ing that fwelled up the audacious Becket to the peftilent and odious vexation of Henry the Second. Nay more, have not fome of their devoted scholars begun, I need not fay to nibble, but openly to argue against the king's fupremacy? Is not the chief of them accufed out of his own book, and his late canons, to affect a certain unquestionable patriarchate, independent, and unsubordinate to the crown? From whence having firft brought us to a fervile ftate of religion and manhood, and having predif pofed his conditions with the pope, that lays claim to this land, or fome Pepin of his own creating, it were all as likely for him to afpire to the monarchy among us, as that the pope could find means fo on the fudden both to bereave the emperor of the Roman territory with the favour of Italy, and by an unexpected friend out of France, while he was in danger to lofe his newgot purchase, beyond hope to leap into the fair exarchate of Ravenna.

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A good while the pope fubtly acted the lamb, writing to the emperor my lord Tiberius, my lord Mauritius; but no fooner did this his lord pluck at the images and idols, but he threw off his fheep's clothing, and started up a wolf, laying his paws upon the emperor's right, as forfeited to Peter. Why may not we as well, having been forewarned at home by our renowned Chaucer, and from abroad by the great and learned Padre Paolo, from the like beginnings, as we fee they are, fear the like events? Certainly a wife and provident king ought to fufpect a hierarchy in his realm, being ever attended, as it is, with two fuch greedy purveyors, ambition and ufurpation; I fay, he ought to fufpect a hierarchy to be as dangerous and derogatory from his crown as a tetrarchy or a heptarchy. Yet now that the prelates had almoft attained to what their infolent and unbridled minds had hurried them; to thrust the laity under the defpotical rule of the monarch, that they themselves might confine the monarch to a kind of pupillage under their hierarchy, obferve but how their own principles combat one another, and supplant each one his fellow.

Having fitted us only for peace, and that a fervile peace, by leffening our numbers, draining our eftates,

enfee

enfeebling our bodies, cowing our free fpirits by those ways as you have heard, their impotent actions cannot fuftain themselves the leaft moment, unless they would roufe us up to a war fit for Cain to be the leader of; an abhorred, a curfed, a fraternal war. England and Scotland, dearest brothers both in nature and in Chrift, muft be fet to wade in one another's blood; and Ireland, our free Denizen, upon the back of us both, as occafion fhould ferve a piece of fervice that the pope and all his factors have been compaffing to do ever fince the Reformation.

But ever bleffed be he, and ever glorified, that from his high watchtower in the heavens, difcerning the crooked ways of perverfe and cruel men, hath hitherto maimed and infatuated all their damnable inventions, and deluded their great wizards with a delufion fit for fools and children: had God been fo minded, he could have fent a fpirit of mutiny amongst us, as he did between Abimelech and the Sechemites, to have made our funerals, and flain heaps more in number than the miferable furviving remnant; but he, when we leaft deferved, fent out a gentle gale and meffage of peace from the wings of those his cherubims that fan his mercy feat. Nor shall the wisdom, the moderation, the Christian piety, the conftancy of our nobility and commons of England, be ever forgotten, whofe calm and temperate connivance could fit ftill and fmile out the ftormy blufter of men more audacious and precipitant than of folid and deep reach, until their own fury had run itself out of breath, affailing by rafh and heady approaches the impregnable fituation of our liberty and safety, that laughed fuch weak enginery to fcorn, fuch poor drifis to make a national war of a furplice brabble, a tippet fcuffie, and engage the untainted honour of English knighthood to unfurl the fireaming red cross, or to rear the horrid standard of those fatal guly dragons for fo unworthy a purpose, as to force upon their fellow fubjects that which themfelves are weary of, the skeleton of a mass-book. Nor muft the patience, the fortitude, the firm obedience of the nobles and people of Scotland, ftriving against manifold provocations; nor muft their fincere and moderate proceedings hitherto be

unremem

unremembered, to the fhameful conviction of all their detractors.

Go on both hand in hand, O nations, never to be difunited; be the praife and the heroic fong of all posterity; merit this, but feek only virtue, not to extend your limits; (for what needs to win a fading triumphant laurel out of the tears of wretched men ?) but to fettle the pure worfhip of God in his church, and juftice in the state: then fhall the hardest difficulties fmooth out themselves before ye; envy fhall fink to Hell, craft and malice be confounded, whether it be homebred mischief or outlandish cunning: yea, other nations will then covet to ferve ye, for lordfhin and victory are but the pages of juftice and virtue. Commit fecurely to true wisdom the vanquishing and uncafing of craft and fubtlety, which are but her two runagates: join your invincible might to do worthy and godlike deeds; and then he that feeks to break your union, a cleaving curfe be his inheritance to all generations.

Sir, you have now at length this queftion for the time, and as my memory would beft ferve me in fuch a copious and vaft theme, fully handled, and you yourself may judge whether prelacy be the only church-government agreeable to monarchy. Seeing therefore the perilous and confused state into which we are fallen, and that to the certain knowledge of all men, through the irreligious pride and hateful tyranny of prelates, (as the innumerable and grievous complaints of every fhire cry out) if we will now refolve to fettle affairs either according to pure religion or found policy, we must first of all begin roundly to cashier and cut away from the public body the noifome and diseased tumour of prelacy, and come from fchifm to unity with our neighbour reformed fifterchurches, which with the bleffing of peace and pure doctrine have now long time flourished; and doubtlefs with all hearty joy and gratulation will meet and welcome our Chriftian union with them, as they have been all this while grieved at our ftrangeness, and little better than feparation from them. And for the difcipline propounded, seeing that it hath been inevitably proved that the natural and fundamental caufes of political happiness in

all

all governments are the fame, and that this church-difcipline is taught in the word of God, and, as we fee, agrees according to wifh with all fuch ftates as have received it; we may infallibly affure ourselves that it will as well agree with monarchy, though all the tribe of Aphorifmers and Politicafters would perfuade us there be fecret and mysterious reafons against it. For upon the fettling hereof mark what nourishing and cordial reftorements to the state will follow, the minifters of the gofpel attending only to the work of falvation, every one within his limited charge; befides the diffufive bleffings of God upon all our actions, the king shall fit without an old disturber, a daily incroacher and intruder; fhall rid his kingdom of a ftrong fequeftered and collateral power; a confronting mitre, whofe potent wealth and wakeful ambition he had juft caufe to hold in jealoufy: not to repeat the other prefent evils which only their removal will remove, and because things fimply pure are inconfistent in the mass of nature, nor are the elements or humours in a man's body exactly homogeneal; and hence the beft-founded commonwealths and leaft barbarous have aimed at a certain mixture and temperament, partaking the feveral virtues of each other state, that each part drawing to itself may keep up a steady and even uprightnefs in common.

There is no civil government that hath been known, no not the Spartan, not the Roman, though both for this refpect fo much praised by the wife Polybius, more divinely and harmonioufly tuned, more equally balanced as it were by the hand and fcale of juftice, than is the commonwealth of England; where, under a free and untutored monarch, the nobleft, worthieft, and moft prudent men, with full approbation and fuffrage of the people, have in their power the fupreme and final determination of highest affairs. Now if conformity of churchdifcipline to the civil be so desired, there can be nothing more parallel, more uniform, than when under the fovereign prince, Chrift's vicegerent, ufing the fceptre of David, according to God's law, the godlieft, the wifeft, the learnedeft minifters in their feveral charges have the inftructing and difciplining of God's people, by whose full and free election they are confecrated to that holy

and

and equal aristocracy. And why fhould not the piety and confcience of Englishmen, as members of the church, be trufted in the election of pastors to functions that nothing concern a monarch, as well as their worldly wifdoms are privileged as members of the ftate in fuffraging their knights and burgeffes to matters that concern him nearly? And if in weighing thefe feveral offices, their difference in time and quality be caft in, I know they will not turn the beam of equal judgment the moiety of a fcruple. We therefore having already a kind of apoftolical and ancient church election in our ftate, what a perverfenefs would it be in us of all others to retain forcibly a kind of imperious and stately election in our church? And what a blindness to think that what is already evangelical, as it were by a happy chance in our polity, fhould be repugnant to that which is the fame by divine command in the miniftry? Thus then we fee that our ecclefiaftical and political choices may confent and fort as well together without any rupture in the state, as Chriftians and freeholders. But as for honour, that ought indeed to be different and diftinct, as either office looks a feveral way; the minifter whose calling and end is fpiritual, ought to be honoured as a father and phyfician to the foul, (if he be found to be fo) with a fonlike and difciplelike reverence, which is indeed the dearest and moft affectionate honour, most to be defired by a wife man, and fuch as will eafily command a free and plentiful provifion of outward neceffaries, without his further care of this world.

The magiftrate, whofe charge is to fee to our perfons and eftates, is to be honoured with a more elaborate and perfonal courtship, with large falaries and ftipends, that he hiinfelf may abound in thofe things whereof his legal juftice and watchful care gives us the quiet enjoyment. And this diftinction of honour will bring forth a feemly and graceful uniformity over all the kingdom.

Then fhall the nobles poffefs all the dignities and offices of temporal honour to themfelves, fole lords without the improper mixture of fcholaftic and pufillanimous upftarts; the parliament fhall void her upper houfe of the fame annoyances; the common and civil laws fhall

be