was for Edification, and not for Deftru£tion, he both difpenfed that Ju- ftice that belonged to his Courts equal- ly and fpeedily, and cut off many Fees and much expence,which made them be formerly fo odious \ and alio when fcan- dalous per Ions were brought before I bim 1 14 Tfo Li f e vf him to be cenfured, J he confidered that Church-Cenfures ought not to be like the a&s of Tyrants, that puniih out of revenge, but like the Dtfciplin^ of Pa* rents,that correft in order to the amend- ment of their Children : So he ftudfeH chiefly to beget in all offenders a true fenfe of their fins. Many of the lri{b Priefts were brought oft into his Courts for their lewdneis ; and upon that he took occafion with great mildnefi, and without fcofting, or infiiltings to make them fenfible of that tyrannical impofi- tion in their Church, in denying their Priefts leave to marry, which occafion- ed fbmuch impurity among them ; and this had a good effeft on fbme. This leads me to another part of his Chara&er, that muft reprefent the care he took of the Natives ;. he obferved with much regret that the Englifb had all along neglefted the Irifb y as a Na- tion not only conquered but undifci- plineable : and that the Clergy had fcarce confidered them as a part of their Charge, but had left them wholly into the hands of their own Priefts, without taking any other care of them , but the making them pay their Tytltes. And indeed their Priefts were a ftrange fort of peo- ple, that knew generally nothing but the fBiJbop Bedell.' I i J the reading their Offices, which were not fb much as underftood by many of them : and they taught the people no- thing but the faying their Paters and Aves in Latin. So that the ftate both of the Clergy and Laity was fuch, that it could not but raife great compaflion in a Man that had fb tender a fenfe of the value of thofe Souls that Chrift had pur- chafed with his Blood 2 therefore he re- fblved to fet about that Apoftolical work of converting the Natives with the zeal and care that fb great under- ftanding required. He knew the gain- ing on fbme of the more knowing of their Priefts was like to be the quickeft way ; for by their means he hoped to fpread the knowledge of the reformed Religion among the Natives ; or ra- ther of the Chriftian Religion, to fpeak moreftrictly. For they had no fort of notion of Chriftianity, but only knew that they were to depend upon their Priefts, and were to confefs fuch of their a&ions, as they call fins, to them ; and were to pay them Tythes. The Bifhop prevailed on feveral Priefts to change, and he was fb well fatisfied with the truth of their converfion, that he pro- vided fbme of them to Ecckfiaftical Be- nefices : which was thought a ftrange I 2 tiling, n6 Tie Li*e oj thing, and was cenfured by many, as contrary to the intereft of the Englifb Nation. For it was believed that all thole Irijb Converts were ftill Papifts at Heart, and might be fb much the more dangerous, than otherwife, by that dif guile which they had put on. But he on the other hand confidered chiefly the duty of a Chriftian Bifhop : he alio thought the true intereft of England was to gain the Irijb to the knowledge of Religion, and to bring them by the means of that which only turns the heart to love the Engltjh Nation : And fb he judged the wildom of that courfe was apparent, as well as the piety of it. Since fuch as changed their Religion would become thereby fo odious to their own Clergy ,that this would provoke them to further degrees of zeal in gaining others to come over after them : And he took great care to work in thofe whom he trufted with the care of Souls, a full con- viftion of the truth of Religion, and a deep fenfe of the importance of it. And in this he was lb happy,That of all theCon- verts that he had railed toBenefices,there was but one only that fell back, when the Rebellion broke out : And he not only apoftatized, but both plundered and killed the Englifb among the firft. But (Bifhop Bedell. 'fif But no wonder if one murderer was among our Bifliop's Converts, fince there was a traitor among the twelve that fol- lowed our Saviour. There was a Co- vent of Fryers very near him, on whom he took much pains, with very good fuccefs : That he might furnifh his con- verts with the means of inftru&ing o- thers, he made a fhort Catechifm to be printed in one fheet, being Engli(b on the one Page, and Irijb on the other ; which contained the Elements, and moft neceffary things of the Chriftian Religi- on, together with lome forms of Prayer, and lome of the moft inftru&ingand e- difying paffages of Scripture : This he lent about all over his Diocefs \ and it was received with great joy, by many of the Irijb, who feemed to be hunger- ing and thirfting after Righteoufnefs , and received this beginning of know- ledge fb well, that it gave a good en- couragement to hope well upon further endeavours. The Bifhop did alfo let himfelf to learn the Irijh Tongue ; and though it was too late for a Man of his years to learn to (peak it, yet he came to under- ftand it to fuch a degree, as to compofe a compleat Grammar of it, ( which was the firft that ever was made, as I have I 5 been i 1 8 The Life of been told) and to be a Critickln it:he al- io had Common Prayer read in Irijh every Sunday in his Cathedral for the benefit of the Converts he had made, and was alwayes prefent at it himfelf, and he engaged all his Clergy to fet up Schools in their Parifhes : For fhere were To very few bred to read or write, that this obftru&ed the converfion of the Na- tion very much. The New Teftament and the Book of Common Prayer were already put in the Irijb Tongue ; but he f efblved to have the whole Bible, the Old Teftament as well as the Nerv y put alio into the hands of the Irifh. ; and there- fore he laboured much to find put one that underftood the Language fo well that he might be imployed in lb lacred a work : And by the advice of the Primate, and feveral other eminent perfbns , he pitched on one Kjng y that had been con- verted many years before, and was belie- ved to be the eleganteft Writer of the Irtjb Tongue then alive, both for Profe and Poetry. He was then about feventy, but notwithftanding his age and the di£ advantages of his Education, yet the Bi- Ihop thought him not only capable of this Imployment, but qualified for an higher charafter; therefore he put him in Orders, and gave him a Benefice in IBifhop Bedell. ji$> hisDiocefi, and fet him to work, in or- der to the tranflating the Bible : which fee w« to do from the Englifb Tranfla- tion ; fince there were none of the Na- tion to be found that knew any thing of the Originals. The Bifhop let him- felf fb much to the revifing tliis Work, that alwayes after Dinner or Supper he read over a Chapter ; and as he compa- red the Irifb Tranllation with the Eng- Ufb, fb he compared the Enghffl? with *he Hebrew and theSeventy Interpreters, or with Diodatts Italian Tranllation, which he valued highly ; and he cor- rected the Irifb where he found the Englijb Traaflators had failed. He thought the ufe of the Scriptures was $he only way to let the knowledge of Religion in among the Irifb, as it had firft let the Reformation into the other parts of Europe : And he ufed to tell a paffage of a Sermon that he heard Fulgent io preach at Venice, with which he was much pleafed : It was on thefe Words of Chrift, Have ye not read, ; apd fb he took occafion to tell the Au- ditory, That if Chrift were now to ask this Queftion, Have ye not read? all the Anfwer they could make to it, was, No» for they mre notfujfered to do it. Upon which he taxed with great zeal the re- I 4 ftraint % 20 "The Life of ftraint put ontheule of the Scriptures, by the See of Rome, This was not unlike what die lame perfon delivered in another Sermon preaching upon P/- /^sQueftion, What'isTritth? he told them that at laft after many fearches he had found it out, and held out a New Teftament, and {aid, There it was in his Hmd y but then he put it in his Pock- et, and laid coldly, Bit the Book is pro* hibited\ which was fo fuited to the Ita- lian genius, that it took mightily with the Auditory: The Bilhop had obferved that in the Primitive times as fbon Nati- ons, how barbarous loever they were, began to receive the Chriftian Re- ligion , they had the Scriptures tran- flated into their vulgar Tongues : And that all people were exhorted to ftudy them ; therefore he not only un- dertook and began this Work, but fol- lowed it with lb much induftry, that id a very few years he finifhed the Tran- flation; and relblved to let about the printing of it : for the bargain was made with one that engaged to perform it. And as he had been at the great trouble of examining the Tranilation, fb he relblved to run the venture of the Impreflion, and took that expence upon himfelf. It is fcarce to be imagined what (Bijbop Bedell. i if what could have obftrufted fb great and lb good a Work. The Priefts of the Church of Rome had reaibn to op- pole the printing of a Book,that has been always fb fatal to them;but it was a deep fetch to poffefs reformed Divines with a jealoufie of this work, and with hard thoughts concerning it : Yet that was done ; but by a very well difguifed me- thod : For it was faid that the Tranflator was a weak and contemptible Man , and that it would expofe fuch a work, as this was, to the fcorn of the Nation, when it was known who was the Au- thor of it : And this was infufed both into the Earl of Strafford, and into the Archbifhop of Canterbury : And a bold young Man pretended a lapfe of the Benefice that the Bifhop had given to the Tranflator, and fb obtained a Broad Seal For it ; though it was in the Bifhop's •Gift. This was an abufe too common at that time, for licentious Clerks to pretend either that an Incumbent was dead, or that he had no good right to his Benefice, or that he had forfeited it ; and upon that to procure a Grant of it from the King, and then to turn the In- cumbent out of PofTeffion, and to vex him with a Suit till they forced him to compound for his peace. So upon this occafion jii 77* Life of occafion it was pretended that the Trail* flator had forfeited his Living ; and qr$ Baily that had informed againft him, came down with a Grant of it under the great Seal, and violently thrvift him out of it. The Bifhop was much touch* ed with this, and cited fiaily to appear before him. He had given him a Vica- rage, and had taken an Oath of him ne- ver to hold another ; fb he obje&ed tp him both his violent and unjuft intrufl- on into another man's right, and his Per- jury. Baily to cover himfelf from the iaft, procured a Difpenfation from the Prerogative Court, notwithftanding his Oath, to hold more Benefices. The Bi- fhop lookt on this as one of thd worft and moft fcandalous parts of Popery, to diflblve the moft {acred of all Bonds ; and it grieved his Soul to fee fb vile a thing a£ted in the name of Archbifhop Vjher, though it was done by his Sur* rogates : So without any regard to ibis he ferved this obftiaate Clerk with fe- veral Canonical admonitions ; but find* ing him ftill hardned in his wickednefs, he deprived him of the Jienefice he hz& given him,and alio excommunicated him, and gave orders that the {Sentence fhould be published through the whole Deanry ; upon which BaU/sCkxk appealed to the Prerogative • (Bifhop Bedell. 1% y Prerogative Court, and the Bifliop w^s cited to anfwer for what he had done.He went and appeared before them, but de- clined their Authority, and would not anfwer to them. He thought it belo^y the Office and Dignity of a Bifhop to give an account of a fpiritual Cenfure, that he had infli&ed on one of his Cler- gy, before two Laymen that pretended to be the Primate's Surrogates ; and he put his Declinator in 24Articles,all writ- ten with his own Hand, which will be found at the end of this Narrative:he ex- Sc . cepted to the incompetency of the Court, end, both becaufe the Primate w^s not there Numb - 5- in perfbn, and becaufe they that fate there had given clear Evidences of their partiality, which he had offered to prove to thePrimate himfelf.He (aid the appeal from his Sentence lay only to the rro- vincial Synod, or to the Archbifhop's Confiftory ; and fince the ground of Bat- hs Appeal, was the difpenfation that they had given him from his Oath, they could not be the competent Judges of that, for they were Parties : And the Appeal from abufive faculties lay only to a Court of Delegates by the exprefs words of the Law : And by many Indications it appeared, that they had prejudged the matter in Bail/s favours, and had ex- prefled 124 ^ ?e Ll ^E of preffed great refentments againft the Bifhop ; and notwithftanding the digni- ty of his Office, they had made him wait among the croud an hour and an half, and had given directions in the ma- nagement of the Caufe as Parties againft him ; they had alfb manifeftly abu- fed their power in granting Difpenfati- ons contrary to the Laws of God : and now they prefumed to interpofe in the juft and legal Jurifcii&ion that a Bifhop exercifed over his Clergy both by the Laws of God and by the Kings Authority. Upon thefe grounds he ex- cepted to their Authority; he was ferved with feveral Citations to anfwer, and appeared upon every one of them : but notwithftanding the higheft contempts they put upon him, he fhewed no in- decent paflion, but kept his ground ftill. In conclufion he was declared ContumtiXyZxA the perjured Intruder was abfblved from the Sentence, and confirm- ed in the poiTeffion of his ill-acquired Be- nefice. It may be eafily imagined, how much thefe Proceedings were cenfiired by all fair and equitable Men : The con- ftancy,the firmnefs, and the courage that theBifhop expreiTed being as much com- mended, as the injuftice and violence of his Enemies was cryed out upon. The ftrangeft fiijhop Bedell. 12 j ftrangeft part of this tranfaction was,that which the Primate a£ted, who though he loved the Bifhop beyond all the reft of the Order, and valued him highly for the zealous difcharge of his office, that di- ftinguifhed him fb much from others ; yet he could not be prevailed on to in- terpofe in this matter ; nor to flop the injuft Profecution that tliis good Man had fallen under, for lb good a Work. Indeed it went further , for upon the endeavours he ufed to convert the Irifh ; and after he had refufed to anfwer in the Archbifhop's Court, it appears that he was in Ibrne meafure alienated from him, which drew from the Bifhop the following Anfwer to a Letter, that he had from him. Moft 126 Tfo Life of Moft Reverend Father, my honourable good Lord, THE Superfcription of your Grate's Letters was mofi welcome unto me, as bringing under your own hand the hefi evidence of the recovery of your healthy for which I did and do give hearty thanks unto God. For theContents of t hernias yourG race conceived, They were not fo p leaf ant. But the Words of a Friend are faithful , faith the Wife Man : Sure they are no left painful than any other* Vnkindnefs cuts nearer to the Heart than Malice can do. I have fome experience by your Grace's faid Letters , concerning which I have been at fome debate with my felf whether I jbould anfver them with DavidV demand. What have I now done ? or as the wrongs of Parents, with Patience and Si- lence. But Mr. Dean telling me, That this day he is going towards you, I will fpeak once, come of it what will. " Tou write that the courfe I took with " the Papifs , was generally cryed out V *$L A i n ft* neither do you remember in all 11 your Bifbo[> Bedell. 127 "your life that any thing was done hire 41 by any of us y at which the Profejfors of u the Gofpel did take more offence •, or by " which the Adverfaries were more con* u firmed in their Superjlitions and Idola* a try ; wherein yon could wijh that I had " advifed with my Brethren before I would " adventure to full down that which they " have been fo long a building. Again, " What I did j you know, was done out of 41 a good intent io A \ but you were affured €t that my project would be fo quickly re- " futed with the prefent fuccejt and event , u that there would be no need my Friends a fbould advife me from building fuch "Cajllesinthe air, &e. My Lord, All this is a riddle to me. What courfe 1 have taken with the Pa- pijis ; what I have done at which your Profejfors of the Gofpel did take fuch offence, or the Adverfaries were fo con- firmed ; what it is that I have adven- tured to do j or what piece fo long a build- ing, I have pulled down \ what thofe Pro- jects were, and thofe Cafiles in the air fo quickly refuted with prefent fuccefl, as the Lords knows, I know not. For truly fince I came to this place I have not changed one jot of my purpofe dt practice , or courfe with Papifls from that which I held in England , or in Tri- 128 The Life of Trinity Colledge, or found ( I thank God) any ill Juccefs, but the /lander* only offome perfons difcontented againfi me for other occafions. Againfi which I cannot hope to jufiifie my felf> if your Grace will give ear to private informati- ons. But let me know, I mil not fay, my Accufer, (let him continue masked till God dif cover him ) but my Tranfgreffion, and have place of defence \ and if mine Adver* fary write a Book againfi me ', I will hope to bear it on my Shoulder y and bind it tome as a Crown* For my recnfation of your Court y and advert if ement of what I heard thereof I fee they have fiirred not only laughter y but Jome coals too- Tour Chance/lour de- fires me to acquit him to you. That he is none of thofe Officers I me ant \ I do it ve- ry willingly : For I neither meant him nor any Man elfe. But though it concerned your Grace to know what I credibly heard to be fpoken concerning your Court 7 nei- ther 7 as God k?20ws y did I ever think it was fit to take away the Jurifdiffion from Chance/lours, and put it into the Bifliops hands alone ' 7 or fo much as in a dream con- demn thofe that think they have reafon to do otherwife, nor tax your Grace's Visita- tion : Nor imagine you would account that to pertain to your reproof and take it as Bijhop Bedell i 29 a wrong from me, which out of my duty to God and yon, I thought was not to be con- cealed from you. I befeech you pardon me this one errour, Si unquam pofthac — For that knave whom (as your Grace writes ) they fay I did abfolve ; J took him for one of my Flock, or rather Chrifts, for whom hefbed his blood. And I would have abfolve d Julian the Apofiatt under the fame form. Some other faff ages there be in your Grace* s Letters, which I, * but J will lay mine Hand upon my Mouth and craving the blejpng of your prayers, ever remain, Your Grace's poor Brother, Kilmore, March & humble fervant, 29. 1630. Will. Kilmore. K The ■3°- . 7K L ?F E Y- The malice of Mr. J\Jngs Enemies' was not fatiated with the fpoiling him of his Benefice. For often it falls out, That thole who have done a£tsof high injuftice feek fomeexcufe for what they have done, by hew in Junes, and a vex- atious profecution of theinjiired perfbn, defigning by die noife, that fuch repeat- ed acculations might raife, to poffefs.the World with an Opinion of his guilt r which much clamour does often pro- duce : and fb to crufh theperfoo fd en- tirely that he may never again be in a capacity to recover himfelf, and to ob- tain his right, but be quite funk by that vaft encreafe of weight that is laid up- on him. But I will give the Reader a clearer view of this invidious affair from a Letter which the BHhop writ concern- ing it to the -Earl of Strafford. Right !Bifl?of> Bedell. 131 Right honourable, my good Lord. THat which I have fometimes done willingly, I do now neccffarily, to make my addrefs to your Honour by wri- ting. My unfit nefi for converfation here- tofore hath pleaded for me, and now your Lordfhip* s infirmity allows, and in a fort inforces it. The occafwn is, not my love of contention ( which I have committed to God ) or any other matter of profit, hut God? s honour , and (as he is witnefs ) yours. I have lately received L etters from my Lord 0/" Canterbury ; whereby / per- ceive his Grace is informed that Mr. King, whom I imployed to translate the Bible into Irifh, is a Manfo ignorant that the Tran- flat ion cannot be worthy > pub lick ufe in the Church, and befides, obnoxious, fo as the Church can receive no credit from any thing that is his. And his Grace adds, That he is fo well acquainted with your Lordjhip^s difpofition, that he ajfures him- felf you would not have given away his Living, had you not feen jufi caufe for it. I account my fclf bound to fatisfie his Grace herein, and dcfire, if I may be fo K 2 happy y i j z The L i f e o£ h a PPJ> to do it by fatUfying you* I dofub- fcribe to his Graced affured perfwafion that your Lordfljip , had you not conceived Mr. King to be fuch as he writes, would not have given away his hiving. But ( my Lord ) the greateji , wifeft , and jujlejl Men do, and muft take many things upon the information of others \ who them- J elves are Men, and may fome times out of weakncfs , or fome other caufe , be deceived. Touching Mr. King'j fillinejs, ( which it concerns me the mofe to clear him of, that I be not accounted filly my J elf) I bejeech your Lord/hip to take informati- on, not by them which never faw him till yejierday, but by the ancient either Chur ch- ar St ate fmen of thisKjngdom(in whofe eyes he hj.ih lived t he fe many Tears) as are the Lord Primate, The Bijb op of Meath, the /-^Dillon, Sir James Ware, and the like: I doubt not but your Lor dfhip {hall un- der ft and that there is no fuch danger that the T ran flat ion jhould be unworthy, becaufe he did it ; being a Man of that known fuf fciencv, for the Irifh efpecially, either in Profe or Verfe , as few are his matches m the Kjngdom. And fljortly, not to argue by conjecture and divination, Let the Work it f elf f peak, yea let it be exa- mined rigorofo examine : If it be found ap- provcable, let it not fuffer difgrace from the ftifiop Bedell. i } 3 the fmall boajl of the Workman, but let him rather ( as old Sophocles accufed of dotage ) be abfolved for the fifficiency of the Work. Touching his being obnoxious, tt is true that there is a fcandaloits Infor- mation pit in dgainfl him in the High Com- miffwn Court, by his defpoiler Mr. Baily (as my Lord of Dewy told him in my hear- ing he was) and by an excofnmunicate de f pol- ler y as my J elf before the Execution of any fentence,declafd him in theCourt to be. And Mr. King being cited to anfver, and not appearing, ( as by Law he was not bound ) was taken pro confeffo, deprived of his Minijlry, and Living, Fined an hundred Pound, Decreed to be attached, andimpri- foned. His Adverfary Mr. Iteily, before he was fentenced, pur chafed a new Dif pen fat ion to hold his Benefice, and was the very next day after ( as appears by the date of the Injlitution J both prefented in the Kjngs Title ( although the Benefice be of my Collation ) and injlituted by my Lord. Primate's Vicar : Shortly after inducted by an Archdeacon of another Diocefs, and * a few dayes after, he brought down an At- tachment, and delivered Mr. King to the Purfevant : He was haled by the Head and Feet to Horftback ; and brought to Dub- lin, where he hath been kept, and continu- ed under Arrejl thefefour or five Months :' K 5 *r>A 1 34 71* Life 0/ and hath not been fuffcred to purge his f up- pofed Contempt, by Oath and Wit neffes, that by reafon of his ficknefs he was hindered, whereby he was brought to Death* s Door, and could not appear and profecute his de- fence : And that by the cunning of his Ad~ verfary he was "circumvented, intreating that he might be reftoredto liberty, and Ins * canfe i?ito the former ejlate. But it hath not availed him : My Reverend Colleagues of the High Commiflion do fome of them pty his Cafe, others fay the Sentence paft cannot be r ever fed, lejl the credit of the Court be attached. They bid him ftmply fubmit himfelf and acknowledge his Sen- tence juft, Whereas the Bi/hops of 'Rome themj elves, after mo fl formal proceedings , do grant refit ution in integrum, and ac- knowledge, That, Sententia Romanae Se- dis poteft in melius commutari. My Lord, if I underf and what is Right Divine or, humane, thefe be wrongs upon wrongs \ which if they re ached only to Mr. King's per- fon, were oflefs consideration ; but when through his fide, That great Work, the # Tranflation of God's Book, fo neceffaryfor both his Majefty's KJngdoms, is mortally wounded; pardon me ( I be fee ch your Lord- Jhip J iflbefenfibleofit, I omit tocon- fider what fc aft our adverfaries 'make of our rewarding him thus f?r thit fey vice •'; or * * what OZiJbop Bedell. 135 what this example will avail to the alluring cf others to conformity . Whatjhould your Lord[hip have gained if he had dyed (as it was almofi a miracle he did not ) under Ar- reft, and had been at once deprived of Liv- ing, Liberty and Life. God hath repriev- ed him, and given your Lordftip means up- on right information, to remedy with one word all inconveniencies. for conclufion ( good my Lord ) give me leave a little to apply the V arable 0/* Nathan to Kjng Da- vid to this pur pofe : If the way-faring man, that is come to its (for fuch he is, having never yet been fettled in one place ) havefo fharp a Stomach that he miift be provided for with •Pluralities, fit h there are Herds and Flocks plenty ; fuffer him not, Ibefeech yon, under the colour of the Kjngs name to take the cofet Ewe of a poor Man, to fatif- fie his ravenous appetite. So I befeech the Heavenly Phyfician to give your Lord/hip fa alt h ofSo'ul and Body. 1 reft, > My Lord, Your Lordfhip's itioft humble fervant Decemb. i- 1638. in Chrift Jems, Will. Kilmore. K 4 By 1 3<5 Tl?e Lif e of 3y thefe practices was the printing pf the Bible in Irifh ftopt at that time, but if the Rebellion had not prevented our Bifhop, he was refblved to have had It done in his own Houfe, and at his own charge ) and as preparatory to that, he made Ibme of Chryfoflomes Homi- lies, the three firft upon the parable of the rich Man and Lazarus , together with fbme of Leo's ; all which tended chiefly to commend the Scriptures in the higheft ftrains of Eloquence that were poffible, to be tranflated both into Eng- lish and Trijb ; and reprinting his Cate- chifm, he added thefe to it in both Lan- guages : and thefe were very well re- ceived, even by the Priefts and Friers themfelves, He lived not to £nifh this great de- fign ', yet, notwithstanding the Rebel- lion and confufion that followed in Ireland, the Manufcript of the Tran- flation of the Bible efcaped the ftorm, and falling into good Hands, it is at this time under die Prefs, and is carried on chiefly by the zeal, and at the charge of that Noble Chriftian Philofbpher Mr. Boyle, who as he reprinted upon his own charge the new Teftament, fohe very cheerfully went into a Projfc- fition !BiJI)op Bedell. 137 fition for reprinting the Old. But this is only one of many inftances, by which he has expreffed, as well his great and a&ive zeal for carrying on the true in- tereft of Religion, as by his other pub- lick labours he has advanced and im- proved Philofophy. But to go on with the concerns of our Bifhop , as he had great zeal for the purity of the £hriftian Religion in op- pofition to the corruptions of the Church of Rome \ fb he was very mo- derate in all other matters, that were not of fuch importance. He was a great fupporter of Mr. Durys defign of reconciling the Lutherans and the CaU vinifts ; and as he dire&ed him by ma- ny learned and prudent Letters, tnat he wrote to him on that fubjeQ: , fb he allowed him 20/. a year in order to the difcharging the expence of that negoti- ation ; which he payed punctually to his Correlpondent at London. And it appeared by his managing of a bufinefs that fell out in Ireland , That if all that were concerned in that matter, had been bleft with fuch an understanding, and fuch a temper as he had, there had been no reafbn to have defpaired of it. There came a company of Lutherans to Dublin , who were afraid of joyning in 138 Tl:e Life of in Communion with the Church of Ireland, and when they were cited to an- fwer for it to the Archbifhop's Confifto- ry, they defired fbme time might be granted them for confiilting their Di- vines in Germany : And at laft Letters were brought from thence concerning their Exceptions to Communion with that Church ; Becaule the Prefence of Chrift in the Sacrament was not ex- plained in fuch a manner , as agreed with their Do&rine. The Archbifhop of Dublin fentthefetoour Bifhop, that he might anfwer them ; and upon that he writ fo learned and fo full an anfwer to all their Obje&ions, and explained the matter fo clearly, that when this was feen by the German Divines, it gave them fuch entire fatisfaftion, that upon it they advifed their Countreymen to join in Communion with the Church. For fuch is the moderation of our Church in that matter , that no pofi- tive definition of the manner of the Prefence being made , Men of diffe- rent fentiments may agree in the fame acts of Worflhip , without being obli- ged to declare their Opinion, or being underftood to do any thing contrary to their feveral Perfwafionsv His !BiJJ?Qp Bedell. 13^ His moderation in this matter was a thing of no danger to him, but he expreiled it on other inftances , in which it appeared that he was not a- fraid to own it upon more tender oc- casions. The Troubles that broke out in Scotland, upon the account of the Book of Common Prayer , which encreafed to the height of the (wear- ing the Covenant and putting down of Epifcopacy , and the turning out of all Clergy Men that did not con- cur with them, are lb well known, that I need not inlarge upon them. It is not to be denyed but provocations were given by the heats and indifcretions of lome Men ; but thefe were carried fo far beyond all the bounds either of Order in the Church, or Peace in the State, that, to give things their proper names, it was a Schilmatical rage againft the Church , backt with a rebellious fu- ry againft the State, When the Bi- fliop heard of all thefe things, he faid, that which Nazianzene laid at C on ft an- tinople, when therftirwas railed in the fecond General Council upon his ac- count, If this great tempeft is r if en for our Jakes ^ take us up, and caft us into the Sea y that fo there may be a Calm. And if all others had governed their Diocef- fes, 140 Tl)e Life of fes , as he did his, one may adven- ture to affirm after Dr. Bernard, That Epifcopacy might have been kept fiill upon its Wheels. Some of thole that were driven out of Scotland, by the fury of that time, came over to Ireland : among thele there was one Corbet, that came to Dublin, who being a Man of quick Parts, writ a very fmart Book, fhewing the parallel between the Jefuites and the Scotch Covenanters, w r hich he prin- ted under the Title of Lyfimachus Ni- canor. The Spirit that was in this Book, and the fharpnefs of the ftile procured the Author fuch favour, that a confi- derable Living falling in the Bifhop of KJtlalas Gift, he was recommended to it, and (b he went to that Bifhop ; but was ill received by him. The Bifhop had a great affeftion to his Countrey ( for he was a Scotchman born ) and though he condemned the courfes they had taken , yet he did not love to fee them expofed in a ftrange Nation, and did not like the Man that had done it. The Bifhop was a little fharp up- on him ; he played on his Name : Corby in Scotch being a Raven , and laid it was an ill Bird that defiled its own Neft. And whereas he had faid in his Book, That he had hardly efcaped with his own S//7?o/> Bedell. i 4.1 own life, but had left his Wife behind him to try the humanity of the Scots ; he told him, He had left his Wife to a very bale office. Several other things he {aid, which in themfelves amounted to nothing, but only expreifed an inclina- tion to leffen the faults of the Scots , and to aggravate lome provocations that had been given them. Corbet came up full of wrath, and brought with him many Informations againitthe Bifhop, which at any other time would not have been much confidered ; but then, it be- ing thought neceffary to make exam- ples of all that leemed favourable to the Covenanters , it was refblved to turn him out of his Bifhoprick, and to give it to Maxwell, that had been Bifhop of Rojfe in Scotland, and was indeed a Man of eminent parts, and an excellent Preacher; but by his forwardnels and afpiring he had been the unhappy in- ftrument of that which brought on all the difbrders in Scotland. A Purfevant was lent to bring up the Bifhop of Kjllala ; and he was acculed before the high Commiflion Court for thole things that Corbet obje&ed to him ; and every Man being ready to pufh a Man down that is falling under dis- grace, many defined- to merit by ag- gravating 142 £** Li f e of gravating his faults. But when it came to our Bi (hop's turn to give his Sen- tence in the Court, he that was afraid of nothing but finning againft God, did not flick to venture againft the Stream : he firft read over all that was obje&ed to the Bifhop at die Barr , then he fetched his Argument from the quali- fications of a Bifhop fet down by S. Paul in his Epiftles to Timothy and Titus ; and affumed that he found nothing in thofe Articles contrary to thofe quali- fications ', nothing that touched either his Life or Doctrine. He fortified this by fhewing in what manner they pro- ceeded againft Bifhops both in the Greek and Latin Churches, and ib con- cluded in the Bifhops favour. This put many out of countenance, who had confidered nothing in his Sentence but the confequences that were drawn from the Bifhop's expreffions, from which they gathered the ill difpofition of his mind, fo that they had gone high in their Cenfures, without examining the Canons of the Church in fuch Cafes. But though thofe that gave their Votes after our Bifhop, were more moderate than thofe that had gone before him had been ; yet the current run fb ftrong that none durft plainly acquit him, as our !Bif7op Bedell. 14 j our Bifliop had done : So he was de- prived, fined, and imprifoned, and his Bifhoprick was given to Maxwell, who enjoyed it not long. For he was ftript naked, wounded, and left among the dead, by the Jnffj 5 hut he was prefer- ved by the Earl of Tomo?id y \vhp pafc ling that way took care of him ; fo that he got to Dublin. And then his Talent of Preaching, that had been too long negle&ed by him, was better im- ployed; fothat he preached very often, and very much to the edification of his Hearers, that were then in lb great a confirmation, that they needed all the comfort that he could minifter to them ; and all the Spirit that he could infufein them. He went to the King to Ox- ford, and he faid in my Author's hear- ing, That the King had never rightly underftood the innate hatred that the Irijh bore to all that profetfed the true Religion, till lie had informed him of it. But he was fo much affe&ed with an ill piece of News, that he heard con- cerning fbme misfortune in the King's affairs in England , that he was (ome hours after found dead in his Study. This fhort digreffion, I hope, may be forgiven me ; for the perfon was very extraordinary, if an unmeaf Lired ambi- tion 144 Ik Life of tion had not much defaced his other great abilities and excellent qualities. The old degraded Bifhop Adair was quickly reftored to another Bifhoprick, which came to be vacant upon a difmal account, which I would gladly pafs o- ver, if I could; for the thing is but too well known. One Adderton Bifhop of Waterford, who, as was believed, had by a Symoniacal compatt procured fuch favour , that he was recommended to that Bifhoprick ; and had covered his own unworthinefs, as all wicked Men are apt to do, by feeming very zealous in every thing that is acceptable to thofe who govern, and had been in par- ticular very fevere on Bifhop Adair ; came to be accufed and convicted of a crime not to be named, that God pu- nifhed with fire from Heaven ; and fuf- fered publickly for it : He exprefTed fb great a repentance,that Dr. Bernard, who preached his funeral Sermon, and had waited on him in his Imprifbnment, had a very charitable opinion of the ftate in which he dyed. Upon this, Adair \ Cafe was fo reprefented to the King , that he was provided with that Bi- fhoprick. From which it may appear, That he was not cenfured fo much for any guilt, as to ftrike a terrour in all that Bifiop Bedell. 145 that might exprefs the leaft kindnefs to the Scotch Covenanters. But our Bi- fhop thought the degrading of a Bifhop was too facred a thing to be done rneerly upon politick Confiderati- ons. Bifhop Bedell was exactly conform- able to the Forms and Rules of the Church j he went conftantly to Com- mon Prayer in his Cathedral, and often read it himfelf, and aflifted in it dways, with great reverence and affection. He took care to have the Publick Service performed ftri&ly according to the Ru- brick ; fb that a Curate of another Pa- rifh being imployed to read Prayers in the Cathedral, that added fbmewhat to the Colle&s; the Bifhop obferving he did this once or twice, went from his place to theR eader's Pew, and took the book out of his Hand, and in the hearing of the Congregation fufpended him for his prefumption, and read the reft of the Office himfelf. He preached conftantly twice a Sunday in his Cathedral on the Epiftles and Gofpels for the Day 5 and catechifed alwayes in the Afternoon be- fore Sermon ; and he preached always twice a Year before the Judges, when they made the Circuit. His Voice was low and mournful, but as his matter L was 146 Tlx Lifeo/ was excellent, fo there was a gravity in • his looks and behaviour that ftruck his Auditors. He oblerved the Rubrick fo nicely, that he would do nothing but according to it ; fo that in the reading the Pfalms and the Anthems he did not obferve the common cuftome of the Mir ni'fter and the People reading the Verfes by turns 5 for he read all himfelf, be- caufe the other was not enjoyned by the Rubrick. As for the placing of the Communion Table by the Eaft wall , and the bowing to it, he never would depart from the Rule of obferving the Conformity prefcribed by Law ; for he faid, That they were as much Noncon- formifts who added of their own, as they that came fhort of what was en- joyned ; as he that adds an Inch to a meafiire diibwns it for a Rule, as much as he that cuts an Inch from it : and as he was fevere to him that added Words of his own to the Colled, fo he thought it was no lels cenfurable to add Rites to thole that were prefcribed. When he came within the Church, it appeared in the compofednefs of his behaviour , that he obferved the Rule given by the Preacher, of l\jepng his Feet when he went into the Houfe of God \ but he was not to be wrought on by the greatnefs of any fBipop Bedell. i 47 &ny Man, or by the Authority of any perfbns example, to go out of his own way ; though he could not but know- that fuch things were then much ob- ferved, and rrieafures were taken of Men by thefe little diftinctions, in which it was thought that the zeal of Conformi- ty difcovered it felf. There is fb full an account of the tenderriefs with which he advifed all Men, but Churchmen in particular, to treat thofethatdiJered from them, in a Sermon that he preached oh thofe Words of Chrift, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly ; that I am affured the Rea- der will well bear with the length of it. It was preached fbori after fbme heats that had been in the Houfe of Commons in the Parliament of Ireland, in which there were many Papifts ; and in it the fenfe he had of the way of treating all differences in Religion, whether great or fmall, is fb well laid down, that I hope it will be looked on as no ordinary, nor ufelefs piece of Inftructiono L % 148 T/;e Life of IS it not a fhame that our two Bodies, the Church and Commonwealth, fhould exercife mortal hatreds, ( or im- mortal rather ) and being fb near in place fhould be fb far afunder in affefti- on ? it will be (aid by each that other are \w fault, and perhaps it may truly be faid, that both are; the one in that they cannot endure with patience the lawful iuperiority of the worthier Body ; the other in that they take no care fb to go- vern, that the governed may find it to be for their beft behoof to obey : until w T hich time it will never be,but there will be repining and troubles,and brangles be- tween us. This will be done in my Opinion,not by bolftering out and main- taining the errours and unrulinefs of the lower Officers or Members of our body, but by feverely punifhing them ; and on both fides muft be avoided liich Men for Magiftrates and Minifters , as feek to dafh us one againft another all they may. And would to God this were all ; but is it not a fhame of fhames, that Mens emulations and contentions cannot ftay themfelves Si/hop Bedell. i 49 themfelves in matters of this fort, but the holy profeflion of Divinity is made fuel to a publick fire; and that when we had well hoped all had been either quenched or raked up, it fhould afrelh be kindled and blown up with bitter and biting Words ? God help us ! we had need to attend to this Lelfon of Chrift, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in Heart ; or to that of the Apoftle, It be- hoves the fervant of God not to contend, but to be meek towards all, inftru&ing with lenity thofe that be contrary af- fe&ed, waiting if at any time God will give them a better mind to fee the truth, 2jT//#. 2. 25. And here give me leave ( R. TV. and beloved Brethren and Sifters ) to fpeak freely my mind unto you: I know right well that I fhall incur the reproof of divers, yet I will never the more for that {pare to utter my Conference ; I hope wife Men will alfent or fhew me better. For my part, I have been long of this mind, that many in their Ser- mons and Writings are to blame for their manner of dealing with the ad- verfaries of their Opinions, when they give Reins to their Tongues and Pens, to railing and reproachful Speeches, and think they have done well, when they L 1 exceed I jo T?;e Life of exceed or equal them in this Trade ; wherein to nave the better is indeed to be the worfe : and alledging that Text for tiiemfelveS, That a fool is to be an- 1 ' * 5 ' fwered according to his folly \ they do not confider that other, where fuch manner ofanfwer is forbidden, whereby the an- fwerer becometh like him : Prov. 26. 4. 15. 1. 24. 26. And this is yet more to be blamed, becaufe fbmetimes all reafbns are laid by, and nothing is fbundly refuted, but only hot Words aregiven,yea,and with a mifconceiving,or mil reporting at leaft,of ther Opinions, and making every thing worfe than it is : which many times arifeth upon ambiguity of Words not ufed in : the like fenfe by both fides. What then ? Do I approve of tolerati- ons and unions with : efrours and here- fies ? truly I wifli not to live fb long. And yet as our fins are, - and our folly too to fall together by the Ears about finall matters amongfl: our lelves, there is juft caufe to fear it: but yet fuch Points as may be reconciled,' laving the truth , I fee not what fhould move us to hold off in them, and why we may not leek to agree in word ? as we do in mean- ing : For the reit, their purpofe and endeavours fhall deferve thanks, who, bring- (Bifrop Bedell. 151 banging them to the feweft and nar- roweft terms, fliall let down how far we are to joyn with our diflenting Bre- thren, and where for ever to diiTent ; that fo controverfies being handled with- out the vain flourifh of fwelling Words, and ( like proportions ) our Opinions being let down in the leaft terms, Men may know what to bend their Wits to, and where againft to plant their Argu- ments, not, as many do, roving always at randome; but may alwayes remember to imitate Chrift's meeknefs, and to deal with Arguments rather : let us not envy the Papiits and other Hereticks, the glo- ry and preheminence in railing, where- in the more they excel, the more un- like they are to Chrift, whole pattern is of meeknefs, Learn of me, &c. Tea, but willfome Man [ay, This courfe Object, will not flay Men from backfliding to any er- rour or here fie, &c. Who can keep off his enemy without (hot, &c. I, Gods Truth needs not to be gra- Refp. 1. ced, nor his Glory fought by my fin. II. Again it is fb perhaps in an ig- Refp. 2, norant Auditor, and at the firft ; but if inquiring himfelf, he fliall find that they or their Opinions are not fb bad as we make them to be, and would have them L 4 feem, 1 52 77;e L 1 fe of feem, it will be a hundred to one that in other things too, they will not feem to be fb bad as they are ; and, unleis I much miftake, it is not the ftorm of Words, but the ftrength of Reafbns, that fhall ftay a wavering Judgment from errours, &c. when that like a tempeft, is overblown , the tide of pthers examples will carry other men to do as the- moft do ; but thefe Uke fb many Anchors will ftick, and not come again. Refp.$. HI- Befides, our Calling is to deal with errours, not to difgrace the Man withholding Words. It is faidof Jkx- ander, I think, when he overheard one of his Souldiers railing luftily on Da- rius his enemy, he reproved him, and added, Friend ( quoth he ) I entertain thee to fight againft Darius y not to revile him. Truly it may be well thought that thofe that take this courfe fhall find but Imall thanks at Chrift's, our Captains, hands ; and it is not unlike but he would fav to them, were he here on earth again , Mafters, I would you fliould refute Popery,and let your felves againft Antichrift my enemy, with ail the difcoloured Sefts and Herefies, that fight under his banner againft me, and not call him and his Troops all to nought. And tBiflyop Bedell. 153 And this is my poor Opinion concern- ing our dealing with the Papifts them- felves, perchance differing from the pra- ctice of Men of great note in ChrifPs Family,Mr. Luther and Mr. Calvin, and others ; but yet we mult live by Rules, not examples ; and they were Men , who perhaps by complexion, or other- wife, were given over too much to an- ger, and heat : fiire I am, the Rule of the Apoftle is plain, even of fuchas are the flaves of Satan, that we muft with lenity inftrud them, waiting that when elcapingout of his fnare, they (hould re- cover a found mind to do Gods will, in the place I quoted before. But now when Men agreeing with our felves in the main ( yea and in pro- feflion likewife enemies to Popery ) fhall, varying never fb little from us in Points of left confequence, be thereupon cenfored as favourers of Popery , and other errours ; when Mole-hills fhall be made Mountains, and unbrotherly terms given : alas ! methinks this courfe favours not of meeknefs, nay it would hurt even a good caufe, thus to handle it ; for where fuch violence is, ever there is errour to be fufpefted ; Af- fe&ion and Hate are the greateft ene- mies that can be to fcundnefs of judg- 2 Tim. 2. 25- ment, 154 37* Li fe of • ment, or exa&nefs of comprehenfion ; he that is troubled with paffion, is not fitly difpofed to judge of truth. Befides, Is my conceit ever conlbnant with truth ? and if I be fubje£t to er- rour my felf, have I forgotten lb much the common condition of mankind, or ami fb much my own enemy, as to purfue with a terrible Scourge of Whip- cord, or wyer, that which was worthy of fbme gentler lafh.es : for indeed he that taketh pet, and concejveth in- dignation, that another fhould, I will not fay, differ from himfejf, but err, and be deceived, feems to proclaim war to all mankind, and may well look him- feif to find fmall favour, but rather to endure the Law that he had made, and be bated with his own rod. To make an end of this point, which I would to God, I had not had an oc- cafion to enter into : if this precept of our Lord Jefus Chrift be to he heard, thele things fhould not be fo ; if it were heard, they would not be fb ; and undoubtedly, if it be not heard, they that are faulty fhall bear their judgment, whofbever they be. Mean while they fhall deferve great praife of all that love Peace , who fhall maintain quietnefs, even with fbme injury to themfelves : And Bijhop Bedell. %*< And in a goodCaufe do ftill endeavour .to fhew forth the vertue of Chrift, that hath called us, as the Apoftle Peter ex- horteth us at large from this example of Chrift, in his firft Epiftle, 21. 20, 21, j22, 2 j. If is die glory of a Man to pais by an offence. Injuries, if by re- garding them a man lay himfelf open p rov#I9t to them, wound and hurt us : if they u. be contemned, or born off with the Shield of Meeknefs , they glance off, or rebound unto the party that oflfereth them. , Finally, he that in matters of contro- verfie fhall bring meeknefs to his de- fence, undoubtedly he fhall overcome in the manner of handling ; and if he bring truth alio, he fhall prevail at laft in the matter. This is a part of one of his Sermons ; of which I have feen but very few ; and becaufe they are not fufficient to give a full Chara&er of him, I have not publifhed them ; But I will add to this two parcells of another Sermon that is already in print, and was publifhed by Dr. Bernard , the Text is that of the Re~ *v el anion 1.8. 4. Come out of her ( Ba- bylon ) my people : And the defign of it h to prove that the See of Rome is the Babylon 1 5 6 The Lit e of Babylon meant in that Text ; but in this he mixes anApology for fbme that were in that Communion ; and I doubt not but he had his Friend P. Paulo in his thoughts when he fpoke it : The pat fage is remarkable, and therefore I will let it down. W Herein obferve firft, (he calls his people to come out of Babylon, ) a plain Argument that there are many riot only good Moral and Civil honejl Men there, but good Chriftians, not re- deemed only, but in the poffeflion of the Grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; which may be confirmed by thefe rea- Ions. Firft, There is amongft thefe that are under the tyranny of the Romijh Ba- bylon, the Sacrament of entrance into tne Covenant of Grace ; Baptifm, by which thofe that are partakers thereof are made Members of Chrift, the Chil- dren of God, and Heirs of Eternal Life : And thefe that have but this Seal of God's Covenant, (viz. Infants) a*e no fmall and contemptible part of God's people, though as yet, they cannot hear this ^ijhop Bedell. 157 this Voice of Chrift calling out of Baby- lon ; befides this there is a publication of the tenure of the Covenant of Grace to fuch as are of Years , though not fb openly and purely as it might and ought, yet K) as the grounds of the Catechifme are preached, fin is fliewed, Chrift's redemption ( or the Story of it) is John 5.18. known, Faith in him is called for, and 3*« 524. this Faith is by the Grace of God,rvr ought in lome : For the Word of God and his Calling is not fruitlefs, but like the rain returneth not in vain ; and where true Faith is, Men are tranjlated from ]ohn $ult. death to life, he that believeth in the Son, hath everlafiing life. Some Men perhaps may objeft, the Faith which they defcribe and call by this name of Catholick Faith , is none other but fuch as the Devils may have. I anfwer, Religion is not Logick, He that cannot give a true definition of the Soul, is not for that, without a Soul \ fb he that defines not Faith truly, yet may have true Faith : Learned Divines are not all of accord touching the definition of it; But if (as by the whole ftream of the Scripture it fhould feem ) it be a trufi and cleaving ' unto God ; this Faith many there have, the Love of our' icfc Tloe Life of John i 4 . our Lord Jefus Chrift is wrought in 21. 23, many there ; now he that loveth Chrift is loved of him, and of the father alfo \ and becaufe the proof of true love to Chrift is the keeping of his Sayings ," there >are good Works ,and according to the meafure of knowledg great confcience of obedience. Yea, will fbme Man fay, But that which marreth all is the Opinion of me- rit and fatisf action. Indeed that is the School Doctrine y but the Confcience en- lightned to know it felf, will eafily a& that part of the Publican, whofmote his Breajty dndfaidj God be merciful to me a finner. I remember a good advice of one of that fide : Let others ( faith he ) that have committed few fins, and done many good works fatisfie for their fins ; But whatfoever thou doft, refer it to the Honour of God : fo as whatfoever good come from thee, thou refolve to do it to -pleafe God, accounting thy works too lit- tle to fat is fe for thy fins : For as for thy fins thou mufi .offer ChrijFs Works , his Pains and Wounds, and his death it felf to him, together with that love of his out of which he endured thefe things for thee. Thefe are available for the fatisf aBion for thy fins. But thou whatfoever thou doft or fufferejly offer it not for thy fins to God j (BiJJ?op Bedell. Ijp God, for but his love and good pie afure 7 wifljing to find the more grace with him y whereby thou mayejl do more , greater and more acceptable Works to him\ let the love of God then be to thee the caufe of well-living, and the hope of well-working. Thus he, and I doubt not but many there be on that fide that follow this counfel ; herewith I fhall relate the Speech of a wife and difcreet Gentleman, my neigh- bour in England, who lived and dyed a Recufant ; he demanded one time , What was the worjl Opinion that we could impute to the Church of Rome ? It was iaid, There was none more than this of our merits : And that Cardinal Bellar- J>'/*W- mine not only doth uphold them, but faith, c %!* we may truft in them, fo it be done fb- berly'; and lakh, they defcrve Eternal life, not only in refpefl: of God's Promi- les and Covenant, but alio in regard of the Work it felf : Whereupon he an- fwered, Bellarmine was a learned Man, and co:dd perhaps defend what he wrote by learning ; But for his part he trujled to be faved only by the merits of his Lord and Saviour Jeftts Chrijl, and as for good Works he would do all that he could ) Et vale ant quantum vale re pofjint. T5 1 6d Tlie Life of To proceed : In or under the Obedi- ence of Rome there is Perfecution, and that is a better mark of ChrifFs peo- ple, then Bellarmine\ Temporal felicity. All that will live godly in Cbrijl Jefm ( faith the Apoftle ) /hall fuffer perfecu- tion'? ye (hall be hated of all Men for my Names fake? ( faith our Saviour ) and fb are all they on that fide that are lejs fuperlritious than others, or dare fpeak of redrefs of abufes ; yea, there is Mar- tyr dome for a free oppofing Mens Tra- ditions, Image-worfoippers y Purgatory, and the like. Add, That in obedience to this call of Chrift? there dofome come daily fro:;t thence ; and in truth how could our Sa- viour call his people from thence if he had none there ? How could the Apo- ftles fay that dntichriflfcom whofe cap- tivity they are called, (hall (it in the Tem- ple of God j ( fince that Jerufalem is fi* nally and utterly defolated ) unlefs the fame Apoftle otherwhere declaring himfelf, had fhewed us his meaning, that the Church is the Houfe of God : i Tim. 3. and again, ye are the Temple of the liv- ls * ing God y and the Temple of God is Holy? which are ye. It will be laid that there are on that fide many grofs errors , fciany open Idolatries, and Superstiti- ons, BiJJiop Bedell i6i ons, (b as thofe which live there muft needs be either partakers of them, and like minded , or elfe very Hypocrites. But many cnrours and much ignorance, fb it be not affected, may ftand with true Faith in Chrift ; and when there is true Contrition for one fin, ( that is, bee ah fe it difpleafeth God ) there is a ge- neral and implicite repentance for all un- known fins. .God's Providence in the gene- ral revolt of the ten Tribes, when Elias thought himfelf left alone, had referved (even thoufand, that had not bowed to the * Rin ? s i a i 3 Image of BaaI : ; and the like may be ? * a conceived here, fince efpecially, the Ido- latry pra£tifed under the obedience of Myftical Babylon, is rather in falfe and will-worfhip of the true God,and rather commended, as profitable, than enjoyn- ed as abfblutely neceffary , and the cor- ruptions there maintained are rather in a [uperjluom addition than retrabiion ia any thing neceffary to falvation. Neither let that hard term oihypocri- fie be ufed of the infirmity, and tome- time, of humble and peaceable carriage of fbme that oppofe not common errors, nor wreftle with the greater part of Men, but do follow the multitude, re- ferving a right knowledge to themfelves-- and ibmetimes, ( by the favour which M God \6. 2.' 161 7k Life of God gives them to find where they live, ) obtain better conditions than ci- thers can. We call not "John the belov- ed Difciple an hypocrite, becaufe he w&s i$*il. ' known to the High Priefi, and could procureP^r to be let to fee the arraign- ment of our Saviour : nor call we Pettr himfelf one that for fear denied him \ much lefs Dankl and his companions, that bySuit,obtain'd oiMelzar their kee- per that they might feed upon Pulfe, and ran.r.v. no t he defied with the Kjng of Babel'* we At, and thefe knew themfelves to be cap- tives and in Babel. But in the new Babel how many thoufands do we think there a're that think otherwife ; that they are in the true Catholick Church of God, the name whereof this harlot hath ufiir- ped : And although they acknowledge that where they live there are many a- bufes, and that the Church hath need of reformat ion j yet there they were born, and they may not abandon their Mother in her jicknejf. Thole that converfe more inwardly with Men of Conlci- ence, on that fide, do know that thefe are fpeeches infecret ; which how they will be juftified againft the commands of Chrift, ( come out of her y my people ) belongs to another place to conlider. For the purpofe we have now in hand, I Bijhop Bedell. 165 I dare not but account thefe the people of God, though they live very danger- oufly under the captivity of Babylon, as did Daniel, Mordechai, Hejhr, Nehemiah, and Ezra, and many Jews more, not- withftanding both Cyrus 's Commiflion, and the Prophets command to depart. This point may give lome light in a Queftion that is on foot among learned and good Men at this day, Whether the Church of Rome he a true Church or no ? where I think furely if the mat- ter be rightly declared, for the terms, there will remain no queftion. As thus, whether Babylon petendwg to he the Church of Rome , yea the Catholick Church, be fb or not? or this, Whether the people of Chrift that are under t hat Captivity be a true Church or no ? ei- ther of both wayes if declared in thele terms, the matter will be ibon refbl- ved. Except fbme Man will perhaps ftill Objeffo object. Though there be a people of God, yet they can be no true Church, for they have no Priefthood which is neceflary to the Conftitution of a Church, as S. Cyprian defcribes it, Plebs FpifloU Sacerdoti adunata, people joyned to their 6 ^ Prieft : They have no Priefthood, be- ing by the very form of their Ordi- M 2 nation. 1 04 77;e Lifeo/ nation, Sacrificers for the quick and the dead, j n f Wm I anfwer, under corre&ion of bet- ter judgments, they have the Miniftry of Reconciliation by the Commiffion which is given at their Ordination ; being the lame which our Saviour left Joh.20.23. in his Church , Whofe fins ye remit > they are remitted, whofe fins ye retain they are retained. As for the other power tofacrifice,ifit *\ be any otherwile than the celebrating the Commemoration of Chrift's Sacrifice once offered upon the Crofs, it is no part of the Priefthood or Miniftry of the New Teftament, but a fuferfluom addition thereunto, which yet worketh not to the deftru&ion of that which is law- fully conferred otherwile. This Do- ftrine I know not how it can offend any, unlels it be in being too Charitable, and that I am fure is a good fault, and lerves well for a fure mark of ChriJPs Sheep y and may have a very good ope- ration to helpChrifts people out of Babel: Joh.13.35. ty this filth hQyjha/l Men know that ye are myDifciples,if ye have Charity one to ano- ther, .But they call usHereticks,Mifcreants, DoggSj &c. and perfecute us with more deadly hatred than Jews and Turks; yea, this is Babylon, and perhaps ibme of God's lbijbo[) Bedell. 165 God's People in it that are mifinformed of us. Thus did Saul for a while, yet a chofen vejfel to bear Chrift's Name over the World. But let us maintain our Charity to them, as we are wont to bear with the weaknels of our Friends or Children, when in hot Feavers or Phrenfies, they mifcal us. Let us re- member if they be ChrijFs people, how little loving foever they be to us, they muft be our beloved Brethren, and this of the Perlbns. To this I fhail add the conclufion of that excellent Sermon in which there is fuch a mixture both of ferious Pi- ety and of an undiflembled fincerity , that I hope the Reader will not be difc pleafed with me for laying it in his way. M 3 Now 1 66 Tl?e Life of NOW fhould I come to the Motives from the Danger of fin, and of partaking in puniflhment. But the handling of thefe would require a long time , let me rather make fbme Ap- plication of that which hath been faid already. And Firjl and moft properly to thofe that this Scripture molt con- cerns and is direfted unto : The People of God holden in the Captivity of the Romane Babylon : But alas they are not here, for this is one part of their Captivity , that they are kept , not only from hearing the voyce of the Ser- vants of Chrift, or of S. John the be- loved Difciple, but of himlelf [peaking here from Heaven ; and fince they are fo contented, what remedy may there be for thofe that are thus bewitched, un- lefs you (My L. Vs. and Brethren ) will be contented to become faithful Feoffees in truft, to convey this voyce and MelTage of Chrift unto them : and by my requeft you {hall be pleafed to do it, with a great deal of Love. As this PrefiAent of our Lord himlelf doth lead you as to Brethren, and, as you hope, (Bifiop Bf dell. 167 hope, faithful People^ loth'tofin againft hiin, arid defirous to: pleafe him in all things. Tell them then, that it is ac- knowledged by their own Doftors : That Rome is Babylon, and it is aver- red , That this is the prefent Pajtal Monarchy,., that out of this they muft depart by the. Commands of our Lord Jeft# CbriJPs own Voyce, under pain of being accaffary to all her fas, and ly- able to all her punifhments : mjh them to ufe the Liberty to read the Holy Scripture, and to come out of the blind Obedience of MensPrecepts andTraditi- ons /, be pleafed to tell them further ,thae •others may have lome colour of excufe, that live in fuch places where they may not dif cover themfelves without "danger of the lofs of their Goods, Honour or Life ; they may do it here, not only with fafety, but with Reputation and Profit : intreat them to beware left they make themfelves extreamly Culpable, not only of partaking with the for- mer Idolatries , Extortions, MaJJ acres, Powder Treafons, and I\J ng-killiags of that bloody City, but the new deteft- able Doftrines, Derogatory to the blood of Chrijl, which moderate Men even of her own Subjefts deteft : But which ftie,for fear it flhould difcontent her own M 4 Creatures, II, 68 TfteLiFjB of Creatures, and devoted Darlings will not difavow : O if they would fear the plagues of Babylon, and that of all o- aThef. thers the fearfuleft, Blindneji of Mind, >B (BifJnp Bedell. 171 fori, to come out of her, jQui monet ut facias, &c. He that perfwades another to that which he doth already, in per- fwading incourageth him, and puts him on in his performance;but if there be any yet unrefolved, and halting or hanging between two , ( as the people did in Elias time ) that prefent their bodies , K i n §s at fuch meetings as this is, when their 18.21. hearts are perhaps ati^w^orno where; If any are in fbme points rightly infor- med and cleared, and in others doubt- ful, to fuch Chrift fpeaks, Come out of her, my people, prefs on by Prayer, Con- ference, Reading, ( if ChrifVs Voyce be to be heard ) If Rome be Babylon i Come out of her. And let it be Ipoken with as little offence as it is delight : we that feem to be the forwardeft in Reformation,are not yet fb come out of Bxbylon, as that we have not many fhameful badges 6? her Captivity, witnefs her Impropria- t ions, being indeed plain Church-robberies y deviled to maintain her Colonies of idle and irrezuhr Re?n/ars',idle to the Church and State, zealous and pragmatical to fupport and defend her power, pomp, and pride, by whom they fubiifted : witnefs her Difpenfations,ov diffipations rather, of all Canonical Orders ; bear- ing xyi Tk Life of ing down all with her Non obfiante, her Symoniacal and Sacrilegious Ve- nality of holy things, her manifold Ex- tortions in the exercife of Ecclefiaftical Jurif diction, which we have not whol- ly banifhed : Let each of us therefore account it as fpoken to himfelf, ( Come out of her my people. ) In this Journey let us riot trouble and caft ft ambling blocks before God's peo- ple, that are ready to come out ; or hin- der one another with D iff ent ions in matters either inexplicable, or unprofi- table : Let it have fome pardon , if fome be even fo forward in flying from Babylon, as they fear to go back, to take their own goods for hafte : and let it not be blamed or uncharitably cenlured, if rt w tar- •^ )me come m ^ ie Rear, and would diksambH' leave none of ChrifFs people behind hnt.non x^ m : jsj man reacheth his hand to a- qmd!. '*" nother whom he would lift out of a &. Aug. in Ditch, but heftoops to him. Our ends ^ p joh! a immediate are not the fame, but yet Trad. $. they meet in one final intention ; The one hates Babylon, and the other loves and pities ChriJPs people : The one be- lieves the Angel that caft the Milfione into the Sea ; in the end of this Chap- ter, with that Word ( fo fhall Babylon rife no more. ) The other fears the threat- ning Bijhop Bedell. \y> ning of our Saviour againft fiich as fcan- dalize any of the little ones believing in him, that it is better for fuch a one to have a Milftone hanged upon his neck, and be cafi into the Sea himfelf. Finally, let us all befeech our Lordje- fmChrifi to give us Wifdom and oppor- tunity to further his work, and to give fuccefi unto the fame himfelf, to hafien the judgment of Babylon , to bring his people out of this bondage, that we with them and all his Saints in the Church Triumphant, may thereupon fing a joyful Hallelujah, as is exprelTed in the next Chapter. Salvation, and Honour, and Glory, and Power, be unto the LORD our GOD, Amen. Matt. 1 8.*. Hallelujah. He 1 74 37;e Lifeo/ He preached very often in his Epi£ copal habit, but not alwayes, and ufed it f eldome in the Afternoon ; nor did he love the pomp of a Quire, nor Inftru- mental Mufick ; which he thought fil- led the ear with too much pleafiire, and carried away the mind from the ferious attention to the matter, which is indeed the finging with grace in the Heart, and the inward melody with which God is chiefly pleafed. And when another Bifhop justified thefe things, be- caufe they ferved much to raife the af- fections ; he anfwered, That in order to the railing the affeftions, thole things that tended to edification ought only to be ufed : And thought it would he hard otherwife to make flops ; for upon the lame pretence an infinity of Rites might be brought in. And the lenfe-lie had of the exceffes of fuperftition,from what he had obferved during his long ftay in Italy, made him judge it neceffary to watch carefully againft the beginnings of that difeafe, which is like a green Sicknels in Religion. He never ufed the Com- mon Prayer in his Family ; for he thought it was intended to be the fb- lemn Worfhip of Chriftians in their Publick AiTemblies, and that it was not fo fiipwp Bedell. 17 5 lb proper for private Families.He was (b exactanobferverofEcclefiaftical Rules, that lie would perform no part of his Funftionout of his own Diocefs, with- out obtaining the Ordinaries leave for it ; fo that being in Dublin, when his Wife's Daughter was to be married to Mr. Clogy, ( that is much more the Au- thor of this Book than I am ) and they both defired to be bleft by him,he would not do it till he firft took out a Licence for it in the Archbifhop of Dublin $ Confiftory. So far I have profecuted the Relati- on of hismoft exemplary difcharge of his EpilcopalFunfl:ion;referving what is more perlbnal and particular to the end where I fhall give his Character. I now come to the conclufionof his life r which was indeed fuitable to all that had gone before. But here I mult open one of the bloodied Scenes , that the Sun ever fhone upon, and reprelent a Nation all covered with Blood , that was in full peace, under no fears nor apprehensi- ons, enjoying great plenty, and under an eafie yoke, under no oppreffion in Civil matters, nor perfecution upon the account of Religion : For the Bi/hops and Priefts of the Roman Communion enjoyed not only an impunity, but were 176 Tl?e Life of were almoft as publick in the life of theif Religion, as others were in that which was eftablifhed by Law ; fb that they wanted nothing but Empire,and a pow- er to deftroy all that differed from them* And yet on a fudden this happy Land was turned to be a Field of Blood. Their Bifhops refblved in one particular to fulfil the Obligation of the Oath they took at their Confecration of perf ecu- ting all Hereticks to the utmoft of their power ; and their Priefts, that had their breeding in Spam, had brought over from thence the true Spirit of their Religion, which is ever breathing cru- elty, together with a tin£ture of the Spaniffj temper, that had appeared in the conqueft of the Weft-Indies , and fb they thought a MafTacre was the fureft way to work, and intended that the Natives of Ireland ; fhould vie with the Spaniards for what they had done in America* The Conjun&ure feemed favourable; for the whole Ifle of Britain was fb im- broiled, that they reckoned they fhould be able to matter Ire land ,before any For- ces could be fent over to check the pro- grefs of their butchery.TheEarl ofStr af- ford had left Ireland fbme confiderable time before this. The Parliament of Bijhop Bedell. \jy England Was rifiiig very high againft the King ; and though the King was then gone to Scotland, it was rather for a prefent quieting of things that he gave all up to them, than that he gain- ed them to his Service. So they laid hold of this conjuncture^ toinfufe it in- to the people^ That this was the pro- per time for them to recover their an- cient Liberty, and fliake off the Engl/fh Yoke, and to poffefs themfelves of thole Eftates that had belonged to their An- ceftors : And to fuch as had feme refts of Duty to the King it w r as given out, That what they were about was war- ranted by his Authority, and for his iervice. A Seal was cut from another Charter, and put to a forged Commiffi- on, giving warrant to what they were going about. And becaufe the King was then in Scotland, they made ufe of a Scotch Seal. They alio pretended that the Parliaments of both Kingdoms be- ing either in rebellion againft the King, or very near it, That the English of Ireland would be generally in the in- tereft of the Englifh Parliament y Co that it was laid, That they could not lerve the King better than by making them- felves Mafters in Ireland, and then decla- ring for the King againft: his other rebel- lious Subjects. N Thefe 178 Tfc Life of Thefe things took univerfally with the whole Nation ; and the Confpiracy was cemented by many Oaths and Sa- craments, and in conclufion all things were found to be fb ripe that the day was fet in which they fhould every where break out ; and the Caftle of Dublin being then as well ftored with a great Magazine, which the Earl of Strafford had laid up for the Army , that he intended to have carried in- to Scotland j had not the pacification prevented it , as it was weakly kept by a few carelefs Warders ; who might have been eafily furprized : it was re- folved that they fhould feize on it , which would have furnifhed them w r ith Arms and Ammunition, and have put the Metropolis, and very probably the whole Ifland in their hands. But, though this was fo well laid, that the execution could not have mift, in all humane appearance ; and though it was kept fb fecret, that there was not the leaft fufpicion of any defign on foot, till the Night before, and then one that was among the chief of the managers of it, out of kindnefs to an IriJbmMj that was become a Prote- ctant , communicated the Project to him : The other went and difcovered it to fBiJhop Bedell. *79 to the Lords Juftices ; and by this means not only the Caftle of Dublin was preferred, but in effe£t Ireland was faved. For in Dublin there was both a fhelter for f iich as were ftript and turn- ed out of all they had, to fly to, and a place of rendezvous, where they that efcaped before the ftorm had reached to them, met to confult about their pre- fervation. But though Dublin was thus fecured , the reft of the Englijb and Scotch in Ireland, particularly in Vljler* fell into the hands of thole mercilefs Men, who reckoned it no finall piece of mercy, when they ftript people naked, and let them go with their lives. But the vaft numbers that were butchered by them, which one of their own Wri- ters in a Difeourfe that he printed fome years after, in order to the animating them to go on, boafts to have exceed- ed two hundred thoufand, and the bar- barous cruelties they ufed in murthering them, are things of fo dreadful a na- ture, that I cannot eafily go on with fo difmal a Narrative, but mult leave it to the Hiftorians. I fhall fay no more of it than what concerns our Bifhop : ft may be eafily imagined how much he was ftruck with that fearful ftorm, that was breaking on every hand of him, N 2 though 8o T/;e Live of though it did not yet break in upon himfelf. There feemed to be a fecret guard let about his Floufe : for though there was nothiag but Fire, Blood and Befblation round about him ; yet the Irifb were 16 reftrained, as by fome hidden power, that they did him no harm for many Weeks : His Houferwas in no condition to make any refiftance, fo that it was not any apprehenfion of the oppofition that might be made them, that bound them up. Great numbers of his Neighbours had alfb fled to him for fhelter : He received all that came, and fhared every thing he had fo with them, that all things were common a- mong them ; and now that they had nothing to expe£t from Men, he invi- ted them all to turn with him to God , and to prepare for that death,which they had reafon to look for every day ; fo that they fpent their time in Prayers and Failing, which laft was now like to be impofed on them by neceflity. The Rebels expreifed their eftecmfor him in fuch a manner that he had reafon to afcribe it wholly to that overruling pow- er , that ftills the raging of the Seas, and the tumult of the people :. they feemed to be overcome with his ex- emplary converfation among them , and fBifbop Bedell. i 8i and with the tendernefs and charity that he had upon all occafions expreifed for them, and they often faid, He fhould be the laft Emlifbman that fhould be put out of Ireland. He was the only Englishman iu the whole County of Ca- *vm that was fuffered to live in his own Houfe without difturbance ; not only his Houfe, and all the out-Buildings , but the Church and Church-Yard were full of people \ and many that a few dayes before lived in great eafe an4 much plenty, were now glad of a heap of Straw or Hay to lye upon, and of fbme boiled Wheat to ianport Nature : and were every day expe&ing when thole Swords, that had according to the Prophetick Phrafe, drmk up jo much Bloody fhould likewife be fatiated with theirs. They did now eat the Bread of Sorrow, and mingled their Cups with their Tears. The Bilhop continued to encourage them to truft in God, and 1 order to that he preached to diem the firfj Lords Day after this terrible calami- ty had brought them about him, on the Third Pfalm, which was penned by David when there was a general in- furrettion of the people againft him un- der his unnatural Son Abfolom ; and applved.it all to their condition* He- had N 3 a i 8 2 Tk Life of a doleful AlTembly before him, an Au- ditory all melting in Tears : It re- quires a Soul of an equal elevation to his, to imagine how he railed up their Spirits, when he fpake to thefe Words, But thou, Lord, art a Shield for me, my glory , and the lifter up of my Mead. I laid me down andftept : I awaked, for the L or d f ujl aim d me. I will not be afraid of ten thoufands of the people, that have jet t h em f elves againft me, round about. And to the conclusion of the Pfalm, Salvation belongeth unto the Lord : thy bkffing is upon thy people. The next Lords day > hearing of the Scoffings, as well as the Cruelty, of the Irijh, he preached on thefe Words in Micah, Re- joy ce not againft me , mine enemy : when I fall, I fhall arife , when I fit in darkneft, the Lord fb all be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, becaufe I have finned againft him, untill he plead my caufe, and execute judgment for me : he will bring me forth to the light, and I fhall behold his right eoufneft. Then /he that is mine enemy fljall fee it, and fhame fljall cover her which faid un- to me , Where is the Lord thy God. By thefe means, and through the ble£ fing of God upon them , they en- couraged themfelvesin God, and were prepared (Bifiop Bedell. 183 prepared for the wcrft that their ene- n\ies could do to them. The Irifb themfelves were at a ftand : The mifcarriage of the defign on Dub- lin Caftle was a fad difappointment : they were unarmed, they had no Trea- fure, no Fleet, nor foreign fupport 5 and though there were lbme good Officers among them, yet they found the Soul- diers to be as cowardly as the Englifv Inhabitants felt them to be cruel : For as thofe two Characters are obferved generally to meet in the fame per- lon ; fe it was very vifible upon this oc~ cafion, fince a very (mall Body of good Men, could have gone over the whole Kingdom, and have reduced it in few- er Months than it coft Years. Their chief hope was, the only thing in which they were not difappointed, That the Difputes between the King and the Parliament of England , would make Supplies come over (b flow, that they might thereby gain much time ; and in conclufion they might hope for a more favourable conjuncture. Thofe of the County of Cowan feemed to fee their er- rour, and apprehend their danger : (b they came to the Bifhop, as the fitteft Man to interpofe for them ; he was willing to oblige thofe on the one hand, N 4 at i 84 The L 1 f e of at whole mercy he was, and on the other hand to bring them to fiich a fub- miflion, as might at leaflr procure fbme breathing time to the poor Englijhj and to thofe few Houfes that ftood out, but were falling within doors under an Enemy, that was more irrefiftible than the Injh : For they were much ftrait- ned, their Provifioiis failing them. The Petition, that they figned and lent up to the Lords juftices and the Council, was too well penned to come from thofe that let their hands to it. It was drawn by the Bifhop, who put their matter in his own Words ; therefore I fhall infert it here, though it gives the beft colours to their Rebellion of any of all their Papers that I ever iawc n ^ as ref peeled more the advancement of their own private Fortunes, than the Honour of His Majefly , or the welfare of us his Subjects ; vphereof we in hum- ble manner declared our f elves to His Highneft by our Agents fent from the Parliament , the reprefentative body of this Kjngdom : Notwithftanding which , •we fnd our fe.lv es of late tbreatnedwith far greater and more grievous Ve.xati^nSy either with captivity of cur Conic . :es y our 86 Wit Li fe of our lofing of our lawful Liberties, or ut- ter expulfwnfrom our Native Seats, with- out any jufl Ground given on our farts, to alter his Majeflies goodnefl fo long conti- nued unto us', of all which we find great caufe of fears in the proceeding of our Neighbour Nations, and do fee it already attempted upon by certain Petitioners for the like courfe to be taken in this Kjngdom , for the effecting thereof, in a compdfory way, fo as Rumors have caufed fears of Inva- fion from other parts, to the diffolving the Bondof mutual agreement j which hitherto hath been held inviolable between the feve- ral Subjects of this Kjngdom ; and where- by all other his Majejlies Dominions have been linkt in one. For the preventing therefore offuch evils growing upon m in this Kjngdom ; we have, for the prefer- v at ion of his Majejlies Honour , and our own Liberties, thought fit to take into our Hands, for his Highnejfes ufe and Service, fuch Forts, and other places of Strength as coming into the pojfeffion of others might prove difadvantagions, and tend to the utter undoing the Kjngdom. And we do hereby declare, That herein we har- bour not the leaft thought of di /loyalty to- wards his Majejly, or purpofe any hurt to any of his Highnejfes Subjects in their Pojfeffion, Goods or Liberty : only we de- fire of all our Grievance s j andjuft Fears, that they may be removed^ and fuch a courfe fetled by the advice of the Parliament of Ireland, whereby the Liberty of our Con- fciences may be fecured unto us, and rve eafed of other Burthens in Civil Govern- ment. As for the mi J chiefs and inconve- niences that have already happened through the diforder of the common fort of people > againft the Englifh Inhabitants, or any other ; we with the Noblemen, and Gen- tlemen , and fuch others of the fever al Counties of this Kjngdom^ are moft wil- ling and ready to ufe our and their be ft en- deavours in causing reft it ut ion and fat if faction to be made as in part we have alrea- dy done. An an fiver hereunto is moft humbly deft- red, with fuch pre fent expedition us may by your Lordjhips be thought moft convenient for avoiding the inconvenience of the bar- bar oufne ft and uncivilityofthe Co?n?nonal- ty,who have committed many outrages with- out any order, confenting , or privity of ours. All which we leave to your Lordjhips moft grave Wifdom. And we ftrall humbly pray, &c But iS8 The Life of But this came to nothing : while thefe things were in agitation, the ti- tular Bifhop oiKjlmore came to Cavan ; his name was Swiney, he was like his name, for he often wallowed in his own Vomit. He had a Brother, whom the Bifhop had converted, and had enter- tained him in his Houfe, till he found cut a way of fubfiftence for him. He pretended that he came only to pro- tect the Bifhop, fo he defired to be ad- mitted to lodge in his Houfe, and at fured him that he would preferve him. But the Bifhop hearing of this, writ the following Letter in Latin to him ; which will be found at the end of tms Book, and is indeed a ftile fit for one of the moft eloquent of the end. Roman Authors. Here I fhall give a Numb. 4 TranQation of it in English. Seeac the Reverend Brother, I Am fenfible of your civility in offer- ing to protect me by your pre fence in the midji of -this tumult ; and ufon the like occafwn I would not be wanting to do the like charitable office to you \ but there arc many things that hinder me from ma- king fiijhop Bedell. i 89 king ufe of the favour you now offer me. My Houfe is fir ait, and there is a great number of miferable people, of all Ranks, AgeS) and of both Sexes, that have fled hi- ther as to a S ancillary ; be fides that fome of them are fick , among whom my own Son is one. But that which is beyond all the refty is the difference of our way of worfljip : I do not fay of our Religi- on, for 1 have ever thought , and have publiffjed it in my Writings, that we have one common Chriftian Religion. Under our prefent miferies we comfort our f elves with the reading of the Holy Scriptures, with daily Prayers, which we offer up to God in our vulgar Tongue > and with the finging of Pfaltns \ andfince we fndfo little truth among Men, we rely on the truth of God, and on his afjiftance. Thefe things would offend your company , if not your felf\ nor could others be hin- dered,who would pretend that they ca?ne to fee you j if you were among us \ and un- der that colour thofe murtherers would break in upon **, who after they have robbed m of all that belongs to us, would in conclufion think they did God good fer- vice by our (laughter. For my own part, I am refolved to truft to the Divine Protection* To a Chriftian, and a Bi- (fjop , that is now almoft feventy , no death ipo Tfo Life of death for the caufe of Chrifi can be bit* ter : on the contrary, nothing is mote de- finable. And though I ask nothing for my felf alone, yet if you will require the people under an Anathema , not to do any other acts of violence to thofe whom they have fo oft beaten , fpoiled and fiript , it will be both acceptable to God, honourable to your felf ', and happy to the people, if they obey you : But if not, confider that God will remember all that is now done. To whom, Reverend Brother , I do heartily commend you. November 2. 1641. Yours in Chriflr, Will. Kilmore. Endorfed thus, To my Reverend and Loving Brother , D. Swinev. This Bijhop Bedell. i p i ThisLetter commends it felf fo much, that I need fay nothing but wifh my Reader to fee where he can find fuch a- nother, writ on fuch an occafion, with fo much Spirit, as well as Piety and Difcretion : It was the laft he ever writ, and was indeed a conclufion well be- coming fuch a Pen. It had at that time fbme etfeft, for the Bifhop gave him no further disturbance till about five Weeks after this, fo that from the 2 3. of Otto- ber, which was the difmal day in which the Rebellion broke out, till the 18. of December following, he, together with all that were within his Walls, enjoyed fuch quiet, that if it was not in all Points a miracle, it was not far from one ; and it feemed to be an accom- plishment of thofe Words, A thoufand (hall fall on thy fide , and ten thoufand at thy right -Hand ; but it jh all not come nigh thee ; there Jha/l no evil befal thee ; for he fball give his Angels charge over thee. But to the former Letter I fhall add the laft Paper* of Spiritual advice and direction that ever the Bifhop writ ; which he did at the defire of one Mrs Dillan , that was a zealous and devout Proteftant, but id been fatally deluded in her widow.. I t. Dil- lan ipi The Lifeo/ Lm Son to the Earl of Rofcommon, ta- king him to be a Protefiant, and had married him, but enjoyed her felf very* little after that : for though he ufed no violence to her, or her Children by her former Husband, in the point of Religi- on; yet he bred up his Children by her in his own Superftition, and he was now engaged in the Rebellion. So that fhe had at this time a vaft addition to her former forrows upon her ; and there- fore defired that the Bifhop , whofe Neighbour and conftant Hearer fhe had been, would fend her fiieh Inftru- ftions in this fad calamity, as might both dire£l and fupport her. Upon which he writ the following Pa- per. U X/"^^ defire, as I am informed " I ( dear Sifter in Chrift Jefus ) "that I would fend you feme fhort " Memorial, to pur you in mind how to " carry your felf in this ferrowful time. " I will do it willingly ; the more, be- " caufe with one and the fame labour, u I fhall both fatisfie you, and recol- "lect my own thoughts alio, to the « like BiJJiop Bedell, 195 " like performance of mine own duty£ " and bethinking my felf how I might " beft accomplifh it, there came to my " mind that fhort Rule of our Life; u which the Apoftle mentions in his " Epiftle to Titus, and whereof you " have been a diligent hearer in the " School of Grace, where he reduceth " the whole practice of Ch'riftianity un- " to three Heads, of living Soberly, jufi? " ly , and Godly \ This laft directing ¥ our carriage towards God, the midle»« "moft towards our Neighbour, and " the foremofl: towards our Selves " Now finee this is a direction for our u whole Life, it feems to me that we u have no more to do at any time, but ' to conn this Leifon more perfe&ly, with ibme particular application of fuch parts of it, as are molt fuitable to the prefent occafions. And as to " Sobriety firft , ( under wliich the " Vermes of Humility, Modefty, Tem- " perance, Chaftity, and Contented- " nefs are contained ) fince this is a " time, wherein, as the Prophet faith, " The Lord of Hofls calleth to weeping a and mourning, and pilling off the Hair, u and girding with Sack-cloth , you " (hall, by my advice, conform your " felf to thofe, that by the Hand of O " God 1 94 Tl ?e L i f e of u God fuflfer fuch things. Let your ap- li parel and Drefs be mournful, as I " doubt not but that your Mind is ; your " Dyet fparing and courfe, rather than " full and liberal ; frame your felf to " the indifferency, whereof the Apoftle cr fpeaketh, In whatfoever Jiate you jhall u be, therewith to be content ; to be full, " and to be hungry ; to abound and to * want. Remember now that which " is the Lot of others, you know not " how foon it may be your own. Learn Ki to defpife, and defie, the vain and "falfly called wealth of this World, "whereof you now fee, wehavefbea- " fual and uncertain a poffeflion. " This for Sobriety, the firft part " of the Leflbn pertaining to your " felf. • u Now for J u ft ice, which refpe£t> u others ( and containeth the Vertues of " Honour to Superiors, difcreet and u equal government of Inferiors, peace- " ablenefs to all , Meeknefs, Mercy, * juft dealing in matters of getting and " fpending, Gratitude, Liberality, juft " Speech anddefires ) God's Judgments " being in the Earth, the Inhabitants of " the World fhould learn Righteoufc " nefi, as the Prophet fpeaketh f Call "to Bijhop Bedell. 195 u to mind therefore and bethink you, " if in any of thefe you have failed, u and turn your Feet to God's Teftirno- u nies ; certainly thefe times are fuch, " wherein you may be affli&ed, and " fay with the Pfalmift, Horrour hath " taken hold of me, and Rivers of Tears * run down mine Eyes> becanfe they keep " not thy Laws. Rebelling againft Su- " periors, Mifleading, not only by Ex- ■ ample, but by Compulfion, Inferiors, " laying their Hand to them, that were " at peace with them, unjuftly fcoMing u and unthankfully requiting, thofe that u had fhewed them kindnefi, no Faith u nor Truth in their Promifes ; Judge " by the way, of the School that teach- u eth Chrift thus ; are thefe his doings ? a as for thofe that fiiffer, I am well ai- " fured, I fhall not need to inform you, " or ftir you up to mercy and compafli- u on. That which is done in this kind, " is done to Chrift himfelf, and fhallbe " put upon account in your reckoning, " and rewarded accordingly at his glori- a ous appearance. " The laft and principal part of our u LefTon remains, which teacheth how " to behave our felves Godly , or religi- " oully ; ( to this belong, Firft, the 2 "Duties ip6 Tl?e Li f e of " Duties of Gods inward Worfhip, as " Fear, Love, and Faith in God ; then "outward, as Invocation, the holy ufe u of his Word and Sacraments, Name " and Sabbaths ). The Apoftle makes " it the whole End and Work for which " we were let in this World, to leek the " Lord j yet in publick affliction, we " are fpecially invited thereto, as it is " written of Jehofbaphat, when a great " multitude came to invade him, He %fet his Face to fee k the Lord, andcal- " led the people to a folemn fafl : So " the Church profefleth in the Prophet " Ifaiahj In the way of thy Judgments ic Lord rve have waited for thee, the de- " fire of our Soul is to thy Name, and Bedell 221 paring the Originals with the moll an- cient Verfions. His Stile was clear and full, but plain and fimple ; for he ab- horred all affectations of pompous Rhe- torick in Sermons, as contrary to the fimplicity of Chrift. His Sermons did all drive at the great defign of infufing in the Hearts of his Hearers right ap- prehenfions and warm thoughts of the great things of the Chriftian Religion ; which he did with fo much the more authority, becaufe it appeared that he was much moved himfelf with thofe things that he delivered to others. He was always at work in his Study, when the affairs of his Funftion did not lead him out of it. In which his chief im- ployment was the ftudy of the Text of the Scripture. He read the He- brew and the Septuagint fb much, that they were as familiar to him as the Englijh Tranflation. He read every Morning the Pfa/ws appointed by the Common Prayer for the day in Hebrew ; or if his Son, or any other that was skilled in the Hebrew, was prefent, he read one Verfe out of the Hebrew, turning it into Latin , and the other read the next, and (6 bv turns till they went through them. He had gathered a vaft heap of critical Expofitions of Scripture. 2 1 1 fix L I F E of Scripture. All this , with his other Manufcripts , of which there was a great Trunk full, fell into the Hands of the Irijh. He had writ very learned Paraphrafes and Sermons on all thofe parts of Scripture that were prefcribed to be read in the fecond Service, but all thefe are loft. His great Hebrew Ma- nufcript was happily reicued out of the hands of thofe devourers of all facred Things, and is to this day preferved in the Library of Emmanuel Colledge : for an IrijJjmwfwhom he had converted, went among his Country Men and brought out that and a few other Books to him. Every day after Dinner and Supper, there was a Chapter of the Bible read at his Table, whofbever were prefent,Pro- teftants or Papifts, and Bibles were laid down before every one of the Company, and before himfelf either the Hebrew or Greek, and in his laft years the Irijh Translation was laid, and he ufually explained the difficulties that occur- red. He writ many Books of Contro- verfie ; which was chiefly occafioned by the engagements tbat lay on him , to labour much in ph% converfion of perfbns of the Romay i ommunion ; and the knowledge ae hid of that Church, (Bijhop Bedell. 22 j Church, and their way of Worfhip, by what he had feen and obferved while he was at Venice, railed in him a great zeal againft their corruptions. He not only lookM on thatChurch asldolatrous, but as the Antichriftian Babylon ; con- cerning which S. jf ohn faw all thofe Vi- fions in the Revelation : And of this the Sermon,out of which I have made fbme extrafts, gives Evidence. He writ a large Treatife in anfwer to thofe two Queftions, in which the Miffionaries of that Communion triumph fb much, Where was our Religion before~Luthev,and what became of our Ancefiors that dyed in Popery f Archbifhop Vfher preft him to have printed it, and he had refblved to do it, but that, with all his other Works, was (wallowed up in the Re- bellion. He kept a great correfpondence, not only with the Divines of England, but with many others over Eur of e ; for he writ both Latin and Italian very elegantly. He was very free in his con- version, but talked feldome of indif- ferent matters, he exprelTed a great mo- defty of Spirit , and a moderation of temper in every thing he fpoke, and his Difcourfe ftill turned to fbme what that made his company ufeful and in- ftru&ing. He fpoke his own thoughts very 224 Tl:e Li? E of very plainly, and as he bore well witfr the freedom of others, fb he took all the difcreet liberty that became a Man of his Age and ifation, and did not ftick to tell even the Learned and Worthy Primate Vjher y fuch things as he thought were blame- worthy in him, and with the fame fmcerity he fhewed him Ibme critical miftakes that he met with in Ibme of his Works. They were very- few, and not of any great importance ; but they did not agree with the Pri- mates exa&nefs in other things, and fb he laid them before him ; which the other took from him with thatkindnefs and humility that was natural to him. His Habit was decent and grave ; he wore no Silk, but plain Stuffs ; the fur- niture of his Houfe was not pom- pous nor fuperfluous, but neceffary for common ufe, and proper. His Table was well covered , according to the plenty that was in the Country, but there was no luxury in it. Great refbrt was made to him, and he obferved a true hofpitality in Houfe-keeping. Many poor Irtjh families about him were maintained out of his Kitchin : And in the Chriftmafi time, he had the Poor always eating with him at his own Table \ and he brought himfelf to en- dure BiJJiop Bedell. 225 dure both the fight of their Rags,, and their rudenefs : He was not for- ward to fpeak, and he expreffed him- felf in very few Words in publick com- panies. -Atpublick Tables he ufually fatfilerit. Once at the Earl of Straf- ford's Table, one obferved, That while they were all talking, he laid nothing. So the Primate anfwered, Broach him; and you will find good liquor in him ; Upon which that per Ion propofed a queftion in Divinity to him , and in anftvering it the Bifhop fhewed both his own fumciency fb well, and pulled the other fo much, that all at Table , ex- cept the Bifhop himfelf, fell a laugh- ing at the other. The greatnefs of his mind, and the undauntednefs of his Spirit on all occafions has appeared verv evidently in many of the paflages of his life ; but though that height of mind is often accompanied with a great mixture of Pride, nothing of that ap- peared in the Bifhop. He carried him- felf towards all people with fuch a gaining humility, that he got into their Hearts: He lived with his Clergy as if they had been his Brethren : When he went his Vifitations, he would not ac- cept of the Invitations that were made him by the great Men of the Countrv, Q_ but iz6 The Life 0/ but would needs eat with his Brethren in fiich poor Inns, and of fuch courfe fare, as the places afforded. A perfbn of Quality, that had prepared an entertain- ment for him during his Vifitation,took his refufing it fo ill, that whereas the Bifhop promifed to come and fee him after Dinner ; as loon as he came near Jus Gate, which wasftanding open, it was prefently flhut, on defign to affront him , and he was kept half an hour knocking at it : the affront was vifible, and when ibme would have had him go away, he would not do it, but faid, They mil hear e^re long. At laft the Matter came out , and received him with many fhews of civility , but he made a very fhort vifit , and though the rudenefs he met with prevailed not on him, either to refent it, or to go away upon it, yet it appeared that he under- ftood it well enough. He avoided all affeftations of ftate or greatnefs in his carriage : He went about always on foot, when he was at Dublin^ one Ser- vant only attending on him, except on publick occafions, that obliged him to ride in Proceffion among his Bre- thren. He never kept a Coach : for his .ftrength continued fb entire that he was alwayesable to ride on Horfeback : He (Bijbop Bedell. 227 He avoided the affe&ations of humility as well as of Pride ; the former flowing often from the greater pride of the two, and amidft all thofe extraordinary Ta- lents, with which God had bleft him, it never appeared that he overvalued himfelf, nor defpifed others ; that he affumed to himfelf a Diftatorfhip, or was impatient of contradiction. He took an ingenious device to put him in mind both of his Obligations to purity and humility : It was a flaming Cru- cible with this Motto in Hebrew, Take from me all my Tin. The Word in He- brew that fignifies Tin* was Be Ail. This imported that he thought that every thing in himfelf was but bafe alloy, and therefore he prayed that God would cleanfe him from it. His great humi- lity made the fecreter parts of his good- nefs, as to his private walking with God, lefs known, except as they ap- peared in that beft and fiireft indicati- on of it, which his life and conversi- on gave ; yet if the Rebells had not deftroyed all his Papers , there would have been found among them great difcoveries of this ; for he kept a daily Journal for many years ; but of what fort it was, how full, and how parti- cular, is only known to God ', fince no Q^2 Man 2i8 Tlx Lite of Man ever faw it, unlets ibme of the Rebells found it. Though it is not probable that they would have taken the pains to examine his Papers, it being more likely that they deftroyed them all in a heap. He never thought of changing his See, or of rifing up to a more advantagious Bifhoprick, but confidered himfelf as under a tye to his See, that could not be eafily diffolved. So that when the tranilating him to a Bifhoprick in England, was propofed to him, he refilled it, and faid he fhould be as troublefbme a Bifhop in England, as he had been in Ireland. It appeared he had a true and gene- rous notion of Religion, and that he did not look upon it fo much asaSyftem of Opinions, or a fet of Forms , as a Divine Difcipline that reforms the Heart and Life ; and therefore when fbme Men were valued upon their zeal for fbme leffer matters , he had thofe Wordspf S. AuguJHnes often in his Mouth, It is not Leaves but Fruit that I feek. This was the true prin- ciple of his great zeal againft Popery : It was not the peevifhnefs of a party, the fburnefs of a fpeculative Man, nor the concern of an interefted perfbn, that wrought on him: But he confi- dered < BiJJ?o[> Bedell. 229 deredthc corruptions of that Church, as an effe&ual courle for enervating the true defignof Chriftianity ; and this he not only gathered from Speculation, but from what he law and knew during his long abode in Italy. His Devoti- on in his Clofet was only known to him, who commanded him to pray in fecret. In his Family he prayed al- wayes thrice a day , in a let Form , though he did not read it ; This he did in the Morning, and before Dinner, and after Supper : And he never turn- ed over this duty , or the fhort De- votions before and after Meat, on his Chaplain, but was always his own Chaplain. He lookt upon the Obliga- tion of obferving the Sabbath as moral and perpetual, and confidered it as fb great an Engine for carrying on the true ends of Religion^ that as he would never go into the liberties that many pra£tifed on that day ; lb he was exem- plary in his own exafl; obfervation of it ; Preaching alwayes twice, and Cate-> chifing once ; and befides that, he ufed to go over the Sermons again in his Fa- mily, and fing Pfalms, and concluded all with Prayer. Q.3 As 230 The Life of As for his Domeftick concerns, he married one of the Family of the L' EJtrangesj that had been before married to the Recorder of S. Edmondsbury : fhe proved to be in all refpe&s a very fit Wife for him ; fhe was exemplary for her life, humble and modeft in her Ha- bit and behaviour, and was fingular in many excellent qualities, particularly in a very extraordinary reverence that fhe payed him : She bore him four Chil- dren, three Sons and a Daughter, but one of the Sons and the Daughter dyed young, fo none fiirvived but William andJmbrofe. The juft reputation his Wife was in for her Piety and Ver- tue, made him choofe that for the Text of her Funeral Sermon, A good name is better than Oyntment. She dyed of a Lethargy three years before the Rebel- lion broke out ; and he himfelf preached her Funeral Sermon, with fuch a mix- ture both of tendernefs and moderati- on, that it touched the whole Congre- gation fb much, that there were very few dry Eyes in the Church, all the while.He did not like the burying in the Church; For, as he obferved there was much both of SuperfHtion and Pride in it, fo he believed it was a great annoy- ance to the Living, when there was fb much Bijhop Bedell. 231 much of the fteam of dead Bodies rifing about them ; he was likewife much of- fended at the rudenefs which the crow- ding the dead Bodies in a fmall parcel of Ground , occafioned ; for the Bodies already laid there, and not yet quite rotten, were often railed and mangled ; fb that he made a Canon in his Synod againft burying in Churches, and as he often wifht that Burying-Places were removed out of all Towns, fb he did chufe the moft remote and leaft fre- quented place of the Church-Yard of Kjlmore for his Wife, and by his Will he ordered that He fhould be laid next her with this bare Infcription, T)epofitum Gulielmi quondam Epifcopi J^ilmorenfis. Depofitum cannot bear an Englijh Tran- flation, it fignifying fomewhat given to another in Truft, fb he confidered his Burial as a trull left in the Earth till the time that it fhall be called on to give up its dead. The modefty of that Infcription adds %o his Merit, which thofe who knew him well, believe exceeds even all that this his zealous and worthy Friend does through my hands convey to the World, 0^4 for 2 3 1 . TJkg Life of for his memory ; which will outlive the Marble or the Brafs, and will make him ever to be reckoned one of the {peaking and lafting- Glories, not only of the Epifcopal Order , but of the Age m which he lived ; and of the two Nations, England and Ireland, be- tween whom he was fb equally di- vided , that it is hard to tell which of them has the greateft fhare in him. Nor muft his Honour flop here, he was a living Apology , both for the Reformed Religion, and the Chri- ftian Doftrine : And both he that col- lefted thefe Memorials of him, and he that copies them out , and pub- lifhes them, will think their Labours very happily imployed , if the read- ing them produces any of thole good effefts that are intended by them. As for his two Sons , he was fa- tisfied to provide for them in fb mo- deft a way , as fhewed that he nei- ther afpired to high things on their behalf, nor did he confider the Reve- nue of the Church as a property of his own, out of which. he might raife a great Eftate for them. He provi- ded his eldeft Son with a Benefice of Eighty Pound a Year, in v,\\ B'tffrp Bedell. 233 he laboured with that fidelity that be- came the Son of fuch a Father ; and his fecond Son, not being a Man of Letters, had a little Eftate of 60/. a year given him by the Bifhop ; which was the only Purchace that 1 hear he made ; and I am informed, that he gave no- thing to his eldeft Son but that Bene- fice, which he fb well deferred. So little advantage did he give to the ene- mies of the Church ; either to thofe of the Church of Rome, againft the mar- riage of the Clergy, or to the dividers among our felves, againft the Revenues of the Church : The one fort objefting that a married ftate made the Clergy co- . vetous,in order to the raifing theirFami- lies, and the others pretending that the Revenues of theChurch being converted byClergymen into TemporalEftates for theirChildren,it was no Sacriledge to in- vade that which was generally no lefs abufed by Churchmen, than it could be by Laymen ; fince thefe Revenues are trufted to the Clergy asDepofitaries, and not given to them as Proprietors. May the great Shepherd and Bifhop of Souls, fb infpire all that are the Over- feers of that Flock, which he purcha- fed with his own Blood, that in imi- tation of all thofe glorious patterns that are 234 ^° e Lifeo/ are" in Church-Hiftory, and of this in the laft Age, that is inferior to very few that any former Age produced, they may watch over the Flock of Chrift, and fo feed and govern them, that the Mouths of all Adverfaries may be ftopt, that this Apoftolical Order recovering its Primitive fpirit and vigour ; it may be received and obeyed with that fame fiibmiflion and efteem, that was payed to it in former times : and that all diffe- rences about lefler matters being laid down , Peace and Truth may again flourifh, and the true ends of Religion and Church-Government may be ad- vanced, and that inftead of biting, de- vouring andconfuming one another, as we do, we may all build up one ano- ther in our moft holy Faith. fomt Biftop Bedell. 235 Some Tapers related to in the former Hijlorj. Guilielmus Providentia Divina, Kilmorcnfis Epifcopus , dile- &o in Chrifto, A. B. Fratri & Synpresbytero falutem. AD Vicariam perpetuam Ecclefue Pa* See p. 77- rochialis de C. nofira. Kjlmoren- fts Dicecefios jam legitime vacant em, & ad nofiram collationem pleno jure Jpec- t ant em , prajlito per te prius juramen- to de agnofcenda & defendenda Regi intra ditiones fuas , deque Anglicano or dine ^ habitu dr Lingua pro Viribut in diet am Parochiam wtroducendis,juxtafor- mam Statutorum hujus Regni ; necnon de per petn a & perfonali Refidentia tua in Vicaria prxditia, qiiodque nullum alind Benejicmm 5 6 Tl?e Life of Benefcium Ecclefiajlicum una cum ea retinebis : deque Canonic a obedient ia no- bis ac Succefforibus nojiris Epifcopis Kjl- morenf. prajianda, te admit timus, in- fiituimus, & canonice invejiimus : Cu- ramque Animarum Parochionarum , m- dem commorantium, tibi committimus , per Prafentes. Obteflantes in Domino, & pro obedientia qua fummo Pafiori teneris injungentes : ut ejus Gregem quern fuo [anguine ac qui fruit , tibi commiffum, diligenter pafcas , & in Fide Catholica inftituaS) officia divina Lingua a populo intellect a, peragas \ exemplar ante omnia teipfum pr£bed fi res pofcat in ceteris ordina- tionum temporibus Presbyterium con* trahi , Epifcopi mandatum expect an- dum. II. In Epifcopi abfentia aut ntorbo> Vi- carins ejusfi Presbyter fuerit, pr'efidebit, alioqui Archidiaconus qui de jure Vicar ius eft Epifcopi. III. V icarius Epifcopi in pofterurn nut- lus conftituatur aut conftrmetur qui laicus efty nee quifquam prorfus nifi durante dun- taxat beneplacito- IV. Vt Archidiaconus de triennio in triennium Dicecefin perfonaliter vifi- tety fwgularum Ecclefiarum, JEdiumque manfionalium fart a tecta tueatur^ libros & orname-nta in indiculo defer iptos habe- at 7 IBifiop Bedell. a 39 tfy defellus omnes fupplendos caret ; Epif copalis procurationis dimidium habeat, ex conditions ut Epifcopus illo Anno non vi- filet. V. Vt fecundum priflinam & anti- quum hujus Dicecefios Kjlmorenfis confii- tutionem in tribus ejus regiorribus, tres Decani (int, ab ipfis Minijlris ejufdem Decanatus eligendi y qui vitam & mores cleri jugi cir cum fpeci tone cujlodiantj & ad Epifcopum refer ant , ejufque manda- te accipiant , & quoties opus erit per apparitor em Decanatus ad Qompresbyteros juos tranfmittant. VI. In quovis Decanatu, in oppido ejus principal^ conventus^ five Capitu- lum fit Minijlrorum quolibet faltem Menfe, ubi leciis plene publicis precibus, concionentur per vices fine longis precibus ejr procemiis. VII. Advocationis Ecckfiarum non- dum vacantium qua ad coliationem Epif- copi fpectant , nemini confer antur aut confirmentur. VIII. Pojfeffiones Ecclefi* non die- nentur aut locentur contra Regni jura , nempe ten arum Menfalium nulla fit lo- cation 240 The Life of eatioy nifi quoad Epifcopus in Sede aut vita, fuperfit y cater arum in p lures annos y quam leges finunt , aut prioribus lo- catiombus y triennio minus nondum ex- pletis. - . IX. Vt Corpora defunclorum dein- ceps in Ecclefiis non humentur y fed nee intra quintum pedem a parietc extrar- fu mm> X. Vt mulieres in Sacrario non fe- deant 7 fed infra Cancettos, dr quidem a viris. XL VtSacrariumin confiftorium non convertatMr y autfacra Men fa Notariis aut Scribis fit prepluteo- ■ XII. A T e infuneribus mulieres luctum aut ullulatumfacient. XIII. Vt Off a defunclorum in Cceme- teriis non coacerventur , fed tradantur fepulturtf. . XIV. Vt matricula fit, in quam .re* ferantur nomina eorum qui ad facros or- dines admiffi funt> aut injiituti, aut ad- miffi ad Beneficia, five ad cur am Anima- rum co apt at i , clericorum item Parochiali- um !BJ/7;o/> Bedell. 241 km & Ludimagijlrorum, neque deinceps ad liter as teflimonialcs in vifitationibus ex- hibe adits adigatur. XV. Ne quis Minijler Ohlat tones ad Funera, Baptzfmum, Eucbarijliam, Nup- tias^pojl puerperium \ aut portwnem Cano* nicam cuiquam locet. XVI. Ne quis ejufmodi Mata acer- be exigat, pr&fertim a pauper ibus- XVII. Vt fas fit Mimfiro a facra Ca- va repellere eos qui fc ingerunt ad Syna- xin>neque nominafuapridie Parocho figni- ficarunt. XVIII. Vt pueri fait em a feptimo Bedell. 143 Recufatio 24. Articulorum Ep:~ fcopi Kilmorenfis. COra?n t'obis venerabilibus Vlris Georgio Riv. he gum Docfore, & Gudielmo Hilton Art i urn Magi fir o>Reve- rendijfimi in Chrijfo Patris Jacobi pro- videntia divina Armachani Archiepifco- pi, totim Hiberni* Primatis , nee ncn vfudicis) Prejidis, Jive Commijfarii Curix Regie Prerogative pro caujis Ecclefiajii- cis, & ad facilitates in & per tot urn reg- num Hibernie^ Regia author it ate legi- time conjl it tit i, Jubflitutis fivefurrogatiS) nt vulgo creditur, Ego Guilielmm KjU morenjis Epifcopus cum debit a vobis re- verentia propono , Quod licet ante hoc exceptionem quandam declinatoriam ju* rifdiBionis vejlre in qmdam prxtenfa caufa duplicis quereU mot a a Guilielmo Bayly clerico Dicecefios Kjlmorenfisjufiis de caujis interpofuerim , ac nominatim propter incompetentiam fori, per abfenti- am Reverendifjimi Prejidis, & fufpicio- R 2 nem 244 ^ e L I F e of nem animi vejlri in me iniquiy quaseti- am coram eodem reverendijfimo Pr*fide y aliifve aquis arbitris probandas in me recepi y ac licet etiam pro parte mea^ ve- nerabilem visum Edwardum Parry fa- cr£ Theologize Profejforem elegerim ac no- minaverim : Vos tamen dicfd recufationi mec Curia ufurpavit^)ex quo in admiffwne Ni~ colai Prenard ad Vicariam de Kjldrom- •ferton, proteflationem mterpofui , quam tu Guilielme Hilton indign 3 tulifii, ea- que non objlante, & ilium, & multos ali- os, injlituifli , reclamantibus Epifcopis , quo. fBifiop Bedell. 14.7 quo nomine ergo, iniqui eftis, non mihi tarn urn j fed *quc omnibus, XII. Quod cum nuper de prima Cita* tione vefira conqueflus ejfem apud illujirif- (imum Pr perperam facta , fub nomine Epifcopi Lifmorenfis, tu idem Guiheime Hilton afiorem admonuijli, ut de integro inciperet. XV L Quad cum tertio citatus Recu~ fationem quandam jurifdictionis veftrx , R 4 op- 248 The LiPEof oppofuijfem propter incompetent iam e§» fufpicionem, quarum caufas paratus eram coram arbitris ojlendere , ' vos jam non admififtis ut oportuit, fed in prqxirnum diem juridicum fuper ea deliberajlis. XVII. Quod quarto citatum ad audi- endnm voluntatem veftram fuper recuf a~ 'tione predict a cum cerneretis ad Tribunal tveflrum appropinquantem, furrexijiis il- licOy dr quanquam nee Auditorio egreffi ieratisy nee Praco populum mijfumfecijfet, nee hora effluxerat , renuijiis me Epi- fcopum ante dictum comparentem audire, ut haberctis alpquem color em me contumacem pronunciand/. XVIII. Qiiod cum proximo die juri- dico comparuijfem, & contumaciam mibi falfo impofitam purgajfem, ejr iterata predict a Recufatione & arbitrum probati- on is pro parte me a reverendum Virum Ed- war dum Parry facr* Theologize Profejfp- rem nominaffem, vos htc admittere recu- fajiisy fed me ad libellum accipiendum & Procurator em conJUtuendum adigere volu- ifiis. XIX. Quod in Acta Curia referri cu- raj} fs, me non comparui(fe> & in iifdem n^rratis tamen, mefrxfentem admonitnm M* 'Bifiop Bedeu, 249 fuiffe de corny arendo de die in diem ttfque ad fnem litis > in altero imperite> in alte- ro inept e, in ut Toque ( falva reverent to, vobis debit a ) injufte. XX. Quod Sigillum officii curia Re- gime Prerogative & ad facultates, dif~ penfationibus circa Pluralitat&n Benefi- ciorum & Refidentiam temerarieprofufis y & inter dum legi divine repugnant il us ap- ponitis. XXI. Quod Epifcoporum jurifdiffio* nem & ordinariam & excitatam a fupre- mo Magi ft r at u imp e dire y ipfos ad Tribu- nal veftrum protrahere, vexare & vili- pendere non veremini. XXII. Quod eorum jura Epifcopalia in inftitutiombus notorie ufurpaftis. XXIII. Quod refcripta conceditis s in quibus mult a, quoad fenfum inept a , quoad verba incongrua continentur , quibus ideo de jure nulla fides adhibenda fit ; cu- jufmodi funt qu#. fub figillo veftro in hac caufa emanarunt. XXIV. Quod nuper in hac eadem cau- fa^figillum veftrum Uteris, in quibus Regia Majeftas -'Ufa fuerit, apponebatur minus difcrete, ijo* Tlie Life of difcrete^ne quid gravis dicam y judex tameH indifcretus quoad recufationem iniquo a- quiparatur, — Has ob caufas^quas omnes aut earum flurimas ego Epifcopus antedictus coram aquis arbitris verijicare paratus fum ( adeoque reverendum virum Edwar- dum Parry, S.Theologi* Dotiorem, ex parte me a nomino) veftrum Tribunal^ ah- fente reverendo Prdjide, vejlrafque per* fonaSy tanquam mihi merit o in bac caufa fufpetlas, dec lino & recufo ad quemcunque juris effecfum^ Dublin, anno Comini 1638. Reverends Bifiop Bedell, 251 Revercndoia Chrifto Fratri En- genioGnilielmus Eccleliac KiU morenfis Minifter S. £• BEnigne tu quidem ( reverende Fr ti- ter ) qui tua prafentia te mihi offers in hoc tumult u pr£Jidio fore. Nee ego in re ftmili impar tibi in hoc charitatis officio deprehenderer. Sed quo minus hoc tuo be- nejicia utar inpr which he would feek to procure. This fet a great edge on the Prince, when he faw he fhould confer with one participant of more than Monkish Speculations : So after leave got- ten, he came the third time, and there he- fides other voluntary difcourfe ( which it were a tyranny over you to repeat ) he aff ailed with a queftion, enough to have troubled any Man but himfelf, and him frJ too., 25$ -fk Life of too, if a precedent accident had not eafed him. The quefiion was this : He de fi- red to he told by him before his going .away j who was the true unmasked Author of the Late Tridentine Hiflory. Tou muji knew, that hut newly advert if ement was -come from Rome, That the Archbijbop of Spalato being there arrived from Eng- land, in an interview between him and the Cardinal Ludovifio, Nephew to Grego- ry XV. the faid Cardinal after a com- plement al welcoming of him into the hap •of the Churchy told him by order from the Pope, That his Holinefs would expeff from him fome Recantation in Print , as an Antidote againft certain Books and Pam- phlets, which he had publijhed whilfi he •food in revolt, namely his firfi Manife- sto : Item, Two Sermons preached at the Italian Church in London. Again, a lit- tle Treat if e intituled , Scogli. And lafily, His great Volumes about Church Regiment .and Controverfies : The fe were all named ; for as touching the Tridentine Hifory, his Holinefs, faith the Cardi- nal, will not pre fs you to any difavorvment thereof though you have an Epijlle before the Original Edition , becaufe we know well enough that Fryer Paulo is the Fa- ther of that Brat. Vpon thislafl Piece if the of or ef aid Advert if ement the good Father renouncing his Baptifm, and t-6% The Copies of certain Letters. 2nd forfaken totally all Chrifiian Religion: a horrible imputation, though falfe, nor fo eafily proved as declaimed ; But I thank God daily that I am become Catholic^ as all our Anceftors were till of late years , and as the mod of Chriftendome ilill be at this prefent day, with whom I had rather be mifcalled a Papifi, a Trajtor y an Apoftata, or Idolater, or what he will, than to remain a Protefiant with him ftUL For in Proteftant Religion I could never find Uniformity of a fettled Faith, and fo no quietnefs of Con- science, efpecially for three or four years before my coming away, although by read- ing, ftudying, praying, and conferring, I did moft carefully and diligently labour to find it among them. I L But your contrariety of Se&s and Opi- nions of Lutherans , Zwinglians , Calvinifls^ Irotefiants , Puritan* , Cartwrightifts , and Brownifls, fome of them damning each other - 7 many of them avouching their Poiitions to be matters of Faith ( for if they made them but School Queftions of Opinion only, they iliould not fo much have difquieted me ) 2nd all thefe being fo contrary, yet every one pretending Scriptures , and arrogating III. the Holy Ghoft in his favour. And above all ( which did moft of all trouble me ) about the deciding of thefe _ and all other Controverfies which might arife, I could not find among all thefe Sefts any certain humane external Judge, fo infallibly to interpret Scri- ptures, and by them and by the afiiftance of the Holy Ghoft fo undoubtedly to define que- ftions "The Copies of certain Letters. i6y Sions of Faith, thkl could allure myfelf and my Soul> This fudge is infallible ; and to him thou oughtefi in Confidence to obey and yield thy underftanding in all his determinations of Faith, for he cannot erre in thofe Points. And note that I (peak now of an external, hu- mane, infallible fudge. For I know the Holy Ghoil is the Divine internal and principal Judge •, and the Scriptures be the Law or Rule, by which that humane external Judge muft proceed- But the Holy Scriptures being often the Matter of Controverfie, and (ome- time queftioned which be Scriptures, and which be not, diey alone of themfelves can- not be^ Judges : And for the Holy Ghoft likewife every one pretending him to be his Patron, how ihould I certainly know r by whom he fpeaketh, or not? For to Men We muft go to learn, and not to Angels, nor to God himfelf immediately. The Head of your Church was the Queen ( an excellent no- table Prixce ) but a Woman , not tO fpeak,. much lefstobe^W^ in the Churchy and iincea learned King, like King Henry the Eighth, who was the firft temporal Prince that ever made himfelf Ex Regio jure Head of the Church in Spiritual matters, a new ftrange Doctrine, and therefore juftly condemned by Calvin for monftrous. But fuppofe he were fuch a Head, yet you all confefsthat he may erre in matters of Faith. And fo you acknow- ledge may your Archbifkops and Bi/hops, and your whole Clergy in their Convocation-Houfe, even making Articles and Decrees : yea, though a Council of all your Lutherans, Cat- vinifts^ 2/0 The Copies of certain Letters. vinifts, Protefiants, &c. of Germany <, France* England, &c. were all joyned together, and fhould agree all ( which they never will do) to compound and determine the differences among themfelves, yet by the ordinary De- xtrine of mod Proteftants they might in fuch a Council err, and it were poffible in their Decrees to be deceived. But if they may err, how fhould I know and be (ore: when and wherein they did, or did not err? for though on the one fide, Jpoffe ad ejfe non valet femfer confequentia, yet aliquando valet, and on the other fide, frnfira dicitur potentia, qu April 14, 1619. James Waddefworth Received, /W4. 1619. 7* 2 84 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters.' To the }Vor(h\pftil my Very good Friend^ Mr. James Waddefworth at Madrid, del'tVo this. Salutem in Chrifto Tefu. THe late receipt of your Letters (good Afa- fler Waddefworth ) did diver jly affeB me -with joy and [hame ; and I know not with whether mo ft. I was glad to hear of you, and your profperous ftate, much more to receive a kind Letter from you : Afhamed therein to be called upon for debt ', who have ever endeavoured to live by that Rule of the Apoftle , Owe no- thing to any Man. Tet not fo much for that which you mo ft urge the debt of love, fith by that Text it appears, that it can never be fo difcharged, as there floould not be more behind to pay. And your felf who challenge this of me, do owe me as much or well more. For let me tell you, I have the advantage of you herein by my Profeftion, for where your love is to me as to a Man, or to an hone ft Man , nor can by your prefent perfwafion go any further , / can and 7l?e Copies of certain Letters. 285 and do love you as my dear Brother , and fellow Member in the mjftical body of our Lord Jefw Chrifi. And from this ground ( to hU knowledge I do appeal ) I do heartily pray for you , and bear with you , and as the Apoftle enjoy ns, Rom. 1 y. 7. receive you with a true brotherly affe&ion. I am not therefore afloamed of this debt, but do rejoyce as much in the ow- ing of it, as in the payment. But my fhame grows from the being behind with you in the office of writing. Wherein yet hear my hone ft and true excufe. Neither -will I go about to fct off one debt with another. For you may re- member , how at our parting you promifed to write to me touching the ftate of Religion there , which if we Jball make out a perfe:b reckoning , / account to be a good debt ftilL But this I fay j when your Letters of the fir ft of April , 1615. came to my Hands , / pur- pofed to return anfwer by the fame Bearer , who as he told me , was to return about the Midfummer following. But I had a fudden and extraordinary journey which came between^ And kept me from home till after the Commence- ment y fo as that opportunity was loft. Bejides, upon the reading of your Letters , / perceived your intention was to have them imparted to L>r. Hall, expelling in a fort fome reply from him. To him therefore did. J fend them. Af- ter fome Months 1 received this anfwer, which though I had once purpofed to conceal^ s not willing ■to be the mean of any exafperation between you 9 yet no iv hoping of your wifdom and patience, I fend you inclofed y that it may be fome evidence ■of my true exctffc. Vpon the receipt of it, I began 286 The Copies of certain Letters. began to frame an an fiver to the Points ofjtiffr Letter^ according to your defer e , full and hi friendly terms- / had well-nigh finifoed it, when I was prefented to this Benefice , and thereby entered into a world of diftratllons. Thefe , together with the labour of writing it over, and uncertainty of fife conveying my Let- ters to you, did make me procraftlnate my pay- ment, till now to my fhame you fhould need to demand it. And that I may by the more foa- ming my felf obtain a more eafie penance from you ; I confefi to you, I was fometime half in wind, ( having efieclally diff erred it fo long ) to fupprefi it altogether. Fir ft out of mine own natural dlfpojitlon , who have ever abhorred contention : and whereas in matters of Religion there ought to be the f aire ft Wars, 1 could ne- ver yet meet with any of that fide of fo pati- ent a mind, but by oppojition he would be un- fit led. For your filf, though I knew your for- mer moderate temper, and ( as I remember I wrote to Dr. Hall ) believed you In that which you proteft , that out of Conference you were fuch as you profefs ; yet methought I perceiv- ed ly your qulck^ manner to him , and fome parages In the conch fion of your Letter , you were rather defirous to enjoy the quiet ptjfejfi- cn of your own opinion, than come to any fur- ther diffutatlon whofe is the right. And in truth the time of that tryal had been proper , before your departure : nor yon had too far in- gaged your felf , and were to juflifie by ycur fonfiancy, the wlfdom of your change. Be fides, fince the fitmm of the err our of that fide , as I have ever conceived it , is believing rather too The Copies of certain Letters. 287 too much , than falling in any point neceffary to falvation , that notable place of the Apcftle, Rom. 14. I . came to my mind , efpccially after that I had once occafion to preach of it, where he forbids controverfies of difputati- ons with thofe that are infirm in Faith. Who art thou (faith he ) that judged another Man s Servant ? he (tandeth or fal- leth to his own Matter. why fhould I grieve you, and perhaps make my Friend mine Enemy ( as Saint Paul the Galatians ) by faying the truth. The World is full enough of contentious Writings, which as by your Letter appears yon had feen ere ye refolved. If thofe had not fatisfied you , what could I hope to add to them . ? Thefe things moved me, but as you fay , they did not yet fatisfie me. For all Men are inter e fled in the defence of truth , how much more he that is called to be a Preacher of it ? All Chriftians are admo- nifhed by S. Jude , To fight for the Faith once given to the Saints •-, how much more thofe that are leaders in this warfare : How could I fay I loved our Lord Jefus Chrifi , if his honour being quefiioned I jhould be filent t How could 1 approve to mine own Soul , that I loved you , if I fufered you to enjoy your own error, fuppofe not damnable ? Befides that, you and perhaps others a/Jo might be conhrmed in it , perhaps interpreting my file nee for a con- feffion that your Motives were unanswerable. But therein I was not only refolved my felf to the contrary , but thought it fo eafie to re- folve any indifferent mind, as methought it was more 288 ^Htf Copies of certain Le t t e r s . more fhame not to have done it at the firft i than praife to do it at the lafi. As for the fuccefs of my endeavour, I was to leave it to God. Many and fecret are the wayes of his Pr 'evidence , which ferveth it felf fometimes even ef err ours, to the fafer conduct of w to our fi- nal happinefs. Some I had known, and heard of more, who being at firft carried away with the (hews ^ Unity, Order, Succeflion, In- fallibility, when they found them empty of Truth, and the Cloaks of Pride, Ambition, Covetoufnefs, joyned with an Obftinacy to defend all Corruptions how palpable foever, by finding the difference of thefe Hulls from their Fathers Table , had with the Prodigal- Son returned home again. To conclude, 1 ac- counted my felf fiill in debt, and was I con- fefs to you unwilling to dye in it ; and feme- times vowed to God, in the midft of my trou- bles , if I might once fee an end of them , to endeavour to difcharge it. And now having by his mercy not only attained that , but a new occajion prefented me prefently thereupon , by your calling for fatisfatlion to pay it, and means offered me to fend it fafely : I take this moti- on to proceed from God , and do humbly defire his Majefiy to turn it to good. It remains therefore , good Mr. Waddefworth , that I do intreat your pardon of that flacknefs that is pafi , and gentlenefs to take it as I fhall be able to pay it Afy ^ ploy ments both ordinary and extraordinary are 'many : The bulk, °f it is too great to convey in one Letter , confifiing ofyundry Sheets of Paper 5 and at this prefent there The Copies of cert din Letters. 289 there lies an extraordinary taih^ upon me, fo as I cannot prefently write it out. I do there- fore no more now but acknowledge the debt ? and promife fpeedy payment. Vnlefs I fhall add this alfo> that I do undertake to pay in- tereft for the forbearance } and according as I fhall under ft and ly Mr. Auften (hall be fine ft and fafeft, to fend it in parts, or all at once. To the conclufion (f your la ft Letter , wherein you profefs your defire to fpend the reft of your life rather in the heat of Devotion , than of Difputation, defiring pardon of coldnefs that way, and of all other your fins, and that it would pleafe God to guide and keep me in all happinefs as your felf, through the redemption of our fweet Saviour, and by the interceflion of his ho- ly mother and all Saints. / do mo ft thanks fully . and willingly fubfcribe Amen: Returning unto you from my heart your own be ft wifhes. Neither is it my purpofe to call into qucftion the folidity of truth , or firmnefs of the hope of Salvation , which you find in your prefent way. This only 1 fay. * Et pro nobis Chriftus mortu- ,* Even for us * !fo ham nop/l I floould be very gl*d if v 4 ' / 2^6 Tlie Copies of certain Letters^ I could as well content you in all other Points as that one : coming thus prepared in all controver- sies with Joh, and all Men, to yield whatfo- ever I may, faving the truth. But as I con- ceive it, there is great odds between thefe two. To defire God to grant us this or that good thing by the interceffion of the Saints * W, To ufe invocation of themfelves. The one fuppofeth only that the Saints in glory generally knowing the warfare of thofe on Earth, are careful for them, and omit not this aEb of never- failing charity to pray for them. Thefe pray- ers it hopes, and de fires of God may be helpful to ut, by the only merit of our Lord Jefm Chrift ; in the fame fort as thofe of the Saints where foever OH Earth-, as z Cor. i. 10. 1 1. Ephef. 6. it. Phi- lem.v. 22. The other, that the Saints departed know our wants, andftatesin particular, and hear our Prayers, and by confequent know our Hearts : which is fatly contrary to the Scriptures, 2 Chron. 6. 30. Efay 63. 1 6. To omit now that you do not only defire them to pray for you, but ask at their hands Grace and Glory, truft in them, vow to them, fwear by them, offer and receive the Sacrifice of the New Tefta- ment to their honour and glory, and defire k maybe accepted by their Patronage. *Hw*- fore as I am glad, to perceive that you do reverfe tkofeblafphemies indeed, Salva me, Salvatrix 5 Redime me, Redemptrix - 7 and will not fub- fcr>be to thefe words of Bellarmine , non erit abfurdum fi fan&i viri Redemp tores noftri aiiquomodo, id eft fecundum ' aliquid, non fimplidter, & hrgo modo, non in rigore yerborum eflfe drcantur : And again, cur in- epte The Copies of certain Letters. 297 epte dicantur Sanfti viri aliquo modo paffio- nibus fuis delicto noftra pofle redimere ? fo 1 hope and vtifh you would do the like for calling upon them, and preferring their Merits unto God j and as ye may more fafely and fweetly fpeak, unto our Jefus, who is our Advocate with the Father, entered into the Holy of Holies, to appear before God for us. To his gracioHS frotettion I commit you, anddorefi Your affured Friend, and loving Brother, Hom*g(btArtb 9 jfttuei$. 1620. " , .. W. Bedell. %T* z$ 8 The Copies of certain Letter s, ■ To the lVorJl?if>fid bis much refpccied Friend, Mr. William Bedell , at Horningfhearth by S.Edmunds= bury m Suffolk, thefe. My very good Friend MR. Bedell, my laft unto you was by a Gentleman who went from hence a- bout fix Months fince --> but I have under- ftood he fell lick at Parity by the way, and fo was firft hindred there in his Journey, and afterwards again at Bruffels fell to a relapfe, which detained him fo long, that although now very lately I hear he is recovered^nd gone forward into England, yet in fo long delays and fo often iicknefles, I know not whether he have loft or forgotten my for- mer -Letters : Wherefore out of this confi- cleration , and by the opportunity of this Bringer,and by the true hearty affe&ion which I bear you, being defirous to fignifie unto you the continuance of my iineere lovej could not- '.pretermit this fo good an occafion , though hereby I have nothing elfe to fay nor intreat, but if we have wars, yet our diflen- tion may be rather in the matter and cafes, than 77;e Copies of certain Letters- ing than betwixt our perfins, asdifcrcet Lawyers ufe to plead vehemently each for his Clients fufiice, and yet remain betwixt them (elves without breach of amity,andabftaining from opprobrious injury 5 wherein I have great confidence that you will proceed both more moderately in all the circumftance, and to better purpofe in the fubftance than Mr. fo~ fephHal/y unto whofe Letter directed to you, and by you fent unto me, I wrote certain Marginal Notes only, and fo returned the fame by the above named Gentleman,where- of alfo ( if it return to your Hands ) I would intreat you to fend me a Copy both of hfs Text and my Glofs, for then being in hafte I remained with neither. Our Lord, keep you, and guide us all to his truth, and to Heaven. MM JM 8. j mcs jfTaddefworth. Tk 300 77;e Copies of certain Letters. 77;e Letter of Mr. Dr. Hall , nam tioned in the former with Mr. Wad- defworth'* Marginal Notes. o VV Hat a forry crabb hath Mr. trad- _ defworth at laft fent us from «& t# ? I pity the f impotent malice of the Man-, fure that hot Regi- t I pray fee within how fliort on , and t fulfhwrotu Re/i- acomKsheproves himfelfa {on ^ gui]ty of ^j y Poetical Railer by his Epithets, *t* S- ' i ^ T r ^ nxonlyigainftme, but re- ^holer. For OUght I fee he ▼iling a whole Nation 3 and the IS not Only turned Papift Religion of the bcfl part of all but Spaniard tOO. Ibi vivi- Chriftendom. tnr ambitiofa fanfertate : The great Man would not foil his Fingers f for that is his Word,) with fuch an Adverfary as my felf * he fhould have found this conflict his foiling indeed; but he fcorns the match 5 and what wonder, if he that hath all this while * fat on Father ,._- . . ., . Crefwel'/ Stairs, fcorn the £&**SiK: unworthinefs of him whom Dot enly to fit on hk Stain, an Englijb Univedlty fcor- but to make clean hh ned not to fet in the Chair fboocs - of Divinity? But whence is this my contempt? I fee but two Vices to f f termed him a poetical Railer, nor accufing nor ho- nouring him for a Poet - y but taxing him for railing poeti- cally, ufipg the word as feme- times it is in the worft fenfe, when jt is abufed :* neither condemning Poetry, nor ap- plying him for a Poet, but* poetical Railer: Ashe doth himfclf by that Ef iftle,and by this bitter Letter, Tlje Copies of certain Letters. to clear my felf of 5 Poetry and f Railing* 6f the latter you (hall acquit me if you will but read that my poor Epiftle which he Heights thus : Let your Eyes judge whether ever any thing could be written more mildly, moremodeft- ly, more lovingly. Of the former I muft acquit my felf j Chjus unum efi fed mag- num vitium Poefis: What were I the worle if I were ftill a lover of thofe fludies ? If lie could have had leifure to tend upon any thing be fides that lathers Pacquets, he might have feen moft of the renowned and holy Fathers of the Church eminent in that Profeflion for which I am (corned 5 amongft many others Tertnllian, LaEiantim, Nazianzen, Prudentius, FulgentiiK y ApollinariW) Nonnui, Hilariw^ Proffer, and now in the upihot * devout Bernard, and why (hould their honour be mydifgrace? But the truth is, thefe were the recreati- ons of my Minority \ nunc obiita mihi. And if Poetry were of the deadly fins of their Cafuifls, Icouldfmart for it in my *w : is this a fie fca/icfal to rake up from fo far? What my proficiency hath been in ferious ftudies, if the Univer- fity and Church hath pleafed to teftifie: What need I (land at the mercy of t a fag*- -the. But if any of * his Mafters {hould un- dertake 301 * I willingly pardon all hit poetical railing srfid falfc Epi- thetes, for that one true word acknowledging S. Birrtard to be devout. % t Pardon for S, Btr* karis fake. * A brave Man at arms j &U || Pardon for S. B^r- nardsUke. 1 1 would there were not. 302 Tfo Copies of certain Letters." dertake me in the caufe of God, he fhoulel find I had ftudied Profe. As for thefe vain flouriihes of mine, if he had not taken a ve- ny in them, and found it fmart, he had not ftrook again fo j| cburli{klj ? Was it my Let- ter that is accufed of Poetry ? there is nei- ther Number nor Rhyme, f nor fittion in it : Would the great Schoolman have had me to have packt up a Letter of Syllogifms ? which of the Fathers ( whole high fteps I have defiredto tread in) have given that example? what were to beexpe&ed of a Monitory Efiftie which intended only the oc- casion if he had pleafed of a future Dif- courfe ? We Iflanders * lift not learn to write Letters from beyond the Pyrenees. How- foever, I am not forry that his fcorn hath caft him upon an Adverfary more able to convince him 5 I am allowed only a looker on 5 therefore I will neither ward nor ftrike 5 his hands are too full of you ; my only wifh is, That you could beat him found again $ whereof I fear there is little hope. There was never Adverfary that gave more advan- tage : He might have ferved in thefe Cole- I Thisap worts nearer home. I profefs I do heartily pears by t &> hlm S and foif it pleafe you let . him y^ur rail- khow from me. What Apftafte ( which is 5f»g on the only hard word I can be charged with ) hirr, as he that juftified hfmfdf from fwearing, by loud foeariog, By God he did noc fwear. * Satis pro impirio. Tk Copies of certain Letters. 1 3 o 5 I t impute to die Roman Church, /havepro feffed to the World f Thi| wcrc toprovconeabfurdity b in the nrit ^napter grca ter, and to undertake that fome of my Roma irrvcon- one Text of Scripture is falfe or fcr- ciliabilis : if/ offend g< J * b .ecaufe all the whole Eiblc is Co : nnr in tnn much churl- ° r hav,n 8 caIed one a J ew or B a«ard, not in too much ckan &Ct to makc him amcnds by tdI ft there IS no tear: him all his kindred were fuch. tut fay What yOU Will that Book and Chapter 15 indeed pitiful- for me J have done, b profciled : And by it and by infinua- •ax\c\ will onlv Drav »»»g here an ■effencecrroo much chariy, ana win oniy pray may be eafily perccivcd che fubftance of tor rum tnat an- y0ur proficiency in Divinity, fwersmewith con- tempt : farewell, and commend me to Mr. Sotheby , and your other loving and Reverend Society, and know mc ever, Tour truly loving Friend and fellow Labourer, Wdum. Jaji* 10. idi$. JoH Hall, Good Mr. Bedell, this Letter hath lain thus long by me for want of carriage. / now hear you are fetled at Homing/berth, where- of I wifti you much joy. /am appointed to attend the Ambafladour into France, whither I pray you follow me with your Prayers. May 15-. To 3 04 Tl?e Copies of certain Let ter s ] To my Reverend and worthy Friend, Mr. Dr. Hall, at WaU tam y deliver this. Salutem in Chrifto. Good Mr. Dr. THis Letter of yours ] fince my receipt of it , hath been a Traveller , further than you or 1$ which being fome Months fince re- turned into England, / return to you, that it may relate what entertainment it hath found in Foreign farts. It is now a Tear and more that I received a Letter from Mr. Wad- defworth , challenging an old debt of me , an anfwer to his Letters , which occafmied this of yours. I wrote bac^ and among other things enclofed this your Letter , which he hath cenfured as you fee. His anfwer by rea- son of the ficknefs of the Gentleman that brought it, firfi at Paris, and after at Bruffels, came n§t The Copies of certain Letters. 305 not to me till the Litter end of May , and now lately another I received from him , wherein he defires a Copy both of jour Text and his Glofs, as he calls it, as having referved none for haft. I have mt yet fent him my Anfwer to his Motives which hath long lain by me for lack of leifnre to copy it out , and means fafely to convey it y being well towards a quire of PAper. My ancient faulty tedieuf- nefs. But the Gentleman that brought me his former Letter , hath undertaken ere long to con- fign it into his Hands. Therein I endeavour to ufe him with the beft refpeci I can devife , only oppugning the Papacy and Court of Rome. Now, Sir, that whiah I would entreat of you y is this : You know the Precept of the Apoftle touching them that are fallen , lend me your Hand to fet him in joynt again. And he plea- fed not only not to reflet! upon the weaknefs of his Glofs, but not fo much as upon the jirength of his Stomach : Though that be alfo weaknefs^ as S. Auguftine well calls it, * infirmitas animofitatis. Write 4 Let- ter n him in the Character * The weaknefs f J ^TTu • f T w * l> *; flout Heart. Which jball either go with _, mine, or be fent fhortly after. l ^ or * 4- l 3- Who can tell what God may workj Surely , at leaft we fhall heap Coals of Fire upon his Head. Although, if all be true that I hear , it is net to be defpaired but he may be delivered out of the fnare of errour , the rather , becavfe he hath not that reward or contentment which he expelled. He lives X now 3 o 6 the Copies of certain Letters. now at Madrid with the Perfian Ambaffa- dour Sir Robert Sherley, and hath good main- tenance from him, being as his Steward , or Agent. The kind ufage of his ancient Friends, may perhaps bring him In love with his Coun- try again y &C. This for that bnfmefs. Now, &C. O&ober 2; 1620. To TIx Copies of certain Letterso 307 To the Wbrflrifful my Very good Friend, Mr. James Waddefworth at Madrid, deliver this. Salutem in Chrifto Jefu, Sir, I Received by Air. TlRonjlottr Letters $f the eighth of June, and as 1 hope ere this time you underftand, the former which I mention in them : To which I wrote in anfwer , and deli- vered the fame to Mr. Afton the fifteenth of the fame Month. Dottor Halfr Letter mth your Marginal Notes which in your lafi you require , / fend you herein enclofed. Though if J may perfwade or intreat you both 3 neither fhffuld the Text nor Glofs make you multiply any more words thereabout. Vpon the receipt of your Letter I fpake with Mr. Alton y who told me ', That he held his refolution for Spain 3 whereupon I refolved alfo to fend by him mine X z anfwer 308 7l?e Copies of certain Letters. ayjfwer to your prft : as thinking it better to do it more fafely , though a little later , than jooner , with lefs fafetj. And here, Sir , at length you have it. Wherein as to my modera- tion for the manner, I hope you Jball ferceive that fetting ajide our difference in Opinion , / am the fame to you that I was when we were either Scholars together in Emmanuel Col- ledge, or Minifters in Suffolk. For the fub- ftance, ' / do endeavour fill to write to the purpofe, emitting nothing material in your Let- ters. If fometimes I feem over long, and per- haps to digrefs fomewhat from the principal Point more than was necejfary, I hope you will pardon it, fth you required 2l full Anfwer, and the delay it felf had need to bring you fame intereft for the forbearance. And be- caufe you mention the vehemency of difaeet Lawyers ( although methinks we are rather the Clients themfelves, that contend, Jince our Faith is our own and our be ft Freehold) let me entreat of you this ingenuity {which J pro* tefi in the fight of Ood I bring my felf. ) Let us not make head again ft- evident Reafon, for our own credit , or fafkion, and faclions fake, as Lawyers fometimes are wont. Nei- ther let us think we lofe the Vi&ory , when Truth overcomes, we (ball have pan cf it rather , and the better part , fince er* rour , the common enemy to us both, is to us more danger om. For Truth is fecure and im- pregnable -, we, if our Err our be not conquer- ed, mufi remain Servants to corruption. It is the fh-ft Praife, faith £. Auguffine, t* hold The Qopies of certain Letters. 309 hold the true Opinion, the next to forfake the falfe. And fttr eh that is no hard maficrj to do, when both are fet before us, it we will not be either retchlefs or obftinate. From both which our Lord of his mercy evermore help us, and bring us to his ever Lifting Kingdw. Amen. Your very loving Brother, HsrntTtgfbfartb, Oci9b.22.1620. W. Bedell. X 1 THE The Copies of certain Letters.^ 511 THE COPIES O F Certain Letters, &>c, Salutem in Chrijio fefu. CHAP. I. Of the Preamble. The Titles Catholicity Paptjl, TraytOTy Idolater. 1 R. I Do firft retarn you hearty thanks, for the truth and conftancy of your love, and thofe bell: effe6ts of it , your mjhiftg me as well as to your filfy Zn&rejoycing in myfafe return out of Italy. For indeed further I was not : though reported to have been both at Conftanti- X 4 nofa 312 TIm Copies of certain Letters. nofle and ferufakm, by reafon of the near- nefs of my name to one Mr. William Bi- Mph, the Minifter of our Merchants at Ale^o, whovifited both thofe places. I thank you alfo, that your ancient love towards me, hath ( to ufe that Word of the Apoftle ) now flourifhed again, in that af- ter fo many Years you have found oppor- tunity to accomplifli your promife of wri- ting to me : though not as ye undertook of the ftate of Religion there yet, which I confefs I no lefs deiired , the Motives of the forfaking that you had profefled here. Whereof fince it hath pleafed you, as ye write, now to give me an account, and by me to Mr. Br, Hall, with fame expectation al- fo as it appears of reply fiom one of us, I will ufe the liberty which you give me, and as direftly as I can for the matter, and in Chriftian terms for the manner , {hew you mine opinion of them, wherein I fhall endeavour to obferve that Precept of the Apoftle } aAn9c£W «Sf *}*Vm, whether it be to be interpreted, loving facer ely, or faking truth lovingly. Neither foothing untruth for the dearnefs of your perfon, nor breaking charity for diferfity of Opinion. With this entrance , my loving Friend , and if you refufe not that old Catholick name, my dear Brother J come to your Letter. Where- in, though I might well let pafs that part which concerns your quarrel with Mr. Dr. Hall, with atatem habet \ yet thus much out of the common preiumption of charity , which thinks not evil, give me leave to fay for The Copies of certain Letters. 313 for him, I am verily perfwaded he never meant to charge you with Apoftaiie in fo horrible a fenfe as you count, vU. A total falling from Chriftian Religion, like th.t ef Julian , an obftinate pertinacy in denying the Principles of the Faith necejfary to falvation, or a renouncing your Baptifm. The term Apofia- Jie, as you know, doth not always found fo hainoufly. A Monk for faking his Order, or a Clerk his Habit , is in the Decretals filled an Apofiata. Granatcnfis faith not un- truly, That every deadly fin is a kind of Apoftaiie. The Apoftle S. Paul fpeaking of Antichrifts time, faith, There muft come an Apoftafie before Chrifts fecond coming : and . how this (hall be he mews elfewhere. Men fhall give heed to fpirits of Error, and Dotlrines pf Devils, and fuch as fpeal^ falfhood in hypo- crijie. Whereby it feems that Antichrift himfelf (hall ^not profefl'edly renounce Chrift and his Baptifm. His Kingdom is a myftery of iniquity 5 a rev.olt therefore , not from the outward profeffion, but inward fincerity and power of the Gofpel. This kind of Apoftafie might be that which Mr. Hall was forry^ to find in you, whom he thought fallen from the Truth, though not in the Principles of Chriftian Doctrine/ yet in fundry Concluiions which the refor- med Churches truly out of them maintain. He remembred our common education in the fame Colledge, our common Oarh againft Popery , our common Calling to the fame facred Fun&ion of tre Miniftery 7 he could not imagine upon w r hat reafons you 1 1 4 The Copies of certain Letters. you fhould reverfe thefe beginnings. And certainly, how weighty and fufficient foe- ver they be , we are not taught by our Catholick Religion to revenge our felves, and render reproach for reproach with per- fonal terms 5 much lefs to debafe and avile the excellent Gifts of God, as is Poefie, the honour of David and Solomon, by the Teftimony of the Holy Ghoft himfelf. Thefe courfes are forbidden us when we are railed upon , and calumniated •, how much more when as S. Peter fpeaks, we Are beaten for our faults ; as it falls OUt in your cafe , if , thefe Motives of yours be weak and infufficient h which we 1M1 anon confider. You fay, you are become Catholick. Were* you not then fo before ? The Creed where- into you were baptized, is it not the Ca- tholick Faith ? The conclufion certes of JthanafiMS Creed , which is but a decla- w is the ration thereof, faith, Hdc eft Fides Catho- carhoiick $&*• Or is not he a Catholick that holds Faith. the Catholick Faith ? That which was once anfwered, touching the prefent Church of England , to one in a Stationers Shop in Venice, that would needs know what was the difference betwixt us and the Ca- tholicks. It was told him none: for we accounted our felves good Catholicks. When he unwilling to be put off in his anfwer, for lack of due form in his Queftion , prefled to know what was the difference betwixt us and them there. He was anfwer- ed, This 5 That we believed the Catho- lick This is the The Copies of certain Letter s.^ 3 1 5 lick Faith contained in the Creed, but did not believe the Thirteenth Article which the Pope had put to it. When he knew not of any fuch Article 5 the Ex- travagance of Pope Boniface was brought, where he defines it to be altogether of necef- fity to falvation , to every humane creature to be under the Blfhof of Rome. This thir- teenth Article, of the thirteenth Apoftle, good Mr. fvaddefworth, it feems you have learned 5 and fo are become, as fome now fpeak and write Catholic!^ Fornax. That is in true interpretation Vniverfal-partkular ^ which becaufe they cannot be equalled , the one reftraining and cutting off from the other , take heed that by ftrait- ning your Faith to Rome, you have not altered it, and by becoming Roman, left off to be Cathollck. > Thus, if you fay , our Anceflors -were all till of late Tears. Excufe me, Sir, whether you call our Anceflors the firft Chriftian Inhabitants of this J fie, or the ancient Chriftians of the Primitive Church-, nei- ther thofe, nor thefe were Roman Catho- licks •, Namely, the Fathers of the Afri- can Council, and amongft thefe S.Auguftine: And therefore by Pope Bomface his Sen- tence, be undoubtedly damned , for ta- king upon them, by the pevifs inftinft ( if we believe another * Pope Boniface ) to * Bomfac. wax proud againft the Church of Some. 2 < Ep'fi-** Such Catholicks, if ye mean the mofl of EuUUum ' Chriftendome be at this Day ♦, beware of putting 3 i6 The Copies of certain Letters. putting your felf upon that Iflue. Believe me , either you muft frame a new Cos- mography, yea, a new World, or elfe you are gone if it come to moft Voices in Chriftendom. Touching the Names of Papift, 7'rajtor, Idolater. The firft is no mif- calling you, as comprizing the very Chara&er that differenceth you from all other Catholicks. Neither by our Rhe- mifts advice ihould you be afhamed of it, fith to be a Papift, by their Interpretati- 'Jnnottt.i* on is nothing elfe, hut to be a Chriftian Man, dffsu.26. a Ch m j t y je church, and fubjetl to Chrifts Vicar. The wife State of Venice have a little different notion of their Papalines, ex- cluding from fundry their confultations under that name, fuch of the Nobility as are obliged to the Pope by Ecclefiaftical promotions. True it is that they apply k alfo to Papaiines in fatlion, fuch as are fu- perftitioufly devoted to the maintaining of all the Popes ufurped Authority $ in which fenfe I hope you are no Papift. A Trajtor, I am allured, Mr. Dr. Hall will never call you, unlefs he know that you have drunk fo deep of the Cup of error, as to believe the Pope may de- pofe your Prince 5 that you are not bound to obey him being fo depofed 3 that in that cafe it is lawful, yea, meritorious to kill him 5 that they are Martyrs that are executed for plotting to blow him up with Gunpowder, though undepofed $ hoping it would be no lefs agreeable to his Holi- nefs, The Copies of certain Letters. 3 1 7 nefs, than ( that which he defired ) to have kept him from coming to the Crown at firft. If you be thus perfe&ly a Papift, not only we here in England, but I believe his Catholick Majefty, under whofe obe- dience now ye live, whenfoever he fhould be that Prince, w T ould account you a Tray- tor, and punifh you accordingly. I hope you are far fromthefe furies. For Idolatry , if to give divine honour to Creatures, cJ e f erve that name , confi- der how you can defend or excufe thole Prayers to the Bleffed Virgin, Tu nos ab Hofle protege, & hora Mortis fufcipe. And to the Crofs, Auge piis juflitiam, reifyue do- na veniam : I omit to fpeak of the Popes Omnipotence . I hope alfo you keep your felf from this Idolatry. In Protectant Religion, you fay, yen could never find Vniformity of a fettled Faith. How fo ? when you had that fame * One only *di vt- immoveakle and unrefwmable Rule of Faith, as lan ^ Tertullian calls it, every Lords Day recited ViT ^ c - '• in your hearing , if not by your Mouth : I mean the Creed, of which Iren And hav- ing an infallible Rule by which your humane Judge fhould proceed, why fhould youtruft another Mans applying it, rather than your own, in a matter concerning your own fal- vation ? But if God have left us no (uch ex- ternal Judge, if Antiquity knew none, # if Religion need none, it was no juft motive to leave us, that you could find none , a- mongft all thofe Softs which you menti- on , and how much lefs if you have not a' whit amended your felf where you are 3 which we ihallconfider by and by. I fay then firft, That to make this your motive of any moment, it muft be fhew- ed , that God hath appointed fuch a Judge in his Church. Let that appear out of fome pafiage of Holy Scripture. For your conceit or defire that foch a Judge ;here ihould be, to whom you might in Con- (cience The Copies of certain Letters. 3 29 fcience obey, and yield your felf, becaufe he could not err, doth not prove it. You would know the truth, only by the Authori- ty , and fole pronouncing of the Judges Mouth. A ihort and eafie way, which to moft Men is plaufible, becaufe it fpares the pains of Study and Difcourfe. To fuch efpe- cially, as either out of weaknefs dare not truft their own Judgment , or account it fhall have the merit of humility, to be led by their Teachers, But what now if God will have you call no Man jour Father upon Earth ? If he will fend you to his Word ? and after you have received the Faith by the Churches Teftimony out of the ealie and plain places thereof, bid you Search the Scriptures, to find the Truth in the remnant, and pick it out by your own induitry. The Luke 16. rich Man being in Hell-Torments (in whofe Words I doubt not but our Saviour doth imperforate and reprefent the conceits of many Men living in this World ) prefumes that if one were fent from the Dead, his Kinfmen w r ould hearken to him, but he is remitted te Mofes and the Profhets. The Jeves as I perceived by Speech with fome of them at Venice, make it one of their Mo- tives, that our Lord Jefus is not the Cbrift. He fhould not, fay they, have come in fuch a fafhion y to leave his own Nation in di and S. /luguftine faith plainly, to command and forbid, even in the Religion of God, ftill according to Gods Word, which is the touchftone of Good and Evil. Nei- ther was King Henry the Eight , the . firft Prince that exercifed this power, witnefs David and Solomon , and the reft of the Kings of fudab before Chrift. And fince that Kings were Chriftians, The affairs of the Church have depended upon them, and the greateft Synods have been by their Decree, as Socrates exprefly faith. Nor did King Henry claim any new thing in this Land, but reftored to the Crown the ancient right thereof, wliich fundry his PredecefTors had exercifed, as our Hiftorians and Lawyers with one con- fent affirm. The reft of your indudion of Archbifhops, Bijhops, and whole Clergy in their Convocation- Houfe, and a Council of all Lutherans , Calvi- nifts, F rot eft ants, &c. is but a needlefs pomp of procemiol. 5- Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. } 37 of words, ftriving to win by a form of dif- courfe, that which gladly fhall be yielded at the hrft demand. They might all err, if they were as many as the Sand on the Sea Shoar, if they did not rightly apply the Rule of Holy Scriptures, by which as you ac- knowledge the external fudge, which you leek, muft proceed. As to your demand therefore , how you fhoutd be fare when , and "wherein they did, and did not err 5 where yoii Jhotild have fixed your foot ? to forbear tO skir- mifh with your confirmation {That though, Z foffe ad ejfe non valet femper confequentia, yet ali~ qttando valet : &, frufira dicitur potentia qux mnqttam ducitur in ablum. ) To the former whereof I might tell you, that without que- ftion, nnnquam valet : And to the fecond, that I can very well allow, that errandi po- tentia, among Proteftants be ever frufira. This I fay freely, That if you come with this refolution to learn nothing by dif- courfe, or evidence of Scripture, but only by the meer pronouncing of a humane ex- ternal Judge's Mouth, to whom you would" yield your underftanding in ali his determi- nations : If, as the Jefuites teach their Scho- lars, you mil wholly deny your own judgment, %? ] and refolve, that if this fudge fhall fay, that is blacky, which appears to your Eyes white, yoit will fay it is blackjoo 3 you have pofed all the Proteftants -, they cannot tell how to teacrr you infallibly. _ Withal I mult tell you thus much, that this preparation of mind ill a Scholar, as you are, in a Minifter , yea in 2 Christian, that had but learned his Creed, Z much i Tim 15- 3 3 8 The Copies of certain Letters. much more that had from a Child known the Holy Scriptures, that are able to make m wife to fa/vat ion, through the Faith that is in Chrifl feffu, were too great weaknefs, and, i cor. 14. to ufe the Apoftles Phrafe, childijhnefs of un- 20. demanding. But at length you heard a found of Harmony and Confent, that in the Catholic!^ Church, as in NoahV Att{>> was infallibility, and pojfibilitj of falvation \ which occajioned you to feek, out, and to enter into this Ark, of Noah. The found of Confent and Infallibility is mod pleafing and harmonious, and undoubtedly ever and on- ly to be found in the Catholick Church, to wit, in the Rule of Faith, and in the Holy Scriptures, and fuch neceffary Do&rine as perfectly conco*deth with the fame. But as in Song many difcords do pafs in fmaller Notes, without offence of the Ears, fo (hould they in fmaller matters of Opinion in the Church, without the offence of judicious and charitable minds. Which yet I fpeak not to joffifie them \ nay, I am verily of die mind, That this is the thing that hath marred die Church Mufick in both kinds , that too much liberty is taken in defcantto depart from the Ground, and as one faith, not& nimium dewgrawtur. ihe fault of the kalians : though they think themfelves the only Songfters in the World. But to re- turn to you, tell me, I beieech you ( good Mr. ivsdaefivonh) was this the Harmony that transported you. The Pope himfelf fftlth, / cajmot err^ and to me thou oughtefi to have ret decifiott of doubts in matters of Faith. And The Copies of certain Letters^ 339 And whereas this is not only denyed by Proteftants, but hath been ever by the French, and anciently I am fare by the spanlfh, lately by fome Italian Divines alfo, unlefs he ufe due means to find die truth \ yea> whereas it is the iiTue of all the Controver- sies of this age, in this {\X\xZ you faflcncd your Toot, This was the Center that fettled your Con- fidence, this the foil d and firm foundation of your Faith. What ? and did it not move you, that fome limit this infallibility or the Pope thus, If he enter Canonlcally, If he proceed ad- vlfedly, and maturely, uflng that diligence that is fit to find out the Truth \ that is ( as you (aid before ) proceeding by the Rule, the Scri- ptures ? Albeit to the Fathers of the African Council it feemed incredible ( as they write in their Synodal Epiftle to P. CaeUfiin* Hand- ing for Appeals to himfelf ) that God can infpire the right in tryal to one, denying it to many BiLhops in a Council. Tell us then, who made you fecure of thefe things ? or did you in truth, never fo much as make quefti- on of them , but hearing this harmonious found, The Pope is the Infallible fudge, you trufted the new Matters of that fide , Gre- gory de Valentin, and Bellarmine, that whether Analyfl the Pope In defining do ufe diligence or no, if he do F i del C ti- de fine, he flo all define infallibly. Alas Sir! if tkol -P"*< this were the reft you found for the foale of your Foot, inftead of moveable Water, you fell up- on mire and puddle 3 Or rather like to ano- ther Dove mentioned in Scripture, colnmba feduEta non habens Cor, by the moft chaffy fhrap' °* fe * 2 ' u * that ever was fet before the Eyes of winged Z 2 Fowl, 3 4 o the Copies of certain Letters^ Fowl, were brought to the door-fal. Ex- cufe my grief, mixed I confefs with fome indignation, but more love to you, though I thus write. Many things there be in Popery inconvenient, and to my conceit weakly and ungroundedly affirmed, to fay no more 3 but this is foabfurd and palpable a flattery, as to omit to fpeak of you, for my part I cannot be perfvvaded that Pmlm the Fifth believes itbimfelf. For confider, I pray, what need- ed anciently the Chriftian Emperours, and fometimes at the requeft of the Bifhops of Some themfelves, to have gathered together fo many Bifhops from fo divers parts of the World to celebrate Councils, it it had been known and believed then, that one Mans Sentence might have cleared all controver- fies, and put all Herefies to filence? How durft fundry holy, and learned Men have re- jected his decilions, whether right or wrong is not now the queftion, unchriftianly out of doubt on their parts, if he had been then holdenthe infallible Oracle of our Religion? As when Potycrates, with the Biihops olAfia, and Irendu* alfo yielded not to Fitter, ex- communicating the Eaftern Churches about the celebration of Eafter^ when S. Cyprian, with the firft Council of Carthage of eighty fix Biihops had Decreed, That fuch as were baptized by Hereticks, fhould be rebaptized, - and certified Stepha-ms of this Decree, and he oppofed ir, and would have nothing in- novated, would Cyprian after that have re- filled and confuted Stephaws his Letter, had he known him for infallible ? And how doth he T7;e Copies of certain Letters. 541 he Confute him ? as erring, writing imperti- Zpifiola. ad nently, contrary to himfelf Yea, let it be ob- ?m ? tim% ferved, that he doth not only not account Stephanas infallible, but not fo much as a Judge over any Biihop. See the Vote of Cyprian* and note thofe Words. A T eque enim quifquam no fir urn Epifcopumfe ejfe Epifcoporum confiituit,aut tyrannico terror e ad obfequendi necef- fitatem collegas fuos adigit, quando habeat omnis Epifc opus pro Ucentia liber tat is & pot eft at is fu t Li ' + Thou ™ non detrahes, & Principem pofuli tui non ma- ffcak not ledices. Which fetting Prieft s before Kings, calls rail on the them Gods, and the other, Princes. Compare P^'the' this expofition with Davids and Paul's, PfaL Prince of 82. and Acts 23. 5-. and ye {hall fee how the thy peo- Interpreter hath hit the mark. Again, you P 1? - 6 ought to have known, quod fecit Bern duo Gen * lil ' magna luminaria,' &c. See the Expofition, and the difference between the Pope and Kings, both in the Text and Glofs. Now although The Copies of certain Letters. 3 47 although the Glofs- Writer were no excel- lent Calculator, yet out of Clavius the ac- count may be cleared : who tells us the Sun exceeds the Moon 6$ $9. times and a Fifth. I let pafs the collection out of Pafcc joh.21.16. oves meat, that he belongs not to Chrifts Fold, that doth not acknowledge Peter and his Succef- fors his ASafters and Paftors : oat of JW ," th " l6 ' cunque ligaveris, that nothing is excepted. Indeed the Pope excepts nothing, but I00P eth Vows, Contrafts, Oaths, the Bond of Allegiance and Fealty between Subjects and their Princes: The Commandment of Ciirift, Drinks je all of this, &c. But our Lord ex- pounds himfelfi John 20. Whofe fins ye remit, they are remitted, &C. Ex ore fe dent is in Thrsno frocedebat gladipu bis 3 Ex ore. acutus. This is, faith the Pope, the Sword of Dehls f A Solomon, which cuts on both fides, giving eve- > u ^ J ry Man his own. We then who albeit unworthy hold the flace of the true Solomon, by the fa- vour of God, do wifely exercife this Sword, when fuch caufes as in our audience are lawfully can- vajfed, we do with Juftice determine. This in- terpretation firft corrupts the Text, for ic hath not, out of the Mouth of him that fate on the Throne, but that fate on the Horfe \ next, it perverts it, for it is not the Sword of /-•- ftice but of Chrifts Word, which is more ^Vr- cing than any two- Edged Sword that ijfueth out p '*' "' of his Mouth. As for that of Juftice, he ribfmr never aflumed it, but renounced it rather, Qjdfinf when he (aid. Man, who made me a divider to f m ? u Z itl ' you r Luke 1 2. 14. f Toprovethat in other 2eur.i7.8. Regions befides the patrimony of the Church, the Pofe 3 4 8 The Copies of certain Letters. Pope doth cafually exercife temporal furifdittion, it IS faid in Deuteronomy, Si difficile Jit & ambi- guum, &C. And becaufe Deuteronomy is by interpretation the fecond Law, Surely by the force of the Word it is proved, that what is there decreed fhould be obferved in the New Tefiament. For the place which the Lord did chufe is known to te the Apofiolick^ See. lor when as Peter fleeing went out of the City, the Lord minding to call him backjo the place he had chofen, being at- ked of him. Lord whither goefi thou ? anfwered y I go to Rome to be crucified again, The Priefis of the Tribe of Levi are the Popes coadjutors. The high Priefi or fudge, he to whom the Lord faid in Peter, Quodcunque ligaveris , &c. His Vicar who is a Priefi for ever after the Order of Mefchifedeck j appointed by God the fudge f , : > h and dead. He that con- temns the Pops S -rce is to be excommunicated, for that is them / of being commanded to be put to death, b jl. not this well follow out of the word Deuteronomy ? And Rome is the place that chrift didchoofe, becaufe he went, he faid, to be crucified there. Only there is a fcru- ple of the High Prieft, for as much as he that is High Prieft after Melchifedecl(s Or- der, aTm&CcLTov %%u ibjj U^dQy V Ux>,hz\h a Prieft- hood that pafles not into another, Heb. 7. He adds there, that Paul that he might de- clare the fulnefs of power, writing to the 1 C3r.£.$. Corinthians faith : Know ye not that ye fh all judge the Angels ? how much more the things of the World ? Is this then the Popes plenitude of Power, to judge fecular things? or was Co- rinth the Apoftoiick^Sze, and fo many Popes there Ti?e Copies of certain Letters. 3 49 there even of the meaneft of the Church? What fhall we fay to that Expofition of the famous Text , Tu es Petrus, &fuper hanc }e~ M^th. 16. tram adif.cabo Eccleftammeam : The Lord (he 18. faith) taking Peter into the fellow/hip of the C*P-f**df" undivided Vnity y would have him to be c ailed that ', £/ which he was himfelf, that the building of the eternal Temple might by the marvelons gift of God confifi in Peter'/ firmne/s. What is this undi- vided Unity ? Not of the Trinity, I trow, or natures in Chrift. What then ? his Of- fice? of which hefaid a little before out of the Apoftle, that no Man can lay any other foun- dation but fefm Chrift. Yes : that from Peter as a certain head he fhculd as it were four abroad his gifts into his whole body. That the Church might ft and upon Peter'/ firmnefs. This Foundation S.Paul knew not, when he bla- med / am of Cephas. Peters infirmity can- not bear up the weight of fuch a building, much lefs (which we muft remember the Romanifts underftand by this f argon) the Pofes his Succejfors. Such another interpretation is that of Pope Joh.10.rf. Boniface, that makes Vnum Ovlle & unus Pa- Extra J^ ftor, the Church and the Pope. But it is plain our Saviour alludes to the Prophecies, £zek^ 34. 23. and 37. 24. where the Lord calls that onePaftor his fervant David. What blafphemy is this, thus to ufurp Chrifts Roy- alties ? What Father, what Council, what Catholick man ever interpreted this Text on this manner ? By which the Pope while he feeks the name of the Shepherd,lhuts him- felfoutofChriftsfold? Yea Tt- ft am. 3^0 Tk Copies of certain Letters.' cam. 4.9. yea the fame Pope calls the Church his C mT2™' 4°»fi*Mb> and fo other Popes fince. S.fohn niuu."' trie 2fa/tf//£ tells them, that he that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom. S. Paul prepared her to one Husband Chrift.lf {lie be the Popes Spoufe with her wiil, (he is a Harlot : ifagainfther will, he is a Raviiher, and our Lord Je- fus Chrift will deliver her out of his lewd imbracements, crying ( out of the violence which fhe fuffers, as it is to he hoped fhortly. That in the Churches power are two Swords, the fpiritual and temporal, we are taught by the Words of the Gofpel, faith the fame Boniface ; For when the Apoftles (aid, Behold, there be twofwords here ( to wit in the Church ) when the Apoftles [pake thus, the Lord anfwered not Luk.22 38 that it was too much, but enough. Certainly i he that denies the temporal Sword to be in Peter' J" power, doth ill obferve the Speech which our Lord Utters, Put up thy Sword into thy fhe at h. No doubt an infallible Interpretation^ which it fliould appear that both the Swords that were in our Saviours company, hung by S. Peters fide, or elfe that fome other had the fpiritual , leaving none to S. Peter, but that which he might not uie.TheExpofition IsS Bernards^ on will fay. But in an Epiftlepanrneticalto the Pope himfelf --, S. Bernard might have leave to ufe allufions, and after his manner to be li- beral of all that the See of Rome challenged, that he might have the more Authority to reform the abufes of it. As to grant Peter the temporal Sword , but fo , as he muft not ufe it JHZuid tu gladium denuo ufurpare teKtes y quern feme I jujfus es ponere in v agin am ? and The Copies of certain Letters. 3 5 1 and he fhews how thefe two Swords be the Churches. The one to be drarxn out for the Churchy the other alfo bj the Chunk This by the Priefls, that by the Souldiers hand, but at the becli of the Priefi, and bidding of the Em- peror. But the Pope in a Decretal Epidle, pretending to teach the World, in a Point as he pronounces, necejfary to Salvation, with fuch an Interpretation as this -■> argues little reverence to the Word of God, and a very mean Opinion of the Judgments and Con- fciences of Chriden Men, if they could not difcern this to be a Strangers Voice , not Chrids. Befides that, he changes S. Bernards Words, and clean perverts his meaning. For exerendus, he puts ill exercendus. For Me Sa- cerdotis, is mi litis manu, fed fane ad nut urn Sa- cerdotis & juffum Imperatoris. Pope Boniface thinking jufum too abfolute in the Emperor, makes him to be the executioner, and joyns him with the Souldier, on this manner. Me Sacerdotum, is manu Regum & Aiilitum fed ad nutum & patientiam Sacerdotis. S. Bernard makes the executive power to be in the Soul- dier, the directive in the Pried, the com- manding in the Emperor. Pope Boniface makes the Kings and Souldiers to have only the executive, the dire&ive and permiffive to be in the Pried. Yea fword, he faith, mud be under Sword. For where the A- podle faith , There is no power but of God, qu Yet more, The Earthly Power , if it fvterve out of the way (hall be judged of the power Spiri- tual, but if the Spiritual , that is lejfer 3 efthaf which is- fuperior to it. But if the higheft, it may be judged of God only, not of Man, iCor.2.15. the Apoftle witnefling the Spiritual Man judgeth all things, but himfelf is judged of none. We are come at length, as it were to the Fountains of Nilus, to the Original of the Infallibility of your fudge-, and if he have here rightly interpreted S. Paul, we learn that no earthly power, no Magiftrate is a fpiritual Man, unlefs he be one of the Popesfiirituai- ty. For thefe be S. Paul's fpiritual Men, that judge all things. Yet this muft receive limi- tation. For no Man may judge the Pope, the Supreme Spiritual Man , for of him it feems S. foul meant it , his authority he faith is not humane, but divine, by the di- vine Mouth given to Peter, and his Succef- fors, when the Lordfaid to him, gnodcun- qj-e ligaveris. For COrxlllilOn, Whofcevrr refifis this power thus The Copies of certain Letters, m thus ordered of God , refifls the Ordinance of Rom. 1 2.2* God, unlefs */ ManichcCUS, hb feign two begin- nings : which ( faith he ) we judge to be falfe and heretical , Jith by Mofes record, not in the beginnings , but in the beginning God Gen. i, i. created Heaven and Earth. Who "Would not acknowledge the divine Authority and Infallibility of your Interpreter , both in confirming his purpofe* ana convincing he- 1 efies from fa high a beginning, as this firfi fentence of Holy Writ ? What refts now, but after fo many teftimonies he inferr, Fur- thermore, to be under the Bifhop of Rome we de- clare, fay, define, and pronounce that to every hu- mane creature it is altogether of necejfity of falva- tion. Thus faith your infallible Judge and Interpreter of Scripture, the center of your Confcience, and foundation of your Faith, not as a private Doctor, but as Pope, in his own Law, intending to inform and bind the Church, and that, in matters with him of the greateft importance that may be, touch- ing his own Authority, and, as he pretends, absolutely nece(fary to Salvation, to all the Sons of Adam. I might heap up many more, but thefe may futfice for a iample. You may ( and fo do by your felf, Ibefeechyou) obferve thefe kind of Interpretations in other Points alfo, and in other the Decretals and Breves of Popes-, which, as I hear, are lately come forth in great Volumes. You mall find many Myrteries in your Faith, that perhaps Ro^&s: you know not of, as * That you cannot pleafe ?J£?" God becattfe jqh are married: for fo is that J)^! A a place cm»tf.&. f Joh. IF. 54- c. mm c unci is. * Rom.ic. 10. II Matt. 13, tf. * Jam. 1. 27- 354 T);e Copies of certain Letters. place of the Apoftle interpreted, qui in car- ne vivunt, Deo placer e non pojjunt. That not only the wine in the Chalice, but the water alfo is tranfubftantiated fir ft into Wine, then into Chrifts blood. That it was f not wa.tr 7 moiftur?, but the true element of Water which ijfued out of Chrifts fide. You ihall find * confeffion of fins to the Prieft, proved by the Text, Corde cre- ditur ad )u ft hi am, ore autem fit confeffio adfalutem. || That the good Ground^ that received the Seed in the Gofpel, is the Religion of the Friers Minors. * That this is that pure and immacu- late Religion -with God and the Father ', which de- fending from the Father of Lights, delivered, ex- emplariter & verbaliter, by the Son, to his Ar poftles, and then infpired by the Holy Ghoft, in- to S. Francis and his Followers, contains in it felf the Teftimony of the Trinity. This is that which as S. Parti witneffeth, no Man muft be trouble- feme unto, which Chrift hath confirmed with the prints of his Paifion. The Text is, * de c&tero nemo mihi mole ft us fit, ego n. ftigmata Do- mini fefu in corpore meo porto. It is marvel, if S. Paul were not of the Order of S. Francis. That when Chrift faid,f Ecce ego voblfcumfum omnibus diebus, he meant it of remaining and be- ing with them evm by his bodily prefence. S. Au- guftine upon the fame Text denies this, and faith, that according to the prefence of his Body he is afcended into Heaven, and is not here. That || the Father of the Child Chriftned, and his God- fathers Wife may not marry, becaufe, accord- ing to the Lords Word, the Husband and the Wife, are made onefiefb by marriage. That * the number of Four, doth well agree to the degrees prohibited *GaL6.i7 f Marth. 28. 20. Lo I am with you, &c» CUm. 3. de Reliq. Trait, in Job. 50. \\C.Ma)ti- Hfts de cog' nat. ftirit. 4- Mae. 19. 5. * C.non de- bade con- fang. 6 Cor. 7.4. The Copies of certain Letters^ 355 prohibited in corporal marriage, of which the Apoftle faith, The Man hath not the power of his own body, but the Woman $ nor the Wo- rn. xn forcer of her body but the Man, becaufe there are four humours in the body, which confift of the four Elements. For Con- clufion, you (hall find it by a commodious interpretation concluded, contrary to many Texts of Scripture, out of Scripture it felf, that *no (imple and unlearned Man pre fume to *CamtnD$ reach to the fubtlety of the Scripture, becaufe, ^i 2^0 well it was enafted in the law of God, that Exo.19.13 the Beajl which fhould touch the Mountain, fbould Ecclus. 5. be (toned. For it is Written, Seei^ not things 22 ' higher than thy felf For which caufe the Rom - 12 '* Apoftle faith, Be not more wife than it behoveth> but be wife to fobriety. One thing more alfo you (hall find, that now adays this fp iritual Man and ( lie infallible Interpreter of Serif ture, feldom interprets Scri- pture, Or ufes it in his Decretals and Breves, Nay the ftile of his Court hath no manner of fmack or favor of it. A long compafs of a Sentence, intricate to understand, yea, even to remember to the end,full of fvvelling Words of Vanity, with I know not how ma- ny ampliations and alternatives, after the fa- shion of Lawyers in Civil Courts,not of lober Divines,much lefs of the-Spirit of God in his Word. Some Man would perhaps think this proceeds from an affectation of greatnefs, and the defire of retaining Authority , which feems to be embafed by alledging reafon, or Scripture, and interpreting Texts. For my part, I account it comes as much from necef- A a 1 fity. I , is not of fuch validity. For Ce- remonies and matters of order may be order- ed by wife Men , and are not the worfe, but the better if they be ancient, yea if they be common to us with Rome, which Pu- ritans will by no means allow. In Dodtrine, if holy Men, yea if an Angel from Heaven fhall innovate any thing, we are not to ad- mit it. Now the Controverfies between the Romamfts and us, are moit about Do- ctrine, and they exceed as much in extolling the authority of the Ancients in their pri- vate Opinions and incommodious and (train- ed fpeeches , as the Puritans in depreffing them. We hold the mean, and give as much to the Authority and Teltimonies of rhe Fathers, as may ftand with the truth of Holy Scriptures, and as themfelves defer to the writing of others, or require to be given to their own Next you tell, of your following their o- pinion -who would make the Church of England, and the Church of Rome flill to be all one in Effential Points, and the differences to be acciden- tal. Conf effing the Church of Rome to be a true Churchy though fick^, or corrupted, and the Protefiants to be derived from it, and reformed. This Opinion is not only as you write, fa- voured of many great Scholars in England, but i« The Copies of certain Letters. 363 is the common Opinion of all the beft Di- vines of the reformed Churches that are or have been in the World, as I fhewed in E art of another Work, which as I remem- er you had a light of. Wherein yet I fear you miftake the term, accidental, which doth not import that our differences are but flight and of fmall confederation, but that all thofe Opinions and Abuies which we reform and cut offj are not of the Faith, but fuperfluous and foreign, yea hurtful and noifome to it, as the Weeds are to the Corn, w r hich over- grow 7 and choak it. And to follow this iimilitude, the ftate of the Church under the Roman obedience, and that part which is re- formed, is like a Field overgrown all with Weeds, Thirties, Tares, Cockle: Some part whereof is weeded and cleanfed, fome part remains as it was before ? which makes luch a difference to the view, as if it were not the fame coin. But being better conii- dered, it will be found all the difference is, from the Weeds, which remain there, and here are taken away. Yet neither here per- fectly, nor all where alike, but according to the induftry of our Weeders, or convenien- ce of the Work, with care of the fafety of the good Corn. By this Parable, you may fee what is to be hoped of jour labour to re- concile moft of our particular Controverjies. For although I doubt not but in fome it may be performed, where the difference is rather verbal than real ^ and in the manner of teach- ing, rather than in the fubftance of Dodtrine. And if moderate Men had the matter ia handling, 3 64 Tl:e Copies of certain Letters. handling, the flame of contention in "a great many more might be trodden down and flaked, fuppofe the (parks not all extind , yet in fome other, it is as pofllble to make the Weed and Corn Friends, as your and our Opinions 5 where there is none other remedy but that of our Saviour, Every Plant th.it my heavenly Father hath not planted, fhall be rooted out. Neither doth this impoffibility arife more out of the nature of the things, than the affe&ion of the perfons. For the Pope and the Court cf Rome . which are thole that domineer on that fide, do no lefs out of the fear of their own mine, deadly G^ted all reformation, than the Reformed, out of their prefent view and former feeling, the tyranny of the Papacy, which they fee doth Excommunicate^nd put to cruel Death all that are of this way. And which is a prodigious thing, where they tolerate the blafphemous and profefled enemies ofChrift, even with allowance of the publick exercife of their Religion, there do they bum -Men profeffing Chrifts Religion, according tcvthe ancient and common Rule thereof, with thki uprightnefs of Confcience, that if they had as many Lives as there be Articles thereof, they would give them all rather than renounce any of them. As for the Proteflants making the Pope Antx- chift, I know it is a point, that inrageth much at Rome. But if the Apoftle S. Paul, if S. John in the Revelation, defcribe Anti- chrift fo, as they that do but look upon the Pope well, muft be forced to fay as the peo- ple Tbe Copies of certain Letters. ^6* pie did of the blind Man in the Gofpel,fome, this is he- Others, be is very like him ; if him - felf and his flatterers do, and ipeak fiich things, as if all others fliould hold their peace, do in a fort proclaim, / am he 3 what can the Proteftants do with the matter? I will take the liberty here to relate to you, what I fa w while I was in Venice, the rather be- caufeit is not impertinent to our prefentpu;- pofe. And though perhaps you may have heard fomewhat of it, yet the particulars are I fuppofe unknown in thofe parts. And yet it doth more import they were known there than otherwhere, being occafioned by a fubjedt of the Crown, though of a name and Family whereto it is not much be- holding. In the Year 1608. F. Thomas Maria Car a- fa, of the Order of the Friers Preachers, Reader of Philofophy in Naples, printed a thoufand Thefes to be difputed thrice ; once at Rome, in the Church of S. Mary fuper Mi- ner v am, twice in S- Domimcfo at Naples. Of thefe, five hundred were in Logick, Natural Philofophy,Metaphyfick,and Mathematicks * five hundred more in Divinity, amongft which that was One. Solas fetrus & fuccejfo- res in tot am Ecclejiam illimitatam wrifdittionem habent. Thefe were all included in the form of a Tower, and dedicated with an Epiftie to the prefent Pope ? aulas the Fifth , to whofe Arms alluding, he faith/^** Draco hi- cep qui utrumque folum amflexas imferio ad Ec~ clefi<& pomcerium tanquam ad amcenijfimos He/peri- dam h&rtos pervigil exctibaty nullius Her cults vim wetxensy x66 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. metuens, tttrris etiam mea fit cnftos. On the top of this Tower, was this Reprefentation curioufly and largely cut. ^ An Altar, with two Columns , and their Ornaments, ac- cording to the Rules of Architecture. In the midft for the Altar-piece was the Popes Picture, very lively portrayed to the Breaft. Over his Head was the Word, Vultu fort en- deb at imferium. Above on the top of the Front, in three compartiments his Arms thus. On the one fide the fpread Eagle a- lone, the W brd, Ipfemlhifert tela pater. On the other a Dragon, and by it, Metier* fer- vo. In the midlt both together in one Scut- cheon with the crofs Keys and triple Crown in the CrefL On either fide of thefe Co- lumns were depending Crowns and Scepters, whereof fix were on the right-Hand after the Chriftian fafliion. The Imperial above, other underneath , and loweft the Corno of the Duke of Venice, fo they call a certain Cap the Prince ufeth to wear being of Gold Em- broidery, and fomewhatrefembling a Horn. There were alfo Turkifh Tnrbans, and Di- adems of divers faihions, as many on the left fide. By thefe on either fide of the Columns , were two of the four parts of the World. Europe and Africa on the one , Afia and America on the other , in the Habit of Ladies , fitting upon their proper Beafts couchanc, each offering unto him that was above the Altar of their Com- modities, Corn, Fruits, Incenfe, &c On the bafe of the Column on the Chriftian and European fide, was die Word, Et erunt Reges The Copies of certain Letters. 3 67 Reges nutritii tui. On the Other, Vultu in ter- rain demiffo pulverem pedum tuorum iingent, Efai. 49. Agreeable whereto there was made fly- ing over their Heads two Angels, on each fide one with thefe Sentences in their Hands. That over Europe and Africk^: Gens & Regnum quod nonfervierit illi, in Gladio & in Fame, & inpefte vifitabo fuper gent cm illam, ait T)ominus y Hier. 27. That over A fa and America .- Et dedit ei Dominus potefiatem & regnum, & om- nes populi ipji fervient : fete ft as ejus pot eft as . It will be faid here, it is not in the Popes power what his followers will fay of him, he ffiles himfelf the Servant of Gods Servants. Jf the Canonifis will call him, Our Lord God Apologia the Pope, fir ft 1 it may he deryed. Secondly, it pro Gar- may be laid to the over-fight of the Writers or Prin- Det0 > Ct S 6 ters. Thirdly, if it be fbewed to be left ftanding ft ill in the Glofs of the Canon Law, by them that were appointed to over-fee and correcb it, what mar- vel if one word efcapedthem, through negligence, or wearinefs^ or much bufinefs ? And yet if they thought the fenfe of the word not fo ufttal indeed in the ordinary talk^ of Chriftians, but not differing from the cuftom of Scripture wot te be allowed to an ancient Writer, the matter deferves not fuch out- cry*. But the Pope, fuch is his modefty, never h~ fu-rped this Title full of arrogancy, never heard it with patient ears. To this,let it firft beconfide- red, that the Cenfors of fuch things as come to the Prefs, are not to be imagined fuch Babes y as not to know what will pleafe or difpleafe his Holinefs, Efpecially in writings dedicated to himfelf, a man may be fure they will allow oothing the fecona time, and after fome ex- ception and fcandal taken at it, but what (hall be juftifkdi' How much more in the Popes B b own j7o Tk Copies of certain Letters. own Town of Bologna, and when his Chap- lain could not be avowed to print it at home. But to let all thefe go -> we may have a more ienfible proof how the Pope taftes thefe Ti- tles. That which he rewards he approves : Beneditlm was ihortly after made for his pains Bifhop of Caorli. How worthily he deferved it you fliall judge by his book , which at my requeft vouchfafe to read over, and if there beany merit, you fliall fure get great meed of patience in fo doing. That you may not doubt of the Popes judgment concerning thefe Titles, you fhall further know, that the matter being come to the knowledge of the Protectants in France, and England* made them talk and write of it broadly, namely, the Lord of PleJJis, in his Adyfterium iniquitatk, and \htBifhop ofChichefter in his Tort ftr a Torti. This gave occalion to the Cardinal Gieure,to relate in the Officio Santo at Rome of the fcan- dal taken hereat, and to make a motion, Be rnoderandps titutkXt was on foot fundry months. At laft the Pope revoking it to himfelf, bla- med thofe that had fpoken againft thefe Ti- tles, and faid, they were no whit greater than the authority of S. Peter'.** Snccejjor did bear. To re- turn thither whence I have a little digrefTed. In the queftion whether the Pope be the Anti- chrifl or no, for my part, I defpair of all re- conciliation. For neither doth there appear any inclination at all in the Pope to reform any thing in Doctrine or Government, nay, he encroacheth daily more and more upon all degrees even among his ow r n fubje&s, and re- folves to carry all before him at the breaft, with <*5 Tfk Copies of certain Letters. if 1 With fair Monarchy and infallibility. On the Other fide, the Reformers partly emboldned with fuccefs, partly enforced by necejfity, chiefly tyed with band olconfcience, and ferfvoafion of truth, are not like to retraft wfiat they have affirmed in this behalf, and whatfoever their differences be in other things, in this point they have a marvellous unity amongft them. Thofe in France having been moiefted/or c ailing the Pope Antichrifi, have been occafioried (as I have heard,) fome few years fince to take it into their Confeffion, thereby to juftifie themfelves according to the Ediths of Pacific** tion giving them liberty to profefs their Religion. In England as you know it is no part of the Doftrine of our Church, yet a commonly re- ceived opinion. Howbeit this is fo far from hindering, that the reformed Churches and thofe which heretofore were, or at this pre- fent are under the Popds obedience be one Church, that is, all members of the Catho- lick 5 that the Proteftants without this can- not make good the other- For Antichrift mufijit in the Temple of God, and that is in the Church, as Chryfoftome and Theophylatt interpret it, and Gods people could not be com- manded to go out of Babel, if he had oone there* Bbi chap; 3 7i *ikt Copies of certain Letters. CHAP. V. Of the fafenefs to joyn to the Roman, be- ing confejjed a true Church by her op- pofites. BUt you concluded hence, that feeing ma- ny of the be ft learned P rot eft ants did grant the Church of Rome to be a true Churchy though faulty in fome things ; and contrarily net only the Romanifts , but Puritans, Anabapifts, and Brow/iifts deny the Church of England to' be fo, therefore it would be more fafe and fecure to be- come a Reman Catholic^ &C- This DifcOUrfe hath a pretty fliew at the firftbluih, and perhaps was ufed to you fince your coming into Spain, as it was to fome there before. At my coming to Venice I fell upon certain Letters and Reports, fet forth as it was told me by F. Pojfevine, and not unlike by his mindfulnefs, to take all occaiions to advance the credit of his Society. Amongft them there is one faid tO be a true Relation of the wanner hew M. Pickering Wotton was conver- ted to the Catholic^ Roman Faith, indited as it is faid, and fubferibed by himfelf before his death. In which by a certain Father of the; Company of Jefusan EngHJhman by Nati- on, the like Difcourfe was ufed, as it is find,' to Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. 373 XO him : That he fhould confider well, that he and other Protefiants did not deny that the Catho- licks might be favedin their Faith, whereas all ■ the Catholicks that either lived at the prefent, or ever were, hold it as a mofi certain Article of ■Faith, That the Proteflants and other Hereticks .cannot befaved out of the CatholickChurch ; there- fore if he fhould become a Catholic^, he fhould enter into that way which was fafe, by the confent of both parts.Tlois confider ation he faith movd him not much then. But after fraying to God,as he wjs alfo advifed by that Father ; to direct him into the right way if he were out of it, fuddenly he faw a certain Light very clearly before his Byes in form of a Crofs. whereupon incontinently there was offered unto him fuch a heap of Reafons and Arguments by which was jloewed that the Catholic^ Faith is the only way of falvation, and that of the Prote- flants en the contrary mofi abfurd and abomi- nable, that mofi evidently he was convinced, with- ou t any the leafl doubt. And thefe reafons which then offered themfelves to him, were for the mcfl fart fuch as he did not remember that he had ever heard them in all his life. Thereupon with unfpeah^ able joy he called backjhc Father, told him what had happened, prayed him to hear his confeffion, and he examining him upon all the Heads of the Catholickjieligion, which he mofi firmly and en- tirely believed, heard his confeffion^ &C. But this Narration deferves little credit. Firft creating Mr. mtton for the greater glory of their triumph a Baron -j unlefs die Fathers in Spain, or Pojfevine in Italy have a faculty to create Barons. Next it is a very impro- bable thing that Mr. wotton dying of a Pale* B b 3 ture 3 7 A ^ ?e C P les °f wtdin Letter s^ tare {hould have fo good a memory, as to in- dite fo exaft and artificial a Narration, with fuch formality, and enforcements in fit pla- ces, as any Reader of underftanding muft needs perceive, came out of a diligent Forge, and needed more hammering and Hieing than fo. But that of all other is mod Legend-like, that howfoever this motive of yours is ufed, yet it is not made the efFe&ual inducement, DUt aheap of re a. forts in the twinkling of an Eye, and cauftng him not only to believe in the grofs, but to be able to give account of all the Heads of the Cathblick Religion ( that is all the points of controverfie at this day, between the Romanifts and the reformed Churches ) in a ft of an Ague, in the *»/»£- ling of an eye? Excufe me: This is beyond the blind Beggar that recovered his fight at S, Al- bans, that could tell the names of all colours as foon as he faw them. What then ? Was not Mr. w-otton reconciled ? and faw he not a light m form o£ a crofs? Yes: And this your motive was ufed to him alfo , and perhaps moved him more than all the heap of Rea- fons beiides. But (hall I tell you here what I have heard from the mouth of one that was himfelfthen inip*>,that both could know the truth of this matter, and had no reafon to tell me a lye, fith what he faid, came freely from himfelf, without fear, or hope, or almoft enquiry ? The Gentleman being lick, and weak in his Brain, the Fa- ther that Puffevine tells of, brought under his Gown a Picture, and upon a fudden prefen- ted it before him : This might be the light The (opies of certain Letters. 37 J in form of a Crofs ( perhaps a very Image of Chrift crucified ) which together with the lightnefs of his fancy, occalioned that your Motive, though it felf alio very light, might carry him: as a little weight is able to fway much, where the Beam it felf is falfe. If this be true ( as 1 take the living God to , record, I feign nothing, but do relate what hath been told me) as on the one iide I doubt not, but God in his mercy did interpret of the Gentlemans Religion,' according to his right judgment and perfwafion in his health, andnooaccording to the erroneous apprehen- sions of his fancy in his ficknefs ("which even k his beft health was ever very ftrong in his fleep ) as fome that have converted with him have told me : So on the other fide, they (hall bear tlieir judgment whatsoever they were, that would with fo cruel a craftineis take advantage of his infirmity, and make his ftory after a ftale to draw on others. As for the heap of Arguments to convince the Prate- ft ants Faith to be abfurd (that muft be by the way the Articles of the Creed ) Pofevines Catholick Hyperboles are well enough known in Venice, and he hath been -there told to his Head, That if in things pafl, whereof he Auverti- might have been informed^ he proves a moft lying mentoal", Hijlorian, it might more eafily fall out^ that he Ant * Po lJ^ jhould prove a moft falfe and ridiculous Prophet in XLV*' 7 * things to come. And in truth he hath proved fo hitherto- Wherefore, I reckon thefe garniihments of Mr. tvottoris perverlion, to be like the reft of his News touching the Conqueft c/MoC- B b 4 covia "i 7 6 The Qopies of certain Letters.' covia h Demetrius that Fmpoflor, whom he boafteth in a manner to have been the Scho- ler of his Society. Where he tells the World that the Army cryed out often : God and the Prayers of our Fathers ( the Jefuites ) have fub- duedthe Hearts of our enemies , and inclined them under our noble Prince Demetrius. That De- metrius turning to the Priefis of the company of fefus,was heard to fay \JLo that which you foretold ntt, O Fathers j in the time of that forr awful, flight of ours, is now come to pafs, to wit, that as the Lord God had afflicted me much, fo on the con- trary he would much comfort me, and that there- fore I fhould not doubt of a full victory, ] Thefe Words Poffevine ftamps in his former Relation in Capital Letters. But when this bold en- terprife was overthrown, and this fuborned fugitive (lain, and fhamefully dragged up and down the Streets of Mofio, then lo the re- ports were, That a light was feen over his body in the night time, &c. Let them that walk in darknefs follow fuch Lights as thefe be- We are no children of the Night, nor of darknefs. Leaving therefore thofe unheard of Argu- ments, which Poffevine hath not only cun- ningly drawn a veil over, that we may not fee them, but exempted by privi ledge of a miracle that we may not try them, this which he hath fhewed us, let us bring it a little to the clear day-light. And even at the firft view it is apparent, that this Argument is meerly foreign -, not drawn from any thing, a parte rei, as what the true Church is, what it teacheth, or fuch ike, but from opinion and testimony. What Men Tlie Copies of certain Letters. 1 \yy Men fay of that oiRome, and of the refor- med Churches^ &c. Now Opinions are no certain erounds of Truth, no not in natural and civil matters, much lefs in Religion. So this Argument at the mod is but Topical md probable. Let us fee the parts of it. And firft that ground : The teftimony of cur felves and of our contraries is much more fnffcient and certain than to jufiific our felves alone. Surely neither the one nor the other is fufficient, or certain. It is true, that if other proof fail, and -we mil follow conjectures, he is in probabi- lity an honefter Man, that others befide him- felf fay well of, than he that alone teftifieth of himfelf. And yet according to truth, this latter may be a right honeftMan, and dwell, as we fay, by ill neighbours, or where he is not known, or requires not the teftimony of other Men : Whereas the other being indeed a knave, is either cunning to conceal it, or hath fuborned other like himfelf to lay for him, ordwels by honed Men that judge and lay the belt. And in this very kind,our Saviour- attributes fo little to teftlmonj, as he pronoun- Luk 6 16 ces a woe tO them that all Men ffcal^ well of. So in our cafe it is more probable, I grant, if there were no other Argument to clear it, but Opinion, and moft Voices, that you have the true Church, and are in the way of falvation, than we, becaufe we give you a better teftimony than you do us. But it is poffible we are both deceived in our Opi- nions, each of other* we through too much charity, and you and others through ig- norance or malice. Herein undoubtedly we h;r 378 The Copies of certain Letter s.^ have the advantage of you and the reft, and do take that courie which is more fafe and fare to avoid fin, that if we do fail of the truth, yet we be deceived with the error of Love, which, as the Apoftle faith, hopeth all things, and is not puffed up. We avoid at the leaft that gulph of raih judgment, which, me thinks, if the cafe be not too too clear, Mq rt. 7. 5. We fliould all fear, With what judgment you judge ^ Horn. 2.r. you/hall be judged. Thou that judge ft another, con- dcmneft thyfeif But that you may a little better confider the weaknefs of this difcourfe, if the testi- mony of our felves and our contraries w T ere fufficient and certain to make truth, and ever more fafe and fecure to follow that fide which hath that teftimony, it had been better to have become a Jewiih Profelyte, in the Apo- ftles times than a Chriftian : For the Chrifti- ans acknowledged the Jews to be the people of God, heirs of the promlfes, and of Chrlfi, and ftiled them Brethren, notwithstanding their zeal to the Ceremonies, and Traditions of their Fathers, excufed their ignorance, bare with them, laboured to give them content in all things. Whereas they to the contrary called thofe that profeffed Chrift, Hemicks and SeH-arles, accurfed them, drew them out of their Synagogues, fcourged them, caft thpn in Prifon , compelled them to blai- pheme : As you do now Proteftants to ab- jure, though in other cruelties I confefs you go far beyond them. By like reafon a Pa- gMmS.Auguftine'snm?? fhould rather have made himlelf a Chriftian among AieDonatifts, than The Copies of certain Letters. 379 than with the Catholicks. For the Catho- licks granted the Donatifts &*/*//*» to be true, accounted them Brethren. The Donatifts to the contrary renounced their Brother-hood and Baptifm both, re-baptized fuch as fell to their fide,ufed thefe forms to their Friends, Save thy Soul y become a Chriftian : like to Aug. Fpift. thofe ufed by your Reconcilers at this day. 4 8 - & *i t Laftly confider, if this ground of the te- D f B 'JL 9 ftimony of cur contraries for our part, and /. 2.T7. their lack of ours, for theirs, be lure-, you have juftified the caufe of the Proteftants in the main Queftion , Which is the better Religion. For whatfoever a Proteftant holds, as of Faith, you cannot deny to be good and Catholick, nor any Chriftian Man elfe. For he binds him to his Creed, to the Holy Scriptures, and goes no further : And in thefe he hath your teftimony for him. But he denies many things which you believe,and accounts them foreign, yea repugnant to Faith, as the Popes infallibility -, Tranfubftantia- tion^ Purgatory i worfkipping of Images^ invocation of Saints. In all thefe you fpeak only for your felves, in fome of thefe you have not us only, but all other Chriftians your op- pofites, to fay nothing of the Jews and Turks, whom I might as well chock you withal, as you do the Proteftants with Ana- baptifts. So by this reafon our Profeffion is more fafe and fecure, and queftionlefs is more Catholic!^ than yours. Neither have , <- we in this difcourfe the Argument only zs you fee very appliable and favourable to us, but (which I would entreat you by the way to obferve ) 380 The Copies of certain Letters. AbuUnps, Bellamine, Fabtr, JLTijmuSy Ca finder, JJof/tuifier 9 (j£neas Svlziia. Uni.6. D.Ray voids fkf 5. obferve) Aietfopdufan it felf often granted by moderate and ibber Men of your own fide, viz,. That our courfe is in fundry things more fafe than yours. As in making no I- mage of God. In trufting only in the me- rits of Chrifl In worfhipping none but the Trinity. In directing our Prayers to our Lord Jefus Chrifl: alone. In allowing Mi- nifters to marry. In diverfe other Points al- fo many of your fide fay the fame with the Proteftants, and defend us from the imputa- tions which others of you lay upon us, as is file wed in the Catholicl^ Apology, by the reve- rend Biftop o/Chefter. This to the propofition. Let us come to the Affumption, where you mince too much the Proteftants Opinion touching the Church of Rome, when you make them fay, It is fer adventure faulty in fome things : Nay with- out peradventure, they fa) 7 , It is corrupt in Dcxftrine, fuperititious and Idolatrous in Re- ligion, tyrannical in government, defiled in manners, from the crown of the Head to the foal of the Foot no foundnefs in it , as the Prophet faith of another like it 5 yet the vital parts not periflied, ready to dye, yet not dead. A true Church though neither the Catholick^ Church, nor yet a found member of the fame. That al fo is falfe in the affumption, that the Puritans deny the Church cf England to be a true Church. Unlefs the Puritans and Brownifts be with you all one, which you have made diverfe Sects above, and then are you to blame as to multiply names ( where- of I have told you,) before, fo now again to confound them. What 7)?e Copies of certain Letters. 381 What is now the Conclufion ? It would be more fafe and fecure to become a Roman Catholic k. But the Proposition will not infer thus much (imply, but only in this refpect. For To- pical arguments ( as you know ) hold only ceteris paribus. We muft then inquire if there be no other intrinfical arguments by which it may be difcerned, whether caufe be the better, whether pretence to the Church and Truth, morejuft, more evident. Whe- ther it may be warranted to return to Babel, becaufe God hath fome people there, when as he commands thofe that are there to come out of it. How fafe it may be willingly to joyn with that part of the Church, which is more corrupt in Dodtrine and Manners, when we may continue with that which is reformed. Thefe points were to have been fcanned, ere you concluded and executed as you did. ^And fuch Arguments there want not. Chrift ourLord hath given us amongft others, two infallible Notes to know his Church. My Shee^ y faith he, hear my Voice : And again, J°t£«7 By this fhall all Men know that yon are my Difciples, if you love oxe another. What fhall we ftand upon conje&ural Arguments from that which men fay ? We are partial to our felves, malignant to our oppofites. Let Chrift be heard who be his, who not. And for the hearing of his Voice, O that it might be the iffue! But I fee you decline it, There- fore I leave it alfo for the prefent. That other is that which now I ftand upon : the Badge of Chrift s Sheep. Not a likelihood , but c. 13.35, Fkv. 1 8. 381 77;e Copies of certain Letter £ but a certain m^ whereby *z>«7 Man may know them. ^; this, faith he, y2W/ *// Men know that ye are my Bifciples, if ye have cha- rity one towards another. ^ Thanks be to God : This mark of our Saviour is in us, which you with our Schifmaticks, and other ene- mies want. As Solomon found the true Mo : ther by her natural affedion, that chofe ra- ther to yield to her adverfaries plea, claim- ing her Child, xhm endure it fhould be cut in pieces j fo may itfoonbe found at this day, whether is the right Mother. Ours that faith, give her the living Child, and kill him not ; or yours> that if (lie may not have it, is content it be killed, rather than want of her will. Alas, faith ours , even of thofe that leave her, theft be my Children, 1 have born them to Chrifl in Baptifm, I have murijhed them as 1 could with mine own Breads his Te- (laments. 1 would have brought them up to Mans eft ate, as their free Birth and Parentage deferves. Whether it be their lightnefs or difton- tent, or her enticing words and gay fhews they leave me, they have found a better Mother. Let them live yet, though in bondage. I fhall have patience - I permit the care of them to their Fa- ther ; I befeech him to keep them that they do none' evil -, if they make their peace with him, Iamfa- tisfied, they have not hurt me at all. Nay but, faith yours, / ft alone as Queen and Miftreft of Chrifl s Family j he that hath not me for his Another, cannot have God for his Father. Mine therefore are theft, either born or adopted : And if they will not be mine, they fhall be none. So without expecting Chrifts Sentence, flie cuts in The Copies of certain Letters. 385 in pieces with the Temporal Sword, hangs, burns, draws thofe that fhe perceives inclined to leave her, or have left her already. So flie kills with the Spiritual Sword, thofe that fubjed not to her, yea thoufands of Souls that not only have no means fo to do, but many which never fo much as have heard whether there be a Pope oiRowe or no. Let our Solomon be Judge between them : Yea, judge you (Mr. ivaddefivorth) more ferioufly and maturely, notbygueffes, but by the ve- ry mark of Chrift , which wanting your felves, you have unawares difcovered in us, judge I fay without paffion, and partiality, according to Chrifts Word 3 which is his Flock, which is his Church. CHAP. 184 T!^ Copies of certain Letters, CHAP. VI. Of Fraud and Corruption in a/kdgzng Councils j Fathers and Doctors. YOur next Motive was, That h examining the J^ueftions, efpeclally about the Churchy where you laboured to ferufe the Original Quo- tations and Texts of the Councils, Fathers and Doctors, you found, as you fay, much fraud com- mitted by the Prot eft ants. This imputation of Fraud is very ufual and common to both fides 5 and verily I believe fome on both fides are faulty. For whether out of humane in- firmity, miftaking the meaning of Authors, or flips of memory , truft of other Mens Quotations, who tyenotthemfelves to the Words, but give the fenfe they conceive 5 how eafily may teftiraonies be alledged clean befides the Authors minds? He. that hath ftrongly conceited any thing, findeth it in all that ever he readeth, or falleth upon. Too much heat in contention, and defire of Vi- ctory, blindeth the Judgment, and maketh a Man heedlefly lay hold upon any thing, that he thinks may ferve his turn. As we fee fometimes in the Writings of the Fathers, which had to deal with ancient Hereticks, alledging the Scriptures themfelves befides the purpofe. Sometimes haft and defire ef The Copies of certain Letter^ 385 of contra&ing makes one cut offfome words, and explain and prefs thofe that make for him •, and perhaps leave out fomething ma- terial : Prefently the other fide cries out clip- ping, forgery, faff feat ion, and what not? But although all this may be called fraud in refpeft of the Reader, who is by this means deceived in his Evidence, and therefore if he be not aware may pronounce amifs, yet is it nothing to that kind, when with an evil Conference and of fet purpnfe Falfhood is fet forth, and Truth outfaced. Wherein I cannot tell what you have found. I could have defired, and do yet if your leifure may ferve, you would ihew the particulars. I do profels here to you, that I have feen and even felc with my Fingers fuch dealing in theRomiih Fa&ion, as I cannot refolve whether I fliould account them more (hameful Slanderers, and falfe Accufers of others, of fraudulent hand- ling '-, or bold and ihamelefs in the pra- ftiiingofit themfelves. When the Lord of Pleffis his book of the Sacrament came out, how was it calumniated in this kind, withfal- fif cation? Dh Puy in a publick Chartel of- fered, that of 306 paffages in the Preface, he would ihew as clear^ as the Sun at noon day r 283 were faliified, corrupted, and mangled , and the reft of no importance. The Biihop of Eureux, after Cardinal, un- dertook to (hew in the Book it felf five hundred enormous falfities by tale, and with- out hyperbole. The matter was brought to' a tryal before the Kine of Trance , and nine places examined of this number. And/ C c as 3 86 7he Copies of certain Letters. as was before-hand promifed the Popes Nun- cio f the hufinefs fhould be fo carried that the advantage jhould remain on the part of the Church of Rome , and the Pope receive con- tentment, and ill thefe Very Words , The lye fhould reft with the Hcreticks. Aiorney was born down. The Kings Letters to the Duke of Efpemon of this Vidory , were blown over France, fent to Rome, printed with a Difcourfe thereabout, fet forth at Antwerp, and translated into Fnglifk, with fome alteration and Turkefing by F. Parfons. Wherein he faith, A French Jefuit, Fronto Hucims , difcovered in it at laft a thoufand falflmds for his part. He accufed BilllOp Jewel, and Mr. Fox, of the like crime 5 he faith that in two only leaves of his Book, a certain learned Scholar did difcover thir- ty wilful and voluntary corruptions and falfifi- catlons that cannot be excufed , and him- felf beiides thefe thirty , noted {o many other plain falffloods and manifeft wilful lies, as might well double the •former number. And by Arithmetick he multi- plies this Number with the Number of the Leaves , the number he faith will rife to thirty thoufand, by which John Fox his Book will as much exceed fahn Skldans Story in number of lyes (in which were found on- ly eleven thoufand ) as it doth in bulk and bignefs. This manner o( writing of thefe Men , brings to^ my mind that which D . . . Sir Thomas Afore writes of Tjndals New Te~ fH.- fluent, wherein he faith, Were foundcn jfid tott md falfely tr -.inflated above 4 thoufand 7l?e Copies of certain Letters. 7 87 •>- ' thottfand Texts by tale. The Language IS like , and the caufe is the fame. Men were loth thefe Books fhould be read. The fubftance of them was fuch as could not be controlled •, The next remedy was to foreftal the Readers minds with a pre- judice of falf lfication , that fo they might not regard them, but caft them out of their Hands of their own accord. The Vulgar fort would be brought out of conceit at the firft hearing , with vehement accu- fation. Even wife Men would fuppofe, though there fhould not be any thing near fo many wilful faults , yet furely there muft needs be a very great number, and that could not happen but with a very bad meaning --, this admitted, who would vouch- fife them the reading? And in truth among thofe that favour the reformed part, I have met with fome that out of this buz of faliification in the Lord of Pleffis Book, cared not for reading it 5 whereby may be thought in what account it fhould be with all thofe who efteem all F. Par fins Libels to be Oracles. But fliortly : Sith neither the Cardinal Perone, nor F. Par fins have had the means, or will, to decypher thofe hundreds and thoufands of falfifica- tions tn Sleidan, Bifhop Jewel, Mr. Fox, or Pleffis , in thefe fo many years , as have run fince they wrote •, and as for the laft, he hath kt forth the Book again, with all the Authorities at large in the Mar- gent , in the Authors own Words , and hath anfwered all thofe that bayed at it , C c % till 3 3 8 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. till they are filent : what remains but that we count this multiplying of F. Parfins y may be joyned with ^Equivocation, to make up the art of Falfhood 3 wherein he and his Faction may juflly claim to be the wor- thieft Profeflbrs in the World. But with- out any multiplication or Other Arithmetic \, in the fifth page of that Relation of his in the feven firft Lines are four notorious, I will not fay, lyes, or fatftficattons, but ftl- fhoods by tale. The Firft : That the trjd being begun upon the firft place, that was found falfe. The French Difcourfe printed at Antwerp, Cum privilegio, and approbation of the Vifitor of Books, faith : And as to the [aid firft Article, nothing was judged thereabout by the [aid Com mijfi oners, nor pronounced by my [aid Lord the Chancellor , and the King faid that it floould be remitted to another time to deliberate thereabout. The Second : He ( that is FleJJIs ) would have paffed to the fecond , but the Bijhop refufed fo to do, except the Mi- ni fters and Proteftants there pre fent would firft fubferihe and teftifie that this firft place was falftfied. He laid in the page before, that Plcffts appeared at la ft with feme four er five Minifters on his fide. There were no Mi- nifies appeared with him on his fide. No Proteftants , no creature did fubferite, or was required foto do. The third : which at length they did, viz, fubferibe, this place w r as faliified. An utter untruth. Whereof there is nota Word in the faid printed Narrati- on. I he fourth: As well in this as in all the reft. There was no fubfeription, as I faid, at Tl)e Qpics of certain Letters. 38^ at all The Commiffioners .were all of the Roman profeffion, laving Cafwbcn 3 and he no Minifter. They never pronounced , much lefs fubfcribed that any of thofe pla- ces examined were falftfied. Of the firft place of Scotm they pronounced nothing. Of the fecond,of Dur and, That tfa oppofition of Du- rand was alleged for the rtfoltttion. And this they would have remitted alio as the former to another time, fave that the Bilhop iniifted, laying, it was in vain to difiute if they would not judge 3 Addrefiing his Speech divers rimes to the King, to the intent he (hould lignifie his pleafure to the Commiffioners j and then his Majefty drawing near to them, they gave their Opinions upon that Ar- ticle as before. Thfarwas that which F. Par- fins (tumbled at when he wrote, The Mini- fter s and Proteftants there prefent fubfcribed and teftifed, that it was falftfied , and fo all the reft. For being overjoyed with this News which he did not well underftand (to think the charitableft of him ) he thought the Commiffioners had been part at lead Pro- teftants, andMinifters: And had fubfcribed, whereas they pronounced their Sentence vi- va voce, by the Mouth of the Chancellor, never ufing the term falftf cation $ yea in ibme of the reft they acquitted the Lord of Pleffis , as in the pajfage of P. Crinitus y though they did Crlnitm was deceived. In that of Bernard , that it had been good to diftinguifh the two parages of S. Bernard out of the fame Book^ with an & Cetera. Not to ftand now upon that, that in the reft of C c 3 the 2po 77?? Qitpiei of certain Letters.' the places he hath a reafonable and juft defence with indifferent Men , for the omiflions he was charged with in Chryfi- ftome, Hierome, Bernard, and Theodoret : And in that of Qril i the King himfelffaid aloud, tha both fides had reafon. But F. Parfons not having, as it appears, received perfect in- formation of the particularities of this af- fair, was fo hafty to write according to die partial intelligence he received at Rome, that lie faults himfelf in the fame kind , that he imputes to another. And if he mould meet with fome fevere Adverfary, that would multiply his fallhoods by his leaves and lines, as he dealeth with Mr. Fox, and then extend by proportion his Pam- phlet to the bignefs of Mr Fox his Boc!^ of Martyrs, he would find , that he provides very ill for himfelf that is too rigorous and cenforious to other Men. But I leave him , and come to the fi- delity of the Popilh Fadion , whereof I (hall defire you to take a tafte in one of the queftions which you name about the Church, even that which is indeed car do negotii, as you fay, the controverfie of the Popes authority. For the eftablifhing whereof: Firft, the Efiflles of the ancient Bijhops of Rome , for the fpace of about three hundred years after Chrift are counterfeited. The Barbarous not Latine but lead of the ftile , and the like- nefs of them all one to another, the deep iilence of Antiquity concerning them} the Scriptures pledged after Hleroms tranflation, do convince them of Falfliood , and by whofe The Copies of certain Letters. 391 whofe pra&ice and procurement we cannot doubt, if we ask but as Caffm was wont, cm bono ? For at every bout the Authority of the Pope , and priviledges ^ of the Ro- man See are extolled and magnified. W Next, the donation cf Con ft amine is a fenfe- lefs forgery 5 and fo blazed by fome of Difi. 96. the learnedeft of the Roman Church. \ Read \} n c u ^ Un ^ it advifedly, either in Gratia*, or in the Decrees of Sylvefter, with the Confeffion, and Legend of Confl amines baptifm , and lay out of your own judgment if ever any thing can be more fraudulent , more fotriih. And becaufe I have mentioned Gratian , his whole compilation is full of falfification , and corruption of Antiquity : take an example or two in the matter we have in hand. The Milevitane , and after Co ntii uim the African Councils under pain ofexcom- /«?. ii%. munication prohibit Appeals beyond the Seas. Which Canons were made purpofely to Cneil. a- meet with the ufurpations of the Bilhops fricc. 12. of Rome , of which I have fpoken fome- what before. Now in the citing this Ca- c *i AC *iu non, Gratian adds this goodly explication •, qa. 9. 6. " nifi forte Romanam fedem appellaverint ^ thus excepting that abufe which thefe Coun- cils directly fought to prohibite. Again , S. Anguftine to inform a Chriftian man what m m&i- Scriptures he fhould hold for Canonical, na.cbr.L2. bids him follow the Authority of the greater part of the Catholic!^ Church , amongflr which are thofe, qxa Apoftolicas fedes habere , efr Epi- ftolas accifere mernermt, which had the honour to have the Apeftles fit in them, and to receive C C 4 Fifties 2 01 The Copies of certain Letters. JEpifiles from them. Gratian fits it thus, in- ter quas ( ScripturaS ) fane HU [tint quas A- poftolica fedes habere, Q- ab ea alii meruerunt acciprre Epifiolas : And accordingly , the title of that Canon is --, inter Camnkas , The Decretal Epifiles are numbred amongfi the Canonical Scriptures. True it is , that in the end of the nest Canon, Gratian adds a good limitation, and worth theremem- bring , that this mud be underftood of fitch Decrees, in which there is nothing found, contrary to the Decrees of the Fathers forego- ing, mr the Precepts of the Gcfpel. Belike even in Gratlans time it was not holdea jmpoflible, That in the Sanctions and De- cretals of Popes, fomething might be de- creed contrary to the Gofpel, which may be added to your Judges Infallibility, which hath been touched before. But thefe be old tricks of the Cham- pions of the Papacy. At this day perhaps it is better: Yes, and diat (hall ye uu- underftand by the Words of the Children of the Church of Rome themfelves, xbzVpmir ans. But firft ye are to know, that among cer- tain Propolidons fee forth in defence of that State, there was one, the fourth in num- ber of eight, That the Authority promifed by Saviour Chrift to S. Peter under the me- taphor of the ICejes is meerlj Spiritual, For confirmation whereof after other proof Was faid , That the Authority of the highefi Bijhop is over Sin and over Souls only 5 ac- ting to the -words of that Prayer of r £ Peter — qui B. Petro tnimm The Copies of certain Letters. 393 iigandi atque folvendl Pontifuium tradidifli. Cardinal Bellarmine undertook to anfwer thefe Propositions , and coming to this place he faith 5 That per adventure Cods frth vidence to take away fuch deceits , whereby the Author of thefe Propcfitions would deceive the fmple^ with the words of the holy Church mifunderflood , infpired into the Reformers of the Breviary that they ffiould take out of that Prayer the word ( animas ) as anciently it was not there i nor ought to be - becaufe that Pray- er was formed out of the words of the Gofpel, Quodcunque ligaveris , & quodcunque folvcris. Now mark the Rejoinder that is made to him by Johannes MarfiUus , who num- bering up his errors in the defence of eve- ry Propofition , roundly tells him > Erra XIV. pcrche dice, &c. He errs in the four- teentiY place, for that he faith, That thofi which have taken out of the Breviary the word ( animas ) were infpired by the Holy Ghofl. I know not whether the Holy Ghoft be the Author of Lifcord. This I know well , that one of his Gifts and of his Fruits is Peace. Thofe which made that Prayer had thi* intenti- on , to explain the Words Quodcunque liga- veris, with the Word ( animas ) by that Text -which explaineth them , quorum remiferitis peccata^ fns being in the Soul and not in the body, lefl any fhould believe that the Pope were Dominus in temporalibus & fpiritualibus , of Goods, of Bodies, and of Souls , and that he might loofe and bind every thing, as itfecms the L. Cardinal believeth % And they ex- plained them with the Word mmas , by 1 which 394 ^£ Copies of certain Letters. "which explication a remedy is put unto all thofe difcords which may arife be- tween the Pope and Princes de meo & tuo. Wheras thofe which have lately taken it away out of the Breviary , have anew flirred up occafion of difcords and contentions. Befides that it is a thing known of all Men , that in the Books of the Councils , of the Canons , of other Doctors, in a word, even in the very Brevia- ries and Mijfals there have been and are ta- ken away thofe things which are in favour of Princes of the Laity y to fee if at length there might be eftablifioed the opinion de illimitata Poteftate Pontificis in temporalibus. So as he that compares together the Books printed in the year 30. zVz jo. and thofe at this day, as well of the Councils as others , evidently perceives the vintage, that marvail it is, that we poft vindemiam, have found fome few Clufiers for the defence of our gracious Prince, This is a means if it go on further , to make all wri- tings to lofe their credit , and to mine the Church of God. Be it fpohen by the occafion that the Lord Cardinal hath given me thereof, and for charities fake , and for the defvre that thefe writings be no more touched ; which be alfo faid with all humility and reverence. He errs in the fifteenth place , for that he faith that in the ancient Breviaries there was not the word animas. And L have feen Bre- viaries written with pen above 200 years ago, and printed above an hundred ; in them is the word animas, and. if it were not, yet ought it to be put in, to take away the occafions of difcords. Thus Trid. The Copies of certain Letters,' 39c Thus he there 5 As for the Prayer cor- relied, or corrupted rather-, if you look the old Breviaries, yea even that fet forth by Pius the Fifth , printed by Plantine , with the Priviledge of the Pope, and his Catholick Majefty , Anno 77. upon the ex decrh. nine and twentieth of June , ye {hall find *£™ ciL it tO run thus. 'Dem qui B. Petro Apoflolo tuo collatis clavibus regni Cce/eflis animus li- gandi at que folvendi Pontificium tradidifii\ con- cede ut inter ceffionis ejus auxilio peccatorum no- flrorum nexibus liber emur. Per Dominum — . Now in the late correction , Animas is left out , and we understand the Rea- ion. In the end of the fame Book there is an Advertisement to the Reader , the be- ginning whereof I will not ftick to fee down verbatim } it is this. Becaufe in this Defence I have often [aid, that Authors are made to recant, and that out of their Books many things are taken away fincerely [aid in fa- vour of the power ef Temporal Princes, to efiablijh by thefc means the Opinion, De fu- prema authoritate Papa? in temporalibus --, I have thought good to advife the Reader, that the quotations by me brought, are ta\cn, ad verbum , out of thofe Boohs which are incor- rupt, and contain the opinion of the Authors fincerely. And that the more ancient the Copies be, and further from thefe our times, fo much the better they be. And in particular I defire that he be advert ifed , that the Cap. Novit de judkiis, printed in Rome the year 1575. h Jofeph de AngellS, with licence of Supe- riours, 396 The Copies of certain Letters. rioters , is the text which was followed by the Author of the eight Pojitions , and by me 5 which contains fincerely the opinion of Navar- rUS, and of the Pariiians. Which in the Books printed fince, is changed in fuch manner as it is no more the fame , but is become the con- trary\ to wit th.it of Cajetane, &c % Tell me, good Mr. waddefworth, in the fight of God , what is fraud , if this be not. And thus not only the Authors of this Age any way inclining to reformati- on, as Erafmtu, Rhenanus, Cajfander, Term \ but, Vives, Taher, Cajetane, Pol. Virgil, Guic- ciardine, Petrarch, Dante , yea Authors of fix or feven hundred years old , are fet to School to learn the Roman ^ Language, and agree with the Trent Faith. For it is not the Authority and Monarchy of the Pope alone that is fought, though that be SHmmafummarum, whereunto all comes at laft, but no voyce muft be heard diffen- ting from that which he teaches. There- fore it is , that Bertrams Presbyter is ap- pointed by your Sfavifh Index printed at Madrid , to be wholly aboliihed. The former had catechized him to lay inftead of vifibiliter, invifibi 'liter, with many other pretty explications, as where he faith, the Elements in the Lords Supper , Secundum creaturarum fubflantiam , quod prius fuerant , ante confecrationem hoc & fofl confiflunt , the explication is, fecundum externa* fpecies Sa- cramenti. But the fureft w T ay was to take him clean away : And fo indeed in the Bibliotheca Patrum he is , and that purpofcly, J as The Copies of certain Letters. ^7. as Marguerinm de U Bigne COnfefleth in his Preface. ^ The Ancient Fathers are perhaps free. For the Council of Trent appointed, that in the writings of the a?icient Catholicks nothing fbould be changed , fave whereby the fraud of Here ticks , a man if eft error is crept in, But who fliall be the Judge of that ? the In- quiiitors and Cenfors themfelves. For my part, I cannot fay that I have fpent many hours in the tryal of this point, nor have I had ancient Copies thereto requifite. But I will intreat you to coniider with me one example, or rather two or three in one Father , and in the matter that I named , whereby you may gueis at the reft. In S. Cyprians Works imprinted at Rome, by P. Manutiw., fent for to Venice by Pius the Fourth , to fet forth the Fathers , as him f elf faith, moft perfectly cleanfed from all fpots, the Epiftle of TirmUianus Bifhop of Cafarea, be- ginning, Accepimus per Rogatiazum, is whol- ly left out 5 and Pameliu* thinks purpofe- ly, and adds, perhaps it had been more wif- dom it had been never fet out at all. S Cyprian was not of that mind , who tranflated it into Latin, as the ftile it felf witnefles, and Pamelhu alfo is enforced to confefs. The matter is, it too quick and vehement againft Stephana BifllOp of Rome, He faith he fs mo- ved with juft indignation, at the manifeft folly of St6phanuS, that boafting fo much of the place of his Bifkoprick^ and that he hath the fuc- ceffion of Peter, upon whom the foundations of the Church were fet, brings m many other Rocks* 5 9 8 T7;e Copies of certain Letter & Recks* &C He faith he hath flirred up con- tentions and difcords throughout the Churches of the whole World, Bids him not deceive himfelf, he hath made himfelf a Schifmatick^, by fepara- ting himfelf from the Communion of the Ec cleft- aflical "Unity , for while he thinks he can fepa- rate all from his Communion, he hath feparated himfelf only from all. He taxes him for calling S. Cyprian a falfe Chrift, a falfe Apoftle^ and a deceitful workman, which being privy to him- felf that thefe were his own due^ prcventingly he objected t* another ! No marvel if this gear could not pals the Prefs at Rome. In S. Cyprians Epiftle, Be V nit ate Ecclefta, thefe Words, & Primatm Petro datur, &c. and after, Vnam Cathedram conftituit: and again, Et Cathedra una, are foifted into the Text in that Roman edition. In that of Pamelius alfo beiides thefe, another claufe is added, forfooth, out of Gratia*, and a Copy of the Cambron Abby [ jSjft Cathe drram Petri fuper qtum fundata eft Ecclefta de- ferit. ] Thefe patches being all left out f the fenfe is neverthelefs compleat and per- fed : And for the laft, which fpeaks mod for the Popes Chair, the Supervifors them- felves of the Canon Law , by the com- mandment of Gregory the Thirteenth , ac- knowledge , that in eight Copies of Cy- p-ian entire , in the Vaticane Library this Sentence is not found : But befides thefe there is one wherein his opufcula alone are contained , and another at S. Saviours In Bologna in which it is found. But what ac- count Ti)C Copies of certain Letters. ^pp count they make of it appears by this , that fupplying the whole fentence in ano- ther place of Gratlan, they leave it out. Wherein as their Confcience is to be commended, and Manutim his modefty, or theirs who iurveyed that Edition, that would not follow one Copy againft eight 5 fo is Pamelims boldnefs to be corrected , that out of one, and that not fully agree- ing with Gnnian, neither fhaines not ( as himfelf fayes, vmti non fumns ) to farce in this reading into the Text , againft all the reft Printed and Manufcript, which he ufed above twenty in number, as he fets them down in a Catalogue in the beginning of his Edition. It is now little more than two hundred years ago , that Frier Thomas of walden wrote againft witckjf. He in the fecond Book of his firft Tome , the firft Article, and fecond Chapter, cites this very place of Cyprian, and cites it to for- tifie witclefs aflcrtion of his own mind. For having recited mtclefs Words, he con- cludes them thus ? H&c ibi, and then pro- ceeds : *Add.amui & nos quod Cyprianns dicir, omnes Apoftolos fares fuijfe &' poteflate & ho- nore. Addamus quod Hieronymus dicit^ fuper omnes Apoftolos ex aquo fortitudo folldatur Ec- clefa , &c. Yet neither in that Chapter 5 nor in that whole difcourfe doth lie once mention thefe Words, now conveyed in- . to Cyprian, nor any where elfe that I can find in all his Work, though he cite this Tra&ate often under the name of Liber con- tra Hxreticos & Schifmaticos, How fit had it 400 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters^ it been to anfwer the objection out of Qprlan by Cjfrr idn , if he had not found that Gratian after his manner had been too bold or negligent in this paflage. The iame Author in his third Tome Be Sacra- ■memallbus, Dodi i o. cites a long place out of this fame Treatife beginning at thofe words. An ejfe fibl cum Cbrifto vldettir qui adverfum Sacerdotem Chrlfilfaclt, &C. Again, Cap. 8 1 . two places 5 one immediately before the Sentences charged with thofe former words, another after. The one beginning, Loquitur Bomlnns ad Petrum , Ego tlbi dlco quia jjte es Petrus, &C. The Other, Vnltatem tenere fir- miter & vendlcare debemus, &C. Certainly un- lefs JValdenfis meant by faint-pleading to be- tray the caufe he undertook, he would ne- ver have omitted fo pregnant paffages as thefe be, for Peters Primacy, and the Popes Chair,had they been extant in Cjprlan sWork when he wrote. But we cannot doubt of his good affection to the See of Rome, either for his orders fake , or his dedicating that Work to Pope Martinexht Fifth, or his approbation of the two firft Tomes, which he faith, he caufed to be feen and examined, per follennes vlros, and teftifies of to be com- mended of all, encouraging him to write the Third. It remains therefore that Cyprian hath received this garnishment fince waldens time. And here with this occafion of his filence about thofe things which are thruft into Cj- frian, I will, though befides my purpofe , life his Teftimony about a certain fentence of the Author of the imperfect work, tipon Mat- thew, Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. 401 thew j afcribed to Saint Chryfifttme, which the Romifh fa&ion will needs race out. It is in the eleventh Homily, about the mid- dle. The words are thefe, Sienlm vafa fan- tlificata ad privatos ufus transferre peccatum eft tfr periculum, ficut docet Balthafar qui bibens iti calisibus facris, de regno depoptus eft & de vita. Si ergo h and he adds there, Hanc tanti viri fententiam cum magiftrum fuum fVitcleff vident libro defer' ntone Domini in monte Cap. 37. affumere tan- quam facram, qualiter pradones Lollardi audent, &c. But faith Bellarminey Thefe words make not to the matter in hand, for the Author of the Homily fpake of the holy vejfels of Solomons Temple y which Balthafar prophaned? and in thofe vejfels y neither was the Lords true body, nor yet the myftery thereof. Well, if they be not tO the purpofe , if they fpeak of the veffels of Solomons Temple, let them ftand in the D d Text 402 Tl:e Copies of certain Letters. Text ftill. What need ye purge them out of the newer editions at Antwerp and Paris ? Belike Father John Matthews law further into this matter than Bellarmine, for lie cafts out this fentence with the dregs of the Arlans % although there be no Arianifm in it that I can perceive. The truth is, the Author fpeaks of the Veffels ufed in the Lords Sup- per in his own time. For thofe words, ficut doca Balthafar, &c. are brought in by the way, for a confirmation from a like exam- ple, the fenfe hanging in the mean while, which is refumed again when he goes on, SI ergo h*c vafa, as any indifferent Reader may perceive. Yea, takeaway thefe words, and the finews of the fentence are cut, for the force of the argument lies in the compan- ion of the prophaning of the holy Veffels, and of our bodies 3 That is a fin, yet Chrifts body is not contained in them, but the my fiery thereof: but God himfelf dwells in thefe. Thefe examples, to omit fome other, do make me think, that howfoever the corrupt- ing of the texts of the Fathers, is not now perhaps fo ufual, as of other Writers, and good reafon why , they know T that many look narrowly to their fingers, neither is there any place almoft, that is of fpecial pith, that hath not been obferved and ur- ged in the handling of the controverfies of this age, by fome or others yet where there is any colour of differing Copies, or any advantage to be taken that way, it is not flipped. And who knows not, that fcmetimes The Copies of certain Letters. 4 o 1 De verbis Dominiy fometimes the change of a Letter, yea, of a Point or Accent , makes the whole fen- tence of another meaning ? As for exam- p!e,that of Saint Augufllne, 9m fecit tefine te, &*. t$ non jufilficat te [me te. Read it interroga- c. 1 1 tively, and it is as ftrong for Soto and the Do- minicans, as if it be read afferuvely, for Catha- rine and the Jefuits- And in very deed when I confider the ea- gernefs of thefe men, to win their purpo- fes, and their fearful boldnefs with the ho- ly Word of God, I know not how a man fhould look for conlcience or refpe<5t at their hands in the writings of men. For to omit that the Trent-Fathers have canonized the Vulgar Latin Edition, which fo many times departeth from the original infpired by the holy Ghoft , adding , detracting , changing, often to a diverfe, fometimes to a contrary fenfe. To let pafs alfo how Sik- tns V. and Clemens VIII. do tyrannize over and delude the Faith of their followers, about that Edition, binding them unto two diverfe Copies,and fometimes flat contradictory S and fo, as the form of each mufi be inviolably obfer- zed, without the leaf particle of the Text ad- ded, changed or detratled. The former, dero- gating all Faith and authority from w hat foci er Bibles hand-written, or printed, ef the Vulgar e- dltion, which did not agree with that which he fet forth ad verbum & ad literam. The lat- ter, telling, that when the fame Pope endeavour- ed to fet it out j he perceived not a few things ts have crept into the holy Bible, through the fault of the Prefix and that it needed a fecond care } whe?e- D d 2 itfo* 404 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. npm he decreed to bring the whole worl^ Again to the Anvile, had he not been prevented by death j fo derogating all Faith from the former. Wherea; the truth is, Sixtu* did not only en- deavour to fet out his Bible, but prefixed his Bull before it ad ferpetttam re'% memoriam, and fent one of the Copies to the State of Ve- nice ( as I heard at my being there ) howfo- ever fince it was cunningly recovered again, fet it to fale publickly, and faith in his Bull, that he corredted the faults of the Prefs with his own hand, and ( which moft of all convinceth Pope CV^w^'sPreface of falfhood) the difference of thefe Editions is not in fault of the prints, but in that the one fol- lows the old erroneous reading, the latter the reading of other Manufcripts according with the Hebrew, Chaldee, Greeks or the Latin edition of the Catholick Kings Bible, ob- ferved by the induftry of the Divines of Za- valne. But to forbear to urge this contradi- ction in the very foundation of belief, which fome man perad venture would prefs fo far, as # to inferr , that the Romanifts have no faith ( for he that believes contradicto- ries, believes nothing. ) What fliall we fay of that impiety, to corrupt the original Text according to the vulgar Latin f See an example hereof in the firft promife of the Gofpel, Gen. 3. where the Serpent is threat- ned, that the feed of the Woman {hall crufh his head. The vulgar Edition leaving here the Hebrew, the Seventy, and Saint Hierome himfelf,as appears by his queftions upon Gene- fis> traiiktes Ipfa, She fhallbrmfe thy head. So it The Qopies of certain Letters. 405 ic (tends now in the authentical Scripture of the Church of Rome, and herein Sixtus and Clemens are of accord. The Divines of Lovaine obferve , that two Manufcript Copies have Ipfe. That the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Gree\, have it fo likewife. Why then did not either Slxtm or Clemens, or they them- felves having Copies for it, corred it, and make it fo m the authentical Text? I will tell you by colour of this corruption, the Devil envying Chrifts glory, like an ob- ftinate enemy rather yielding himfelf to any than.his true Conqueror, hath given this ho- nour to the Virgin .Mary. To her it is at- tributed in that work which I think to be the mod: ungodly and blafphemous that ever faw the Sun , The Ladies P falter, wherein, that which is fpoken of God by the Spirit of God is writhed to her. In the ^i.Pfalm, £luid gloriaris in malitiaj) maligne Serpens, <&e. Why boa fie fl thon in malice, 6 thou malignant Serpent and infernal Dragon ? Submit thy head to the Woman , by wbofe valour thou Jha-k be drowned in the deep, Crufh him % 6 Lady, with the foot of thy valour ; arife and fcatter his malice, &c. And in the >2. fpeaking to the fame Serpent. 'Noli extolll, &c. Be not lifted up for the fall of the Woman, for 4 Woman fhall crufh thy head, &c t So that ill that Anthem *, Hn bm. For it was not by miftaking, but purpofe- ly done, Fr ana [feus Lucas in his Annotati- ons upon the place doth affiire us \ and faith it was Gmdo Fabriclus his deed. And indeed other things there be in that work, which favour not of the learning and in- tegrity of Arias Mor.tanus^ as for example, the Etymologie of Mijfa from the word noo But as Boldnefs is not always as pro- vident, as Ignorance or Malice is bold, thefe Correctors marked not, that the gender of the Verb, and the affix oi the Noun fallowing, are both Mafculine. So although the Orthographie would be framed to con- fent, yet the Syntax doth crie out againft this Sacriledge. And yet our Rhemifts, as I am informed, in their lately fet-forth Bi- ble, with along note upon this place, defend the applying of this Text to the blefled Vir- gin, and the old reading Iff*. What fhould a man fay ? NecelTity makes men defpe- 2 Tim. 3. rate, and as the Apoftle faith, Evil men and ij. deceivers [ball wax worfe and ivcrfe, deceiving and being deceived, D d 4 Thefe 4c 8 77:c Copies of certain Letters.' Thefe be frauds indeed, in the ftricteft fenfe, wilfully corrupting the Texts of good Authors, wilfully maintaining them fo cor- rupted 5 not abftaining from the holy Scri- Etures themielves. For as to that other ind , depraving the fenfe, retaining the words j it were endlefs to cite examples. BdUrmr.e alone, as I believe, pafleth any two Proteftants that ever fet pen to paper, perhaps all of them put together, CHAP. Tl:e C°P ies °f c«t^/?2 Letters. 40 f C H A P. VII. Of the Armies of evident WitncQes fer the Romanifts. WHere you add, That jr**/*W*kC4fA*- licks had far greater and better Armies of evident fVitneffcs than theProteJiants t \t might per- haps feem fo to you, as your mkid was prepa- red,when you had met with fuch cunning Mu- ftcr-Mafters as the Romanifts are:Whoiomc- times bring into the Field to make their num- ber feem more, after the old ftratagem of War, a fort of Pages and Lackies, unwor- thy to hold any rank in the Hoft of God, un- der the names of the Fathers. Sometimes to confirm their part, give out a Voice confi- dently, that all the Forces which they fee aloof in the Field are on their fide, whereas when it comes to the Battle they lhall find that they will turn their Arms againft them. Sometimes they change the Qyarrel it felfj in which cafe how eafie is it to bring Armies, as you fay, into the Field, to fight againft No-body and evident Witnefles, to prove that which no Man denies ? For the purpofe, that the Biihop of Rome hath had a primacy of Honour and Authority, when as the que- ftion is about a Monarchy, and infallible Judgment , an uncontrolaole Jurifdiftion. Herein 410 The Copies of certain Letters. Herein if you pleafe , fee how Bellarmhe alledges the Fathers, Greek and Latine, in the 1 5. and 1 6. Chapters of his Firft Book, de Summo Pontipce. So for proof of the veri- ty of Chrifts Body and Blood in the Lords Supper, he fpends a whole Book only in ci- ting the Teftimonies of the Fathers. To what purpofe ? When the queftion is not of the truth of the Prefence , but of the manners whether it be to the Teeth and Belly, or Soul and Faith of the Receiver. Sometimes they will bear down the unexperc Souldier their Reader, that he fees the Fa- thers fight for them \ as Tighim and BeJlarmine come in often with their Fides in the end and application of a Teftimony. t Whereby it comes to pafs that the Scholar if he be of a plyable difpoiition, or loth to be counted dim-fighted, yields himfelf to his Teacher, and fees in the Fathers that which they never dreamed of But furely, Sir, had you gi- ven that honour to the Holy Scriptures, which of the Jews was given to them , and our Lord Jefus Chrift allows it in them 3 and then employed as much travel in the fearch- ing and looking into them, as you profefs to hare done in the ^trupng the Councils and Fa- thers, perhaps God hacf opened your Eyes, as thofe of Elifha his Servant, to have feen, that there are more on cur fide than again ft us y Horfes indeed and Chariots of Fire, able to put to flight and fcatter never fo great Ar- mies of humane Authorities and Opinions. But this place of the Scripnres hath no place amongft all your Motives. As The Copies of certain Letters. 411 As touching that which you fay of the Cemurifis often cenfuring and reletting the plain Teflimonies of the Antients. It is true , that in the title De DoElrina, they note apart , The Jingular and incommodiom Opinions , the Stub- ble and Errsrs of the Dotlors. Wherein to tell you my fancy, If they commit any fault, it is, That they are too rigid and ftrict, referring into this Catalogue, every improper and ex- ceffive Speech, which being fevered from the reft of the difcourfe, may often feem abfurd : As it may alfo feem ftrange that our Saviour fliould teach a Man to hate his Father and Mother, Or 'full out his Eyes, or give him his Cloaks that hath bereaved him of his Coat. Whereas thefe and the like have in the place where theyftand, admirable force and grace, being taken with an equal and commodious Interpretation. But it is as clear as the Noon day, that fundry fuch errors and Angular Opi- nions there be in the Fathers, as cannot be juftified. They fpeak not alwayes to your Own Minds, not Only frima facie, and in found of words, but being never fo well exami- ned and falved. Witnefs Sixtus Senenfis in the fifth and fixth Books of his Bibliotheca. Witnefs Pamelim Medina (though blamed for confeiling fo much by Bellarminc); yea witnefs Bellarmine himfelf. Wherefore if the bare Authority of the Fathers muft bind us, undergo the fame Law ye give 5 if, as your Belgick^ Index COnfefleth , you bear in them with many errors, extenuate them, excufe them, by devijing fome fhift, often deny them, and give them a commodieHsfenfe, when they are oppofed in Biffutations 4 1 1 the Copies of certain Le t ter s. DifputatioHs, give the liberty ye take. Or if ( as we think ) thefe be bafe courfes and unbefeeming the ingenuity of true Chrifti- an minds, acknowledge this honour as pro- per to the Scriptures, to be without control verfie received, examine by the true Touch- ftone of Divine Authority all humane Wri- tings, how holy foever their Authors have been. Try all things, as the Apoftle com- mands, hold faft that which is good. Your inftance in Daaahs his Comment Aries, fuper D. Aug, Enchiridon Ad LAurentium, was not all the oeft chofen. For neither doth S. Auguftine in that Book treating profefled- ly of Purgatory, avouch it plainly, or yec obfcurely. Nor doth J) An aw reje&his Opi- nion with thofe Words, Hie eft mvhs Augu- ffini, or the like. The Heads of S. Attgu- ftines Difcourfe are thefe. I ThAt whereas fome thought that fuch as are baptized and hold the Faith of Chrift , though they live and dye never fo wickedly, jhallbe fav-ed, andpunijhed with a long but not eternal fire, he thinks them to be deceived , out of a cert aw humane pity $ for this Opinion is fatly contrary to other Scri- ptures. II. He interprets the place of S. Paul, touching the trying of every MAns Work^ by fire, of the fire of tribuUtion , through which as well he thAt builds Gold And Silver, thAt is, minds the things of God, as he thAt builds Hay and Stubble, that is, too much minds the things of this life, muft pafs. III. He faith, that it is not incredible , that fome fuch thing is done After this life alfo; And whether it be fo or not, may be enquired of IV. But whe- ther 77;e Copies of certain Letters. 413 they it be found or no, that fome faithful peo- ple \ according as they have mere or lefs , loved thefe periling things , are later or fooner faved-j yet not fuch as of whom it is [aid, that they {hall not pojfefs the Kingdom of God y unlcfs repenting as they ought, they obtain forgivenefs 5 as for the purpofe, be fruitful in Almes 3 which yet mil not ferve to pur chafe a licence to com- mit [in. V. That the daily aid lighter fins, without which we are never in this life, are blot- ted out by the Lords Prayer. And fo the greater alfo, if a Man leave them , and forgive others his Enemies \ which is a worthy kind of alms : But the be ft of all is a finners amending of his life. Lo how plainly S. Juguftine avoucheth Purgatory, of which he doubts whether any fuch thing can be found or no : Expounds that Scripture that feemsmoftftrong for it, all otherwife, and fo as it cannot agree there- unto. If it be found, is fure it will not ferve for greater fins. And for lefler de- feds, yea the greateft, {hews another a furer Remedy , which in truth makes Purgatory fuperfluorus. In this Do&rine , Da-nans is fo far from controuling S. Augufiine, that he applauds him s and faith, That declaring his own Opinion of Fur gat or y , he pronounceth plainly , that the whole defining of this matter is uncertain, doubtful, ar.d rafh \ which fince that Auguftine wrote being now an old Man^ certainly it cannot be doubted but that he did altogether reject Purgatory : Tea and he /hews this fire it felf to be unprofitable. Thus Danaw there. But the cenfure that was in your mind, I believe, is that upon another pai- fage 4 1 4 Tl> e Copies of certain Le t t e r s, fage of S. Angufline in the fame Book, where he treats, whether the Souls of the 'Dead are ea- fed by the Piety of their Friends that are living. And thus he determines it. That when the Sacrifices either of the Altar , or of whatfoever Alms are offered for all fuch as are deceafed after Baptifm , for fuch as are very good folh^, they are Thanh^fgivings \ for fuch as are not very evil, they are Propitiations : For thofe that are very evil, though they be no helps to the Dead, yet they are Confolations, fuch as they be, to the Living. And to fuch as they are profitable unto, it is either that they may have full remiffion, or that their very damnation may be more tolerable. Upon this Chapter thus faith Damns. Hoc totum caput continet etzv&Koyciv Auguflini, and after he adds, Itaque hicfecnum & ftipulam adificat vir pint & magnus. But you, ye fay, had rather follow S. AuguftineV Opinion tha-4 his Cenfure. Perhaps as one faith, rather erre with Plato than hold the truth with others. If that be your refolution, what fhould we ufe any more Words } Believe then if you pleafe, that the Commemoration of Chrifts Sacrifice in the Lords Supper, or the Oblations of the faithful, are to be made for all that deceafe af- ter Baptifm, in the attempting of whatfoever fin they dye, yea fuppofe in final impeni- tence of any deadly crime. That fitch as be damned may thereby have their damnation made more nlerable. Believe that without any impropriety of Speech, the fame form of Words may beathankfgiving for one, and an appealing of Gods wrath for another. Believe alfo (if you can beieve what you RFuL The Copies of certain Letters. 41c will) that S. Tech delivered the Soul of Talcomlla OUt Of Hell , and S. Gregory the Soul of Trajan, and that as may feem faying Mafs for him,iidi he was forbidden thence- forth to offer any Hoft for any wicked Mar.. Believe that Macariiu continually praying for the Dead, and very defirous to know whe- ther his Prayers did them any good, had an- fwer by miracle from the Scull of a 'dead Man an Idolater, that by chance was tum- bled in the way, o Macarius when thou offe- ttfi Prayers for the Dead, rve feel pome eafe for the time. Believe that on Eafter even all 'the damned S fir its in Hell keep Holy day, and are free from their torments t S. Auguftine, fuch IS his modefty, will give you leave to believe this, as well as Purgatory, if you pleafe, as he is not unwilling to give as large fcope to other Mens Opinions as maybe, fotheyri- verfe not the plain and certain grounds of Holy Scripture. In all thele you may if you pleafe follow Authors alfo --, as S. Ds.m,yce»e } Paladins, Prudent ius, Sigebrrt , and Othr~v But give the fame liberty to ethers that ye take. Compel no Mwin to follow your Opi- nion, if he had rather follow T>a3utns\ Rea- fons. For my felf, I would fooner with S. Auguftlne himfelf, whole words touching S.Cyprian, Da>;*us here borrowed, confi this to be, mvirm cindidiffimi fetloris coopertttm ubere Charltatis , than be bound to juftihe his conceit touching the commemoration of the Dead in the Lords Supper. And as he faith of S. Cyprian, fo would I add, Ego hu- jus libri Ahthoritate n$n teneer, quia liter a: Ah gufi: 4 1 6 The Copies certain of Letters* guftini non ut Canonical habeo, fed eat ex Canoni- cis confident & quod in iis divinarum Scriptura- rum authoritati congruit cum latide ejus, aecipio, quod non congruit cum pace ejus, refpuo. Which Words I do the rather fet down, that they Relat.; 2 1 . may be Luther s juftification alfo againft F. Par- fins, who thinks he hath laid fore to his charge when he cites very folemnly his Epiftle ad Equitem Germ. Anno Domini i j z i . where he faith, He was tjed by the authority of no Fa- ther, though never fo holy, if he were not appro- ved by the judgment of Holy Scripture, Surely this is not to deny and contemn, as he calls it, or as you to control! the Fathers , to ac- count them fubjeft to humane infirmities, which themfelves acknowledge. But the contrary is to haft againft the Truth, to feek to forejudge it with their miftakings, which needs not fo much as require their Tefti- monies. I will forbear to multiply words about that, whether the teftimonies of Antiquity which favour the Proteftants be many or few : whe- ther they do indeed fo, or onely feem, prima fa- cie $ whether they be wre/led, or to the purpofe $ whether all this may not by jufter reafon be affirmed of the paflages cited by the Roma- nifts out of Antiquity, letting afide matters of ceremony, and government ( which your felf confefs by and by may be divers, without impeaching unity in Faith ) and opinions, e- ver to be fubje&ed to the trial of Scriptures, by their own free content and defire. Judge by aninftance or two, that this matter may nor be a meer skirmiih of generalities. Ter- tullian TIx Copies of certain Letters. 417 tulllan in his latter times, whether as Saint Hierome writes through the envy and re- proach of the Roman Clergy, or out of the too much admiring chaftity and fading, be- came a Montanift, and wrote a Book de Pu- dlcltla, blaming the reconciling of Adulterers and Fornicators. In the very entrance almoft thereof, he hath thefe words. Audio etiam edlElum effe propoftum, & quidem peremptoriunu Pontifex fell. Maximus Epifcopus Epifcoporum dlclt, Ego & moechia & fornlcatloms dellBa poem tent la f unfits dimltto. Pamelius in his note upon this place, writes thus, Bene ha- bet, & annotatu dignum quod etiam ]am in ha- refi conftitutus, & adverfus Ecclefiam fcrlbens, Pont i fie em Romanum Epifcopum Epifcoporum nun- cupet \ & Infra Cap. I 3. bonum P aft or em ^ & be- ne dl Hum Papam^ & Cap 2 1 . Apoftolicum. Thus Pamelius; and prefently lanches forth into the Priviledges of the See of Rome, and brings a number of teflimonies for that for^ gery of Confl amines donation. The like note he hath in the life of TertuMan, where he makes the Pope thus fet forth the former Edift to have been Zephyrlnm\ 3 quern ^ faith he, Pontlfcem Maximum etiam jam hareticus Epifcopum Epifcoporum appellat. Baromm alfo makes no imall account of this place, and faith, The title of the Pope is here to be noted. And indeed, prima fade ( as you fay ) they have reafon. But he that fliall well examine the whole web of TcrtuBans difcourfe, (hall find that he fpeaks by a moft bitter and fcorn- fill Jronle y as EU as doth of Baal, when he faith, he ?4 a God, The word fcilicet might E e have 41 8 "£be Copies of cert am Letters. have taught them thus much Yea, the ti- tle Pmtifex Maxlmusy which in thofe days, and afcnoft two ages after, was a Pagan term, never attributed to a ChriftianBifhop, firft laid down by Gratian the Emperour, as Baronim alfo notes, in the year of our Lord 383. becaufe it favoured ofHeathen- ifli fuperftition, though it had been, as a title of Royalty ufed by the former Chri- riian Emperours, till that time. This title^ I (ay, might have made them perceive Teruiltians meaning-, unlefs the immoderate deiire of exalting the Papacy did fo blind their eyes, that feeing, they faw, and yet per- ceived not. In the fame chara&er, though with more mildnefs and moderation, is die fame title for the other part of it, ufed by Saint Cyprian, in his Vote in the Council of Carthage. Neqne n. quifquam noftrum feeffe Epifcopttm Epifcoporum confiitnit, attt tyrannic* terror* ad obfequendi necefftatem Collegas fuos adigit. Bellarmine faith, he [peaks hereof thofe Bifhops that were in the Council of Carthage ^ and that the Bifhop of Rome is not included in that fentence, who is indeed Bifhcp of Bifhops^ What / and doth he tyrannoufly inforce his Colleagues to obedience alfo ? For it is plain that Cyprian joyns thele together, the one as the prefumptuous title, the other as the injurious act anfwering thereto, which he calls plain tyranny. And as plain it is out of Firmitianws Epiftle, Jwhich I vouched before, that Stefbamu Biihop of Rome heard ill for his arrogancy and prefuming upon the place of his fitfilDprfck, Peters Chair, to fever himfelf The Copies of certain Letters. 419 himfelf from fo many Churches, and break the bond of peace, now with the Churdv- es of theEaftin^, now of the South in Africk. And he was in as ill conceit with Cyprian for his breaking good order, and com- municating with Bafilides and Martialis juft- ly deprived in Spain 5 as Saint Cjprian was with him, when he ftiled him, afalfe Chrifl* and afalfe Apoftle. But that holy Martyr was of a more patient and calm fpirit, than to be moved with fuch reproaches-, nay, he took occafion, as it (hould feem, thereby to write of patience. From this mildnefs it was,' that he fo clofely taxed the preemption of him, that made himfelf Bi(hop of Biftiops; •and by terror ( which what it was, FirmMa- ntu\ Epiftle (hews, threatning Excommuni- cation ) would compel his Colleagues to his own opinion. None of w, faith he, doth thus. As the Apoftle, tve preach not our felves ; we 1 commend not our felves ; We are not as manj x that adulterate the Word of God, &c. Bellar- wine takes the firft kindly. No marvel, faith he, for this is the Bifliop of Rome's due* But they go together, he muft be content to . take both, or leave both. Such another place there is in Saint A*» guftine Epifi. 85. the words are, Petrus etiarri inquit Apofto lor um Caput, cosli janitor, & Ecclefi* fundamentum. Where in the Margent, the Divines of Lovaine, the overfeers of Plan- tines edition, fet this note, Pet r us Ecclefi* fundamentum. Why might they not? Thef words ye will fay of the Text. But thefc" words of the text be not Saint Angufiin^ E e z whofe 42 o H The Copies &f certain Letters. whofe opinion is well enough known, That it is drift confefed by Peter, that is the founda- tion of the church \ but they are the words of +ubjti an undifcreec caper * of the City of Rome, a- mMdnm. g a ; n ^. w \ ]0m s a in C Augufline in all that Epi- itle moil: vehemently inveighs. This arro- gant Author endeavours fo to defend the Ro- man cuftome of failing on the Saturday, as he reproaches all other Churches that ufed o- therwife. And that we may fee with what Spirit he was led, he brings the fame text that is brought in Pope Slrkius, and Innocen- tii*s\ Epiftles, againft the marriage of Clergy- men, Qui in came funt Deo placer e non pojfunt, and many other Scriptures wrefted, and far from the purpofej at laft comes the autho- rity of Peter, and his tradition very Pope- like alledged, Peter, he faith, the head of the A- poftles, porter of heaven, and foundation of the Chhrch, having overcome Simon the Sorcerer, who was a figure of the Devil, not to be overcome but by fafiing, thus taught the Romans, whofe faith is famous in the whole world. I remit you to Saint Augitftines anfwer to this tradition. This I note, that where your Cenforsdo rafeout of the Margents of former editions, fuch notes as doexprefs. the very opinions of the Anci- ents, and in their own words, here they can allow and authorize fuch marginal notes, as are dire&ly contrary to their meaning. Yea, which are earneftly oppugned by them •, when they feem to make for the authority of the Pope. Good fir, examine well this dealing, and judge if this be not wrefting the Fathers, and applying them clean from their purpofe. In Tl?e typies of certain Letters. 411 In fine, you found your felf you fay, evidently convinced. Perfwaded, I believe, rather thaa convinced. Elfeif the force and evidence of the Arguments, and not the pliablenefs of your mind were the caufe of your yielding, methinks they ihould work like effeft in o- thers, no lefs ferioufly feeking for truth, and fetting all worldly refpe&s afide, earneftly minding their own falvation, than your felf. Which I well know they do not, neither thofe which hitherto have been examined, nor thofe which yet remain to be confider- ed intherereward. E e 5 CHAP. 42 2 The Copies of certain Le t t e r s . CHAP. VIII. Of the Invifibility of the Church, faid to be nn evafwn of P rot eft ant s> TH E firfi whereof IS, the diflike of the Pra- te fiants evajion, as you call it, by the invi- fthilltj of their church. Give me leave here to tell you plainly, ye feem to me not to un- derhand the Proteitants doctrine in this point. Elfe ye would have fpared all that, "The Catholic!^ Church muft ever be vifible, as a, City fet on a hill, otherwife how fhould fhe teach her children, convert Pagans, diffenfe Sacraments ? All this is yielded with both hands.The Con- gregations of which the Catholick Chujch doth confift are viiible.But the promife made to this Churclyf vitlory againfi the gates of Hell, the titles, of the houfe of God, the bafe and fil- ter of Truth, (an allulion, as I take it, to the bafes and pillars that held up the veil or curtains in the Tabernacle) the body^ of Chifi, his Dove, his undefiled, are not verified of this Church in the whole viiible bulk of it, but in thofe that are called according to Gods purpofe, given to Chrift, and kept by him to beraifed up to life at the laftday. This doctrine is Saint Augufline% in many pla- ces, which it would be too tedious to fee down at large. In his third book, Dedottrin* 'Chrifiiana, among the rules of Tychonins, there is Tlie Copies of certain Letters. 42$ is one which he correfls a little for the terms, Be Domini corf ore bipartite ; which he faith , ought not to have been called fo, for in truth that is not the Lords body, which Jhall not be with him for ever, but he jkould have [aid of the Lords true body and mixt, or true and feigned, or fome fuch thing. Becaufe not only for ever, but even now, hypocrites are not to be faid to be with him, though they feem to be in his Church. Confider thofe refemblances taken out of the holy Scripture, wherein that godly Father is frequent , of chaff and wheat in the Lords floor, of good and badffhes in the net, of fpots and light in the Moon. Of the Church carnal and fpiritual, of the wicked mult it tides of the Church, yet not to be account- ed in the Church. Of the Lilly and the Thorns ^ thofe that are marked which mourn for the fins of Gods people, and the reft which perifh, which yet bear his Sacraments. Conilder the laft Chapter of the book, Be Vnitate Ecclefix, and that large Treatife which he hath of that matter, Efift. 48. The place is long, which deferves to be read, for the obje<5tion of the Univerfality of Arianifme ( like to that of Papifme in thefe laft ages) which Saint Augufline aufwersinthe fifth book, Be Bap- tifmo contra Donatifias cap. 27. That number ef the jufi, who are called according to Gods pur* pofiy of whom it is faid, The Lord knoweth w\n> arc his, is the inclofed garden, the fealed jou>u tain, the well of living waters, the orchard with Apples, &c The like he hath. /. $. c 3. & 23. lie Concludes, that becaufe fuch are built upon the RxK> ye are rail- informed : His advice was asked about the Affociation of the Pro- teftantsatiWf*/^, he faid plainly, He could s: t td a *,t,d not fee how it could be lawful, further than for their own defence, foh. Bodin, in his fe- cond Book de Repub. cap. $. hath thefe Words. We read alfo that the Proteflant Princes of Al- main before they Uok^ Arms againfi the Emperor, demanded of Martin Luther if it -were Lawful. He anfwered freely that it was not lawful, what* foever tyranny, or impiety were pretended. Me was not believed^ fo the end thereof was miff- rable, and drew after it the ruin* of great and Muftriotu Houfes of Germany. As for the war in Germany it began not till after Lu- ther s death, neither was it a rebellion of the Proteftantss the truth is, they flood for their Lives. The Emperor with the help of the Popes both Mony and Arms, inten- ded to root them out 5 and although at the firft the Emperour did not avow his raifing Arms againft them to be for Religion, yec the Pope in his Jubilee published upon this occafion,did not lett to declare to the World, that himfelf and Ca?far had concluded a League to reduce the Hereticks by force of Arms to the obedience of the Church, and therefore all fbould pray for the good fuccefs of the War, That \i% The Copies of certain Letters. That Luther ever reviled the Emferour, I did never till now hear or read, and therefore would defire to know what Authors you have for it. Touching other Princes, name- ly, King Henry the Eighth, I will not defend him, who condemned himfelf thereof. It is true that he was a Man of a bold and high Stomach, and fpecially fitted thereby through the Providence of God, to work upon the heavy and dull difpofition of the Almalns , and in fo general a Lethargy, as the World then was in, he carried himfelf ( as fell out fometimes) very boifteroufly. But Arrogan- cy, Schifm, Rebellion, were as far from him, as the intention itfelf to flam a Church, As to hisVow-breaking lailly, if that Vow were foolilhly made and (infully kept, it was juftly broken : Perhaps alfo charitably, if he would by his own example reform fuch, as lived in Whoredome, and other Unclean- nefs, and induce thera to ufe the Remedy that God hath appointed for the avoiding of them, to wit, honourable Marriage. All this matter touching Luther, unlefs I be de- ceived, you have taken from Mr. Harding-, that at leaft touching his rancor again ft the Dominicans, for it is his very Phrafe. But Mr. Harding both in this, and many tilings elfe difcovereth his.paflion, and lack of true information in this affair. When with one Breath he affirmeth, that, firft, it was afar- den of a Crolfade again ft the Turks which was preached : Whereas it was an Indulgence to thofe that fhould put their helfing hands for the building of s, Peters Church at Rome, as the Articles Tfye Copies of certain Letters. 4 j ? Articles of this Pardon printed in Englifh, "one of the Copies whereof I have my felfi do (hew. Secondly, next he faith, the preaching hereof was granted to Friar John Tetzet. It was Friar fohn Thecet, or Tecel. Thirdly, he faith, The Eletlor of Mentz Al- bert , granted this to Thecel and the Domi- nicans, whereby Luther was bert ft of the gain he expected. The truth is, it was Aremboldus a Biihop living at the Court of Rome, whom ( having before been a Merchant of Genoa ) Magdalen the Popes Sifter put in truft with this Merchandife , that appointed the Do*. minkans to be the Retailers of thefe Par- dons. The Archbifhop of Mentz had no- thing to do with it, otherwife than to al- low and fuffer it, which occafioned Luther to write to him, as to the Bimop of Branden- burgh, and to Leo himfelf, to reprefs the impudence of the Pardoners. And Luther faith further in one place, that the Archbi- fhop undertook to give countenance to this bufinefs, with that condition, that the half of the prey ihould go to the Pope, and him- felf might have the other half to pay for his Pall. By thefe Errors heaped together it may appear what credit it is like Mr. Har- dlngs Tale be worthy of, touching the rem- nant, that of rancor and malice againft the Do- minicans, and becaufe he was bereaved of that fweet Morfel, which in hope he had almoft [wal- lowed down, Luther made this ftir. A hard thing methinKs it is, for any that lived at that day to fet down what was in lathers Heart, what were his hopes, hisdefires, ran- F f cor, 4) 4- ^ ?e C°pi cs of certain Letters. •' cor, and fpleen 5 much more for Mi\ Hari ding, moil: of all for you and me. When the actions of Men have an appearance of good, Charity would hope the befr, Piety would referve the judgment of the intention to God. Let us come to Calvin, touching whom I marvel not much that yon fay nothing of all that which Bolfeck brings again ft him , who being by his means chafed out of Geneva 9 difcovereth as I remember in the very en- trance, that he was requefted by fome of his good Mafters to write again fi him. I once law the book while I lived in Cambridge 5 it hath no ihew of probability that Calvin would go about to work a miracle to confirm his Do- ctrine, whoteacheth that Miracles are no fure and fufficient proof of Doctrine. I mar- vel rather that even in reading Dr. Bancroft, Mr. Hooker, and Saravla, all Oppolites to Calvin in the queftion of Church- Difcipline, and therefore not all the fitteil to teftifie of him or his actions, all late Writers, and Strangers to the Eftate and Affairs of Geneva : of whom therefore, beiides their bare Word, fufficient proof were to be required of what they fry, you not only receive whatfbever they bring, but more than they bring. You fay, they prove what never came in their minds 3 and which is not only utterly untrue, but even unpoflible. As that Calvin by his hnquietnefs and ambition revolved the State of Ge- neva, fi unjuft/y expelling and depriving the Bi- fhop of Geneva, and other Temporal Lords, of their sdus obedience andanticnt inheritance. When as the J !:c Cogm of certain Letters. 43 <• the Biflipp and Clergy of Geneva, upon die throwing down Images there by popular Umiuit, departed in an anger, (even years ere ever Cahfa let Fooc wichin the Gates of that City. A thing not only clear in Story, by •the Writers of that time, and iince, Slelda^ Bodine, Calyins Epiftles, and Life, but ice down by thole whom ye cite. Mr. Hooker in his Preface fpeaking of Calvin. He fell at length upon Geneva, which City the Bifhcp and Clergy thereof, had a little before, as fome do af- firm, forfaken, being of likelihood frighted with the peoples fudden attempt for the abolifhment of Popijh Religion. And a little after , At the coming of Calviil thither , the form of their Regi- ment was popular, as it continueth at this day, &C. Dr. Bancroft. The fame year that Geneva tv as a faulted, (life, by the Duke of Savoy j and the Biihop, as he had faid before, pag. 1 3,) which was Anno 1 5; 36. Air. Calvin came thither. If Calvin at his coming found the Form of the Government Popular *, If he came thi- ther the fame Year that the Biihop made war upon Geneva to recover his 'Authority, being indeed either affrighted, or having for- faken the Town before, how could Caiym expel him ? And in truth Bodine in his fecond Book, De Repub. Chap. 6. affirmeth, That the fame Tear Genoa was efiablifhed in a Stats Ariflocratical, which was, he faith, Anno i>28. Geneva was changed from a Monarchy Pontifi- cal, into an Ejlate Popular, governed Ariflocra- tic ally, although that long before the Town pretended to be free, again fl the Earl and again ft the Bi~ flop, &c. What Saravla hath written touch- Ff 1 ins 4 3 The Copies of certain Letters. ing this point I cannot tell, as not having his Book. But in Beza his anfvver to him, there is no touch upon any fuch thing. He joyns with his complaint, of the facrilegiotu ufurping Ecclefiaftkal goods, in anfwer to his Proeme. He diffents in that Saravia accounts the Se- niors of the reformed Churches like to that kind which Saint Ambrofe fftaks of, brought in out of Tvifdom only , to rule the diforderly. Bez,a faith, they were not introdutti, but redutli, Cap. 12. For the reft in all that anfwer there is nothing of Calvin y or any fuch revolving of the ftate as you accufe him of. Which makes me think, that herein your memory deceived you- It may be that in your younger time, falling upon thefe Authors, by occafion of the queftion of Difcipline, which was rhen much tofled, ere ever your judgement were ripened, you formed in your mind a falfe impreffion of that which they fay of Calvin. You conceited them out of your zeal in the caufe, to fay more than they do, and thus poflible unawares received the feeds of di- flike of the dotlrine of Calvin, as well as his difcipline, which have fince taken root in you. But you fhall do well to remember, the dif- ference you put a little before of thefe two. Chriftian doBrine is uniform and ever the fame^ government is changeable in many circumftan- ces, according to the exigence of times and perfons. And even the fame men that write fomewhat eagerly againft Mafter Calvin, yet give him the praife of wifdom, to fee what for that time and ftate was neceffafy. Mafter Hooker faith of him, That he thinks him incom- parably The Qopies of certain Letters. 437 far ably the wifefl man that ever the French Church did enjoy fince the hour it enjeyed him : and of his platform of difcipline, after he hath laid down the fumm of it 5 This device I fee not how the wifefi at that time living could have bettered, if we duely confder what the prefent (late of Geneva did then require. But be ic (and for my part I think no lefs ) that herein he was miftaken, to account this to be the true form of Church policy, by which all other Churches, and at all times ought to be governed s let his error reft with him, yea let him anfwer it unto his Judge $ but to ac- cufe him of ambition, and fedition, and that falfly, and from thence to let that brand up- on the Reformation, whereof he was a/wor- thy inftrument ( though *not the firft either there, or any where elfe) as if it could not be from God, being fo founded i for my part I am afraid you can never be able to anfwer it, at the fame Barr --, no, nor even that of your own Confcience,or of reafonable and equal men. For the flirt's* broils, fedkions, and murthers in Scotland, which you impute to Knox and the Gmevz-Gofpelle-rs, they might be occasion- ed perhaps by die Reformers there, as the broils which our Lord Jefus Chrift faith he came to fet in the world by the Gofpel. Poflible alfo, that good men out of inconfi- derate zeal, fhould do fome things rafhly: And like enough the multitude which fol- lowed them, as being fore prepared with juft hatred Sf the tyranny of their Prelates, and provoked by the oppofitionof thead- F f 3 verfe 4 3 3 The Copies of c ertdin Let t e R s. vcrfe Faftion, and emboldened by fucceSj ran a great deal further than either wife Meni could forefee, or tell how to reftrain them.! Which was applauded and fomented by! fome politick Men, who took advantage of thole motions to their own ends. And as it happens in natural Bodies, that all ill humo.s run to the part affected, io in civil, all difcontented people when there is any Sorance run to one or other fide i and under the (liew of common Griefs, puriue their own. Of all which diftem- pers, there is no reafon to lay the blame upon the feekers of Reformation , more than upon the Phyficians, of fuch accidents as happen to the corrupted Bodies which they have in Cure. The particulars of thole affiirs are as I believe alike unknown to us both, and fince you name none, I can anfwer to none. For as for the fttrTuing eur King even hefore his birth, that which his Majefiy fpeaks of fome Puritans, is over-boldly by you referred to Mafler Knox and tht Minlfers , that were Au- thors of Reformation in Scotland. Briefly, cenfider and furvey your own thoughts , and fee if you have not come by thefe degrees .• Firft, from the inconfiderate cour- ies of fome to plant the pretended Di- fc ip line in Scotland, to conceive amifs of die Drfirwt alio. Then to draw to the encreafing of your ill conceit thereof, what you find ieported of anf of the P*- ritans, a Faction no lefs oppofed by his Majefty in Scotland than VVirh US in England. So Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. 4 1 ^ So when we fpeak of Religion ( though that indeed be all one ) you divide us in- to Lutherans, Zwinglians, Cahinifts, Prcte- ftants, Brorvnifls , Puritans and Cartwright- ifis , whenfoever any dilbrder of all this number can be accufed, then lo are we all one, and the fault of any Faction is the llander of all, yea of the Gofpel n fc\f> and of Reformation. Judge now uprightly if this be indifferent dealing. FiOIll Scotland you COtTie tO England, Where becaufe you could find nothing done by popular tumult, nothing but by the whole State in Parliament, and Clergy in Convocation^ you fall upon King ffenrfs Paffions , you will not injifl upon them you fay 3 and yet you do, as long as upon a- ny one member of your indu&ion-, though it matters little whether you do or no , fince Father Parfims will needs aver that he lived and dyed of your Religion. Here firft you mention, his violent divorce- ing kimfelf Frsm his lawful Wife, We will not now debate the Queftion , How his Brothers Wife could be his lawful Wife ? You muft now fay fo. Whadbever the Scriptures, Councils, aimoft all Uni ver- ifies of Chriftendom determined : Yet methinks it ihould move you that Pope Clement himfelf had configned to Cardinal Campegixs a Breve formed to fentence for the King, in as ample manner as could be, howfoever upon the fuccefs of the Empe- rours affairs in Italy , and his own occa- fioris, h* fent a fpecial Meflenger to him F f ^ to 449 ^7 ;e C°p* es of certain Letters. to burn ic. But what violence was this that you fpeak of? The matter was or- derly and judicioufly by the ArMi/kop of 'Canterbury with the affiftance of the learnedeft of the Clergy according to the antient Ca- nons of the Church, and Laws of the Realm, heard and determined. That indeed is more to be marvelled at, what moved him to fall out with the Pope his Friend . in whofe quarrel he had fo far engaged him- felf, as to write againft Luther, of whom alfo he was fo rudely handled as you men- tion before 5 having received alfo for fome part of recompence, the title of The De- fender of the Faith, having been fo charge- ably thankful to the Pope for it. All thefe things conftdered , it muft be faid , this unkindnefs and flippery dealing of Cle- ment with him was from the Lord , that lie might have an occafion againft the Pope, and that it plight appear that it was not Humane Couniel , but Divine Providence that brought about the ba- pifhment of the Popes Tyranny from a- ir.ong us. His marriage with the Lady 'Anne Bulk*, her death, and the reft which you mention of the abling or difabling her IfTue to inherit the Grown, I lee not what it makes to our purpofe. The fup- frejfion of the Monafieries , was not his fole Ad, but of the whole State, with ?! ie conient alfo of the Clergy , and taken out of Ordinal mlfey his example , yea , founded upon the Popes Authority granted C him , To dijfolve the [mailer Hctifes cf Rdigic?i. Tlje £o])ies of certainL.ET'iZKs. 441 Religion, on pretence to defray the charges of his fumptuous Buildings at Oxford and Ipfwich, wherein if it pity you ( as I confefs it hath fometimes me ) that fuch goodly Buildings are defaced and ruined , we muft remem- ber what God did to Shiloh , yea to Jerufa- Jcr.7. 12. km it [elf and his Temple there. And that Macr.3.10. Oracle, Every tree that beareth not good fruit fhall be cut down, and cafi into the fire. You demand, If this Man, King Henry, -were a goed Head of Cods Church ? What if I fhould demand the fame touching Alexan- der the Sixth, Julius the Second, Leo the Tenth, or twenty more of the Catalogue of Popes, in refpeft of whom King Henry might be canonized for a Saint f But there is a Story in Tullies Offices of one lucatius, that laid a Wager that he was ( bonus vrr) a good Man 5 and would be judged by one Fimbria, a Man of Confular Dignity. He, when he underftood the cafe, faid, He would never judge that matter , left either he fhould diminlfh the refutation of a Man well efleemed of, er fet down that any MAn was a good Man 5 which he accounted to confift in an innumerable fort of Excellencies and Praifes. That which he faid of a good Man , with much more reafon may I fay of a good King, one of whofe higheft excellencies is to be a good Head of the Chunk And therefore it is a Question which I will never take upon me to anfwer, Whether King Henry were fuch or no? unlefe you will beforehand interpret this Word as favourably, as (Suicciardine doth liht IP V tell us Men are wont to do in the cenfuring your 44* The Copies of certain Letters. your heads efthe Church. For Popes, he faith, now a- days are praifedfor their goodnefs, when they ex- ceed not the mckednefs of other men. After this defcription of a good head efthe Church, or if ye will that of Coming which faith he, is to be Counted a good King, whofe vertues exceed his vices. I will not doubt to fay King Hen- ry may be enrolled among the numoer of good Kings. In f eeial, For his executing that highelt duty of a good King, the im- f hying his Authority in his Kingdom, to com- mand good things, and forbid evil, wot only concern- ing the civil Eft ate of Alen, but the Religion alfo of God. Witnefs his authorizing the Scriptures to be had and read in Churches in our Vulgar Tongue, enjoyning the Lords Prayer, the Creed, and ten Commandments to be taught the people in Inglijh, abolifhing fuperftuous Holy- days, pulling down thofe jugling Idols, whereby the people were feduced, namely, the Rood of Grace , whofeEyes and Lips were moved with wires, openly lhe^ved at Pauls Crofs , and pulled afunder by the people. Above all, the abo- lifting of the Popes Tyranny, and Merchandife of Indulgences, and fuch like Chafer out of England. Which A&s of his whofoever iliall unpartially confider of, may well efteemhim a better Head to the Church of England, than any Pope thefe thoufand years. In the laft place you come to the Hugenots and Geufes of France and Holland. You lay to their Charge, the raifing of Civil Warrs, jhedding of Blood, occaponing Rebellion, Rapine y Defolations , principally fer their new Religion. In the latter part you write, I confeft, fome- what Tie Copies of certain Letters. 445 vvhac refervedly, when you fay, tccaJMng, not cwfingy and principally, not crtly ar.d wholly, for Religion. But the Words going before, und the exigence of your Argument require, that your meaning fhould be, they were the caufers of thefe diforders. You bring to my mind h Story , whether of the fame Fimbria that I mentioned before, or another, which having caufed guintus Scavola to be (tabbed (as Father Pah to was, while I was at Venice ) after he underftood that he efca- ped with his life, brought his Aftion againfl: him, for r.ct hahjing receiztd the IVeApon wholly into his Body, Thefe poor people having en- dured fuch barbarous Cruelties, Maflacres and Martyrdoms, as fcarce the like can be ihewed in all Stories, are now accufed by you as the Authors of all they fuffered. No, no, Iffi.fraityefitmh. they be the Laws of the i^w^Re!igion 5 that are written in Blocd. It is the bloody in^tnfiion^ and the perfidious Violating of the Edicts of Pacific Ahon , that have fet Tirana and Fbwtieis in combufKon. An evident Argument whereof may be, for TUnders, that thofe Geufes that you mention, were not all C&tvitifts (as you are mil- in- formed ) the chief of them were / othtn Ca- tholicksy as namely. Count Egmeyid , and Horr.e, who loft their Heads for dancing , and yet only by Petition,againft the new Im- pofitions and the Inquifition , which was fought to be brought in upon thofe Coun- tries. The which when the Vice-roy of Apples, D.Pe- 444 fb* Copies of certain Letters.' A.1547 p. Petro de Toledo would have once brought in there alfo, the people would by no me^ns abide, but rofe up in Arms to the number of fifty thoufand, which fedition could not be appeafed, but by delivering them of that fear. The like refinance, though more qui- 1 5 63. etly carried, was made when the fame Inqui- fition fhould have been put upon MUUine, fixteen years after. Yet thefe people were neither Geufes nor Calvmfts. Another great means to alienate the Minds of the people of the Low-Countries from the obedience of the Catholick Majefty, hath been the feverity of his Deputies there, one of which leaving the k Government after he had in a few years put woo©. t0 death* 8coo perfons, it is reported to have been (aid, The Country was loft with too much lenity. This Speech Meurfms con- cludes his Bdglck^ Hifiorj withal. And as for Prince, the firft broils there, were not for Religion, but for preferring the Houfe of Guife , and difgracing the Princes of the Blood. True it is that each fide advantaged themfelves by the colour of Religion, and under pretence of zeal to the Roman , the Guifians murthered the Proteftants (being in the exercife of their Religion aifembled together) againft the Kings Edict, againftall Laws and common Humanity. And tell me in good footh, Mr. ivaddefmrth, do you ap- prove fuch barbarous Cruelty ? Do you al- low the Butchery at Paris ? Do Tlie Copies of certain Letters. 44 J> Do you think Subje&s are bound to give their Throats to be cut by their fellow Sub- jects, or to [offer them, without either hum- ble Remonftrance or flight, to] their Princes at their meer wills againft their own Laws andEdifts? You would know, quo jure, the Proteftants wars in France and Holland are juftiried. [I interpofe not my own Judgment, not being throughly acquainted with the Laws and Cuftomes of thole Countries, but I tell you what both they, and the Papifts alfo, both in France and Italy, have in iuch Cafes alledged. ] Fiift, the Law of Nature, which, [they fay,] not only alloweth, but in- clineth and enforceth every living thing, to defend it felf from violence. Secondly, that of Nations, which permitteth thofe that are in the prote&ion of others, to whom they owe no more but an honourable acknow- ledgment, in cafe they go about to make themfelves abfolute Sovereigns, and ufurp their Liberty, to reflft and itand for the fame. And if a lawful Prince ( which is not yet Lord of his Subje&s Lives and Goods) mall attempt to defpoil them of the fame, under colour of reducing them to his own Religion after all humble Remonftrances,they may, [th y fay,] ftand upon their own guard, and being afTailed, repel Force with Force, as did the Macchabees under Antioclius, In which cafe, notwithftanding the perfon of the Prince him felf, ought always to be facred and 44^ Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. and inviolable, as was Sauls to David. Lafl- ly, if the inraged Minifter of a kwful Princ^ will abufe his Authority againft the funda- mental Laws of the Country, [they fay,] it is no rebellion to defend themfelves again (I Force, referving ftill their Obedience to their Sovereign inviolate. Thefe are the Rules of which the Proteflants that have born Arms in France and Flanders, and the Papifls alfo both there and elfewhere, as in Naples, that have .flood for the defence of their Li- berties, haveferved themfelves. How truly I efieem it hard for you and me to determine , unlefs we were more throughly acquainted with the Laws and Cuflomes of thofe Countries, than I for my part am. For the Low-Countries, the World knows that the Dukes of Burgundy were not Kings or abfolute Lords of them, which are hol- den partly of the Crown of France, and part- ly of the Empire. And of Holland in parti- cular they w r ere but Earls. And whether that Title carries with it fuch a Soveraign- ty, as to be able to give new Laws, with- out their confents, to impofe Tributes, to bring in Garifons of Strangers , to build Forts, to affubjedt their Honours and Lives to the dangerous trial of a new Court, pro- ceeding without form or figure of fufiice, any reafonable Man may well doubt 5 themfelves do utterly deny it. Yet Ibe Copies of certain Letters. 447 Yet you fay boldly they are Rebels, and a^k why we did fupport them} It feems to fome, that his Catholic!^ Majefy dpth abfolve thern in the Treaty of the Truce, An. 1608. of all imputation of Rebellion. And if they were Re- bels, efpecially for Herefie, why did the molt Chriftian King fupport them ? As for Queen Elizabeth, if {he were alive, flie would an- fwer your queftion with another, why did Spain concur in Pratlice, and promife Aid to that . deteftable Confpiraey that n\u plotted againfl her by Pius V. as you may fee at large in his Life, written by GWolamo Catena f It is, you fay, an eajie matter to pretend Priviledges, But it is no hard matter to difcern pretended Privi- ledges from true, and Treafon from Reafon of State, and old Corruptions from old Religion. But to take Arms to change the Laws by the whole Eftate eftablifhed, is Treafon, what- foever the caufe or colour be : and therefore it was Treafon in the Rebels of Lincoln/hire and Yorkcfkire in King Henrys days, and in the Earls of the North in Queen Elizabeths, though they pretended their old Religion : and the fame muft be faid of all Affaffinates at- tempted againfl: the Perfons of Princes, as Parryes, Somervilles, Squires, againfl: Qjieen Elizabeth, and the late Powder-PUt, the eternal Shame of Popery, againfl King James. To your Argument therefore in form, ad- mitting that it is no true Church, -which is founded and begun in Malice, Difobedience, Pajfi- on^ Blood, and Rebellion, no, HOr yet a true Reformation of a Church (for in truth the Proteftants pretend not to have founded any.) The 44 8 T7tf Co^'ex of certain Letter's. The Affumption is denied in every part of it. And here I muft needs fay you have not done unwifely to leave out the Church of England, as againft which you had no pre- tence, all things having been carried orderly, and by publick Counfel. But you have wronged thofe which you name, and either lightly believed, or unjuftly furmifed your felf, touching Luther, Calvin, Knox, the French, and the Hollanders, when you make them the raifers of Rebellion and Jhedders of Blood. Whofe Blood hath been fhed like Water in all parts of thofe Countries, againft all Laws of God and Man, againft the Edi&s, and publick Faith, till - neceffity fas they plead]enforced them to ftand for their Lives. Yet you prefume that all this is evident to the World, whereas it is fo falfe and impro- bable, yea, in fome parts impojjible, as I won- der how your heart could affure your hand to write it. m Give me here leave to fet down, by occa- fion of this your motive, that which I pro- fefs next to the evidence of thofe Corrupti- ons which the Court and Fa&ion of Rome maintains, hath long moved my felf. And thus I would enlarge your Propofition. That Monarchy (as now without lifping it calls it felf) which wasfounded,fupported,enlarged, and is yet maintained by Pride, Ambition, Rebellion, Treafon. murthering of Princes, Wars, difpenfing with Perjury, and inceftu- ous Marriages, Spoils and Robbery of Churches and Kingdoms, worldly Policy, Force and Faliliood, Forgery, Lying, and Hypo-, Tk Copies of certain Letters. 44^ Hypocrifie* is hot the Church of Chrift, and his Kingdom, but the Tyranny of Antichrift. The Papacy falfely calling it felf the Church of Rome is fuch. Ergo. The Atfumption fhall be proved in every part of it, and in truth is already by the learned and truly noble Lord of Plejfis in his Mjfteriftm iniquitatis. But his Book I fuppofe you cannot view, and it would require a juft volume to (hew it, though but fhortly. It (hall be therefore, if you will, the task of another time- And yet, becaufe I do not love to leave things wholly at random, confider a few Inftances in fome of thefe. Pope Boniface III. ob- tained that proud and ambitious Title of Oecumenical^ fo much detefted by S. Gregory. Pope Conflantine and Gregory H- revolted Italy from the Greek Emperors Obedience, forbid- ding to pay Tribute or obey them. Pope Zachary animated Vifme High Steward of Trance, to depofe C^pmY^his Lord, and difpenfed with the Oaths of his Subje&s.Pope Stephen II. moft treacherouily and unjuftly perfwaded the fame Piplne not to reftore die Exarchate of Ravenna to the Emperor, after he had recovered it from Ajlnlfxs King of Lom- bards, but to give it to him. Pope Nicholas II. and Gregory W. parted the prey with the Normans in Calabria, and Apulia, creating them Dukes chereof* to hold the Emperor of HiVn z V „ Conft antinomies Country in Vaifalage of them. This latter alfo was the firft, as all Hiftorians accord, that ever attempted to depofe tlv;- Emperor, againft whom lie moll: impioufly ftirred up his own Children, which moft la- G g menrably 45° Tl> e Copies of certain Let t fe r s I mentably brought him to his end. Pope Fafchalll. would not fuffer ("for the full accomplishment of this Tragedy) his Son to bury him. Pope jiArU* IV. demanded Homage of the Emperor Frederick. Alexan- der III. trod on his neck. Celefline Illcrowned Henry VI. with his Feet. Innocent IV. ftirred cp Frederick^lh his own Ser\ r ants to poifon him, pra&ifed with the Sultan of^Egypt to break with him. This is that Innocent, of whofe Extortions Matthew Paris relates fo much in our Story 3 whom the learned , zealous, and Holy Bi/hop of Lincoln, on his Death-bed, proved h be Antichrifi, and in a Yiiion ftroke fo with his Crofier-ftaff that lie died. Boniface VIII. challenged both Swords, pretended to be fuperior to the King of France in Temporal things alfo. element \ . would in the vacancy of the Empire, that all the Cities and Countries thereof fhould be under his difpolition , made the Duke of Venice, Dandalus, couch under his Table with a Chain on his neck like a Dog, e're he would grant Peace to the Venetians. This Clemenr V. commanded the Angels to carry their Souls to Heaven, that fhould take the Crofs to fight for the Holy Land. What (hall I fay more ? I am weary with writing thus much, and yet in all this, I do not- iniift upon private and pcrfonal Faults, Blafphemies, Perjuries, Necromancies, Mo- thers, barbarous Cruelties, even upon one another, alive and dead, nor on Whoredoms, lncefts, Sodomies, open Pillages, befides the perpetual Abufe of the Cenfures of the Church. 77;f Copies of certain Letters. 4 ji Church. I infift not upon thefe, more than you did upon King Henrys Paflioiis. I tell you not of him that called the Gofpd * Fable, ox another that inftituted his Agnus ZW's, to firdffgle Sin like Chrifis Blood. Of him that difpenfed with one ta marry his own S ; fter (for the Uncle to marry with the Neece, .01 a Woman to marry two Brothers, . a Man two Sifters by Difpenfcrion, is no rare thing at this day.) The Faculty to ufe Sodomy, the Story of Pope Joan, are almoft incredible, and yet they have Authors of better Credit than Bol/eek. It may be faid that fchn XX IL called a Devil incarnate, that Alexander VI. the Poifoner of his Cardinals, the Adulterer of his Son-in-laws Bed, inceftuous Defiler of his own Daughter, and Rival in that villany to his Son, finned as Men, which empeacherb not the Credit of their Office.That Pavdm V. Vice-deus takes too much upon him, when he will be Pope-almighty \ but the Chair is. with- out Error. Wherein, not to infift for the prefentj but admitting it as true, that wick- ednefs of mens Perfonsdoth not impeach the Holinefs of their Functions, which they have received of God, nor make Gods Ordinances, as his Word and Sacraments, of none effeft, But tell me for Gods love, Matter ivaddef- vporth, is it likely that this Monarchy thus fought, thus gotten, thus kept, thus exer- cifed, is of God ? Are thefe men, that wholly forfaking the feeding of the Flock of God,* dream of nothing now but Crowns and Scepters, ferve to the Church to no ufe in the World, unlefs it be to break the ancient Ggi Canons, 4 J % Tl>e Copies of certain Let t e r s . Canons, and opprefi with their Power, all that (hall but utter a free word againft. their Ambition and Tyranny -, are they, I will-not fay with you, good Heads of Gods Churchy but Members of it, and not rather Limbs of Sa- tan ? Confider thofe Texts : My Kingdom is not of this JVorld, Vos nut em non fie. Confider the Charge which S. Peter gives to his fellow Presbyters, i Pet. <>. 2, 3,4. Now Ibefeech our Lord deliver his Church from this Ty- ranny, and blefs you from being a Member offuchaHead- CHAR 77;e Co fie s of certain Letters. 453 CHAP. XI. Of lack of Succeffion, Bijhops, true Ordi- nations, Orders, PriefihooiL I Gome now to your Motive from s*c~ ' cejjlon. Where I marvel firft, that leaving the Succeffion of Do&rine, which is far more proper and intrinfecal to _the Churches being, you ftand upon thatofPer- fons and Offices. Yea, and about them too, immediatdy pafs from that which is of EfTence, to the external Formalities in Confe- cration and Ordination, according to the ancient Councils. Have you forgotten what you faid righc now, that matters of Ceremony and Go- vernment are changeable ? Yea, but in Trance y Holland, and Germany, they have no Bijkops. Firft, what if I fhould defend they have ? becaufe a Bifhop and a Presbyter are all one, as S. ferom maintains, and proves out of Holy Scripture , and the ufe of Antiquity. Of which Judgment, as Medina confeffeth, are limdry of the ancient Fathers, both Greek and Latin $ S. Ambrofe, Angufline^ Seduliw, PrimafiHiy Chryfoflome, Theodoret, Oecumcniwsy and TheGpkylacl: which point I have largely treated of in another place, againft him that G g 3 under- 454 ' *f* be £°fies if ccri tin Letters? undertook Matter AlabUfiers Quarrel. Be- fides, thofe Churches in Germany have thofe Whom they call Superintendents , and general Cap. 8* Superintendents, a$ out of Doctor Bancroft by the Teftimony oiZanchlus, and fundry Ger- man Divines, you might perceivp. Yea, and where thefe are not, % in Geneva, and the French Churches, jet there are, faith Zanchius^ stfiially certain chief Aden , that do in a man- ner bear all the fwaj, as if order it felf and neceflity led "them to this courfe. And what are thefe but Bijhops indeed , unlefs we. .(hall wrangle about names, which for reafon of State, thofe Churches were to a\y ftain from. As for that you fay Lay-men intermeddle there with the making of their Mi" nifters, if you mean the election of them, they have reafon j for anciently the People had always a right therein, as S. Cyprian vyritd to the Churches of Leon and Aft or £ a there in Spain y Plebs ipfa maxime habet potefiatem vel eligendi digxos Sacer dotes vel indignos recu- fandi j and in furjdry places oi Italy this ufage doth continue to this day. If ye mean it in Ordination, 'ye are deceived, and wrong thefe Churches, as ' Bellarmine himfelf \yill teach YOU, lib. B* Cleric is, cap. 3. For amongfi the Zutherans and Cahinifis a Iff, faith he, which have taken away almofi all Ecclejiaftical Rites, they only hy on hands, and make Faftors and Mi- nifiers , who though they be not Pafiors and Bijhops indeed, would be Jo accounted and idled, m. r The Copies of certain Letters. : 4%$ III England you mifs fir ft the lejfer orders, and fay, we fire made Miniflers per faltum, as if all that are made Priefts among you Were Pfalmifis, Sextons, Readers, Exorcifts, Torch-hearers , Subdeacons , and Deacons be- fore. Remember, I pray, what the Mafkr of the Sentences faith of Deaconfhip and Priefthoocj. Hos folos primitiva Ecckfia legi- tur habuijfe y & de his folis pneceptum Apojloli habemiis. He means in the Epiftles to Timo- thy and Titm. Again, Subdiaconos zero & Acolythos procedente tempore Ecclefia Jibi confti- tmt t What? and were the Primitive and Apoflolick Churches no true Churches ? or need we to be ailiamed to be like them ? Befides, thofe Councils that ye fpeak of, it fhould teem were of no great either An- tiquity or Authority, when not only Pres- byters, without palling through any order, but Biftiops, without being fo much a£ baptized, were ordained. As Netlarim of Conftantinople, Synefiws of Cyrene, Ambrole of Millaine, Conftantine II. of Rome it felf. This therefore is a very flight Exception. Your next is well W.Orfe, touching the Or- dination at the Nags- he ad j where the Confecra- tion of our firfi Bijbops , as you fay, was at- tempted , but not effected. It is certain , yon fay , and you are fure there was fuch a matter, although you know, and have feen the Records tbemfelves, that afterward there was a Con- fecration of-Dotlor Parker at Lambeth. Alas, Matter ivaddefwonh , if you be refolved to believe Lies, cot only againft publick Ads, Gg 4 and / 45 & Tlx Copies of certain Le t t e r s ♦ and your own eye- fight , but againft all Probability, who can help it > I had well hoped to have found that Ingenuity in you, that I might have ufed your Tefti- mony unto others of that fide , touching the Vanity of this Fable, as having (hewed you the Copv of the Record of Doftor Parker's Confecration , which I had pro- cured to be tranfcribeci out of die Ads , which your felf alfo at your return from London, told me you law in a Black Book. Now I perceive by your perplexed Wri- ting , and enterlining in this part of your Letter, you would fain difcharge your Con- fcience, and yet uphold this Lye , perhaps, as loth to offend that fide where you now are: and therefore you have devifed tins Temper , that the one was attempted , the other ejfctled. But it will not be. For firft of all, if that at the Nags- head were but attempted, what is that to the purpole of our Ordinations, which are not derived from it, but from the other, which as you fay, was efefted at Lambeth } And are you [are there was fifth a Mmer? How are you fure? Were you prefent there in Perfon, or have you heard it of thofe that were prefent ? Neither of both I fuppbfe : but if it were fo, that ibme body pretending to have been there prefent, told you fo much, how are you fure that he lied not in laying fo* much more when you have it but at the third,- or fourth hand, perhaps the thirtieth or fortieth ? But confider a little, is it pro-. bable The Copies of certain Letters. 457 bable than men of that fort , in an a&ion of that Importance, and at the beginning of the Queens Reign, when efpecially it concerned both them and her to provide, that all things (hould be done with Re- putation, would be fo hafty and heedlefs, as to take a Tavern for a Church ? Why might they not have gone to the next Church as well ? They thought to make the old Catholick Biihop drunken. Thus the tVitbich and Framjngham Priefis were wont to tell the tale. Is it likely that they would not forethink that poflible this good old Man would not drink fo freely as to be drunken, and if he were, yet would not be in the humour to do as they would have him > For who can make any Foundation upon what another would do in his Cups ? What a fcorn would this be to them ? Men are not al- ways fo provident in their A&ions. True, but fuch men are not to be imagined fo Sottifli , as to attempt fo folemn an Aftion, and joyned commonly with fome great Feaft , and as you obferved well out of the Afts , . with the Queens Man- date for the A&ion to be done, and. hang ail upon - a drunken fit of an old man. Befides, how comes it to pafs that we could never understand the names of the old Biihop, or of thofe whom he fhould have confecrated, or which confecrated themfclvsS) when he refufid to do it. For fo do your men give ic quc 3 howfoever you 45 8 the Copies of certain Letters, you fay, it was not there effected. And ih all the fpace of Queen Elizabeths Reign, wherein fo many tet therafelves againft the Reformation by her eftablifhed, is it poffible we lhould never have heard word of it, of all the Englifh on that fide die Seas, if it had been any other than a fly- ing Tale? After forty five years, there cirifttphd- is found at laft an Irifh Jefuit that dares rm a sacro put it in print, to prove by it as now you fofcoOubli- ^Jo, t l mt fa Parliamentary Pafiors lach^ holy mtn * ts% Orders. But he relates fundry Particulars, and brings his Proofs. For the purpofe , this ordainer or confecrater, he faith, was Laudafenfs Epfcofus homo fenex & fimflex. His name? Nay, that ye mull: pardon him. But of what City or Diocefs was he Bifhop ? For we have none of that Title. Here I thought once, that by errour it had been put for Landaffenfis of Landaffe in jvaUs, fave that three times in that Narration it is written Laudafenfis -, which notwithftanding, I continued to be of the fame mind, becaufe I found Bi- fhop Bonner s ; name twice alike falfe writ- ten Bomertu. But loe in the Margent a direction to the Book, Be Schifinate fit. 1 66. where he faith this matter is touched, and it is ctiretlly affirmed , that* they performed the Office of Bijhcps, without any Efifcofal Confecration. Again, that great labour ■was tifed without an Irifh Archbifhop in Prifon xt London to ordain rfcfcig hit he could by no means .: ^)( Q)lnesofce)Um Letters. 459 Ifleayis h brought fhereto. So it feems we IDUft pafsODt of Wales into Ireland, to find the See of this Biihop or Archbiihop. But I believe we may fail, from thpnce to Vir- ginia, to feek him 5 for in Ireland we (hall not find him.. Let-as cojne tojhofethat he fliould have ordained, what were their names ? Candidati, if that will content you, more you get noc. Why they might have been remembred as well as the Nags-Head, as well as Bonners name , and his See , and that he was Dean of the Bifhop j he means of the Archhiflioprick, fide vacante, and that he fent his Chaplain (his name alfo is unknown ) to forbid the Ordination. At kail their Sees. To cut the matter fhort. Sluid plura ? Scorans fylonachus pofi Herefor- . dpnfis ffettdo-efifcogps c&terx T ex ceteris, qui- dam Scorxo want's ' impcnunt : fiufyque fine fa- tre filii, & pater 4. flits procreatur, res firx- Us mmbus in 'audita* Here is at length fome certainty -, Some truth mingled among, tq give the. better grace, and to be as it were the Vehicular* of a lye. For John Scory, in • King Edward his times, Biihop of Chichefter y and after of Hereford, ' was one of thole that ordained Bo&or P*rker, and preached at his Ordination, But that was the Ordina- tion effetled as you call it: We are now in that which was not effetled, but attem- pted only. And here we feek again, who were thefe quidams that laid Hands on Scory l We nvay go look them with Lau- dafenfis the Archbiihop. of Ireland. Well 5 hear 4^0 The Copies of certain Letters.^ hear die proofs. Mafter Thomas Ned; Hebrew Reader of Oxford , which was pre- fect , told thus much to the antient Confeffors y they t-o F. Halywood. This proof by Tra- dition, as you know, is of little credit with Proteftants, and no marvel : For experi- ence fliews-that reports fuffer ftrang^ al- terations in the carriage, even when the £&2.*.2c. R e P orcers are interefted. Irenaus relates from the antient Confejfors, which had feen John the Difciple , and the other jifoftles of the Lord, and heard it from them , That Chrifl eur Saviour was between forty and fifty years of Age before his Pajfion. I do n0C think you are fure it was fo. For my part, I had rather believe Irenans and thofe Antients he mentions , and the Apoftles * than Father Halywood and his Confeffors, and Mafter Neal. But poflible it is, Mr. Neale faid , he was prefent at Matthew Parkers Ordination by John Scory. Thefe Cenfefors being before impreffed, as you are, with the buz of the Ordination at the Nags-head made up that Tale, and put it upon him for their Author. Perhaps Mr. Neal did eiteem f*hn Scory to be no Bifbof , and fo was fcandalized though caufelefly, at that a&ion. Perhaps Mr. Neale never faid s fhould be holden for lawful. \ looked for ibmething of the Nags-Head Bifhops, and the Legend of their Ordination. But the law- fulnefs Tk Copies of certain Letters. 461 fulnefs that the Pifiiament provides for, is ( according to the Authority the Parliament hath ) chit, that is, according to the Laws of die Land. The Parliament never in- tended to juftifie any thing as lawful, jure divine, which was not fo •, as by the Pre- amble it felf of the Statute may appear. In which it is fakl , That divers qtteftions tEli^c.u had grown ftfon the making and confecrating of Archbifhofs and Bifhops, within this Realm, whether the fame were, and be dxely and order- ly done according to the Law or not ; &C. An4 ihortly to cut off Father Haljwoods furmifes, the cafe was this, as may be gathered by the body of the Statute. Whereas in the five and twentieth of Henry the Eighth , an A& was made for the Electing and Con- fecrating of Bijhops within this Realm ; And another in the third of Edward the Sixth, For the Ordering and confecrating of them, and all other Ecclefiaftical Minifieri r, according to fuch form as by fix Prelates , and fix other learned Men in Gods Law to be ap- pointed by the King fhould be deviled , and fet forth, under the great Seal of England: VVhich Form in the fifth of the fame Kings reign , was annexed to the Book of CW- mon Prayer, then explained and perfected 5 and both confirmed by the Authority of Parliament. All thefe A<3s were 1 Maria, & 1 & 2 Philifli & MarU repealed i, toge- ther with another Statute of 35-. Henry 8. ^touching the Stile of Supreme Head to be ttfed in all Letters Patents and Commijjions, &C. Thefe a6z Tfa Copies of certain Letter J? Thefe Ads of repeal in the i ER^akth were again repealed, and fc€ Aft of 2^. Hen. 8. revived fpecially. That of 3 Ed». 6. only Concerning the Book of Gommorl Prayer, &c. without any particular mentiorf of the Bobk or form of Ordering Minifters and Bifhops. Hence grew one doubt, whe- ther Ordinations and Confeeratioris accor- ding to that Form were good in Law or no. Another was, Queen Elizabeth in her Let- ters Patents touching fuch Confecrations ? Or- dinations had not ufed as may feem, be- fides other general Words importing the higheft Authority in Caufes Ecclefiafiical , the title of Sufreme Head , & King Herirj and Kh*g Edward in their like Letttfs Pa- tents were wont to do : And that notwitfv ftanding the Aft of 3? Hen - &• after the repeal of the former repeal might feem ("though never fpecially) revived. This as I guefs was another exception, to thofe that by vertue of thofe Patents were confecra- ted. . Whereupon the Parliament declares, Firfl , That the Bool^ of Common Prayer^ and fuch Order and Form for confecrating of Arch- bifkops andBifhops, &C. as was fet forth in the time of Khtg Edward the Sixths and added- thereto and author if ed by Parliament , fh all ft and in force and be obferved. Secondly, That all Alls done by any f erf on about any Confecraticn y Confirmation, or invtfting of any elecl to the Of- fice or Dignity of ArMifhop or Bifhof, by ver- tfie of the Queens Letters Parents ar Commiff;- on. Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. 4^} en, fince the beginning of her Reign be good. Third- ly, That all that have been Ordered or Con- fecrated Jrchbifkofs, Bijhofs^ Priefts, &C. af- ter the faid Form and Order, be rightly made , ordered and confecrated, any Statute, Law, Ca- non, cr other thing to the contrary notwithfianding. Thefe were the Reafons of that Aft 5 which as you fee doth not make good the Nags- he ad- Ordination as F. Halywood pretends, unkfs the fame were according to the Form in Edward the Sixth's days. His next proof is, That Bonner Bifhof of London while he liz-ed.al- ways fet light by the Statutes of the Parliaments °f <£"£en Elizabeth, a Hedging that there wan- ted Bifhofs, without who/e confent by the LiWS of the Realm there can no firm Statute be made. That Bonner defpifed and fet not a Straw by the Ads of Parliament in Queen Elizabeths time, I hold it not impoffible, and yet there is no other proof thereof, but his bare Word , and the antient Confejfors tradition, of which we heard before. Admitting this for certain , there might be other reafons thereof, befides the Ordination at the Nags- head. The ftiffhefs of that Man was no lefs in King Edwards time than Queen £/*- nabeths. And indeed the want alfo of Bifhops might be the caufe, why he little regarded the Ads of her firit Parliament. For both much about the time of Queen Maryes death, dyed alfo Cardinal Poole, and fundry other Bifliops : And of the reft fome for their con- temptuous behaviour in denying to per- form their duty in the Coronation of the Queen 464 Tl* Copies of certain Le t te r 5 . Queen were committed to Prifon, others abfented themfelves willingly. So as it ii commonly reported to this day, there was none or very few there* For as for Do- dor Parker and the reft, they were not or- dained till December, i$s9' the Parliament was diffolved in the May before. So not to ftand now to refute Bonner s conceit, that according to our Laws there could be no Statutes made in Parliament without Bi- fhops (wherein our Parliament Men will re&ifie his Judgment) F. Halywood was in this report twice deceived, or would deceive his Reader. Firft, that he would make that exception which Bonner laid againft the Firft Parliament in Queen Elizabeths time, to be true of all the reft. Then, that he accounts £i(hop Bonner to have excepted againft this Parliament, becaufe the Bifhops there were no Bifhops as not canonically ordained: Where it was, becaufe there was no Bi- fhops true or falfe there at all. His laft proof is. That Br. Bancroft being demanded of Mr. Alablafter, whence their firft Bifhops re- ceived their Orders f anfwered, That he hoped a Bijhop might be ordained of a Presbyter in time of necejfty. Silently granting, That they were not ordained by any Bijhop: And therefore, faith he, the Parliamentary Bifhops are with- out order Epifcopal, and their Minifters alfo no Pricfts, For Priefts are not made but of Bi- fhops 5 whence Hierome, Qjuid facit, &c. What doth a Bifhops faving Ordination, which a Pres- byter dnh net i I have not the means to de- mand The Copies of certain Letters. 465 mand of D. Alablafler , whether this be true or not. Nor yet whether this be all the anfwer he had of Y)r. Bancroft. That I affirm, that if it were, yet it follows not that D. Bancroft ftlently granted they had no Orders of Bifhqs. Unlets he that in a falle Difcourfe, where both Propositions be un- true, denies the Major, doth filently grant the Minor. Rather he jefted at the futility of this Argument, which admitting all this lying Legend of the Nags-head , and more too 5 fuppofe no Ordination by any Bifhops had been ever effetled, notwithstanding Shews no fuflficient reafon why there might not be a true confecration , and true Ministers made, and confequently a true Church in England. For indeed neceffity difpenfes w;ith Gods own pofitive Laws, as our Sa- viour (hews in the Gofpel-, much more then rt*rk2.2£ with Mans : And fuch by Hieroms Opini- on are the Laws of the Church, touching the difference of Bifhops and Presbyters , and confequently touching; their Ordinati- on by Biihops only. Whereof I have treated more at large in another place, for the juftification of other reformed Churches , albeit the Church of England needs it not. To confirm this Argument , it pleafeth F. Halywood to add, That King Edward the Sixth took^ away the Catholic^ Eite of Ordaining, and inflcad of it , fubflitH- ted a few Cahiniflical Prayers, Whom Qieen Elizabeth followed, &c. And this is in effect the fame thing which you fay, H h when ^66 Tk Copies of certain Le t t e r s I when you add, That Coverdale being made Bi(hof of Exceter In King Edward 5 / time , when all Councils and Church Canons were lit- tle obferved, it is very doubtful he was never himfelf canonically confecrated , and fo if he were no canonical Bifhop , he could not make another Canonical. To F. Haljwood I would anfwer, That King Edward took not away the Catholick Rite of Ordaining, but pur- ged it from a number of idle and fuper- ftitious Rites prefcribed by the Popifh Pontifical. And the Prayers which he feoffs at if they were Calviniftical, fure *> was by Profhecie y for Calvin never few them till Queen Marys time $ when by certain of our Englifh Exiles, the Book of Com- mon Prayer was tranflated and (hewed him 5 if he faw them then. Some of them, as the Litany, and the Hymn Veni Creator, &c. I hope were none of Calvins deviling. To you, if you name what Councils and Church Canons you mean, and make any certain exception, either againft Bi(hop Co- verdale , or any of the reft as not Cano- nical Bifhops, I will endeavour to fatisfie you. Mean while remember I befeech you, That both Law, and Reafon , and Religion ihould induce you in doubtful things to follow the moft favourable fen- tence , and not rafhly out of light furmi- les to pronounce againft a publick and fo- lemn Ordination , againft the Orders con- ferred fucccflively from it, againft a whole Church. Wherein I cannot but commend Do&or Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. 4 67 Do&or Curriers modefty , whofe Words are thefe. / will not determine again fi the p a g, 7 . jucceffion of the Clergy in England, becaufe it is to me very doubtful. And the difcretion of Cndjemini the Jefuite, which denies the vttyptr* Envlifh Nation to be Hereticks, becaufe they **,?'?& remain in a perpetual Juccef/ion of Bijhops, And to take away all doubt from you , that fome of thefe Ordainers were only Bijhops elect , and unconfecrated-j befides Miles Co- verdale , in King Edwards time Biihop of Exceter, call in Prifon by Queen Mary, and releafed and fent over Sea to the King of Denmark^, know that William Barlow was another 5 in King Edward's days Biihop of Bath and Wells , in Queen Marys be- yond the Seas in the company of the Dutchefs of Suffo\ and Mr. Bertie her Huf- band 5 at the time of Dr. Parkers Ordi- nation Eleft of Chichefler. A third . was John Scory , in King Edwards time Biihop ofchichefter, and at the time of the faid Ordination Eletl of Hereford. A fourth was John Hodge shin , Suffragan Of Bedford, And thefe four, if rhey were all ordained according -to the Form ratified in King Ed- wards days, were prefented by two Bi- fhops at leaft to the Archbifhop, and of him and them received Impoution of Hands/ as in the faid Form is appointed One Scruple yet remains which you have, in That thefe Men did cotjfecrate Do- ll or Parker , by vertue of a Breve from the £l*een as Head of the Church, who being no Hh £ trite 4 6 8 The Copies of certain Letters. true Head , and a Woman , you fee not how they could make a true Confecration grounded en her Authority. But to clear you in this alio, you muft underftand the Queens Mandate ferved not to give Power to or- dain (which thofe Biihops had before in- trinfecally annexed to their Office) but Leave and Warrant to apply that Power to the perfon named in that Mandate. A thing, unlefs I have been deceived by Re- ports, ufed in other Countrys, yea in the Kingdoms of his Catholick Majefty him* felf. Sure I am by the Christian Empe- rors in the Primitive Church, as you may fee in theEcclefiaftical Hiftories, and name- ly in the Ordination of NeHariw ^ that I fpake of before. Yea, which is more, in the Confecration of the Biihops of Rome, as of Leo the Eighth, whofe Decree, with the Synod at Rome touching this matter, is fet down by Gratia* , Difl. 63. c. 23. ta- ken from the example of Hadrian , and a- nother Council, which gave to Charles the Great , fits & ptefiatem eligendi Ponti- ficem , & ordinandi j4poftolicam Sedcm , as you may fee in the Chapter next before. cufiis. See the fame Dift. c. 16, & 17, & 18. and you fhall find , that when one was chofen Biihop of Re/ite, within the Popes own Province, by the Clergy and people, and fent to him by Guide the Count to be confecrated , the Pope durft not do it till the Emperors Licence were obtained. Yea, that he mites to the Emperour for CoUnns. C. Kestfai Tlie Co fie s of cert din Letters. 4 69 Colonus , That receiving his Licence he might C. Nobis* cmfecrate him either there , or in the Chxrch of Tufculum,which accordingly upon the Em- perours bidding he performed. Yec another Exception you take, to the making our Minifters, That we keep not the right intention. Firft, Becaufe we neither give nor take Orders at a Sacrament, By that Reafon we fhould have no true Mar- riages amongft us neither, becaufe we -count not Matrimony a Sacrament. This Controverfie depends upon the definition of a Sacrament , which if it be put to be * Jign of a holy thing, thefe be both fo, and s. many more than feven. If a Seal of the New Teftament, fo are there but thofe two, which we properly call Sacraments, Ba- $tifm and the Lords Suffer. In which laft, Lib^.dtf. as to the intention of Sacrificing, furely , if 12. ye allow the Do&rine of the xMafter of the Sentences, That it is called a Sacrifice and Oblation, which is offered and confecrated by the Priefi, becaufe it is a Memory and Refrefentation of the true Sacrifice and holy Im- molation made on the /iltar of theCrofs. And that Chrifl once dyed on the Crofs , and there was offered up in himfelf but is daily offered up in a Sacrament, becaufe in the Sacrament there is a remembrance of that which was once done $ w r hich he there confirms by the Authori- ties of the Fathers , cited by Gratian in De Co f ? * the Canon Law. If this Do&rine, I fay , ***** may yec pafs for good , and this be the Churches intention, we want not this Inten- uc.TmoL Hh 3 tion iib.iz.M2 47 P ^ ;e Cop/Vi 0/ certain Le t t e r s\ tion of facrificing. Add to this the Con- feffion of Melchior Canns, who faith , the Lutherans do not wholly deny the Sacrifice , but grant a Sacrifice c/f Thanksgiving , which they fftEuchffi- call the * Eucharijf : they will have none for %cm, fin which they call propitiatory. If he had put hereto, unlefs it be a Myfterie, he had rightly exprefled the Opinion of the Proteftants. Thirdly , You objeft , We want the matter and Form with which Orders fhould be given : Namely , for the matter in Frieflhood the delivery of the Patena with Bread, and the Chalice with Wine : In Deacon/hip the de- livery of the Book, of the Gofpel , &c By which reafon the feven firft Deacons had no true Ordination, for then there was no Gofpel written to be delivered them. Nor thofe Priefts whom the Pope (hall make by his fole Word , faying , Efto Sacerdos c Whom notwithftanding fundry famous Ca- nonifts hold to be well and lawfully or- dained \ and Inmcentius himfelf faith, That if thefe Forms of Ordination were not found out , any other Ordainer might in like manner make Priefts, with thofe Words, or the like: for as much as thefe Forms were in procefs of time appointed by the Church. And if we lift to feek for thefe metaphysial Notions of Matter and Form 7 in Ordination, winch at the moft can be but by Analogy , how much better might we aflign the perfons deputed to facred Functions to be the matter .( as thofe that contract are by your felves made the mat- ter The Qofies of certain Letter s. 47 1 ter in Matrimony ) and the impofing of Hands, with the expreffing the Authority and Office given to be the Form ? In Di- -onyfws though fallely called the Areopagite, yet an antient Author, you (hall find no- thing elfe i nor, which I may tell you by the way, any other Orders, fave Biihops, Priefts and Deacons. And to come to that wherein you fay we fail mod of all , the fi&jtantial Form of Priefthood, tell me ingenuoully, good Mafter waddefworth , how do you know that our Lord Jefus Chrift made his Apo- ftles, or they other Priefts with this Form, which hath no mention or footftep in the Gofpels, or otherwhere in Holy Scripture] Nor fo much as in the Council of Car- thage 5 that from whence the manner of giving other Orders is fetched 5 nor in Gra-,_ ■nan, nor in any other antient Author that I can find, fave in the Pontifical only. And is the prefent Pontifical of fuch Autho- rity . With you , as the Form of Priefthood , •the fiibftantial Form, cm fubfift in no other Words than thofe that be there exprefled? To omit the late turkefing whereof, con- fider what Aagufiinus Patritius writes in his Preface before that which at Pope Innocent the Eighth his commandment he patched together : That there were fcarce two or three Books found that delivered the fame thing : £luot libri tot varietates. Me deficit, hie fit- ferabundat, alius nihil omnino de ea re habet, raro aut nunquam conveniunt -■> fape obfeuri , H h 4 implicati, 47 1 Tl>e Copies of certain Letters. implkati, & Librariorum vitio plerunque men- do]}. And in truth in this your effential Form of Priefihood, the old Pontificals be- fore that which he fet forth, either had other Words at the giving of the Chalice and Paten as may feem 5 or wanted both that Form and the Matter alfo together. The M after of the Sentences declaring the manner of the Ordination of Priefts, and the reafon why they have the Cha- lice with Wine , and Paten with Hofts given unto them, faith it is, Vt per hoc fciant fe accepife poteftatem placabiles Deo hoftias offerendi. Hugo in like manner, Ac- cipiunt & Calicem cum vino, & Patenam cum Hoflia de manu Epifcopi , quatenus potefiatem fe accept fe ccgnofcant, placabiles Deo Hofiias cfferendi. Stephanpu Eduenfis Epifcopus^ in the lame Words : Datur eis Calix cum Fine, & Patena cum Hoftia, in quo traditur its po- t eft as ad offer en dun) Deo placabiles Ho ft i at. So fohannesjanuenfis in his Summ, entitled,Cr- tholicon, verbo Presbyter. If you afcend to the higher times of Rabanus, Aicuimu, If- djrus, you (hall find that they mention no fuch matter, of delivering Chalice or Pa- ten, or Words ufed at the delivery 5 and no marvel, for in the Canons of the fourth Council of Carthage they found none. Z>/- myfins fatty called Areopagita, whom I men- tioned before, fetting down the manner of Ordaining in his time. The Prieft upon borh his knees before the Altar with the Bi- jh.ps right-Hand upon his Head^ is on this man- ner The Copies of certain Letters. 47 j manner fantlifed by hi* Confecrator with holy Invocations. Here is all, fave that he faith, after he hath defcribed that alfo which pertains unto the Deacon, that every one of them is Jigned with the Crofs when the Bifhop bleffeth them, and proclaimed , and fainted by the Confecrator himfelf and every one of that facred Order that is prefent. The Greek Scholiaft very lively (hews . the meaning and manner of this proclaiming. He faith, The Ordainer pronounceth by name when he fign- eth him y ^(pfctyl^iTCLt o S£vct am* i3f>*j&U7{pK hs '' 'ETnurxjomv , cv ovo[ict)i ?{ )y ra vp ^ «ra dpx - ccxoVk. Such a Man is confecrated from being Presbyter to be a Bifhop in the name of the Father y &C and fo in the Presbyter and Dea- con. Clemens Romanus ( if F. Turrian and the reft of the Romifh Fa&ion deceive us not , or be not deceived themfelves , in attributing to him the eight Books of the Apoftolick Conftitutions that bear his name ) cuts the matter yet more (liort , and without either croffing or proclaiming, appoints the Bifhop to lay his Hands upon him y in the pre fence of the Presbytery and the Z)eacons y ufmg a Prayer -, which you may fee at length in him 5 for the increafe of the Church, and of the number of them that by Word and Work^ may edifie it : For the party eleEled unto # the Office of Priefthood , that being filled with the operations of Healing and Word of Do- Urine , he may infiruct Gods people with meeknefs , aid ferve him Jincerely with a. pure 474 Th e C°p' ies of certain Le t ter s. pure mind, and willing heart, and perform holy Services without fpot for his people through his Chrifi,towhom, &c. Thefe laft Words which are in the Greek, $ ™s vmp ™ a*? &&&'& d.uaixns tiilzrf e/)<* ru p^rS" e Copies of certain Letters. mention. Judge you whether thefe were thought to be the matter and ejfential Form of Priefthood in his time. Yet one Author more will I name in this matter, not only be- -caufe he is a famous Schoolman, and one of Luther* firil Adverfaries , and therefore ought to be of more account with that fide, but becaufe he profefleth the end of his Writing to be, circa Sacr amentum ordinis cantos redder e , ne pertinax quifquam ant k- vis fit circa modum tradendi aut recipiendi or- dines* It is Cardinal Cajetane , in the fe- COnd Tome of his Opufcula, Tit. Be modo tradendi fen recipiendi Ordines. Read the whole , where thefe things I obferve for Our prefent purpofe. I. Jf all be gathered together which the Pontificals, or which Reafon or Authority hath delivered, the nature of all the reft of the Orders exeept Priefthood on- ly , will appear very uncertain. 2. The lejfer Orders and Subdeaconfhip according to the JMafter of the Sentences, were inftituted by the Church. 3. The Deacons inftituted by the A- , poftles, A(Ss 6. were not Deacons of the Al- tar, but of the Tables and Widows. 4. In Deacon/hip there feems to be no certain Form 5 for According to the old Pontificals , the laying of Hands upon the Deacon hath no certain Form of Words, but that Prayer 5 Emitte qua?- fumus in eos S. Sandtum : which according to the new Pontificals is to be faid after the impofition of Hands. For the giving of the Book^ of the Gofpels , hath indeed a form of Words, but that impreffeth not the Cha- racter, The Copies of certain Letters. 477 rafter, for before aky Gofpel was written, the Ape files ordained Deacons by impofition of Hands \ 5. In the Subdeaconfhip alfo there is no Pon- tifical which hath not the matter without Form, viz. the delivery of the empty Chalice , &c. Thefe things with more which he there fets down, he would have to ferve to the inflru- clion of the learned touching the uncertainty of this whole matter, to teach Men to be wife to fobriety, that is, every Man to be content with the accuflomed Pontifical of the Church wherein he is ordained. And if ought be omitted of thofe things which be added out of the new Pon- tificals, as for example^ that the Book, of the E- pi files was notgiven^ with thofe Words [Take Au- thority to read the Efi files as well for the Quick^ as the Bead ] there u no need of fupplying this omijjion by a new Ordination, for fuch new ad- ditions make no new Law. Leam then of your own Cajetane, that the new additions of delivery of the Chalice with Wine, and Pa- ten with Hofis, and authority to offer facrifce for the J^uick. and the Dead, make no new Law. Learn to be content with the Pontifical of the Church, wherein you were ordain- ed. Wherein firft is verbatim all that which your Pontificals had well taken out of the holy Words of our Saviour, Accl- pe Spirit um Santtum ; quorum remiferis peccata remittuntur eis, & quorum retinueris retenta fum. Which methinks you Ihould rather account to contain the eflential Form of Priefthood than the former, both be- canfe they are Chrifts own Word, and joyned 478 Tl?e Copies of certain Letters.' joyned with that Ceremony of laying o n Hands y which antiently denominated thi s whole a&ion, and do exprefs the worthi- eft and principals ft part of your Commijfion + which the Apoftle calls the Miniftry of Re- conciliation* i Cor. $. 1 8, 19. Then, be- caufe this Office is not only deputed to confecrate the Lords Body, but alfo to preach and baptize ( which in your Pon- tifical is wholly omitted) in a larger and more convenient Form is added out of S. Paul, 1 Cor, 4. 1, and be thou a faithful Dif- penfer of the Word of God and of his holy Sacra- ments. In the name of the Father, &e. As to that you add, That we offer m Sa- crifice for the Quick and Dead , and there- fore well may be called' Afmifters, as all Lay- men are, but are no Pr lefts. I have met with fundry that pull this Rope as Wrong- ly the other way , and affirm that becaufe by the very Form of your Ordination you are appointed Sacrificers for the Quick^ and the Dead, well wy ye be Mafs-Pr lefts as ye are called, but Minifters of the New Teftament, after S. Paul'-f Phrafe ye are none, for that Office {lands principally in preaching the Word, whereof in your Ordination there is no Word faid. And as little there is in Scripture of your Sacrifice, which makes Chrift not to be a Prieft after the order of Melchifedec^, &c with much more to this puroofe. Where my Defence for your Miniftry hath been this, That the Form, Receive the Holy Ghoft y vehofe fms ye remit The Copies of certain Letters. 479 remit they are remitted, &C. doth fufficient- ly comprehend the Authority of preach- ing the Gofpel. Ufe you the fame equi- ty towards us, and tell thole hot Spirits among you, that ftand fo much upon for- malities of Words, That to be a Difpen- fer of the Word, of God and his holy Sacraments, is all the duty of Priefihood. And to you I add further , that if you confider well the Words of the Mafter of the Senten- ces which I vouched before, how that which is confecrated of the Prieft is called a Sacrifice and Oblation, becaufe it is a Memo- rial and Reprefentation of the true Sacrifice and holy Offering made on the Altar of the Crofs , and joyn thereto that of the Apoftle , Heb.10.14 that by that one Offering Chrifi hath perfected for ever them that are fanUified , and as he faith in another place, through that Blood of his Crofs reconciled unto God all things whether in Earth or in Heaven 3 you (hall perceive, that we do offer Sacrifice for the Quick and Dead, remembring, reprefenting and myftically offering that fole Sacrifice for the Quick and Dead, by the which all their fins are meritorioully expiated, and defiring that by the fame, we and all the Church may obtain remiffwn of fins, and all other Benefits of Chrifi s Paffwn. To the Epilogue therefore of this your laft Motive, I fay in fhort. Sith we have no need of Subdeaconfhlp , more than the Churches in the Apoftles times, and in truth thofe whom we call Clerk/ and Sex- tons 480 The Copies of certain Letter si tons perform what is neceffary in this be- half. Sith we have Cammed Bifhops, and lawful Succefflon. Sith we neither want due intention to depute Men to Ecclefiaftical Functions , nor mMter or Form in giving Priefihood-j deriving from no Man or Wo- man the Authority of Ordination , but from Chrifi the Head of the Church 3 you have alledged no fufficient Caufe, why we fhould not have true Pafters, and confequently a true Church in England. CHAR Tl?e Copies of certain Letters. a8j CHAP. XII. Of the Conclusion. Mr. WaddefworthV AgQnks and Protcftatioffj &C YEt hy thefe ( yotl fay ) and many other Argument 7, yon were refolved in your un- derftandingy to the contrary. It may well be that your Underftanding out of its own heedlefs haft, as that of our firft Parents , while it was at the perfe&eft was induced into error, by refolving too foon out of feeining Arguments, and granting too for- ward aflent. For furely, thefe which you have mentioned, could not convince it, if it would have taken the pains to examine them throughly, or had the patience to give unpartial hearing to the Motives on the other iide. But as if you triumphed in your own conquefl: and captivity, you add that which paflerh yet all that hitherto you have fetdown, rftt That the Church of Rome was and is the only true Church , be- C4ufe it alone is Antient y Catholicl\ and Afc~ fiolic^y having Sue ceffi on y Vnity and Vijibility in all Ages and Places. Is it only antient f To omit ferufalem y are not that of Anti- cch, where the Difciples were firft called Chriftians, and Alexandria,} '-phefvs, Corinth,mi the reft meirioned in the Scriptures antient I i a!fc } 4 8 2 77;e Copies of certain Le t t e r s ? alfo? and of ^Antloch antienter than Rome. Is it Catholick^ and Apofiolick^ enlj f Do not thefe and many more hold the Catholkk Faith received from the Apoftles, as well as the Church of Rome t For that it mould be the Vmvetfal Church , is all one as ye would fay the part is the whole, one Ci- ty the World. Hath it onlj fuccejfwn f where to fet afide the enquiry of Doftrine , fo many Simoniacks, and Intruders have ruled, as about fifty of your Popes together, were by your own Mens ConfefTion Apofiatical, rather than Apftolical f Or Unity, where there have been thirty Schifms, and one of them which endured fifty years long, and at laft grew into three Heads, as if they would inare among them the triple Crown ? And as for (Mentions in Doftrine, I remit you to Mafter Dotlcr Halls peace of Rome, wherein he fcores above three hundred mentioned in BeUarmne alone 5 above three- fcore in one only head of Penance out of Navarrm. As to that addition, in all A- ges and f laces 5 I know not what to make of it, nor where to refer it. Coniider , I befeech you, with your wonted mode- ration what you fay 3 for fure unlefs you were beguiled, I hadalmoft laid bewitched, you could never have refolved to believe and profefs, that which all the World knows to be as falfe, I had (well nigh) faid as God is true, touching the extent if the Romifl Church to all Ages and places. Concern- The Qopies of certain Letters. 483 Concerning the agonies yon pafed, I will fay only thus much, if being refolved though erroneoufly that was truth, you were withholden from profeffing it with worldly refpe&s , you did well to break through them all. But if befides thefe , there were doubt of the contrary ( as me- thinks needs muft be ) unlefs you could fatisfie your felf touching thofe many and known Exceptions againft the Court o[Rome, which you could not be ignorant of) take heed, left the reft infuing thefe agonies were not like Sampfons fleeping on Dalilahs knees, while the Locks of his Strength were (ha- ven, w hereupon ( the Lord departing from him ) he was taken by the Philiftins , had his Eyes put out, and was made to grind in the Prifon. But I do not defpair but your former refolutions fhall grow again. And as I do believe your religious affeverati- on^ that for very fear of damnation you for- fook us (which makes me to have the better hope and opinion of you , for that I fee you do fo ferioufly mind that which is the end of our whole life 3 ) fo I de- fire from my Heart the good hope of fahati- on jopt have in your prelent way may be as happy, as your fear I am perfwaded was caufeleis. For my part , I call God to record a- gainft mine own Soul , that both before my going into Italy, and (ince, I have ftill . endeavoured to find and follow the truth in the Points controverted between us , Ii ^ without 484 77* £°P tes °f ccrtdtn Letters. 1 without any earthly refpedt in the World, Neither wanted I fair opportunity had I feen it on that fide, eafily, and with hope of good entertainment to have adjoyned my felf to the Church of Rome, after your exam- ple. But (to ufe your words) as I [hall anfwer at the dreadful day of judgement ; I never f aw, heard, or read any things which did convince me : nay, which did net finally confirm me daily more and more, in the perfwajion, that in thefe differences it refts en our fart. Wherein I have not follow- lowed humane conjectures from foreign and outward things fas by your leave methinks you do in thefe your motives, whereby I protefi to you in the fight of God, I am alfo much comforted and affured in the poffeilion of the truth ) but the undoubted Yoke of God in his Word, which is more to my Conscience than a thcufand Topical Ar- guments. In regard whereof I am no lefs allured, that if i ihould forfake it I fhould be renounced by our Saviour, before God and his Angels, than in the holding it be acknowledged and faved \ which makes me refolve, IlOt only for no hope, if it were of ten thousand Worlds , but by the gracious affl- fiance of God, without whom 1 know I am able to do nothing, for no terrour or torment ever to become a Papifi. You fee what a large diftance there is between us in Opinion. Yet for my part, I do not take upon me to fore-judge you, or any other that doth not . with an evil ind and felf condemning Con fcience on- ly* Tk (opiesofcertainL.ETTEKs. 48 j ly to maintain a Fa&ion, differ from that which I am perfwaded is the right. I ac- count we hold one and the fame Faith in our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, and by him in the bleffed Trinity. To his Judgment we ftand or fall. Incomparably more and of more importance are thofe things where- in we agree 5 than thofe wherein we dif- fent. Let us follow therefore the things of peace , and of mutual edification. If any be otherwife minded than he ought, God (hall reveal that alfo to him. If any be weak or fallen , God is able to raife him up- And of you good Mr. Waddef- vorth, and the reft of my Matters and Brethren of that fide , one thing I would again defire, that according to the Apoftles profeflion of himfelf , you would forbear to be Lords over onr Faith, nor ftraightway 2 Cor. 1. condemn of Herefie, our ignorance or lack 24. or perfwafion concerning fuch things as we cannot perceive to be founded in holy Scripture. Enjoy your own Opinions 5 but make them not Ankles of our Faith : the analogy whereof is broken as w r ell by Ad- dition as Subftra&ion. And this felf fame equity we defire to find in pofitive Laws. Orders and Ceremonies. Wherein as eve- ry Church hath full right to prescribe that which. is decent and to edification, and tp reform abufe 5 fo thofe that are Members of each are to follow what is eojoyned, till by jhe fame Authority it be reverfed. And 4<5 8 7k Copies of certain Le t ter s? And now to clofe Up this Account of yours, whereof you would have Dr. Hall and me to be as it were Examiners and Audi- tors. Whether it beperfe&and allowable or no, look you to it. I have here told you mine opinion of it, as dire&ly, plain- ly and freely as I can $ and as you requi- red fully , if not tedioufly. I lift not to contend with you about it. Satisfie your own Confcience, and our common Lord and Matter , and you fhall eafily fatisfie me. Once yet by my advice review it , and caft it over again. And if in the par- ticulars you find you have taken many nul- lities for fignifying Numbers , many fmaller fignifiers for greater*, correci the total. If you find namely that out of defire of V- *jity, and diflike of contention, you have apprehended our diver faies to be more than they are : conceived a neceflity of an ex- ternal infallible Judge, where there was none : attributed the privi ledge of the Church proper- ly called, to that which is vifible and mixt. If you find the reformed Churches more charitable, the proper note of Chrifts Sheep: The Roman Faction more fraudulent, and that by publicly ceunfel, and of politicks purpofe, in framing not only all later Writers, but feme antient, yea the Holy Scriptures for their advantage : If you find you have mi- ftaken the Proteftants Dodtrine , _ touching invifibility, your OWn alfo touching unifor- mity in matters of Faith: If you have been miiinformed and too hafty of credit touch- ing Tl?e Copies of certain Letters? 487 ing the imputations laid to the beginners of Reformation : For as tOUChifig the want if Succeffton and the fabulous Ordination at the Nags-head, I hope you will not be ftiff, and perfift in your error, but confefs and condemn it in your felf: If ("as I began to fey) you find thefe things to be thus 5 give glory to God , that hath heard yoqr Prayer, entreating direttion in his holy Truth 3 and withhold not that truth of his in unrighteouf- nefs. Unto him that is able to reftore and eftablifti you, yea to confummate and per- fect you according to his almighty power and unfpeakable goodnefs, toward his ele& in Chrift Jefus, I do from my Heart com- mend you : and reft you, Tour very loving Brother in Chrift Jefu, W. Bedell. FINIS. I f I ■ s I