yet remain unsatisfied, and therefore defire your Judgment thereon?

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A. 'Tis not likely that we fhou'd fatisfy your Doubt,if fuch as you have Nam'd already have fail'd of doing it which yet we think in itself very easy to be done. In order to which, we fhall first observe, that this Direction relates especially to Religi ous Affemblies, at which Chriftian Women are not prefent themfelves, fo as to enfnare the Eyes of the Beholders with their Beauty and Gaiety; but, as well as the Men in the 8th. v. to lift up Holy Hands without Wrath and Doubt ing. Then further, Dr. Hammond fays in his Paraphrafe, "That "Women are here required to come to the Affemblies, and Pray 66 in fuch an Attire as is decent,ac"counting Modefty and Sobriety the greatest (he does not fay the only) Ornament, and not fetting "themfelves out vainly,and with Oftentation,in Curious Dreffings, &c.". "Thus far he; and indeed 'tis plain, that the meaning of the Apoftle is no more than that they ought rather to delight in the Ornaments of Good Works, and of a meek and quiet Spirit, than in Pearls and Jewels. That this is the genuine Senfe of the Words, will(we think) be plain from thefe following Confiderations. First, That 'tis very common in the Holy Scriptures to put a Negative instead of a Comparative, fee Gen. 5. 8. and twenty other Inftances; take one that's very plain,in Prov. 8. 10. Receive my Instruction, and not Silver; Is not here an exprefs Text for the Mendicant Fryars, that muft not touch a Groat, (unless you put it into their Sleeve)and wou'd not this foon put an end to Trade, or reduce all to the Primitive way

of Barter, if we fhou'd deny Meanings, as fome foolish Enthufiafts have done? But it appears both from Common Sense and the other part of the Verfe, that (as has been faid) a Negative is put for a Comparative; for it follows, and Knowledge rather than choice Gold. Again,in the Controverted Text, Wearing Gold and all Ceftly Array, is mentioned as well as Pearl; but we know the Holy Women of Old were fometimes adorn'd with Gold, as particularly the Hiftory of Rebecca fhows us, and that in fo odd a manner as Nofe Jewels, &c. to add nothing of the King's Daughters Drefs, might be all glorious within, and yet her Cloathing to be of wrought Gold; Nor to infift on the Practice of our own and most other Nations, to Marry and Seal with Rings, ufually of the fame Metal. But our laft Argument, if there's need of more, that the prefent place is to be understood in the Senfe wherein we have explain'd it, fhall be taken from the Comparifon of another Scripture with it,which is very like it,and which muft neceffarily be taken in this Comparative Senfe; 'tis the f of St. Pet. 3. 3. where the Apostle tells the Wives- -that their Adorning fhou'd not be that outward Adorning of Platting the Hair, and wearing of Gold, or of putting on of Apparel, but the hidden Man of the Heart, &c. Now here's a very full Text for the Adamites, in the Senfe of that Minister,Madam,who is fo angry at your Pearl-Necklace, all putting on of Apparel being therein, as it feems, exprefly and directly forbidden;and according ly not only Naked Breafts wou'd be lawful, nay, a Duty, but even Primitive Simplicity all over. But

of anothers Ruin, do all that lies in their Power to retrieve 'em from Vice atd Deftru&tion, no more certainly will be requir'd of 'em, except a hearty Sorrow for what they now find 'tis too late to amend.

Q. Since the Common-Prayer is fo full and compleat in all Conditions and Circumstances whatsoever, that in any Difficulty we have Pray ers fitted to our Hands, and the Church hath commanded them, and only them to be us'd in Churches and Private Families; whether those be not Damn'd that use any other Pray ers whatsoever ?

A. Poor Man! We are forry that any Perfon of our Communion fhou'd have no more Charity nor Difcretion than fo much as to Propofe fuch a Question. The Prayers of our Church are indeed very excellent, and allow. ed fuch by all who understand 'em, but they are Common Prayers, and for that Reafen it's impoffible they fhou'd, and unreasonable to expect they fhou'd fully include and reach all particular private Circumftances, tho' Publick they may and do; And that this our Affertion is undoubtedly true, will appear fufficiently from the Practice of our Church, and its beft, nay, all its Members. The Church we fay ufes other Prayers, and that even in Publick, befides those which are properly ftiled Our Common Prayer, or flated Liturgy, as Sternbold's Pfalms (We are afham'd to call 'em David's) and where they are not used, Anthems, not in particular appointed, but the Words chofen and compofed by Mafters of Mufick; However, in all Churches a Prayer before Sermon, for the moft part compos'd by the Minifter himfelf;

or if ftrictly agreeable to Canon, yet not found in the Book of Common Prayer that we read in our Churches. But yet further, the very best and most excellent Perfons of our Church have used and directed other Prayers befides these before mention'd: We'll inftance but in two, tho' we might in an hundred; King Charles the First himself, of happy and bleffed Memory, did compofe and ufe many Devout and Excellent Prayers on feveral Subjects, in his Retirements and Troubles, which in his Unvaluable Book he has left behind him. The Author of The whole Duty of Man has done the fame,as none,one wou'd think, can be ignorant, who had but once dipt into it-which if they had thought damnable, we fuppose they wou'd hardly have ever done.

Q. I have Convers'd with many People both abroad and at home, of both Sexe:, and all Perfwafions, and I find it alike Natural to all Perfons to perfift in their own Opinions, and to take the fudgment of another when oppofed to theirs as an infuffer able Affront; Now I am willing to think as well of this general Qualification as I can, because I am fenfible it is as Natural to me as others, but I am not come to that heighth of Dogmaticifm, to Condemn or Clear the whole World, without the Concurrence of other Fadgments with mine therefore I defire your Opinions how far this is either an Evil or a Good, and what we are influenced by in our espousing it?

4. Men defire nothing but Good, diftinguished into Honour, Profit and Pleasure, none of which are gain'd by Obftinacy in an erroneous Determination, especial

ly

1y when it is known for fuch ;but on the contrary, there is fhame in it, a Man lofeth his Credit by it very often, but always his Time, and renders himself unacceptable to the Hearers, as is evident in Scholaftick Difputes, which is the Reafon that a Scholar brought up in thefe Wranglings feldom begins to be efteem'd in Company 'till he has laid afide that ill Quality of never yeilding; whereas, on the contrary, the more ingenious decline thofe Heats by feeming to yield fometimes when apparently they have moft Reafon on their fide; and if they chance to be mistaken, there is none more willing to rectify their Judgments, not being deprefs'd with the bafe Fear that the weak. er fort are influenced by, leaft they should be blamed for having been Subject to Err, remembring Miftakes and Errors are incident to Humanity, but that 'tis the ut moft Stupidity to perfevere in a Fault: Hippocrates has freely told his; St. Augustine has made a Book of his Retractations, and after him Cardan, and many other great Perfons. Every one knows and acknowledges it beft to be only fo far fixt in his Determinations till he fhall have better Reasons to alter them; but it must be confefs'd, moft People love themfelves fo well, and are fo fond of their own Judgments, that few put it in Practice, which might very well be excufed by theftrong Paffion we have for our particular Interefts, if we were fo dogmatical in our Opinions only in what concerns our Friends or Eftates; but the fame Heat being maintained in Cafes which import no Benefit at all to any Perfon, as in pure Notions, &c.there

must be fome higher Interest which animates us.It muft therefore be the general Concern every Man has for the Applauds and Careffes of the World, which can certainly never be attained but by acquiring the Reputation of fuch a Judgment as Merits every one's Efteem: And Man judging it a good to have his Opinion followed, willeth it as fuch; for Man, as Man, hath no good more eminent than to Know, Judge,and give his Sentence of things, it being his utmoft Natural End: And a Man that has judged and given his Advice(which is good) at leaft according to his Apprehenfion, feeing that Advice rejected, falls into a double Interest, one arifing from the Charitable Inclination which he has for the Happinefs of him that Confults him, whom he feeslikely to Mifcarry by not following his Advice; the other being his own proper Interest, for that the flightingof his Advice,is a tacit accufing of him of failing in a thing effential to his End, and calling him a Monfter,or Fault of Nature; for as a Monster is called a Fault of Nature, because the Agents producing it have flipt and gone away out of the Way which the had prefcribed to them; fo Man not judging as he ought, deviates from the way which leads to his End: This is it which makes him fo fenfible of the flighting of his Advice, which flighting feems to conclude that he has judged ill, and is a Lyar in his Knowledge. And from hence it is, that it's fo difficult to endure to be given the Lye, because by it a Man is implyed to have no Understanding nor Ability to Judge; fince to Lye, is contrary to that Truth

D 4

which

vets to be Master of; and for the fame Reason we are Offended if we are called Fools,thereby being fuppofed ftupid and unable to Judge.

Q. Who was the first Inventer of the Gag in France ?

A. In the First Volume of the French Book of Martyrs, or Hiftory of the Famous Edict of Nantes, you'll find in p. 15. that the Ufe of the Gag was firft Practifed and Invented in the Reign of Henry the 2d. of France, purposely to hinder the Proteftants that were put to Death from fpeaking to the People of finging Pfalms for their Confolation, when they were led to Execution. Aubefpine (as the Author of that Work re lates) who was the firft Inventer of it, was fome Years after ftruck with the Loufie Difeafe, which put him into fo great a Defpair, that he defign'd to Starve himself to Death; which furious Refolution obliged thofe which were about him to open his Jaws with a Gag, to make him take Nourishment by force ; fo that (as this learned Author obferves) he increafed the Number ofthofe that have been known to fuffer thofe Torments themfelves, of which they were the firft Inventers. This Cruel Invention of the Gag did not at all diminish the Number of the Proteftants, the Conftancy of thofe who were burned ferving to make more fenfible Impreffions upon Peoples Minds in their Favour, than either their Books or Preaching But Henry the 2d. however, was inexorable, and tho' the doleful Spectacle of thofe he had caufed to be burned after the Proceffion above-mentioned, and their horrible Cries in the Tor

ments of their Sufferings, had fo deeply ftruck his Imagination, that the remembrance of them was a lafting Terror to him all his Life after, yet did he not at all abate his Severities; for they Burned after that fome Perfons that came from Bearn into France, only for Preaching the Doctrine of their own Country, among whom Lewis de Marfac was much taken notice of, for that having been a Soldier all his Life, and being difpenfed with from having a Rope put about his Neck at the Stake, like other Sufferers, out of refpect to that Noble Profeffion, he complain'd that fuch a difference fhould be made between him and his Brethren, as if by retrenching any thing from the Infamy of his Punishment, they had defigned to leffen the Glory of his Conftancy-So that amidst thefe Gags and Cruel Executions the Churches took the firmer Root, and there were already fome that were govern'd by a regular Difcipline and fettled Paftors, and at Paris itself, where there Fires never went out, and under the King's Nofe, there was one which had its peculiar Paftor, which fo incensed their Enemies, that they got erect certain Courts of Justice, which they called Burning Chambers, which burn'd a fufficient Number of those who pafs'd for Hereticks, to deferve the Title given them? But of thefe and their other Cruel Inftruments of Martyrdom you may read more at large in The First Volume of The French Martyrology before recited, where you'll find that the French Proteftants were barbarously treated at their very Births, in their Lives, at their Deaths, and even in their Funerals.

Q.