gods and men But I like not to trouble my selfe with such men but proceed to another head Which is concerning the power of your Discipline in temporall things wherein is a question whether our or your discipline the chiefe Commander in the Camp royall have the greatest power You do learnedly hold Answer to the Marquess Hamillons Declaration that the Kings high Court of Parliament cannot hinder you to make Lawes Ecclesiasticall seeing your Ecclesiasticall government is independent Yea you doe hold that your Assemblies may repealâ— and adnull even the Ecclesiasticall lawes that are confirmed in Parliament so that upon your re-calling them the sanction of the Parliament is nullitated and of no effect Your own words are Emphaticall Ibidem Albeit acts of generall Assemblies bâ—â— ratified in Parliament yet a generall Assembly may re-call those confirmed acts which being adnulled the civil ratification and sanction falls ex consequenti Certainely I dare promise you the Popes blessing for this most learned Thesis for now a door is opened to let in all Popery whether the King will or no so that I trust as I said at the beginning our Union shal be full For since your Assemblies have such power over Parliaments as to adnull all ecclesiasticall lawes confirmed therein as you have done already with Episcopacy and the articles of Perth which stand ratified and confirmed by divers acts of Parliament then it shal be easie for you at any Assembly when or where you wil to repeal and adnull all the ecclesiasticall lawes ratified and confirmed by Act of Parliament in favour of the Protestant Religion and to establish new lawes for our Roman Religion in stead of it though the King Parliament and Councell should resist you You haue good reason for it for as Bellarmine sayes Bâ—ll de â—lericis lib. 1. cap. 29. Habet se potestas ecclesiastica ad secularem quomodo Spiritus se habet ad carnem quam regit moderatur aliquando cohibet Caro autem nullum habet imperium inspiritum neque illum ulla in re dirigere vel judicare vel coercere potest Sic igitur potestas ecclesiastica quae spiritualis est as per hoc naturaliter seculari superior secularem potestatem cum opuâ— est dirigere judicare coercere potest ipsam verò à seculari dirigi vel coorceri nullâratione permittitur The ecclesiasticall power is to the secular power as the spirit is to the flesh which rules moderates and sometimes restrains But the flesh hath no command over the spirit neither can it direct or judge or restrain it in any thing So then the ecclesiasticall power which is spirituall and therefore naturally superiour to the secular may direct judge and restrain the secular power when it is needfull But by no reason is it permitted to bee directed or restrained by the secular power and therefore when your King did by his Proclamation discharge your Assembly at Glasgow which ought to direct him and not bee cohibited or restrained by him you did well to sit still and adnull divers acts of Parliament And in your Protestation against the Kings Proclamation for raising your Assembly Protestat Novemb. 29. 1638. as it was your wisdome not to enter into direct action with his Majesty so it was your courage to summon all the Lords of his Majesties Councel who consented to the Proclamation to appear before the Parliament the 25 of May 1639. There to be punished for giving the King evill councell viz to raise the Assemblies When the K. commands one thing by acts of Parliament or by his Proclamations you may protest against the same and command the contrary in your protestations and acts of Assemblie for as we say well Autor lib. ad persâ—cuâ— Angl. fol. 336. pâ—â—et ecclesia praposites facultas est amplissiâ—a interdicendi nobis ne reges obedientâ—â absequio nestre honoremus These that are set over us in the Church have a very large power given them even to interdict us that we honour not our Ks. with our obedience So the Councell of Trent coÌ„mands all to receive the decrâ—â—â— without regard to their Princes consent and denounceth ex communication in case of refusall requires an oath of obedience approveth violence in rooting out of heresie ordains the Inquisition for them Therfore when the King by his Proclamation did command that the Covenant of K. James as it was in 1581. yeer of God should be subscribed you by your authority did prohibite any to subscribe it but will have your own subscribed For this cause in your general Assembly you have set down An act discharging subscription to the Covenant which was subscribed by the Kings Commissioner and Lords of the Councell which his Majesty in his marginall note calls a traitorous act You have another excellent Act discharging all Printers in Scotland to print any thing in Ecclesiasticall affaires without the warrant of Jhonsâ—on your Clerk You have Acts also concerning mills salt pans and market dayes on Munday and Saturday And especially your Assembly hath adnulled his Majesties Court of high Commission all this we see in the Index of your Acts all is well done though it encroach upon the civill power for in temperalibus Ecclesia non solù◠praecipit dirigit Odoard VVest in Sanctuâ—r juris Pontis â— 6 sed coercet disponit virtute potestatit gubernativa In temporall things the Church not only commands directs but restrains dispones by vertue of her gubernative power And you know we do not maintain a direct power in temporall things but an indirect power in ordius ad spiritualia for we stand not upon words when we are sure of the matter it self and may bring all temporality within the compasse of our power But I pray you why did you forget to adnull the Acts of Parliament that doe ratifie the Kings Supremacy especially in spirituall things since you have adnulled other Acts of Parliament why have you prejudged your selves so much as to leave those acts for Supremacie uncancelled If you had remembred the complaint of your holy brethren in former times you would not have forgotten this but as you have de facto taken it away so de jure you would have declared the same an unlawfull act for as your predecessors said If the King have supreme power in causes Ecclesiasticall Thinus addition to Holinshed pag 446. then there is nothing left of the whole antient forme of Justices and policies in the spirituall estate but a naked shadow I goe on to a tenth Parallel which is your dispensation with oaths even with the oath of Allegeance and Supremacy with the oath of Canonicall obedience You will not upbraid us again with this as if we were only enemies and traiters to Kings For we dispence with no Subjects oath of Allegeance so long as they defend the religion but if they either fall from the religion themselves or will not defend
themselves so that in certaine cases they may actually take it from him againe Let all Protestant Doctors condemne this yet let it never repent you to have received light from us The best works that ever Augustixe wrote were the books of retrectations and the best workes that you can doe is to forsake your errors You say the people makes the Magistrate and may be without him and have been many a yeare without him The Majesty doth remaine in the people and therefore as it is said in the Gospel May I not doe with my owne what I please Bell de cleâ—ie lib. 3. 〈◊〉 6. So say wee Potestas immediate est tanquam in subjectâ— in tota multitudine si causa legitimè adsit potest multitudo mutare regnum in Aristocratiam Democratiam The power is immediately as in the subject in the multitude and if there be a lawfull cause the multitude may change the Kingdome into an Aristocracie or Democracie When the King becommeth an enemy to the Common wealth hee ought to be removed Melius est ut pereat unus quam unitas And therefore you may not without reason say as in your Sions Plea to his Majesty Wee must not lose you and the Kingdome by proferring your fancies and groundlesse affections before sound reason You should complain to the heart that the head is much distempered The Lyon must be cured of the Kings evill The Potter may destroy the vessell which hee hath made himselfe But I pray you let this be spoken under the Rose for if we too much divulge it it will make both you and us most odious to all princes who will keepe us at such a low ebbe that we shall never be able to rise against them when wee thinke it necessary When the shepheard becommeth a Wolâ—e let the dogs chaâ—e him away he is for the people and the people is not for him when he turnes to their hurt let one who is for thâ—â—r good be put in his place for you know who said Virtuti non generâ— debetur regnum And it is better to have Kings by election then succession And therefore you doe mosâ— learnedly reason from the unreasonableness and absurdities of those Court Parasites in your learned informations for Defensive armes against the King who attribute such illimited power to their Kings Covenanters inâ—â—â— at for Dâ—â—â—nsive â—â—g 1. that they loose all the bonds of civill society against all the bonds of oathes and lawes suffering the Prince to doe what he pleaseth to the ruine of Religion the Church and Kingdome and the people shall do nothing but suffer themselves to be massacred or else stie which is impossible In parallel to this we say thus The danger is so evident Desâ—â—â—â— of 〈◊〉 Cathâ—â—â—â— 5. â—evitable that God hath not sufficiently provided for our salvation and the preservation of the Church and holy Lawes if there were no way to restraine such wicked Princes c. 〈…〉 this were as you say to expone all to the fury of the Prince Ibid. And therfore we conclude in the same place with those words The bond and obligation wee haue entered into for the service of Christ and his Church far exceeds all other duties which wee owe to any humane creature therefore where the obedience to the inferiour hindereth the service of the other which is superiour we must by law and order discharge our selves of the inferiour Covenanters inform for Defensive This our conclusion is most consonant to the words and sense of your second and fourth argument for war And since you were put to this necessity to take up armes for your defence notwithstanding of your Kings specious pretences who could condemne you to presse and urge the people by your reasons to take up armes to resist the violence of your King Covenanters inform for Defensive 57. Sigebert in anno 1088. who was furiously inveding you as you say and to thrust all away from their places that did withstand you as traitors to you the Church and Countrey and unworthy of your society I do not regard neither need you to be offended at that idle speech of Sigebert neither would I heare him if he did not aske leave of all good men from which number I will not be excluded to speake while he sayes thus â—o speak with the leave of all good men this onely novelty I will not say heresie was not crept into the world before the dayes of â—elldebrand that Priests should teach the people that they owe no subjection to evill Kings and that although they have sworne fidelitie to him yet they must yeeld him none neither may they be counted perjured for holding against their King but rather he that obeyeth the King is excommunicate and he that rebelleth against the King is absolved from the blemish of disloyaltie and perjurie c. Thus he And is this a matter to be condemned I pray you Doe we not cleerely see this performed among your selves the King himselfe will approve of it for you are confident of it while you say Wee are very confident of his Majesties approbation to the integritie of our hearts prâ—â—eâ—â—â—â—se Sâ—pâ—â— 1633. and peaceablenesse of our wayes and actions all this time past and doe protest that we will still adhere to our former proceedings mutuall defence c. And good reason for rebellion for such an important businesse against a King cannot bee disloyaltie and they that have not followed your course justly deserve Excommunication and Banishment Athanasius was but too silly a man being under the tyrannie of Constantius the Arrian Hereticke that did not incite the people to rebellion or to promove the designes of the Emperours brother who was Orthodoxe and worthier of the Crown Which if he had done he might have made a better Apologie to the Emperour Constantius who charged him with the same as if he had stirred up his brother and the people against him If he had done so he might have made Peters Apologie It s better to obey God then man But because he did it not hee makes an Apologie most beseeming a coward who did not as you did with counsell and courage lead the people to war against their Prince but sayes thus Vincat quaso apud te Ad anâ—siâ— Apoâ—â—â— aâ— Constant veritas ne relinquas suspicionem contra universam ecclesiaÌ„ quasitalia ant cogitentur aut scribantur à Christianis 〈◊〉 potissimum Episcopis Let truth I pray thee prevaile with thee and leave not a susâ—â—cion against the Catholick Church as if such things were either thought or written by Christians and especially by Bishops I am not so mad I am not beside my selfe O Emperour that thou shouldst suspect I had any such thought I am not so mad neither have I forgotten the voyce of God which saith Curse not the King in thy heart nor backbite the mightie in the secrets of thy chamber for the birds
of the ayre shall tell it and the fowles that she shall betray it Covenanterâ— inform for Dâ—fensive § 4. This man was too fearefull but you were of another spirit encouraging the people and dehorting them from being afraid of shadowes yea your Priests were good patterns to the rest to follow There was one of them who is worthy if you could permit Images to have his Statue ingraven in Marble Daâ—id 〈◊〉 to eternize him to the worlds end who went so stoutly to the Camp upon his horse with two Carabins at his Sadle two Pistols at his side with a broad Scottish sword those five weapons were like unto Davids sive smooth stones which he tooke out of the brooke to kill Goliah with This David no doubt would have killed sive English at the first encounter with his five deadly weapons and would have returned with triumph saying with Paul I have fought a good fight for 2 Tim. 4.7 Nehem. 6.11 should such a man as he flie But if any shall produce the Canons of divers generall Councels ordaining Clergie men that beare arms to be degraded and put from their place And that of Davenant Christâ—â— gladium verbi promittit non ferri Davenant deter quaest 4. fugam suadet non pugnam Christ promiseth to his Pastors the sword of the word and not the sword of Iron he perswades to â—lie but not to sight the answer is easie Those generall Councels though not intoto yet pro tanto are like your 6. generall or nâ—tionall Councels which you have condemned because they were against you and Davonant is a Bishop and so your adversary A third errour wherewith wee were formerly tossed by you is now removed it concerneth the Church-government which you at last being put to it doe acknowledge to belong to the Church not to the King What hath hee to doe there Let Kings take care of civill state Let Church of Church-matters debate This was the presumption and errour of Henry the 8. King of England Bell. de Rom. Pontis l. 1. ca. 7. as Bellarmine observeth Is enim se caput ecclesiae Anglicanae constituit eodem modo censuit alios principes capita suprema in suis ditionibus esse For he made himselfe Head of the Church and after the same manner judged other Princes to bee supreme heads within their owne Dominions And thus King Charles would also be therefore in your Pretestations you declare that it is your ancient grievance Protestat 18. Decemb. 1638. That his Majestie takes upon him that spirituall power and authoritie which properly belongeth to Christ as onely King and Head of his Kirk The ministery and execution whereof is onely given to such as beare Ecclesiasticall government of the same So that in his Majesties person some men presse to erect a Popedome And all your Protestant Divines do hold the same doctrine as so many Court Parasites The Fathers went too far on this way August contra lâ—â—â—â—â—â— Pâ—tiâ—â—ae lib. 2. c. p. 92. I will but name Augustine All men saies he ought to serve God by coÌ„mon coÌ„dition as men in another sort by several gifts offices by the which some do this some do that No private person could command idols to be banished cleane from amongst men which was so long before prophesied Idem contra Crâ—sâ— lib. 8. cap. 51. Therfore Kings beside their duty to serve God common with all men have in that they be Kings how to serve the Lord in such sort as none can do which are not Kings for in this Kings as they are Kings serve the Lord as God by David enjoyned them Psal 1. if in their Kingdomes they command that which is good and prohibite that which is evill not in civill affaires only but also in matters concerning Divine Religion c. This man is so confident that in his 50. Epistle he cryeth out Who being in their right wits dare alledge the contrary But truly the Donatists held the better part they durst alledge the contrary so dare We so dare you doe macti viri virtute novâ The fathers judgement in such state matters is not approved by his Holinesse the Pope Bellarmine our trustie Champion speaketh better for you That the civill Magistrate regit homines ut homines sunt magis ratione corporum quam animarum but on the contrary the Church Governour regit homines ut Christiani sunt magis ratione animarum quam corporum ille habet pro fine temporalem quietem salutem populi iste vitam sempiternam foelicitatem ille utitur naturalibus legibus institutis humanis iste legibus divinis The King governeth men as they are men and rather in regard of their bodies then their soules but the Church Governour governeth men as they are Christians and rather in regard of their soules then their bodies The end of the one is to procure the temporall quiet and safetie of the people the other hath for his end everlasting life and happinesse the one useth naturall Lawes and humane institutions but the other useth Divine Lawes And whereas your Doctors say that the King is the Keeper of the Tables and the Minister of God for our good and if for our good then chiefly for our principall good the good of our soules to have a care of Religion according to the examples of the religious Kings under the Law and Christian Princes under the Gospel c. Those and many such like idle arguments are not worthy that I should stand to answer them especially in an Epistle for there is no such need of Kings the people may well enough bee without them Covenanters informat for Defensive arg 3. for there was none till Cains dayes as you say The Church was well governed in the Primitive time while there was no Christian King Ad annos fermeè 30â— nullus fuit in Ecclesia Christianus Princeps secularis For the space of 300 yeers there was no secular Christian Prâ—nce in the Church sayes Bellarmine And therefore sayes he Bell. de laicis cap. 17. Christus Ecclesiam regendam Petro Episcopis commisit non Tyberio ejus Praefectis Hee committed the government of his Church to Peter and the Bishops not to Tyberius the Emperor and his Officers He said to Peter Feed my sheep not so to Kings but Doe my Prophets no wrong The Church-men must give an account to God of mens souls Kings have no such account to make as our Stapleton sayes well with you therfore concludes that not Kings but the Church is to be obeyed in Ecclesiasticall businesses according to that of the Apostle Obedite praepositit vestris Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves unto them for they watch for your soule Heb. 13 17. You doe then as it becommeth you not to regard the Kings words nor ohey his Proclamations but to perswade the people that I may use your own words
Catholike Church hath holden which was not institute by Councels but ever kept in the Church that is most rightly beleeved to be an Apostolicall tradition and he brings for instances those holy daies which your Covenant abjures which hath ever been retained in the Church from the Apostles daies And albeit we could not prove Episcopacy from Scripture as wee may very wel prove it and is proved by those who defend the same yet this unquestionable rule of Augustine will bee sufficient to prove it to be of Apostolicall institution for you say it is not of Divine institution and I say it is not instituted by Councels and yet all that are but little exercised in antiquitie shall find that Episcopacie was ever in the Church from the Apostles dayes till this present time that it is called in question And beside that rule of Augustine consider that it is the generall tradition of the Catholik Church that Episcopacie hath ever been in it as an Apostolicall institution And by this generall tradition of the Catholike Church we are as certain that it is of Apostolicall institution as we are certaine of the received number of the Canonicall books of Scripture for we receive and take that number upon the continued generall tradition of the Catholike Church of Christ from age to age We reject and detest particular traditions of any present particular Church such as are those of the Church of Rome if they cannot shew those traditions to have been generally received at all times in the Catholike Church But there is no Protestant that doth not receive generall traditions of the Catholike Church such as is this concerning the definite number of the bookes of the Canonical Scripture and if I would assume a schismaticall humor I might with as good warrants deny that there are so many bookes in the Canon as the Catholike Church sayes there be as you deny Episcopacie to be of Apostolicall institution Thus have I briefly showne you the passages betweene the Anticovenanter and Covenanter which I leave to your consideration and returne to my purpose From this sweet harmonie in the preceding points especially of your independent power in Church matters there followeth another parallel by way of consequence viz. that you may excommunicate your King if hee doe not obey the Acts and Constitutions of your Assemblies Thus you threatned King James and his Councell both with excommunication if he would not execute your Acts of your Assemblie and good reason seeing it is the supreme judicatory and the King is a sonne of your Church from whom he ought to take the meaning And if hee bee refractarie why may not the Assembly excommunicate him as Ambrose did Thâ—â—dosius And as I have said already from your Travers of your government Huic disciplinâ— omnes Principes c. There is a necessity that all Princes Monarchs should submit their Scepter and obey this Discipline It s your chief Commander in the Camproyall Thomas Cartwright being asked whether the King himself might be excommunicated answered That excommunication should not bee exercised upon Kings I utterly mislike and so do we also yea albeit they be not Heretickes themselves yet if they doe not punish such as their Pastors commands them they may be excommunicate Potest ac debet Pastor regibus jubere ut puniant Haereticos Bellar. contra Barklaiunâ— c nisi fecerint etiam cogere per excommunicationem The Pastor may and ought to command Kings to punish Hereticks if they do it not even to compell them with excommunication But especially si sit Haereticorum vel Schismaticorum fautor Aâ—or insâ— moral part 2. l. 10. cap. 9. receptor vel defensor if hee be a favourer receiver or defender of Hereticks and Schismaticks If your Bishops be such men is not this your Kings fault your fault is that you use but too much lenity in not ascending from the Myter to the Crown for this may stand very well with your Tenent and Ours though Protestant Divines disclaim it for your Buchanan teacheth you that not only it is lawfull to excommunicate Princes but that they should both depose him Buchan de â—ure reg apud Scot. pag. 70. and destroy him for hee sayes Ministers may excommunicate Princes and he being by excommunication cast into Hell is not worthy to enjoy any life upon earth But truly Knox Buchanan are more rigid then we are herein for howbeit we grant that it 's lawfull to excommunicate Kings yet wee hold it not necessary that upon excommunication either deposition or killing should follow Indeed by our common Tenent it will follow that excommunication is an antecedent to deprivation or killing but we do not hold that deprivation or killing of Princes is a necessary consequent or effect of excommunication For say we quando talis effectus adjungitur Suaâ—ez de censur disp 15. sect 6. non est effect us ipsius excommunicationis sed specialis poena simul cum excommunicatione imposita When such an effect is joyned to excommunication it s not the effect of it but a speciall punishment imposed with it But it s wonderfull to see the wide difference between this our Tenent and yours and that which Protestants hold for they make the power of the supreme Magistrate Architectonicke and subject unto it all power civill Ecclesiasticall So that as in civill affaires they use the counsell and help of Politicians and Jurisconsults for establishing of Lawes according to reason so in Ecclesiasticall businesse they use the help and advice of learned Divines for establishing religion according to Gods Word which ought never to depart from their hands And it s most boldly said by them in the words of Bishop Davenant Reges non it a astringuntur Episcoporum vel Theologorum suorum opinionibus Daven deter quast 19. quin si adversentur legi divina cujus oportet reges studiosissimos peritissimos esse teneantur ex officio regio veram religionem illis omnibus licet reclamantibus tueri subditis suis proponere Kings are not so tyed to the opinions of their Bishops and Theologues but if they bee contrary to the Law of God of the which Kings ought to be great studiers and very well skilled they are bound by their Kingly Office to defend the true religion and set it before their Subjects albeit all those Divines should cry out against it But those men are Court Parasites as your usuall word is or as Beeanus calls those that defend the Kings Supremacie regios adulatores King-flatterers And I admire that Tertullian being under Heathen Emperours should be guilty of those flatteries while hee sayes in a Court-like complement Reges in solius Deipotestate sunt Tersul ad Scap. Ã quo sunt secunds post quem primiâ—ante omnes super omnes deâ—s homines Kings are only in the power of God from whom they are second after whom they are first before all and above all
to submit themselves obediently to follow their Leaders Covenanters inform for Pesâ—nâ—ive whom God at this time hath largely furnished with counsell and courage for the good of his Church and Kingdome The reason why they should follow them and not be carried away with the Kings Proclamations quia potestas civilis subjecta est potestati spirituals quando utraque pars est ejusdem reipub Bâ—â—â— de 〈…〉 lâ—b 〈…〉 Christianae A fourth error which you with good successe have abolished that you deny the power of convocating and distrâ—ssâ—ng of Assemblies to belong to the Supreme Magistrate In the Protesâ—ation in July 1638. you maintaine your power of convocating Assemblies therefore in the 27. August 1638. it was well put in among your Instructions before the Assemblies VIII Instruâ—â— that the ablest man in each Parish should be provided to dispute Depotestate supremt Magistratús in Eccclesiasticis praesertim in convocandis Conciliis It s your wisdome to assemble when hee commands you so long as it is conducible for your ends but yet you have power to assemble in a Nationall Assemblie in what place of the Kingdome you please Sâ—â—ratâ—â—◠〈…〉 Socrates did smell too much of a Court Parasite while he said we make mention of Emperors throughout this History for that since they became Christians â—cclesiastical matters depend on them the greatest Synods have been and yet are called by their appointment He offended you who said that as Moses is custos utriusque Tabulae so is he custos utriusque tubae as the civill Magistrate is keeper of both the Tables so hee is keeper of both the silver Trumpets for war for calling of Assemblies and dismissing of them and that you would but blow the Trumpet of Sedition it without the Kings authority you should convocate Assembles either for peace or for warre The Marquesse of Hamilton was too presumptuous being called with the Kings Authoritie to discharge your last Assembly which as you said well was to raise Christ's Court and therefore it was not ill advised by one of you that seeing the Marquesse was faithfull to his Master the King so you ought to be faithfull to your Master the King of kings Jesus Christ and to defend his Royall prerogative above all the Kings of the earth In your answer to the Marquesse of Hamilious Declaration you affirme that your Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction is independent and in your Zions Plea you say that your Presbyterian discipline is the Scepter of Christ swaying his own house according to his hearts desire the soul the chief Commander in the câ—mp Royall and your â—ravers sayes De disâ—â—p E â—cl sâ—â—â—g 142. Huic disciplinae omnes orbis Principes Monarchas fasces suos submittere parere necesse est There is a necessity that all the Princes and Monarchs should submit their Scepters and obey this discipline And your Mae Lellan whom some call a foole spake not foolishly while he preached that the King had no more to do to meddle with your Assemblies then you have to meddle with his Parliaments It was wisely then dont by you in rejecting any protestation or appellation from your Assemblie by the Bishops and their adherents to the Kings Majestie for such appellations ought not to be seeing there is none Supreme above your Nationall Assemblies And therefore as you have not hitherto regarded their protestation and appellation but have proceeded against them to deposition and excommunication so continue and be not dismaid though they should renue their protestations and appellations even in the words of Athanasius in protesting against and appealing from the partiall coun ell of Tyrus Athanasâ— poloâ— cap. 2. which appellation and protestation of Athanasius and the rest of the orthodox Bishops was in these words Because we see many things spitefully contrived against us and much wrong offered the Catholik Church under our rames we be forced to request that the debating of our matters may bee kept for the Princes most excellent person We cannot beare the drifts and injuries of our enemies and therefore require the cause to be referred to the most religious and devout Emperour before whom we shall be suffered to stand in our own defence and plead the right of the Church c. If those your Bishops flying to the King as Athanasius and the rest of the orthodox Bishops did to the Emperour shall procure an edict or command from the King as those did from the Emperor to charge you all to appeare before him to plead your cause you ought not to appeare as that miserable Synod of Tyrus did The Edict was so peremptory that they durst not resist The Edict was in these words Your Synod hath decreed I know not what in a tumult and uproare while you seeke to pervert truth by your pestilent disorder for hatred against your fellow Bishops But the divine providence will I doubt not scatter the mischiefe of your contention and make it plaine in our sight whether your Assembly had any regard of truth or not You must therefore all of you resort hither to shew the reason of your doings for so doth it seeme good and expedient to me to which end I willed this rescript to be sent you that as many of you as were present at the Councell of Tyrus without delay repaire to the place of our abode there to give an account how sincerely soundly you have judged that before me whom your selves shal not deny to be the sincere Minister of God in such cases c. I say then if you shall receive such a charge from your King you should not obey for in your sense that is To betray the Royall prerogative of your King Jesus Christ but returne the answer of Core Dathan and Abiram with ingemination We will not come nâ—m 16.12 14. Jâ—r 2 31. we will not come or your Lords Lay-Elders may return that of Jeremy We are Lords We will no more come unto thee And if your King will not be content with your answer prosecute your begun course with all diligence and earnestnesse having begun in the spirit end not in the flesh but go on with that which they call disorders till you get the King in your power and then he shal know what subjects you will be If the people of one citie falling in sedition for matters of Religion so prevailed passed all power of resisting 〈◊〉 lib. â— câ—p â—4 that Anastasius the Emperour was fain to come to an open place without his Crown by Heraulds to signifie to the people that he was readie with a very good will to resigne the Empire into their hands how much more may you who have many cities by coÌ„tinuing your courses force your King to resigne his Crown of Scotland And howbeit the people of that citie seeing the Emperor in so pitiful a case were moved with the spectacle changed their minds besought the Emperour to keep his Crown
vel cultus religionis conformitas quia finguli principes quod ipsis melius videbitur flatuent quoruÌ„ decretis siro sistatur perpetua erunt besla This power being granted to Kings then Unitie of faith and worship and conformity of religion will not remaine lorg in one province or kingdome because every Prince will ordaine that which see meth best in his eyes To whose decrees if resistance be made there will follow perpetuall warre But this power being granted to the Church which cannot erre in her Synodicall acts there shall ever be Unity of faith depending upon the infallibility of Church Assemblies For I see in the seventh place that you do acknowledge the infallibilitie of generall Councels or Assemblies For that Assembly which you did hold at Glasgow lately Covenanters inâ—â—â—at for Deâ—â—nsive § 7. is to you so infallible that long time before you doe professe that you did swear for judgement and practice to adhere to the determination of it And now of late Julii 1. 1639 do protest before God and the world that you will still adhere to it And you have good reason so to do for if generall Assemblies may erre then say we â—â—lâ— de auâ—â—â— coâ—â—â— or Cap. 4. Possent merito revocari in dubium omnes damnatae hareses concilia nullo honore digna essent All heresies which are condemned may againe be called in question and our Assemblies esteemed worthy of no honour And therefore you may justly feare upon this ground that your Assembly might erre and that you may be branded with errour in your decrees and have all called in question again which you have condemned As for us of Rome condemne your Assemblies who will we shall never doe it but rather desire that you may still appoint the same Commissioners for your future assemblies therein to confirme all which they had decreed in the former for your acts of abjuring Episcopacie the Articles of Perth Service book Book of Canons pleaseth us very well howbeit we doe not throughly approve the reason of your acts You have thrust away and excommunicated your Bishops because you think them Antichristian so doe we excommunicate your Bishops because they are Antichristian But you think them Antichristian because you make it an Article of your Negative faith that they are a part of the Popish Hierarchie And we thinke them Antichristian because they are not so neither doe they acknowledge the Pope for their Head but doe declaime against him and the greatest wound that ever we have received is from such Bishops as they are as Cranmet Latimer Ridley Hooper Jowell Bâ—lson Andrewes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stupor mundi Whitgift Babington Abbots King Downame Ussher Morton Davenant Montague Hall White and that Arch-enemie of yours and ours Canterbury with divers others whom I like not to recite In this particular King James is opposite to us both because as Becanus well observeth he holdeth Recan de prim Reg. Angl. ca. 7. Jacobi Regis praesa monit that Bishops have their jurisdiction immediately from God while he saith Episcopos esse in Ecclesia debere tanquam institutionem Apostolicam ac ordinationem proinde divinam contra Puritanos contraque Bollarminum semper sensi qui negat Episcopos à Deo immediatè suam jurisdictionem accepisse Sed nihil mirum à Puritanis cum stare cum Jesuitae nihil aliud quà m Puritano-papistae sunt I ever thought that Bishops ought to bee in the Church as an Apostolicall institution and therefore a divine ordinance against Puritans and against Bellarmine who deny that Bishops have their jurisdiction immediately from God but no marvell that Bellarmine takes the Puritans part seeing Jesuits are no other thing but Puritan-papists And in that same place the King sheweth that from a generall Councell convocated by Christian Princes for the settling of Religion he would have Jesuits and Puritans excluded whom he calleth by a common title novitios furiosos incendiarios and sayes Ibidem Mihi praecipuus labor fuit dejectos Episcopos restituere Puritanorum anarchiam expugnare My chief labour was to restore the Bishops that were cast downe and to overthrow the anarchie of Puritans Wee thanke you also for removing the Articles of Perth for they were not rightly established for your Church did esteeme those ceremonies to be onely things indifferent commended and commanded by Authoritie for Decency and Order The not observation whereof was held no damnable sinne if it were without contempt of Authority and without the case of scandall and at the most your Church did hold that those ceremonies were onely significant and not operative as we hold But if they had been rightly established you should have observed them as things necessary to salvation and as parts of Gods worship which under paine of damnation ought to be performed and that they are sâ—gns operater working grace in those who observe them And therefore seeing your Church did not hold this opinion of them they aâ—e not Popish Ceremonies and so not ours and whatsoever you have more that is not ours we request you to abjure it The condemning also of the Service-book is most acceptable unto us because it is not our Masse-book and that you may see how much we hate it Be it known to you that by venue of the Popes Bull many yeers agoe we will suffer no Roman Catholike to goe to the Church so long as the Service-booke is reading either in England or Ireland and yet we will permit them to goe to their Sermons and of all Sermons we sympathize best with yours So that it seemeth a most unfortunate booke having both us and you for its enemies And since I am fallen upon this point let me relate an Historie that passed between a Covenanter an Anticovenanter as it was reported to me concerning this booke that you may make yâ—ur use of it The Covenanter demanded the cause why he could refuse to joyne with them in a Supplication to his Majestie against the book of Common Prayer seeing there were so many hands of able Ministers subscribing the same and obliging themselves to make it good that it was 1. Superstitious 2. that it conteineth the maine essentiall parts of the Masse 3. that it openeth a doore to let in all Poperie The Anticovenanter answered thus or to this effect Because such unjust aspersions are cast upon that poore Book which doth not containe so many Lines as it doth suffer Lyes hated be all that love not truth Papists and Puritans striving who shall speake most against it I shall bee so farre from becomming a causlesse enemy to it that I cannot deny it my friendship and helping hand But because you are so furious and I for speaking but one word in its favour have beene hotly persecuted with tongues and hands too it will be better to be possessed with a Lethargie then to appeare in defence of this Lyturgie which the most part even of the Ministrie hath
it by the civill sword wee doe absolve subjects of their oath of Allegeance as wee did in the holy League of France tying all to us by covenant very like unto yours and in the end took up armes against the King for Kings fall from their authority when they fall from religion as you say in your Covenant The Kings authority and true religion are so strictly joyned together that they stand and fall together And therefore you do well to limit your obedience unto him so long as he defends the Religion and Lawes wherein if hee faile by oath of Covenant you have made a mutuall band of defence against him so that what is done to the least of you shall be done to you all in generall and particular And so if he shall doe any harme to the meanest Kitchin boy you are all in generall particular bound to take his part against your King Now all this could not bee lawfully done without a Dispensation and Absolution from your oath of Allegeance taken long before the Covenant Our enemies say that they who thus being absolved from their oath of Allegeance doe take up armes against their Prince will have such successe in the end as Radulphus Duke of Swevia whom Gregorie the seventh absolved from his oath of Allegeance to Henry the fourth the Emperor received in battel against the Emperour and hopes that they shall make the like confession as he did Heâ—mold in Chron Slaâ—orum cap. 29. For he being deadly wounded in the right hand said to his company You see how my right hand is sore of a hurt it is the hand whereby I sware to my Lord and Master that I would never annoy him that J would never lye in ambush to intercept his glory but the Popes commands brought me to this to breake my Oath and usurpe an honour which was not due to me You see what end it is come to J have received this mortall wound upon the hand that brake this Oath Let them then who have incited us to do so consider in what manner they urged us for feare that we be not brought to the downefall of damnation c. But be not you troubled nor afraid of shadowes Covenanters inform for Defensive §. 4. 2. But let unity be earnestly recommended as that which strengthens the cause and will make you invincible Your successe hath been great hitherto so that you may have confidence for the time to come You have also dispensed with the Oath of Canonicall obedience for I cannot thinke that you would exact of your Clergie the Oath of your Covenant except you did first give them a dispensation for their former Oathes For all have sworne the Oath of Canonicall Obedience some once some thrice and all admitted since the yeare 1618. had sworne to Perths Articles and present government of the Church and now have taken the direct contradictory Oath and abjured them all And therefore it was not ill advised by you to make an Act in your generall Assembly at Glasgow Novemb. 1638. declaring the nullity of the Oath exacted by Prelates of intrants and of their bonds of Conformity But here I must tell you that you are gone a little beyond us in your dispensation with the Oath of Allegiance to your King and taking the Oath of mutuall defence against him for according to our practise you ought by all meanes endeavoured to recall him from his errours and being obstinate then to excommunicate him for as our Tolet sayes well Licet sit notorium crimen principis non absolvuntur vasalli à juramento ut bene dicit Cajemnus ante denunciationem ab Ecclesia quâ factà non solùm sunt absoluti ab obedientia sed tenentur non obedire nisi forte propter periculum vitae vel damnum bonorum temporalium Albeit the crime of the Prince be notorious yet the Vassals are not absolved from their Oath as Cajetan sayes well before the sentence be denounced by the Church which being done they are not only absolved from obedience but also are bound not to obey except perchance for danger of their life or losse of temporall goods And Emanuel Sa sayes the same Emanuel Sa in voce Tyrannus Tyrannicè gubernans justè acquisito Dominio non potest spoliari sine publico judicio latâ verò sententià potest quisque fieri executor Potest autem deponi à populo etiam qui illi juraverat obedientiam perpetuam si monitus non vult corrigi A Tyrant that ruleth tyrannically cannot have his justly acquired Dominion taken from him without publike judgement but the sentence being given any man may be the executioner and he may be deposed by the people who have sworne perpetuall obedience unto him if after admonition he will not be amended And then it followeth clearely which Suarez saith Suarez lib. 6. cap. 3. Si subditi juramento soluti sunt quamvis rex ille proditionem vocet omnisque regni aut reipublica conspirationem revera tamen talis non est sed justa defensie vel justum bellum seu supplicium If the Subjects be absolved from their oath albeit that the King call it treason and a conspiracie of all the Kingdome and Common-wealth yet certainly it is no such thing but a just defence or just warre or punishment But I must crave your pardon for saying that you went beyond us for there are some of us as hot-blouded as your selves De fide certum est quemcunque Principem Christiâ—â—um si à Religione catholica deflexerit Philopat 2. pag. 109. alios avocare voluerit excidere statim omni potestate dignitate idque ante prolatam Papa sententiam posséque debere subditos si vires habeaut istinsâ—â—â—â— Hareticum ex hominum Christianorum dominatu ejicere It is certainly a matter of Faith that whatsoever Christian Prince shall depart from the Catholike religion and shall withdraw others doth immediately fall from all power and dignity even before the Popes sentence be given and that the Subjects may and should if they have strength cast forth such an Heretick from the dominion of Christian men To this purpose your Reformer Knox sayes well Knox to England and Scotland fol. 78. If Princes be Tyrants against God and his Truth their Subjects are free from their Oath of Obedience And in his History of Scotland pag. 343. he sets the Nobility on work saying God hath appointed the Nobility to bridle the inordinate appetite of Princes and in so doing they cannot be accused as resisters of Authority And againe Knox Appeal fol. 33. It is the duty of the Nobility to represse the rage and insolencie of Princes and then he conjoynes the Nobility and the people together against the Supreme Magistrate saying Ibid. fol. 28. 30. The Nobility and Commonalty ought to reforme Religion and in that case may remove from honours and may punish such as God hath condemned Deut. 12. of
your selves And lastly you are come so neere to Ferro perimere Protest at Edenburg 18. Decemb. 1938 that you have met him with offensive armes But I pray you what made you stand here what made you make a period where was no comma Can you think it unlawfull to kill a King and yet set your muskets pikes and Canons before the face of a King and shoot at randome it cannot be that you have learned Knox and Buchanan so ill and you deserve no reward Let that golden sentence of Buchanan never be forgotten Whiles he saies Buch de sure reg apud Scot. pag. 40. Suarez lib. 6. § 6. It were good that rewards were appointed by the people for such as should kill tyrants as commonly there is for those that have killed either Wolves or Beares or taken their whelps Your case was that which is supposed by Suarez Si suppâ—natur rex aggrediens civitatem ut illam injustè perdat cives interficiat vel quid simile tunc certè licebit principi resistere etiam occidendo illum si aliter fieri non possit defensiâ— tum quia si pro vita propria hoc licet multo magis pro communi beno tum etiam quia civitas ipsa tunc habet justum bellum defensivum contra injustum invasorem etiamsi proprius sit rex If it be supponed that the King is comming against a citie unjustly to destroy it and to kill the Citizens or any such like thing Then certainly they may resist the Prince even killing him if they cannot otherwise defend themselves both because if this be lawfull to be done for a mans owne life much more for the common good and also because the citie it selfe hath then a just defensive warre against an unjust invader albeit he were their owne King This Thesis hath beene well studied by you for it is the ground of all your learned arguments for warre But now since his Majestie is returned backe againe with his army and this first storm is gone without hurt be not you idle but labour for some friends at Court who may inform you of his Majesties Proceedings And if you send any to court let that be ever one of your instructions which you gave to the Earle of Dumfermling Novemb. 2. 1639. and the Lord London To have frequent and sure advertisement to you how affaires goe with their advise Amen And he still upon your guard and let the Flaccinian counsell take place with you if you heare that he shall refuse to approve of your proceedings to affright him with the terrour of insurrection againe And desire all that are doubtfull and scrupulous of this matter to read Knox Historie and Buchanans where they shall finde our doctrine very cleare The peoples power is great Populus rege est praestantior melior c. The people are better then the King and of greater authoritie For the people hath the same power over the King Buch. de jure reg pag. 61. Jdem pag. 50 that the King hath over any one person Populo juâ— est ut imperium cui vult deferat the people have power to bestow the crowne at their pleasure its not birthright nor succession nor propinquity of blood that must be respected Therefore Knox wrote to England and Scotland It s not birth-right only nor propinquity of blood that maketh a King lawfully to raigne above a people professing Christ Jesus fol. 77. Let his Majestie know that you are no Dunces but men of learning who know the greatnesse of your power and the smalnesse of his notwithstanding of the flatterie of Court Parasites But before I end this point I cannot but admire why you have not continued your Parliament even to the end but suffered his Majestie to adjourne it you professe that you follow the laudable example of your progenitors but if you doe as they did 1560. you would not grant his Majestie a Negative voice nor suffer the Parliament to be adjourned but to have done with it as you did with the Assembly at Glasgow Novemb. 29. 1638. to continue it to the end and then for the fashion to have sought his Approbation for the reason is alike as your assemblies are above him in spiritualibus so are your Parliaments in temporalibus and may bee holden though there bee neither Sword Scepter not Crown there For as Knox saith those things were rather pompous and glorious vaine Coremonies then any substantiall points of necessity required to any lawfull Parliament Knox hist of the Church of Scotland pag. 502. And therefore after you had kept that Parliament of your own accord in anno 1560. for the fashions sake you send to the King of France and your Scotch Queene his wife to desire them to ratifie the same But upon their refusall you spake as it became you of their ratification We little regarded it or yet doe regard Idem pag. 500. for all that we did was rather to shew our dutifull obedience then to beg of them any strength to our Religion If you goe not thus farre you come short in following the laudable example of your Progenitors And yet when I consider the instructions given by the body of the Parliament to the Earle of Dumfermling and the Lord Lowdon novemb 2. 1639. I perceive that you are not a foot behinde your Progenitors seeing you will not grant it to bee in the Kings power to prorogate the assembly except you all consent unto it for your sixth Article of the instructions is thus Item If the King will not condescendâ—â—â— goe on presently in Parliament that the King prorogate Parliament with consent of the states according to the conditions which you have I see further that if he prorogate the assembly it must not only be with your consent but also hee must grant your petition sent to his Majestie by the Earle of Kinoull from the Parliament before you will grant to any peaceable conclusion or prorogation of the Parliament for your sole Argument to have your petition granted in is these words Without this point be granted it is not possible to make a peaceable conclusion or that they can rest satisfied with the prorogation of the Parliament And lest that the people should rest satisfied herewith and your Democracie take no good successe the Ministers would be exhorted to doe their part not to suffer the people to settle upon their dregs but to hold them in perpetuall motion till it end to your perpetuall quietnesse This was the practise of the zealous Ministers your Predecessors in the dayes of Queene Regent Queene Many and in the tender age of King Iames who did both in private and publike oppone themselves to authoritie for the maintenance of our tenents concerning the civill Magistrate and our other Prerogatives This made King Iames our common enemie speake the truth in exceeding harsh termes while he said E ministerio homines nonnulli praecipites Basilic dâ—ron pag.
they were convinc'd in their consciences of the lawfulnes of such things The Scripture bids compel men to the wedding neither need you regard them who call your holy violence a Spanish inquisition Furthermore I am confident that you shall not bee such enemies to our workes of Supererogation as formerly you have beene For when the King urged you to subscribe the confession of Faith you refused it drawing your reason from the very ground which hath produced all our workes of supererogation which is this That a good worke which is done of a mans owne accord is more excellent then that which is done by command of a Superiour as you reason learnedly in your protestation in September 1638. and so conclude that you have done a more syncere worke and acceptable in covenanting without authoritie than if you should do it now at the command of your Superiour for as you say thus doing the more libertie the lesse hypocrisie and more synceritie hath appeared If this ground of yours be removed then both your Covenant and our Evangelicall Councels will perish And yet the Anticovenanter will say that the Scripture cals him the good servant that doth his Masters will and whosoever do more than they are commanded by their Masters get Affricanus thanks Non amo nimium diligentes I thought to have congratulated with you that you are most like unto us in Equivocation for your own ends to perswade the people to believ that which your own heart knoweth to be most false As for example to perswade the people before they did subscribe the covenant that it is for defence of the King against whom you say no man is bound by the covenant to rise up in desensive arms and that you are only bound to suffer if his Majesty were to invade you But when they have subscribed then you tell them that they must provide armour to resist the Kings comming to invade you This made many poor simple men complain that they were wronged and that they would at least be perjured if they should do so Yet the Scripture is plain for such equivocation for when the army sent by the King of Syria came to Dothan where the Prophet Elisha was to fetch him to the King the Prophet came out to them 2 King 6.19 and said This is not the way neither is this the city follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek But he led them to Samaria the quite contrary way But here is the difference between you and the Prophet that when he had misled them and brought them to Samaria he did not detain them as captives from their Masters but said Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drinke and goe to their Masters But you doe not so but keepe them in the net in the which they are taken that they cannot escape but must joyne with you against their Master to whom they shall not returne but with defensive armes such as are not shield and buckler but pike musket and canon I commend your policie herein for you know that the King doth not thinke that the common people did ever aime at the contents and consequents of the Covenant and so doth not impute any disloyalty unto them and when he sees that you have them so close tied unto you they become your buckler and defensive armes for whose sake he hath spared you whom he thinks to be heads of a faction against him so that here multitudo sociorum parit impunitatem criminum And to speak the truth seeing he condemnoth your zeal to religion as if it were rehellion against him and yet hath given you such way without curbing your course in the beginning we cannot but say that his innate Love to his ancient Kingdome wherof he hath given plentifull testimonies hath brought him to this strait that he hath neglected his Fathers direction which he was taught by experâ—â—ce and which King Charles will teach his Son by a double example Basthâ— Doron paâ— 14â— The direction was this Si ab initio clementians ostentes crescet in immensum delinquentium numerus crescet tui contemptus â—à m punire volueris major erit sontium quà m insontium numerus nec promptum erit discernâ—re unde facere oporteat initium panae At que it a multos perdes invitus quos tempestivâ pancorum poenâ servare potuisses Tu meo ex exemplo potes hic esse cautior â—am ego cum mansuetudine mea instituissem populum trahere ad legum obedientians contrà accidit ut omnia plena facta sint tumultibus Ego verò promercede né grates quidem retule im If at the beginning thou shew clemencie the number of delinquents will greatly increase and the contempt of thy selfe will increase and when thou wilt punish delinquents the number of the guilty will be more than of the innocent neither shall it be ready for thee to discern whereat thou must begin punishment And so thou shalt destroy many against thy will which thou mightest save by the timely punishment of a few In this point thou maist be more warie by my example For when I had purposed by meeknesse to draw the people to the obedience of the laws the contrary happened so that all was filled with uproares And as for me I got not so much as thanks for my reward But go you on and that you may more and more perswade them to adhere unto you tell them as you doe that if they shall come under the Kings power he will utterly destroy them and that his Proclamations and promises are not to be regarded since in your judgement â—e hath broken the oath at his Coronation when he sware to God to defend his truth but would now if you did not reâ—ist him destroy the religion the laws and liberties of this Church and Kingdome as your Protestations and Informations for warre do fully shew It was also a notable Equivocation whereby you thrust the simple people from subscribing the Kings Covenant commanded by his Majesty to be subscribed as it was professed in anno 1581. and not according to your new interpretation added unto it For in the 1581. it was a Covenant drawne up at his Majesties speciall Command and by his speciall authority the oath and subscription was prescribed to his Subjects and so they sware according to the meaning of the King that was the exacter of this Oath So that while his Majesty requireth it now to be subscribed as it was professed then he doth it in opposition to this present time wherein you have put a new Commenter upon it directly contrary to the meaning of King Iames who first prescribed it And it 's too evident that Iesuitisme and Puritanisme were both odious to him and that it was his chiefe labour as he sayes himselfe to hold up that which you are casting down so that one of you doth not erre while you call him your enemie in superlativo
shall not be such enemies to it in time to come Moreover your pie fraudes have not a little advanced your courses for though the generall cause of all this uproare was pretended to be for defence of religion lawes and liberties yet to speake under the Râ—se it flowed from private causes and respects for not to speak of the contempt of Monarchy nor of private frettinâ— against Soveraignty by malecontents the course his Majesty was taking with the tythes to deliver the ministry and meaner sort of the Laitie from that which was counted bondage and slaverie made many fret to see themselves robbed of that clientely and dependance of the Clâ—rgie and Laitie and of that power command and superiority which by the tye of tythes they did enjoy Some had their private quarrels against the Bishops many could not abide to see them preferred to be on his Majesties ounsell c. And a great hatred was working against them for being the chiefe instruments that the Ministers maintenance was augmented and many of the Tythes restored backe againe which made many thinke that in the end all the tythes and Church-lands would returne to the ancient owner whereby many would be brought to a poore estate if the tythes were taken from them and some who have made Churches their habitation would not have a dwelling place at all and some others being ambitious of preferment both in Church and Policie were no small causes of all this uproare Now howbeit from those and such like other motives this disorder hath come yet it s well dissembled by you in taking this opportunity to work your private intended ends by making the multitude believe that all is for defence of Religion Lawes and liberties which otherwise would be destroyed His Holinesse our Pope did never laugh more heartily than when it was told him that you made the people believe that the book of Common Prayer was penned at Rome and sent to the King and that it was nothing but the masse turned into English and that the King was a Papist and intended to change the Religion That your Bishops were Pensioners to the Pope and that all who would not subscribe your covenant are Papists truly he commended your Policie to catch children with wiles and men with lies The aspersions you have cast upon King Bishops and Anticovenanters will make you noble It 's a good policie still to complaine of Court and State and to prie into great mens lives to picke out some fault and to make faults where we finde none still with Absalom saying The men who have good and right causes 2 Sam. 15.3.4 have no man to heare them Oh that I were made Iudge in the land that every man which hath any sâ—it or cause might come unto me and I would do him justice Thus the silly multitude will lightly apprehend that you are blamelesse who doe so narrowly trie and crie out against the faults of others whom howbeit you do not wound yet in the vulgar opinion you do greatly staine and blot them Finally we have both suffered much of our enemies for our practise against Kings and Princes in cutting them away that are enemies to the religion We need not be ashamed to confesse that the armour wherwith such kings are killed are forged in our shop you know that Hackes and Coppinger who wrote to Scotland to Iames Gibson that he with the advise of the brethren might tell their opinion concerning the spirit that moved them the act that they had in hand to be done for the delivery of T. Cart wright out of prison and killing of all their withstanders That which Ravillack did effectu was no more praise-worthy than that which they did affectu all those our works are not to be accounted points of treason but onely sensible expressions of our Heroicall Zeale to the defence of Religion which ought to be more deare to us than Kings or Princes father or mother brother or sister all those cords must be broke and bonds cast from us when we see them to set themselves to take counsell against the Lords Annointed Such men of courage who put their life in their hand and cut off such wicked men ought to be so farre from being counted traitors that they should be rewarded for doing it as your Buchanan sayes Knox in his history of Scotland commends the privie murdering of the Cardinall of S. Andrewes perpetrated by Norman Lesley sonne to the Earle of Rothsey and Iames Melvin cals it a godly fact and propones it as an example to be followed by the posterity In your Zions plea and other papers you speak excellently of that Heroicall fact of Felton your Martyr Du. Buck. and pathetically exhort the Nobles of the Land to follow his footsteps saying God hath chalked out the way unto you God having offered himself to guide you by the hand in giving this first blow will you not follow home the sprinkling of the blood of the wolf if we can fâ—llow the Lord in it may prove a meanes to save us The counsell of Hushai to Absalom forteth well with this businesse that all Israel should be gathered from Dan to Beersheba as the sand on the sea in number who may with the ropes of their Prayers joyned to the power of your hands draw the city of their Babel into the river of destruction untill there be not one small stone found You have most zealously embraced this profitable exhortation and albeit your intended work tooke but small successe yet let not this interruption bequench your zeale nor cause your heroicall spirits to saile but be forward in this cause and let all your words be spoken by Talents that authority may see that you do not scare it Let our example encourage you and your example encourage us It was to this purpose manfully said by one of you Payne epist to F. Our zeale to Gods glory our love to his Church and the due planting of the same in this horeheaded age should be so warm and stirring in us as not to care what adventure we giâ— and what censure Wee abide c. The Iesuites and Seminaries their diabolicall bolanesse he wrongs us in his epithet seing he followeâ— our way will cover our faces with shame It s true indeed so long as we are not able to resist and make out party good by strength of hand there is a necessity that we must suffer and like the poore man we must use entreaty for it s our wisdome to consider the times when we may be forward and when not Hence it was that in the dayes of Queene Elizabeth when your power was little that your answer was humble for when the State and Clergie of England charged your sort of men with faction sedition and schisme and iudged that if you were curbed betimes you would bring desolation on Church policie your answer was mild though it might seeme to your adversaries mixt with passion pride and
our holy Father Pope Vrban the 8. anno 1631. Quia novum ordirâ—m instituerunt assumpto Jesuitissarum nomine qua per multa opera sexus Bulla Vâ—ban Papae 8. Roma edita 1631. ingenii imbecillitati modestiae muliebri virginali presertim pudori minimè comementia attentarunt exercuerunt Because they did institute a new order assuming the name of Iesuitisses who have attempted and exercised many works which do not become the weaknes of their sex and ingenie nor the modestie of women and especially most unbeseeming virginall shamefastnes The like case may befall your societie if it be not prevented if your Leâ—kie and his Collegues be not authorized it 's to be feared that the societie of those Sisters shall get a down-fall I have heard of the great controversie betweene him and some ministers of Sterling shire and that the matter was debated in your assemblie but what was done I was not fully informed only I heard of your moderation that you thought it not fit to discharge his new societie by act of assembly but by way of counsell but he rejects your counsell and though hee hath not an ordinary calling yet he tels that he hath an extraordinary calling from God and bids you behold it in the fruits of his labours But I am most of all affraid for our selvs though we have an ordinary calling and authority for our order We are so hated both by friend and foe at home and abroad that wee are daily perplexed especially since the â—dnulling of the Jesuinssaes order upon which some Poet by way of prophesie as is thought made those verses with a fiat Foemineus sexus sociis immixtus Iesu Transcendit sexus munia foeminci Non tulit hanc labem VRBANI vigilantia Papae Suppressit Socias mox Sociosque premet We have suffered already great hurt in divers places being hunted to and fro as if we were Malefactors And I doubt not but you know how weake we are in France we dare not deny the King of France his Supremacie and must acknowledge his Dominion to be independent in respect of men and that the King holds his Kingdome by vertue of Prov. 8.15 Per me reges regnant by me Kings raigne The Doctors of the Vniversity of Paris have done us much evill 2 Tim 4.14 the Lord reward them according to their workes They have condemned some of the workes of our Father Becanus in their Vniversities and have published the same to the world whether the Pope would or no and are also become Court-Parasites And their chiefe labour is by their doctrine in contradiction to you and us to corrupt all especially Noblemens children that come to their Vniversities and at least once a yeare make every one of them under their hands to professe the Kings independent power and authority Therefore now our holy League is wholly dead and death feeds upon it in the grave Psal 49.14 and we are become vile and herein are turned Saduceans to deny the resurrection of our holy League or any such insurrection so long as such doctors as the Sâ—rbonists shall thus infect the land and make noble and ignoble such Court Parasites But your case is far better than ours at this time for you have put away from your Vniversities such as withstood you and have placed such men in your Vniversities of Glasgow and S. Andrewes and Edenburgh who will cause the schollers to drink such a full draught of our doctrine that they shall vomit out all which your adversaries taught them We are not so happie our enemies prevaile daily against us But yours are dying especially the Archbishop of S. Andrewes to whom we wished no better death nor more honourable buriall then that Martyr and brother of our Societie Iohn Ogleby got whom he caused to be hanged at the Crosse of Glasgow because he stood to the defence of our doctrine which he brought within the compasse of Treason by the lawes of your kingdom which I pray you to abrogate D. Baron that great enemy of ours is also dead as they say in persecution At this we do both rejoyce as if we had found a great spoyle We had also great credit according to our hearts desire at Constaminople and among the Galathians and divers parts in the East but by the meanes of the King of great Brittane c. his ambassador and Cyrillus Patriarch of Constantinople who is of the Religion of the Church of England and disclaims the Popes jurisdiction even as the Bishops of England do We are all banished the Turks bounds and a Shipfull of us was sent home to Italy from Constantinople Since wee cannot get libertie to remain in the East we purpose to come to you in the West where there is neither Patriarch nor Bishop to trouble us as Cyrillus did at Constantinople But if King Charles follow the direction of his Father King Iames our common enemie your case will bee little better then ours was at Constantinople For after he hath directed his son to beware of Puritans as most pestilent followes both in Church and policie whom neither the Kings favours and bountie nor their own promises and oaths can make faithfull and loyall but being above measure arrogant they belch out nothing but calumnies and seditions and contrary to the Word of God follow their owne dreames and conceits as the only rule of their conscience he sayes most pathetically Basilic doron pag. 148 Testor illum magnum Deum nec testamentum condenti fas est mentiri nunquam inter montanos aut limitancos nostros latronos majorem ingratitudinem aut per fidiam reperiri posse quam inter hos phanaticos nebulones nee paterec si pacatè vivere decreveris ut hi eadem tecum patria fruautur nisi fortè patientiae experienda ergo ut Socrates vixit cum Xanthippo I take the great God to witnesse as if I were making my testament and it is not lawfull for him that maketh a testament to lye that there can never be more unthankfulnesse or perfidiousnesse found among our High-land and bordering robbers then among those brain-sicke villaines Neither do thou suffer them to enjoy that same countrey with thee if thou purpose to live peaceably unlesse perchance for the exercise of thy patience as Socrates lived with Xantippe This is a dreadfull advise and our case is so miscrable that it is our lot and destinie to be like Ishmael the wild man whose hands were against every man and every mans hands against him But let us not be dismaied not our hearts melt nor our hands be faint Gen. 16.12 but let us joyne hand in hand together Virtus unita fortior And we shall speake with the enemy in the gate And the righteous shall be delivered out of trouble and the wicked shall come in his stead Prov. 11.8 I have many other things to write to you which I will delay til I have the opportunity to write a second Epistle which shall be so soone as I heare what fruits this first Epistle shall produce Which I pray you cause to be printed among you for your common good because I could not get many copies sent to you being so far from you beyond sea If AS's Bridles was thought worthy to be printed by your authority in contempt of the Bishops why may not this my Epistle be printed for the edification of your Societie Let it not offend you that I have not railed in this my Epistle against authority in Church and policie for our Society hath been so oft reproved for railing that I doe now begin to forbeare it for the honour of our Order neither will we permit infamous Pasquils longer to come forth and it were good that you did so too and let us speak home to the purpose convincing our adversaries with evident reasons and make their errours and heresies known to the world rather then to vent our spleen against them with calumnies This doth but open the mouth of our adversaries but that will stop it this makes disgrace return upon our selves but the other makes us gracious If we raile when we should reason we get no answer but increpet te Dominus But when we reason without railing we beget in them dissentiendi pudorem veritatis timorem A bashfulnes to dissent from us and a reverence of the truth which in time will bring forth a profession of it Farewell From my study at Basileopolis The first of Ianuary 1640.