points have some finger: Reason is highly set up against Holy Scripture (Pref. Sect. 3. p. 29); and Reading against Preaching; the Church of Rome, favourably admitted to be of the House of God; Calvin, with the Reformed Churches full of faults; and most of all, they which endeavoured to be most removed from Conformity with the Church of Rome: almost all the principal points of an English Creed, greatly shaken and contradicted! If you do not sincerely, plainly, and truly, answer all these our necessary doubts and demands, what shall we have cause to think of these your tedious and laborious Writings? Shall we do you wrong, to suspect you as a privy and subtile enemy to the whole state of the English Church, and that would have men to deem her Majesty to have done ill in abolishing the Romish Religion and banishing the Pope's Authority? And, that you would be glad to see the backsliding of all Reformed Churches to be made conformable to that wicked synagogue of Rome; and, shame and reproach to all faithful Ministers, whom God hath raised up to reveal and beat down Antichrist? And, that you esteem the preaching and writing of all the Reverend Fathers of our Church, and the books of Holy Scripture to be, at the least, of no greater moment than Aristotle and the Schoolmen ? Or else, do you mean to bring in a confusion of all things, to reconcile heaven and earth, and to make all Religions equal? Will you bring us to Atheism, or to Popery; or, to prepare a plot for an Interim, that our streets may run with blood, when all Religions shall be tolerated, and one shall beard and provoke another ?* Are there not examples sufficient of unspeakable massacres abroad, unless we should fet [sic] the same home to our country, rejoicing under the blessed unity of the Gospel of peace? Think you, that the long experience of God's protection, in these golden days of quiet concord, the religious and peaceable heart of our dear Sovereign Lady and Queen, Elizabeth (for whose joyful preservation all good and Christian minded Englishmen do unceasantly pray), and the thousands of faithful subjects who have learned Christ under the shadow of her most happy and honourable reign, would ever give you thanks for such great service, or ever agree unto such abominations, if they should once begin to espy such stratagemical operations to appear in their effects, and to shew themselves directly and openly? We beseech you, therefore, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and as you will answer for the use of those great gifts which God hath bestowed upon you, that you would return and peruse advisedly all your Five Books, compare them with the Articles of our profession set out by public Authority; and with the works Apologetical and other authorized Sermons and Homilies of our Church and of the Reverend Fathers of our Land, and with the Holy Book of God, and all other the Queen's Majesty's proceedings; and then read and examine with an indifferent and equal mind a Book set out in Latin called 'Querimonia Ecclesiæ,' and another in English late come abroad, speaking of Scotizing and Genevatizing, and Allobrogical Discipline; and, having maturely, with a judicious conscience, in the fear of God, pondered and weighed them in the balance of truth and justice, then tell us roundly and smoothly, that if the Reverend Fathers of our Church, assisted with some of the approved divines of both Universities, did read, peruse, and examine your Books and those Two other Books, Whether they would not judge in their conscience, and give sentence with their mouths, that by those Three Writings, the Church of England and all other Christian Churches are undermined; and, that they are very notable bellows (if God's mercy stayed it not) to blow the coals of sedition and fiery civil war between all Christian Churches; and, to make all people who read them, to fall either flatly to Atheism, or backward to Popery, when they shall see all Godly Ministers and Christian Churches, by men of their own side and profession, to be so openly traduced and notoriously detected, and all the Articles of our Religion and many parts of our Church-government to be checked, blamed, or contradicted? And might they not think, that the Pope's factors in England have some intelligence with such writers? Or, is that new found Discipline so nearly seated with our English Creed, that such expert archers aiming at the one, must needs hit the other? "Our last scruple and demand is this, Seeing your Books be so long and tedious, in a style not usual, and (as we verily think) the like hard to be found; far differing from the simplicity of Holy Scripture, and nothing after the frame of the writings of the Reverend and learned Fathers of our Church, as of Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Jewel, Whitgift, Fox, Fulke, &c.; and, that your Prefaces and Discourses before you come to the question are so long, and mingled with all kind of matters and suits of learning and doctrine; Whether your meaning be to shew yourself to be some rare Demosthenes, or extraordinary Rabbi, or some great Pythagoras, that enjoin your scholars or your adversaries to five years' silence before they can be perfect in your meaning or able to reply; or, that these men you write against ["An unlimited Toleration, after Sects have diffused themselves, and are strongly rooted, is the only expedient which can allay their fervour, and make Civil union acquire a superiority above Religious distinctions."-HUME, Hist. of Eng. Chas. 11. chap. 66] be not sound in matters of Faith, and therefore you handle all things, or else you had no better way to make doubtful the chief grounds of our Faith and Religion, and that you would have men better seen in philosophy and schoolmen's divinity, and namely, in Aristotle (Vol. I. p. 87.); or, that you were afeard, that if you had not handled it with so grave, heroical and lofty a majesty, you should have been reputed like some other man, and so your fame should have been but small; or, that you would weary your adversary with such thick and continual falling strokes, that he should not be able to stand before you to strike one blow against you; or, that you would bear down the cause with swelling words of vanity, and cunningly framed sentences, to blind and entangle the simple; or that you would shew yourself another Aristotle, by a certain metaphysical and cryptical method to bring men into a maze, that they should rather wonder at your learning, than be able to understand what you teach in your writing? We which stand for the defence of our English Church highly commend R. H.' Books, we allege your opinions as well as we can to stop the mouths of foolish carpers: we commend your Books as very excellent and learnedly penned, and not to be answered; then they promptly ask your reasons, and require of us to shew by what arguments you maintain those assertions: then return we to your Books; we seek, and beat our brains, but are hardly able, by our mean capacity, to gather any thing; but, as a man afar off beholding a brier tree all blown over with his flowers, with great desire approacheth near unto it and findeth himself deceived, so the delight of reading your Book is marvellous great, but the fruit thereof (howsoever it came to pass) unto us that search and examine it, is far unlike the goodly shew and appearance! In the Book of that most learned and Reverend Father Dr. Whitgift, we find the question judicially set down; his answer to the matter in question sensible; his reasons either from Holy Scripture, from Fathers, or new writers, without all circumferences and crooked windings, directly applied; so as such poor men as we be may bear away what he saith, and what he intendeth; but in your writing we are mightily encumbered, we walk as in a labyrinth, and are suddenly overwhelmed as in the deep sea: sometime it seemeth to us, that we see great flourishing of warlike and glittering weapons, and to hear the loud outcries and noise of them which pursue their enemies in battle, thundering, gunshot, tossing of spears, and rattling of harness; yet, cannot we perfectly perceive any thing almost rightly to touch the adversary pretended, but rather (as in our demands before, we verily think doth manifestly appear) most heavy strokes, poisoned pellets, and dangerous pushes of the pikes, against the Jerusalem of God, the Holy Christian Church of England, whom you would seem to defend. We desire you, therefore, with all instancy, that you would not deny us three things: First, to shew unto us what arguments you have alleged, which are material and of weight, which are not to be found in the 'Aunswere' of that Reverend Father unto Master Cartwright; and herein plainly to declare which be your arguments or direct answers, which are neither fine and close ironies, or blustering bitter scoffs, begging of the question, or peremptory affirmations, and how we may know what is the state of the question, and when you are in or out, and what you hold in your conscience to be the truth in God's sight: how great and large your Five Books would be, if you had used reasonable, intelligible and logical arguments only, as other writers and disputers do; and had left out all needless witty glosses and rhetorical shadows in preambles, discourses, digressions, amplifications; and had kept yourself out of the common jail of sophistical elenches, and impertinent outleaps; and had followed St. Peter's prescrip', in a meek, reverend and direct apology and defense proceeding from 'a good conscience' (1 Pet. iii. 15, 16). Secondly, that if you set forth your other Books which are promised, you would be more plain and sensible; and follow the usual language and style of other learned men and English writers; leaving out unnecessary long discourses and common places, set out your reasons in plain terms and words of sincerity, without these huge embossments or stuffed bombasting, that poor plain men which cannot skill of such hidden mysteries, may perceive and learn something by your great travails. Thirdly, that you would be careful not to corrupt the English Creed and pure doctrine (whereunto you have subscribed) either by philosophy or vain deceit of schoolmen's new-born divinity, or by any other beggarly rudiments of this world; nor set these Churches by the ears with these closely carried and dainty insinuations; and that, through desire of vain-glory, you provoke not your brethren, and help the common and sworn enemy which fighteth against God, against Christ's Church, against our peaceable country, and against our religious, godly, and Christian Princess. And, especially, that you beware in the cause of Supremacy to give your lawful Sovereign her right and full due, and not so to make the Church of Rome of the family of Christ Jesus that you lift up the son of pride, the blasphemous tyrant the Pope into that high chair of pestilence to be Christ's vicar upon earth, and ministerial head of his universal Church (Sar. contr. Bezam, cap. ii. p. 57). For as there is one that saith, the Church of Rome is Mater nostra 'our mother;' so if you should go but one step further, we know not what that injury may be done to her Majesty's rightful imperial crown and dignity. And, Lastly, you remember Him which is high and excellent, the King of all glory and Lord of all power; that you please not man to displease God; and seeking yourself, you forsake not your own mercy. You know that it is written, 'Only by pride doth man make contention; but with the well-advised is wisdom' (Prov. xiii. 10): and,' When pride cometh, then shame cometh ; but with the lowly is wisdom' (Ibid. xi. 2): you know, also, who hath said, 'Vengeance is mine,' &c. (Deut. xxxii. 35): and again, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm' (Psal. cv. 15): and again, 'The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; and the way of the wicked shall perish' (Ibid. i. 6). "Now in all these things good Master Hoo. though we thus write, we do not take upon us to censure your Books; neither rashly to judge of you for them; but, because we be all children born in this Church, and every child loving his mother is jealous over that which seemeth disgraceful to his mother; and all Christians are exhorted to 'contend earnestly for the Faith which was once given to the saints' (Jude, ver. 3), and he that toucheth our Faith toucheth the apple of our eye; we could not but utter our inward grief, and yet in as charitable manner as the cause in hand would suffer, (for is it not a great matter, when you seem to us to make a wide open breach in the Church, and to stain the pure doctrine of Faith?) we seek that the truth be not darkened or defaced; and, that you by wise, plain, and honest resolution unto these our doubts and demands, may approve yourself as the faithful and sincere servant of Jesus Christ. If then, in all these our demands and requests, you do lovingly and faithfully satisfy us your native countrymen who have sucked out the sincere milk of the Gospel, by the doctrine in England professed, published, and preached, by sermons, apologies, articles, and reading of Holy Scripture, even now these forty years; (for which we are not able to render sufficient praise and thanks to our most merciful Father in Jesus Christ, and namely for that worthy instrument of our joy, that blessed Halcyon and Christian Deborah, the anointed handmaid our Sovereign Lady and Queen, Elizabeth, whom the Sun of righteousness hath raised up to still the raging streams and roaring waves of God's enemies, even the cursed Canaanites of Romish Babylon; whose peaceable and flourishing reign we most humbly pray the mighty God of heaven, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, still to continue in joy and honour) if, indeed, you answer our desire in love and faithfulness, we shall have good cause to commend well of your sincere meaning; we shall be beholding unto you for your Godly zeal in defending our Church, and give unto you your condign praise in all places, for your true and upright dealing; and pray earnestly unto God for you, that such excellent gifts and graces which he hath vouchsafed unto you above many, may be alway wisely employed to the advancing of the glory of the most High God, and of his most glorious Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to the furtherance of the prosperous wealth of his holy Church, the faithful service of your sovereign Prince and native country, and to your own inward comfort and undeceivable joy of conscience, in and through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour, to whom be all praise and glory in his Church and in all places of the world for ever, Amen."-A Christian Letter, p. 42, ad fin.] |