IjXl to.o THE WILLIAM R. PERKINS LIBRARY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY Rare Books Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/dutchwayoftoleraOObaro TJH E DUTCH Way of Toleration, Moft proper for our ENGLISH DISS ENTERS. Written at the Requeft of a Frjend. ! Imitatores fervmn peens. Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea Nodo> * Hor. As free, and not ufingyour Liberty for a Cloak ofMalk'e ckufnefs, Sec. St. Pet. Ep.I. Ch. 2. V. id. %l)t £>ccont> etntton, L N'T> N, » Printed in the Year, 1 699. HOT THE PREFACE TO THIS SECONDEDITION. THe following Profpedt of the Dutch Toleration, mas takjn upon the Spot more than. Thirty Tears fince, where the Party had the Advantage of a full and frequent View, refidtng there a confiderable time with one of Publick Character ; and tho' never before drawn upon Paper, much lefs expos' d to the Sight and Cenfure of the World, 'till the other day, yet isihereprefentationno ways defective, for that ever fince hvs Return, be bath had too much occajion to reflect upon the Impreffions there fix"d, by corn- faring them With the many Miftakes, Impertinences, andAbufesof their fordid Imitators here. Two Things, more efpecially, have been both his Wonder and Indignation ; Firft, Tfjat ha* vingfo good, fo exaU an Original of oicr own, we jhould affect" fo much to Copy after others : And then, Secondly, what they affcel to Copy, are only the Weakeft and Worft wrought Parts ; which, taken from the Synmetry of the reft, carry much of Deformity with them, having neither Art nor Order to fet them off; yet theje, forfooth, muft be daub'd upon our forementiond Original, with defign doubt lefs to cxpofe, and utterly deface tt in the End. A firange Infatuation this, that Men mujl be humour'd with a Religion, made up of fuch Uucouth, Diflbnant Proportions, as Horace would allow of neither in Painting, nor Poetry; without a Spe&atum Admifll, (3c although it ought to excite a quite contrary Paffion in ■ every goodChriftian. And in regard hereunto , that our Englifi) World might underflandwhat Mis- chiefs have already, and mufi farther acerew from fuch Patching, Daubing Defigns, tbtt little Piece ftole abroad la ft Spring , amongfi that numerous Spawn the Teeming Prefs cafis forth; yet fo, as neither Friend nor Foe, {but the Part) who engaged him) l^iew at firft from what band it came, the Deligner having a jufi Sufpicion, that as the Sincerity of his Plaiivdea1ir>gConverfationta.'//>efn more uneafie than he cculd firft imagine, in this Time-ferving Age, fo thofe Prejudices might he ft ill continued agamft whatever he puh- liflod, however uprightly deilgn'd, and dcmonftratively true, whereat coming under ibi Difguifeo/ aThird Perfon, as unconcern d in the Matter, he met an impartial and eandid Verdid ; vt^. They could not fee where the Diflenters were able to raife the ieait Exception, for that 'twas all clear Matter of Fad - , what ought to have been considered at iirit ; and fince they perfevere to drive on at the fame Jehu-rate, if it be not confidered in due time, and that quickly too, they will drive all into Contniion. And having thus p»WA the Pikes amongfi his Friends, what thrfe others fay, or think, it the leajl of his Concern, having all along ohfervd, bowuneajie they are to be inform' d of any thing which tends to a Settlement, though among/} the refi, of their very feives ' Op- posing, and Pulling down, is the Delight of their Souls; and if they cannot wreck their Spite upon the Church of England, and ail that adhere to her, nothing fhail continue in Peace, or reft in Quiet : For ^Confirmation whereof, tal& this Pafjage ; A Perfon of g e tt Emireicy, and very well acquainted with the Tranfaftions of that Party, as well as m^t other Atfair.«, did lately y« pen a Publick Occafion, declare that the DJfcntersaddrcfc'd thenr A 2 feWf s . The Preface. cDeiils, thofe profefs'd Enemies of all Reveal'd Religion, (and who abound too much m wcjl great Potts and Places,) to abett and countenance them in their Separation. Wfjrfeas doubt icfs thefe Freebooters m ^cligion^ if they be true Politicians, as they would ' •• all means be thought, and mufi be fo> or nothing, will confider what Dio Cafs. tells us Mecoenas advis'd Augultus, upon hisfirji Settlement of the Roman Empire, That he fhould follow conllantly the Religion eltabliih'd, for all Innovations therein tended to Sedition, and s\ ould fubvert his Government. However the Puns Endeavours of thqfe others cannot fur- prize any one, who recollects what grateful Acknowledgments were made, when their good Friend Father Pctres obltg'dthem with a Plenary Indulgence, throwing all open by a Difpen- iing Power, that the Forfeitures which thofe of their Lay- Brotherhood tnctirr'd, by atlttng i er'eutbn* foiuid ncvir be taken notice of, when Ways and Means racQd all the Bufinefs- Wits of the Nation, was a great Favour or great Forgetfulnefs; had any Body of Churchmen run zhemfe>ves into fitch a Premunirc, what a violent Clamor would it have made both within Doors, and without . ; But aFanatick mayftealtbe Horfe with more Security, than honejler Men loo\ over the Hedge, Although the fore mentioned Addrefs to the Deifts, if lately, vnght proceed from their more P«£//<;^ Difappointments, in reference to this prefent Parlia- ment ; for as their early ande.trncji Solicitations upon that account, were partly tfm occafion of this little TraCt; according to whatts therein hinted, Jo hath it been ever fince obferv'd iv it a hov indefatigable an Application they endeavour' d to procure Chofen Members of their own Pre edition ; tho\ wit a no little fatisfadtion, it froall be acknowledge their Mifcar- iu&is i #td Baftfes therein, hath abundantly exceeded Expectation: For m niofi Counties ughouit'he Kingdom, either they < dar'd not to hazard the Courfc, or were JhamefuUy jhitanC'd if they dul ; neither met they with much better Succefs m the fevsral Corporations and Burroughs, Men -by-degrees are grown fo wife, at leafiwife in their Generation, as to 'thinly it Will turn to better account, if they chufe to ferve tkemfelves, rather than a Faction. Yet notwithstanding thefe, and many fuch like vile Compliances, With Papifts, Deitts, Athehb, and what not ? fo jnft'y chargeable upon them, they can have the confidence fl ill to c ntmtie their old Calumny of. Popery upon the Church of England, and every true Member thereof, unwilling to remember, though they cannot forget, w.ith how difcreet a Zeai, and well minag'd Rcfolution, /he behavd her fe if in thai Critical Juncture, when all the fever at SeAi and Factions, lheaic'd like Cowards, or fome thing worjc, not here to be nanid.- Vpon which their unjufi, and frontlefs Freedom, fome have thought it a little hard, that as the ACt of Indulgence takes a great care, on the one hand, to fecure the Dillenters/ro/w the leaft Diitisrbaucc or Affront, under a fevere Penalty j fo there fhould be no Proviiion, on the other, to leitrain them from bringing any Charge agair.ft the Members, or Offices of our Church, which they could not juftifie : But wife Men would not attempt an ImpoiTibility, knowing they might have as well enjoin d an eternal Silence amongfl the Females at Billingf- gate. The Liberty of their Confciences had been notbiug without that of their Tongues, by winch more efpectally they think to prevail, and will have none to be Lords over them : Vpon which Charge of the Pfalmift againjl wicked Men, Pfal. iz. 4. the Learned and Pious Hammond TOrf/^j ;/j/'j Paraphrafe : Why Ihould we ftand fo ftri&ly to confider, whether what we lay be true or nor So we may advantage our fclves by it, to whom fhould we be accountable for that ? In fine, 'tis as natural for mojl of the fever al Separations to bark at the Church of England, its a Dog at the Moon, and according to conjecture, for the fame reafon, they envy her Splen- dor, and Prevention of darkDdigns, which may God continue Ofjd advance, (for Jhe feems ae'prcfcm to be in the deer cafe J and let them bark on till their Throats can hold_ out no toi.ger ; in hopes, nevertleiefs, our World may by degrees dij 'cover from what Spirit fuch Railing Accul'ations come ; dad the Lord in his due time Rebfcke them. Amen. O&ob. i 4 th M — "N TTT — ■»■*- THE DUTCH IVay of Toleration, Mod proper for our ENGLISH DISS ENTERS. SIR, THis returns my Thanks, for the Favour of your lair, and candid Acknowledgment, that I had reafon in affirming, " the Sword would continue to halt it on be- " twecn St. Paul's and Pmmfs-Hall, as ; long as this Man tC was Mayor i for now you were come over to my Opinion, tc and faw it would not only be fo, but that his Succejfor, finding " the Ice thus broken, would, probably, follow in the fame Trad\ tc orotherwile improve the Affront to our old Fjlablifhments^ ac- tc cording as th z feve c ll Faction f,which plac'd him in the Cfc.nV,flioul d " think fitTtdd edt hereupon you delire me to communicate what toi>rjgetA any of yov.did then imagine \ yet fore this vou mult have ob- B ferv'd C * J fcrrff, that us very rate to find thofe Partus doing tlieir bufinefs bv ha Ives j whatever Lights thy? may pretend to, there is an infal- IiWe-Ai-cuiiMBt- to prove them Of/Wrm 0/ rfwi mrht being fo «m that is, tfgiffi^ m their ftftefritttKr, No People carry on their Projeffs with greater Intrigue, nor more nicely obferve the feveral fteps and degrees by which they mull be accompli (heS : Their LeM Indulgence, as it was a great Point gain'd, fo the .timing of it was very critical; for, being in the heat of the Revolution, there mbht be feveral Cafoj omifi, which upon farther Debate would have been better confidered • particularly, I qucftion very much whe- ther any Diffenier would have been allow'd going to the Conven ^during his Magistracy, efpeciaily to carry the Infama thither • the former of which hath been all along practis'd in feveral Corpo'- rations throughout the Kingdom • and, doubtlefs, the Preftdent your Lord Mayor has fet, will be Jgd by feveral of his Brethren U3 otner Places : (notwithftanding, as the Aft runs at prefent 'tis a Moot Cafe among the Gentlemen of the Long Robe whether al- lowable thereby J But that your Lord Mayor may not have the lole^wcftbe firft Attempt, at leaft, that was done the Firft Year or their Indulgence, at a Corporation in my Neighbourhood where an old Zeakt of the 41 Canfe (brought in perhaps for that purpofe) would needs have the Mace attend him to the Barn • but the honeity, or as they term'd it, obftinacy of the Officers' the bencants, would not comply, and fo he went without it. After- wards, indeed, when one of the fame Stamp was in courfe to be cnofcn, the Company capitulated, that however the Mavor rtight take ins liberty, the Mace would be confin'd toChxnb ■ which fame* though a little hard on the Mace's fide, ilnce : twas beHev'd every vvTKt as tendsr-confcitnCd as the Man who follow'd-it. But to return to our purpofe, you fee how their Affairs fond at prcient, and how little they fcruple ftretching to the utmoft any ; lA^ny which is mdulgd them, whereof now they have a fair . loiped to make a greater enlargement 5 for vou know next Win- ter a i\ew Parliament will come in courfe; and they are fo far from being ignorant thereof, or «te thereupon, as 'tis hard for a Perfon cUmr undenting Integrity, to imagine how earncftly they already' ltickle to carry on their Point -in that Critical Jtmclure, leave never a Stone uxturn'd, are tampering with all Intereh, and in all Places S? , # fi k8 ff ^S Members chofen, fuch Root and Branch-mm -as S u , Mliy Carry 0n ' tbe WorloftbzLord, and once more efta- bufli the wod Old Caufe; and then let the State look to it as well astnetorfc, for 'tis hard to refolve. whether fuffer'd moftfrom inch en filch thorough Kcfrmers. Now this to mc $s Demonflrai-: c<, th*l a Religious liberty, a freedom as to their Cor is not the fc nor main thin* they aim at • for then wonkl they prefe no farther, that being connrm'd to them by IJgal EJlabliflmicnt, to all Inteats and Puvpofl's imaginable: But to be dabbling in the Governhu is as natural to them as Water to a Fijh • and if they may not com- mand the ftyalty, and ccntroU at Pleafure, prefer ibe who are worthy s\ltn, and Men worthy, thofc Waters will be always troubled, nc vet* ifrei f-oni f ul Weather, and Styrms : Kay, father to remark I;ow feandaloufly they proftitute their Sf''ud Libert-}, theii of Confe:enc\ toobtrr.de t hem fel ves upoiuh. feinporai Power, theii double dealing, playing/ ift and foe/i? with Our Church and Sacrament, is an irrefragable Argument. Formerly, the Church of J .to ufe their great Patriarch's J. 0\ Words) mts a mcer Antich'iftian Encroachment upon the Inheritance of Cbrift, all h.r l:'vling-Errors t Stones of the Old Babel * and therefore by no Means to be communicated vcitb : The Faithful of the Lord rHttji hot touch fuch defiled Garments - and this indeed was the common Cant of them all, for fomc fcore of* Years together : Yet now we fee, toferve a State-turn, or rather overturn the Srate, the Holy Sacrament goes down as glib with them, as tht Covenant of old -, there is no Scruple, when the Caufe is con- cerned: In the meanwhile, 1 dare engage, that if this next Eic- Okm, they can make a Party prevalent enough to repeal the Tcfi, as they have already cancelVd the other Penal Laws, they will re- turn to their Old InvecJivcs, Our Sacrament fliall be Reprobated as an j4vtiehrijlian Rite, and all Communion with our Church finful and sbominable. Now here, if they would give me leave to expoftulate a little, I would defire them to confider, whether any thing cau bring a greater reproach upon Ril'g ion, the Innocence, and Simplicity of the G off el, than fuch vain Tcrgiverfations as thefe? Such L'mfy Woolfy Conferences : Such prof arte Ei 'alters between God and Baal? Can we imagine there fhould be any thing more in all there Jl>/cclcrics, than a fordid Intereft, fpitcful Revenge, or popular Humour ? To be cry'd up by the Factions, and make fomething of a Figure amonglt the Mcb-Seflrries, which they defpair'd of obtaining from Men of Senfe and Principles. This indeed is not exactly the Laodicean Tem- per-, butthe little difference is for the worfe, being fo hot, where they need not be fo much as lukewarm, and lefs than fo, v. here they fhould cxprefs a religious Fervour: And fince Almighty God trite tened to fpew the former out of h'vs Mouth, I fear his Blemngs may be the left, if thefe others be not fpew'd out of the Government. B 2 And (4) And this, Sir, brings me to the Queftion you propounded ; (and ' what I prefhme v/as chiefly aim'd at in the Acknowledgment you made) How it comes to pafs the Dutch live in fo much Peace and Quiet , notwithstanding tie many Perfwafions tolerated amongft them ? Which may be clearly anfwered in very few Words y viz.. becaufe no fucb trouble feme , uneaftc People , as aforementioned, have to do in the Govern- ment. And I have fometimes admired our great Sticklers for Li- berty, and Toleration, who upon all occafions are too forward in crying up the Low-Country Model, and pretending to be of a much quicker Scent than others, never hit eff this ; out, upon fecond Thoughts coniidered, they generally belong to fome of the Factions, and would be Cure not to exclude themfelves : Yet, doubtlefs, what Hwrace obferves in Poetry, is as true in Politicks, Decipit exemplar vitivsimitabile, 'tis hard coming at the fame end, without the like means ; to imitate their Toleration y without their Caution and Reflections, will not only be fordid, as the Poet terms it, but in- effectual, prove a Remedy worfe than the Difeafe , for from thence, more efpecially, it proceeds, that their Toleration has turn'd to Account : In all other Places, where Vnivcrfal and Vnlimited, it has fallen a Prey to the undermining Stratagems of that Spiritual Vfur- per upon aliChriJlian Liberty whatfoever, as will hereafter appear. For your fuller fatisfaftion therefore, I lhall give you an Account of the Dutch Toleration; as likewife how hard it will be to bring us to that Model, and yetihew you 'tis that alone can do our bu- iinefs ; all other Courfes will be much more impracticable, and un- fafe, and multiply thofe Diftr actions which we defign'd to prevent. And that you may give the greater Credit to. what I fhallfay herein, it fhall not depend upon .my fole Authority (though it was my chief Fnqniry during fome Years abode there) but have the Confirma- tion of Sir IVilUam TenipWz Obfervations upon thofe Provinces ; '■which, ss I think it was the firft, fo 'tis, generally believed, the exact eft Piece we have had from that Ingenious Gentleman ; Clear Matter of Facl, without that partiality and by-refpecr, which ma- ny times is not avoided by fuch as pver.end moll thereunto. Now what makes it feem.more difficult and unpracticable a- mong'tis, ' ife, is, That the Confiitui'm of their Government, 'a-xi Tcm])&. of their People, will be found, better adapted thereunto, with fome other Advantages of leiTer Moment ^ All which take, as loll' Firi;, Then the Ccnftitution of Their Government feems better adapted thereunto: To which purpofe, I mull let you know, that how ever "itiiofe Provinces are given out to be a Common-Wealth, a Free ft) Free State, with fuch other fwelling Titles of Liberty, Privitedgesj&o as if the People had the fole Controll, the Der;:ier Rcfort, in all Pub* lick Determinations, (and fo indeed it was in thofe little Democra- cies of Greece, and that great one of Rome, where no laws could be ena&ed, nor Magijlrates chofen, &c. but by their Confent) up- on Enquiry it will appear quite otherwife^ the Populace, the Burghers, have no more to do in the Government, than you and I, if we dwelt, or but fojourn'd amongft them: Tis the exact-eft Oli- garchy that is this day, or perhaps ever was in the World, where the Magijlrates of every City, or Province, arc as abfolute as any Prince in Chrifiendom : Enact Laws,, levy Taxes, chufe one another into the feveral Offices of Government, and upon a Vacancy (which feldom happens, but by death) elect another to^fill up their number, without any controll, but from their Stadtholder, who hath a nega- tive Voice, or fomewhat like it in all their Elections ; and though a reafonable Check, is what their Hogan Mogan/hips have been molt uneafie under, and endeavoured more than once to free themfelves from. Sir IV. T inftances more particularly in the City of Amfter- dam, as chief of the Province of Holland, and in that, as chief of Ohf. p. 97. the Seven Provinces • " and tells you, the Government of that City is " in the fole management of Thirty fix Per fans, whom he calls Sena- u tors ; and faith, indeed, they were formerly chofen by the Voices '• of the Richer Burghers, or Feeemen of the City -, who, upon the " death of a Senator, met* together either in a Church, a Market, or " fome other Place, fpacious enough to receive their Numbers, " and there made an F.kctionof the Perfon to fucceed, by a Ma- ■ " jority of Voices. But about One hundred and thirty, or forty " Years ago, when the Towns of Holland began to encreafe in " Circ.it and People, fo as thefe frequent Aflemblies grew into " danger of Tumult and Diforders, upon every ocenfion, "by leafon • c of their iV/owiw and Content i", f s; this Ektlion of Senators, came " by the Rcfolution of the Burghers in. one of their General stjTem- " blies, to be devolved for ever upon the (binding Senate for that "time; fothatevci lince when any of their Number dies, anew " one is chofen by the reft of the Svnatc, without any interven- k 'tionof the other Burghers, which makes the Government a fort of u Oligarchy, anu very dincrent from a p^ula: Cure -went, as it " is generally efleemed by thofe\ who paiTiug, or !Mii£ thefe 1 "Countries, contenfthemfeb.es with co mon Obfci "Inquiries. And this Refvh a ion of the 8w heri either was rea " upon, or followed, by General ( nfcui . or " Vvr " thefametime, in all the Towns of ti.<. Promises, :.,» ■ ; eg a " difference in the Number of the Senators. Thus far the foi e.nen- tioned tynileman - n whereto I mull farther add, that thcfe Sena- tors both here, and in all other Towns, are of the fame Communion, as to the Fublick Exercife of Religion; which, after fome Debates, .and Alterations, upon their Defection from S^ain^ was fix'd upon the 6Y;;czw-Mcdei, with an Allay of Erafli.im fin, the better to keep under the Infolency of their Presbyteries, (o troublefome clic- w'r.ere. 'Tis not of much moment to tell you farther, that as t": 'iters marry geneiaily into one anothers Families, fo they keep the Government, for the raoft part, amongft themfelves, thee draL with other Relations, coming in, and gradually afcendiag, if able of it ; which nevcrthelefs being faithfully difcharg'd, with- out Partiality, Avarice, or any other fuch by-refpects, the People feem no ways diflatisfied therewith. This, Sir, is a fmall Scratch of the Prefent Eflablimment of that People, which i fhali farther confirm to you, upon the Authority of tie prefent Bifhop of Sarum; who, fpeaking of the Low Coun- tries, row they got their Liberty, and how they maintain'ddt, adds, Re4Cf and yet after all this, though the Name of their Government has a greater Vmcn$.9. found towards Liberty than our own, we are really the much freer Peo- ple of the two, where every Man has a. more open accefs to a proportioned Share in the Government, than among them. The high-flown Demagogues of our Nation, I know, will cenfure this as a great defect, a giving up their- Rights, a betraying their Priviledges, with a great deal fuch like Commonwealth-Cant, as has betray'd us intoconfufion more than once^ whereas doubtlefs thofe thoughtful People made a fober Judgment of Things, and well underftood fuch Priviledges not worth keeping, as tended only to the diftradtion of their Debates, and might, in the end, deftroy their Government : To be fure the General Toleration, which fol- lowed foon after, could have flood upon no other Bottom • and thofe at the Helm were fo well fatisfy'd, with this New Conftitution, as to fet the Sovereignty of all the Seven Provinces upon the fame An W. T. Foot: For fo the Affembly of the States General, which confifled of a- p. no. hove Eight hundred Perfons, who meeting together in we Place from fo many fever al Paris, gave tod great a fheck to the whole B<.dy of the Vnion, made their Debates long, and fometimes confufed, the Refolutions (low, and upon fudden Occafions out of time, was by mutual Confentofthe whole Body, devolved upon thofe, now firfd the States General, which confifis of fo many Deputies from each Province, more or lefs, as they are pleafedto fend-, which makes no difference, as to their Votes, be-_ caufe given according to their feveral Provinces, not number cf Perfons, (7) Per fins , although their number feldom arife tofo 1113:13' as the Se- nate at Amfterdam conftfts of. Now, Sir, to come to the fy, in reference to our {!' none of this is done, or mull be thought of amouigft: u.^ as to the whole Body of the Government; which, though a / tarchy is fo well tcmpcr'd, as we fee every Subjtcl own'd to have more Liber- ty, than under a free State : 'Tis pity it mould be fo much abufed ; yet fince it is fb, might not there be fome Abridgment as to par- ticular Perfons, without the lcalt Infraction upon the whole Con- ftitution, an Exchange of Temporal for a Spiritual Liberty ? They that will have a New Religion, let them live according to this New Model of our Neighbours, and forbear meddling in Civil Concerns \ otherwifel cannot fee how the Old Efiablifljment ihould be long up- held: Forwhililthe Tolerated Parties are free to Flte, and put in their Claims to all Publick Adminijlrations, all Offices of Honour, Trufl, or Profit, they may carry things as they pleafe :, what tho- rough their Induflry and Importunity, Cabals and Clamours, Libels and Lies, 'tis as poflible to flop a raging Sea, as the Madnefs of fiich People- No Man of Sencewill attempt it ; fortho' they are divi- ded amongft themfelves, in Dolh'ines, Modes of Worfljip, and Forms of Government, Ephraim againil Jllanaffeb, and Manaffeh againil Epbraim 1 yet the Judab of the Church of England, is the united Ob^ ject- of all their Spites, and what they ftudy moil implacably to fupplant and deltroy : And if we reflect, how many of them, in the late Reign, comply'd with tiie Difpenfing Power, and fuper- feded all thofe Laws which the Nation, for above an hundred Years fucceflively, had compil'd to fecure the Preteftant Rclig; there needs no Window into any of their Breafls, (as a leading . Noldcr-Forth then wifh'din an Addrefs) to difcover the Reality of their Intentions, 'tis too clear from thence, and all their other Pracu- ■ces, that the Church of England is the only Popery they have a Pique anft:, and can confederate with that which is really fo^ nay, T::rk or Jew, to effect its Ruine. In my Judgment, therefore, It would be a very reafonable, and neceflaiy Tejl, (and, I fancy, re- duce the truly confeious Dijfcntcrs to a very fmall number) to try thefmcerity of their Intentions, and flcadinefs of their Princij: by an Indulgence of that Liberty they are fo zealous for, upon Con- dition not to intermeddle u\ Civil Affairs, which their weak Vndcr- flandings, flrong Prejudices, and vain Entbujiafms, render them moll unqualified for: \Vi\\ the Freeholder, eyento the Cottager, with his -ground and Apple-Tree^ recede from the Right he has of Throwing up his C^at a Country -Elcft ion? The Member* of fmal- lcr ler Burroughs, as well as larger Corporations, of putting their Bur- gejjb to an Expence upon the like account, together with being on the Livery, ftrutting at Common Halls, Common Councils, and the like ? Nay, even in Country-Parrifhes, will they recede from ferving as- Conftable in theij turns, controling the Poor as Over- feers, or Parfons as Church-Wardens! So like wife the Country-Gen- tleman; how will he take being left out of the Peace, or not ap- - pearingupon the Bench at Selfions, and Affxzxs, as well as his Con- forming Neighbours ? [f I miflake not the Temper of the feveral Parties, thefe little things will be of hard digeition, (ince they have been ever obferv'd as forward to Command, as unealletoO^ ; yet if we would go according to the Low -Country -Plan, (to ufe the New Word) this courfe rauft be taken ; for ? tis this alone has fe- cur'd them, and this, or nothing, will fecure us : And therefore a \ cry learned Perfon,- about Eighteen or Twenty Years fince, who underftood the Vnreafnablencfs of our feveral Separations extreme- ly well, had fully ftudied all their Cavils, and as fully evinced them, if any thing of Eviction could work upon that fort of People : Prpks in the Enemies Camp •, yet we mult fuffrer thefe Enemies of our Church, tho' they •have been all along in the Dijfenters Service, to enter our Line at plcafure, take our IVord, our Teft, and Sacrament, tha»they may .be the better qualified to work our Ruine ^ nay, are fo itupidlv .fcncelefs, as not Only to let them alone, but entertain and carets them as Friends : Juft thus the Amalahtes ferv'd ffraei. and wc know how highly Almighty God was incenfed thereat, and what the People full ci\: But net to ramble too far, or be thought, too much concern'd upon the < ccount, let us con- lidcr our .Government in General, whether it cm be fo well fecur'd by fuch an Hodge-podge ot Pcifwallons, who will be continually pulling fcveral way*, and aiming at fcveral Interefts? As thcL'> waspn&m'd r/ TiS r r ?f^ !lCn the 7 -«V«* Power, the other day, thought ijttoejtatejbthzman / j . ,, there was'* Project Rt on-fi to make Tno St> (roufe their own C Terms} and fe- deral Propofals laid down in order thereunto ; yet we find the KiH feparated from one another, and the feveral Parties, upon ' every little occafion, dividing among themfelvts, the' much Art is ufed to Another and conceal it: Atthebeff, it was but a Flou- riili, a Card of Vanity, which bound them together , and it held accordingly, neither cm you expert Otherwife, upon confidcration or the Cmfts which that great Vndertaker afiigns of thofe Divifions thete from whence their Dtfeords firing : Come they not hence, even TvoStich* therSpntual Pride, or a Contentious Djfnfition, or an Mcdahon />i8. Singularity or Error of Opinion, or Admiration of Mens Perfons or aSoxvrnefs of Spmt, or an Ambition of drawing Difcitles after* us* Let thecaufe be what it wiU it muft be 'remold, &c All whirh' is fboner faid then done • fuch PecaMo\s, and of fo Ion, Continu- ance arc not caiily diilodg'd: Although he mignt as* well have taken hn Charter from St. Pauls Perilled Tithes, which he foretells . T . jn the laft Days, when Men fhould be Heady, High-minded, Covt ll™ * torn, Proud Boaficrs, &c. fo far from growing better, as he de- * dares they fhould wax rvorfe and worfe, deceiving, and bung deceived Now, Sir, whatever Cenfure ! may incur from ethers my Ap- peal is to your felf, whether the Account here given of'tl ef- Peo- ple be any other, than what their daily Practices do fadly vcri- C 2 fie? ( iO fie? And- if left to tjieir own Culture, and ingenuity , any likeli- hood they ihould reform ? 'Tis grown as cuftomary, as habitual with them, to thwart, contradict, and oppofe, as with the Dutch to live oiuctly, and mind their own buftnefs : From which Difpolition of theirs, I may continue the Difparity, and obferve, Thirdly, How their conftant application to Buftnefs and Imploy- ment, afford them no time to dream of -New- Lights, or trouble themfeives about any other Perfwafion, as to Religion, than what they were brought up in: For, as at thch' &tPl< Eft abl[ibnent, there were Three predominant Ways of Opinion, (I won t fay Doctrine) and Worfhip, which they had then Reform'd themfelves into, Lutherans, Calvinifts, and Ahabaptift's ; fo the Toleration more efper dally extended to them, and has been. generally continued down ih the fame Families., from Father to Children, ever finee-, neither is it fo ufual with them to flitt up and .down, from one Maggotty P&fwafion to another, as among!! us. Thofe upftart puny.Se&s, which arofe of later Days, are moilly Foreign, and nioftly from England too, as the Brownijls, and Independents firft, the Sabbata- rians after them, then Quakers, Muggktcn'uvis , and what not'? Who have prevail'd withfomc of the Natives to be as foolifh and raad as themfelves, but not many •, and,, perhaps, had. they been kept to the fame Thoughtfulnefs at home for Bread, and all other Neceilaries of Life, would not. fo wantonly have gone a-Whor'mg with their own Inventions, And the like rcafon may be given, that there are not fo many Liber tines , Atheiftical, Profane Perfons , as in many other Parts, where all religions are Tolerated : It cannot feem ftrange there ihould be fome without any; and that there are not more, fhall not be attributed fo much to their fertile as NeceJJity ; for not only their .A h.ianicks .and Trade/men, but. Perfons of. the belt Quality, are ohligYl to the, like Care and Ind tilery, as to the. Concerns of Hu? mane Life. The Ground on which their many populous Cities frand, is of.fmallCompaf^ and the Rents of that little Land they have, are very low. not able to maintain any one in the Port of etdleftum 7 ('that is, an- Idleman,. which is their Term for that degree) whereof as there are few Ancient- Families amongTb them^ fo the Children of thofe that are, as likewife of their Chief Mar" 5 and Rich A fir chants, aie conftantly brought up to fome J nftytnenir, Military or Civ:!, with an Educ aiipn- agreeable* there* unto, which, together with their Natural Difpolition, keeps their £$c -:\l upon. things really advantageous; and fo you fhall ggne.i:aUJ tihjcl 'them • verv .intent., upon their Defigns, and ajfiduous N : ia ,n their Application. Will you give me leave to apply this an* obfervchowopponte their Courie is to that of ou ^™' ;'*> who being born to great fortunes, aad valued for the great Woith of thok Prcdecclfors which raised them, as it nothing elfe were wanting which Ihould recommend them to the World, tnink themfelves above any ferious Amplication, either as to Buimels, or Knowledge I need not teil vou how little, or no, Education our youn? Mafter has from his very Cradle- how nrefol the good Lady-Mother is, he Ihoald not be kept in too mucn at School ; what afruitkfs Figure he makes in the Vntverfity; and when he comes up to the Extravagancies of the Town, is as much for living a- bove fiber Sence, as our Dijfinters above Ordinances. God forbid this mould be a General Rule j yet it could bewifh d there were more Exceptions, than daily Experience will permit us to obferve : Li- berty of Ltfe, tho' not fo much clamour'd tor, is as much m Vogue- is liberty of Confcience, and the one doubdeis confequent of the other • Tor the pvacYuat Atheift hath been ever thought to intro- duce the Srccalithn- and when Men arc left free to all Religions, that is the proper time to fct up for none. I remember, during CronmdsVfirpitionyXhc Leviathan- Detinue was nrit ilarted ; and KtomtGentlermnoi too good Parts, uniefs better employ d, were Hidttftrious. to cultivate and improve it, fo many of our Airy Sparks about Torrn, and elfewhere, became their 'fordid Initiators: Nothing would go down with them, but a State of liar, with a total Abolition of all difference bet wen Good and Evil, Rtgbt and mow Now, whether it was their befog vcAy, or Wan**, ot h tiriteafOnable Notions,. or an agitation ot Novelty, the delight of vain Minds, Deifm feeras to have foperfedfld that, and is be- come at prefer the Darling-Subject of every young LibertmesDf conrfe ; who will prefome to expofe, and run down ffi U- £ ion with all Confidence imaginable, altho' the little never thought afober hour in its life -and underJUndS the^o- frpby of Mattered Motion, no farther, than that hi, own Brains- iaa continual blurry: Not but that thefe Engvrn too are fee on ,-k bv fome me- Heads, who hav i et De- is in exploding the Authority of Scripture-, upon the :, as wed Prophane Account ■ and, among the reft, co buy up fuch Models of Government, as the Brief thereof exprefly ^ertkrms tfe en*arifas the main «t Hiall we do with inch i as thefe? the SccptA the Drift, tl City fli^l vve place them ? They h T ', d . h.the others always bi thai is, being C'4) being able to vie, in either Particular, with any of their differing Fa&iom, and, for ought I fee, ina fhort time, may outdo them all • fince daily Experience allures us 'tis the laft refult of Fanattck Zeal ;. for being over-heated and weary, with running its feve- ral Courfes of Faclion and Opinion, it fits down in the end and centres here. And yet, all this while, the reft will not fee what a fine Thread they have fpun for themfeives, as well as us • wfiilft the one are undermining the Church of England, thefe others are doing the fame to the Chrifiian Religion : Altho', to fpeak. im- partially, the Latitude fome Divines have taken, as to the Socman and other Points of like Nature, mull be acknowledge not a lit- tle conducing to this Grand Apojlacy • fo readily will Corrupt Minds improve bad Principles, deny tho'fe Myjlerits by wkolefale, which fome Mens rafh and nice Enquiries had made more perpleVd and intricate, than the Simplicity of True Religion {lands in need of. or did ever defign. And this, Sir, is the refult of an Vnlimitcd Toleration; which going on at this race, (uniefs the Pater Nojler Men interpofe their Inquijitkn) mnffapeceffariiy $nd iaa Sit anima mca cum Philofcplm. Fourthly, Another thing which makes the Dutch Toleration fit the more eafie, is. That Their Govenvnent is mo,l eqaQ and punllu- al fo the Adnimjlration of Juftice, and Execution of Laws; which astheyaree;w#c^at hril, upon the mature deliberation of a few fober underftanding Men, with fole regard to the Common Weal the Publick Good; fo, once proclaim' d, there is no avoiding their true Import, or efcaping the Penalty of a Violation : The Lawyers among them dare not "open, or fo much as Quetch againft what their Superioiirs have thought fit to cfiablijh, much lefsftudyH*rw and hammer out Niceties, to gratific Men, in frultrating, what- ever good the Legiflati \ve 'Potter degga'd, and put them to the trou- ble of an- Explanatory A&qgzx. Seljion, which runs the fame rifque: Yet that we are under thefe very circumilances, I need not tell you • which,_ with the Infolency of Fattion, the remiflhefs and in- difrevency^of thz Executive Power, hath brought us to too nigh an Affinity with that deplorable Eftate of the Jewi/h Anarchy, where cve-y one did what feenrd ri^ht in bis own eyes. Otherwife, we have Laws more than enough • and could they have executed themfeives all Allegations for a Toleration 'had been long fince quafh'd ; not on- ly the Externals of God's Publick IVor/hip had been kept up in Decency and Order, but every Man's Temporal Concern, his Right and Pro- y, fix'd.upona muchfurer Bottom. On the contrary, °a Liccnticuf- ntfs and Indifference a$tQReUgi?m Duties, hath. fo far unprincipled and ( I> ) mid drtai Gati ( iO fatisned with the Enjoyment of that Pefftvafion, which made the deeper! Impreflion upon their Minds : And this happened in fuch a juncture for t\\zVnitcd Provinces^ as perhaps.no Age will be ever able to p, zralel : For the SpanifJi Interejl prevailing in Brabant, and Flanders, with the Walloon Provinces, whoever could, or would not fubmit, retreated hither, as likewife great multitudes out of France and Germany; which made them the Pantheon, the common Re- ceptacle of all People pretending to Liberty of Confciencc, the only thing then defircd, and in the enjoyment whereof (whether well or ill-inform'd, we are not now to enquire) they were abundantly fatisned. . How much the World (efpecially amongil us) is cooTd as to Huh a Temper, and heated as to much worfe Difpofitions, our many raids and Faction 5, unreafonable Cavils, and implacacable Enmities, too fadly declare. Men now-s-days, bellow out the Protefiant Religion, "the Froitfl ant Religion, , as the ^n? of old, The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the J ord, as if the Name, or Relation there- unto, might Authorize the groflefb impieties, their .wilful Perju^m, and Seditkus t 3*iQ&icp$, the Violation of Publick Lam,&nd Difl urbane e of Puliick Pea'jc," even to a molt unnatural Rebellion, and execrable Regicide: This, Sir, impartially fpeaking, is undeniable Matter of Fact • and if ever the Nation returns to its Wits again, fiber Senfe, and found Principles, fuch Principles, will be recorded with a very jbtadk Charajftsr, the Reproach not only of the Reformation, but of every thing which tends to ttue Religion, like Pharaifees and Zea* Jot/ among the Jews, facrificing all to their own grots Hypocrifie, fordid Avarice, and felf-wilPd Ambition; and God grant they do not bring the like fatal End upon our Place and Nation : The dread- ful apprehention whereof makes not only my Hand, but my Heart tremble ; and, amidil fuch melancholy Reflections, wifh to have been born in an Age, when Wife Men had had the Afcendent of Fools, and Hon^/l ALnot R'navcs : On the contrary, as things now Hand, you know the Clofe of that Old Rhime, Knaves and Fools will quite undo us. Neither can our Profpeft be much better, if we lo.ok upon the Reformation abroad- What a ft range Indifrerency have fome .Great Princes of the Empire lately difcover'd? And how grofs the Apo- ftacyol others? Tobcfr.rc, whereftiiere was a General Toleration of Lutheran and Calvmjfts, together,, with the feveral other differ- ing Perfwallons, Anamiptifs, Arnans, Sociaians, &.c. they are either wholly extirpated, as in llohprna, Moravia, the Two Aufirta\ .Poland, c\C or in a fair Tendency thereunto, as at prelefit fcn Hun- 8) ihouid dance attendance from one Place to another, according to the Caprice of each prevailing Fatt'ton : This Year's Lord Mayor has a Coyifcience of fuch Latitude, as to Trim it between Church and Con- venticle, without the leaft regret • whereas his Succejfor may have one fo fqueamijh, and ftreight -lac'd, as not to come within the Sound of St. PauVs Organ, or under the roof of that Sumptuous, and there- fore Super ftitiom Stru&ure. But then too having got the Sword to go their own way, how ftrangely muft it wander up and down,* as each Party prevail to get into the Chair • one Year it muft attend a Presbyterian-Meeting, the next, perhaps, will fall to the Indepen- dant s Lot , and the Anabaptifts will ill refent it to go without their turn ; nay, we are not fure but the Quakers may put in their Claim , and without any Offence to the Inward-Man, defire it fhould attend their Motions on a bulk in Grace-church-ftreet. This, Sir, I take to be as Natural to the afpiring Spirits of thofe feveral Schifmatical Herds, as Milk to a Calf, and they will low as much if kept without it • yet how decent this will be, how unbecoming the State and Gravity of any Magiftracy, I leave for you, and the World to judge. However that of Publick Security is much more to be confider'd •, for whatever Pleas may be ailed g 7 d, or Proteftations made, w 7 e know how things went, when the weak Conscience had got the flrongefl Sword, Dominion was then founded in Grace, and the appointed time co?ne for the Saints to inherit the Earth, and bring m Subjeftim all the Ppwers if Darknefs. idly, The Ancient Grandeur and Hofpitality of our City- Magiftra- cy, and proportionabl/of all other Corporations, will be hereby con- tinued and kept? up • which fince it came into thefe hands, hath been moll feandaloufly flighted, and difus'd ; for the Character which our Pott Laureat-gavz of that curfed Shimei, who firfl led' -the Van to Fa&ion and Frugality, is true of all the reft, Cool are their -Kitchens, tho 7 their Brains are hot. To (peak freely, afneakmg^ 'fingie-fouFd Scclary, cannot exert it felftoany thing that is Great .or Ge::e>-itis, ( ain is their Godlinefs, and Profit their Preferment ; in ■der -whereimto, upon Enquiry, you fhall find, that thofe Great ■ Offices wherein woi-thy Citizens were formerly wont to expend, fe- veral thoufand Pounds, are now made to bear their own Charges,, and bring iomew hat into Pocket too: And, as a farther ill confe- rence hereof, there are thofe will tell you all Places of Inferior Trufl are difpos'd off accordingly ; and whoever makes a hard Bar- wif will be more folicitous ' for his. own ReimbuYfemcnt, than the mmmweal. "Twas nobly faid of Tully, Nee quidquam aliud vi- dendum eft nobis * quo* Popttlus Eomanus hoc in Gradu coUocarit, nifi ne quid 19 ) quid privatis Jludiis de opera publico, detrahamus ; neither can it $fl!&1 bly go well with any Government, if Men in Publiek Places hav Publtck Spirits, under which defied I am afraid our poor Nation, ac prefentmore efpecially, very pinch labour*. sdly, This will make an exact Dtfcrimin alien between the El confucntkv.s Diffenter^ and the v, the Factious Intriguer ; for when every Manmuifc declare to whac Body of Chmi erfbip he will join, and is obligV' tb abide, (whether in the Lord, or not:, the fame Lord mail judgeat laft) onr fundry fcifi fuch Amphibious Chrijtians , as can live both in Land and Water- Church and Conventicle, (and that, more efpecially, to get Prey) will intirely be defeated of their many bafe Ends- Confcience fhall have its full Liberty, but the State- Libertine wholly abridg'd from promo- ting their Maggotty Commonwealth Innovations • or abuling the Sa- cred Kobe of etcy, for a Chah of Malicioufnefs, Avarice, or both; and were this rcafonable diilin&ion effectually profecuted, and their little factious Properties excluded from voting the Sword into inch unworthy Hands, it muftfall in courfe to fome honefter Man's Lot, who will be the A/iniJler of'( od for gr 'ear it not in vain. Tis likewife to be hop'd, this may tend by degrees to the better Information of the deluded People, make them reflect upon the lncoi lificncy of their Principles, and Unwarrantablcnefs of their Sehiftn, how naturally they tend to a licentious PrrpbanationofaW things. Sacred aud-Cfert, whilft Men of' corrupt Minds can fo eafily proithute the moft folemn Obligations of Religion, and" C 'on fcience, to two fuch fervile refpe&sae Interejl, and Humour. Neither arc we todefp.ir, but it may work a Reformation in the Pcrfons themfelves • for 6 eneraHy when Men get r. by acting the hypocrite, they care no longer, to wear the pi&rd, chufe rather to appear as they really are, and fall at laft to deli re a right Information of TWi fince Error and Deceit has faii'd in thofe Advantages, which were formerly the main Support of their Vn v ighteous Mammon. But whatever the Event be as to them. I am confident yon are fatisficd no Goz/er/WiTHrcanbcfafe in ftfch fi iheTi hands; for they that cari be any thing, will ha every thing, and are good for nothing ; having betra/d their own Confcicnces, is it pofTible they fhould demur ferv- ing others in the like, kind I « tfhly, But to come to that which is mod confidcrable in this cafe, indeed the main Support of every Government: By this means all Publiek Deliberations, and Fefolves, will be carried on in a fmooth. and even, iteddy, uniform Courfe^ free from faclious Oppoftticns, witfi the many other by- reflects of Intriguing fnterefis : This, I fay, in a D 2 great great meafure, at leaft, would abate the feveral Fcuds y ay, and unreafonable Expences too, at the Elettion of our National Reprefen- tativts, and fecure their Debates, when AffemWi^ from frequent Embaraj'sments, according to the French Term, the ObjlruMons and Delays, which fueh as cannot obtain their own private, pettijh Hu- mours, are prone to interpofe in 'the molt weighty Tranfa&ions, tho' never fo prejudicial to the Common Good, in like manner all other finifter Practices, Plots, and Br angles, whether u\ Towns Cor- porate, City, or County, would be redue'd to fomething of Temper, Noife and Nonfence being once excluded, fuch Men in courfe muft come in place, as would fpeak to the purpofe, and ad upon a Prin- tiple. And if any one obje&s this would be too great an Invafion upon their Liberties, I mall only reply, as at firft, 'tis no more than what their admired Neighbours, the Hollanders, did upon their own- accord, to prevent the dangerous Confequences of their many Popu- lar Heats, and Tumultuous JjfembliesjNhen they gave way that all their Right, the ceto mould be devolved upon a few fober underftanding Men, who icnew better how to ad for the Common Welfare than therafelves : But whether many, or few (for this propounds only the exclufion of fome, no alteration in the whole Conflitution, as well knowing neither Oligarchy, nor Polyarchy will do with us, how- ever there be zealous Pretenders to both) fo they be all of one piece, Bufinefs will go on much the fmoother, and be fooner brought to a Conclufion : And therefore give me leave to transferr St. PattPs Comparifon, from the Church to the Body Politick, it being equally dangerous to them both, as in the Natural, if the Head be a Mo- narch, and thz Feet Commonwealths-men; the Eye of the Presbyterian, and the Ear of the Congregational Perfwafton, with the Devil and all of little Maggot ty Settaries grumbling in the Belly, what care can be taken of the whole ? What will become of it in the end ? Amongit fundry pretty Crotchets, which in the Low Countries hang out for Signs, there is one at Harlem r call'd the Misforfland, that is, a Barrel of Beer between two Dray-men, turn'd Back to Back, and fo pulling two contrary ways-, 1 have known a Nation Handing in this unhappy Pofture for nigh thefe Sixty Years together, with thefe aggravating Circumftances, that as there have been many more than two Fullers, fo they pulPd more than Twenty feveral ways, that the poor fejfel hath been able to holdout thus long is much} yet that it mould hold out much longer, will be more to admiration. $tkly, That the Monarch, and Monarchy, will be hereby very much fecured, cannot be difputed ; for, as we fee, how fatal it is, when a I rime differs in his Perfwafion from the Ejiablijh'd Religion, fo ( h ) foone of thatPerfwafion is as little fecure, if his Minivers, wi: other inferiour Officers ,and Defendants, are of different Sentiments, and. Inclinations, and that not only as to Divine Matters, but the very Nature and Original of all Humane Conjlituttons, and GrzriJ Soric'- tfej ■ And. whoever wears the Crown of England, upon any other than the 0/d Church of England Principle, will neither find that lit ealie, nor himfelf long fafe ? for notwithitanding the many Proba- tions' and Ackmwledg>nents, which either Flattery % or Intaejl, may for fome time, oblige them unto, there is not One in Ten of the fe- veral FaQions, could they have there own Wills, would endure a Monarchy, any more than the Kingdom of Heaven a Commonwealth. That fucha Book as Ludlow's Memoirs, fhould come abroad at this time of day, isfomewhat odd, and argues his Admirers Men of no little AJfurance; yet really however it may prevail upon the infatua- ted Sectaries, the many Plots and Counter-Plots there dif-over'd, their implacable Enmities one againil another, perfidious Hypocrifies, and clandtftme Underminings, with a continued Irrefolution as to any thing of Accord and Settlement, mull convince every Man of Sence, that (like their Infernal Abettor) their fole Talent lay in doing Mif- cticf, oppofing, and pulling down^ which, having effected, they could no moreagree what mould fucceed, than the Mob of Capiu, when they had brought things into the lame condition. Read over his whole Second Volume with z ferious Attention -, and then tell mc t whether Hell it felf can be reprefented in greater Confufion, than he doth there the Conduct of Affairs, the Contrajls, and Counter - minings of the fevevaWfurpng Powers, till things being brought to the Extremity of Diftrattion, with an Expence of Blood and Treafure, never before paralell'd, they were fore'd, like the Evil tyVtinthe Go/pel, to return from whence they fet out, and ceafe troubling the World till their former Freaks, and its own Follies fhould be quite forgot • yet thefe were our Commonwealth-Patriots, the Keepers of our Liberties, and what not : From whom, and all fuch, God keep this poor Nation for evermore. 6tbly, Were I not fure, you would expect Something in reference to theChurcb of England, I had been wholly fdent as to that Point, being of a Perfwafionfomewhat movefanguin, than molt of her Sons, Clergy as well as Lay, viz. that what a wife Obfervcr faid of the whole Nation in general, is more applicable here, None can dejlroy her but her felf. There is, as I hinted juft now, fo ftrick and mutual a dependance between the Crown and Mytrc, that they mull both Hand and fall together : And, give me leave farther to add, we mull never expert a l>ttled State x or continued Fcace, without keeping them. \ them both up, whatever Diftrujh fome may lie under, and rfece/fities others plead, l \vhich perhaps themfelves made, to bring in their New-fangled Devices. 'Tis true, whenever a Naticnis fb unhappy as to be divided within it felf, fall ihto Paftm\ and Fractions, upon any account, either Ecclc/iaflical, orO'wl- asfoirc Church-wen v;\\\ make themfelves, or be made Properties therein, fo the Church mult evpecl to bear her 1 proportion in fuch Diftfattiow, and that to a large degree • y^ ftill if the main Body keeps fteady to its felf, > walks by the fame Rule, and minds the faint! Thing, fuch a refer ve of Mercy and Pro vidence will conftantly attend her, as though petficktdfc [he /hall never be forfaken, caji down, but not de/troy'd; and it very rarely happens fome great Gocd does not come out of that Evil. But if me forfakes her felf, folds her Arms in a carelefs Defpair, or contorts h'er Peace by an Vnion with Faction aridS And now, Sir, without doubt you mull be thoroughly tir'd, and find the Trouble I was complemented into, returnd upon your felf receiving a Volume inftead of a Letter. Yet, be afrur'd, 'twas with fome difficulty it ended here \ for having once fet my Thoughts afloat the Current ran fo ftrong, I could not ftem its Force fo as to ftop a't pleafure : And by this you may fee confirm'd what 1 have hitherto entertain'd you withal ; for if a fingle Perfon cannot take his Liberty, in fo littlean Affair too, without fomewhat of Incon- venience and Trouble, how much worfe muft it prove in a whole Body, a Community of People, who are fo eafily hurried on, without knowing what they do, or from whom they a&, till all end in Mifchief and Confufeon : And therefore give me leave to declare, that the Repaints propounded in the Premifes, whatever fatisfa&ion they may give you, and fome few of your Temper, will be no ways acceptable to that extravagant Litentioufnefs, both Corporal, and Spiritual, Ecclefiajlical and Civil, which hath fo long had the Afcen- dant amongft us, and bears too nigh Affinity to that Acknowledg- ment in Livy, Nee Morbum ferre pojjiimus, ncc Remedtv.n. God in his due time, make us fenfible both of the Folly and Banger, which fuch Courfes tend unto: In the mean while, and ever continue to defend our Church from all her Bmnies, within, as well as without ; the daily Prayer of, April 6th SIR, , 1698. Tours, &c. ^ — M — ft FINIS.