Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	good_a	king_n	subject_n	3,003	5	6.4581	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04286	An apologie for the oath of allegiance first set foorth without a name, and now acknowledged by the authour, the Right High and Mightie Prince, Iames, by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. ; together with a premonition of His Maiesties, to all most mightie monarches, kings, free princes and states of Christendome.	James I, King of England, 1566-1625.; Paul V, Pope, 1552-1621.; Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.	1609 (1609)	STC 14401.5; ESTC S1249	109,056	264

Fredericke afraide when Innocentius the fourth excommunicated him depriued him of his crowne absolued Princes of their Oath of fidelitie to him and in Apulia corrupted one to giue him poison whereof the Emperour recouering hee hired his bastard Sonne Manfredus to poyson him wherof he died What did Alexander the third write to the Soldan That if he would liue quietly he should by some sleight murther the Emperour and to that ende sent him the Emperours picture And did not Alexander the sixt take of the Turke Baiazetes two hundred thousand crownes to kill his brother Gemen or as some call him Si●imus whom hee held captiue at Rome Did hee not accept of the conditions to poyson the man and had his pay Was not our Henry the second afraide after the slaughter of Thomas Becket that besides his going bare-footed in Pilgrimage was whipped vp and downe the Chapter-house like a schoole-boy and glad to escape so too Had not this French King his great Grandfather King Iohn reason to bee afraid when the Pope gaue away his kingdome of Nauarre to the King of Spaine whereof he yet possesseth the best halfe Had not this King his Successour reason to be afraid when he was forced to begge so submissiuely the relaxation of his Excommunication as hee was content likewise to suffer his Ambassadour to be whipped at Rome for penance And had not the late Queene reason to looke to herselfe when she was excommunicated by Pius Quintus her Subiects loosed from their fidelity and allegiance toward her her Kingdome of Ireland giuen to the King of Spaine and that famous fugitiue diuine honoured with the like degree of a red hat as Bellarmine is was not ashamed to publish in print an Apologie for Stanlies Treason maintaining that by reason of her excommunication and heresie it was not onely lawfull for any of her Subiects but euen they were bound in conscience to depriue her of any strength which lay in their power to doe And whether it were armies townes or fortresses of hers which they had in their hands they were obliged to put them in the King of Spaine her enemies hands shee no more being the right owner of any thing But albeit it be true that wise men are mooued by the examples of others dangers to vse prouidence and caution according to the olde prouerbe Tum tua res agitur paries cùm proximus ardet yet was I much neerlie summoned to vse this caution by the practise of it in mine owne person First by the sending forth of these Bulles whereof I made mention already for debarring me from entrie vnto this Crowne and Kingdome And next after my entry and full possession thereof by the horrible Powder-Treason which should haue bereft both me and mine both of crowne and lif● And howsoeuer the Pope wil seeme to cleare himselfe of any allowance of the sayd Powder-Treason yet can it not be denyed that his principall ministers here and his chiefe Mancipia the Iesuites were the plaine practisers thereof for which the principall of them hath died confessing it and other haue fled the Countrey for the crime yea some of them gone into Italy and yet neither these that fled out of this countrey for it nor yet Baldwine who though he then remained in the Lowe-countreyes was of counsell in it were euer called to account for it by the Pope much lesse punished for medling in so scandalous and enormous businesse And now what needs so great wonder and exclamation that the onely King of England feareth And what other Christian King doeth or euer did feare but he As if by the force of his rhetoricke he could make me and my good Subiects to mistrust our senses denie the Sunne to shine at midday and not with the serpent to stop our eares to his charming but to the plaine and visible veritie it selfe And yet for all this wonder hee can neuer proue me to be troubled with such a Panick terrour Haue I euer importuned the Pope with any request for my securitie Or haue I either troubled other Christian Princes my friends allies to intreat for me at the Popes hand Or yet haue I begged from them any aide or assistance for my farther securitie No. All this wondred-at feare of mine stretcheth no further then wisely to make distinction betweene the sheepe and goats in my owne pasture For since what euer the Popes part hath bene in the Powder-treason yet certaine it is that all these caitife monsters did to their death maintaine that onely zeale of Religion mooued them to that horrible attempt yea some of them at their death would not craue pardon at GOD or King for their offence exhorting other of their followers to the like constancie Had not wee then and our Parliament great reason by this Oath to set a marke of distinction betweene good Subiects and bad Yea between Papists though peraduenture zealous in their Religion yet otherwise ciuilly honest and good subiects and such terrible firebrands of hell as would maintaine the like maximes which these powder-men did Nay could there bee a more gracious part in a King suppose I say it toward subiects of a contrary Religion then by making them to take this Oath to publish their honest fidelitie in temporall things to mee their Soueraigne and thereby to wipe off that imputation and great slander which was laid vpon the whole professors of that Religion by the furious enterprise of these Powder-men And wheras for illustration of this strong argument of his hee hath brought in for a similitude the hystorie of Iulian the Apostata his dealing with the Christians when as he straited them either to commit idolatrie or to come within the compasse of treason I would wish the authour to remember that although a similitude may bee permitted claudicare vno pede yet this was a very ill chosen similitude which is lame both of feet and hands and euery member of the body For I shall in few words prooue that it agreeth in no one point saue one with our purpose which is that Iulian was an Emperour and I a King First Iulian was an Apostata one that had renounced the whole Christian faith which hee had once professed and became an Ethnike againe or rather an Atheist whereas I am a Christian who neuer changed that Religion that I dranke in with my milke nor euer I thanke God was ashamed of my profession Iulian dealt against Christians onely for the profession of Christes cause I deale in this cause with my Subiects onely to make a distinction betweene true Subiects and false hearted traitours Iulians end was the ouerthrow of the Christians my onely end is to maintaine Christianitie in a peaceable gouernement Iulians drift was to make them commit idolatrie my purpose is to make my Subiects to make open profession of their naturall Alleagiance and ciuill obedience Iulians meanes whereby hee went about it was by craft

against a Iudgment that was giuen by the Kings Iudges And likewise Because one entred vpon the Priory of Barnewell by the Popes Bull the said Intrant was committed to the Tower of London there to remaine during the Kings pleasure So as my Predecessours ye see of this Kingdome euen when the Popes triumphed in their greatnes spared not to punish any of their Subiects that would preferre the Popes obedience to theirs euen in Church matters So farre were they then from either acknowledging the Pope for their temporal Superior or yet from doubting that their owne Church-men were not their Subiects And now I will close vp all these examples with an Act of Parliament in King Richard 2. his time whereby it was prohibited That none should procure a Benefice from Rome vnder paine to be put out of the Kings protection And thus may yee see that what those Kings successiuely one to another by foure generations haue acted in priuate the same was also maintained by a publike Law By these few examples now I hope I haue sufficiently cleared my selfe from the imputation that any ambition or desire of Noueltie in mee should haue stirred me either to robbe the Pope of any thing due vnto him or to assume vnto my selfe any further authoritie then that which other Christian Emperours and Kings through the world and my owne Predecessours of England in especiall haue long agone maintained Neither is it enough to say as Parsons doeth in his answere to the Lord Cooke That farre more Kings of this Countrey haue giuen many more examples of acknowledging or not resisting the Popes vsurped Authoritie some perchance lacking the occasion and some the abilitie of resisting them for euen by the ciuill Law in the case of violent intrusion and long and wrongfull possession against mee it is enough if I proue that I haue made lawfull interruption vpon conuenient occasions But the Cardinall thinkes the Oath not onely vnlawfull for the substance thereof but also in regard of the Person whom vnto it is to bee sworne For saith he The King is not a Catholike And in two or three other places of his booke he sticketh not to call me by my name very broadly an Heretike as I haue already tolde But yet before I be publikly declared an Heretike by the Popes owne Law my people ought not to refuse their Obedience vnto me And I trust if I were but a Subiect and accused by the Pope in his Conclaue before his Cardinals he would haue hard prouing me an Heretike if he iudged mee by their owne ancient Orders For first I am no Apostate as the Cardinall would make mee not onely hauing euer been brought vp in that Religion which I presently professe but euen my Father and Grandfather on that side professing the same and so cannot be properly an Heretike by their owne doctrine since I neuer was of their Church And as for the Queene my Mother of worthie memorie although she continued in that Religion wherin she was nourished yet was shee so farre from being superstitious or Iesuited therein that at my Baptisme although I was baptized by a Popish Archbishop shee sent him word to forbeare to vse the spettle in my Baptisme which was obeyed being indeed a filthy and an apish trick rather in scorne then imitation of CHRIST And her owne very words were That shee would not haue a pockie Priest to spet in her childs mouth As also the Font wherin I was Christened was sent from the late Queene heere of famous memorie who was my Godmother and what her Religion was Pius V. was not ignorant And for further proofe that that renowmed Queene my Mother was not superstitious as in all her Letters whereof I receiued many she neuer made mention of Religion nor laboured to perswade me in it so at her last words she cōmanded her Master-houshold a Scottish Gentleman my seruant and yet aliue shee commanded him I say to tell me That although she was of another Religion then that wherein I was brought vp yet she woud not presse me to change except my owne conscience forced mee to it For so that I led a good life and were carefull to doe iustice and gouerne well she doubted not but I would be in a good case with the profession of my owne Religion Thus am I no Apostate nor yet a deborder from that Religion which one part of my Parents professed and an other part gaue me good allowance of Neither can my Baptisme in the rites of their Religion make me an Apostate or Heretike in respect of my present profession since wee all agree in the substance thereof being all baptized In the Name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost vpon which head there is no variance amongst vs. And now for the point of Heretike I will neuer bee ashamed to render an account of my profession and of that hope that is in me as the Apostle prescribeth I am such a CATHOLIKE CHRISTIAN as beleeueth the three Creeds That of the Apostles that of the Councell of Nice and that of Athanasius the two latter being Paraphrases to the former And I beleeue them in that sense as the ancient Fathers and Councels that made them did vnderstand them To which three Creedes all the Ministers of England doe subscribe at their Ordination And I also acknowledge for Orthodoxe all those other formes of Creeds that either were deuised by Councels or paticular Fathers against such particular Heresies as most reigned in their times I reuerence and admit the foure first generall Councels as Catholike and Orthodoxe And the said foure generall Councels are acknowledged by our Acts of Parliament and receiued for Orthodoxe by our Church As for the Fathers I reuerence them as much and more then the Iesuites doe and as much as themselues euer craued For what euer the Fathers for the first fiue hundreth yeeres did with an vnanime consent agree vpon to be beleeued as a necessary point of saluation I either will beleeue it also or at least will be humbly silent not taking vpon me to condemne the same But for euery priuate Fathers opinion it bindes not my conscience more then Bellarmines euery one of the Fathers vsually contradicting others I wil therefore in that case follow S. Augustines rule in iudging of their opinions as I finde them agree with the Scriptures what I find agreeable thereunto I will gladly imbrace what is otherwise I will with their reuerence reiect As for the Scriptures no man doubteth I will beleeue them But euen for the Apocrypha I hold them in the same account that the Ancients did They are still printed and bound with our Bibles and publikely read in our Churches I reuerence them as the writings of holy and good men but since they are not found in the Canon we account them to be secundae lectionis or ordinis which is Bellarmines owne distinction and therefore not sufficient whereupon alone to ground any article

no absurdities Otherwise it is an easie thing for Momus to picke quarrels in another mans tale and tell it worse himselfe it being a more easie practise to finde faults then to amend them Hauing now made this digression anent the Antichrist which I am sure I can better fasten vpon the Pope then Bellarmine can doe his pretended temporall Superioritie ouer Kings I will returne againe to speake of this Answerer who as I haue alreadie told you so fitteth his matter with his maner of answering that as his Style is nothing but a Satyre and heape full of iniurious and reprochfull speeches as well against my Person as my Booke so is his matter as full of lyes and falsities indeed as he vniustly layeth to my charge For three lyes hee maketh against the Oath of Allegiance contained and maintained in my Booke besides that ordinary repeated lye against my Book of his omitting to answere my lyes trattles iniurious speeches and blasphemies One grosse lye hee maketh euen of the Popes first Breue One lye of the Puritanes whom he would gladly haue to bee of his partie And one also of the Powder-Traitors anent the occasion that moued them to vndertake that treasonable practise Three lies he makes of that Acte of Parliament wherein this Oath of Allegiance is contained He also maketh one notable lye against his owne Catholike Writers And two of the causes for which two Iesuites haue bene put to death in England And hee either falsifies denies or wrests fiue sundry Histories and a printed Pamphlet besides that impudent lye that he maketh of my Person that I was a Puritane in Scotland which I haue alreadie refuted And for the better filling vp of his booke with such good stuffe he hath also fiue so strange and new principles of Diuinitie therein as they are either new or at least allowed by very few of his owne Religion All which lyes with diuers others and fiue strange and as I thinke erroneous points of Doctrine with s●n dry falsifications of Hystories are set downe in a Table by themselues in the end of this my Epistle hauing their Refutation annexed to euery one of them But as for the particular answering of his booke it is both vnnecessarie and vncomely for me to make a Reply Vnnecessarie because as I haue alreadie told you my Booke is neuer yet answered so farre as belongeth to the maine question anent the Oath of Allegiance the picking of aduantage vpon the wrong placing of the figures in the citations or such errors in the Print by casuall addition or omission of words that make nothing to the Argument being the greatest weapons wherewith hee assaults my Booke And vncomely it must needs be in my opinion for a King to fall in altercation with a Cardinall at least with one no more nobly descend●d then he is That Ecclesiasticall dignitie though by the sloath of Princes as I said before it bee now come to that height of vsurped honour yet being in the true originall and foundation thereof nothing else but the title of the Priestes and Deacons of the parish Churches in the towne of Rome at the first the style of Cardinals beeing generally giuen to all Priestes and Deacons of any Cathedrall Church though the multitude of such Cardinall Priests and Deacons resorting to Rome was the cause that after bred the restraining of that title of Cardinall Priests and Deacons onely to the Parish priests and Deacons of Rome And since that it is S. Gregorie who in his Epistles sixe hundreth yeares after CHRIST maketh the first mention of Cardinals and so these now Electours of the Apostolike Sea beeing long and many hundreth yeers vnknowen or vnheard of after the Apostol●ke age and yet doth he speake of them but in this sense as I haue now described I hope the Cardinall who calleth him the Apostle of England cannot blame me that am King thereof to acknowledge the Cardinall in no other degree of honour then our said Apostle did But how they should now become to be so strangely exalted aboue their first originall institution that from Parish-priests and Deacons Priests inferiours they should now come to be Princes and Peeres to Kings and from a degree vnder Bishops as both Bellarmine and Onuphrius confesse to be now the Popes sole Electors su●plying with him the place of a General Counsel whereby the conuening of generall Councels is now vtterly antiquated and abolished nay out of their number onely the Pope to be elected who claimeth the absolute Superiority ouer all Kings how this their strange vsurped exaltation I say should thus creepe in and be suffered it belongeth all them in our place and calling to look vnto it who being GOD his Lieute●āts in earth haue good reason to be iealous of such vpstart Princes meane in their originall come to that height by their owne creation and now accounting themselues Kings fellowes But the speciall harme they do vs is by their defrauding vs of our common Christian interest in generall Councels they hauing as I sayd vtterly abolished the same by rowling it vp and making as it were a Monopoly thereof in their Conclaue with the Pope Whereas if euer there were a possibilitie to bee expected of reducing all Christians to an vniformitie of Religion it must come by the meanes of a generall Councell the place of their meeting beeing chosen so indifferēt as all Christian Princes either in their owne Persons or their Deputie Commissioners and all Church men of Christian profession that beleeue and professe all the ancient grounds of the true ancient Catholike and Apostolike Faith might haue tutum accessum thereunto All the incendiaries and Nouelist fire-brands on either side beeing debarred from the same as well Iesuites as Puritanes And therefore hauing resolued not to paine my selfe with making a Reply for these reasons here specified grounded as well vpon the consideration of the matter as of the person of the Answerer I haue thought good to content my selfe with the reprinting of my Apologie hauing in a maner corrected nothing but the Copiers or Printers faults therein and prefixed this my Epistle of Dedication and Warning therunto that I may yet see if any thing will be iustly said against it Not doubting but enow of my Subiects will reply vpon these Libellers and answere them sufficiently wishing YOV deepely to consider and weigh your common interest in this Cause For neither in all my Apologie nor in his pretended Refutation thereof is there any question made anent the Popes power ouer mee in particular for the excommunicating or deposing of me For in my particular the Cardinall doeth me that grace that he saith The Pope thought it not expedient at this time to excommunicate me by name our question beeing onely generall Whether the Pope may lawefully pretend any temporall power ouer Kings or no That no Church men can by his rule be subiect to any temporall Prince I haue already shewed you And what

cunning Merchants to cease to vent such stuffe for ancient and Catholike wares in the Christian world till they haue disproued their owne Venetians who charge them with Noueltie and forgery in this poynt Triplici nodo triplex cuneus OR AN APOLOGIE FOR THE OATH of Allegiance Against the two Breues of Pope PAVLVS QVINTVS and the late Letter of Cardinall BELLARMINE to G. BLACKVVEL the Arch-priest Tunc omnes populi clamauerunt dixerunt Magna est Veritas praeualet ESDR 3. ¶ Authoritate Regiâ ¶ Imprinted at London by Robert Barker Printer to the Kings most Excellent Maiestie ANNO 1609. AN APOLOGIE FOR THE OATH of Allegiance WHat a monstrous rare nay neuer heard of Treacherous Attempt was plotted within these few yeeres heere in England for the destruction of Me my Bed-fellow and our Posterity the whole house of Parliament and a great number of good Subiects of all sorts and degrees is so famous already through the whole world by the infamy thereof as it is needlesse to be repeated or published any more the horrour of the sinne it selfe doth so lowdly proclaime it For if those crying Sinnes whereof mention is made in the Scripture haue that epithete giuen them for their publique infamie and for procuring as it were with a loud crie from heauen a iust vengeance and recompense and yet those sinnes are both old and too common neither the world nor any one Countrey being euer at any time cleane voyd of them If those sinnes I say are said in the Scripture to cry so loud What then must this sinne doe plotted without cause infinite in crueltie and singular from all examples What proceeded hereupon is likewise notorious to the whole worlde our Iustice onely taking hold vpon the Offenders and that in as honourable and publique a forme of Trial as euer was vsed in this Kingdome 2. For although the onely reason they gaue for plotting so heinous an Attempt was the zeale they carried to the Romish Religion yet were neuer any other of that profession the worse vsed for that cause as by our gracious Proclamation immediatly after the discouery of the said fact doeth plainely appeare onely at the next sitting downe againe of the Parliament there were Lawes made setting downe some such orders as were thought fit for preuenting the like mischiefe intime to come Amongst which a forme of OATH was framed to be taken by my Subiects whereby they should make a cleare profession of their resolution faithfully to persist in their obedience vnto me according to their naturall allegiance To the end that I might hereby make a separation not onely betweene all my good Subiects in generall and vnfaithfull Traitors that intended to withdraw themselues from my obedience But specially to make a separation betweene so many of my Subiects who although they were otherwise popishly affected yet retained in their hearts the print of their naturall duetie to their Soueraigne and those who being caried away with the like fanaticall zeale that the Powder-Traitors were could not conteine themselues within the bounds of their naturall Allegiance but thought diuersitie of religion a safe pretext for all kinde of treasons and rebellions against their Soueraigne Which godly and wise intent God did blesse with successe accordingly For very many of my Subiects that were popishly affected aswel priests as layicks did freely take the same Oath whereby they both gaue me occasion to thinke the better of their fidelitie and likewise freed themselues of that heauy slander that although they were fellow professors of one Religion with the powder Traitors yet were they not ioyned with them in treasonable courses against their Souereigne whereby all quietly minded Papists were put out of despaire and I gaue a good proofe that I intended no persecution against them for conscience cause but onely desired to bee secured of them for ciuill obedience which for conscience cause they were bound to performe 3. But the deuil could not haue deuised a more malicious tricke for interrupting this so calme and clement a course then fell out by the sending hither and publishing a Breue of the Popes countermaunding all them of his profession to take this Oath Thereby sowing new seedes of ielousie betweene me and my Popish Subiects by stirring them vp to disobey that lawfull commandement of their Soueraigne which was ordeined to be taken of them as a pledge of their fidelity And so by their re●usall of so iust a charge to giue me so great and iust a ground for punishment of them without touching any matter of cons● throwing themselues needlesl● 〈…〉 of these desperate straites 〈…〉 losse of their liues and 〈…〉 their Allegiance to the●● 〈…〉 or else to procure the condemnation of their Soules by renouncing the Catholike faith as he alleadgeth 4. And on the other part although disparity of Religion the Pope being head of the contrary part can permit no intelligence nor intercourse of messengers betwerne me and the Pope yet there being no denounced warre betweene vs he hath by this action broken the rules of common ciuility and iustice betweene Christian Princes in thus condemning me vnheard both by accounting me a persecutor which can not be but implyed by exhorting the Papists to endure Martyrdome as likewise by so straitly commanding all those of his Profession in England to refuse the taking of this Oath thereby refusing to professe their naturall obedience to me their Soueraigne For if he thinke himselfe my lawfull Iudge wherefore hath he condemned me vnheard And if he haue nothing to doe with me and my gouernement as indeed he hath not why doeth hee mittere falcem in alienam messem to meddle betweene mee and my Subiects especially in matters that meerely and onely concerne ciuill obedience And yet could Pius Quintus in his greatest furie and auowed quarrell against the late Queene do no more iniury vnto her then he hath in this cause offered vnto me without so much as a pretended or an alleadged cause For what difference there is betweene the commaunding Subiects to rebell and loosing them from their Oath of Allegiance as Pius Quintus did the commanding of Subiects not to obey in making profession of their Oath of their dutiful Allegiance as this Pope hath now done no man can easily discerne 5. But to draw neere vnto his Breue wherin certainly he hath taken more paines then he needed by setting downe in the said Breue the whole body of the Oath at length whereas the only naming of the Title thereof might as wel haue serued for any answere he hath made thereunto making Vna litura that is the flat and generall condemnation of the whole Oath to serue for all his refutation Therein hauing as well in this respect as in the former dealt both vndiscreetly with me and iniuriously with his owne Catholikes With me in not refuting particularly what speciall wordes hee quarrelled in that Oath which if he had done it might haue bene that for

to another Which Charitie as it is very greatly to bee desired of all faithfull Christians So certainely is it altogether necessary for you most blessed Sonnes For by this your Charitie the power of the Deuill is weakened who doeth so much assaile you since that Power of his is especially vp held by the Contentions and Disagreement of our Sonnes We exhort you therefore by the bowels of our Lord Iesus Christ by whose Loue we are taken out of the Iawes of eternall Death That aboue all things you would haue mutuall Charitie among you Surely Pope Clement the eight of happy memory hath giuen you most profitable Precepts of practising brotherly Charitie one to another in his Letters in forme of a Breue to our welbeloued Sonne M. George Arch-priest of the Kingdome of England dated the 5. day of the moneth of October 1602. Put them therefore diligently in practise and bee not hindered by any difficultie or doubtfulnesse We command you that ye doe exactly obserue the words of those Letters and that yee take and vnderstand them simply as they sound and as they lie all power to interpret them otherwise being taken away In the meane while we will neuer cease to pray to the Father of Mercies that hee would with pitie beholde your afflictions and your paines And that he would keepe and defend you with his continuall Protection whom we doe gently greete with our Apostolicall Benediction Dated at Rome at S. Marke vnder the Signet of the Fisherman the tenth of the Calends of October 1606. the second yeere of our Popedome THE ANSWERE to the first Breue FIrst the Pope expresseth heerein his sorrow for that persecution which the Catholiques sustaine for the faiths sake Wherein besides the maine vntrueth whereby I am so iniuriously vsed I must euer auow and maintaine as the trueth is according to mine owne knowledge that the late Queene of famous memorie neuer punished any Papist for religion but that their owne punishment was euer extorted out of her hands against her will by their owne misbehauiour which both the time and circumstances of her actions will manifestly make proofe of For before Pius Quintus his excommunication giuing her ouer for a preye and setting her Subiects at liberty to rebel it is well knowen she neuer medled with the blood or hard punishment of any Catholique nor made any rigorous lawes against them And since that time who list to compare with an indifferent eye the manifold intended Inuasions against her whole Kingdome the forraine practises the internall publike rebellilions the priuate plots and machinations poysonings murthers and all sorts of deuises et quid non daily set abroach and all these wares continually fostered fomented from Rome together with the continuall corrupting of her Subiects as well by temporall bribes as by faire and specious promises of eternall felicitie and nothing but booke vpon booke publikely set forth by her fugitiues for approbation of so holy designes who list I say with an indifferent eye to looke on the one part vpon those infinite intollerable temptations and on the other part vpon the iust yet moderate punishment of a part of these hainous offenders shall easily see that that blessed defunct Lady vvas as free from persecution as they shall free these hellish Instruments from the honour of martyrdome 5. But novv hauing sacrificed if I may so say to the Manes of my late predecessor I may next vvith S. Paul iustly vindicate my ovvne fame from those innumerable calumnies spred against me in testifying the trueth of my behauiour tovvard the Papists vvherin I may truely affirme that vvhatsoeuer vvas her iust and mercifull Gouernement ouer the Papists in her time my Gouernement ouer them since hath so farre exceeded hers in mercie and clemencie as not onely the Papists themselues grevve to that height of pride in confidence of my mildenesse as they did directly expect and assuredly promise to themselues liberty of conscience and equalitie vvith other of my Subiects in all things but euen a number of the best and faithfullest of my sayd subiects vvere cast in great feare amazement of my course and proceedings euer prognosticating and iustly suspecting that sowre fruit to come of it which shevved it selfe clearely in the powder-Treason How many did I honour with knighthood of knowen open Recusants How indifferently did I giue audience and accesse to both sides bestowing equally all fauours and honors on both professions How free continual accesse had all rankes degrees of Papists in my Court company And aboue alll how frankly and freely did I free Recusants of their ordinary payments Besides it is euident what strait order vvas giuen out of my ovvne mouth to the Iudges to spare the execution of all Priests notwithstanding their conuiction ioyning thereunto a gracious Proclamation wherby all Priests that were at liberty and not taken might goe out of the country by such a day my generall Pardon hauing bin extended to all conuicted Priests in prison whereupon they vvere set at liberty as good Subiects and all Priests that were taken after sent ouer and set at liberty there But time paper vvill faile mee to make enumeration of all the benefits and fauours that I bestowed in generall and particular vpon Papists in recounting whereof euery scrape of my pen would serue but for a blot of the Popes ingratitude and Iniustice in meating me with so hard a measure for the same So as I thinke I haue sufficiently or at least with good reason wiped the teares from the Popes eyes for complaining vpon such persecution who if he had beene but politikely wise although he had had no respect to Iustice and Veritie would haue in this complaint of his made a difference betweene my present time and the time of the late Queene And so by his commending of my moderation in regarde of former times might haue had hope to haue moued me to haue continued in the same clement course For it is a true saying that alledged kindnes vpon noble mindes doth euer worke much And for the maine vntrueth of any persecution in my time it can neuer be proued that any were or are put to death since I came to the Crowne for cause of Conscience except that now this discharge giuen by the Pope to all Catholiques to take their oath of Allegiance to me be the cause of the due punishment of many which if it fall out to be let the blood lig●t vpon the Popes head who is the onely cause thereof As for the next point contained in his Breue concerning his discharge of all Papists to come to our Church or frequent our rites and ceremonies I am not to meddle at this time with that matter because my errand now only is to publish to the world the Iniurie and Iniustice done vnto me in discharging my subiects to make profession o● their obedience vnto me Now as to the point where the oath is quarrelled